It was another year of spring.
It was another year anew.
The swirling rumors caused great turmoil among Fengjing's upper class, with officials being summoned for questioning one after another, leaving them with no mood to celebrate the new year.
Fortunately, the commoners at the bottom remained singing and dancing, completely unaffected.
Xu Moli stood at the door of the small courtyard, watching the coming and going carriages on the street, people dressed in new clothes, buying pastries, wearing flower hairpins, setting off firecrackers, and finally felt reassured.
He and the Qi Family brothers had planned for a long time, and the reason for making a move before the new year was to make those who had done shady things restless and sleepless.
Additionally, it would give the commoners of Fengjing something to talk about during the new year, facilitating the spread and fermentation of the matter.
Cheating in the imperial examinations was no small matter, and the powerful forces behind it were not something he and the Qi brothers could shake, so in order to draw the attention of the higher-ups and incur the wrath of the imperial family to investigate, they still needed the common people to give them a push.
He heard that even the Minister of Rites was reprimanded yesterday and ordered by the imperial family to thoroughly investigate the cheating in the imperial examinations.
Qi Huai kept calling it a good opportunity, and immediately took An Jun's essay back home after grabbing it.
That essay was exactly the one Zhu Zhi had submitted for the examination when he passed.
Not a word more, not a word less.
No matter how things developed afterward, Zhu Zhi, as the ringleader, would definitely be shot.
Now, they just needed to wait patiently.
Xu Moli felt calm, no longer watching the excited and joyful commoners, and turned to go back into the room, only to bump into a little meatball.
"Big brother," Jiang Sheng asked while holding on to the hem of his clothes, "Today is the 30th, still no sign of second brother?"
The little girl thought her big brother was standing at the door waiting for Eldest Brother Zheng.
She didn't dare make a sound for fear of making her brothers sad, but was eager for Second Brother to come home, so she tiptoed behind to wait.
She waited and waited, until Big Brother gave up, but Second Brother still didn't come back.
Would the eleven-year-old new year be missing two brothers?
Xu Moli paused.
His mind and spirit were focused on the ghostwriter and the cheating in the imperial examinations, so he didn't notice that this was an incomplete reunion year.
The third brother was far away on the northern border, and the whereabouts of the second brother were unknown.
They had scattered to various corners of the Dayu Dynasty for development and strength, and although they were absent this year, soon they six siblings would definitely reunite and be happy and safe.
"Be good Jiang Sheng, they will all come back." Xu Moli gazed into the distance.
He had a feeling it wouldn't take long for the siblings to reunite.
At the same time.
Qi Huai returned home excitedly, and saw the worried Minister of Rites. He loudly said, "Father, did the imperial family ask you to investigate the ghostwriter?"
The Minister of Rites' expression froze for a moment, then he slowly turned around. "How did you know about this?"
"Father, don't ask me how I knew about it." Qi Huai smiled confidently. "I came to give Father an essay written by the ghostwriter for the examination candidate. I believe it can help Father a bit."
After speaking, he placed An Jun's handwritten essay on the table.
The Minister of Rites picked it up and read it, growing more and more shocked and livid.
Given that the examination papers were confidential, as long as he took this essay and compared it to Zhu Zhi's essay in last year's examination papers, whoever's was identical would be confirmed as cheating without a doubt.
But the problem was, where did this essay come from? And what role did his eldest son Qi Huai play in this?
The Minister of Rites suddenly looked up furiously. "Qi Huai! You were the one who leaked this out right? You were the one who made the entire Fengjing uneasy before the new year right?"
Qi Huai's heart thudded, and he took two steps back.
His instinct told him not to admit it, but his courage made him nod. "So what if it was me?"
"Ungrateful child!"
The Minister of Rites slapped his eldest son. "Cheating in the imperial examinations is no trivial matter. Ghostwriters exist every year, how did you take it upon yourself to expose these things and report them to the imperial family?"
"You...you've caused great trouble!"
It was obvious the Minister of Rites was angry but also concerned.
But this was precisely why Qi Huai became even more angry and disappointed.
"Father, you know ghostwriters exist right? You also know the examinations are unfair. Just because there are many powerful figures involved, you want to acquiesce to innocent commoners being oppressed?"
He questioned loudly, "You are the Minister of Rites, the one in charge of the entire examination system. You are the most respected elder to the students, yet this is how you treat them?"
The Minister of Rites pictured in his mind countless faces full of longing, kowtowing to him respectfully, their yearning for the National Academy, their admiration for the examinations, their anticipation of the future.
But in the end, because of their poor backgrounds, all their hopes turned to resignation as they ghostwrote to make a living, becoming the bottom class of "ghostwriters", falling into degeneracy and helplessness.
"Those poor students are indeed pitiful," the Minister of Rites sighed. "But Qi Huai, this is Fengjing, with deep-rooted powerful families, their connections forming a force too enormous for you to imagine. It’s impossible to eliminate ghostwriters and cheating in one fell swoop. If you act rashly you’ll just become a target. The powerful families won’t let you off."
"So what about powerful families, can they override the imperial family?" Qi Huai clenched his fists. "Father, the imperial family is not just for show. The fact that they are looking into these matters means there is a possibility for fairness and justice. We can't give up or admit defeat."
The sincere look of the youth was exactly like that of ambitious officials in their younger days.
Who didn't start out like this?
But who didn't eventually become shrewd and self-serving to preserve themselves?
It was as if the Minister of Rites saw his old self in his eldest son. He felt a bit helpless and amused, and also a trace of imperceptible feeling.
"You're unhappy about it huh. Fine, let me show you the might of Fengjing's powerful families."
After speaking, he picked up the essay on the table and strode away.
The essay was written by An Jun, and it was indeed identical to Zhu Zhi's essay in the examination papers. There was no way to falsify this.
However, when the Minister of Rites submitted the essay to the imperial family, the Zhu Family immediately cried injustice, accusing An Jun of plagiarizing Zhu Zhi's work, and insinuating that this matter was the Minister of Rites making trouble, purely to get back at the Zhu Family.
Combined with the Tao Family, Fang Family, and several officials who jointly accused the Minister of Rites, they almost dug up all his old misdeeds.
Just as the Minister of Rites was about to be convicted, and the essay writer An Jun was about to be executed without discussion, the equally prestigious as the Fang and Jiang families, Dou Family finally stepped forward, with the esteemed Minister of Personnel Dou Wei even suggesting summoning the author of the essay to the Golden Sacred Hall for questioning.
The Emperor sat expressionless on the dragon throne, watching everyone with their hearts in their throats.
Finally he spoke.
"Bring the author of the essay!"
