"No, on the contrary, I think the sentence should be severe!"
The old minister said, "Your Majesty, please first take a look at the case files submitted by the government office of the capital." As he said this, he presented a stack of files with both hands. The eunuch Xu Gonggong who was behind the emperor came down from the stage and took the files he presented.
After reading it, the emperor was furious and threw the thick file at Gu Yong's feet. "My dear Gu, can you give me an explanation?" The emperor was angry, and the ministers below naturally knelt on the ground trembling with fear. Gu Yong lowered his eyes, knowing that this was a show of power from the emperor, so he just bent down and picked up the scroll.
After the truth was revealed, a large number of people flattered him, saying that he behaved recklessly and rode a horse in the street.
They said that Liu used his status to bully others and oppress his peers, and that Yang Zhengwen had a relationship with him because he was Liu's cousin, and threatened the examiner to cheat with him, otherwise he would sue Gu Hou! It was originally a cheating case, and it seemed that these people would not be willing to accept it unless it involved themselves.
"I am guilty, and I am terrified."
Gu Yong knelt down and said these words, but his eyes were full of ridicule.
"Your Majesty, Yang Zhengwen must not be sentenced lightly in this case, otherwise it will be an act of encouraging this trend in the imperial examination hall!"
"I reconsider!"
"I reconsider!"
"I will also review this!"
Another large crowd of people knelt down. The emperor looked at Gu Yong who was kneeling aside, and then at the court officials who were waiting for him to make a decision on the case. He was in a state of confusion and said, "Remove Yang Zhengwen from the emperor's disciples." All the students in the world were the emperor's disciples. Removing Yang Zhengwen would mean that he would never be able to take part in the imperial examinations in the future.
He said nothing else and withdrew from the court.
——
Shen Qingqiu changed into men's clothes. A year later, she was much taller than before. In addition, she had practiced martial arts since she was a child, so she had a thin figure and nimble hands and feet. At first glance, she really looked like a young master from a wealthy family.
Tu Jiu followed behind her, and they soon arrived at a house with the word "Wang" written on a plaque above it.
Tu Jiu said: "This man's surname is Wang. He has always been a country bumpkin and has never had any reputation as a scholar. The reason he was able to take the imperial examination this time was because he had a brother who entered the palace to become a eunuch and recognized the emperor's trusted eunuch Xu Gonggong as his godfather."
It is easy to see the King of Hell, but it is difficult to deal with little devils. In the eyes of officials, the eunuchs around the emperor are no less important than General Gu Yong.
If Mr. Xu spoke up, giving him the title of scholar would be a piece of cake.
"Master, this person is the one who slandered my uncle for cheating. Do you want me to bring him out——"
Shen Qingqiu shook her head. In the capital, power was everywhere. It was no longer the time when she could handle everything with just her fists. She lowered her head and thought for a while. Then she asked, "When will the imperial examination start again?"
Because of the cheating incident involving Marquis Gu's brother-in-law, which involved hundreds of officials and required an investigation, the imperial examination was suspended midway.
"I heard that we will retake the exam in five days."
Shen Qingqiu nodded, and thought about what Yang Zhengwen said in prison last time. He was falsely accused of cheating, but cheating in the imperial examination was not necessarily false. Now the emperor was afraid of Gu Yong, and wanted to suppress the Gu Marquis Mansion all the time. Naturally, he was unwilling to re-investigate, and in the end he did not want her uncle's name.
I guess I’ll have to bear the stigma of cheating forever.
In that case, why didn't she make a big deal out of this? Since everyone said her uncle cheated, why not let everyone see who was actually cheating in this huge imperial examination hall?
——
"If I lend a hand to your cousin now, I'm afraid others will think we are birds of a feather," Gu Yong said to Liu. "It's not that I don't want to help, but I'm afraid that if I do, the situation will only get worse."
The common people are the least likely to remember things. A few days ago, they were grateful to him for killing enemies on the battlefield to defend his country, but once something like this happened, they thought that the dignitaries were just living a life of luxury. Liu nodded, "Of course I understand."
Gu Yong held her hand and said, "Don't worry, I will find a way to protect his life no matter what."
As the two were talking, they saw Ah Xiu looking back from the outside with a food box in her hand. She collapsed under the bed before she even entered the house. Liu quickly sent someone to help her up. Ah Xiu started crying as soon as she got up. Without waiting for anyone to ask, she said, "The master said he wants to cancel the engagement with me."
She went to deliver food to Yang Zhengwen today, but he told her not to come again and said that what he had said before was no longer valid.
"A Xiu..." Liu sighed, not knowing what to say, "Cousin, this is for your own good."
Now that the case has passed the emperor's eyes, the man has not been released yet and has been expelled by the emperor, becoming a celebrity known throughout the country. From now on, the three words "Yang Zhengwen" will be like falling into a cesspool and can never be washed clean. Not to mention the imperial examinations, he will have difficulty finding a way out in other places.
Everyone knows that Yang Zhengwen doesn't want to delay A Xiu, and A Xiu also understands it.
But she just didn't want to, "I'm getting married soon, why does that black-hearted person want to slander our master? I'm going to file a complaint with the emperor, I don't believe there is no innocence in this world!" Speaking of filing a complaint with the emperor, Ah Xiu seemed to have suddenly gained strength, she got up from Chen Mama's arms and hurried out.
"A Xiu, A Xiu, calm down..." Mother Chen hugged her tightly, "You are such a delicate girl, if you go to file a complaint with the emperor, you won't even be able to bear thirty lashes!"
It was not easy for ordinary people to file a complaint to the emperor, so thirty lashes of the cane stopped some people. But because of this, if someone really filed a complaint, the emperor had to see it. If someone could bear such a heavy punishment of thirty lashes of the cane, it was not a false case.
Otherwise, if there were no rules, people would file complaints every day and the emperor would be overwhelmed.
"Sister Xiu, you really want to file a complaint with the emperor."
It was Shen Qingqiu who came in from outside. She was still wearing men's clothes, and her eyebrows and eyes looked a little cold. Ah Xiu wiped her tears, "I want to file a complaint with the emperor. I have decided."
“Have you thought it through? Even if you sue, your uncle will be expelled from the imperial examination, and he will never be able to take the imperial examination again in his lifetime. And his rotten reputation will also implicate you.” Shen Qingqiu said: “Uncle is my uncle, Sister Xiu, you are also my sister, I hope you think it through.”
Ah Xiu shed tears and said, "Thank you, young lady, for treating me like a sister." She then laughed and said, "But after I enter the master's house, I will be your aunt, not your sister."
"I know I'm stupid, but he's stupid too."
Shen Qingqiu stopped trying to stop him after hearing this, and said, "If you have made up your mind, I won't stop you. Wait another half a month. If the case is not retried after half a month, I will definitely not stop you."
Although Ah Xiu was suspicious as to why she had to wait for half a month, after hearing what Shen Qingqiu said, there was still a chance for a retrial of the case, she nodded.
Mother Chen and Mrs. Liu took the man to his room and comforted him.
Instead, Gu Yong walked over and asked, "What did you do?"
How could the case be retried for no reason? Others might not have this ability, but Gu Yong knew that his stepdaughter was quite capable.
Shen Qingqiu curled his lips, "I bought the answers to the imperial examination."
This is not surprising. After all, the imperial examination is run by people, so there will always be people who find ways to buy the answers.
“Is it expensive?”
“How can it not be expensive?” Shen Qingqiu said, “If you get the first place in the imperial examination, you will rise to a higher position in the future. Such an answer, at 100,000 taels, is indeed not expensive.”
Gu Yong clicked his tongue when he heard this, but then frowned, "Where did you get the hundred thousand? If you don't have the money, go to the Marquis' Mansion to withdraw it..." After all, she was his daughter, so he should spend her own money.
Shen Qingqiu said, "My Lord, please take care of yourself. I am not poorer than you." The textile factory produces thousands of pieces of cloth a day, and she has accumulated countless wealth in just two months. Gu Yong thought of this and smiled, "Yes, I will have to rely on my precious daughter to make a living in the future." The more he looked at this gold nugget, the more he liked it.
Shen Qingqiu looked at him with disdain and said, "You have to work hard too." How could she, a child, be responsible for supporting the family?
Gu Yong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Isn't it cheating? I bought the answer sheet and hired someone to write 10,000 copies. I sold them all for a penny."
Gu Yong was dumbfounded when he heard this. He could almost imagine the looks on the faces of those examiners when they saw the thousands of top scorers this year. They couldn't help but laugh.
"Half a month later, the results of the imperial examination will be announced," Gu Yong said after laughing, "It's also the final deadline." The smile on his lips gradually faded.
Every year during the imperial examination, the emperor would review the examination papers.
Some people don't take a penny seriously, but there are always people who do. Even if only dozens of people write the same thing, it is a big deal. If the emperor can still be careful about this matter and ignore Gu Yong, then it's fine. Gu Yong admits it. But if he doesn't care about such a big thing as fraud.
Talent is the top priority for the future prosperity of the imperial court. If he is like this, doesn’t Gu Yong know that there is still a need for him to be loyal to such an imperial court?
——
The day of results announcement is just around the corner.
It was still the old minister Lin Taifu in front of the palace. He spread out the scrolls and said, "Your Majesty, there are more than 20 people with extremely high scores in this imperial examination. I think there are many people who are trying to take advantage of the situation."
The emperor stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I think it is you, Lord Lin, who is worrying too much. Just now, there was the incident with Lin Zhengwen. Which student would dare to cheat? Besides, the court is prosperous now, so it is normal that there are more talented people."
The old minister's face became more and more gloomy. "If he is really a talent, I would be more than happy to have him. But Your Majesty, have you ever seen any talents whose papers have the same questions?"
The emperor was stunned for a moment before he looked at the papers of the twenty or so people. Except for a few exceptions, they were exactly the same.
Old Chen pointed to another pile and said, "Those are copied, and although the writing styles of these are different, the meanings are similar, just like reading the answers to the exam questions in advance." He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the exam questions have already been leaked."
The emperor's face was naturally extremely grim. This kind of thing had happened before, but not often.
He thought that those people knew their limits and turned a blind eye to it, but now the entire top thirty have become such people, what will happen to the court officials in the palace in the future! The emperor was furious and was about to order a strict investigation, but he stopped before giving the order.
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