I was chased by my sickly junior brother who had two lives

Chen Jue looked at the people who were caught cheating, his face grim: "You are so bold, you dare to cheat in the imperial examination."

Chen Jue glanced around and found that there was a small movable type printing workshop in the yard. Various movable type tools were placed in a disorderly manner, and some freshly printed papers still smelled of ink.

He had an idea: this must be the place where they printed the test questions. If he could find the key clue here, he would have no problem prying them open their mouths.

Chen Jue ordered his men to bring the two leaders to the middle of the courtyard. He looked down at them and spoke slowly, "Do you know how big a crime you have committed? The imperial examination is the foundation of the country's selection of talents. How dare you cheat here and disrupt the government."

One of the older men stiffened his neck and said loudly, "Sir, what do you mean? We are just ordinary craftsmen doing some printing work here. How can we be considered cheaters?"

Although there was a hint of panic in his eyes, he still pretended to be calm, and his hands were unconsciously clenched slightly, as if he was trying to hide his inner nervousness.

Chen Jue sneered: "Ordinary craftsmen? Then where did the drafts of these exam questions come from? Don't think I can't see that everything in this yard is closely related to cheating in the imperial examination."

His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, as if they could penetrate the other person's disguise and penetrate deep into his heart.

The man tried to argue: "Sir, someone is framing us. We were just asked to print something and we didn't know it was a test question."

As he spoke, his eyes slightly avoided, not daring to look Chen Jue in the face, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Chen Jia whispered, "The things you print are related to the future and fate of many students. If you really don't know anything about it as you say, why are you acting so secretly?"

Her voice was gentle yet majestic, and her eyes were fixed on the man, as if she wanted to dissect his soul.

Chen Jue nodded slightly and continued, "You said you were entrusted by someone, so who was the client? If you tell the truth, you may be able to get a lighter sentence. If you insist on doing it, you will be severely punished."

He took a small step forward, and the oppressive feeling emanating from his body made the air around him seem to solidify.

The man hesitated for a moment, but still refused to give in: "Sir, I really don't know. The man just gave us some silver and asked us to print. I don't know anything else."

His lips trembled slightly and his voice became a little hoarse. Although he tried his best to remain calm, his flaws became more and more obvious.

Chen Jue knew that these two people would not cry until they saw the coffin. He squatted down, picked up a movable type on the ground, and said, "Look, the words on this type are clearly the content of the imperial examination. As craftsmen, don't you even know this?"

He held the typesetting up before the man's eyes, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

Another younger man showed a trace of fear on his face, but quickly concealed it: "Sir, this... this may be a coincidence. We just followed the layout of the words above and really didn't know it was a test question."

His eyes were wandering and his feet were moving unconsciously, trying to ease his inner anxiety.

Chen Jue stood up and paced in the yard. Suddenly he stopped and said, "Do you think you can hide this from the world? If I bring everything in this yard back to the Dali Temple and examine it carefully, I will definitely find more evidence. By then, you won't be as relaxed as you are now."

His tone was full of confidence, leaving no room for doubt.

The two men trembled slightly when they heard this, but they still gritted their teeth and persisted. They knew that if they confessed, not only would their lives be in danger, but their families would also be implicated, so they still hoped to get away with it.

Seeing this, Chen Jue changed his strategy. He walked up to the older man and whispered, "Do you have any family members? If you are convicted for this, what will happen to your family? They will be implicated because of your stubbornness. Can you bear it?"

His voice was low and magnetic, but like a sharp blade, piercing the softest part of that person's heart.

This sentence hit the man's soft spot, and a hint of hesitation and pain flashed in his eyes.

His elderly parents, weak wife and young children at home came to his mind. Once he was convicted, they would lose their support and would have a hard time surviving in this world.

Chen Jia also took the opportunity to say, "If you confess now, you still have time to save yourself and your family. If you wait until the evidence is conclusive, it will be too late."

Her eyes were full of pity and exhortation, as if she was pointing out a way out for that person.

Chen Jue added, "Think about it, where is the man who ordered you now? Is he ready to abandon you and walk away unpunished? And you are going to take the blame for him, is it worth it?"

He stared at the man intently, trying to make him face reality.

After hearing these words, the two began to waver. They looked at each other and saw fear and anxiety in each other's eyes. The inner defenses gradually collapsed under the dual pressure of family affection and survival.

Chen Jue continued to put pressure on them: "I'll give you one last chance. If you don't tell me, I will report you to the court as accomplices in the imperial examination fraud, and your family members will also be implicated."

His voice rose a few notches, his tone carrying an irresistible authority.

Finally, the young man couldn't bear it any longer and knelt down with a plop. "Sir, I'll tell you everything. It was an official in the court who ordered us to do this. He gave us a large sum of money and asked us to print the exam questions. He also said that he would arrange for someone in the exam room to pick us up."

His face was full of fear and regret, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Seeing this, the older man also sighed and lowered his head: "Sir, we are wrong. We were just greedy for a moment and were blinded by money. Please have mercy on us and spare our family."

His voice was filled with despair and helplessness, and his body seemed to have lost support and was about to collapse.

Chen Jue looked at them, his face still grim: "Don't worry, if what you said is true, I will handle it appropriately. But you must explain all the details clearly, including who the official is, how you contacted him, and who the contact person in the examination room is."

The two did not dare to hide anything and told the whole story one by one.

It turned out that an official from the Ministry of Rites colluded with them to print the test questions for money, and arranged the examiners in the examination room to act as insiders, preparing to help some rich children cheat in the imperial examination.

After Chen Jue learned that the mastermind behind the incident was an official from the Ministry of Rites, he knew that the matter must be handled with caution and that solid evidence was needed to bring the official to justice.

He first recorded the details of the handover between the two craftsmen and the officials of the Ministry of Rites, including the time and place of the meeting, the amount of silver delivered and its packaging, etc. Then, he ordered his men to secretly investigate the whereabouts of the officials of the Ministry of Rites and their daily contacts.

After several days of investigation, Chen Jue discovered that this official from the Ministry of Rites had close contacts with several wealthy families in the capital, and that some mysterious figures had often entered and left his mansion recently.

But these clues were not enough to prove that he was involved in the imperial examination fraud. Chen Jue decided to start from his mansion to find more direct evidence.

Taking advantage of the night, he led his confidants to sneak into the residence of the official of the Ministry of Rites. In the study, Chen Jue carefully searched through various documents and letters, leaving no corner untouched.

Finally, in a secret compartment, he found the contract signed with the two craftsmen regarding printing exam questions, which detailed the content and remuneration of the transaction, and had the seal and signature of an official from the Ministry of Rites.

In addition, there are some letters that mention the arrangements of insiders in the examination hall and the distribution of benefits among wealthy households regarding cheating in the imperial examinations.

Chen Jue carefully put away the evidence and quietly left with his men. After returning to the Dali Temple, he checked the examiners in the examination room.

By investigating the examiners' backgrounds and tracking their recent activities, combined with the confessions of the two craftsmen, we identified several suspicious examiners.

Chen Jue personally interrogated these examiners. At first, they denied everything. However, after Chen Jue presented the evidence found in the residences of officials from the Ministry of Rites, their psychological defenses gradually collapsed, and they confessed their actions in cheating in the imperial examination, including details such as how to pass answers in the examination room and how to help specific candidates cheat.

Chen Jue compiled all the evidence and reported it to the prince in detail. After hearing this, the prince was furious: "How dare you be so bold and reckless? I will never tolerate it. Chen Jue, you continue to investigate in depth and bring all those involved to justice. I want to see who dares to sabotage the imperial examination under my nose."

After receiving the order, Chen Jue stepped up the interrogation and conducted a comprehensive inspection and rectification of the examination room. He rearranged the examiners, strengthened the security measures of the examination room, and formulated strict invigilation rules to ensure that the imperial examination could be conducted in a fair, equitable and open environment, so that truly talented students would have the opportunity to stand out and inject new vitality and wisdom into the future of Da Chu.