Seeing Zeng Zhui shivering violently, Liang Mo quickly went to find a towel to wipe him dry, then found a thin blanket to cover him, and then went to the kitchen to pour him a bowl of ginger tea.
Xu Jiang stood there in a daze, her hands and feet feeling weak. After a long while, she came to her senses and asked, "Do you know where Zhaoyue is?"
Zeng Zhui's complexion improved after he finished drinking the ginger tea. "If he's not in the palace, then he's in the Dali Temple. Although Lord Lou was banned from the Imperial Examination Hall, he had no contact with Zhao Xiu, so it's not a big deal. Brother Lou has not been implicated."
Xu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Lou Yunchun was not implicated, she could still find out the truth and save something.
But how do we investigate this case?
Zhao Xiu did not hesitate to destroy himself and falsely accused Du Hui of leaking the exam questions. As long as he insisted on his claim, no matter whether the matter was true or false, and whether there was evidence or not, it would be impossible for Du Hui to deny his involvement. He might even have to sacrifice Yuan Zuzhi.
Facing the bloody court struggle for the first time, Xu Jiang felt terrified. She paced back and forth, a little panicked, "What should I do?"
What should they do to save Mr. Du and Mr. Yuan?
Zeng Zhui's eyes were reddened as tears welled up. "What can we do? We can only wait." He wiped his face and said hopefully, "I just hope Brother Lou can quickly find evidence to prove my innocence, or at least... save my life."
Xu Jiang's mind was in a turmoil. She paced back and forth anxiously. "Evidence? They used the imperially appointed third place scholar to set up this scheme. How could there be any evidence left? Besides, this is a murder by words scheme. Whether there is evidence or not is no longer important. Those nobles have instigated the officials to impeach me. With pen and paper, right and wrong are reversed. How can we still speak of innocence?"
Zeng Zhui said hoarsely, "So we're just going to watch them suffer? Officials implicated in imperial examination fraud will face minor punishments like demotion or dismissal. If proven guilty, they could face the death penalty."
The death penalty, a wave of fear surged in Xu Jiang's heart. She pinched her palms and forced herself to calm down.
Don't panic, don't panic! The incident has already happened, and panicking won't solve any problems.
Xu Jiang exhaled deeply and said calmly, "Let's not panic for now. Don't overthink things. If they could prove it, they wouldn't have gone to such great lengths."
She comforted Zeng Zhui, and also comforted herself, "Now Zhao Xiu is relying on only his one-sided statement, without any real evidence. Similarly, as long as Mr. Du denies his crime, no one can sentence him to death."
Xu Jiang calmed down and thought carefully. What good would it do them to force Du Hui to death? Du Hui was stubborn and had a reputation for being upright. There was no concrete evidence at the moment. If he was forced into a corner and died to prove his innocence, no one would benefit.
Considering their position, the best outcome of this matter would be for Du Hui to be demoted or dismissed from his post.
Only when people are alive and used as targets can their dirty water be effective, and only then can they shake the confidence of candidates all over the world in the new imperial examination system, and thus pry open the coffin of the old system.
After understanding this, Xu Jiang felt much more at ease. Furthermore, Lou Yunchun had said that the ultimate goal of these aristocratic families was to restore the old system, and that restoring the old system would be impossible unless the world turned upside down. The implication was that the heart of the sage was on their side.
In other words, as long as Du Hui is not in danger of his life, he will still have room to turn things around in the future.
Zeng Zhui was not a fool, on the contrary he was very smart. He was just panicked for a moment. After hearing what Xu Jiang said, he calmed down and then sneezed loudly.
Xu Jiang quickly asked Liang Mo to go to the rice shop next door to ask Manager Wang to borrow a set of clean clothes for him to change into. Then she sent Liang Mo back home, closed the door, and sat down with Zeng Zhui to discuss countermeasures.
After they sat down, Xu Jiang remembered someone and hurriedly asked, "Where is Zhuchun? How is he?"
As a disciple of Yuan Zuzhi and the new top scholar, he is likely to be affected this time.
Zeng Zhui said, "Brother Zhuchun is also in the Imperial Examination Hall right now. Not only him, but all the new Jinshi are also in the Imperial Examination Hall, waiting for re-examination."
Xu Jiang's heart was in suspense. "Or is it the Ministry of Rites' examination?"
Zeng Zhui shook his head, "I heard that the sage himself set the questions and answered them in front of the palace."
"when?"
"tomorrow."
"What about Zhao Xiu?"
"I am imprisoned in Wutai with my teacher and am not allowed to consult."
"There's still room for maneuver." Xu Jiang pondered for a moment, a glint in her eyes as she slowly spoke, "If Zhu Chun passes the palace examination, he can plead for Mr. Du and Mr. Yuan. He's Mr. Yuan's student, and his poetry collection was proofread and printed by Mr. Du. His relationship with them is much closer than Zhao Xiu's. If we can prove that he won the top spot based on genuine talent and knowledge, even if we can't exonerate the gentlemen, we can at least make Zhao Xiu's slanderous remarks less credible. After all, we all rely on our mouths, and whoever speaks more reasonably will have the upper hand before the sage and the officials."
Zeng Zhui thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. "With Brother Zhuchun's talent, there will definitely be no problem." Then he said dejectedly, "But what can I do for the teacher?"
He has been like an ant on a hot pan these days, jumping up and down anxiously, but unable to do anything.
Xu Jiang fell into deep thought, thinking of countless ways in his mind, and finally made a bold decision.
Since this situation is a situation of verbal killing, then we should attack with words. The other party will build momentum, so why can't they do the same?
Xu Jiang knocked on the table and asked Zeng, "You've been in Beijing for so long. How many scholars do you know? Are you familiar with the students at the Imperial Academy?"
Zeng Zhui's eyes lit up, knowing she had an idea. "I have at least two hundred scholars I know. What do you think, Madam Xu?"
Xu Jiang sneered, "If they can build momentum, why can't we? You're already a talented student, a legitimate disciple of Mr. Du, and you were eligible to take the exam this year. It's only because of your ambition to win the prize that you've bided your time and studied under Mr. Du. In comparison, what's Zhao Xiu? He's Mu Congye's disciple, and Mu Congye and Mr. Du aren't close friends. If Mr. Du really wanted to miss a question, why would he go so far? Isn't it better to give it to you than to someone else?"
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