"What nonsense are you talking about! Su Qian, stop talking nonsense. I've said it before. I admit defeat. Everything was my plan. There is no blame!"
Wang Chen struggled, his face full of excitement, and he angrily scolded Su Qi'an.
"Haha, why are you so excited? Don't you want to make things bigger? It's already reached this level, so I'll have to add some heat."
"Come here, please take out the examination papers of Fang Hai, Liu Tao, Zhao Ming and others and show them to the candidates present."
Several Imperial Guards acted quickly and found the test papers with the names of the six people Su Qi'an called out.
Many candidates were shown on the spot. As the Imperial Army walked, Su Qi'an's voice sounded at the same time.
"Have you taken a look at it? Do you know it in your mind? If my guess is correct, the plagiarism rate on their test papers and previously leaked questions will be at least 60%."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I don't understand. When did this Jinshi candidate have such a high rate of passing the questions? This citation of scriptures must be too tacit."
In the hall, everyone's eyes were flashing, their expressions were different, and they didn't know what they were thinking.
"You think this is a coincidence? These people have quite good backgrounds. They are basically from the second-ranking Duke families. Even the worst ones are from senior Zhouhou families."
"There must be at least seven or eight of them. My dear, Duke Wang is a second-grade Duke. When will he be powerful enough to influence the imperial examination?"
"It is said that he is a second-grade male, but those who don't know may think he is a first-grade male, or even a third-grade male."
Su Qi'an chuckled, looking very relaxed, but most of the Jinshi in the hall had already turned pale.
Su Qi'an asked questions casually, seemingly easily, but with power comparable to depth bombs.
Su Qi'an said so much, but what he ultimately wanted to express was that the inside story of this palace examination, the mastermind behind it, a second-grade Duke, was not enough to see.
His direction is at least a first-grade Duke, or even higher.
They are all powerful people from aristocratic families, how could they not know how powerful this is? This Dongshan Bo is really courageous. From the looks of him, he wants to make this matter a big deal.
Compared to the pale faces of many dignitaries and scholars, the few students from poor families like Huang Wenyan had no scruples. They each raised their fists and saluted Su Qi'an and said loudly.
"Please examiner Su, can you do justice for us! Make sure the palace examination is clean!"
Although their number was small, the sound they made was deafening, in sharp contrast to the silence of many powerful people.
The face of Mr. Zheng Guogong on the stage was very ugly. Su Qi'an was able to overturn a carefully arranged game so easily.
It can only be said that Wang Chen and the others are really stupid. If they were less selfish and bribed a normal person, they might not have caused such a big trouble.
No matter how many times he scolded Wang Chen in his heart, things had turned around. If he continued to acquiesce to Su Qi'an's continued performance, it would be difficult for this imperial examination to end.
At this time, everything that happened in Wenxian Hall was transmitted to the main hall behind in a matter of seconds.
The atmosphere in the hall was a bit silent. At first, he was a little worried because of Su Qi'an, but unexpectedly, in less than a few words, Su Qi'an not only overturned the evidence against him, but even directly made a good counterattack.
It should have been a happy event, but there was no hint of joy on the faces of Wenxuan, Duke of Chu, and the Ninth Princess. Instead, they were quite silent.
At this time, the first person to speak was Zhao Guogong below, his expression was very serious.
"Your Majesty, the matter with Examiner Su has become a bit big. We could have stopped here, but looking at him, it seems that he will not stop until the so-called shady story of this palace examination is completely revealed."
"I hope your majesty can take action. After all, the palace examination is a major matter of the imperial examination. If Dongshanbo is allowed to do so, it will damage the majesty of the royal family."
Su Xuanyong did not answer in a hurry. He looked at everyone and said softly, "Everyone, please stop hiding it. If you have anything to say, please tell me."
Su Xuanyong spoke, and soon many voices sounded in the hall.
"Your Majesty, Uncle Dongshan did this a little recklessly.
, but I think he should be aware that even if His Majesty issues an edict, it depends on the development of the situation. The old minister feels it is inappropriate to say so now. "
Wenxuan was the one who spoke, still standing by Su Qian's side as always.
"Master Wen, I think what you said is biased. You are too protective. Uncle Dongshan is a talented person. I don't deny it, but I can't be so partial."
"Look at his arrogance just now. If you don't teach him a lesson and fulfill his wish, he will get it again in the future. I request your majesty to take this opportunity to punish Uncle Dongshan severely!"
The person who spoke was Chen Guogong. This Chen Guogong is also a first-class Duke, but he rarely participates in discussing government affairs. Most of the time he stands on His Majesty's side. But today, it is rare to directly criticize someone like this.
"Chen Guogong, what you said is a bit too much. Su Qi'an is from my Hanlin Academy. It's not your turn to deal with it. I think you are making things difficult. I think you are deliberately targeting it." Wenxuan also became a little angry and said directly .
Chen Guogong did not give in, and continued, "Huh, have you ever been there? His Majesty has the final say in everything. I only express my opinions. Master Wen is so nervous. I think you have always been brainwashed by Dongshan Bo."
"You!" Wen Xuan was about to get angry.
He was stopped by Su Xuanyong. Su Xuanyong coughed twice and said, "What's the matter with you? You are so old, why are you still arguing like this with a young boy?" If this is seen by the younger generations, it must be a joke. . "
After stopping the two of them, Su Xuanyong looked at the Duke of Chu. His meaning was very clear. As the prime minister, he wanted to see him at this time.
"Your Majesty, I think what both sides said is reasonable, but if we talk about it individually, it would be unfair to Dongshan Bo."
"It's better than this. Your Majesty first drafts the decree and gives it to the chief eunuch. He will not announce it for the time being. We will wait and see what happens. If Dongshan Bo goes too far, he can immediately issue an edict to correct it. If Dongshan Bo knows what he is doing, the edict can be corrected in time. withdraw."
"In this way, we will not hurt Uncle Dongshan's heart, but also preserve the majesty of the royal family."
Listening to Duke Chu's words, Su Xuanyong smiled and nodded, "Well, it's Chu Zaifu who won my heart. You all should learn from it and don't just quarrel all the time. Being harmonious in court is what most people want." have witnessed."
"This is not just for you veterans. My children must also learn from Chu Zaifu. This is called controlling people."
"My child has learned a lesson." The second and fourth princes nodded sincerely.
The Ninth Princess nodded slightly, but her eyes showed a bit of worry.
Soon, under Su Xuanyong's pen, the imperial edict was drafted and handed over to the eunuch. The eunuch pushed it aside and waited silently.
In the main hall at the rear, calm gradually returned, but in the Wenxian Hall, quarrels continued.
Although Zheng Guogong directly asked the imperial army to escort Wang Chen and others out immediately, the atmosphere in the palace did not improve with the departure of the parties involved.
Instead, two trends formed. The children from a humble family headed by Huang Wenyan, and the powerful young men, stood on both sides with clear distinctions.
What they have to do now is to want fairness and ask the three examiners to make the decision.
I hope that the results of this palace examination will be abolished and the examination will be retaken directly.
However, this proposal was naturally opposed by the powerful and young, so the two sides quarreled over this matter.
Even if the Imperial Guards were present to maintain order, they could not control the dispute between the two parties.
The face of Zheng Guogong on the stage was quite ugly. He turned his head and said to Su Qi'an.
"Examiner Su, you see you are the cause of this mess. I know you have been wronged. I guarantee that Wang Chen and others will definitely be punished, but please come forward to calm this chaos."
"Oh, how do you want me to calm down, Mr. Zheng?" Su Qian asked.
"It's very simple. Today's palace examination was done by Wang Chen alone. Wang Chen was the principal culprit, and the others were accomplices. There is no so-called conspiracy behind the scenes. This palace examination is absolutely fair and just."
"Haha, Mr. Zheng, you are telling lies with your eyes open. You really don't blush and your heart doesn't beat. Su admires you."
"Uncle Dongshan, I'm not kidding you. Do you really think you can change this time?"
The result of the palace examination is that as a royal family, you have to stand up for a poor family. You are seeking death. "
Duke Zheng's expression rarely changed, and his words contained a hint of threat.
Su Qi'an looked at Zheng Guogong seriously and said with a smile, "Really? If Zheng Guogong has such great ability, Su continued, if not, shut up, if you really piss me off, I will make you pay the price, even if you are Duke, if you don’t believe it, just give it a try." Kanshu La
Although Su Qian had a smile on his face, there was a deep chill in his words.
It felt like if Zheng Guogong went further, Su Qian would have to fight him.
This scene did shock Duke Zheng a little, but Duke Zheng was not an ordinary person. He nodded and snorted, "Okay, since Uncle Dongshan is going to make trouble, I will accompany you. Uncle Dongshan must not regret it. It is really making trouble." If it’s too big, let’s see who will be severely punished.”
"Then we'll see." Su Qian said with a smile.
The two sides seemed to be fighting each other directly, neither one convinced the other. At this time, Wang Zhenshan stepped forward, pulled Su Qian aside, and whispered.
"Qi'an, although I am also unhappy with the shady secrets of the palace examination, there are too many involved, and you can't just take this opportunity to reverse it."
"If you think about it carefully, you can involve so many princes and have such great ability. Who is the real manipulator behind this imperial examination? You should have an idea."
"Listen to my advice and take a step back. It won't do you any harm. If you insist on doing this, there will be an abyss ahead. Qi An, think about it carefully."
When Wang Zhenshan said this, how could Su Qi'an not think of it, but he didn't want this person to be what he thought, and he would always have expectations in his heart.
But after Wang Zhenshan's instructions, Su Qi'an also understood who was behind this.
Just when the quarrel in Wenxian Hall was getting more intense and about to get out of control, finally, a sharp voice suddenly sounded outside Wenxian Hall.
"Your Majesty has a decree, and the three examiners have been summoned to receive it."
