Two yamen runners immediately brought two armchairs to Gu Jue and Shen Qianchen. After the couple sat down, Gu Jue calmly gave a series of instructions to Jingzhao Yin:

"This case will be tried by Jingzhao Prefecture. The sale of examination papers concerns the country, and we must give an explanation to the students of the world!"

"Go to the Ministry of Rites and call the Minister of Rites and the left and right assistant ministers!"

"I want to see how many other people are involved in this case!"

From beginning to end, Gu Jue's attitude was very calm, but the others did not even dare to breathe. They could imagine that a bloody storm was about to come.

The magistrate Zhang Huahuan and the second son of the Wei family both knelt on the ground, motionless.

The yamen runners of Jingzhao Prefecture quickly received the order and hurried to the Ministry of Rites to ask for someone.

When the two yamen runners went out of the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture, the common people and students gathered outside heard that they were going to the Ministry of Rites and were shocked again, especially those candidates who had just finished the first round of the imperial examination today.

They were all exhausted as they had to take part in the second examination early tomorrow morning. They should have returned to their residences to rest and prepare for the exam, but after hearing the news of cheating in the examination, they hurried here.

After all, the cheating case concerns the future of all students! The students gathered together, their expressions becoming more and more excited: "How audacious! How audacious! Someone actually sold the examination papers secretly!"

"The imperial examination is to select talents for the country, it must be open, fair and just. If such a despicable person with no talent and no character succeeds, won't the court of our Great Qi be occupied by villains in the future!"

"That's right, Jingzhao Prefecture must handle this case impartially and get to the bottom of it!"

“…”

The students were talking at once, and many of them were shouting that they wanted to invite all their old classmates to come and cheer them on.

An incense stick later, when the Minister of Rites Yang Xuanshan arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture with the left and right vice ministers of the Ministry of Rites, the number of people outside had at least doubled. They could only squeeze in with the help of yamen runners clearing the way in front of them. The passionate shouts of the students could be heard one after another.

Yang Xuanshan was already sweating profusely and his face looked very ugly.

As early as two days before the imperial examination, the new emperor ordered him to make temporary revisions to the test paper and forbade him to tell the Hanlin Academy. He guessed that something must have gone wrong.

In the past two days, Yang Xuanshan's eyelids have been twitching, and he always has a bad feeling.

really!

Yang Xuanshan was still in shock, and together with the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites, he walked up to Gu Jue and Shen Qianchen and bowed to the emperor and empress first.

Gu Jue raised his hand to signal them to excuse themselves from the formalities, then looked at Jingzhao Yin and ordered, "Sir Hong, you will preside over this case, and the Ministry of Rites will be in attendance. There must be a result today."

"This case concerns students all over the world. We must give them an explanation. In addition, we will invite a few more students to sit in on the trial."

Listening to Gu Jue's instructions, Jingzhao Yin was overwhelmed, thinking to himself: This case involves too many people, it is difficult to try, and the new emperor also requires that a result must be found out today! Jingzhao Yin is probably the most difficult official to be. In this huge capital city, anyone you run into could be a royal relative or a high-ranking official, and any case you come across could be cheating in the imperial examination!

Jingzhao Yin said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, can I first investigate this case, confirm the witnesses and evidence, and the whole story, and then try it?"

He was not deliberately shirking his responsibility, he just hoped to follow the normal trial procedures. After all, he was still confused about the case.

"No need." Gu Jue did not leave any room for negotiation. He pointed at Zhang Huahuan who was kneeling on the ground and said, "Wei Er has already admitted the crime of selling the examination papers in court. Zhang Huahuan also heard it!"

The Tongpan was a fifth-rank official and was more than qualified to be a witness.

Gu Jue's half-smiley gaze fell on Zhang Huahuan, which made Zhang Huahuan's heart skip a beat. He nodded repeatedly and repeated what the Second Young Master Wei had just said to Gu Jue.

Before he knew Gu Jue's identity, Zhang Huahuan of course sided with the Wei family. However, with the new emperor and empress present, the second son of the Wei family could not be denied for selling examination papers, and one more witness would not make much difference.

He can now barely be considered to have made meritorious service by helping to testify against the Second Young Master Wei. Even if the new emperor settles accounts with him later, he will only be demoted and fined.

Zhang Huahuan quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Yang Xuanshan was sweating profusely as he listened. According to Second Master Wei, the examination questions had been leaked twice, which meant that there must be an insider in their Ministry of Rites who leaked the questions.

Jingzhao Yin was even more nervous than Yang Xuanshan. He always felt that Gu Jue asked him to try the case in court because he suspected that he was also an official of Wei Jingze's party and wanted to exonerate the Wei family.

At this moment, Jingzhao Yin felt that he was even more wronged than Dou E. Although he was not a loyal minister who would rather die than bend, he would never be involved in the examination fraud case, which was a serious crime punishable by beheading.

Jingzhao Yin bowed quickly and responded solemnly: "I obey your command. I will start to hear the case now."

Then, two rows of yamen runners stood on both sides of the court, and with bursts of loud and uniform "majestic" shouts, the Jingzhao Yin opened the court.

Jingzhao Yin was sitting behind the case, feeling uncomfortable all over, but he still started to investigate the case. His first question was: "Wei Yuanzhi, you sold the examination papers, do you admit your guilt?!"

"..."Wei Yuanzhi gritted his teeth and said nothing. His face was paler than paper. He was so scared that half of his soul flew away. He just hoped that his father Wei Jingze would get the news and come to the rescue.

Jingzhao Yin held the exclamation mark tightly in one hand, hesitating, not knowing how to judge. After all, the identity of the defendant was not simple, and the identity of the person hearing the trial was not simple either. He was the lowest status of Jingzhao Yin! At this time, Gu Jue said lightly: "Don't you want to fight?"

According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, when trying a case, one must "first listen to what the person says and then write it down."

In other words, the presiding judge must give the prisoner the opportunity to state his case first. Even if his confession is false, the prisoner must be allowed to finish speaking, and then the presiding judge will question the prisoner based on the doubts in the case.

If the evidence is clear but the prisoner refuses to confess, the presiding judge may resort to torture, such as caning, using a pair of tongs, etc.

Normally, the prisoners who were tortured were usually common people. For a young man from an aristocratic family like Wei Yuanzhi, who came from the Shangshu Mansion, the presiding judge would not usually use torture for the sake of consideration.

But now Gu Jue is on the scene. If Gu Jue says to fight, does Jingzhao Yin dare to say no? ! All the civil and military officials in the court know that the new emperor Gu Jue is a man of his word, dictatorial and arbitrary, and does not allow anyone to question his decisions. Gu Jue has the kind of domineering temperament like the founding emperor.

Moreover, Jingzhao Yin was a smart man, and he could see that Gu Jue was using this incident not only to thoroughly investigate the loopholes in the imperial examinations, but also to clean up the corrupt officials in the court.

And he is the sword in the hands of the new emperor. He has no other choice. If he doesn't stand with the new emperor, will he stand with Wei Jingze? !

In a very short time, Jingzhao Yin made up his mind, slammed the gavel, and said loudly: "The evidence is irrefutable, Wei Yuanzhi, you still refuse to plead guilty and refuse to repent. Come, give me twenty strokes of the cane!"

Upon receiving the order, the bailiffs immediately dragged Wei Yuanzhi up from his kneeling position and made him prostrate himself on the ground.

Then, the thick water and fire stick hit Wei Yuanzhi's buttocks again and again. "Ah!"

"Ouch!" Wei Yuanzhi screamed in agony. The pain from his buttocks made him feel like dying.

Every blow seemed to take half of his life.

The bailiffs were beating and counting at the same time. At the same time, the five students who were chosen by the bailiffs to listen to the case also entered the court and stood silently by, watching the scene.

They all guessed that the prisoner who was beaten must be the one suspected of selling the examination papers.

Wei Yuanzhi was beaten by the solid stick until he cried for his parents, tears and snot flowed down his face. He had lived for twenty years and had never suffered such a punishment. He cried bitterly, "Stop hitting me!"

"It was me who sold the examination papers!"

"I know I was wrong..."

However, even though Wei Yuanzhi confessed his guilt, the beatings did not stop.

Since the new emperor agreed to twenty strokes of the cane, then the twenty strokes must be the full amount. It was Wei Yuanzhi's fault for being ignorant of the current situation. If he had confessed his guilt earlier, he could have been spared the beating.

When the students heard this, they were all shocked and angry.

They study hard for more than ten years or even decades just to enter the official career one day.

The imperial examination is like thousands of troops walking on a single-plank bridge, but only a handful of people can successfully cross the bridge to the other side.

The number of candidates for the imperial examination is one in ten thousand, and one in a hundred thousand. The imperial examination is one in a million. The imperial examination is held every three years, and there is a quota for each admission. This is equivalent to those who spent money to buy the test papers taking away the quota of other candidates. How can this be allowed! ! Any scholar with ambition and backbone cannot tolerate this!

If it weren't for the fact that no noise was allowed in the court, these scholars would have pointed at Wei Yuanzhi and scolded him.

After the twenty blows, Jingzhao Yin said, "Wei Yuanzhi, since you have already admitted your guilt, please sign your name!"

The legal advisor next to him had already written a confession and showed it to Jingzhao Yin first. Then the legal advisor handed the confession to Wei Yuanzhi, read it once, and asked him to sign it.

Wei Yuanzhi looked extremely miserable, his hair was half disheveled and some blood was faintly visible from under his clothes, which showed that he had been beaten really hard by the twenty rolls.

At this moment, he was like a useless person, all his energy and spirit gone. He blindly signed his name on the confession document and pressed his red thumb print.

The lawyer presented the signed confession to Jingzhao Yin. After reading it, Jingzhao Yin began to hesitate again. Should he sentence the person or...

He was still hesitating when there was another commotion outside the mansion.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

A tall and strong servant led the way, and the Minister of Personnel Wei Jingze finally arrived, running out of breath. He was usually calm, but at this moment he showed a rare look of anxiety.

More than half an hour ago, Wei Yuanzhi learned from the bearded man that a candidate who bought the first exam paper was making trouble because the test questions were wrong, so he sent his confidant to the Ministry of Personnel to tell Wei Jingze about this, while he himself took his people to the tavern.

After hearing the news, Wei Jingze was afraid that his second son could not handle the matter, so he went to the tavern in person. However, he learned from the waiter that his second son was taken to Jingzhao Prefecture by the troublemaker, who said that he would sue his second son for selling examination papers.

At that moment, Wei Jingze panicked and felt that things might become a little tricky.

He immediately rode his horse as fast as he could to Jingzhao Prefecture, intending to silence the plaintiff at all costs and try to keep the matter peaceful.

His panic and anxiety along the way turned into heartache and anger when he saw his second son being obviously beaten in court.

"Sir Hong, you tortured a child without any evidence. You really use your power to your advantage!" Wei Jingze raised his voice and scolded, trying to suppress the Jingzhao Yin with his status as a minister.

In a rage, Wei Jingze only saw the Jingzhao Yin in front of him, and did not notice that Gu Jue and Yang Xuanshan were sitting on both sides of the court.

"Dad!" Wei Yuanzhi almost cried when he saw his father. His father was finally here! "Yuanzhi, don't..." Wei Jingze wanted to comfort his second son, but after saying a few words, he finally saw Gu Jue sitting there drinking tea when he glanced at the left side of the courtroom. He stopped talking.

He widened his eyes, unable to believe his own.

How could the new emperor be here?! Wei Jingze seemed to be frozen in an instant, standing there stiffly, his head buzzing.

Before seeing Gu Jue, Wei Jingze was about 70% to 80% sure about the matter, but when he saw that Gu Jue was also here, all his certainty was suddenly shattered.

Countless clues were strung together like beads with a thread, and he understood that he might... no, he had definitely fallen into Gu Jue's trap.

He originally thought that the scholar who bought the examination papers was an ignorant outsider, but only now did he know that the plaintiff was actually Gu Jue.

The person who bought the exam papers turned out to be Gu Jue! So, Gu Jue discovered that someone was stealing and selling the exam papers as early as last month, but he endured it and waited until the first exam was over before taking action.

Gu Jue is truly a man of foresight. He probably waited until today just to catch all the main culprits involved in the case and the candidates who participated in the cheating in one fell swoop. Moreover, he wanted to kill two birds with one stone and stir up the anger of the students.

The candidates who had just finished the first round of the imperial examination were at their most excited. At this time, when they knew that someone was selling the examination papers, they would feel that they had worked hard but were trampled under the feet of those in high positions and those who were opportunists and cheaters.

This will only make those scholars even angrier, and they will unite together and attack together.

If these scholars wrote a petition of 1,000 people together, asking the emperor to severely punish the culprit of the fraud, then the new emperor would have a legitimate reason to clean up the civil servants.

Wei Jingze was shocked and even panicked. He even forgot to greet everyone for a moment, and was completely different from his arrogant self just now.

"Minister Wei is really good at educating his children." Gu Jue smiled faintly, without a trace of anger on his handsome face, as if he was just chatting casually with Wei Jingze.

"..."Wei Jingze felt as if he was being stared at by a wild beast, and a chill rose from the soles of his feet.

Originally, he had not planned to let his eldest son take part in this year's imperial examination. His eldest son was not ready yet, and it was too early for him to pass the imperial examination. A 26-year-old would be too eye-catching.

However, because the new emperor eliminated one-third of the generals in the autumn hunt, he changed his mind. His current position was like boiling oil on a hot fire, and he could be eliminated by the new emperor at any time, and then the Wei family would be in a situation where no one was in the court. Therefore, he wanted his eldest son to become the first batch of Jinshi after the new emperor ascended the throne, and let his eldest son spend a few years in the Hanlin Academy first, and cut off his relationship with him.

This move was a big mistake! Now, their Wei family was involved in the case of selling examination questions, which meant that his eldest son was also involved. Anyone would think that the eldest son cheated.

He and his two sons would all be implicated in this case! At this point, Wei Jingze couldn't understand that all of this was part of Gu Jue's plan.

He was wrong.

He thought that Gu Jue was just a military man who could only use the Black Armor Army to suppress court officials. He did not expect that Gu Jue was so shrewd at such a young age and had kept the matter of the imperial examination papers suppressed for so long until now.

At this moment, Wei Jingze felt a deep sense of awe in his heart. Gu Jue was not only a man of his word, but also a king who was able to make plans and strategize.

Wei Yuanzhi, who was standing by, was so frightened that he trembled all over when he saw Wei Jingze was silent. He cried out with tears and snot, "Dad, please save me!"

Wei Jingze became even more annoyed when he saw his second son's useless appearance, and he was desperately thinking about what to do.

At this moment, he really regretted selling the examination papers.

Originally, Wei Jing was planning to set up a trap. When the results of the imperial examination were announced, he would then leak the exam questions and mix in some true and false rumors, emphasizing that it was the Queen's family who sold the exam questions. By then, the students would inevitably become indignant and would ask Gu Jue to deal with the Queen. Then, Gu Jue would be caught in a dilemma.

He could use this incident to make Gu Jue bow his head and suppress his arrogance.

(End of this chapter)