Zhu Cheng, who was in the courtyard, did not receive any good news from Zhong Qi'er. Instead, he was escorted to the prison by soldiers.
"What right do you have to arrest me? My father is the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."
Zhu Cheng struggled to speak, "Let me go!"
But the leader sneered, "Zhu Cheng, the son of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, right? We've got you arrested."
"By imperial decree, you have spread rumors of cheating in the imperial examinations. You are hereby barred from taking the imperial examinations and entering officialdom for life. You are hereby expelled from the capital immediately."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cheng froze in his struggle. His legs were so weak that he could not stand and had to be supported by soldiers on both sides to move.
"Impossible... How could this be..."
Zhu Cheng refused to believe this outcome. His lifelong wish was to pass the imperial examination and enter officialdom. The emperor had cut off his path to the examination. What difference was there between this and taking his life?
"I really didn't mean it. I didn't expect things to escalate like this. I want to see the Emperor. I demand to see the Emperor."
Seeing Zhu Cheng's distraught state, the soldiers took him directly to the imperial prison.
But right outside the prison gates, they saw Zhu Yao, who had been waiting for a long time.
"Father, Father, please save your child, please save your child!" Upon seeing Zhu Yao, Zhu Cheng was as if he had seen a savior. "I was really just confused for a moment, but I really didn't incite those people to cause trouble."
Before Zhu Cheng could continue speaking, a heavy slap landed on his face.
Zhu Cheng's head was buzzing from the blow, and he stood there dumbfounded.
"father?"
"Some time ago, you spoke rudely at Minghe Tower, but I only confined you and did not discipline you properly. This has led to the trouble you have caused today, and even caused the Empress Dowager to fall into a coma, and tarnished the reputation of the female scholar."
Zhu Yao's words exploded in Zhu Cheng's heart like a bomb.
"Your mistake today is my mistake, Zhu Yao's mistake."
As Zhu Yao approached, Zhu Cheng took a few steps back in fear.
Another resounding slap followed, and Zhu Yao's eyes turned bloodshot. He had prided himself on being an honest and capable official, yet he had made a mistake in raising his children, bringing such trouble upon himself.
"Do you know how difficult it was to train these female scholars?"
"Father, I was really wrong."
Zhu Cheng didn't know whether it was from pain or regret; snot and tears streamed down his face.
Seeing this, Zhu Yao sighed inwardly. He had a son late in life, and he could never bring himself to be ruthless towards him, which led to this great disaster.
Suddenly, Zhu Yao knelt down and raised his voice, "It is the father's fault if the son is not taught properly. Your subject Zhu Yao should apologize to Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to dismiss me from my post. I will move my whole family out of the capital and will never set foot in the capital again in this life."
For a moment, everyone present was in an uproar.
When the news reached the palace, Gu Qingyan and Jiang Yu both remained silent for a moment.
“Zhu Yao is a good official, it’s a pity he has such a son.” Jiang Yu said slowly, “Let’s see if there are any suitable official positions for Zhu Yao outside the capital.”
Gu Qingyan nodded in agreement, "If it weren't for Zhu Yao, I would definitely have cut off Zhu Cheng's head."
"As for Wei Ruo, A Yan, we can have him accept Guo Siyuan's request. He had some doubts about Guo Siyuan's flood control measures before, so this is a good opportunity for him to verify them himself."
"Mother, leave these matters to me." Gu Qingyan quickly said, "Your most important thing now is to take good care of your health and the baby in your belly."
When the baby in her belly was mentioned, Jiang Yu's expression softened. "Once the matter at Lingyun Garden is resolved, I still want to go to Lingyun Garden to see them."
She wanted to see these flowers bloom with her own eyes.
"Then I will accompany Mother Empress."
Gu Qingyan stood up and leaned close to Jiang Yu's stomach. "Mother, do you think it will be a little brother or a little sister?"
"It hasn't even been a month yet, only God knows."
"But my younger brother and sister are both good, and I like them both."
Gu Qingyan smiled and said, "If it's a younger brother, I'll raise him to be a prince with both literary and martial talents. If it's a younger sister... I'll spoil her so she'll be the happiest princess in the entire Dayu."
......
The next day, Minghe Tower was packed with people early in the morning. They had all come to watch because they knew that Guo Siyuan would be competing against Wei Ruo there that day.
Gu Qingyan personally set the test questions and entrusted Zhuo Yi to personally supervise the exam.
No one dared to utter a single word during the entire process.
"His Majesty said there's no need to test the Four Books and Five Classics; the two of you only need to answer one policy essay, and the allotted time is two hours." Zhuo Yi cleared his throat, then secretly winked at Wei Ruo, who quickly looked away.
This Zhuoyi... it's truly unbearable to look at.
The gong sounded, and this special exam officially began.
Guo Siyuan and Wei Ruo both started writing after thinking quickly. Everyone held their breath, afraid of disturbing the two of them.
Two hours passed in a flash. Zhuo Yi took the two people's test papers and left leisurely, leaving only the words that the emperor would personally review them.
"Farewell."
Seeing this, Guo Siyuan left decisively without any hesitation.
No one else came to Lingyun Garden today except Guo Siyuan, so everyone just watched Guo Siyuan's departing figure without saying a word to stop her.
"He's quite an oddball."
Kui Ruo pursed his lips. Just now, he could feel Guo Siyuan writing furiously next to him. Guo Siyuan was really competing with him and wanted to win.
Before leaving the capital, the Zhu family came to apologize outside Lingyun Garden, but the gate of Lingyun Garden was tightly closed, and no matter how many times Zhu Yao knocked, it would not open.
Seeing this, Zhu Yao led dozens of members of the Zhu family to sit on the ground outside Lingyun Garden, attracting the attention of passersby.
Everyone is speculating when Lingyun Garden will open its doors to accept the Zhu family's apology.
Inside Lingyun Garden.
"Are we really going to keep the door closed like this?"
Someone asked uncertainly, and even Xie Zhiqing unconsciously looked at Guo Siyuan.
“Once His Majesty has determined who is the victor between me and Kui Ruo, the gate will be opened.” Guo Siyuan’s voice carried a magical power that calmed people down. “Even if I lose, His Majesty will find a way to let everyone know that we are innocent.”
Just as Guo Siyuan had predicted.
Gu Qingyan did not directly give a result on who won or lost, but simply sent people to post the two people's exam papers for everyone to see.
Anyone who has seen both sets of exam papers can no longer say that these female candidates passed the exams by cheating.
The gates of Lingyun Garden had just opened.
"The Zhu family has failed to properly educate their children, thus tarnishing your reputations. Zhu Yao has come here specifically to apologize."
Guo Siyuan stepped forward and curtsied to the main person in charge. "I have long heard of Lord Zhu's upright and honest character. Seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."
"Miss Guo's words truly make me ashamed."
This scene was once again witnessed by Wei Ruo.
“This woman is not simple.” Zhuo Yi, sitting opposite Wei Ruo, spoke slowly. But the next second, Zhuo Yi’s eyes narrowed suddenly. He saw Zhu Yao suddenly rush towards the stone lion outside the courtyard.
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