The runner-up, third place and other Jinshi candidates, who were originally standing a little behind, now all came forward in an orderly manner.
"kneel!"
Following the order, everyone knelt and bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
So, Xue Zhiyi and a group of palace maids came forward holding palace flowers and pinned them in their hair.
Xue Zhiyi sat in the first seat, holding in his hand the palace flower that belonged exclusively to the number one scholar.
I only heard Peng Hui shouting: "Put on a flower!"
Xue Zhiyi responded and opened the box containing the palace flowers.
Looking at Jiang Xu kneeling upright with lowered brows and eyes, she lowered her voice so low that only they could hear each other, and whispered, "Congratulations, Master Jiang."
Hearing this familiar voice, Jiang Xu suddenly raised his eyes, but when he saw Xue Zhiyi looking at him with a smile, he was suddenly startled: "It's you?"
He seemed to have something else to ask, but it was not appropriate to speak in this situation. Xue Zhiyi was just serious and prepared to pin the flower on his official hat without saying anything else. Jiang Xu could only continue to lower his head and let her do whatever she wanted.
Xue Zhiyi didn't notice that Huo Wuyou at the table was staring at this direction gloomily. He was holding his chin and was in a very irritable mood.
Beside him, Huo Wuhui was confused: "Brother, do you hate Sister Zhiyi or do you hate Jiang Zhuangyuan? What's with that expression?"
Huo Wuyou just tutted his words: "Don't interrupt, kid."
Huo Wuhui became more and more confused: Who interrupted?
When everyone's eyes were focused on the people who were being rewarded, no one noticed that the magpies on top of Concubine Song's canopy were now staring at one direction with eager eyes.
Suddenly, there was a clattering sound of wings, and the magpies seemed to be strongly attracted by something and flew in one direction uncontrollably.
Beside the Queen Mother, Chai Yue was the first to notice something was wrong. She exclaimed, "Be careful!"
Xue Zhiyi looked up and saw flocks of magpies flying towards her.
"ah!"
She screamed artificially, and was so frightened that she couldn't even hold Gong Hua, and threw her to the ground.
The magpie came with great force, and someone shouted, "Protect the king!"
So the guards rushed forward and stood in front of the emperor, the empress dowager and the concubines.
But the group of magpies that were regarded as auspicious birds just now seemed to have gone crazy. The scholars who had been standing upright were now in a panic and raised their hands to disperse them.
However, the magpies did not hurt them, but instead rushed to grab the palace flowers that Xue Zhiyi had thrown on the ground.
The scene was in chaos. Xue Zhiyi was tripped by someone and was about to fall to the ground, but someone grabbed her collar from behind and lifted her up before she hit the ground.
Although Huo Wuyou didn't know what evil intentions she had, after several times of collusion, they had already developed a tacit understanding with each other. He was very sure that this matter was related to Xue Zhiyi.
When Xue Zhiyi looked up, she saw Huo Wuyou looking at her with an understanding look on his face.
As soon as she stood firm, she said timidly, "It's so scary. How could such a terrible thing happen?"
Huo Wuyou looked at her, gave her a knowing smile, and said nothing.
In the chaos, this scene fell into Gu Shichong's eyes. He couldn't see the expressions of the two people, but he felt in his heart: Huo Wuyou is... quite caring towards the people in Jianzhang Palace.
Here, the guards tried to disperse the magpies that were pecking at the palace flowers frantically, but the magpies seemed to be crazy. It seemed that there was some irresistible attraction on the palace flowers that made them try to peck at them even in the face of the ferocious guards.
Seeing this scene, Concubine Song clenched her hands and her face turned pale: How could this happen? How could this happen?
Finally, the magpies were driven away, but the emperor's face had turned ashen.
The Queen still tried to comfort him: "Your Majesty, it's all right now."
But Concubine Ge said, "Your Majesty, I find it very strange that the magpies have suddenly lost control. It's as if they were under someone's command."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Song almost gasped.
The Queen Mother's expression was also hesitant: "This matter really needs to be thoroughly investigated."
At this time, Concubine Wu Lifei was surprised and said, "Your Majesty, look at the edge of the palace lace, there seems to be something?"
Xue Zhiyi had already returned to the Queen Mother's side, but Huo Wuyou was still standing there. Upon hearing this, he squatted down to check the palace flowers, and then he frowned.
Huo Wuyou stood up and bowed. "Your Majesty, there seems to be some brown powder on these palace flowers. I don't know what it is, nor do I know if it has anything to do with those crazy magpies."
The emperor's brows furrowed even more tightly, and then he called out, "Tu Yuxian."
The Grand Court Minister rose from his seat and bowed, saying, "Your Highness is here."
"Look," said the emperor.
Tu Yuxian just stepped forward to take a closer look. As the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, he had handled many cases. Although his character was not good, it did not mean that he was mediocre and incompetent.
After a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, this powder was caught in the gaps between the golden threads that bound the palace flowers. It seems someone had deliberately hidden it there. As to whether it is related to the magpie's madness, Your Majesty, please allow me to test it."
When the guards were driving away the magpies just now, they caught a few and put them in a cloth bag, which came in handy now.
Tu Yuxian sprinkled just a little bit of the powder outside the cloth bag, and the magpies inside became restless. Once the cloth bag was opened, they became even more crazy, scrambling to peck at the powder, and even pecking at their companions for that little bit of powder.
Everyone was surprised and whispered to each other. Only Concubine Song felt extremely guilty at this moment. She stared at the magpies, her lips trembling uncontrollably. She didn't dare to look into the emperor's eyes and was almost scared to death.
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