Chapter 427

The Yuanjing Emperor tossed the booklet to the old eunuch and said with a smile, "Tell me, did Xu Xinnian cheat or not?"

The old eunuch took the booklet and scanned it quickly, then said, "I am slow-witted, but I feel that there is something fishy about this."

The Yuanjing Emperor stared at him for a few seconds and ordered, "Order the magistrate and the Ministry of Justice to handle this case. We must get to the bottom of it."

After the old eunuch left, the Yuanjing Emperor sat on the throne and looked at the blue sky outside the imperial study. He suddenly smiled, "Killing three birds with one stone."

The old eunuch left the imperial study and walked quickly with his head down. After walking for a hundred meters, he patted his chest with a gloomy face.

"Why are you asking me after the booklet … Wei Yuan, Wei Yuan, it is not that I do not want to help you, but my life is the most important."

Not long after, the edict from the palace was sent to the Ministry of Justice and the magistrate.

Minister Sun seemed to have expected it. After receiving the edict, he immediately sent people to arrest Xu Xinnian.

Governor Chen received the edict from the palace and sighed, shaking his head, "There will be a time when the wind blows and the waves … I am afraid that a big wave will come and destroy your boat and kill you."

He immediately called for the magistrate and said in a deep voice, "Immediately send people to arrest Xu Xinnian and bring him back to the yamen for interrogation. You must arrest him before the Ministry of Justice … Send someone to inform Xu Yinluo."

…

Xu Mansion.

It was a warm spring day. Xu Xinnian asked someone to place the desk under the shade of a tree. The sunlight passed through the branches and leaves and swayed on the desk, the book, and his handsome face.

There were tea and pastries by his hand.

His aunt brought Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin, as well as Lina, who was staying at the house, and was about to go out to play.

Lina saw Xu Xinnian under the tree and praised him generously, "Xu Erlang is so handsome. If he was in our tribe, the women would fight for him."

His aunt immediately became vigilant as if she saw a sow trying to steal her cabbage.

Was this little black-skinned girl hinting that she was interested in Erlang? Bah, wishful thinking, a toad wanting to eat swan meat.

Auntie glanced at Lina and urged, "It's getting late, let's go out early."

This time, he did not bring any retainers. Even a hundred retainers would not be able to defeat Little Black Skin of the Southern Border. Little Black Skin's strength was verified by Second Uncle Xu and Xu Dalang.

Auntie had also witnessed Blacky easily crushing a fist-sized rock into powder with her own eyes.

Lina immediately threw the handsome Xu Erlang to the back of her mind and hurriedly walked out. She couldn't wait to walk around Great Feng Capital.

When he was in the Southern Border, he often heard the elders in the tribe talk about Great Fengjing, the most prosperous city in the world.

"This wretched girl eats too much, and she even has crooked thoughts about my Erlang. I have to find a way to get rid of her …" Aunt thought to herself.

Aunt thought to herself. This foreign girl had stirred up his aunt's xenophobic thoughts.

She was thinking about how to get rid of the foreign girl when she saw a group of soldiers rushing in. They pushed the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, to the ground and went straight to the inner courtyard.

The leader of the constables held a portrait in his hand and compared it. He pointed at Xu Xinnian who was reading under a tree and shouted, "This person is Xu Xinnian. Arrest him."

"Who are you? Why are you arresting my Erlang? " His aunt turned pale with fright. Out of a protective mentality, she did not hesitate and stood in front of the soldiers with a frown.

"You dare to stop the Ministry of Justice from arresting him? Take him as well! "The constable waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to arrest his aunt.

Two constables came forward and took out a rope to put it over his aunt's head.

"Bang!"

Lina took a step forward and lightly pushed the two constables' chests. "Ah …" With two screams, the constables flew out and fell to the ground.

Clang!

The constables took out their weapons and pointed them at Lina. The Southern Border girl licked her lips excitedly. She could kill all these people in ten breaths.

Aunt hid behind Lina in shock. She suddenly realized that this black-skinned girl was so reliable and trustworthy.

"Stop."

Xu Xinnian scolded. He put down the scroll and walked over. He looked at the constables coldly and said,

"I am Huiyuan. I have an official rank. You trespassed into my mansion and used your weapons. This is a serious crime."

At this moment, the two constables who were sent flying stood up while rubbing their chests. The constable saw that they were fine. He thought for a while and put away his sword. He took out a card and said,

"We are under the order of the Ministry of Justice to bring Xu Huiyuan back to the yamen for questioning."

Xu Xinnian frowned, "What crime did I commit?"

"Xu Huiyuan will know if he comes with us." The constable waved his hand and shouted, "Take him away."

Lina wanted to make a move but was stopped by Xu Xinnian. He faced the constables and said, "I will go with you."

Aunt and Xu Lingyue chased him out of the mansion until the constables took Xu Xinnian and disappeared at the end of the street.

Lina whispered, "Xu Erlang also stole the silver?"

She knew that she would be arrested if she stole the silver.

At this time, the gatekeeper brought Xu Xinnian's horse and said, "Madam, Miss, I will send someone to inform the master."

Aunt and Xu Lingyue turned at the same time and said, "Go find Dalang."

...

"What? The constables of the Ministry of Justice came to arrest Erlang? "

In the yamen, Xu Qi'an who received the news was stunned. He was caught off guard.

"Dalang, quickly think of a way. Madam and Miss are crying." The gatekeeper's son looked anxious.

"Why did they arrest him?"

Lao Zhang's son shook his head and said, "Suddenly a group of soldiers rushed in, they even pushed my father down and tumbled, they grabbed Erlang and left."

"I know. You go back first." Xu Qi'an ordered, "Tell Aunt and Lingyue not to worry. I will take care of this."

"Dalang, you have to go back and tell them yourself." The gatekeeper's son said.

Xu Qi'an nodded and waved his hand to send him away. He sat at the table and thought for a while. He got up and left One Saber Hall. He planned to go to the Ministry of Justice and find out why they wanted to arrest Xu Erlang.

"It can't be that the minister of the Ministry of Justice is looking for trouble for his niece. If that is the case, then it will be easy to solve. Erlang has an official title. Ordinary small things can't do anything to him.

"But the way the officials do things, even if it is for their niece, they won't arrest people without reason. They must have something on them and are sure that they will succeed in one strike.

"So, Erlang must have gotten into trouble. But I don't know …"

Thinking of this, he went out of the yard. When he was about to go to the stable to get the mare, he saw Lü Qing, the chief of detectives of the government, hurrying into the yard with two quick hands.

"Your excellency Xu."

When they met, Lü Qing was happy, but then it was replaced by anxiety. He said, "The governor asked me to inform you that Xu Huiyuan is in trouble."

"I know. He was taken away by the Ministry of Justice not long ago." Xu Qi'an nodded calmly.

"It seems that the Ministry of Justice is one step faster." Lü Qing sighed.

"Arrester Lu, please come in. I have something to ask."

Xu Qi'an gave up the idea of going to the stable and led Lü Qing back to One Saber Hall.

Lü Qing took the tea served by an official, took a sip, and said directly, "His Majesty has ordered to investigate Xu Huiyuan for cheating in the imperial examination."

The words "cheating in the imperial examination" made Xu Qi'an's eyebrows twitch.

I did give Erlang the poem "The Road Is Hard", but is it considered cheating in the imperial examination? I bet on the exam. The imperial court doesn't support betting on the exam, but it has never prohibited it. There is a custom in the Confucian world to bet on the exam. Strictly speaking, it is not cheating … No, the problem itself is not cheating.

Xu Qi'an smelled a conspiracy and said in a low voice, "Is it His Majesty who wants to investigate?"

Lü Qing looked at the official in the hall and said in a low voice, "I don't know. Your excellency Xu, don't make wild guesses."

"I misspoke."

But this was very important. If Yuanjing Emperor wanted to mess with Erlang, it would be difficult to deal with. Erlang's future was almost ruined. "If the goods belong to the royal family and the royal family doesn't want them, then the scholars will be useless …" Xu Qi thought.

"Thank you for reminding me, Arrester Lü. I am in a hurry to deal with this matter, so I can't keep you."

"Your excellency Xu, please see me out." Lü Qing was implying something.

The two left One Saber Hall and walked out of the mansion side by side. Lü Qing said in a low voice,

"Your excellency Xu, you'd better go to the Ministry of Justice. Once you are in the hands of the Ministry of Justice, you will be at their mercy. If you are late, you may confess everything. That's all I have to say. "

Lü Qing had practiced martial arts since childhood and worked in the government for many years. He had seen many similar cases and was very clear about the tricks in the officialdom.

After seeing off Lü Qing, Xu Qi'an turned around and entered the Haoqi Building to ask for help from Wei Yuan.

His intuition told him that this matter was not so simple. He lacked experience in the intrigue of the officialdom, and his rank was not high enough. Fortunately, he had a strong backer to rely on.

In the tea room of the Haoqi Building, Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan about the matter and asked for help, "Duke Wei, please teach me."

Wei Yuan held the teacup and said in a low voice, "I did not receive any notice from the palace. This means that His Majesty does not want me to know, at least not immediately."

Xu Qi'an's expression changed, "Does His Majesty want to mess with me?"

"The word 'mess' is so vulgar." Wei Yuan said in disdain, then shook his head, "You Xu brothers are not qualified for His Majesty to personally intervene. You should be impeached.

"As for the purpose, first of all, according to the previous cases of cheating in the imperial examinations, since it is fraud, there must be an examiner who leaked the questions. The three chief examiners of this year's imperial examination are Zhao Tingfang, the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, Liu Hong, the Right Imperial Censor, and Qian Qingshu, the Grand Secretary of the Martial Hall. The other small fries will be ignored for now.

"Among the three chief examiners who might leak the questions, Qian Qingshu will be excluded first."

Xu Qi'an frowned, "Why?"

Wei Yuan replied, "The impeachment memorial must first go through the cabinet. The cabinet is Wang Zhenwen's territory, and Qian Qingshu is Wang Zhenwen's man. Do you understand?"

Wang Shoufu did not return the memorial, which means that this matter has nothing to do with Qian Qingshu … Xu Qi'an nodded, "I understand."

Wei Yuan continued, "Secondly, your cousin Xu Xinnian is a person of Yunlu Academy. Although there are many parties in the court, all the civil officials have a tacit understanding to work together to suppress the scholars of Yunlu Academy. This is the main reason for the cheating in this imperial examination. "

"The great scholar of Yunlu Academy … did not warn me?" Xu Qi'an frowned.

"It is inevitable that he will be suppressed, but it may not be because of cheating in the imperial examination. Even if Xu Xinnian becomes the Zhuangyuan, he can still be swept to the corner. There are too many ways to prevent it. How can we guard against it? "Wei Yuan shook his head.

"Finally, Xu Xinnian is your cousin, and you are my confidant. Will you ask me for help when you encounter a major matter that concerns your future? If I do not agree, there will be a rift between us. If I agree, there will be a follow-up. "Wei Yuan laughed coldly.

"Our Emperor is happy to see me fight with the civil officials, so the news from the palace has not been leaked."

Two birds with one stone … No, if there is still the examiner who leaked the questions, then there is the person behind it. As for Erlang, he is involved in the cheating in the imperial examination. There are only three outcomes. First, if the evidence is conclusive, he will be exiled or beheaded. Second, if the evidence is conclusive, but the punishment is light, he will be stripped of his official title and will never be employed again. Third, if the investigation proves that he is not guilty, but his reputation will be ruined if he misses the court examination.

Xu Qi'an took a deep breath and felt a headache coming on.

Scholars are so disgusting. If there is any conflict, we can just draw our swords and fight it out. That is so clean and straightforward.

All they do is use these sneaky and evil tricks.

"Duke Wei, what should I do?" Xu Qi'an asked humbly. He was very confident in solving the case. In terms of fighting in the court, he is a Silver-level King.

Fortunately, I have a peak-level king-level big shot behind me.

"I can step down, but if I do that, Xu Xinnian will be mine. I will never be able to get rid of the label on me." Wei Yuan drank his tea and looked at him warmly.

This is very troublesome. Even if Duke Wei helps Erlang out, it will be very difficult. After all, they are not from the same party. It could be a tacit agreement between many parties …

Also, if Erlang becomes a member of the eunuchs like me, he might as well leave his hometown and the capital …

Xu Qi'an frowned and sat quietly for a long time. He said bitterly, "Duke Wei, is there any other way?"

"Yes!"

Xu Qi 'an was pleasantly surprised by this answer.

But Wei Yuan changed the topic and shook his head. "But you can't do it."