As soon as he opened his mouth, he was met with a soft rebuff. The three ministers felt that they could not ask any more questions. They looked at each other and saw the anger in each other's hearts. This time, Fan Xian had unceremoniously overthrown Guo You, the Director of the Board of Rites, and had angered many officials. Fortunately, most of the officials did not dare do anything for the sake of the Prime Minister and Minister Fan.
However, these three lords each had their own backgrounds and plans behind them.
After a long time, the Minister of Justice, Han Zhiwei, suddenly asked in a cold voice, "Yesterday, the Imperial Censor reported you. Does Fan Fengzheng know about it?"
"I know about it, but not the details," replied Fan Xian calmly.
Han Zhiwei stared into his eyes and said, "Fan Xian, don't rely on your talent and background to be so arrogant. And don't think that I will believe that you are truly doing this for the sake of the country and the people by exposing this scandal. If you do not explain clearly what you did during the spring examination, don't blame me for being rude to you. "
Fan Xian frowned. "There is something wrong with your words, sir. If I did something during the spring examination, would I be willing to take the risk of reporting this to the court? As for the word 'filthy', I would like to return it to you. "
"How dare you!" The three officials rebuked him in unison. In all their years in the capital, they had never seen such an arrogant junior. Han Zhiwei was so angry that his beard trembled. "Don't think that all the officials in the capital are afraid of your background. You must know that the reason I was able to rule the Ministry of Justice for eight years was because of my righteousness, not because of your intimidation tactics."
Fan Xian laughed and said, "When investigating a case, we care about the evidence. Who would be as impassioned as you, Sir, in expressing your opinions? I truly do not understand. "
Han Zhiwei was so angry that he laughed. "Fine, fine. Then let me ask you. On February 16th, did you go to Tongfu Tavern?"
Fan Xian knew that he was asking about that rainy day. "Yes," he replied with a smile.
"Did you go to see Yang Wanli and the others?"
"Yes."
"Before Yang Wanli entered the palace for the spring examination, did you whisper something to him?"
"Yes."
"As the examiner of this spring examination, you have the heavy responsibility of supervising the examination … well, let me ask you directly. Did Yang Wanli enter the top three?"
"Exactly."
"On that day, outside the examination hall, there were many witnesses who could prove that you had already found out that Yang Wanli had smuggled drugs into his clothes. Why did you let him into the examination hall?"
Fan Xian smiled in his heart. He had long told Wang Qinian to have Yang Wanli destroy the silk robe, so he would not be worried at all. He said, "There is no such thing."
"No?" Han Zhiwei asked angrily.
"Exactly."
"Good, good, good. Then let me ask you, that day outside the examination hall, when so many examinees were found to have cheated, did you still let them in?"
Fan Xian shivered slightly. He knew that this matter could not even be considered a small matter, but if the other party really did not let it go, it would indeed be troublesome. However, he still calmly replied, "Yes."
"Alright." Han Zhiwei's slightly dark and thin face flashed with some kind of light. He stared into Fan Xian's eyes and said in a cold voice, "Since you've already admitted it, then I can only put you in prison for further investigation."
"What did I admit?" asked Fan Xian.
Han Zhiwei frowned and said coldly, "What I asked you, you admitted it all. This matter is obvious. Fifth-level official Fan Xian, as the Minister of the Spring Breeze Residence, secretly colluded with examinees Yang Wanli and others to practice favoritism. He regarded the law as nothing and the Emperor's grace as nothing. He is truly audacious. "
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes at the minister and explained, "When did I admit it? Correct, I did see Yang Wanli on February 16th. That was because I admired his talent and learning. At that time, the fraud case broke out. If I really did have the suspicion of favoritism, why would I meet with him on that day? Furthermore, the place of the meeting was at Tongfu Tavern, where all the scholars were gathered. Did I not fear gossip? "
He smiled and said, "Since I dared to go, although I do not dare to say that this proves that my heart is pure and clear, how can you conclude that I am colluding with Yang Wanli? As you know, the first time I met with Yang Wanli was outside the examination hall. If you say that I colluded with him beforehand, that would be an injustice. "
"Then how do you explain allowing students to enter the examination hall without permission?"
Fan Xian frowned slightly, thinking that too many people had seen, and it was all his fault for not taking the civil examinations seriously. That was why he had acted so arrogantly. He shook his head helplessly. "Because I was entrusted by the Overwatch Council to secretly keep an eye on those corrupt officials in the exam hall, so it was not good to lose the big picture because of a little. As for the details, you can send a letter to the Overwatch Council and have them explain in detail."
Han Zhiwei snorted angrily. The Overwatch Council was His Majesty's secret service. How could he ask? The more he looked at Fan Xian's pretty face, the angrier he became. He pushed the lot pot away and shouted, "Fine, fine, fine! You don't want to admit it. Men, beat this shameless bastard! "
...
...
"Don't beat him!"
Two people in the court said the same thing at the same time. One of them was the Junior Minister of the Supreme Court. He smiled bitterly as he tried to persuade the Minister of Justice. The young man in front of him was not an ordinary son of a rich and powerful family. He could not be beaten. The nobles behind him only hoped to teach him a lesson and punish him for his crimes. How could they dare to beat him?
After Minister Han calmed down a little, he remembered that Fan Xian was not only the son-in-law of the Prime Minister, but also the son of the minister. He was a civil official that His Majesty greatly admired. Furthermore, Han Zhiwei was in the territory of the six ministries. How could he not know Lin Wan'er's identity? After being reminded by his two colleagues, Han Zhiwei could not help but frown. If he really beat Fan Xian up, he would not be able to explain himself to the other nobles in the palace.
Then the three of them became curious. Who was the other person who said he could not beat him? The three of them looked down the hall and found Fan Xian looking at them innocently.
The vice-minister of the Supreme Court was a little amused. He could not help but ask, "Why not?"
Fan Xian explained sincerely, "I am a scholar. According to the laws of Qing, I do not need to kneel. When questioning someone, torture is not allowed. Therefore, I said I could not beat him. Otherwise, if the censor came tomorrow and accused Minister Han of not following the laws of Qing, wouldn't that be my fault?"
The Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate, Guo Zheng, was actually a distant relative of Guo You. He was the leader of the group that had submitted the memorial to Fan Xian. Hearing the barbs in Fan Xian's words, he couldn't help but laugh coldly. "Master Fan, you are not only talented, but you are also very familiar with the laws of the Qing Kingdom. But do you know that in the First Edict of the Qing Kingdom, there are 15 major crimes for which the rules you mentioned earlier can be ignored?"
Of course, this censor would not actually dare to use torture on Fan Xian, but he was willing to threaten him with words and vent the frustrations of the officials in the capital these days.
Fan Xian shook his head, his face still full of innocence. "I still cannot beat him."
The vice-minister of the Supreme Court was the one who had the least involvement in the exam hall scandal. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "This is a serious crime, and Sir Fan junior is not willing to defend himself. Why can't he be beaten in court?"
Fan Xian still played the trick of using the Overwatch Council. "This involves the secrets of the Council," he replied sincerely. "I have not received permission from the relevant officials of the Overwatch Council, so I do not dare to discuss it in detail."
The three judges looked at each other and saw the fear and anger in each other's eyes. They could not beat him, so how could they make Fan Xian admit to his wrongdoings? Their respective masters were determined to make Fan Xian suffer. There was no reason for them to let him go back to their manors.
At that moment, an advisor suddenly ran in through the side curtain with a nervous expression on his face. He leaned over to Han Zhiwei, the Minister of Justice, and said something to him. Han Zhiwei's expression immediately changed. A cold light shone in his eyes, but there was also a faint trace of fear.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked up. The Tyrannical zhenqi in his body had long been activated, but he only heard a few words in Han Zhiwei's reply. He faintly heard the words "Eastern Palace" and "ruthless" — he did not know who had sent the news, nor did he know what had caused this Minister of Justice to be so uneasy.
At the same time, another two slips of paper were passed into the hands of the Imperial Censor, Guo Zheng, and the junior official of the Supreme Court. Guo Zheng expressionlessly glanced at the slips of paper, but the junior official of the Supreme Court revealed a shocked expression. After thinking for a moment, he actually stood up and cupped his hands in salute to the two sirs beside him, saying, "People have three urgent needs. Sirs, please interrogate them first, I will be back soon."
Fan Xian's heart trembled. What kind of slips of paper could make this vice-minister of the Supreme Court want to run away? Before coming to the Ministry of Justice, Fan Xian had already investigated. The Minister of Justice seemed to be fair and honest, but he was actually a member of the Eastern Palace. The vice-minister of the Supreme Court had a good relationship with the Qin family of the Bureau of Military Affairs. As for the censor, Guo Zheng, when he was young, had an unclear relationship with the Eldest Princess. If Fan Xian did not have the terrifying power of the Overwatch Council, he would not have known about this relationship, which had been hidden for many years.
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a shout in the hall. "Guards! Fan Xian, the Imperial College's official, is roaring in court. This is a case of fraud, and he has committed 15 major crimes. Beat him! "Han Zhiwei's facial muscles twisted, as if he had made a great decision.
The vice-minister of the Supreme Court had long since slipped away. It seemed that he knew that a dangerous situation was about to occur in the hall of the Ministry of Justice, and his master did not want to offend the Fan family and the Prime Minister. Fan Xian's eyes were cold. He stared into Han Zhiwei's eyes and said coldly, "Do you want to confess under torture?"
The censor, Guo Zheng, also had a fierce look in his eyes. He shouted, "Beat him!"
Two firesticks were aimed at Fan Xian's weakest shins. The 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice were used to this kind of thing. There was no wind when the firesticks struck, but they were still fierce.
Fan Xian's face was frosty, and he did not move or evade. There were two cracking sounds, and the trousers on his legs broke into pieces. It was not his shins that had been broken, but the firesticks had been broken in the middle, revealing a dense wooden stubble!
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