Yulan complained to the prince in her heart, worried about Yuxin for a moment, and then returned to the topic: "Now that the prince has found out the ins and outs of this matter, what should we do next?"

Ye Yichen said: "It's not too late to see the emperor's reaction first!"

Seeing that his expression was calm and his tone was full of confidence, Yulan's heart calmed down.

As expected by Ye Yichen, as soon as Yushi Huasong's impeachment memorial was presented, the Zhengtong Emperor was furious. With Chen Jia fanning the flames, the Zhengtong Emperor immediately issued an imperial edict and ordered Jiang Zheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, to immediately

He stopped marking the candidates' test papers and went home to wait for review. At the same time, he ordered officials from the Ministry of Punishment to intervene in the investigation. All the papers he had already selected for the preliminary round were reviewed by the Minister of Rites and other examiners.

Ye Yichen also travels outside every day. The political system of Dachu is very mature, and the military and political affairs are separated. Ye Yichen is a figure in the military, and he is the authority in military affairs, but he cannot legitimately intervene in government affairs, but he has not been around in vain for so many years.

, he had already formed his own team in the court, including six ministries, five temples, and eighteen major yamen.

He was adding fuel to the flames from behind. Naturally, he couldn't hide it from Ye Minyu and Chen Jia. Both of them were a little surprised. Because Ye Yichen has always been in a non-helpful attitude towards the prince and King Zhao's succession. No matter it is Ye Minyu or the prince, whoever wins over Ye Yichen

With his support, he would immediately have an overwhelming advantage, but Ye Yichen's attitude had always been ambiguous, and no one could figure out what he was thinking.

So this time when he made a move, he immediately attracted the attention of Ye Minyu and Chen Jia. They couldn't figure out what Ye Yichen meant, so they acted with a little more scruples. If such a little thing pushed Ye Yichen to the prince's side,

Then the gain outweighs the loss.

More than ten days later, the Ministry of Rites' review of the papers was completed. The investigation by the Ministry of Punishments still made no progress. A member of the Ministry of Punishments was ordered to raid Jiang Zheng's house in the capital. Jiang Zheng's family was quite wealthy, but the Jiang family was originally from a wealthy family in Jiangnan.

Zheng's wife was also from a wealthy family, and her dowry alone was worth 20,000 to 30,000 taels. There is no definite evidence that this money was obtained by Jiang Zheng's bribery.

Not only that, after review by the Minister of Rites, Jiang Zhengchuan did not include Chengzong in the paper he selected, which somewhat alleviated the suspicion between the two.

There was little progress in the case, but when it was time to publish the list, the list was still not released. Chunwei pushed it again and again. Many candidates from other places had been stranded in the capital for a long time, and there were a lot of complaints for a while.

The orthodox emperor called the Minister of Punishment to the palace and scolded him, but this kind of case could not be investigated in a short time. The orthodox emperor had no choice but to adopt the suggestion of the Ministry of Rites, and publish the results first if the person who bribed the exam questions would be found out later.

Then cut off the merit and reputation, and severely punish them without giving them credit.

On the day when the results were released, Chengzu and Chengzong did not dare to come forward, so the young man went to Gongyuan early in the morning. The eldest wife and the second wife were sitting in Yining Ju in the main courtyard, with anxious faces, and the young man ran away after a while.

Come back.

The eldest wife and the second wife all stood up and asked in unison: "How is it?"

The boy's face was full of joy and he said: "Congratulations, madam, congratulations, madam, the third young master has won!"

"Winning?" The eldest lady didn't know whether she should be happy or not, so she asked anxiously, "Which number did you win?"

"Won second place!"

The second wife couldn't hold back her anger: "What about the eldest young master?"

The young man lowered his head: "I have searched all three imperial lists, but I can't find the eldest young master's name!"

After hearing this, the second wife's heart felt as if a stone had fallen to the ground: "It's good if you don't hit, it's good if you don't hit! Amitabha, Bodhisattva bless you!"

The young man was dumbfounded. The third young master won the second place, but the first wife looked worried. The first young master failed, but the second wife looked happy. What is the rhythm of this?

In the palace of Prince Jin, Yulan also got the news. She leaned on the big pillow on the big bed near the window with a worried look on her face: "So, the third brother got the second place in the exam?" But she saw it better than the eldest wife.

He understood a lot: "This is not a good thing. Could it be Chen Jia's fault? He deliberately let him get a high ranking. In this way, the third brother will be even more difficult to defend!"

Ye Yichen sat on the Grand Master's chair behind the table, shook his head and said: "I deliberately spread the word to let them know that I was involved in this matter. Chen Jia is not that kind of fool, and he should not go against me at this juncture. Besides, this

The names are all blurred in the papers, so it’s not that easy to cheat.”

In other words, getting second place in the exam was entirely due to his own ability.

Yulan couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I didn't expect that my third brother would improve so much in knowledge. If it hadn't been for the cheating case in the scientific examination, it would not be impossible to pass the Jinshi."

After the general examination, there is still the palace examination. Only the top three in the first class will be given the title of "Jinshi", which are number one, second in the list, and third overall. The second class can only be given "jinshi origin", and the third class will be awarded the title of "Jinshi".

Given that he was "born with the same Jinshi".

This is almost the highest honor a literary man can receive in his life.

"Fortunately, the eldest brother did not pass the exam, and he was not mentioned by name in the rumors. He should be fine. Now the second aunt should be relieved." Yu Lan cheered up and asked: "That

How about Jiangyin's son Zhang Lin?"

Ye Yichen also smiled bitterly: "Zhang Lin came in third place!"

"Third place?" Yulan's movements became stagnant. Now he couldn't even wash himself off if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Ye Yichen also smiled bitterly: "This eunuch is really discerning!" Of the two people he framed, one passed the exam and the other passed the exam. I don't know if it was because he was just lucky or because he actually did a thorough investigation first.

.No matter what, Chen Jia is still so awesome that it scares Yu Lan!

At this moment, Cheng Ying hurriedly came in and reported: "Your Majesty, there is a fuss over the list-watching in Gongyuan." Ye Yichen's face darkened, this incident was not unexpected, and he just asked in a deep voice: "What's going on?"

Cheng Ying said: "Today's results were released, and those who were awarded the gold list were happy and celebrated. Those who failed the list could not get together for a long time, secretly discussing, and being angry. Later, some people shouted that the examination room was unfair. This shout did not matter, everyone said

In response, the sound shook the roof tiles. Later, some candidates rushed forward.

He tore the paper off the list and tore it into pieces. All the candidates cursed Mr. Jiang Zheng and Jiang, and some scolded Zhang Lin and the third young master for being shameless and degrading. The cries and curses attracted countless

All kinds of people were watching! Later, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture came with troops to suppress it, and finally dispersed everyone!"

Ye Yichen sneered and said: "You can see clearly, those who fan the flames and take the lead in attacking are real candidates?"

Yulan was startled. Ye Yichen was indeed cunning and cunning. She had never thought of this. Making trouble in the Gongyuan and tearing up the imperial list were all serious crimes. Chinese literati all have this kind of mentality. No matter how unbalanced they are, no one will take the lead.

I didn't dare to really rush out and confront the government. This kind of thing happened all the time. The candidates were so excited. Maybe someone got into their midst to fish in troubled waters and deliberately made the situation worse.

In the end, it was Chen Jia and his gang who benefited. I don’t know how many hot-blooded young people in history were exploited by superiors in this way. Anyway, they were the ones bleeding. When they finally enjoyed the fruits of victory, they had nothing to do with them.

Cheng Ying said: "I have already sent people to follow the people who are leading the trouble. If the prince wants to see them, I will get them back now to ensure that no one is aware of them!"

Ye Yichen thought for a while and said: "No need! There is no need to interrogate these little shrimps and crabs!" He ordered Cheng Ying: "You ask Yuan Datou to bring a sentry horse and seal Qipan Street for me.

No one is allowed to enter!"

Yu Lan was startled for a moment, and then realized that Ye Yichen was afraid that someone would use this excuse to go to the Yang Mansion to cause trouble.

Cheng Ying agreed and was about to leave when Ye Yichen ordered again: "Assign a few more talented people to secretly protect Zhang Lin and don't let him fall into the hands of others."

Chengying just left.

Ye Yichen turned around, hugged Yulan in his arms, and said softly: "You have to be mentally prepared, my third uncle may have to go to the Penal Department's Sky Prison to eat prison food for a few days!"

As Ye Yichen expected, the students in the capital began to cause trouble under the instigation of some thoughtful people. On the night when the results were released, Mr. Jiang Zheng’s house was set on fire by the angry students. Jiang Zheng was in a state of panic under the protection of a group of guards.

Unable to escape from the back door, he escaped the fate of being burned to death.

On the same night, the Tenglong Inn where Jiangyin candidate Zhang Lin lived was also surrounded by students. Everyone rushed into Zhang Lin's residence, only to find that the building was already empty. In anger, everyone smashed the restaurant.

Some people also thought that the Yang family in Qipan Street was causing trouble, but Yuan Datou led hundreds of soldiers to blockade the entire Qipan Street. Yuan Datou admired Ye Yichen the most. Ye Yichen told him not to allow idlers to come in and out at will, so he blocked the entire Qipan Street.

The streets were guarded like iron barrels, not even a mouse could get in.

The prosecutors clamored to go to the Yang Mansion to seek justice. Yuan Da's head and neck stiffened, and his face trembled: "I have important military affairs. If you go to the Yang family and the Niu family, I can't take care of it and I don't want to. But this

I have requisitioned all the streets tonight, any of you dare to take a step forward, the guys in my hands don’t even recognize anyone!"

Those who did not believe in evil and dared to break in would be thrown out unceremoniously by the big-headed soldiers as soon as they stepped onto the ground of Qipan Street. They were left bruised and bruised for a while.

The big brain has identified one thing. As long as you don't go to Qipan Street, I don't care if you kill people and set fires. But you are not allowed to enter Qipan Street.

When a scholar encounters a soldier, he cannot explain why.

There was no way the soldiers could outlast these big-headed soldiers. After an hour of confrontation, they had no choice but to disperse. In the end, of the three people involved in the rumor, only the Yang family was safe and sound.

That night, soldiers from Shuntian Prefecture and the 50% Army and Horse Division also came out to calm the trouble and arrest the perpetrators. The entire capital was in an uproar and the whole night was noisy.

I originally thought that this incident should come to an end. Who would have thought that the governors connected with each other and responded to each other's calls. The next morning, one after another, the governors came to the Meridian Gate. By noon, thousands of the governors had gathered at the Meridian Gate.

Led by several leading candidates, everyone knelt on the ground and shouted loudly, asking the emperor to order the arrest of Jiang Zheng, Yang Chengzong and Zhang Lin, thoroughly investigate the case of examination fraud, and retake the exam at a selected date.

Chen Jia led thousands of soldiers from the Suwei Palace to surround the Meridian Gate, but he did not dare to arrest the emperor casually. The elites of the entire Chu Dynasty were gathered here. Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, all dynasties in the past dynasties all attached great importance to scholars.

,because

For scholars to establish virtue in their hearts, make contributions to the world, declare their virtues and merits in words, and benefit future generations, it is the cornerstone of the rule of the entire country. If Chen Jia gives an order and kills all the scholars present, then Da Chu will probably also

It will be over soon.

Chen Jia ordered the soldiers to maintain order, and went to the Cultural Hall to see the emperor in person and ask for his orders. In the Cultural Hall, not only the emperor was there, but also the prince, the three princes, King Zhao and King Lu, were all alive and well.

After Chen Jia came in to see the ceremony, he reported: "Thousands of students have gathered outside the Meridian Gate. They keep asking your Majesty to severely punish the examiners who bribed the test questions, thoroughly investigate the cases of fraud in the exam, and bring justice to all the scholars in the world! Except for Yang Chengzong and Zhang Lin

, there are nine other well-known names such as He Mengchun and Xu Yuanhua.

, were listed on the list of people with low-quality talents. Everyone suspected that these six people also bribed the examiners and got the test questions in advance. The examiners were very excited. Although the slaves had led troops to put the Meridian Gate under martial law, it was just a matter of great importance.

If you dare to take someone at will, please tell me how you should deal with me next."

The prince was dressed in a bright yellow brocade robe and sat at the emperor's lower head. When Chen Jia spoke, his eyelids drooped slightly and he did not dare to look at the emperor's face. When he mentioned the names of several people such as "He Mengchun, Xu Yuanhua",

The prince's eyes flashed slightly, and he squeezed the teacup tightly with one hand, his knuckles turning slightly white.

He was indeed involved in the incident of leaking the title. Four people, including He Mengchun and Xu Yuanhua, were all from a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River. Their families had tens of millions of dollars, and many of their relatives were officials in the court. Before the scientific examination, the two of them worked together to find the prince's identity.

A close aide wanted to get the test questions from him.

The aide took a bribe of 10,000 taels from each of the four people, gave the prince 36,000 taels, and kept 4,000 taels for himself. The prince was halfway through the construction of his annex in Tongzhou, where he kept countless beauties.

When there was a shortage of money, although he was in charge of the household department, now that the treasury was empty and countless eyes were staring at it, he did not dare to use the money in the treasury casually.

He even dared not go to the emperor and ask him to open his private treasury and use money to build a garden for him. Now that he had this money, it just solved his problem, so he accepted it immediately. The examination questions were decided by the Cabinet of Ministers.
To be continued...