Chapter 140: I Hope to Retake the Exam
The Imperial Examination Hall of Yuzhou.
The Sixteenth Prince stormed in, kicking the chief examiner, Lord Luo, the first thing he did.
Lord Luo was in excruciating pain from that kick, but he didn't dare utter a sound. He quickly explained the situation, his forehead covered in sweat.
The two deputy examiners beside him, Prefect Zhao of Yuzhou and Education Commissioner Fang of Yuzhou, also looked very grim.
They had high hopes for the twenty candidates from Taohua County, especially Zhao Yunjing. They originally thought that even if not all of them passed the imperial examination, half of them would be a great achievement. If someone made it to the metropolitan examination and the palace examination and even entered the first class, that would be an unexpected surprise.
Before I could even see the unexpected joy, a shock came first.
From the moment the examinee was found to have cheat sheets, to the moment he began implicating the examinees in the adjacent examination rooms, both of their hearts sank. When Zhao Yunjing confessed that he was also a suspect and demanded that the authorities arrest him for a thorough interrogation, their hearts sank to the bottom, and they could not get up again.
Prefect Zhao glanced at the Sixteenth Prince, but before the Sixteenth Prince could say anything, the Deputy Examiner, Lord Hu, spoke first: "Lord Zhao, are you dissatisfied?"
The Sixteenth Prince immediately looked over: "What objections does Lord Zhao have?"
After cursing Lord Hu's ancestors in his heart, Lord Zhao replied, "Your Highness, I have no objections. Although the imperial examination is not under my jurisdiction, I am the prefect of Yuzhou Prefecture and I am here today, so I should be able to say a few words."
"Oh, then tell me, what do you think of today's events?"
"Your Highness, it doesn't matter what I think, the important thing is how to handle it. In my opinion, the results of all the candidates in Peach Blossom County should be invalidated."
Lord Fang stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, my opinion is that the candidate with substantial evidence of cheating should be interrogated on the spot. As for the others, they should also be interrogated one by one. In addition, since one person was able to bring in the note, it means that others must have brought it in as well. We must investigate thoroughly. If it is found that any candidates other than those from Taohua County have cheated, then the results of all the candidates in our Yuzhou Academy this year will naturally be invalidated.”
“That’s right, Your Highness. The imperial examination is a serious matter used by the imperial court to select talents. It is a matter of utmost importance, concerning the future of our Great Liang Kingdom. It must be thoroughly investigated!”
Are all candidates' scores invalidated?
Lord Hu's expression changed slightly: "Your Highness, this is not appropriate. In the hundreds of years since the founding of our Great Liang Kingdom, there has never been a case where the scores of all the candidates in the entire province's education system were invalidated. Why don't we expel the cheaters from the examination hall and keep the scores of the rest?"
"Are you teaching me how to do things?"
"This humble official dares not!"
The Sixteenth Prince pursed his lips, ignoring Lord Hu, and strode forward, saying, "Investigate the entire area thoroughly. Also, where is Zhao Yunjing? I want to see him!"
Lord Luo quickly followed up: "He is currently locked up in his own examination room. We have already checked it and found no suspicious notes in his room. We have also searched him and found nothing that could prove he cheated."
There are four rows of examination rooms on the left, with thirty rooms in each row. Zhao Yunjing is in the last room of the third row.
Inside the examination room, Zhao Yunjing was resting with his eyes closed. At first, the students in the examination rooms on both sides could still discuss loudly, and some even asked him if he was stupid. But after the government officials arrived, everyone fell silent, afraid of being dragged out as an example. However, they dared not make a sound, kicking stools and punching walls in the examination room, but the officials outside did not care.
Hearing the thumping sounds coming from next door, Zhao Yunjing didn't open his eyes; instead, he felt sleepy.
"Zhao Yunjing!" the neighbor shouted, "If you don't want to take the exam, fine, but why are you ruining it for us? Everyone in Peach Blossom County is still young; you can try again in three years if your results are cancelled this year! But I'm already thirty! If I fail this year, I won't have the money to take the exam again! I'm just a poor scholar; I can't even support myself, let alone my wife, children, and elderly parents... Waaaaah..."
Then came a burst of wailing; it was clear that she had completely broken down.
The older brother next door was also unlucky. His family was poor, and he started taking the exam at the age of eighteen. Every time, his whole family had to borrow money to send him to the exam. This year was his fourth time taking the exam. In the past, he was just a little bit away from making the list. This year, from entering the exam room to finishing, he felt as if he had divine help and thought he would definitely succeed. Unexpectedly, something went wrong, and his results were facing cancellation!
"Heaven is unjust! Heaven is unjust!"
Sun Xiucai's words stirred up the most distressed emotions in everyone's hearts. For a moment, the examination room was filled with shouts of "Heaven's justice is injustice!" The officials were completely overwhelmed.
At that moment, a male voice came from outside: "If Heaven is unjust, the imperial court will restore justice to you!"
"It's the Sixteenth Prince! The Sixteenth Prince has arrived!"
"Sixteenth Prince, we have studied diligently for ten years to reach this examination hall. We cannot afford to fail now!"
"We beg Your Highness to uphold justice!"
"Yes, Your Highness, we weren't the ones who cheated, so why should we be punished along with them!"
"The students from Peach Blossom County have already been admitted, and they all claim they cheated. Just cancel their scores, and keep ours!"
"Yes! The people from Peach Blossom County said before they entered that everyone had to come in, so they must have made arrangements with the examiners. Maybe there's evidence in their examination room!"
The Sixteenth Prince, with a cold face, replied, "If all twenty candidates in Peach Blossom County cheated, how will you prove your innocence?"
"We will die—"
"Is this how scholars squander their lives? If so, then there's no point in the court recruiting you! There's no need to eliminate you at this stage! What do you say, Young Master Zhao?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Sixteenth Prince arrived at the entrance of the examination room, and the officials quickly opened the door.
When Zhao Yunjing heard the commotion outside, he disassembled the bed into a table. He was sitting at the table now, looking calm: "What does Your Highness want to hear me say?"
"Whatever Young Master Zhao wishes to say, I will listen to."
"None of my nineteen classmates cheated."
"If you didn't cheat, why are you admitting to cheating?"
"Put yourself in a desperate situation and you will survive."
"That's a novel way of putting it. What are you trying to achieve by putting on this show?"
Zhao Yunjing straightened his expression and said, "As far as I know, candidates who cheat in the imperial examinations will have their family members for three generations stripped of the right to participate in the imperial examinations. This policy is not wrong in itself, but I believe that the final result of the official investigation should be the determination of whether or not cheating occurred."
"That's natural, but it has no direct connection to the behavior of you twenty people today."
"The candidate who was caught cheating, without any substantial evidence or witnessing it firsthand, simply claimed to have heard that my two classmates colluded with the officials and accused them of cheating as well. This led to my two classmates being labeled as 'cheating' and ruining their futures. I believe that if someone can be destroyed with just a few words, then our Great Liang Kingdom's system for selecting talent is far too lax and fragile."
"so?"
"We, the twenty of us, are willing to retake the exam to clear our names. As for the questions, we'll leave it to the Sixteenth Prince."
"A retake? Can you represent the other nineteen people?"
"able."
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