bestfiction Chapter 174 He installed it
Chapter 174 He installed it
"We demand that the Hanlin Academy conduct a thorough investigation!"
"Such a person with malicious intentions must not be let go!"
The shouts from the students outside grew louder and louder, so loud that the people inside could hear them clearly.
Yu Wan narrowed her eyes.
Something's not right about Zhou Wang.
Logically speaking, what they said shouldn't have reached the ears of the students outside so quickly, and how could the news of her dragging Yun Shang to the Hanlin Academy to complain have spread so fast?
Yu Wan's doubts grew deeper and deeper.
She turned to look at Yun Shang, their eyes met, and they instantly understood each other's thoughts.
Yu Wan slightly raised her chin, a smile on her face, but her eyes were sharp as she looked at Zhou Wang.
"Lord Zhou, those students outside seem a bit too excited. The news spread so quickly, could it be that someone did this on purpose?"
Zhou Wang's hand, which was hanging in his sleeve, tightened almost imperceptibly. His face darkened. "Miss Yu, what do you mean by this? Do you suspect that I leaked the information?"
Yu Wan chuckled softly and said unhurriedly, "Why is Lord Zhou so agitated? I just feel that this matter is a bit strange, and it makes one suspicious."
Xie Yuanxiu was very perceptive and realized almost instantly that something was wrong.
He simply raised his hand and beckoned to the guard beside him.
"Go out and see what's going on outside."
The guards left as instructed, and Zhou Wang's face showed obvious tension.
He glared angrily, his voice sharp but his tone weak as he rebuked Yu Wan and Yun Shang, "If you hadn't been causing trouble, how could you have become a laughingstock among the students outside the Hanlin Academy!"
Xie Yuanxiu frowned, feeling that Zhou Wang's reaction was not quite right.
"Lord Zhou, Yun Shang is a candidate in this year's imperial examination. He has the right to request a review of his results from the Hanlin Academy if he has doubts about them." He said in a deep voice, "I am also very curious as to why the news of his request for a review from the Hanlin Academy spread so quickly?"
Zhou Wang retorted angrily, "You think I deliberately had someone spread this?!"
A dark glint flashed in Xie Yuanxiu's eyes, and he shook his head, saying, "Lord Zhou, that's not what I meant."
At this moment, Zhou Wang was like a tiger that had been provoked, his whole being radiating anger.
"What do you mean by that? Are you starting to doubt me? I, Zhou Wang, have served in the Hanlin Academy for many years and have always been fair and honest. How could I do such a despicable thing!"
Little did he know, his appearance only made people more suspicious that he had something to hide.
Xie Yuanxiu chuckled softly, but his tone was somewhat cold, "Why are you so agitated? I didn't say it was you who did it."
Yu Wan whispered, "Yes, Lord Xie didn't name names, so Lord Zhou's eagerness to refute only makes us more suspicious. If he didn't have something to hide, why would he get so angry?"
Her voice was soft, sounding like she was muttering to herself.
But the room was only so big, and everyone present was sharp-witted and able to hear every word she said.
Xie Yuanxiu almost burst out laughing.
A hint of a smile flickered in Yun Shang's cool eyes.
"You—" Zhou Wang was speechless for a moment.
Under the suspicious gazes of the crowd, he was somewhat flustered, but he forced himself to remain calm and said angrily, "You are slandering me! I, Zhou Wang, have done nothing wrong and have nothing to fear from your doubts."
The other three scholars carefully compared Yun Shang's exam paper again and confirmed that there were no problems.
"Thank you, Lord Xie. Lord Zhou," a scholar said. "Please forgive our incompetence; we have not found anything wrong with this exam paper."
The handwriting on this exam paper was identical to the draft that Yun Shang had submitted earlier, suggesting that it was written by the same person.
Upon hearing this, a hint of smugness flashed in Zhou Wang's eyes.
He looked at Yun Shang and sneered, "Now that the investigation has been completed and your grades are confirmed to be correct, according to the rules, you should go to the Hanlin Academy to receive fifty strokes of the cane."
He had barely finished speaking when Xie Yuanxiu was about to say something when the guard who had gone out to check the situation returned.
He respectfully reported to the several scholars in the room:
"Sir, we have indeed found several suspicious individuals among the students, who seem to be deliberately inciting them."
A fleeting look of surprise flashed across Zhou Wang's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
Xie Yuanxiu frowned. "Send someone to keep a close eye on these people."
Yu Wan hadn't expected that the students outside were actually being incited.
Judging from Zhou Wang's reaction, he seemed unaware of the situation.
Zhou Wang and Zhou Yizhi were both members of the Zhou family.
“Thank you, Lord Xie.” Yu Wan turned to Xie Yuanxiu and said, “If it weren’t for these suspicious people causing trouble and inciting the candidates, I would be willing to believe that Yun Shang had performed poorly. But now this matter is clearly strange, and there must be something wrong with this exam paper.”
"In terms of handwriting alone, I believe there are people who can imitate other people's handwriting perfectly."
Zhou Wang sneered: "Who could possibly replace a scholar from a poor, remote village like him?"
Xie Yuanxiu frowned and looked at Yun Shang, "Is there anything else you want to say?"
While Zhou Wang and Xie Yuanxiu were arguing, Yun Shang remained silent, his gaze fixed on the exam paper.
He remained calm, showing no sign of tension or urgency.
"This exam paper is not mine."
Seeing his composure, Zhou Wang felt a surge of anger rising within him. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Yun Shang say calmly:
"My lords, I can recite my previous exam paper word for word. If someone has taken my place, it will be easy to find out when the time comes."
Xie Yuanxiu was quite surprised, "You were able to write it down word for word?"
Yun Shang nodded.
Seeing the astonished looks on the other people's faces, Yu Wan's eyes twitched, thinking that she had gotten away with it to Yun Shang.
How could she forget something so important? Yun Shang, the male lead, is supposed to have a photographic memory in the original novel!
Xie Yuanxiu hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Alright, I'll give you one last chance."
Zhou Wang retorted, "Does he really think our Hanlin Academy has nothing better to do? Even if someone plagiarized his exam paper, where would our Hanlin Academy have the time to compare each exam paper with his!"
Yu Wan said, "Lord Zhou, you've misunderstood. If someone took Yun Shang's place, it would prove that Yun Shang did extremely well. In that case, why not just check the top few?"
The other scholars nodded in agreement.
"Just checking the top few won't take much effort."
"If Lord Zhou finds it troublesome, you don't need to come; we can do it for you."
Zhou Wang choked.
Xie Yuanxiu glanced at Zhou Wang, a deep meaning in his eyes, and called out, "Someone, prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone."
Soon, the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were prepared. Yun Shang walked to the table and calmly picked up the brush.
He closed his eyes slightly, then opened them a moment later, his every move exuding composure.
Then, he began to write, and the words flowed as smoothly as flowing water.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Yun Shang, each with their own thoughts.
Fifteen minutes later, he stopped writing, and the once blank Xuan paper was now completely filled with writing.
Xie Yuanxiu took the exam paper and only glanced at it.
However, in that one glance, his expression suddenly changed.
Without saying a word, he went straight to where the exam papers were kept and took out another exam paper.
A sharp-eyed scholar noticed the name on the exam paper and exclaimed in surprise, "This is the exam paper of Zhou Yizhi, who topped the list in this imperial examination!"
Everyone was shocked.
"Lord Xie, could it be that these two exam papers..."