Chapter 22: Gongyuan Why Don’t You Go to Heaven?
The quiet place that Xie Xuanlan mentioned was a farm outside the city. Sometimes when he returned to the city before curfew, he would stay in the farm, which was considered his private residence.
Cong Ying was silent for a long time, then asked him, "Why did the Third Young Master help me?"
Xie Xuanlan refused to admit it. "Don't be so self-indulgent. I'm doing this for official business. You have nothing to do with this matter, and getting involved is just interfering with the investigation—"
Before he could finish his words, Cong Ying suddenly knelt in front of him and grabbed his sleeve.
Her warm knuckles clasped his sleeves, and the warmth of her palms, as well as her anxious and panicked emotions, were transmitted to him like an electric current through the fabric of his clothes.
Xie Xuanlan stared at her hand in amazement as he heard her say, "I've offended the Third Young Master many times in the past, and it was my fault. However, today, the Jiang family's safety is at stake, and I can't remain unscathed. I have no recourse but to ask the Third Young Master to put aside past grudges and clear the Jiang family's name. Once this matter is resolved, I will be at your disposal."
Xie Xuanlan looked up at her, his eyes as sharp as a knife, sweeping across her face inch by inch, trying to figure out how much of her words were sincere, how much were tests, and how much were exploitations.
Suddenly, Xie Xuanlan curled his lips and said, "What are you talking about? What do you mean by clearing the Jiang family's name? Do you think this matter has anything to do with my Xie family?"
Ying did have this doubt in her heart.
This spring examination is presided over by your Excellency and supervised by Prime Minister Xie. Although Jiang Congjing is an inconspicuous candidate, if something goes wrong, it can affect both forces at the same time.
However, Cong Ying is still not sure whether the person behind the scenes is your master or Prime Minister Xie.
She lowered her eyes and didn't look at him: "How could I doubt the Third Young Master when he helped me like this?"
Xie Xuanlan thought to himself, this is not the first time that a dog has bitten Lu Dongbin.
He asked, "Are you going to come with me, or do you have any other plans?"
Cong Ying paused for a moment and said, "The cheating happened in the Imperial Examination Hall. I would like to ask the Third Young Master to take me in to investigate."
Xie Xuanlan scoffed: "Want to enter the tribute hall? Why don't you want to go to heaven?"
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Xie Xuanlan strode into the tribute hall with his head held high.
Cong Ying huddled in a loose official robe, pretending to be a clerk assisting in the investigation, and followed Xie Xuanlan closely. After passing through numerous guards, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie Xuanlan slowed down his pace and said to her, "Jiang Congjing is imprisoned in the Dali Temple. Before he is tortured into confessing, the Imperial Examination Hall should not be noticed. Where do you want to start the investigation?"
Cong Ying said, "If my cousin didn't cheat, the trick must have happened before or after the exam was copied. I want to go to the copying room first and take a look."
Xie Xuanlan nodded, turned around and walked east, with Cong Ying following closely behind him with his head down.
Emperor Fengqi ordered a thorough investigation into Jiang Congjing's fraud case, and the Imperial Examination Hall was almost sealed off at the same time.
There were two groups of guards blocking the Imperial Examination Hall. One was the Left Guard of the Imperial Guard, one of the Twenty-Four Guards. They were usually responsible for maintaining order in Yunjing, but were now assisting the Ministry of Justice in handling the case. The other group was the Imperial Guard, dispatched from the palace and under the command of the Grand Eunuch Xue Huanjin, who had been invited by the Supreme Court. Just as your Lordship and the Prime Minister were at odds, so, too, were the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice at odds.
The commander of the left guard of the palace army once served under Xie Xuanlan. When the guards of the palace army saw Xie Xuanlan, they respectfully asked how the third young master was and then withdrew, never saying anything or even glancing at him.
The imperial guards in the palace were difficult to dismiss. Ying's sharp eyes scrutinized Cong Ying. Seeing them trying to break into the transcription room, he stepped forward to stop them, saying, "No one is allowed to enter without Inspector Xue's order."
"Is it me, a stranger?"
Xie Xuanlan smiled coldly, beckoned the imperial guard to come forward, and slapped him to the ground with his scabbard.
The remaining few imperial guards moved their feet, and the left guards of the palace army flashed their long swords. Seeing the disparity in strength, the imperial guards retreated obediently.
The noise startled the transcriptionists in the transcription room, who all leaned out to look. Xie Xuanlan rushed in as they stared sideways, shouting, "The Fengchen Guards are searching for evidence. Everyone, get out and stand in the courtyard."
The imperial guards couldn't afford to offend this person, so the transcribers didn't dare to say anything. They stood up and walked out one after another.
Cong Ying hid behind Xie Xuanlan in a low-key manner and couldn't help but whisper, "Third Young Master, aren't we being too arrogant?"
Xie Xuanlan: "Why, are you still afraid of causing trouble?"
Cong Ying nodded doubtfully: "What if I'm discovered to be..."
"So what if we're discovered? I brought you in, so I can naturally take care of it for you," Xie Xuanlan said dismissively. "Besides, the more cautious and fearful you are, the more likely you are to get into trouble. Isn't that the case with your Jiang family?"
In order to withdraw from the party struggle and avoid disaster, they even took the initiative to cancel Xie's engagement. However, the times did not let the Jiang family go. One man-made disaster after another happened, and they were about to be forced into a corner with no way to retreat.
Cong Ying heard his ridicule, remained silent, and turned to look into the transcription room.
The transcription room faces east and west, is deep and narrow, with six desks for transcribing examination papers on each of the north and south sides. On each desk are two stacks of examination papers, the left side is the ink paper written by the examinees, and the right side is the red paper transcribed by the transcriber.
At the innermost side of the room stood a long desk where the inspector sat.
He walked from Ying all the way to the long desk, sat in the inspector's seat and looked down, his eyes lingering on each desk and examining it.
She looked at the desk, and Xie Xuanlan looked at her from the side. Her thoughts were like vine branches after rain, growing aimlessly.
In fact, he shouldn't have brought Jiang Congying to the Imperial Examination Hall.
Everyone knew that there was something fishy about this case. His father, Prime Minister Xie, had advised him to "just arrest people and don't get involved". He had wanted to intercept Jiang Congying and send her out of the city to protect her from being implicated. However, this person became more and more demanding and shameless, and no matter how he persuaded her, she insisted on coming to the Imperial Examination Hall unreasonably.
What did she say then?
"In my heart, the Third Young Master is always the red-robed knight who saved me from the sea of fire. I dare not trust anyone else but you. I beg the Third Young Master to take me to the Imperial Examination Hall."
Then she grabbed his sleeve and refused to let go, with reddened nose and eyes, looking anxious and about to cry, which was completely different from her current cold and indifferent expression.
Tsk, he really lost his mind with such a simple trick.
Xie Xuanlan suddenly spoke up, "That day at the Tianxin Teahouse, you said I betrayed you. How did you settle that score?"
Cong Yingzheng walked to the desk on the lower left, holding the ink scroll and paused: "...I didn't say that."
"Do you want me to arrest that Shopkeeper Ji and confront him?"
"Hey, don't," Cong Ying changed the subject abruptly: "Third Master, I found the original scroll of my eldest cousin. Come and take a look at this."
Xie Xuanlan: "I am only responsible for arresting people, not investigating cases."
Having said that, he still took the test paper handed to him by Ying.
When the Minister of Rites discovered the treasonous red-copied scroll, he had already opened the sealed hemp binding to identify the original author. Xie Xuanlan unfolded the scroll and saw Jiang Congjing's name clearly written on the rightmost title.
Xie Xuanlan asked, "Is this his handwriting?"
Cong Ying said, "Yes."
Xie Xuanlan raised his eyebrows: "Oh, then he's finished, you'd better run."
"No hurry, Third Young Master, please take a look," Cong Ying said, pointing to the preface "Bing Chou Er" in the lower left corner of the test paper. "This stack of test papers was numbered Bing when it was bound. It should have been copied by the transcriber at the third desk from the left, but for some reason it ended up in the hands of the transcriber at the first desk from the left. The test papers these two transcribers were assigned were swapped."
She lowered her voice slightly and leaned close to Xie Xuanlan's ear, "Just now, when I was sitting in the Inspector's seat and looking down, the first desk on the left was partially blocked by the incense burner. Unless I deliberately leaned forward, it would have become an obstruction to my view."
Her voice was soft and gentle, like the fluttering of a cicada's wings beside the ear, and her gossamer breath stirred a rustling itch.
Xie Xuanlan calmly took a half step back. Although his eyes were fixed on the paper scroll, what appeared before his eyes were the fragrance of pomegranate teeth and cherry petals on lips.
He took a deep breath and took another half step back.
Then he asked, "Do you suspect the transcriber switched the transcribed test papers in order to tamper with Jiang Congjing's?"
Cong Ying nodded: "Yes."
Xie Xuanlan: "Although it makes sense, it is not enough to prove it."
Suddenly, he seemed to notice something, frowned, and after comparing Jiang Congjing's test paper with the test papers of other candidates in the same exam, he said, "The color of the interleaving seal is wrong."
According to the rules, after the test papers of the candidates are collected, they should first be bound, numbered, and saddle-stamped by the Chief Examination Institute, and then handed over to the transcription room for transcription. Only then can the transcribed red papers be handed over to the Hanlin academicians for review.
However, the indigo color of the interline seal on Jiang Congjing's test paper is darker, and it is obviously not formed by the same seal.
Cong Ying leaned in again, "The texture of the paper is also different. Although they're all gold-sprinkled Beijing exam papers, my cousin's paper feels sturdier and crisper, and the handwriting is less smudged. The other candidates' paper, on the other hand, feels softer and has more smudged handwriting."
Xie Xuanlan thought for a moment and understood what she meant: "During the Spring Examination period, Yunjing was covered in snow and fog."
The actual papers collected from the Spring Examination Hall had become softer and more susceptible to smudging due to the humid environment. Jiang Congjing's paper, however, had been stored too dry.
Xie Xuanlan's years of martial arts training had calloused his fingertips, and his perception of the texture of paper was clearly not as sharp as Cong Ying's. His eyes couldn't help but fall on Cong Ying's knuckles, and he thought: So her hands are so delicate and sensitive.
Cong Ying's eyebrows curved. "Taken together, can these pieces of evidence prove that my cousin's test paper was replaced?"
Xie Xuanlan nodded. "There's a chance. I'll arrest the Inspector and the Transcriber for questioning."
He turned and walked out of the transcription room, and the tension in Ying's heart relaxed a little.
As long as it can be proved that Jiang Congjing's test paper was replaced and that he was not the one who eavesdropped on the emperor's words and plagiarized and provoked others, the Jiang family would not be charged with disrespect and be implicated by him for no reason.
As for the deeper truth, where Jiang Congjing's original scroll was, and what would happen to his fame, it was not Congying's concern. Fortunately, the Minister of Rites did not take the scroll with him, Congying thought, otherwise she would really have nowhere to find clues.
After she pulled out Jiang Congjing's test paper, she sorted out the other test papers of the same edition along the gaps left when they were bound with hemp rope. She was about to turn around to look for Xie Xuanlan, but suddenly her mind moved and she turned back.
Cong Ying held down the right end of the stack of test papers with one hand to align the gaps left when binding them, and with the other hand twisted the left ends of the test papers one by one.
As a result, the interleaving seals on each test paper were not aligned and were misaligned.
Her pupils shrank slightly, and she tried to align the saddle print on the left end, but found that the gap left by the binding on the right end had shifted up and down again, and could not be strung together with the twine at the same time.
How could this be...
Cong Ying looked at Jiang Congjing's test paper again, and suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.
At this moment, Xie Xuanlan returned from her journey. A deep voice rang out from behind her: "The transcriber who transcribed the examination paper for Jiang Congjing has hanged himself."
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