Ye Caiping and her group left with Duanwu.
After turning to the back gate of the government office, you will arrive at a vestibule.
Shen Zhiyan leaned back in his armchair and stood up when he saw them: "You've come."
Ye Caiping said, "What are you doing...?"
"Don't you want to watch the trial? Let's go over there."
As he spoke, he led Ye Caiping and her group forward to a private room, in front of which was a large screen.
The screen was very thin, and because the room was dark, you could see clearly outside, but you couldn't see inside from the outside.
This was actually inside the courtroom, located to the lower right of the prefect's desk.
Grandma Ye, Granny Zhao, and the others were all stunned.
Grandma Ye said, "Shall we... watch it in the main hall?"
Granny Zhao's eyes nearly popped out of her head: "There are actually places like this?"
Shen Zhiyan: "Yes. All government offices above the prefecture level have them."
Sometimes, when special cases are being heard, involving multiple powerful parties but not yet reaching the Dali Temple, some people of high status who want to observe the proceedings will come here.
Ye Caiping's lips twitched slightly. To make it easier for her to watch the drama unfold, he had actually prepared a VIP seat for her.
Granny Zhao exclaimed excitedly, "Mr. Shen is truly amazing!"
Du and Ye Daquan also thought Shen Zhiyan was amazing and felt very honored.
Old Mrs. Ye was somewhat worried, however, that Mr. Shen's family background was far too prestigious. He was actually receiving such preferential treatment from the prefect.
Shen Zhiyan smiled and said, "Please be seated, everyone. The court session will begin soon."
Ye Caiping then pulled Old Lady Ye and Jin'er and the others to sit down.
Ye Daquan and Granny Zhao also took their seats. There was even tea, melon seeds, and snacks on the table and tea table. They ate the melons with great relish.
Ye Caiping turned around and said, "Aunt Zhao, you can't make a sound after the court session starts, not even a single utterance. Understand?"
Granny Zhao quickly covered her mouth and nodded, "Don't worry, don't worry."
The cubicle was quiet, but the crowd outside the courtroom began to discuss:
"I heard someone cheated on the provincial examination!"
"What should we do? Does this score still count? Will we have to retake the exam?"
"My son just passed the imperial examination. What if he has to take it again...?"
"Court is now in session!"
At this moment, two rows of constables entered the hall and stood on both sides.
Prefect Qin entered the courtroom with his clerk and slammed his gavel down: "Silence!"
The crowd outside immediately fell silent.
Prefect Qin said, "Please rest assured, everyone. Before the provincial examination, I received news that the exam questions had been leaked, so I replaced them with backup questions. The results of this provincial examination will still be valid. It was only after the results were announced that I arrested the culprit to avoid panic."
The students watching outside all breathed a sigh of relief: "The adult is truly virtuous."
Prefect Qin continued, "Bring the prisoner."
As soon as he finished speaking, six constables escorted Li Jiaojiao, Li Zhiyuan, and Li Ziming to the courtroom.
“Zhiyuan Zimo, sob sob…” Granny Li squeezed out from the crowd, sobbing softly, with Zhang Shui Niang following closely behind.
"Kneel down!" The constables forced the three men down hard.
Li Jiaojiao's face turned ashen, and with a thud, she knelt on the ground in humiliation.
Li Ziming was terrified; he staggered and knelt down.
Li Zhiyuan stood there with his hands behind his back, saying, "I have official rank and title. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, officials do not kneel."
Prefect Qin didn't argue with him: "Fine, I won't be short of time."
Prefect Qin said, "I have received news that Li Zhiyuan and Li Ziming cheated in the provincial examination, which allowed Li Ziming to win the top spot in the provincial examination."
"In this provincial examination, they also planned to cheat. Fortunately, I received the news in advance and abandoned the original exam questions, using the backup exam papers instead, so that the students did not have to take the exam in vain."
The crowd and scholars outside gasped: "My God, Li Ziming's top score was also obtained through cheating?"
One of the scholars from Yue'an County said, "Li Ziming was able to enter the county school because his father recommended him; he usually had the worst grades."
"This time, he didn't even pass the prefectural examination, let alone become a student. Later, he somehow managed to obtain an identity that allowed him to directly participate in the provincial examination, and he actually came in first place. I found that strange at the time. Turns out, he cheated!"
Li Ziming was so frightened that he couldn't speak.
Li Jiaojiao gritted her teeth and said, "What evidence do you have? Who told you we cheated?"
Yes, there's no evidence! She saw it with her X-ray vision, but she didn't go in to steal it, so there's no way there could be any evidence.
Prefect Qin said, "Summon the witnesses!"
Li Jiaojiao's expression changed.
A short while later, fifteen or sixteen refined-looking men walked in.
Some were in their thirties or forties, while others were in their fifties or sixties. They were all scholars or imperial examination graduates whom Li Jiaojiao and Li Ziming had consulted.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." The dozen or so people bowed respectfully. Since they all held official titles, they naturally did not need to kneel.
Prefect Qin: "No need for formalities. Scholar Song, you may speak first."
The scholar, Song, was in his early forties. He glanced at Li Ziming and Li Jiaojiao:
"Before the imperial examination, I met Miss Li and her brother when I was buying books at a bookstore. At that time... I don't know why, but I hit it off with the two of them at first sight and we started seeing each other."
"Two days before the provincial examination, Miss Li and her brother suddenly visited me and asked me for help with a question. The question was..." As she spoke, she told me the question.
The clerk above wrote down the question.
The scholar Song continued, "At the time, the students didn't take it to heart. After all, it was common to ask for advice before the exam."
"Unexpectedly, after the academy exam, the student discovered that one of the questions the Li siblings had asked for help with was actually a question from the academy exam. The student didn't think much of it at the time, since it's quite common to guess the questions correctly."
"I thought that since I had guessed one of the questions correctly, Li Ziming should be able to get a better score. But later I found out that Li Ziming actually came out on top."
As Song, the scholar, spoke, he raised an eyebrow: "At the time, I thought that the young Li brother was not only lucky, but also exceptionally talented."
After Scholar Song finished speaking, another scholar, Scholar He, stepped forward and said, "My situation is the same as yours, Brother Song."
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
These candidates and scholars recited the questions that the Li siblings had asked them.
With each question posed, the scholars watching outside gasped in surprise, until the last one finished speaking, at which point the crowd erupted in chaos:
"My God, all the questions combined are just the exam paper for this college entrance exam!"
"And those questions we didn't take the exam on, these should be the original questions for this provincial examination. Luckily the prefect found them, otherwise we would have taken the exam for nothing."
"Fortunately, even if this happens in the college entrance exam, there won't be a retake." Some students breathed a sigh of relief.
Since the provincial examination has little impact, there is no need to retake it.
"But something is strange. Apart from Han Jinshi and the other two who specialize in predicting exam questions and charge money for solving them, everyone else seems to take a liking to them at first sight. I don't know what their charm is!"
Ye Caiping, behind the screen, ate a nut; of course, it was the charm of the plot.
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