Long Live the Empress

Chapter 310 Favoritism and Malpractice

The old emperor wanted to laugh but had to hold it back, so he could only put his hand to his lips and cough to cover it up.

The Minister of Justice blushed with shame, and could not think of any rebuttal, so he could only vent his anger to the three students: "What exactly are you doing here? Think carefully before you speak, so as not to implicate your parents!"

The three students were unmoved by the hint from the Minister of Justice. One of them said, "Your Majesty, I am a student participating in the Spring Examination. I have no choice but to do this today. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

"Tell me what it is all about?" asked the old emperor.

"Yes, Your Majesty! I am from Jiangnan. I went to Beijing with a few fellow villagers to take the imperial examination. When the list of candidates came out, I had a high fever, so I asked my fellow villagers to help check on them! But they didn't come back for several days... I was really worried, so I went out to look for them, but... but I heard..." The Jiangnan student wiped his tears and continued, "I heard that they were beaten to death!"

"Then why don't you report to the authorities?" asked the old emperor.

"I have reported it, but the government wants to see the body alive or dead, and they want me to produce evidence... I was ill at the time, so how could I have evidence... I have reported it many times but to no avail, so I can only come to file a complaint with the emperor!"

"You just heard that your fellow townsman died. Maybe they didn't pass the exam and were too embarrassed to see you, so they secretly returned home?" said the Minister of Justice.

"Your Excellency's words make sense! But those students outside come from all over the world. I have asked them one by one, and their fellow townsmen who came here have not returned yet. Is this a coincidence?" The student from Jiangnan said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"How could such a thing happen? Jingzhao Yin!" At the foot of the capital, so many disciples of the emperor died just like that? The old emperor's cloudy eyes became clear and he shouted.

Jingzhao Yin stepped forward and said, "I am here!"

"Do you know about this?"

"Your Majesty, I know about this! After they reported the case, I sent someone to investigate. They said that the students felt that there was suspicion of cheating in the exam and asked to retake the exam! They reported it to Shuntian Prefecture and sat outside the door waiting for the result! The next day, they all disappeared! And they disappeared without a trace! I think there are many suspicious points, but considering the large number of students and the seriousness of the case, I submitted the case to the Dali Temple!"

Dali Temple Minister Shen Mao hurried forward and said, "Your Majesty, I felt something was fishy when I received the case file, but the Minister of Justice took the initiative to take over the case, so I didn't ask too many questions and stopped intervening."

The old emperor knew Dali Temple Minister Shen Mao very well. He was an upright man and he would never have transferred the case if no one had intervened.

After a round, I'm back to the Minister of Justice...

"Your Majesty, I have checked the files. Although there are doubts, there is no evidence to show whether the students have returned home or disappeared. Therefore, I ask them to wait a little longer. Perhaps those students have already arrived in their hometown..."

"Bang!" The old emperor slammed the dragon table. "What are you waiting for? Waiting for the criminal to escape from the capital or waiting for him to surrender to you? How can you, as the Minister of Justice, fool around like this?"

Seeing the old emperor showing his power, all the officials were silent.

"You said that the students suspected that someone was cheating in the Spring Examination?" Yan Liyuan's cold voice was heard in the quiet hall.

Who doesn't know Yan Liyuan's "reputation"? It is said that he is violent and has killed many people. There are also rumors that he eats human flesh and drinks human blood! In some villages, if a child is disobedient, as long as the adults say "The 9000-year-old is here", the child will immediately become very well-behaved...

Thinking of these, the Jiangnan students shuddered unconsciously, not even daring to look at Yan Liyuan's face, and said, "Reply to the Ninth Thousand Year Old, yes!"

"tell me the story!"

The Jiangnan student swallowed his saliva, suppressed his fear, and said, "Nothing unusual was found before the exam. The inspection was very strict. The poor students said that the Crown Prince and the Second Prince were fair and honest, and would not let the students down! It was not until the red list was issued that some people found that many of the students on the list were actually illiterate, and many talented students failed to make the list! So the students said... someone was cheating for personal gain... and they filed a complaint..."

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince, whose names were mentioned, panicked and hurried forward to say, "Your Majesty, I did strictly follow the procedures, and this would never happen."

Fan Changyue was worried that the Second Prince would say something inappropriate, so he stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I am on duty day and night to prevent anyone from doing anything. General Su is always here. Please be careful!"

Su Keqi echoed, "Your Majesty, you cannot deny us just because of the students' suspicions! If they want to accuse us of favoritism and corruption, please show them the evidence!"