[Red House] Release a concubine and have children

After Wei Yan saw Duke Zhou, he went straight to the point and asked Xue Renzha directly: "Do you know how Xue Renzha passed the examination of scholar before he took over your article?"

As soon as Duke Zhou heard it, he knew why Wei Yan asked such a question.

But he shook his head: "I know what adults want to know, but as far as I know, Xue Renzha did rely on his own real talents to pass the exam when he was a child student and a scholar. He also participated in the The Banquet Poetry Club held by you all in the same year also shined brilliantly in it, so it’s not that even a childish scholar can’t pass the exam.” After speaking with a wry smile, “If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t be so if he liked my article back then. Doubt."

If he hadn't been arrested later, and his son died tragically after more than ten years, maybe people in Bazhou Prefecture would still think that Xue Renzha's results in the rural examination were taken by himself.

But even if the people in Bazhou know about it, so what?

Every time a new official takes office, Xue Renzha never forgets to spend a huge amount of money on management. Even if he knows, no one dares to speak out for him.

Later, his son was beaten to death. Even if he sympathized with what happened to him, who would risk his life to uphold justice for others?People also have parents, wives and children.

Wei Yan was a little disappointed, but quickly adjusted. After all, the fourth prince had dealt with Xue Renzha before. If he really had no talent at all, the fourth prince would have noticed it long ago, and then revealed the matter. .

Wei Yan said again: "I don't know if Mr. Zhou still has the article he wrote back then, or if there is any evidence to prove that Xue Renzha's original test scores belonged to you, not Xue Renzha? I heard Mrs. Fu say that After remembering your incident, I asked someone to check the exam papers of previous years, but found that the government caught fire and burned all the exam papers, and there is really no way to prove that Xue Renzha's original grades were yours by authenticating handwriting."

Zhou Gong was stunned: "The exam papers have been burned long ago?"

Wei Yan nodded: "It's gone. And helping Xue Renzha to replace other people's grades is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor. Even if they are not ransacked, they will be ransacked, and their descendants will no longer have the opportunity to take the imperial examination. So It is absolutely impossible for those accomplices back then to stand up and testify for you, if you want to reverse the case, I am afraid you have to rely on physical evidence."

With the matter of Duke Zhou, although anyone with a discerning eye can see that the fire burned strangely back then, the investigation still depends on the evidence. If there is no evidence, even if they know that what Duke Zhou said is true, there is no way to prove Xue Renzha's truth. Into the mire.

Duke Zhou never expected such an accident to happen.

If Xue Renzha had burned the test papers back then, why did he obstruct himself in every possible way, even killing his son for it?

Duke Zhou visibly became agitated, but Granny Zhou, who had been listening all the time, suddenly said, "I remember my father-in-law once mentioned that the article you wrote in the examination room had written the same topic before taking the provincial examination?"

Zhou Gong's eyes lit up, he got up and ran out.

About half an hour later, Zhou Gong appeared in front of Wei Yan with a small box in his arms: "Master Wei, these are all the articles I wrote before I took part in the provincial examination. There were many talented people in the class I took part in the provincial examination. I thought that even if I could pass the exam, it would be impossible for me to get such good grades. After all, I am young and have little experience, so writing articles is not as profound as others. But after I took the exam, I was relaxed, because the last one Policy question, before I took the provincial examination, the teacher at that time used it to test me. After I finished writing the teacher’s policy question, the teacher also helped me to revise a lot, and then checked for omissions and filled in the gaps... What I wrote during the exam Although this article is not exactly the same as the one I wrote before, the general structure and the proposed solutions must be exactly the same as the one I wrote before."

Wei Yan immediately regained his spirits: "Is that article in it?"

Duke Zhou paused, and nodded with a wry smile: "After the incident happened, I was hit hard. Once I saw a book, I went crazy. It was my parents... Forget it, everything is over."

After speaking, Duke Zhou opened the wooden box, searched inside for a long time, and finally found the article.

"This is the one, look, it must be [-]% similar to the original one!"

When floods occurred along the banks of the Yellow River, the township examination in Bazhou Fucheng kept up with current events, and the topic was flood control.

Wei Yan immediately took it over for a closer look, and couldn't help giving Zhou Gong a thumbs up after reading it: "I can't see whether your article is good or bad, but I can see that your article has something to say, it is really good. Solve problems for the court."

Zhou Gong looked nervous: "Can this article be used as evidence?"

"Of course!" Wei Yan replied decisively, "Although the originals left in Bazhou Fucheng were burned, every year after the exam, candidates from all over the country would copy a copy of their answer sheets and take them to the capital for storage. Bazhou Fucheng is prone to accidents.

In the case of a fire, this kind of problem will not occur in the place where the examination papers are stored in the capital. Otherwise, the officials in charge of guarding will be beheaded at least, and the whole family will be copied at worst.Under such a heavy punishment, the officials responsible for keeping the examination papers are nervous every day when they are on duty, lest there be any accidents, how could there be a fire? "

The fire in Bazhou Fucheng was not reported, otherwise the magistrate at that time would have been stripped of his official title immediately.

In the final analysis, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. These people are far away from the capital, so they are more courageous.

With the backup of the examination papers at that time and the manuscript of Duke Zhou, the possibility of him pulling Xue Renzha down is almost 100%

Don't say that only the original document can't explain anything. There are many strange people and strange things in this world. Those who know how to fake and identify cultural relics can tell the year when this article was written from the paper and pen and ink traces at a glance. After comparing the original documents, are you afraid that Xue Renzha will not plead guilty?

If the evidence is handed over to the fourth prince, the fourth prince can even rely on this evidence to directly cut off the prince's purse!

No one expected that the final result was better than Wei Yan imagined.

The emperor was furious when he learned of this, and immediately asked people to pull out all the exam papers that Duke Zhou took in the provincial exam. He thought that since Xue Renzha had surpassed Zhou Xianmi's results, the names of the two must have been swapped on the backup exam papers. Yes, but after they retrieved Xue Renzha's examination paper, they found that the content of the examination paper was still what he had written back then.

The emperor laughed angrily on the spot after watching it: "It's just such a nonsense thing, and it still got No. 2? It's even ranked by someone?"

The fourth prince was stunned, and hurriedly asked for instructions, wanting to read the examination paper.

The matter was originally revealed by the fourth prince, so the emperor would naturally not stop him from looking at the evidence.So with a big wave of his hand, he asked the eunuch beside him to show the examination paper to the fourth prince for inspection.

"Father, this test paper is not from Zhou Xianmi." The fourth prince said firmly, and at the same time handed the test paper in his hand to the eunuch, "This is the manuscript that Wei Yan got from Zhou Xianmi. The manuscript is quite similar to the last policy question in the answer sheet he took the exam. But this answer sheet is completely different from the policy question in my hand, and the policy question on this answer sheet is very gorgeous. But there is nothing, and there is nothing to recommend. On the contrary, the policy question in the hands of the son-in-law is not only written with substance, but many of the arguments can even be put in the palace test, leaving a deep impression in the eyes of the examiners. impression."

As soon as these words came out, Xue Renzha, who was already pale with fright, slumped on the ground. How could this be?

Xue Renzha was dumbfounded when he thought of the slippery Bazhou prefect back then.

This must be the backhand that the old fox left for himself!

Originally, this matter was a conspiracy between the two, but if it was found out after the incident that the contents of the test paper and the name had not been exchanged, the old fox could argue that he was threatened by Xue Renzha. The emperor pursued the responsibility, but he would definitely not end up being ransacked and beheaded, and even the fact that future generations were not allowed to take scientific examinations would not necessarily fall on him.

Most of the blame can only be borne by myself!

Xue Renzha looked up at the fourth prince with a serious expression on his face, and then at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who had never looked at him until now. He knew that he was finished.

After hearing what the fourth prince said, the emperor became interested, and almost couldn't wait to open the policy question presented by the fourth prince.

After reading it, he immediately applauded: "If this article appears in the palace examination, I can give him a champion on the spot!"

After finishing speaking, the emperor couldn't help but glared at Xue Renzha with a look of evil on his face.

If what the fourth brother said is true, this Xue Renzha has cut off the future of a minister who should have been his big brother. If Zhou Xianmi can really become an official this week, nothing else, just rely on this policy question How many practical things can he do for Da Xia and how much benefit can he bring to the common people?

Xue Renzha's heart skipped a beat when the emperor saw him, and he almost fainted directly.

The emperor glared at Xue Renzha again, and then turned his attention to the prince who had been silent all this time. He had been dissatisfied with the prince these days. Once this incident happened, his perception of the prince plummeted. It can directly detonate his anger towards the prince.

The prince was very clear about his situation, felt his father's gaze, and scolded Xue Renzha countless times in his heart.

It's just that there are more important matters to be resolved at this time, the emperor can only temporarily suppress his dissatisfaction with the prince.

After reading the policy question, the emperor became even more curious about Zhou Xianmi's answer sheet. After thinking for a while, he asked someone to find Zhou Xianmi's answer sheet.

Although everyone knows that the emperor's previous words were exaggerated, if the policy question is not well written, it is absolutely impossible for the emperor to say such words rashly.

A little bit of curiosity was born.

After getting the answer sheet, the emperor directly took the two policy questions and started comparing them, and then...

The emperor was furious: "Xue Renzha, you are so brave!"

This dog slave, who did such a deceitful thing, was able to be an official for so long under his nose.

Xue Renzha couldn't take it anymore, thinking of his future fate, he passed out directly.

The emperor had no good intentions towards such criminals and thieves, so he immediately asked someone to bring a basin of ice water, and poured it directly on his face.

slam

Xue Renzha woke up from the cold.

He didn't dare to quibble, and when he woke up, he kowtowed and confessed without saying a word: "The guilty minister knows that any end is his own fault, and he can't blame others. But his wife and children at home don't know about this matter, and the clansman is still only as a The meritorious service of the guilty ministers is based on real materials, and I hope that the emperor will show mercy and spare them once."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fourth prince glanced at him coldly, and said with a sneer, "Since you know that your wife and children are innocent, why did you threaten Zhou Xianmi's parents first, and then directly beat Zhou Xianmi's only son to death, and let him have no children? After finishing speaking, the fourth prince raised his head and looked at the emperor, "Father, my son thinks that such wicked people must not be forgiven lightly, otherwise it will be difficult to appease the wrath of the literati in the world."

The emperor sneered: "Naturally. How much benefit the Xue family has received from Xue Renzha these years, how can it be clear with a single sentence of innocence? Come on, drag Xue Renzha into prison, and ask to be executed after the autumn. Long Jinwei listens Immediately go and put Xue Renzha's family in prison, and confiscate his family property..."

As for the rest of the Xue family?

The branch of the Xue family that Xue Renzha belonged to naturally could not escape the punishment, but the rest of the Xue family received letters from the three families of Jia Shiwang in Beijing, and promptly expelled this branch from the clan. In the end, it will be basically preserved.

But for more than three months, all the officials who participated in Xue Renzha's replacement of Zhou Xianmi's ranking, and the officials who were bribed by Xue Renzha to bully Zhou Xianmi's family were all detained and returned to Beijing. every escaped

Even the former Bazhou prefect, who was supposed to be dismissed lightly for keeping the names of Xue Renzha and Zhou Xianmi, was angered because Zhou Xianmi's policy questions were written so well, and his head was still beheaded.

However, his last move was not completely useless, at least he had already passed the examination of Juren's son, so he was not deprived of his fame.

After the news reached Bazhou, Duke Zhou and his wife fainted from joy.

When he woke up and went out, he found Wei Yan standing in front of him with a white-faced and beardless eunuch. He hurriedly got up, but was pushed back on the bed by Wei Yan: "Don't be too polite, Duke Zhou. The doctor said before, you are too emotional. Excessive excitement caused a surge of qi and blood, and then suddenly fainted. It’s just that I’m old, and I’ve suffered some injuries after all, and I need to lie in bed to recuperate.”

Duke Zhou glanced at the eunuch standing beside him, feeling very flustered.

The eunuch was the best at observing words and expressions, and when he saw this, he quickly smiled and said, "Zhou Zhuangyuan doesn't need to be too polite, the miscellaneous family is here to congratulate you."

Without waiting for Duke Zhou to stand up after finishing speaking, he directly unfolded the imperial decree: "Follow the heavens, the emperor's decree says..."

After reading the imperial decree, Duke Zhou was blinded.

The emperor not only sought justice for him, but even compensated him with the title of number one scholar?

Even though he knew that the title of No. [-] Scholar was nothing, Duke Zhou burst into tears because of it: "After waiting for so many years, finally, finally...wow..."

At this moment, Duke Zhou cried like a child.

Neither Wei Yan nor the father-in-law ever laughed at them, but they only felt unbearably sad.

After Zhou Gong finished crying, the father-in-law opened his mouth to talk about another matter: "The emperor likes your policy question very much. Out of the idea of ​​cherishing talents, he wants to recruit you into the court as an official, but he doesn't know what Zhou Gong thinks?"

If Duke Zhou was ten years younger, he might have agreed.

but……

Duke Zhou stroked his white hair and shook his head bitterly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness, but you have seen it too. At my age... I'd better stay in Bazhou Mansion for the elderly."

"But your children..."

Zhou Gong was stunned for a moment, showing the first smile after waking up: "Although God is unfair and made me suffer and suffer all my life, it is not a little bit of benefit and compensation for me."

The father-in-law looked curious, and then he heard Zhou Gong say very happily, "I recognized a adopted daughter last year. She is kind-hearted and willing to take care of us two old people. It's a coincidence. I have been unable to ask for help for this matter for many years. Because I didn't dare to go to the government to report the incident before, it was thanks to my adopted daughter that I was able to convey this matter to Master Wei, and then went to Datian to listen."

"Righteous girl?"

Zhou Gong nodded: "It is the real boss of my noodle restaurant this week, Fu Li."

The author has something to say: good night everyone