The sage did not let him stand up, but raised his hand and asked the eunuch to present him a stack of poems.
"I have recently acquired some new poems and essays. Lord Mu is very knowledgeable and talented. Please take a look at them for me to see if they are well written."
"Yes." Mu Cong also took the poems respectfully, opened them and took a look, then broke out in a cold sweat. He forced himself to remain calm and read the poems one by one without missing a word.
The sage glanced at him and asked, "What do you think, Lord Mu?"
Mu Cong also replied: "Extraordinary literary talent."
The sage then had the eunuch present him with a set of answers. Mu Cong refused to take them, but fell to the ground and apologized, saying, "Your Majesty, there is no need to look at them again. These were all written by the same person."
"Oh? But I remember you testified on Zhao Xiu's behalf, saying he got the test papers from Du Hui and asked someone else to answer them for him." The sage's eyes were dry and he couldn't help but squint. "Lord Mu, you are deceiving the emperor."
Mu Cong also kowtowed and said, "I am guilty, and I hope Your Majesty will show mercy." Today in the court, Lin Qinnian and the Dali Temple Minister agreed to re-examine the fraud case. He knew that this matter could not be covered up, but he did not expect it to come so soon.
"For the crime of deceiving the emperor, for framing court officials, and for disrupting the imperial examination, all three must be punished together. Count them, are your Mu family's heads enough to be offered to the executioner?"
"I... I am guilty of the death penalty. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and spare my family." Ever since he got involved in this matter, Mu Cong knew that he could not escape unscathed, except that his wife and daughter were innocent.
"Master Mu, do you know that when a nest is overturned, no egg remains intact?"
"I know."
"I think your daughter knows more than you do. Your little family is my home, and my kingdom is also my home. If the Mu Mansion is in danger, your wife and daughter will be in danger. If the kingdom collapses, how can the people of the world survive? You are a husband, a father, a minister, and a son. Don't forget who supports you just because you have a sinecure."
Mu Cong felt his face burning. He kowtowed and said, "I am ashamed." Then he suddenly realized, "Your Majesty just said that my daughter..."
The sage then asked the eunuch to present the letter written by Mulan Jing to Xu Jiang to Mu Cong.
Mu Cong also read it, and tears streamed down his face. He then pleaded with the sage, "Your Majesty, all the mistakes and sins are due to me. I am willing to die as an apology. I only ask Your Majesty to spare the life of my wife."
Seeing him weeping so deeply, the sage sighed and said, "It's easy for a king to kill someone, but it's difficult to cultivate a talented person. Although you are now serving in a sinecure, I still remember your achievements when I sent you abroad, and you were praised by the people. Even for your merit in making the young lady understand the righteousness and voluntarily hand over the evidence, I will spare your life."
"I thank Your Majesty for your mercy."
"Don't be so quick to thank me. Although the death penalty can be avoided, the crime of living is not so easy to be forgiven."
Mu Cong also hurriedly bowed and said, "I will leave it to you to deal with. I am willing to atone for my crime with my merits in exchange for the safety of my wife and daughter."
Talking to a wise person is a relief. The sage breathed a sigh of relief, and the pent-up anger in his heart finally dissipated a little. "Then I will wait and see."
The next day when the court went to court, all the officials were listless and yawning continuously. It seemed that copying scriptures really could calm the mind.
The saint was full of energy and his face was flushed.
"Do the ministers have anything to report?"
"Your Majesty..." Minister Wang swallowed a yawn and said with difficulty, "I have a memorial."
"I have something to report!" A sonorous and powerful voice drowned out Minister Wang's voice. He looked up and saw that it was Lin Qinnian.
The saint raised his hand, "Yes."
Lin Qinnian presented the memorial in his hand, which also included an article, to the eunuch. He then knelt and said, "Your Majesty, on behalf of Lu Zhen, an orphan who was abducted and sold by kidnappers, I submit this letter of apology."
"Letter of apology? Bring it here for me to see." The saint waved to the eunuch and urged him. The eunuch stepped forward quickly and presented the memorial and the letter of apology to the saint.
The memorial contained Lin Qin's chronological table of the relationship between Lu Zhen and the kidnapper case. The writing was concise and clear, and one could understand the whole story at a glance.
Looking at the letter of apology again, the handwriting is still immature, but it has already formed a structure, and the structure and brushstrokes are obviously imitating the painting "An old horse in the stable, with a thousand miles to go" hanging in the inner hall.
After reading the content again, the saint was stunned.
After he finished reading, he remained silent for a long time. Then he pointed to one of the court officials and ordered, "Minister Luo, come and read this letter of apology to the ministers."
"I obey your order." The Minister of Revenue was a little confused, but he still stepped forward to take the letter of apology and read it out:
"Respectfully paying homage to the Saint: My little boy, Lu Zhen, then nine years old, confesses his sins to the Saint.
The Yellow River flooded, and all his parents died, his ancestral hall was destroyed, and his entire hometown was lost. Jin lived alone, which was a crime of unfilial piety.
He trusted the kidnapper and was deceived by him. He saw him kidnapping innocent people, killing them and leaving their bodies exposed in the wild. He failed to rescue them. This is his second crime of being unkind.
Jin followed the kidnapper into the capital, seeking an opportunity to escape, which alarmed the government and caused unrest. This was his third crime of disrespecting his superiors.
In his quest for justice, Jin brought the case to justice, implicating his superiors and imposing a heavy sentence on the kidnapper, thus convicting his superiors. This is the fourth crime of injustice..."
The Minister of Revenue could not continue reading.
The sage asked, "Why don't you continue? Read."
The Minister of Revenue continued reading, "In summary, the superior is innocent; the fault lies with the child. Please, Your Majesty, punish him. Lu Zhen... bows in tears."
"The superior is innocent, the fault lies with the child." The sage's eyes were cold as he addressed the ministers, "What are your thoughts on this?"
The ministers were silent.
After a while, Liu Yannian angrily said, "What crime have you committed?"
The Minister of Justice echoed, "If Shangguan and the child are guilty, then what about the kidnapper? Could the kidnapper have even been guilty? If this matter were to get out, wouldn't it embolden the kidnapper and severely damage public morale?"
Many officials in the Ministry of Justice have been criticized recently, and the Minister of Justice is also feeling very angry.
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