"I've told a lot about your family. I hope what you said is true and you didn't lie to us."
Jin Jing looked at Jin Miaomiao who had stopped writing, walked over, picked up the confession she had transcribed and read it, then held it up to Ning Cheng and showed him page by page.
"No problem, right? Is there anything wrong?" He raised his eyebrows slightly, "These are what you said, right?"
"Yes, it's all what I said."
"Okay!" Jin Jing waved her hands towards Ying Qi Qi and Ying Wu Yi, "Here, give him the next hand and let her sign and sign. This part is over."
Ning Cheng's right hand was put down and he didn't resist. He signed his name and fingerprinted his confession honestly. After that, he was tied back again.
Jin Jing handed the signed confession back to Shen Cha, then turned around and walked to Ning Cheng.
"Now let's talk about business." He smiled at Ning Cheng, "After talking so much about this, do you think we have forgotten about Ning Changguo?"
"That's not possible. Isn't this your main purpose?" Ning Cheng sighed, "This Fourth Grandpa is indeed a legend in our family, a magical being. He is the only one who successfully entered Xijing City and successfully entered Xijing City. A clansman who has established a foothold in the court and holds a first-class official position."
"If I remember correctly, the children of the seven or eight major clans in the south of the Yangtze River, including the Chaozhou Ning clan, are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination and become officials, and they are not qualified to be elected to official positions, right?"
"Everything you said is right, sir. This is indeed against the law." Ning Cheng thought for a moment, "Actually, the restricted families are all trying to find ways to let their children take part in the imperial examinations. It's impossible to just sit back and wait for death. If you don’t participate in the imperial examination and have no children to join the officialdom, you will be replaced sooner or later. This is what all the big clans don’t want to see, but this is what the Daxia royal family hopes to see.”
"But the big clan doesn't want the royal family to get what they want, right?"
"Yes, people's hearts are not as strong as snakes swallowing elephants. The big clan has controlled the world for more than two hundred years. Sometimes the power in their hands is much greater than that of the royal family. Now that they are not allowed to have this power, they must feel a sense of loss. ." Ning Cheng raised his eyebrows. When he saw Jin Jing looking at him with a half-smile, he sighed and said, "Sir, you don't have to look at me like that. I know myself very clearly. I just hope that I Our small family can be harmonious and beautiful. As for what the family is like, I don’t care. If the family grows, it will not be of any benefit to us side branches. If the family is weak, we will not be able to take advantage and may have to become victims of the struggle for power. .”
"Since you think so clearly, then you admire Ning Changguo?"
"That was when I was young, but after knowing what happened to my sister, I felt that a person who couldn't even manage his own family well, how could he manage the entire world? What's more, if they really succeed, what will happen? How many girls, and how many families, will face what my sister and my family have experienced, and how many families will be ruined? It is good as it is now. I hope His Majesty the Emperor will have a firmer attitude and never compromise. They are not worthy. "
"Your attitude changed very quickly, huh?" Jin Jing gently raised the corners of her lips, "Did you change after you came to our place?"
"Let's go along the way, especially after leaving Jiangnan. The further north we go, the more we find that the people's lives are not what they tell us."
"What did they tell you?"
"It is said that the emperor of Daxia is incompetent, and the continuous wars in the north have caused the people here to live in dire straits. But what we see is not the same, especially after coming to the border, we see that the people here are really Living a down-to-earth life, although not so rich, at least has enough food, warm clothes, and spare money to support the children in the family to study and practice martial arts. Just like the house we rented, there is a small yard at home. Rental, this is something we never imagined.”
"Very surprised?"
"Of course, when we were in Chaozhou, the elders told us that the people here often didn't have enough to eat. They bullied us that we couldn't leave our hometown anytime and anywhere, and we couldn't see the outside world. We could only come from They know a little bit from their mouths
The news above. But now that we have come out, we realize that we have been wrapped in their lies every day for these years, living in the illusion they built for us. "
"You are very lucky to be able to see this world with your own eyes. At least it is much better than the tribesmen who are still deceived by the elders." Jin Jing knew the inside story of these big clans and knew that what Ning Cheng said was true. He sighed softly, "Continue to talk about Ning Changguo. You once admired him so much. Do you know how he took part in the imperial examination?"
"I know!" Ning Cheng nodded, "He is the most beloved son of the previous clan leader, and he is also the smartest one. He showed his talent at a very young age, so his father and brother... that is, the last one The patriarch, the current patriarch, and all the elders feel that he is the hope of the family, and that he can really lead the family to break through the current shackles and stand at the top of the power again."
"So? They started planning for him?"
"Yes!" Ning Cheng sighed, "They have long started to think of ways for Ningchang to participate in the imperial examination. Although the children of the Chaozhou Ning family cannot participate in the imperial examination, those branches that were separated from the Chaozhou Ning family , are not affected by this. Therefore, they want to find a suitable family in these branches, transfer Ningchangguo's household registration to that family, and let Ningchangguo become a child of that family, so that he can take the scientific examination ." He felt that his throat was dry and hoarse again, and he looked at Jin Jing with a pleading look on his face, "Sir, can I ask for a glass of water? I really can't bear it anymore."
"Of course!" Jin Jing raised her chin towards the guard, watched as the guard took a glass of water and fed it to Ning Cheng, and then asked, "This method probably wasn't just thought of, it was thought of by the restricted big clan. Bar?"
After Ning Cheng drank a whole glass of water, she felt her throat felt much better. She asked the guard for another glass before nodding towards Jin Jing.
"It's just that the children in the family are not very promising, and none of them can enter the center. Although Ning Changguo was very young at that time, his views on current affairs were very unique, and he was a candidate favored by all the big clans, so , his teacher is the most famous and talented among these big clans, and they just want Ning Changguo to lead them to break out of the shackles of many years."
After finishing the second glass of water, Ning Cheng felt much better. He thanked the jailer and Jin Jing.
"What happened next?" Jin Jing waved her hand, saying no need to thank her, and asked him to continue talking about Ningchang Kingdom, "Then they chose a suitable family? Was the family also willing? What if the family also had children who wanted to take the imperial examination and become officials? ?」
"Don't be impatient, sir. Please listen to me. They have been selecting people since Ning Changguo was three or four years old. However, given that the situation in the Jiangnan branch was not very good before and it was easy to implicate themselves, so this time They don't plan to search from the several branches of the Ning family in Jiangnan."
"Sending a child at such a young age must be sent to a family with good conditions, and it must be convenient for visits and teaching by teachers. The branch in Jiangnan is the most suitable, right?"
"That's what I said, but several other big clans have had some accidents using the Jiangnan branch. The household registration checks were very strict during the scientific examination years, and several big clans have been found out. Although they I bribed some local officials who manage household registration, but at critical moments, these officials will easily betray them."
"The Ningchang Kingdom is too important, so they didn't want to take the risk, so they chose a branch other than Jiangnan?"
"Yes, they still value the lessons learned from the past. If Ning Changguo cannot participate in the imperial examination due to household registration issues, the loss will not only be the Ning family in Chaozhou, but the entire Jiangnan clan. Unless they can wait for a Ning Changguo is better, but this kind of talent is hard to come by. If you can't wait, you will miss a good opportunity."
"That makes sense, but..." Jin Jing frowned, "If you don't choose the Jiangnan branch, you are out of their control. After all, even though they have been found to be direct descendants, some yamen in Jiangnan are still Those who are willing to accept their money and do things for them. If they go to other places, how can they persuade people from other government agencies to do things for them? Let alone money and silk, few people will take risks in areas other than Jiangnan. Do this for you
of. "
"It's not for us, it's for them. At that time, my father wasn't even born yet!" Ning Cheng snorted and continued, "Actually, the Jiangnan clan has not been doing this kind of impersonation for a day. Two days, one person and two people. If His Majesty the Emperor wants to investigate, he can still find out a lot. Of course, there are not many in Xijing City. In recent years, except for the Ningchang Kingdom who really broke into Xijing City, there is no one in Jiangnan. The children of the big clan can gain a foothold in Xijing City. However, many people have been scattered to other places in Daxia, and many of them have become minor officials and county magistrates, and they have not been promoted for many years."
"I understand. At the same time, I was abandoned by the family, but if the family needs it, I still have to devote myself to the family, right?"
"Your Majesty is right, it's just so unreasonable." Ning Cheng sighed, "Their purpose is that I can give up on you, but when I need you, you must fulfill my request, otherwise, The old man will be exposed by his own people."
"So, on the one hand, they are looking for a suitable branch, and on the other hand, they are looking to see where their own clan members can serve as officials and can help? Only when these two conditions are met at the same time can the final candidate be finalized, right?"
"Yes!" Ning Cheng nodded, "I heard that they took a long time to select, probably more than a year or two years, before they found a suitable candidate in Zhongzhou. They talked with the family for more than half a month before finally finalizing the decision. . However, there is no small official with household registration, because the family named Ning in Zhongzhou has the only son named Ningchangguo. What’s more coincidental is that Ningchangguo and Chaozhou Ningchangguo were born in the same year, month and day, but the time is slightly different. There is a difference, and in addition, Zhongzhou, a country in Ningchang, is in particularly poor health and is already dying of illness. It is almost the right time, place and people."
"It's indeed a coincidence." Jin Jing turned her head and exchanged a knowing look with Shen Cha. Ning Cheng's statement was almost the same as what Jiang Erye found. It seemed that this was Ning Changguo's inexplicable substitute for participating in the scientific examination. the truth. He turned around and looked at Ning Cheng, "Ning Changguo doesn't need to change his household registration at all. He can directly replace Zhongzhou, and Jiangnan can treat him as if he has died of illness."
"They did indeed do this." Ning Cheng sighed, "After Ning Changguo of Zhongzhou died of illness, Ning Changguo of Chaozhou became the biological son of the Ning family branch in Zhongzhou, and the person who originally died of illness became Chao Zhou Ning, the child prodigy who was once famous in the south of the Yangtze River. However, in order to make the replacement smooth, they had long ago created the illusion that Ning Changguo was in poor health and was very sick. They had not found the Ning family in Zhongzhou before. At that time, Ning Changguo still appeared in front of everyone frequently."
"But after he was found, he didn't appear in front of people very often?"
"Yes, it is becoming less and less, and every time he appears, he always looks sick. Therefore, when people heard the news that he died of illness, they were not particularly surprised, because it was not good to appear in front of people again and again. Later, most people It has become normal to not show up for half a year, and I heard that the Chaozhou Ning family asked all the famous doctors in the world, but they still failed to save Ning Changguo's life. Therefore, after the news of his death was released, no one aroused suspicion. Later, Ning Changguo successfully became a native of Zhongzhou. After successfully participating in the imperial examination, he was expected to win the first place in the imperial examination. At that time, he was only about fifteen years old. When he passed the examination, he heard that the clan found an excuse to open the exam for seven days. The running water mat is just to celebrate the clan leader’s good vision.” Having said this, Ning Cheng sighed, “However, although Ningchang State successfully entered the imperial examination and became an official, the imperial examination that year revealed fraud, and there were also reports of fraud. The scandal of scholar imposters. Although imposters would break out every few years in the past, this time it seemed that the Emperor was furious and ordered all scholars in this department to have their origins and resumes scrutinized."
"Because Ning Changguo has changed from his roots, he escaped by chance?"
"Yes, and his nominal parents, the couple from Zhongzhou, seemed to have gone to Xijing City to celebrate his high school." Ning Cheng chuckled lightly, "It was a full show. Although some people from Chaozhou also went, they were all Be careful, no one noticed them, but that couple is very high-profile, no matter where they go, everyone knows that their son is the top scorer in high school."
"Such a high profile proves that Ning Changguo's identity is not fake." Jin Jing nodded, "Later,
Woolen cloth? "
"After the identity fraud incident was investigated, fraud was investigated again. Of course, these had nothing to do with Ningchang Kingdom, but this group of scholars were not awarded very important official positions for this reason. Ningchang Kingdom was sent to the Imperial Academy to revise books , this cultivation will take four to five years.”
"Is your family very disappointed? After all, we placed too much hope on Ningchang Kingdom, but it turned out to be just a Hanlin?"
"That's not true. After all, it's just bad luck, and Ning Changguo is too young. Even if he is sent to another place, the family will work hard to keep him in the capital. However, these few people in the capital In the year, they realized that they seemed to have made a mistake. The conduct of the couple in Zhongzhou was really not very good. If they were allowed to continue to torment, it might affect the career of Ningchang Kingdom. "
"What do they want to do?"
"What else can these big clans do?" Ning Cheng sneered, "Kill people and silence them to avoid future troubles."
