Chapter 935: What did Southern Qi do?
Southern Qi Mandarin?
Cao Dejiang subconsciously asked, "Do you understand Southern Qi official language?"
Zhu Xiyan wrote, "A few years ago, I went to the Southern Qi Dynasty to study and stayed at the Heyong Academy in the capital for several months. The official language that person spoke was subconsciously directed to a mute slave. Although it was only a sentence before the person in charge of the students scolded and interrupted it, I am sure I heard it correctly."
Because of Shi Chang'an's previous experience, Cao Dejiang knew more about Southern Qi than others. He knew that there was indeed a Heyong Academy in the capital of Southern Qi, and its principal Fan Yuping also had a high status among literati. When Shi Chang'an's school was massacred in his early years, he had secretly protected Shi Chang'an for a period of time.
The official language of the Southern Qi Dynasty tends to have a southern accent, which is different from the official language of the Wei Dynasty. Many court officials of the Southern Qi Dynasty came out of the Naheyong Academy, and many princes and children of powerful people of the Southern Qi Dynasty also went there to study.
If Zhu Xiyan had really been to Heyong Academy, it would not be surprising that he could understand the official language of the Southern Qi Dynasty.
Cao Dejiang pondered for a moment, "Southern Qi was defeated and took the initiative to negotiate peace. Later, Beiling was also severely defeated. Now that Wei is on the rise, and the Queen has cleaned up the court in one fell swoop, even if there are those with ulterior motives, they wouldn't dare to act rashly at this time. But if it were Southern Qi..."
Liang Guangyi's eyes were gloomy. "The new Southern Qi Emperor, Nie Xuan, is extremely cunning, far more cunning than the previous Southern Qi Emperor. Feng Qiuli and him were brutally ruthless when they negotiated peace. Nie Xuan appears submissive, but inwardly resents and plots. He wants to use the test to control the Huo family and plant a thorn in the side of the Wei Dynasty. It's not impossible."
Almost everyone who succeeds in this exam will be valued by the court. As long as they don't make any mistakes, they will have a bright future. If they have the support of the Huo family and Southern Qi, it is possible that within three to five years, the fake Zhu Xiyan will be able to rise to the top and hold an important position of power.
With the Huo family helping to cover up, no one would doubt an official who was admitted through his own ability. After ten or eight years, who knows what position Zhu Xiyan will reach? By then, this spy will be buried deeper than Ming Ke in Beiling back then.
Liang Guangyi had obviously thought of this as well, and couldn't help but sneer, "Nie Xuan is quite calculating."
The atmosphere in the room was solemn, and it was Tang Ning who spoke.
"Zhu Xiyan, I will have this matter thoroughly investigated and give you an explanation. You should take good care of your injuries during this period. If anything happens, please tell the people who are taking care of you."
Zhu Xiyan quickly struggled to stand up and bowed to Tang Ning with gratitude.
Tang Ning waved his hand and ordered someone to help him: "Take Mr. Zhu down to rest, and tell someone to take good care of him. Don't treat him lightly."
"Yes, my lady."
After Zhu Xiyan was taken away, Liang Guangyi raised his eyes and asked, "How does the Queen want to deal with this matter?"
Tang Ning frowned slightly. "Although it's quite possible that Nan Qi took action, and Nie Xuan is also capable of such a thing, Zhu Xiyan's words alone are not enough to hold Nan Qi accountable."
Although Zhu Xiyan said that the impostor spoke the official language of Southern Qi, he was the only one who heard it. Moreover, there were many people who could understand the official language of Southern Qi, and it was not difficult to learn it if they were interested. Just relying on this point, those "mute slaves" who were caught and knew nothing about anything would only make a fool of themselves and bring shame upon themselves when they negotiated and questioned Southern Qi.
"And this incident wasn't necessarily caused by Nan Qi."
Tang Ning said, "Southern Qi has just experienced war, and after Nie Xuan ascended the throne, he allocated several cities as compensation to Wei, along with a large amount of gold and silver, which almost emptied the Southern Qi treasury. Now Southern Qi's internal losses are even greater than Wei's. If Nie Xuan was smart, he would know that at this time he should not provoke Wei, but should curb his ambitions and rest and recuperate in order to plan for the future."
"I always feel that this matter was handled a little too roughly."
The new emperor of Southern Qi, Nie Xuan, was able to climb up to the throne step by step from being an abandoned child in the cold palace. His mind must be deeper than anyone else. If he really wanted to do this, he should have done it more cautiously. Not to mention other things, just talk about the person who pretended to be Zhu Xiyan.
Southern Qi was a vast country, and it was also a country rich in scholars. Its education in literature was even better than that of Wei. Couldn't they find someone whose ability was as good as Zhu Xiyan?
If someone really wanted to impersonate someone, he could just find someone capable to take the exam directly. As long as he could get the first place based on his own ability, and not resort to such an extremely risky method as cheating to alert anyone, it would be safer to sneak into the court without anyone noticing, wouldn't it?
Cao Dejiang nodded when he heard this: "Your Majesty is right, but it could also be because we can't find someone who has both the ability and looks like Zhu Xiyan."
Zhu Xiyan was able to take the top spot in the preliminary examination, which showed that he was very capable. He had also met Mr. Huo and the others. If his appearance was too different from theirs, he would not be able to gain the trust of the Huo family. Even if Mr. Huo could not show favoritism after he saved him, he would certainly pay attention to him in private. He would know about his family background, his past, and maybe even the poems, songs, and classics he wrote in the academy.
Those people wanted to impersonate him and join the Huo family. The similar appearance was one of the reasons, and their "ability" could not be too different from Zhu Xiyan's.
The handwriting and writing style have to be similar, so it is not ruled out that this is the only way because they couldn't find a suitable person at the moment.
Tang Ning paused after hearing this and sighed softly: "Anyway, no matter what, if we can't find the culprit after a thorough investigation, it will most likely end up with nothing."
It would be fine if other clues could be found from those mute slaves and imposters. It would be best if the culprit was someone else. She would then have the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple punish him severely. But if it was really Nan Qi who did it as they suspected, then they could not question Nan Qi, and the clues would probably end there.
Southern Qi would never admit it, so Zhu Xiyan’s loss would be in vain.
Cao Dejiang held the paper Zhu Xiyan had written on and said, "Although Zhu Xiyan's handwriting is a little weak due to his injury, it can be seen that his handwriting is excellent. Moreover, he won the first place in the preliminary examination and was valued by Mr. Huo. He is obviously an extremely good candidate."
“What a pity…”
Not only did he miss the last major exam and be unable to take the palace examination, but he also suffered such a great punishment in vain. He might not even be able to find the culprit. He was really unlucky.
Cao Dejiang asked with some regret, "My Lady, what about Zhu Xiyan's injury?"
Tang Ning pursed her lips and said, "The imperial physician said that my throat was injured and I might not be able to speak anymore."
This time, not to mention Cao Dejiang, even Liang Guangyi, who has always been hard-hearted, felt a little sympathy.
Tang Ning said, "I will ask Madam Qin to check on him. If he can be cured, that would be the best. Although he missed the big test, I will find a way to test him and find someone to find out his background and use him as appropriate. If he cannot be cured, I will also find a way to properly place him and give him some compensation."
Logically, this matter had nothing to do with the imperial court, but Zhu Xiyan had indeed suffered an unexpected disaster. A person with outstanding abilities was wasted in vain, and Tang Ning also felt it was a pity.
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