The imperial heir's procession trailed far behind.
Qin Zhaoyue followed in a daze, lost in her own thoughts, her heart seething with hatred.
The situation was originally one of perfect merit, just waiting to be harvested, but this mess happened at the very last moment!
I don't know what Yin Zhe was doing. He was so confident in front of me before, saying that he was just waiting to close the net.
Tui! What a useless snack.
Fortunately, the sister had a flash of inspiration and defeated the master with a flurry of punches, prompting the Queen Mother to deliver the final verdict on the spot.
In terms of impact, a temporary shock is inevitable.
Even if the results are eventually found, it will be difficult to completely silence public opinion.
However, in the long run, with the Empress Dowager's strong intervention and the powerful figures already involved, the overall situation is already set.
To put it bluntly, even if the real culprit isn't found in the end, just scapegoating someone of sufficient stature can quell the controversy.
Now it depends on how the merit book is read.
Qin Zhaoyue separated a wisp of her consciousness and sank it into her sea of consciousness, eagerly turning to the page on "Yin and Yang in Harmony".
Thankfully, a generous amount of merit points was indeed credited to my account.
Moreover, the impressive numbers continue to jump and grow.
After quickly doing some mental calculations, a light suddenly lit up in my eyes.
That's enough! It's just enough to skip two levels and directly reach the third rank!
Damn it, at least her courageous and righteous words in court just now weren't in vain.
Even with that tarnished reputation, those words still offended many people.
Qin Zhaoyue clearly saw that several elderly men with gray beards were the ones who cursed her the most.
It's like going through all the hardships to pass an extremely difficult certificate exam, only to be asked to start the exam all over again decades later.
If this happened to Qin Zhaoyue herself, she would definitely give the person a thorough dressing down.
Fortunately, all that hard work has finally paid off, and I'm so moved I could cry.
Now all you need to do is patiently wait for the incident to subside, leave the palace, and find a secluded place where no one is watching to advance in peace.
Staying at the mansion isn't safe; it's better to leave Fengjing City and go to a hot spring resort in the outskirts of the capital. That seems like a good option.
As autumn's chill deepens, it's the perfect time for a hot spring bath...
Qin Zhaoyue was happily making plans, completely unaware that her brothers and sisters' probing gazes were practically drilling holes in her back.
Princess Qin Zhaowan spoke first, "Sixth Sister, who do you think was behind this?"
Without thinking, Qin Zhaoyue blurted out:
"It doesn't matter who did it, what matters is what they wanted to achieve."
She only realized what she was saying as soon as she spoke, and suddenly found that everyone was looking at her very strangely.
Especially the third and fourth brothers, their gazes were so complicated, as if they were seeing her for the first time.
Xiao Liu's seemingly insane outburst in the imperial court was actually the quickest way to quell the situation.
Investigate problems if they are problems, investigate fraud if it is fraud, and don't bring up systemic issues.
Thus, the overall situation was settled.
This is a tricky situation, but it's not unsolvable.
The damage caused by a problem with an ordinary student's exam paper is ultimately limited.
Even if Xiao Liu didn't show up, I believe the Empress or Prime Minister Pei would have a way to suppress it.
With such swift and decisive measures to bring down the powerful and influential, how could they possibly back down because of the criticisms of a few officials?
So Xiao Liu hit the nail on the head again.
Who did it and how the papers were switched are secondary; what the other party wanted to achieve was the real issue.
To accomplish this under the surveillance of the Xuanji Guard was no easy feat. Could they not have foreseen the Empress's determination?
Thinking of this, a very strange feeling arose in their hearts, and then they recalled their elder sister's instructions before leaving the capital...
Xiao Jiu tilted her head, her large, clear eyes filled with confusion. She tugged at Qin Zhaoyue's sleeve:
"Sixth sister, were you actually clever?"
*Smack!* A crisp flick landed on his forehead without hesitation.
Xiao Jiu immediately clutched her forehead and cried out, "It hurts! Sixth Sister, what are you doing!"
Qin Zhaoyue snorted coldly and flicked her fingers: "What else are you doing? Aren't you just calling me stupid?"
Xiao Jiu felt wronged. She went around asking around in the capital city and found out who didn't know Sixth Sister's reputation.
The Fourth Princess smiled and whispered, covering her mouth, "Our Sixth Princess is truly very talented."
Qin Zhaoyue rolled her eyes and put her hands behind her back.
"Not at all, not at all, I can't compare to you, Fourth Sister, you are so deep and reserved."
Qin Zhaowan rubbed her temples helplessly.
One or two of them are really causing us a lot of trouble.
The first two who were granted the title of prince were one thing, but the latter two were definitely not without their own schemes.
Why……
The Xuanji Guardian trembled.
Spies swarmed out like crows, silently infiltrating teahouses, taverns, and alleyways.
They quickly wove an invisible giant net, monitoring any trace of attempts to manipulate public opinion.
Deep within the imperial prison, the screams of agony never ceased.
From the mastermind suspected of fraud to the lowest-ranking spies, none could escape the brutal interrogation.
The atmosphere inside the examination hall was equally somber.
All examiners were detained separately, including the chief and deputy examiners, and were repeatedly interrogated.
Any contradiction, no matter how small, will be magnified infinitely.
Everyone was seething with anger, eager to return the favor with a resounding slap.
Outside the gate of the examination hall, crowds thronged.
Chen Yu's copy, which caused a huge uproar, was prominently displayed in the most conspicuous place.
It was placed directly below the list of successful candidates, even more prominently than the examination paper of the top scholar.
On the exam paper, the signatures and monograms of the copyist and the reviewer, the examiner's comments and judgments in red ink, and even the verification seals of each checkpoint are all clearly visible, without any omissions.
All of this was openly displayed to all the people of Fengjing.
After the initial commotion subsided, the crowd gradually began to understand the situation.
Nobody's stupid. If they really wanted to cheat, who would write such treasonous remarks?
However, the attention this year was so great that the news spread like wildfire to every corner of the capital region.
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