As evening approached, Yin bought a lot of seafood from the Ning family and left with his group. Ning Chengji stood at the door watching the departing figures, his eyes welling up with tears. He hoped that his younger brother, if he could see from heaven, would clear his name.
Back at the Yuelai Inn, Yin's heart remained unsettled for a long time. He learned a great deal from Ning Chengji about Ning Chengye's actions. He had to admit that Ning Chengye was a rebel. If he had listened to Ning Chengji and withdrawn from the examination hall parade, he probably wouldn't have met such a tragic end.
"Fourth Brother, is Ning Chengye also in charge?" Qingyan inquired indirectly about the matter of placing the God of Wealth in the Imperial Examination Hall.
It is said that the leading scholars all hanged themselves. Many people said that this was retribution for slandering the examination hall. Some of those who were on the list even used gossip to harm the innocent.
"It should be about right. What's the information you've gathered from the sidelines?" Yin took a sip of tea, still finding home-cooked tea to be the best.
Yin listened intently. The two children followed Yin all day, and Yin and Lady Yingenjueluo were worried that they would be targeted.
"There must be a problem. The leading scholars don't come from the best families. So, many people are saying that the scholars probably offended the ancestor of the examination hall and were punished!" Qingyan was a little confused about this. These rumors must have been spread by someone.
Every year, the examination hall receives many candidates. If the ancestral master were a county magistrate, wouldn't all these candidates be reliable? Where would they have had to endure ten years of arduous study?
"What?! Where did you hear that?" Yin Zong felt that something was wrong. He had to admit that Xi Ren was very cunning, directly shifting all the blame onto someone who hadn't even been identified.
Qingyan, on the contrary, felt that Confucius might be so angry that he would come back to life. It was clearly the examiner who accepted the bribe, but now he was being blamed.
"Could it be that he's the scapegoat?!" Qingyan said with a grin.
"Little darling, be quiet!" Yin glared at her. Little darling never seemed to learn. He'd told her before that she had to respect all deities when out in public, otherwise...
snort!
Qingyan turned her head away haughtily. Seeing the two of them acting like this, Yin Genjueluo Shi couldn't help but laugh. Qingyan was always being nagged by Yin.
"Fourth brother, Ning Chengye is also a leader, so all the leading scholars should be gone. It seems we should think carefully about how to conduct the investigation!" Yin felt uneasy. These people were all truly talented, and Kangxi should have liked them the most. Now, however, due to the power and influence of certain individuals, things have turned out this way.
Yin sighed helplessly; they still didn't have enough evidence.
"Brother, the village is being sealed off because of this. Ning Chengji has been hoping to clear Ning Chengye's name, and he can't stand the gossip from the neighbors." Yin had been burdened with all sorts of infamy and couldn't defend himself, so this time, he was even more eager to help this man.
No!
He believed he should help the murdered scholars, as he thought they were all killed by him.
"You asked whether Ning Chengye committed suicide or was murdered?!" Since Yin and the others couldn't dig up the grave, they had to find out from the family members.
“Ning Chengji said it was murder because, when changing Ning Chengye’s clothes, two ligature marks were found on his neck.” Yin emphasized this point, as he should no longer hide anything from Ning Chengji.
"That's good. Now, all we need to do is confirm that the remaining few were also murdered!" Yin smiled coldly.
"It's said that those people had a good relationship with Ning Chengye. I think it was a small clique causing trouble. In the end, not a single one of them survived!" Yin said directly.
"Little darling, what did you learn?" Yin remembered that Kangxi had said that if they encountered any problems, they could listen to Qingyan's imaginative ideas.
“Brother, I think the Ning family is well-off, so they shouldn’t do anything for power. It must be someone encouraging Ning Chengye.” Ning Chengji and Ning Yangshi were both self-aware, and they had both advised Ning Chengye against his actions.
Yin frowned. This was a difficult situation. He couldn't find a breakthrough with Ning Chengye. If there were some disputes with the powerful and influential people, he could say that they were behind it. But now, he couldn't be sure.
“Master, I think there’s something wrong here!” Madam Yin Genjue looked at everyone. “Think about it, if they all hang themselves, this situation will be completely ruined.”
A dead end?!
Only by putting ourselves in a desperate situation can we survive!
The word suddenly flashed into Qingyan's mind.
“There are definitely still people around, we just haven’t found them yet!” Qingyan said directly.
Immediately, silence fell over the hall. They understood that Qingyan was right; someone must have deliberately caused them to lose their composure.
"Who are they protecting?" Yin had a feeling that they were very close to the real person behind the scenes, but they couldn't keep an eye on them all the time.
Qingyan nodded. Who exactly is it? Or, why would they do this?
"You two think again, who in Jiangnan is most interested in scientific expeditions?" Yin asked.
“It should be Cao Yin. Many of his advisors are candidates who came from this examination hall,” Qingyan said, puzzled.
Yin didn't say a word, which made him think that since he couldn't win him over, he should just kill him.
"The scholars who hanged themselves were all highly talented. It's likely that someone tried to win them over, but failed. These people were probably too straightforward, and their initial intention was simply to do practical things for the people," Yin concluded.
Ning Chengji once said that Ning Chengye hoped to serve as the county magistrate in his hometown and seek benefits for the villagers.
Therefore, everyone had high hopes that Ning Chengye would gradually reach the position he had promised. Previously, Ning Chengji's high vote count in the village chief election was likely related to Ning Chengye.
"Those people are involved again!" Yin sighed incessantly. No matter where he went, he had to deal with these powerful and influential people.
“Furthermore, Ning Chengji is the village chief, and some people might want to take advantage of him,” Yin analyzed. Yin’s sudden realization left him helpless. “Moreover, it would be best for the fishing village if Ning Chengye could become the prefect, but what if some people obstruct us from behind? The profits from fishing boats are considerable, and those officials must have seen it. Today, the Ning family should be able to earn a bonus of 50 taels of silver from the seafood we ordered. In a month, that’s more than a thousand taels. The prefect will definitely be envious.”
Before leaving, Yin specifically asked Ning Chengji whether the profits for the month had broken even, and Ning Chengji gave an affirmative answer. Therefore, Yin felt that the problem was still related to the profits.
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