Grand Tutor Zhou was unsure, so he took out the test paper and saw that the man's answers were actually quite good, so giving him a medium grade was not too much.
However, if this involves fraud, it is not something they can solve. After consultation, the two decided to jointly report it to the emperor and let the emperor make the decision.
In the past, the emperor did not care about anything, but this year he was particularly strict with the imperial examinations. Some people were happy while others were worried.
Those who are happy are naturally those who hope for a better country.
As for those who are unhappy, of course they are the group of people who make money by taking the imperial examination and recruiting disciples.
The two of them quickly came to An Jingzhi, and the extremely suspicious test paper was placed in front of his desk.
The answers on this test paper seem to be fine and the grades given are fair.
To be honest, even An Jingzhi was a little confused.
"Master Wei, what's wrong with this test paper? Could the phrase 'promising future' be a coincidence?"
Wei Li bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, if there is only one sentence with a promising future, it might be a coincidence. But Your Majesty, look for other sentences and see if you can find two more with promising futures? They are in the second and fifth sentences."
"It just happens to be the beginning and the end of a sentence. Coincidence meets coincidence and it's no longer a coincidence."
"I would like to first apologize to Your Majesty. Actually, I have received requests from others before, but I rejected them all. It happens to be a similar method, but the code they agreed on was not 'boundless future', but other words. That's why I feel a little confused when I see this."
"Some agreements state that even if a candidate's results are mediocre, they will still be given a better score. Other agreements state that the candidate's results will be given realistically, but a better ranking will be given when the final list is posted. When the list is posted, someone will secretly swap the test paper for one with a better score."
"I suspect this is the case with this test paper."
An Jingzhi actually believed it when he heard this. He tapped his fingers and said, "Come here, bring all the examiners here."
Soon, all the other examiners who were marking the test papers were brought over. If anyone could change the test paper later, it would be these people.
"You have a bright future. That's really great." An Jingzhi looked at the examiners and saw that their expressions varied after they heard him say those four words. Some were confused, some were surprised, and some were puzzled, but no one was afraid.
It is obvious that these people are all old hands, otherwise they would not dare to commit crimes against the wind, and no one has revealed their tracks.
"If you come forward now, I can make a new decision. If I find out, don't blame me for being cruel." After he said that, the others looked at each other, as if they were completely clueless.
An Jingzhi smiled and nodded, "Very good, it seems that this matter has nothing to do with anyone, right?"
His expression suddenly darkened, and he shouted, "Come here, go to these adults' homes and check door to door to see if anyone has come to give gifts in the past few days."
"I remember Lord Ai has a brother-in-law, right? Remember to visit Lord Ai's brother-in-law as well." An Jingzhi said with a smile.
Lord Ai suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, his face as pale as gold paper. Seeing this, the others quickly moved away from him, leaving him alone.
The guards acted quickly, and with the cooperation of the supervisory guards, they came back to report in less than half an incense stick of time.
"Your Majesty, 50,000 taels of silver were found in the home of Lord Ai's brother-in-law."
An Jingzhi smiled at Lord Ai, whose face had turned pale. "Lord Ai, please explain this to me. 50,000 taels of silver, what did your brother-in-law's family do to earn 50,000 taels of silver in such a short time?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your humble servant, your humble servant..." Lord Ai was shaking like a sieve and kneeling on the ground trembling with fear.
An Jingzhi walked down from the dragon throne. When Lord Ai saw the shoes in front of him, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground and dared not look up again.
"Master Ai, I remember your brother-in-law only opened a tavern, right? At most, he had a hundred acres of fertile land at home. But now the land and the tavern are still there. So, where did these 50,000 taels of silver come from?" An Jingzhi seemed to have suddenly remembered something. He pointed at Master Ai in surprise, "Could it be the bribe notes that Master Ai temporarily left with your brother-in-law?"
Upon hearing this, Lord Ai kowtowed continuously, "Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty, please spare my life. I will never dare to do it again! Your Majesty, please give me one chance! Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
An Jingzhi seemed to feel bored after playing and sat back on the dragon throne.
He waved his hand in boredom, "Drag him away and investigate under the law."
The opportunity has been given, so it’s not his fault if he can’t seize it. Why do some people always want to get away with it?
Lord Ai was dragged away while begging for mercy.
Wei Li kept his eyes straight from beginning to end.
Grand Tutor Zhou is still a little dazed. Lord Ai is also a censor of the Censorate. He used to follow him and cheer for him. Although he does not form cliques for personal gain, it does not prevent others from wanting to follow him.
He had a very good impression of Lord Ai. Lord Ai was only a fourth-rank official, and his salary was just enough to support his entire family. Therefore, Lord Ai usually looked incorruptible, like an honest official. Who would have thought that such a person would accept a bribe of 50,000 taels of silver for cheating in the imperial examination?
If it weren't for Grand Tutor Zhou who saw it all from beginning to end, he would never have believed that Lord Ai was such a person.
He looked at Wei Li, who was watching closely beside him, with complicated eyes. If it weren't for him, he might have made a big mistake this time. Who knows who would be the candidate whose name would be squeezed out.
He was thinking about monitoring Wei Li, worried that he would accept bribes and act recklessly, but he didn't expect that he would be taught a lesson.
The cheating test papers were right in front of him, but he looked at them several times and didn't notice anything. If Wei Li hadn't said anything, the matter might have just passed.
"Lord Wei, I apologize to you for what happened before." No matter what Wei Li did in the past, he did the right thing this time, and Grand Tutor Zhou was also a man who could let go.
In the past, Wei Li probably wouldn't have been particularly respectful to Grand Tutor Zhou, at most showing respect on the surface. After all, it was common knowledge that the Emperor disliked him, and even the Empress. Grand Tutor Zhou was a man of unyielding integrity, prone to contradicting the Emperor. He knew he would be demoted sooner or later, but he wasn't afraid. But now things seemed to have changed. The Empress was the only one favored in the palace, and the Emperor seemed to be much more tolerant of Grand Tutor Zhou. He didn't dare neglect him.
"Grand Master Zhou, you are too polite. This is my duty." Wei Li said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
An Jingzhi found it quite interesting to watch from above. Wei Li was really adaptable and could change into any shape as long as the emperor needed it.
But such people are more useful, as they are capable and have good vision.
For example, in this cheating incident, if it weren't for someone like Wei Li who knew the tricks of the snakes and rats, even An Jingzhi wouldn't have been able to see it.
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