Qingzhou is located east of Kyoto and is one of the most prosperous prefectures in the Dayong Dynasty.

The Gu family is a big family in Qingzhou, and they made their fortune from fishing. It is said that the family has accumulated countless wealth and is rich enough to rival a country!

"It's rare that the Gu family, as merchants, can raise such a knowledgeable and talented son."

Emperor Yong saw that the Crown Prince was already reading and made a meaningful comment.

The Great Yong Dynasty also had the standard classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. Although the Gu family was wealthy, they were still not presentable. No wonder they wanted their children to pass imperial examinations.

But the Gu family is too wealthy, and even though Gu Junlin is a talented writer and has extraordinary knowledge, he cannot be praised too much.

This is full of the emperor's calculations and checks and balances, and the prince understands it all.

But he was so frightened at the moment that he had no intention of agreeing with Emperor Yong.

This...this is the Spring Examination!

There are actually people who dare to use tricks to deceive the public in the Spring Examination!

Emperor Yong thought that the prince was just too engrossed and didn't take it seriously.

At this time, he even wondered if the second brother had also read these articles. He wondered what he thought.

The second child has been very smart since he was young, so he must have more unique insights.

The prince knew that raising questions rashly would not only harm the Qiao family, but would also cause his father's suspicion that he was too close to the Qiao family.

So he suppressed the waves of fear in his heart and uttered a few words of praise.

The palace examination was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, and the emperor would preside over the questioning himself.

After the prince came out of the imperial study, he returned to the East Palace with a calm expression.

In the afternoon, the Queen Mother sent someone to deliver rewards to the Qiao Mansion, saying that Qiao Jiaojiao was frightened in the palace yesterday. The Queen Mother loved Qiao Jiaojiao, so she sent some safety locks as a consolation.

When Emperor Yong heard Eunuch Huang's report, he waved his hand indifferently, and even a hint of annoyance flashed between his brows.

"From now on, Queen, you don't need to report these trivial matters to me."

Eunuch Huang hurriedly said yes and sighed secretly.

He knew why the emperor hated the queen, but Empress Yu Liu committed suicide, so it couldn't be blamed on the queen...

Forget it, as a servant, he just needs to listen to his master.

The Queen's reward soon arrived at the Qiao Residence, and Qiao Zhongguo led the entire family to express his gratitude in person.

When Qiao Zhongguo stepped forward to accept the reward, the palace servant calmly handed over a piece of paper and placed it under the red plate.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince." The palace maid mouthed the words.

She is the Queen's absolute confidant.

Qiao Zhongguo's heart skipped a beat, and he took the red plate with a smile, "Thank you, Queen, for the gift. My daughter is fine now, please rest assured, Queen."

The palace maid had delivered the message, so she led a large group of people out and returned to the palace to report.

Qiao Zhongguo dismissed all the servants, opened the note and saw that it was written by the prince.

Qiao Jiaojiao was held in Mrs. Qiao's arms. Seeing this, she hurriedly pushed towards Qiao Zhongguo.

[Dad! Quickly read what the prince wrote! I want to know too!]

The next moment Qiao Zhongguo spoke.

"The prince said that he read three essays in the first place this morning. The most outstanding one was exactly the same as the one written by Tan Hanchi, but now it was signed by Qingzhou Gu Junlin."

Qiao Jiaojiao suddenly understood what was going on when she heard this.

[Qingzhou Gu Family! No wonder! No wonder the Gu Family would be used by the Second Prince later. It turns out that the Second Prince has such a big handle in his hand! ]

[You should know that the Gu family is a wealthy family. Their business is spread all over the Great Yong Dynasty. Their ancestors started to accumulate wealth, and their foundation is extremely rich. ]

[Later, the heroine made soaps, perfumes, and lipsticks, all using the Gu family's sales channels and connections to make money, and finally established her own business empire. It's like a great story about getting rich in ancient times! ]

The Qiao family didn't know what soap perfume was, but they could tell that the Gu family was crucial to the Second Prince's cause.

"The prince also said that the palace examination will be held the day after tomorrow, when the emperor will personally preside over the examination and the prince will sit in."

As soon as Qiao Zhongguo finished speaking, Qiao Tianjing frowned.

"Dad, we don't have much time left. Once the palace examination is over, it will be extremely difficult for Brother Tan to get his rank back!"

Qiao Jiaojiao followed and pondered, her chubby face wrinkled into a bitter gourd.

[Let me think about it. First of all, we must not let our Qiao family come forward. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to exposing our family directly to the gunpoint of the Second Prince, Duke Qing, and the Minister of Rites.]

[That dog emperor is not a good person either. If he gets suspicious, he might even question my father's intentions. That's not okay!]

[The Crown Prince... The Crown Prince is even worse. Don't let his death be brought forward.]

Qiao family: “…”

Although the logic is sound, this is really rough. Fortunately, only their family can hear it!

Qiao Jiaojiao has a pair of black eyes.

[It seems that Tan Hanchi has to come forward himself! ]

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the Qiao family's eyes lit up.

The next moment, they all shouted, "Dengwen drum!"

【Dengwen drum! 】

Qiao Jiaojiao was slightly stunned, then clapped her hands in surprise.

[Oh my god, the whole family thought of the same thing! ]

[I saw my father and brother standing there staring at each other, and I thought they were worried, but it turned out that they were just like me, their CU was running wildly! ]

Qiao Zhongguo and Qiao Tianjing looked at each other, and the father and son smiled in tacit understanding.

Yes, they were at a loss just now, but Jiaojiao turned around and gave them the solution.

Qiao Jiaojiao's thoughts continued to wander.

[Alas, when Daddy was wronged and sentenced to be beheaded at the Meridian Gate, it was my eldest and second brothers who went to the palace gate to beat the drum to report the incident.]

[But that bastard emperor and the second prince were determined to kill my father, so in the end, my eldest brother and second brother were each given thirty lashes of the cane, and then they were perfunctorily sent back to the Qiao residence.]

In order to prevent someone from maliciously beating the Dengwen Drum, a regulation was made at the founding of the Dayong Dynasty.

Those who beat the drum to report the injustice would first be beaten with thirty sticks. When the drum sounded, the emperor would personally judge the injustice.

[I don't know if Tan Hanchi can withstand these thirty beatings.]

[And the Duke of Qing’s mansion must still be frantically searching for Tan Hanchi. Not only must we ensure that he arrives safely under the Dengwen drum, but we must also protect him and prevent the Duke of Qing’s men from taking the opportunity to do something and beat Tan Hanchi to death.]

These considerations really touched the hearts of Qiao Zhongguo and Qiao Tianjing, and the father and son also considered these issues.

Now that Qiao Zhongguo heard that he would be beheaded at the Meridian Gate, he was able to remain calm.

Isn't what their family is doing with all their efforts to change their fate and overturn the predetermined outcome?

At this time, Qiao Zhongguo couldn't help but marvel at Jiaojiao's quick thinking and intelligence, which was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Exposing the cheating in the imperial examination had never happened in her prediction, but she was able to think through everything and take everything into consideration in the shortest possible time.

This child may become a military advisor in the future!

When Qiao Diyi brought Tan Hanchi over, Qiao Zhongguo analyzed the current situation to him in detail and also explained the risks involved.

"Tan Hanchi, whether to strike the Dengwen drum or not is entirely up to you."

Qiao Zhongguo looked at Tan Hanchi calmly.

Seeing this, Tan Hanchi bowed deeply to Qiao Zhongguo with an extremely determined look.

"General Qiao, no matter how difficult or easy the situation is, you should be brave enough to take action. I am willing to go and beat the drum to report the incident, regardless of life or death!"