June 17
Leng Ming came to report,
"Your Majesty, I have already captured everyone at Desheng Tea House. That Jiang guy refuses to reveal who's behind him. What should I do?"
"First, lock him up in the Ministry of Justice and continue the trial. His immediate superior must be from the Ministry of Rites. You are the head of the Ministry of Rites. This matter is yours to investigate. I only want the results."
"Yes, I'll check right away. By the way, there are a lot of scholars at Desheng Tea House today. I've already informed them that tomorrow's exam will be supervised by the Emperor himself. The princes will only take the exam without a name. Everyone will rely on their own abilities, and there will absolutely be no cheating."
Leng Yu nodded with satisfaction.
"This is the best. Our Daning State's officialdom should absorb some fresh blood. The top three candidates will be directly appointed to the Ministry of Rites, Personnel, and Revenue. The rest of the successful Jinshi candidates will all be recruited as reserve candidates. As for those old officials, let them retire and return home if they wish!"
"Your Majesty, will they...will they be willing?"
Leng Yu snorted coldly.
"They are now eager for me to issue this decree. I have also considered that they are old ministers of the previous dynasty, and they are willing to retire and return to the countryside. I will not pursue the money they embezzled while in office. I will only consider it as money to support their families when they retire and return home."
Hearing this, Leng Ming nodded immediately.
"Your Majesty, now that you have spoken, I understand. Now that you are restoring order in the government, everyone is in danger. If you open this door, they will surely agree to retire without complaint."
Leng Yu breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "The late emperor left behind too many hidden dangers. These old ministers are just sitting there doing nothing. It would be better to let capable people take over their positions."
"Your Majesty is wise."
"No need to flatter me. By the way, do you visit Prince Xi's Mansion often?"
"After Xiao Cui died, Luo Xue and I went to see her once, and Concubine Li was still quite stable."
"That's good. I don't know how Lengxi is doing. I've been gone for so long, and there's no news."
"Your Majesty, they have only been gone for less than three months, and it will take more than two months on the road. I guess they will be very busy as they have just arrived. Wait until you have time. Fifth Brother will write to you."
Leng Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Leng Xi's trip this time was to help him share his worries, and he thanked him from the bottom of his heart.
However, during this period, Xiao Cui and the child both died, and he always felt a little guilty.
…
June 26
The imperial examinations concluded successfully. To prevent the candidates from waiting too long, Leng Yu and Luo Lan worked tirelessly day and night to personally review the results. Finally, they compiled the list of the top three candidates and the list of successful candidates.
If Lele and Yicheng were ordinary candidates, it would be no problem for them to be in the top three. For this, Luo Lan and Leng Yu were very happy, as it also proved that their years of study were not in vain.
On the day of the results announcement, some candidates were jubilant while others were dejected.
Hong Hai, who met Leng Yu and others at Qingyuyuan Teahouse, passed the exam and ranked second. Zhao Zhen, a scholar from Yilan County, passed the exam and ranked third. Although Dong Jin only passed the exam and ranked as a Jinshi, he was very happy about it.
However, the person who passed the exam and became the top scorer has never appeared, which is very puzzling.
Leng Yu sat in the Yangxin Palace and asked in confusion,
"You just said that the address of the person who won the top prize was fake? How is that possible? What's wrong with you people from the Ministry of Rites? You can't even figure out such a small thing?"
Leng Ming stood there with his hands hanging down, his face flushed and shaking his head.
"I didn't expect this to happen. The address this person left was in the capital, but we went there and there's no such place. There's no one named Ling in that area. It's all my fault for being careless. We didn't think it was a fake address, and we didn't think to verify it. No one could have imagined that this person who left a fake address would win the top prize. This... this matter, what should I do?"
A hint of indifference flashed across Leng Yu's eyes, and then he looked at Leng Ming.
"Now that the imperial edict has been released, you must dig deep to find this person. I personally reviewed this person's examination paper. He is a talented person, his writing is insightful, and his knowledge is profound. However, I can see a hint of restraint in his handwriting, probably because he is not relaxed. Once you find this person, I will meet with the top three together. Remember, this must be done in secret. If the top scorer is lost, it will be my people who will be lost."
Leng Ming clasped his fists and saluted.
"I understand. I will go find him now."
Although Leng Ming's words were full of confidence, he knew in his heart where he could find this person. He only knew the name, but he didn't even know what the person looked like.
But this was his negligence at work, and he must be responsible for his negligence.
Thinking of this, he quickly rushed back to the Ministry of Rites and arranged for all officials to inquire privately.
The top scorer is lost?
This was no small matter, and the news soon reached Fengyi Palace.
Luo Lan muttered to Acai and Ahong in confusion:
"After ten years of studying so hard, he finally became the top scholar. How could he not come to see the imperial edict? This is really strange."
Ah Hong nodded strangely.
"Yeah, I heard from Ayu that this Ling writes very well and has very unique insights. Why would he leave a fake address? Is he hiding something?"
Ah Cai squinted and shook her head,
"Even if there's something unspeakable, winning the top spot is a huge blessing. How could he take this kind of blessing, which no one else could ask for, lightly?"
Luo Lan gently brushed her headdress and analyzed with a frown:
"The Emperor showed me his exam paper. It's indeed different, but his handwriting is a little weaker. His writing is weak, just like someone strangling their throat when speaking. If his address is fake, then his name must be fake too. Did he deliberately change his original handwriting on his exam paper?"
At this point, she frowned, carefully recalling the test paper, and said to herself:
"I thought the font looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Could it be that I'd seen it somewhere before?"
Hearing her say this, Acai couldn't wait to say:
"My Lady, please go get the test papers and compare them carefully."
Luo Lan immediately shook his head.
"After the Emperor has reviewed the examination papers, they will be sealed. No one is allowed to open them unless there are special circumstances. Alas! I didn't think much of it at the time. If I had known this, I should have taken a closer look."
Ah Hong frowned in embarrassment.
"I heard that the Emperor has issued an order to Prince Ming to dig three feet underground to find this person. But if this person is really as the Empress said, even his name is fake, how can we find him?"
Ah Cai also pursed her lips and agreed.
"Exactly. Who did this? Who would do such a thing?"
Just as they were discussing this, the maid outside came in to report,
"Your Majesty, Princess Ming is here."
Luo Xue is here?
She hurriedly greeted:
"Please ask her to come in."
"I'm already in."
Luo Xue came to her while speaking.
"Sister, the person you are waiting for is here."
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