jdhmnovel Chapter 175 This official is swindling you
Chapter 175 This official is swindling you
Xie Yuanxiu's face was terribly gloomy. He placed the two exam papers side by side and scanned them back and forth with his eyes.
The room was deathly silent, with only the heavy breathing of the people inside.
Zhou Wang's face turned pale and then flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
One of the attending scholars asked, "What's going on? Why are these two exam papers exactly the same?!"
These words were not spoken as a question, but rather as a message to everyone in the room.
The exam paper of Zhou Yizhi, who ranked first, was exactly the same as the exam paper that Yun Shangmo had written.
To prevent cheating, all candidates were placed in individual cubicles separated by wooden partitions.
It's impossible for either of them to know the contents of the other's exam paper.
Even if the briber knew some of the details, it was impossible for them to copy the entire exam paper word for word.
Xie Yuanxiu didn't speak, but only raised his eyes and gave Zhou Wang a cold look before instructing the guards at the door, "Go and invite Lord Li."
The "Lord Li" he mentioned was Li Kangnian, the highest-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy.
Li Kangnian came from the Li family of Yingxi, a prominent clan with ties to the imperial family.
The guards obeyed and left, and the atmosphere inside the room grew increasingly tense and solemn.
Zhou Wang's lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something to defend himself, but he couldn't find the right words and just stood there in fear.
Before long, Li Kangnian arrived in a hurry, surrounded by guards.
He was dressed in magnificent official robes and had a dignified expression.
He already knew what had happened on his way here.
He doesn't need to personally intervene if a candidate comes to the Hanlin Academy to report the matter, but if it is found that someone has cheated, that would be a big deal.
Li Kangnian's voice was like an ice blade in the dead of winter, piercing straight at Zhou Wang.
He roared, "Zhou Wang, what do you have to say?"
Zhou Wang's face drained of color when he saw the two exam papers placed side by side, and he was startled when Li Kangnian yelled at him.
His legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground.
He scrambled to his feet in a panic, repeatedly saying, "Your Excellency, please investigate! This humble official knew absolutely nothing about this matter!"
"You didn't know?" Li Kangnian's face grew even darker, his eyes revealing deep anger. "If you didn't know, why are you so afraid? Aren't you just feeling guilty?!"
Zhou Wang trembled like a leaf, "Zhou Yizhi is my nephew, both members of the Zhou family. I was just afraid that you might misunderstand, sir..."
"What misunderstanding? The misunderstanding that you used your position to help your Zhou family members seek personal gain?"
Every word Li Kangnian uttered seemed to confirm that Zhou Wang was involved in the matter.
Zhou Wang was both surprised and frightened.
What shocked them was that Zhou Yizhi had cheated, and what they feared was that this matter would implicate him.
His legs went weak and he knelt down again with a "thud," kowtowing repeatedly, "Lord Li, this humble official truly did not know!"
“Besides…besides…” His fingertips trembled slightly as he pointed at Yun Shang, “Maybe he memorized Zhou Yizhi’s exam paper and deliberately reported him to cause trouble?!”
Xie Yuanxiu stared at Zhou Wang for a few moments, and before Li Kangnian could give any instructions, he said, "Someone, go and fetch Zhou Yizhi."
Li Kangnian was very satisfied with Xie Yuanxiu's actions.
The group had expected to wait a long time, but in less than a quarter of an hour, a guard led in a young master.
The young man in the blue robe was none other than Zhou Yizhi.
He was tall and slender, wearing a dark blue long robe, and looked very handsome and elegant.
His eyes were long and narrow, and something flashed in them when he saw Zhou Wang kneeling on the ground.
He walked with steady steps and bowed to the officials in the room, saying, "Student Zhou Yizhi greets all the officials."
Xie Yuanxiu said, "Do you know why I summoned you here?"
Zhou Yizhi showed no signs of impatience or tension, and smiled slightly, "This student does not know, please enlighten me, Master Xie."
"Do you know me?" Xie Yuanxiu's eyes flickered slightly.
Zhou Yizhi's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, then he said naturally, "I once saw Lord Xie from afar before."
Xie Yuanxiu looked at him with scrutinizing eyes, then changed the subject and said directly, "Candidate Yun Shang reported that someone cheated in this exam. After investigation, I found that the exam paper he wrote from memory was exactly the same as yours."
"At this moment, I am not sure which of the two of you is guilty of cheating or falsifying information."
"Now I'm giving you a chance to prove your innocence."
He directly ordered someone to prepare pen and ink, "I'll give you half an hour to write out your exam paper from memory."
Zhou Yizhi frowned slightly, "Do you gentlemen suspect that the students have cheated?"
After he finished speaking, his gaze finally fell on Yun Shang for the first time, and his brows furrowed slightly.
"So he silently read out the students' exam papers?"
Xie Yuanxiu frowned, his face showing displeasure. "Zhou Yizhi, I am questioning you now, not asking you to interrogate me."
"You don't need to say anything more. Do whatever I tell you. Recite your exam paper from memory within half an hour. If you can't, it proves that you are the one who cheated!"
Zhou Yizhi glanced at Zhou Wang, his face showing no sign of panic, and said, "May I ask the adults present, who can recite the exam paper from memory two days after it was written, word for word?"
Yu Wan raised an eyebrow.
No wonder this Zhou Yizhi was so calm; he was waiting here all along.
His words were practically an open declaration to everyone that Yun Shang must have spent several days memorizing his exam paper to be able to recite it word for word.
Xie Yuanxiu chuckled softly, "How do you know he silently recited every single word?"
Zhou Yizhi's smile faltered, and when he looked up, it became somewhat stiff. "Didn't Lord Xie say that himself just now..."
Xie Yuanxiu gave a nonchalant "Oh," and said, "That was just me tricking you."
Everyone:...
Zhou Yizhi had never imagined that Xie Yuanxiu would act so unpredictably. A fleeting hint of panic crossed his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
He was about to say something when Li Kangnian raised his hand and said in a deep voice, "Take him aside and have him do a dictation exercise. Xie Yuanxiu and Liu Zheng, you two watch over him."
Zhou Yizhi stiffened almost imperceptibly, his hand, hidden in his sleeve, tightening unconsciously.
Although Xie Yuanxiu did not urge him, his gaze remained fixed intently on him.
Zhou Yizhi had no choice but to walk to the side, pick up his pen, but hesitated to put it down.
Everyone in the room stared intently at him, and the air seemed to freeze.
Zhou Wang had initially seen him calm and composed, which lessened his initial panic, but now, seeing that he hadn't touched his pen and that large beads of sweat were constantly rolling down his forehead, Zhou Wang noticed something else.
After a long while, Zhou Yizhi finally began to write, but his brushstrokes seemed somewhat hesitant, unlike Yun Shang's flowing and graceful style.
Time ticked by, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, he wrote slower and slower, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Yu Wan blinked and deliberately spoke up, "Yun Shang, why is Young Master Zhou writing so slowly? Has he forgotten everything?"
"He was the top scorer in this imperial examination! Is the top scorer's memory really that bad?"
Her voice was sweet and clear, as if she genuinely felt confused.
Yun Shang glanced at her, a faint smile flashing in his eyes, and said calmly, "To be able to get the top spot, you must have something extraordinary. I wouldn't say you have a photographic memory, but you're probably not far off."
"So that means even if Young Master Zhou can't remember everything, he can remember most of it, right?"
The two of them were talking back and forth, which almost made Zhou Yizhi, who was originally calm and composed, lose his composure.