After being robbed by the prince of the enemy country

"Strange." The guard A outside the imperial study muttered, "It's time for the Queen to go in for a cup of tea, why haven't you started fighting yet?"

Guard B: "Not only did they not fight, they didn't even quarrel!"

"What are you talking about?" Wen Yan flicked the whisk and stepped forward to warn in a low voice: "You expect the emperor and the empress to quarrel every day?! Concentrate on your errands!"

The two guards immediately shut up, but Wen Yan was also muttering in his heart, the empress is really out of character today.

In the imperial study room, Huaizhen asked Chu Shao to sit in his seat, and he got up to find out all the memorials related to the fraud in the imperial examination, and unreservedly revealed the dynamics of the previous court to Chu Shao.

"...So this incident caused a lot of trouble among the people?" Chu Shao asked while reading the memorial.

Huaizhen said: "Hundreds of scholars from the public have signed a letter, and the four major private schools in Beijing have already stopped classes in solidarity with this matter."

He sighed softly, "So I have to put Song Hao in prison first, and give an explanation to the outside world for now."

The four major schools in Beijing are the top schools in Zhongqin, and they have trained countless ministers and elders in the past 200 years. The prestige of the four schools among the people and the deterrent to the government and the public are so strong that even Huaizhen would avoid them.

Chu Shao nodded, approving Huai Zhen's actions. He carefully read the memorial that identified Song Hao as cheating, and said suspiciously:

"Shang Shutai said that the examiners had already noticed Song Hao's unruly behavior during the exam that day, so why didn't they find out directly? They didn't see any objections from these civil servants when the ranking was released that day, but after Song Hao had already made a name for himself No matter how grandiosely they expose this matter, are they deliberately framing or deliberately setting up a situation?"

Zhuangyuan Lang, who was nodded by both the emperor and empress, was suddenly accused by everyone of fraudulent fame. This is not only Song Hao's loss alone?This is simply the face of the empress in disguise.

Huai Zhen had doubts for a long time, "It's just that the current evidence is ambiguous, and we have to wait for the Ministry of Punishment to interrogate before we can reach a conclusion."

"Can the Ministry of Punishments be reliable?" Chu Shao asked anxiously, "Wouldn't you be tortured into tricks?"

As soon as the Ministry of Criminal Justice was mentioned, Huai Zhen remembered the suffering that Chu Shao had suffered in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and he always felt ashamed.

"I sent Tu Wei to the Ministry of Punishment to watch, and the servant of the Sentencing Department didn't dare to obey the law."

"I hope so." Chu Shao was a little unspeakably uneasy. He had personally experienced the darkness and horror of the Ministry of Punishment, and he still had lingering fears.

It is precisely because he has suffered so much that he treats others with respect and does not want innocent people to suffer humiliation and torture.

Now that Huaizhen is in power, even if the Ministry of Justice is attached to the Taifu, it does not dare to be too arrogant. It is afraid that they will play tricks, and when the time comes, there will be a death without proof, which will be tricky.

He took Huaizhen's hand and told him, "Tu Wei has to be more vigilant, and he can't relax at night."

Huai Zhen patted the back of Chu Shao's hand, "Don't worry, Tu Wei also interrogated prisoners of war in the barracks, so he still has some experience."

At this time, Ning Yuanqiu asked to see him outside the hall.

"Pass him in."

Chu Shao thought about returning the seat to Huai Zhen, Huai Zhen pressed his shoulders, let him sit with peace of mind, while he stood aside and grinded.

When Ning Yuanqiu entered the palace, he saw the Queen sitting on the main seat of the study, while His Majesty was waiting on the pen and ink.

"........."

It's good to get used to the fact that the empress is upside down, just get used to it!

Huaizhen didn't even let him do the courtesy, but only asked him to pick the key points.

Ning Yuanqiu handed over two transcripts, and when Chu Shao looked at the paper and handwriting, he felt that the transcripts were quite old.

"These two papers are Tianrong's ten-year and 13-year number one examination papers respectively."

When Huaiyuan was in power, his year name was Tianrong, that is to say, these two papers were the first-class examination papers that the late emperor had seen.

Chu Shao concentrated on reading word by word and sentence by sentence, and after reading the first paper, he felt that it was indeed a good article with words and meaning.

But when I read the second paper, I felt a sense of déjà vu, and then looked back at the first paper.

It dawned on him that although the two answer sheets from different candidates answered different questions, they were exactly the same in terms of article structure, sentence rhythm, and macro arguments!

"It seems like... the same person wrote it?"

Ning Yuanqiu almost regarded Chu Shao as his confidant, "Did your Highness see it too? If these two papers are not read together, no one will feel that there are similarities, but if they are put together, it is simply a gourd." The degree of painting."

Huaizhen was dazed again, "What's going on?"

Ning Yuanqiu knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, since the tenth year of Tianrong, the top three papers in the subsequent ten imperial examinations have been written by the same person from the writing style to the structure. In other words, someone sold the imperial imperial examination questions 30 years ago, and provided The content of the answer sheet must be among the top three. And the answer sheet written by Li Du, who was originally scheduled to be the number one scholar in the imperial examination, is also suspected of this!"

"30 years ago?" Huai Zhen felt chills down his spine, "That is to say, not long after the father came to the throne, Zhongqin's top three imperial examinations have been occupied by a group of rich and powerful fraudsters?!"

In the past 30 years, how many poor students who studied hard for ten years lost to the nobles who colluded with the Gongyuan? !

"There is only one person in the court who can control such a large game of chess." Chu Shao moved his gaze down and landed on the word "Wenteng" where the memorial was signed.

Huai Zhen said angrily: "If it's really Wen Teng, then Zhongqin's three provinces and six ministries have already become Taifu's private supporters. It turns out that their fame was not bestowed by the emperor, but was stolen from them by the Taifu!"

The more Huaizhen thought about it, the more angry he became, he raised his hand and swept away a pen container on the table, and the pen inside fell all over the floor!

With a crackling sound, Wen Yan outside was startled: "It's over, it's over, the Queen won't fight with His Majesty again!" !

Chu Shao got up and patted Huaizhen on the back, and comforted him: "The elders of the Wenteng and Teng dynasties, his disciples spread all over three provinces and six departments, and his tree has deep roots. If there is no conclusive evidence, he can't be easily moved. If we want to investigate this matter, we can't Go to the Ministry of punishment, we have to do it ourselves."

Huai Zhen held Chu Shao's hand, he was an expert in pacifying the border and fighting on the battlefield, but when it came to governing the country, he was not as calm and rational as Chu Shao.

"Your Majesty's eyeliner may have been guarded by Wen Teng's party, so he has not been able to get the key news. If he wants to tear open the Taifu's mansion, he will not expect it." A sharp light flashed in Chu Shao's eyes, "Let Ming Jing to check."

"Girl, you haven't had any water or rice this morning, how about some porridge?"

The little maid put the hot porridge on the table and persuaded Chu Mingzi who had been sitting withered all morning.

Chu Mingzi didn't care about eating and drinking at all, she was focused on Song Hao in the prison, as if she was also in prison.

Tears slid down from the corner of her eyes again, and she wiped them away feebly, her heart seemed to be twisted hard, and she couldn't breathe.

"The queen is back!"

The maid outside reported happily, Chu Mingzi hurriedly got up to ask about the progress of the situation, Chu Shao stepped into the side hall before her.

Seeing that Mingzi's eyes were red, he told the troublesome situation tactfully: "I'm afraid many people will be involved behind this fraud case, and it will take some time to find out the truth."

Chu Mingzi asked anxiously, "Then Song Hao?"

"Song Hao will not be able to escape from the Ministry of Punishments for a while, but His Majesty and I promise you that we will never let him be tortured in prison."

Even Huaizhen made a promise, Chu Mingzi was both sad and moved.

Seeing that Chu Shao's lips were slightly pale, she remembered that Murong Miracle Doctor had come to Qiwu Palace this morning. She was afraid that Chu Shao would hurt his body because of his troubles, so she forced a smile and comforted him, "The clear one clears himself. , I believe that Song Hao will walk out of the prison of the Ministry of Justice in a dignified manner."

"Don't worry, it will." Chu Shao raised his hand to straighten the hairpin on Ming Zi's head, "The [-]th of this month is the auspicious day for you to get married, and he dare not miss such a good engagement."

Chu Mingzi had a sore nose, and nodded vigorously, "Even if he loses fame and wealth, as long as he can stand in front of me alive, I am willing to marry."

Not wanting her to be so affectionate, Chu Shao sighed, "Silly girl, I assure you, as long as Song Hao is proved innocent in the end, the position of champion is still his, and no one can take it away."

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed, and under the cover of many parties, the dark line of Der Spiegel had sneaked into the Tai Tuo's mansion.

The fraud case was bitten by Wen Teng's party, and it is still hanging on the cusp.

It was chaotic outside, there were ministers arguing endlessly in Heyang Palace every day, only Xiwu Palace was a clean place.

It's not that the bad words outside didn't spread into the palace, it's just that Chu Shao didn't care.

The wedding day is approaching, and the Bureau of Sizhen sent a gorgeous and exquisite golden tassel phoenix crown. Although the groom is still in prison, everyone in Qiwu Palace listened to the queen's order and kept silent about it. When she arrived, she clamored for Chu Mingzi to wear it to have a look.

Everyone was very interested, it looked like they were coaxing, but Chu Mingzi knew that they were coaxing her intentionally, and couldn't bear to refute their good intentions, so she sat in front of the mirror and asked her servant girl to put on the phoenix crown for her.

Chu Shao quietly walked behind her, trimmed the fringe of the phoenix crown for her, looked at the beautiful Chu Mingzi in the mirror, and said with a smile: "That boy Song Hao is quite lucky."

Chu Mingzi's eyebrows were still filled with melancholy.

Chu Shao tried to make her happy, "In a few days, Huaizhen will send people to bring the parents from Suizhou to the palace. Then the family will be reunited and the big wedding will be held. This is a happy event. The bride must be happy .”

"...I've been flustered these past few days." Chu Mingzi cupped her heart and wanted to smile, but she really couldn't.

Chu Shao comforted: "Don't think about it too much, I will try my best to let him be the groom with all his hair and tail on the wedding day."

As soon as the words fell, Si Yun rushed into the side hall, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Seeing his pale face, Chu Shao guessed that something was wrong, and wanted to press Si Yun to avoid Chu Mingzi, but Chu Mingzi had already got up, as if she had a premonition.

"..." The bad news kept rolling in Si Yun's mouth, and finally, under the permission of Chu Shao's eyes, Si Yun said: "Song Zhuangyuan... he committed suicide in prison this morning. When the time comes, the body is hard."

With a bang, the wedding phoenix crown fell to the ground.

The author says:

Little cannon fodder·Song Hao: Thank you for your flag, my humble servant, this resignation will last a lifetime!

Shaoer:......