In the dark night, the soldiers came out in full force, guarding one in front of each cell, a red-armored cold knife. The blood on the knife had dried up over the years, showing a dark purple cold light.
Meng Suige held the lantern and lowered it expressionlessly, illuminating the ground.
Han Changmu was wearing a purple robe, and his aura became colder with every step he took. When he reached the middle of the alley, his whole body was already chilling.
When I first walked into the alleyway, I only saw a dark area in front of me, and I couldn't see clearly how many people were kneeling on the ground.
At this time, the light shone and Han Changmu saw clearly that there were six people.
Yao Yao narrowed his eyes and sighed: "Oh, there are so many brave people."
Han Changmu turned his head to look at Yao Yao, pursed his lower lip, and when he turned his head again, he had a cold look on his face and said softly: "Tear them all off."
As soon as these words came out, all the scholars were shocked, and the people kneeling on the ground suddenly became stiff and could not even move.
After a moment of dead silence, a sharp and frightening curse suddenly came from the dormitory: "You, you are an insult to elegance, you are an insult to elegance."
This curse was like a prairie fire, instantly igniting the adjacent dormitories, and screams of agony rang out one after another.
"It's an insult to politeness, it's an insult to politeness."
"Beast, beast."
"I want to sue the emperor, sue the emperor."
Hearing these words, Meng Sui hesitated in his heart. He stopped moving forward and looked at Han Changmu hesitantly.
The rumors in Chang'an City have not subsided a few days ago. If there is another incident that humiliates the scholars today, I am afraid that all the scholars in the world will attack it.
Although in terms of physical strength, scholars are at an absolute disadvantage when it comes to using swords and guns, but when it comes to words, warriors like them cannot even catch up.
Meng Suige shuddered when he thought of those curse words without using curse words.
How about saying that there is a dragon spring on the tongue, killing people without blood?
He looked at Han Changmu worriedly.
Han Changmu narrowed his eyes. If he said he didn't care at all about the rumors circulating in the capital, that wouldn't be the case. He just didn't care that much.
He is a soldier. Of course, his words are no match for these scholars who rely on their mouths. He is not stupid, and naturally he will not compare his own shortcomings with the strengths of others. If words are not enough, then it depends on whose fists are stronger. Bar.
He glanced around coldly: "Whoever makes noise again will be stripped naked together."
No one would find it strange that a living King of Hell would say such words, and no one would think that he was just talking and trying to scare people.
The scholars, who were jumping up and down and wailing, were suddenly speechless.
Meng Suige pursed his lips, wouldn't it be better if he had done this earlier?
He walked forward with several internal guards, picked up the kneeling soldiers, and started to take off their clothes in front of the soldiers in the dormitory.
Yao Yao's eyes widened and the corners of his mouth twitched.
I really need to pick it up.
Han Changmu turned his head and saw Yao Yao's stunned look. He suddenly felt unhappy, coughed lightly and said: "Yao Canjun, please bring some buckets of cold water."
Yao Yao was stunned for a moment and realized that he was indeed not suitable to stay here as he would easily get needle holes.
She responded happily and led several internal guards to the well behind.
Late at night at the end of March, the spring cold is gone, and the wind is gentle and warm.
The naked soldiers who had been stripped stood stiffly in the wind, with layers of goosebumps emerging from their exposed skin. They were shaking all over, and the areas bound by the ropes were sore. Almost oozing blood.
Yao Yao came over with his inner guard carrying a few buckets of cold water. Han Changmu asked the inner guard to bring the water to those people, but he always blocked Yao Yao as if unintentionally.
The place where the two of them stood faced the dormitory where Bao Cheng was located, and Han Changmu's little movements were caught in his eyes.
He raised his eyebrows. Speaking of which, apart from being a bit vicious and ruthless, Han Changmu was pretty good at everything else. Just looking at his face and family background, let alone ancient times, even in previous lives, then He is also the golden turtle son-in-law that everyone is flocking to.
Han Changmu blocked Yao Yao's eyes to prevent her from looking at those naked people, but Meng Sui's interrogating voice came over word by word.
The rags gagged in the mouths of the scholars had been removed, but they all seemed mute and refused to speak.
If you don't say anything, you might still be able to escape the charges due to lack of evidence.
Having said that, this is a serious crime requiring consecutive sittings.
Meng Suige sneered. He did not use the knife to scare the scholars, but just waved his hand towards the inner guard.
The inner guards all came forward with buckets of water.
"Crash, crash, crash." The sound echoed in the alleyway.
Several buckets of cold water were poured down on him.
The naked scholars were soaked from head to toe. The water slid from their hair buns to their faces, mixed with the water on their bodies, and dripped onto the blue brick floor.
The water under the feet of the six people flowed along the cracks of the bricks, and the dust and soil mixed together and gathered in the low-lying areas.
The wind in the alleyway was strong, blowing hard and blowing away the water droplets on the exposed skin, and the chill climbed from the toes to the hair.
The six scholars all came up with an idea.
Cold, so cold, I'm freezing.
After a while, the soldiers, whose hands and feet were so stiff from the cold that they could no longer walk and could not even speak, told what Meng Suige wanted.
Not long after, Meng Suijia walked up to Han Changmu holding several things. Two other scholars put on their clothes, but their sleeves and trouser legs were rolled up high, exposing their arms and legs.
The few scholars all looked haggard and their faces looked ashen.
Those who had poor concentration were already exhausted on the ground. A pool of yellow-orange water with a peculiar smell mixed with the cold water just now, winding into the distance.
When things have reached this point, any amount of quibbling is useless.
Yao Yao looked at the white hands and legs, then looked at his own hands, and suddenly felt ashamed.
On such a white arm, the writing in such small regular script is clearly visible, but why was it not found during a body search?
Not to mention that there are various cheating methods and they keep pace with the times every year.
Han Changmu seemed to see what Yao Yao was thinking. He leaned slightly and whispered: "It was written with potion. The writing will not be visible after it dries. Only after brushing it with rice water will the writing appear again."
Yao Yao said "Oh" and had thoughts about the potion.
Han Changmu glanced at Yao Yao and continued in a low voice: "I know the recipe for the potion."
Yao Yao raised his eyebrows, his face full of excitement.
Han Changmu pursed his lips and said, "If you do something to me, I will give you the recipe?"
"..." Yao Yao said warily:
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"What's the matter?"
Han Changmu thought: "I owe it now, and I will tell you later when I think of it. I can give you the recipe first."
After saying this, Han Changmu didn't give Yao Yao a chance to think, and walked over to look at the things that Meng Suigu had found.
Four thumb-sized wax balls were placed on the brass tray, with a very thin hemp rope tied to one end of the wax balls.
Han Changmu raised his chin: "Open."
Several internal guards stepped forward wearing gauntlets, carefully crushed the wax pills, and dropped the bunched notes into the tray.
Han Changmu picked up one of them, unfolded it and took a closer look. He frowned and handed it to Yao Yao: "Take a look."
Yao Yao pursed his lips and read each word, feeling suspicious in his heart.
What was written on this note was indeed the answer to the book, but it was very different from the one Bao Cheng got before.
How come so many fake test questions were leaked? Could it be that someone did it deliberately.
She moved her eyes to look at the other paper balls.
Han Changmu and Yao Yao reached out together, each took the paper ball, unfolded it and looked at it carefully, and then exchanged it.
Looking at the four notes, they all had nothing to do with the test questions that Bao Cheng had received before. As for whether they were the same as the test papers issued tonight, they didn't know.
After all, people like Han Changmu were only responsible for maintaining order in the Gongyuan and monitoring the scholars and examiners. As for the content of the examination papers, they had no idea.
Either at least one of the contents on these four notes is similar to the test paper, or none of the four notes have anything to do with the test paper.
Han Changmu and Yao Yao looked at each other, but in the end they said nothing.
The dormitory has become completely quiet, no one is howling anymore about the disgrace of the Internal Security Department.
The most degrading people felt their faces hurt when they were caught in the act.
Bao Cheng scratched the fence and looked down from beginning to end, and a difficult question arose in his mind.
Where did those four wax pills come from?
When searching the body at the entrance, the soldiers searched extremely carefully. Although they did not strip him naked as roughly as Han Changmu, they searched him from his hair to the seam of his toes, not missing a single bit.
So, these four thumb-sized wax pills were hidden somewhere so that they were not turned out.
Bao Cheng looked at himself, puzzled.
The six cheating scholars were taken to a room in Mingyuan Tower and imprisoned there until the Gongyuan was opened later, and then these people could be sent to the Ministry of Rites for questioning and removal.
Fraud in scientific examinations has always been a serious crime. Scholars who are caught will not only be expelled from the Gongyuan, but also, depending on the seriousness of the case, will be punished and even imprisoned.
Meng Suige stayed in the room for a while longer before going up to the third floor with several confessions.
The commotion in the dormitory on the east side was so loud that it had already alarmed Jiang Shen and others. However, these people were very sensible and did not come out to look around. They only glanced at the lights and lights outside through the window.
In this Gongyuan, they are only responsible for setting and grading the provincial examinations, and cannot interfere with any other matters in the Gongyuan.
Not to mention someone cheating, even if a life was lost, even if Gongyuan was targeted, they couldn't just put their finger on anything.
All affairs in the Gongyuan are subject to the arrangements of the Department of Internal Security. The current Gongyuan is under the final say of Han Changmu, the envoy of the Department of Internal Security.
Han Changmu turned around and saw Yao Yao lying on the dining table, with some cold tea on his hand, scratching on the desk in boredom, he couldn't help but smile faintly, poured a cup of tea and handed it over, and asked in a deep voice: "What are you thinking about? ?”
Yao Yao was holding the cup of tea, and the hot water vapor hit her face. She stared at a pair of wet almond eyes and thought: "The official is wondering how the wax pills were brought in, and why they were not found during the body search." Woolen cloth?"
"Pfft", Han Changmu turned away, took a sip of tea, then reached out and patted the top of Yao Yao's hair lightly, and said with a smile: "What are you thinking about?"
Yao Yao didn't know what was going on. He shook his head hard and knocked Han Changmu's hand away. He raised his head and said with a blank look on his face: "How can this be a mess? This is a cheating method that keeps pace with the times." She frowned. He frowned and said, "That wax pill is as big as a thumb. If you swallow it, you won't choke to death. Even if you are lucky enough not to choke to death, you still have to spit it out. In order to cheat, you really will do anything to commit any crime." Take it."
Han Changmu opened his mouth. Impulsively, he wanted to tell Yao Yao where the wax pill was hidden, but it was a bit hard to say it after all. He raised his eyebrows and changed the topic: "I looked carefully. Those four notes are indeed all related to the answers to this book, but the corresponding questions on each note are different, and they are also different from the one Bao Cheng got. As for whether they are similar to the examination paper, it still has to be After checking again, as for the copy that Bao Cheng got, he also handed over the information just now, and it is not the same as the exam paper."
Yao Yao was still struggling with the matter of the wax pills, and said dullly: "Where are you hiding it so that it hasn't been found?"
Han Changmu had a sip of tea in his throat. Geng's face was ashen. Just as he was about to speak, there was a knock on the door.
He swallowed the tea and said quietly: "Come in."
Meng Suige pushed open the door and walked in, holding a stack of tissue paper in his hand.
It was the confessions given by the six arrested scholars, with their names and places of origin and scarlet fingerprints on them.
After doing this, all six people lay on the ground, struggling for a long time and unable to get up.
They know very well that the road to scientific research has been cut off from now on. This is not the most desperate thing. The most desperate thing is that if this matter is further investigated, it will affect the clan members.
If you are not careful, the scientific research path of the next three generations of clan members will be cut off.
Meng Suige put the confession on the desk and said in a deep voice: "My lord, I have asked you all the questions. These people all got the test questions from a man named Sheng Laosi."
"Sheng Laosi?" Han Changmu frowned slightly and repeated the name: "Isn't this person the same person who asked the barbarians to send the children off?"
Meng Suige nodded and said: "Yes, it is this person. These scholars also met this person in the casino where Sheng Laosi often went."
"Sheng Laosi?" Yao Yao suddenly raised his head: "Sir, could the person behind Sheng Laosi who leaked the test papers and accepted the child be the same person?"
Han Changmu tapped his fingers on the desk: "It's very possible."
Meng Suijie said again: "My lord, these six people all mentioned the same place, which is the gambling house in Jinchangfang. It is the same place that you and Yao Canjun went to together that day."
Han Changmu narrowed his eyes slightly. He was originally suspicious of Xie Liangzhan, but now he was absolutely sure that Xie Liangzhan was definitely involved in this matter.
Whether it was leaking test papers or performing a cesarean section to remove a child, his handiwork was indispensable.
He was about to speak when he turned around and saw Yao Yao's face full of doubts. Knowing that she was still struggling with the wax pill matter, he fell silent for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Okay.
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Okay, let’s just stay here tonight and go back and rest first. "
Yao Yao and Meng Sui claimed that they were the same and withdrew.
The dormitory on the east side became quiet, but it was only superficially quiet. After such a big thing happened, and I saw with my own eyes that the perpetrators were picked out and interrogated by the internal guards, few of the scholars in the dormitory could really sleep. On.
Approaching Yinzheng, the night was dark, and in the deep black sky, floating clouds obscured the bright moon and stars, and not a trace of light poured down.
At this time, when people are deep in sleep, the watchtowers at the four corners of the high wall are also changing their guards at this time.
The tree crown immediately outside the high wall is tall, with dense branches. The leaves cover the sky and the moon, and the shadows fall heavily.
The tree crown suddenly shook violently several times, a rustling sound sounded, and a small wave shot out from the depths of the tree crown, landing right next to the toilet at the end of an alleyway in the west side of the dormitory.
The soldiers in the watchtower were suddenly alarmed. They turned around and drew their swords from their sheaths, making a loud clanking sound.
"Who, who!"
"What's wrong? What happened?"
After changing their posts, the soldiers who had just stepped off the watchtower hurried back and stood on the watchtower, looking far into the distance.
The shaking of the tree crown not far away gradually subsided, and several sharp bird calls came from deep in the tree crown.
The soldiers immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's a bird, it's really scary."
"Isn't that right? Grass and trees are all soldiers."
"Isn't it just a provincial examination? It's not like I haven't been here before. Really, let's go. Go back to sleep."
The soldiers who were changing the guard covered their mouths and yawned non-stop. They walked down the watchtower muttering and walked listlessly to the shabby room behind Mingyuan Tower.
The footsteps of the soldiers gradually faded away, and a voice suddenly came from the dormitory: "Brother, brother, I want to go to the toilet."
The soldiers patrolling back and forth outside the dormitory glanced at the man and shouted impatiently: "Others have slept too much, and you still have to go to the toilet. You have a lot to do."
The man said with a smile on his face: "Brother, I'm sorry to bother you. I have three urgent needs. I really can't bear it."
The soldier had a dull face and cursed: "Go, go, go back quickly."
The people in the dormitory smiled bitterly and thanked him, holding their stomachs and throwing them to the toilet at the end of the alley.
Most of the lights in the alleyway were extinguished, leaving only one lamp at the end and one at the end. The lights were dim and could only illuminate a blue brick under the lamp.
He ran to the toilet door as fast as he could. The moment he entered the door, he seemed to trip over something. He staggered and almost fell to the ground. He stood up with his hands on the ground and ran into the toilet.
After half a cup of tea, he walked out of the toilet feeling comfortable.
A gust of night wind blew by, and the floating clouds in the deep sky were blown away. The moonlight fell, and the dark alley suddenly became brighter.
He raised his head, and the moonlight fell on his face. His face was as pale as a ghost, with sunken eye sockets, and he was surprisingly thin.
He raised his lower lip, and there was a faint smile on his lips, which looked particularly scary.
At dawn the next day, the scholars in the dormitory woke up one after another, stretched themselves, and the more sophisticated ones washed themselves up, then heated up the food and began to eat, while the less sophisticated ones just rinsed their mouths and used some in a cold voice. Hard dry food.
As for what happened last night, everyone automatically ignored it.
Jiang Shen was getting older and was originally in front. The noise outside last night was too loud. After he was woken up, he listened for half the night. After the outside calmed down, he couldn't fall asleep. He tossed and turned for a long time until dawn. Take a nap.
Today's morning meal was unexpectedly rich, a steaming pot of shredded chicken and japonica rice porridge. The tender yellow shredded chicken and snow-white japonica rice were boiled, exuding a strong aroma.
A dish of assorted pickles, a dish of bird's nest stewed eggs, a plate of yam cake, and a plate of milk crispy bean paste rolls.
It's sweet and salty, with a combination of meat and vegetables. It's much better than the pickles, dumplings and sesame cakes of the past few days.
After Jiang Shen washed up, he sat in front of the dining table and looked at the buzzing meal, confused and surprised.
Wang Jingzong took a bean paste roll and clicked his tongue: "Did the cook take the wrong medicine today?"
Ruan Ping'an grinned: "It's also possible that he didn't take medicine."
Mu Rongxun glanced at the two of them, then filled a bowl of shredded chicken and japonica rice porridge first, placed it in Jiang Shen's hand, and said respectfully: "Mr. Ge, today's porridge is quite good, please try it."
Jiang Shen nodded: "It looks good."
Mu Rongjun looked at Jiang Shen's face and asked, "Did Mr. Ge not have any rest last night? His face doesn't look good."
Jiang Shen said tiredly: "It was a little noisy last night."
Mu Rongzhen turned to look at Wang Jingzong and Ruan Ping'an, and whispered: "Last night, it sounded like the Internal Security Department arrested a few people, and the noise was louder, and it seemed that they did something that was degrading to gentlemen. ."
Jiang Shen pretended not to know and said softly, "Oh, that's right. I only heard the noise."
Mu Rongzhen turned to look at Wang Jingzong and Ruan Pingan again, but saw that the two men had their heads lowered, as if they were concentrating on their meal. They did not hear these words and had no intention of answering them.
He grinded his teeth and said with a smile: "It's not, it's not a big deal. It seems, it's just that Han Si ordered someone to take off the scholar's clothes."
Jiang Shen was stunned for a moment, his expression did not change, and he suddenly laughed: "The Internal Security Department's actions are quite interesting."
Hearing this sentence, Wang Jingzong and Ruan Ping'an looked at each other, not knowing how to interpret the word "interesting".
Mu Rongxun was also speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer the question.
The room was quiet for a while, and only the faint sound of eating could be heard.
After a brief silence, there was a knock on the door: "Master Ge, Mr. Han is here. He said he has something important to discuss with Mr. Ge."
Jiang Shen was stunned for a moment, glanced at Mu Rongxun, and said in a deep voice: "Please come quickly."
After the words fell, Mu Rongxuan, Wang Jingzong and Ruan Ping'an hurriedly rinsed and wiped their mouths, put away the breakfast, wiped the table, and stood aside.
Mu Rongxun's official position is one level higher than that of Han Changmu, while Wang Jingzong is half a level lower than Han Changmu. As for Ruan Ping'an, like Han Changmu, he is a third-rank official.
Logically speaking, these three people do not need to be so cautious and polite when facing Han Changmu, but the Internal Security Department behind Han Changmu is so notorious that it makes people feel timid.
Just after clearing away the food in the room and burning a stick of agarwood to dispel the odor, Han Changmu and the others pushed open the door and entered.
After bowing to each other, everyone sat down. Yao Yao and Meng Suige were naturally not qualified to sit down, so they stood behind Han Changmu.
Jiang Shen thought about it for a moment and smiled lightly: "I wonder if Mr. Han has anything to discuss with me?"
Han Changmu said politely: "There was a lot of noise last night. I think the elder and all the gentlemen must have heard it."
(End of chapter)
