Chapter 193 Enemies Meet
Xie Wenyuan told Yuan Yinan everything he had experienced in the past few days in front of all the people.
"Oh my God, Duke Zheng actually dared to attack students. Is there no law here? This is the capital."
"Alas, it is extremely difficult for students from poor families to make a name for themselves. They finally made it to the imperial examination, but were replaced by others. How unfortunate." "
I hope Lord Yuan can handle the case impartially and not let this noble family continue to harm people. If my child met with such an accident, my heart would be indescribably painful."
"What do you know? Duke Zheng has a daughter who is a concubine in the palace and gave birth to the second prince. How can he do it as he pleases? In the eyes of these nobles, we ordinary people can be killed at will."
"Isn't it said that if a prince breaks the law, he is guilty of the same crime as a commoner? What's more, Duke Zheng is not a prince, but only the prince's grandfather."
......
There was a lot of discussion, with all kinds of opinions.
Yuan Yinan slapped the wooden table.
"Do you have evidence to prove that you are Xie Wenyuan?"
"Sir Yuan, my travel permit and research are still here. I have kept them well and have not lost anything." Xie Wenyuan took out the evidence he had prepared long ago from his arms.
The yamen runner took it and presented it to the case.
After Yuan Yinan looked at it carefully, it turned out to be true.
"I have accepted the case. You go back and wait. This matter is very far-reaching and there is still a lot to be verified."
Because the case was too serious, Yuan Yinan submitted it directly to the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice called people to record their confessions, and then called Feng Yuanhao to question him.
Including the secret guards that Feng Yuanhao arranged to pretend to be peddlers at the time, they also came to record their confessions.
The Ministry of Justice was investigating again.
They found out several officials who had concealed their names during the imperial examination.
Two of them were bribed by people arranged by the Duke Zheng's Mansion. It was their manipulation that made this substitution possible.
After Yun Hongxiao received this information one after another, he directly ordered that all people in the Duke Zheng's Mansion be imprisoned and then brought to trial one by one.
Feng Zuwen received the order and personally led people to break into the Zheng Mansion.
The female family members were panicked.
Zheng Zigang was waiting quietly in the study.
"Duke Zheng, long time no see. Do you want to leave by yourself, or do you want me to tie you up?" Feng Zuwen looked at Zheng Zigang, who was sitting steadily on the armchair, with amusement.
"Lord Feng, can I talk to you alone for a few words?" Zheng Zigang said calmly, his mood unrecognizable.
Feng Zuwen also wanted to talk to him alone about his "heart".
This was his enemy.
He waved his hand and asked Ren Yucheng to wait for him outside.
"Feng Zuwen, you are great. I really underestimated you." Zheng Zigang recalled that many of the bad things that had happened in the past two years had started after the little beggar from the Feng family came back.
And many things were the Feng family's counterattack against his Zheng family.
"Many things, we all know, right?" Feng Zuwen also spoke frankly.
This was the only chance, Zheng Zigang had no chance of survival.
"Why do you want to kill them all?" Zheng Zigang couldn't figure it out.
Is the eldest prince so good? It was worth Feng Zuwen's risking everything to charge for him.
"Duke Zheng, I have always been passive. I have never taken the initiative to provoke your Zheng family.
And you, you gave the second son's family an idea to exchange my daughter, and she was left to wander outside for three years and suffered a lot.
Your eldest nephew ruined my eldest son, and it is not important whether my second son was poisoned by you.
If my daughter had not known to go home, I, Feng Zuwen, would have been kept in the dark for the rest of my life.
Whatever idea you come up with, you will kill me, and in the end, your third daughter will become the mistress of the entire mansion."
Feng Zuwen had been suppressing it for so long, and today he had the opportunity to speak it out in front of the real master.
"So you know everything. So you have been looking for a chance to get rid of my Zheng family and avenge yourself?" Zheng Zigang had thought of this possibility a long time ago, but there was no evidence.
After hearing Feng Zuwen say it with his own ears today, he figured out a lot of things.
For example, why didn't Xie Wenyuan die this time? Wasn't it because of the help of the Feng family? A poor student alone would not have the ability to do that.
"You are right, do you know why the emperor knew about your cheating in the imperial examination so quickly? Instead of waiting until the palace examination to find out."
Zheng Zigang really couldn't figure out this question. If this matter was to be exposed, it would have to wait until the palace examination results came out. The difference would be too big to attract the emperor's attention. And the emperor knew about it just three days after the examination results were announced.
"You will die knowingly, because Yuan Hao and Xie Wenyuan are true friends. They studied with each other for three months. As soon as they finished the exam, they memorized the policy essay and had Prime Minister Wu deliver it to Yu. The two were almost equally knowledgeable, but one won the first place in the imperial examination, while the other failed. Do you think this is normal?"
After hearing this, Zheng Zigang suddenly realized that this was the case.
He lost, and lost to Fengfu.
"All the causes and consequences are caused by myself. I ruined my whole family." Zheng Zigang had to admit his mistakes.
With a long sigh, it was karma.
He took the initiative to go to the prison of the Ministry of Justice to be interrogated.
After three days of rigorous interrogation.
Some other related personnel were arrested and thrown into prison.
Zhu Qingshan, a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, covered for the two anonymous people. He is also the father of a future concubine of the Second Prince.
Among them is Feng Zuwu. He participated in the investigation of the sons of merchants and the evaluation of the knowledge of various poor students to provide candidates for Duke Zheng.
Yun Ransheng sent people to pay attention to all this every day.
Zheng He has dressed herself up with a pale and sad face these days. She knelt outside the door of Yun Hongxiao's study and asked for an audience.
But Yun Hongxiao ignored her at all. No matter how she knelt, he would not meet her or ask her to get up.
Starting from the third day, Yun Ransheng went to the palace every day to kneel with his mother and ask to see his father.
The officials who came and went sighed at the mother and son.
The emperor had a headache.
When all the people in Duke Zheng's mansion had been examined, the Minister of Justice personally brought the files to the emperor for his review.
"Your Majesty, this imperial examination cheating case involves a wide range of people. A total of ten officials, both big and small, were involved, including the sons of three merchants. People have been sent to their hometowns to arrest the relevant personnel. The main culprit is Duke Zheng, Zheng Zigang. Please have a look." Cao Zhongliang handed over the files respectfully.
Yun Hongxiao took it and read it carefully, and did not say a word until he finished reading it.
Half an hour later, he raised his head from the files.
"Your Majesty?" Cao Zhongliang called out.
Yun Hongxiao sighed.
"The position of the crown prince has been decided, but they still refuse to stop."
"Your Majesty, how should it be judged?" Cao Zhongliang did not dare to respond to Yun Hongxiao's words and talked about his purpose today.
The files were just the results of the interrogation, and he listed them very clearly.
But Duke Zheng is, after all, a first-class noble, the second prince's grandfather, and Concubine Zheng's father.
The emperor still has to make the decision, and the others are easy to say.
"The second prince is not mentioned in the files. Is he really not involved?" Yun Hongxiao doesn't quite believe it. "
Duke Zheng took all the blame. No matter how you ask him, he says that he was willing to arrange it for the second prince. It has nothing to do with the second prince."
"From this point of view, he is a responsible person and he knows how to protect the second prince."
"Your Majesty, there is one person who has not been caught until now?" Cao Zhongliang mentioned another thing.
"Who?"