Injustice
Liu Chengzhi!
Isn't he the same person who passed the imperial examination with him this year, becoming the top scholar?
He had heard many rumors about Liu Chengzhi, including that besides his literary talent and outstanding appearance, there were also many stories of romance.
Everyone says the top scholar is a "social butterfly of Chang'an," a fact that terrifies both husband and wife. Yesterday, he fled in a panic, and even heard people on the road talking about Liu Chengzhi going to a brothel in broad daylight.
No wonder his wife is all alone out there!
Tang Zexue recalled how this person had smoothly entered the palace examination and topped the list. Remembering that her own exam paper had been switched, she felt a growing suspicion and a deep sense of injustice.
Seeing Liu Chengzhi's wife sitting there obediently, he felt a surge of anger.
He turned and walked away, saying, "I have nothing to say to you."
Liu Xu and Xie Lingxi exchanged a glance, neither of them expecting this turn of events. They quickly walked to the door and blocked his way, saying sternly, "Do you want innocent people to suffer night after night, unable to live in peace?"
Tang Zexue stopped in her tracks and looked at him coldly, "What do you know?"
Liu Xuxin sighed, "I really know nothing."
But at this moment, he pretended to know a lot and sighed, "Heaven is unjust. Virtuous people are despised, while treacherous villains sit firmly in the court."
"If you, Tang Ling Shuang, die by their hidden blades today, who will speak up for these innocent scholars in the future?"
Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, he felt that it was always right to try to understand Tang Zexue's predicament firsthand.
Sure enough, Tang Zexue softened her stance. "How will you help me?"
Liu Xu: "It depends on how much you're willing to tell me."
This was clearly a scam. Tang Zexue glared at him and was about to leave when she was stopped by a clear, calm voice.
Seeing that her kind words couldn't persuade him to stay or soften his heart, and recalling the image of him rushing towards her covered in blood, Xie Lingxi resolutely said, "Where can you go after you leave this door today?"
"How will they treat you? How should your classmates treat you? How should your teachers treat you?"
"What should be done about your mother?"
"Do you want her to be talked about behind her back, to be cursed in private for raising a wicked, harmful, corrupt, and treacherous scoundrel?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Zexue turned around and said resentfully, "I'm not."
Xie Lingxi coaxed, "You're not? But who knows you aren't? Who knows whose secret room you'll shed your blood in tomorrow? Only those wretched people hiding behind the scenes, who will rise to high positions next year, will utter your name in jest."
As soon as these words were spoken, Tang Zexue frowned in pain, her hands clenched into fists, her short fingernails digging into her flesh, staining it a deep red.
Its body was swaying precariously, like a crane on the verge of death.
Seeing him like this, Liu Xu quickly stepped forward to support him and kindly advised, "Ling Shuang, I also come from a poor family. In my youth, I had no learned scholars to teach me, so I could only copy scriptures from all over the place. I barely had enough to eat and wear, and I never wore any jewelry. How could I not know what you are thinking?"
Tang Zexue staggered and slumped down on the small couch beside her. "Lord Liu is joking. How could you possibly know what I'm thinking?"
He finally calmed down and told Xie Liu and the other person something shocking.
——
Last autumn, during the imperial examinations, several wealthy young men came to the village, waving gold-threaded fans and swaggering through the market. They found an inn and stayed there for half a month.
At that time, Tang Zexue was still a tribute student. When she passed by the inn with her writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, she overheard them talking.
It was just some "thousands of taels of gold," "ten strings of cash," or "writing on behalf of others," etc. Because his family was poor, he did some work copying books and stories for others and didn't take it seriously.
But one day, the question fell on him. The handsome young man pointed at him and said, "Hey, are you taking the exam too?"
Tang Zexue nodded.
"What's your name?" He paused. "I see you write quite well... Are these paintings over there for sale?"
Tang Zexue had just gotten medicine for her mother a few days ago and was short of money because she needed to buy writing materials for the provincial examination. Upon hearing this, she nodded quickly and answered all her questions. Sure enough, she saw that the wealthy young man generously buy all of her calligraphy and paintings, including some practice works.
Because the young man bought a lot, he subconsciously remembered his appearance, as well as the frail younger brother behind him with a scar between his eyebrows.
When the results were posted, he studied diligently day and night and indeed ranked among the top students.
After bidding farewell to his mother and heading to the capital for the imperial examination, he encountered the two young men again. Seeing their demeanor, he also seemed to be going to the capital for the examination, so he boldly asked them their names, hoping to make their acquaintance.
The young man with a scar between his eyebrows said his name was Chen Liufang.
Later, he failed the imperial examination and almost failed the palace examination. Fortunately, he was favored by an official who had appreciated him and became the magistrate of a poor and remote county. The newly appointed third-ranked scholar was none other than Chen Liufang.
To be honest, Chen Liufang was not very good-looking, and Tang Zexue had also wondered why the Emperor had chosen him as the third-ranked scholar.
Although he was depressed for a time, he eventually became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and now he has secured a minor post, so he packed his bags and took up his post.
But just recently, when he went to Beijing on business, he overheard Chen Liufang talking to someone, and the person opposite him said:
“I once read Lord Chen’s words, ‘When the source is still, the stream is clear; when the root is firm, the tree is lush,’ and it suddenly made me realize something. Although it’s from a different perspective than Cheng Zhi’s article, both are profound truths!”
Chen Liufang humbly replied, "You flatter me, sir. These are just some of my insights."
Tang Zexue stood behind the pillar, his blood frozen into icicles. It was clearly what he had written during the imperial examination! How could it have become Chen Liufang's essay!
Chen Liufang clearly saw him and gave him a deep smile.
Back at the inn, he couldn't sleep all night, tossing and turning over what he had heard during the day. The next day, as he was preparing to leave the capital in a state of unease, a group of imperial guards surrounded him, pointing directly at him as a suspect in the Qujiang case a few days ago.
Later, he was taken to the Dali Temple, ostensibly for interrogation, but in reality, he was subjected to severe torture. The methods were so cruel that he almost confessed to this fabricated crime.
But what does the attack on the students have to do with him? Who cares about the cheating in the imperial examinations?
He heard clearly even in his unconscious state that the scholar surnamed Chen had switched his exam paper, and his name appeared on the list of successful candidates in both the metropolitan and palace examinations! And it turned out that Chen was not the only one involved in this matter, nor was he the only unlucky person whose paper was switched!
Those involved in the cheating scandal were mostly sons of high-ranking officials and nobles. During the autumn imperial examinations, they would go to the countryside to specifically seek out poor and destitute students, imitate their handwriting, and bribe the examiners. This was a seamless operation that went unnoticed by anyone.
Among the several people attacked, some of them discovered the clues. The murderer originally intended to silence them, but unexpectedly ran into the gathering of young noblemen at Qujiang. The gathering at Lanting was crowded, and Qujiang was completely surrounded, so the murderer could only hastily carry out the attack.
And all of this now falls on Tang Zexue's shoulders alone.
They say he was blinded by greed, that he disregarded human life, and that he was just a peacock dreaming of becoming a phoenix.
Tang Zexue managed to escape and found the censor's residence, where she handed over the evidence she had found.
Mo Shen, courtesy name Jueqian, also came from a poor family. He only started studying hard in his twenties and later achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, eventually rising to his current position.
He was the most upright and incorruptible person in the court at that time.
Tang Zexue thought so.
He... can definitely help me clear my name.
Later, the bandits quickly discovered that he was missing and chased him to the dilapidated temple. He had lost too much blood and could not walk. Just as he was about to die after indulging in his verbal sparring, he encountered Xie Lingxi.
After saying that, Tang Zexue looked at Liu Xu with a deathly pale face: "You're lucky."
Liu Xu was furious when he heard this, and now he was almost in tears: "Brother Ling Shuang..."
"Fame, a mansion, a beautiful wife... you have it all, what more could you want?"
Liu Xu was still immersed in the emotions of hearing his tragic story when he heard this sentence and innocently let out an "Ah".
"I am truly content..."
"You abandoned your wife for a brothel right after your wedding, forgetting your reputation and associating with wicked men—"
Before he could finish speaking, Tang Zexue fired off a barrage of questions, "Don't you feel ashamed?"
Liu Xu: "Me associating with treacherous officials?"
At this point, Xie Lingxi understood half of what was being said, but still didn't quite grasp it. Was this the reason why he hadn't been willing to tell them in the first place?
Xie Lingxi asked slowly, "Evil and wicked... do you mean my Xie family?"
"The Xie family?"
Tang Zexue stood up in surprise, "You're Xie Lingjun's sister?"
Xie Lingxi sized him up, knowing it wasn't what she thought. "You know my brother?"
Fortunately, the Xie family had not yet been implicated at this time. She remembered that although this case had occurred in her previous life, Tang Zexue was still indignant and became the prefectural judge.
Therefore, even though the Xie family was later falsely accused of numerous crimes, this one was not among them—collusion with officials and rampant corruption.
Tang Zexue smiled gently, a rare occurrence for her: "When I first arrived in the capital, my travel expenses were robbed by bandits. It was Brother Xie who lent me money and helped me find a place to stay."
Xie Lingxi laughed: "He certainly loves to meddle in other people's business."
Seeing Tang Zexue looking at her with an ambiguous expression, Xie Lingxi remembered to defend Liu Xu: "Xu went to the brothel to handle a case. As for what evil people he associated with, I have no idea."
Liu Xu hurriedly said, "The brother of the new courtesan in Qilou is one of the candidates whose exam papers were switched. He is still recovering from his injuries and cannot go out. He asked me to find his sister and get something from her."
As he spoke, he revealed what he had hidden in his hand: half a fish-shaped jade pendant.
Exquisitely crafted and ornately designed, it must belong to a wealthy family.
"This is what he tore off the thug. He was the most seriously injured. He studied hard every day and never thought that he would fail the exam. After hearing what Ling Shuang said today, he seems to understand."
"Yesterday I went around and met a lot of people, hoping to try my luck and see if I could find the owner of the other half of the jade pendant. Perhaps I just happened to meet the culprit."
"I see." Tang Zexue smiled in realization. "Come to think of it, it was my own subjective assumption."
"Do you remember the young man you talked with in Ruyi Lane? He was pale and had very little beard... He was Chen Liufang's cousin, the one who bought all my literary works."
"I am willing to believe in these two gems, both of them are unpolished gold."
At this point, Tang Zexue's eyes shone brightly, as if a new flame had been ignited within them—
"How can you help me?"
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