Chapter 58: Mad Dog. He urgently needs to see He Zhi. Very, very urgently...
Pei Su had already found the evidence a long time ago, but he had been waiting for things to ferment. The more serious the situation became, the more effective the evidence he released would be, not to mention that he was injured because of it.
Pei Su was extremely cautious in his actions. If he was not absolutely sure, he would never go with the flow. Therefore, the evidence in Pei Ji's hands was solid and there was not a single lie.
Emperor An finished reading the letter he handed to him. He wanted to just glance over it, but the more he read, the more frightened he became.
Officials in the court always liked to promote their own students. He knew something about this matter, but he was unwilling to easily hold anyone accountable for the intricate relationship involved.
But who could tell him how he entered the examination room and achieved such a good ranking when even the candidate's identity was replaced by another one!
"It's ridiculous!"
"How could the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy do this? They didn't even notice these actions!"
Seeing Emperor An's furious expression, Pei Ji said calmly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. If someone does this, they must have made thorough preparations. It's possible that the officials were deceived. How will Your Majesty deal with this?"
"You! Personally lead your team to the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy to carefully compare all the examinees' answer sheets. Those who cheated will be temporarily detained, and the results will be released again after the results are corrected!"
Emperor An was extremely angry about this. It was human nature for officials to want to force their own people into the court, but if they dared to fool him like this, wouldn't it mean that they didn't take his Majesty seriously?
What's more, if it was just the court officials who were involved, it would be fine, but even the prince was interfering!
"I don't care what means you use, this matter must be resolved quickly!" Emperor An was full of anger, and his hands slammed heavily on the desk because of excessive anger.
Pei Ji naturally didn't dare to delay at this time. After hearing what he said, he immediately took the order and went to deal with it.
He didn't need to hint at things to Emperor An. Once the other party saw the evidence, he would naturally know who arranged and did what. If he said too much, it would backfire.
Since the matter fell to Pei Ji, it was naturally related to the entire Censorate. He immediately gathered people and took all his subordinates to the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy. Naturally, even the people from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy were not left out.
With His Majesty's oral order, the officials naturally did not dare to disobey and immediately laid out all the test papers, with the scores marked in small print on each paper.
Pei Ji had asked for the names of those candidates when the incident happened, so he would focus on their answer sheets. However, when he searched for the test papers according to the examination room, he did not find their test papers, but found them in other examination rooms instead.
It was obvious that someone took their test papers after the exam, replaced them with other people's papers, and swapped the grades.
Pei Ji collected all the problematic test papers with a cold face, and ordered the people from the Ministry of Justice of Jinyang to directly control all the invigilators and judges and put them into the prison of the Ministry of Justice.
"Pei Ji, what are you doing!"
"We are officials appointed by the imperial court! How dare you be so presumptuous as to use your power to imprison us in the Ministry of Justice!"
"I must report this matter to His Majesty!"
The officials who were imprisoned spoke in a very convincing manner. They were all censors and they scolded and cursed Pei Ji. Some of them were so angry that they sat down with their hands covering their chests.
Pei Ji certainly knew that not all of these officials were involved, but the matter was of great importance, so all the officials had to be involved.
He smiled and said, "Your innocence has not yet been verified, but His Majesty has said that this matter will be entirely handed over to me. I hope you can cooperate a little. Otherwise, if there is any false evidence, it may lead to your eternal damnation."
It's so obvious that they all know what to choose without further explanation.
Your Majesty is not a foolish ruler. The reason you locked them up now is simply because they are involved in this matter. Once the truth is found out, you will certainly release those who have nothing to do with this matter. Being anxious now will only make things worse.
Those who can enter the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy are all people with real talents and knowledge, and their minds are much more flexible. They can think things through in an instant and calm down.
Pei Ji was extremely satisfied with their tact, so he didn't say anything else and went into the palace to inform His Majesty of the matter.
Now that the truth is clear, all we have to do is find out who is behind it.
"I have already detained all the officials involved in the incident, and will release them after the investigation is thorough. It's just that..." Pei Ji seemed to be hesitant to speak. If he investigated further, he would find that it was the fifth prince who resorted to those methods.
"Just keep investigating." Emperor An said sternly, "If you're timid even about such a small matter, then what use is there for me to have you?"
Pei Ji frowned, "I understand."
This meant that he had to go ahead and investigate, no matter who was involved.
This is also the hope of candidates all over the world.
Pei Ji immediately cooperated with other departments to continue their work. Since he had solid evidence in his hands, he naturally had to bring the person who instigated the crime in for questioning.
He Yao was the first to bear the brunt.
He Yao was enjoying the attention of the foreign guests in the Marquis' Mansion. Before the smile on his face faded, he was blocked by the guards who suddenly appeared in the mansion.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, not knowing what had happened. Some guests wanted to leave but were stopped.
He Yao gritted his teeth as he watched Pei Ji approach slowly, but still didn't dare to say anything harsh to him. He only asked patiently, "Brother Yunzhou, what do you mean? Why did you suddenly bring guards with you?"
"His Majesty has ordered that all personnel involved in the cheating in the imperial examinations must be taken back and detained pending interrogation. Take them away!" Pei Ji was too lazy to say more to him and simply waved his hand to signal someone to take He Yao away.
"We're just here for a visit, so we should be able to leave, right?"
"This has nothing to do with us! Can we please leave? If I had known this would happen, I would never have come!"
"Yeah, who knew he would do such a thing? Cheating in the imperial examination, isn't that clearly courting death?"
The guests were talking about various things, and they looked at the He family with subtle eyes. As gentle and flattering as they had been just now, they now looked at them with disgust.
After all, no one dares to get involved with a criminal easily.
He Yao didn't even have the strength to struggle, and didn't even dare to scream, which showed that he knew he was not wronged.
Zhuang Hongxiu ignored all this and stepped forward to pull He Yao away, "Pei Ji! We are relatives after all, and you are so confused about right and wrong! When did my son do those things? Do you think you can convict him based on just a few words from you?"
Pei Ji didn't bother to look at her, and said in an extremely cold tone: "Your Majesty will decide what is right and wrong. You are trying to stop me, but do you want to go in with him?"
Zhuang Hongxiu's eyes were instantly bloodshot, and she wanted to rush forward and tear Pei Ji into pieces, but she didn't dare to do so, and she didn't dare to continue to pester him.
Pei Ji sneered and turned away.
He took He Yao away with the palace guards without hiding anything. In addition, it was the end of the year and many people visited each other, so the news spread like wildfire.
When the fifth prince learned about this, he smashed one of his favorite porcelain bottles in his house.
He Yao was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. As soon as he entered, he was surprised to find that many officials were imprisoned there. He took a quick look and felt a little relieved. He was afraid that they were all imprisoned because they had only a slight connection.
He just had to wait for the fifth prince to rescue him.
What's more, there is the Seventh Prince. If she doesn't want to end up marrying a foreign prince in the future, she must marry him. She will definitely not watch him being imprisoned.
In just one day, Pei Ji had imprisoned many officials. Those who knew about it went back to report to their families. Therefore, there were many people visiting Pei's residence today.
He Zhiliao and Qin Yurong sent away all those who came to plead for mercy. Now that they had some free time, they stayed in the house roasting sweet potatoes over the charcoal brazier. It was the best way to pass the time. The house was filled with the aroma of sweet potatoes, which was particularly sweet.
"Zhengjun, the doorman came to report that Miss Sun has arrived."
Sun Qin.
He Zhiliao paused his hand that was fiddling with the sweet potato. He could ignore other people, but he had a different relationship with Sun Qin, and he would feel uneasy if he didn't see her.
He nodded, and Yanhua went to invite him immediately.
Sun Qin came in hurriedly, but became nervous when she was about to enter the door. If she threatened him with her original feelings today, she would never find such a compatible friend in the future.
She was reluctant to do so, but news came from the palace that her father had been imprisoned, and this was done by Pei Ji, so she had to go to He Zhiliao to find out.
She stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and stepped in.
The heat and the sweet aroma of sweet potatoes instantly filled her face, making her feel inexplicably relieved. She walked to He Zhiliao with an extremely apologetic look on her face.
He Zhiliao raised his hand, and Xixin immediately brought a chair.
"Thank you." Sun Qin said in a low voice.
She has always liked the atmosphere around He Zhiliao. Even at this moment, this quiet atmosphere has never made her feel uncomfortable.
He Zhiliao raised his hand and gestured to Chunjian, who immediately bowed to Sun Qin, "Miss Sun, if you have something to say, please speak frankly."
Sun Qin glanced at He Zhiliao and said softly, "I'm asking for your father's help... but I'm not begging for mercy. I just want to ask, if you have nothing to do with this matter, will you be safe?"
This is a particularly interesting question.
If he had nothing to do with this matter, he would not be implicated. However, he still asked whether he could be safe and sound, which obviously showed that he did not trust the court officials in doing things.
This is enough to show that Lord Sun is usually very cautious, and he must have carefully reminded her many times not to get overly involved with those powerful families.
"Don't worry, Miss Sun. Our Fourth Master is an upright man. If this matter really has nothing to do with Lord Sun, he will come out of the Ministry of Justice safely." Xixin glanced at He Zhiliao's lips, then turned and spoke to her in a gentle voice.
"Then I feel relieved." Sun Qin smiled a little embarrassedly, and looked at him with extra caution, fearing that he would become estranged from her because of this.
After all, if sincerity involves interests, it can no longer be pure.
He Zhiliao didn't say much. He just put the roasted sweet potato into a bowl and handed her a piece. The skin was a little hot and would dirty her hands, so she could only peel it and eat it with a spoon.
Sun Qin breathed a sigh of relief, as long as he had no intention of distancing himself from her.
Now that the most important things were resolved, Sun Qin simply stayed here and roasted sweet potatoes with him, as if she was just here to visit him today.
She didn't say goodbye and leave until almost lunch.
As soon as Sun Qin left, He Zhiliao's thoughts drifted to Pei Ji again. She didn't know how he had been so ostentatious today that he had caused all these ladies to come to visit him and beg for mercy.
Did the cheating and falsification in the imperial examination involve so many people?
Although he was a little unconvinced, he believed Pei Ji.
The other party must have his reasons for doing that. I think he did it on purpose to show it to the real person behind the scenes. The more serious the incident becomes, the more scared the person behind the scenes will be.
Inside the Ministry of Justice.
Pei Ji was still staring at He Yao and interrogating him. He walked around He Yao with his long legs, his handsome and cold face expressionless, as if he found the sight of him dirty.
"Since I have brought you here, there must be sufficient evidence. As long as you confess the mastermind behind this, His Majesty will definitely spare your life." He Yao lowered his eyes and looked at him coldly.
He Yao stubbornly refused to admit his mistake. He snorted and laughed, "I think you're just seeking revenge. It's just because you treated He Zhiluo badly before. So why are you playing such a big game to harm me? It's clearly unjust!"
"Justice? Your Majesty's majesty is justice." Pei Ji took the whip and slapped his face with the handle. "Do you think I'm joking with you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he whipped him.
He Yao screamed in shock, causing the other officials in the cell to close their eyes, not daring to listen or watch anymore.
Pei Ji handed the long whip to the jailer and said calmly, "Beat him."
Not to mention that there is already evidence proving that He Yao was involved in this matter, everything he did today was just to vent his anger on He Zhiliao.
Zhuang Hongxiu and her son are indeed disgusting, but that doesn't mean He Yao, who has been standing by and watching, is innocent. He and He Hongan are clearly also very disgusting.
You used to be a bystander, but now it’s your turn to take a look. Is there anyone who will speak up for you?
Since Jinyang was in the Ministry of Justice, the people in the Ministry would naturally be at the mercy of Pei Ji. With just one indifferent word from him, the jailer started whipping He Yao as if to show off in front of him.
He Yao had been spoiled since childhood, and he immediately started wailing after being whipped twice. Pei Ji frowned somewhat unhappily, and the jailer standing nearby immediately pulled out a piece of blood-stained rag, rolled it up and stuffed it into He Yao's mouth.
Pei Ji raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded with great satisfaction.
He raised his hand and pointed at the jailer, "What's your name?"
"Your servant Lin Shan pays his respects to you, sir." Lin Shan knelt on the ground and said respectfully.
"Jinyang." Pei Ji called out, and when the man walked to his side, he raised his chin slightly towards him and said, "Take him with you."
Jinyang glanced at Lin Shan who was kneeling on the ground and nodded in agreement.
Lin Shan didn't expect that he would suddenly receive Pei Ji's favor. He immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude and said that he no longer had to stay here from then on!
One sentence can make a person who is in the mud jump up, this is power and authority.
Pei Ji walked towards the other cages, his eyes sweeping over the officials. He deliberately said, "When He Yao reveals who he's colluding with, I'll let you go. My Lords, please wait."
After hearing what he said, some officials naturally lost their patience. Some who did not care about their status and image immediately shouted at He Yao, angrily accusing him of causing them this much trouble.
The angry curses and He Yao's wails overlapped, and it was clearly an extremely noisy sound, but Pei Ji narrowed his eyes in a good mood.
"Pei Ji! Let me go! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"
Following He Yao's shout, several officials in the cell opened their eyes in shock and anger.
…
Pei Ji went to the Shangshufang to report to Emperor An. Although He Yao revealed the identities of several officials, he still did not give out the mastermind. From some aspects, he was quite patient that day.
After all the hassles, the day was almost over. He was so busy that he couldn't stop running back and forth. He urgently needed to see He Zhi...
Emperor An listened to his report in silence, and naturally knew that there were still many people who had not been highlighted, because the people pointed out by He Yao were all of lower official positions.
He didn't believe that those people could do it so perfectly.
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the most urgent task right now is to release the results again. Candidates and the people do not care about how the court operates, they just want to know the results." Pei Ji said in a deep voice.
The main reason is that he was really tired today.
Emperor An nodded slightly. "You should handle this matter personally to prevent anyone from making nonsense. Investigate the officials he identified in detail, and release those who are not important."
Pei Ji sighed in his heart, but his face remained respectful, "Your humble servant will do it right away."
"Well, come back and report when you're done," said Emperor An.
"……yes."
Pei Ji walked out of the study quickly, and Yuan Rong immediately followed him. Seeing his master's stern expression, he didn't dare to say a word and just followed silently.
He first went to the Ministry of Justice to bring out officials who had nothing to do with the matter, then informed the Ministry of Rites of the matter and watched them reorganize the results.
The Minister of Rites was quite critical of him, and said with an unhappy look, "Master Pei, have you found out what happened? Most of my Ministry of Rites were taken away, but now they are finally willing to send them back!"
"Why should you be angry with me, sir? Everything I did was allowed by His Majesty. If you have any complaints, I will tell His Majesty everything and ask His Majesty to make the decision for you. But I have more important things to do right now." Pei Ji ignored his sarcasm and retorted directly.
"As for the matter of achievements, it has been resolved." The Minister of Rites could not help but look serious. "This matter was originally the result of the negligence of our Ministry of Rites. If there is a way to make up for it, we must do it well."
As he spoke, he did not forget to bow towards the imperial paper. Pei Ji followed his gesture and saw the contents on it.
Pei Ji had a good memory and could tell at a glance that it was very different from the previous imperial edict. Many people's names were not only not in the front row, but were not even on the list at all. This showed how sophisticated the forgery was!
He took the fresh imperial edict in his hand and said to the Minister of Rites, "Since that's the case, I'll take my leave."
He rarely referred to himself as "your humble servant," so the Minister of Rites calmed down considerably and took the initiative to ask, "How is Minister Pei? I heard he's seriously injured. Is it serious?"
Pei Ji's smile was sincere. "Thank you for your concern, Lord Shangshu. Although my brother's injuries are serious, they are not fatal. He is now resting in bed. I will convey your good intentions to my brother."
"It's okay." The Minister of Rites said, and then he looked at Pei Ji again, not wanting to talk to him anymore.
Pei Ji chuckled, but didn't care. He immediately took the guards to post the new imperial edict.
Time passed in the blink of an eye as I went back and forth like this.
Pei Ji returned to the palace to report. After hearing what he said, Emperor An nodded with satisfaction and said, "You have done a good job. I have asked someone to pick out some gifts for you from the storehouse. You can take them back with you."
"Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
Not to mention that they were going to reward him with some ordinary items, even if they were to send him some rare treasures, he would feel powerless and bored, and just wanted to go back home quickly.
Seeing that the sky gradually darkened, Pei Ji became more anxious to leave the palace. Such a wonderful New Year's Day was turned into this... It was all because of those damn guys!
"Uncle!"
The gloomy look on Pei Ji's face disappeared. He raised his eyes and said, "Ninth Prince? Why are you here at this hour? Do you have something to see His Majesty about?"
The Ninth Prince nodded slightly, a smile on his childish face. "I've been enjoying playing chess with Father lately. He said he'd take me out to play after I finish memorizing my lessons. It's time to go."
Pei Ji raised his eyebrows in surprise. Emperor An still enjoys this kind of fun recently?
He chuckled, "Then your highness can go. It's time for me to leave the palace."
"It's getting late... I'll go out of the palace to visit tomorrow. My uncle, remember to wait for me." The Ninth Prince reminded him, fearing that he would forget to take him out to play.
Pei Ji naturally nodded repeatedly and reminded him to go and see His Majesty as soon as possible. The Ninth Prince didn't say anything more to him and was about to leave.
As soon as he turned around, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "Uncle, are you in a bad mood?"
"This is not something that the young prince should worry about. Please go." Pei Ji said and left first.
The little guy was quite perceptive. Even in such a dark sky, he could still detect the fleeting change in his expression.
The Ninth Prince stared at his receding back and frowned. Today's incident had caused such a big commotion that he somewhat knew what his uncle was worried about.
He thought about it and ran quickly towards the study.
When Pei Ji walked out of the palace through the long street, it was already completely dark. He was extremely irritable and his face became even gloomier.
He urgently needed to see He Zhi.
Very, very urgent.
"Faster."
"yes!"
The carriage seemed to be flying like a giant with wings, but Pei Ji still felt it was too slow. He felt extremely depressed and annoyed, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down until the carriage stopped in front of the mansion. Before Yuanrong could call him, he jumped off the carriage as fast as an arrow and strode into the mansion.
Yuanrong quickly handed the carriage to the doorman and followed him in quickly.
Although it was late at this time, it was still early.
The food was ready in the small kitchen. He Zhiliao had just sat down on the chair when he heard Pei Ji coming back. He quickly got up to greet him. Before he reached the door, the thick cotton curtain was blown up by a gust of wind.
He was also tightly embraced by someone who was wrapped in cold wind.
The cold wind blew on his face, and he quickly hid in Pei Ji's arms. Even his clothes were cold. He wanted to take people inside, but the slightest movement made him feel more tightly restrained.
【ah? 】
What's the matter?
As soon as he finished, he felt something cold falling on his neck. At first, it was as cold and light as a dragonfly touching the water, but soon his lips became warm and became very hot and heavy.
His legs suddenly felt weak, so he gave in to the other person's wishes and got closer to him.
The servants had all left tactfully, leaving only the two of them feeling each other's body warmth.
But this was not enough for Pei Ji.
The delicate kisses moved up from the neck, to the base of the ear, the earlobe, the ear shell, the side of the face... until the lips.
Even at this moment, he was extremely patient and rubbed it carefully, then gently pried it open and kissed it hard.
Pei Ji frantically absorbed nutrients from him, wishing he could melt into his bones and blood. He Zhiliao was forced to endure it until breathing became increasingly difficult. Only then did he forcefully turn his head and lay in his arms, panting heavily.
"My dearest..." Pei Ji sighed with a certain gusto, "I'm extremely tired today. I've been tossed around like a dog. If I hadn't thought of you and made it home, I'm afraid I would have died of exhaustion outside..."
"Husband, Zhizhi, my sweetheart..."
"I miss you so much..."
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The author has something to say: Pei Gou: "I'm really exhausted now, darling~ I miss you!" [burst into tears][burst into tears][burst into tears]
Little Zhiliao patted his back to comfort him: Good baby~ [hug][hug][hug]
Column pre-collection "Marrying a Sickly Person to Get Married" please collect [kiss][kiss]
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