Chapter 204 Suspected Third Prince Li Ke’s Question
Chapter 204: Suspected third prince Li Ke’s question
"Why do you think it's me?"
Fang Yuan frowned and asked.
Could it be that, as Wang De said just now, there was a disturbance in the inn and that someone leaked the test questions, he was talking about himself?
"There are a lot of rumors outside that the Chang'an Order leaked the test questions."
Gao Shenxing quickly pointed at Fang Yuan and said.
He knew that he had done something wrong and had to divert the emperor's attention from him.
Otherwise, you will be punished by the emperor for not speaking strictly.
"Absurd!"
"I have never touched the test questions!"
Fang Yuan's eyes turned cold and he said in a deep voice.
He is responsible for a lot of things, but he has never been responsible for exam questions.
The emperor and some ministers were responsible for the exam questions. Fang Yuan didn't know what the exam questions were during the whole process.
"This, I don't know this."
"Anyway, people outside are saying that you leaked it."
"If it weren't for you, why would the candidates in Liaozhou kneel to you in the examination room?"
Gao Shenxing pretended to be calm.
He thought about it and found that Fang Yuan had indeed never been exposed to examination questions.
But now that the matter has come to this, we can only point the finger at Fang Yuan and divert everyone's attention from herself.
"That's because if you bet on the right question, Your Majesty can make the decision for me."
Fang Yuan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.
Damn it, Ge You and the others suffered so much.
Kneeling in front of everyone, not only did not bring any good reputation to himself, but instead aroused a lot of jealousy, and now it has become like this.
Gao Shenxing opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't refute, and looked at Li Shimin for help.
"Confused, you are all confused!"
"Changsun Wuji, you are in charge of the civil service and responsible for the imperial examinations, then you are responsible for rectifying the leak of the exam."
Li Shimin was furious and scolded Changsun Wuji and others.
"I...I obey your order."
Changsun Wuji opened his mouth, wanting to refuse.
But seeing Li Shimin’s appearance, I could only think so.
There is no way, who calls himself the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and is in charge of the Ministry of Personnel?
"Chu Suiliang, Yu Shinan, you two are the chief and deputy examiners, but you don't know what to say. You are really derelict in your duties!"
"I order you to stabilize the grievances and emotions of the candidates and give an explanation to the candidates who participated in the imperial examination."
Li Shimin continued to order.
This was the first time since he began to pay attention to the imperial examination, but something like this happened.
To be honest, Li Shimin had the intention to kill people, but he just endured his anger and let them calm down the matter.
"Yes."
Chu Suiliang and Yu Shinan didn't hesitate at all and immediately agreed.
They know that they were derelict in their duties, which led to such an incident, and they bear a heavy responsibility.
"Be cautious!"
Li Shimin turned to look at Gao Shenxing.
But he didn’t give direct instructions like others.
Instead, he stared at the other person, his eyes sharper than when he looked at everyone before.
"I, I am here."
Gao Shenxing shuddered.
He couldn't help but swallow and lowered his head.
"You have committed a heinous crime by leaking the secrets of the imperial examination."
"I won't punish you for the time being. You'd better make up for your mistakes and let me settle everything down!"
Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
In the end, he also considered Gao Shilian as the uncle of Changsun Wuji and Changsun Queen, so he did not deal with Gao Shenxing immediately.
If it weren't for such a relationship, Li Shimin would probably push Gao Shenxing out and behead him as a warning to all the candidates.
"I, I obey your order."
Gao Shenxing wiped away cold sweat and breathed a sigh of relief.
He was scared to death and thought he would be severely punished.
"Fang Yuan will stay here first, and the others will go to work immediately!"
Li Shimin waved his hand impatiently and said in a deep voice.
"I'll take my leave."
Changsun Wuji saluted one after another.
Before leaving, many people glanced at Fang Yuan.
They were curious why Li Shimin didn't arrange for Fang Yuan to do other things?
Or is it that Li Shimin kept Fang Yuan because he had other arrangements?
"Fang Yuan, you didn't leak the test questions, right?"
Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
He looked deeply at Fang Yuan and needed Fang Yuan to confirm again.
"Yes."
Fang Yuan only has one character.
As if because he was not trusted, he frowned.
Mainly because I have never been exposed to the test questions, how could I leak the test questions?
"I also know that you did not leak the test questions."
Li Shimin sat down and sighed.
Only a few people were exposed to the test questions this time.
Fang Yuan is not among this group, and he does not know anyone who knows the test questions.
He left Fang Yuan behind because he had other arrangements, so he waved to Fang Yuan.
"What's the matter, Your Majesty?"
Fang Yuan approached Li Shimin.
"The candidates in Liaozhou took the test because of you, but what about these people?"
"Do you think they bet on the right question, or did someone really leak the question?"
Li Shimin knocked on another batch of test papers.
On his desk, there were two batches of test papers.
One group is Liaozhou candidates represented by Zhang Ji.
The other group is the Cui family and Yang family mentioned just now.
I didn’t continue talking about this matter just now because I wanted to calm down the emotions of the candidates as soon as possible to avoid making things worse.
"I don't know."
Fang Yuan thought for a while and said.
The Cui family and the Yang family should be the Boling Cui family and the Hongnong Yang family.
Although the relationship with the two families is not very good, Fang Yuan can't make mistakes by adding insult to injury.
Not to mention that he himself has no evidence, Li Shimin himself will not pursue such a big family too much.
"I'm asking you which possibility you think it is, not whether you know it or not."
Li Shimin frowned and said.
"If I bet on the right topic, others will bet on the right topic too, right?"
Fang Yuan thought for a while and then said.
He never thought he was great.
Since you can guess it, others can guess it too.
"Don't you think it's strange that these people can win every year?"
Li Shimin tapped his fingers on the table, said in a cold voice with a sullen face.
These aristocratic families have won the exam every year, and every imperial examination has a group of their people.
People from aristocratic families are very capable, and if they win the bets, they will win more.
Originally, the imperial examination was established to check and balance aristocratic families, but how can such a phenomenon check and balance aristocratic families?
"Your Majesty means...that they know the test questions?"
"Then who are the people responsible for setting the questions and those who know the questions?"
Fang Yuan thought for a while and followed Li Shimin's intention and asked.
In fact, Fang Yuan doesn't want to get too involved in this kind of thing.
It’s just that Li Shimin will definitely not let himself get what he wants if he leaves him behind.
"Those who know this year's exam questions include me, the Supreme Emperor, the Crown Prince, the King of Shu, the King of Yue, Pei Ji, Wang Gui, Fang Xuanling, Chu Suiliang, Yu Shinan, Changsun Wuji... I think it is most likely Pei Ji!" p>
Li Shimin squinted his eyes and said in a deep voice.
There are only eleven people in total, and Pei Ji is the most likely.
But there is no evidence, and Pei Ji is also a veteran, so Li Shimin can only doubt it.
Originally, Du Ruhui should have known the test questions, but Du Ruhui was critically ill and lying in bed, so he did not participate.
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true."
Fang Yuan's heart trembled, and he secretly scolded Li Shimin for really thinking highly of him.
Except for Chu Suiliang and Yu Shinan, whose status is slightly lower, the others are either princes or governors of the three provinces.
They are all top officials, so asking yourself, a mere fifth-rank Chang'an Ling, to guess which one might leak the secret, is it too much to think highly of yourself?
"What is said is absolutely true?"
"So who do you think it should be?"
Li Shimin rolled his eyes at Fang Yuan, frowned and said.
"Your Majesty, aren't you making things difficult for me?"
"They are all humerus ministers, it is not something I can guess."
Fang Yuan smiled bitterly.
"Why didn't I realize you were so timid before?"
Li Shimin looked Fang Yuan up and down and said with ill intentions.
The Fang Yuan he knew before was a bold and careful person.
Even Xiao Yu, even Pei Ji, and even Bishamon dare to fight with each other.
Now he is asked to guess who it is, and he still says this?
"I have always been very timid."
Fang Yuan smiled and said.
"Huh, I'm weird if I believe you."
"Fang Yuan, since you took office as Chang'an Order, have I not arranged anything for you?"
Li Shimin snorted coldly and looked away.
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."
Fang Yuan sighed in his heart.
I knew that Li Shimin had to arrange for himself to do something.
"Go check these people. I want to know who leaked the test questions to them."
Li Shimin pointed to Cui's and Yang's batch of test papers.
He can trust the batch of Liaozhou candidates not only because they are related to Fang Yuan.
The most important thing is that most of those candidates are from small families, or even ordinary people, with no relevant background.
Candidates with relevant backgrounds have no way to obtain test questions in advance, let alone those without relevant backgrounds.
"Secret investigation or high-level investigation?"
Fang Yuan thought for a while and asked.
He also had the idea to check it out.
By the way, look up Gao Shenxing.
He almost hurt himself after leaking the test questions.
I don’t know what the situation is like outside the palace. Are the candidates emotionally stable?
But with a minister like Changsun Wuji personally handling it, there shouldn’t be much of a problem, right?
"Secret investigation, don't alert others!"
Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said.
The people involved are all extraordinary people, so we have to investigate carefully.
"I understand!"
"Then I will resign first?"
Fang Yuan nodded and said.
"Check it carefully!"
"If you can't solve the problem, just come to the palace and see me!"
Li Shimin nodded heavily.
Fang Yuan left and left the palace at night.
At the entrance of Zhuque, Xue Bowu has been waiting for a long time.
Entering the palace at night, Fang Yuan called Xue Bowu for safety.
But because the emperor only summoned Fang Yuan, Xue Bowu could not enter.
Therefore, after Fang Yuan entered the palace, he kept waiting for Fang Yuan at the entrance of Zhuque.
"Fang Yuan, you are so slow, I almost fainted from hunger."
Xue Bowu complained.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Eat it at home or go to Yipinxiang?"
Fang Yuan patted Xue Bowu's shoulder and asked.
It was really hard for Xue Bowu to wait alone at the gate of the palace late at night.
"Go to Yipinxiang...call my sister!"
Xue Bowu's eyes suddenly lit up and he said excitedly.
But he still didn't forget to call Xue Jiaoyan.
"Then we have to go back home. The two roads are in opposite directions. Are you sure?"
Fang Yuan has no objection.
However, considering that Xue Bowu is hungry, another trip like this will take a long time.
"Ah?"
"How long does it take to get to Yipinxiang from here?"
Xue Bowu suddenly turned bitter, scratched his head and asked.
"It takes about one stick of incense to go to Yipinxiang, and it takes about one stick of incense to go home."
"And if you go home and taste incense again, it will take about an hour and a half."
Fang Yuan made a rough estimate.
With Zhuque Gate as the center, Fangfu and Yipinxiang are almost on the left and right.
"Then let's stop barking. Let's pack up and go back after eating."
Xue Bowu counted his fingers and finally shook his head and said.
You are already so hungry that you have to go back and forth for so long, why don’t you faint from hunger on the way?
"Then let's go."
Fang Yuan walked towards the direction of Yipinxiang.
The night is dark and there are no pedestrians on the road.
There is a faint moon in the sky, and I can see the road clearly.
Fang Yuan is not in a hurry, he has not walked on the road so leisurely for a long time.
Although Xue Bowu said he fainted from hunger, he surprisingly did not urge Fang Yuan.
So the two of them walked slowly at night, enjoying themselves quite a bit.
It didn't take long for Fang Yuan and the two of them to walk most of the distance, and they would soon reach Yipinxiang.
Although there is a curfew in Chang'an City, there are still many inns and restaurants open, where customers can stay up all night.
suddenly,
Fang Yuan noticed two staggering figures coming towards him.
Judging from the way they walked, it seemed that they had drunk a lot of alcohol and were walking erratically.
Naturally, Fang Yuan didn't intend to pay too much attention to it, even if there was a curfew now, even if he was ordered by Chang'an.
As the two parties approached, Fang Yuan saw their appearance clearly and gave up his previous thoughts because they were candidates.
Not only the candidates, but also the candidates I met at Yipinxiang Restaurant that day, the candidates who also bet on the right question this time.
"Stop!"
When Fang Yuan met the two of them, he suddenly shouted.
"You, who are you?"
The two candidates were startled and sober.
The two of them rubbed their eyes, trying to see Fang Yuan's appearance clearly.
When he saw Fang Yuan clearly, his eyes widened with fear and his face became full of shock.
"Fang, Fang Ling, I, we are the first offenders, please be merciful, we will never dare to do it again next time."
The two candidates quickly saluted Fang Yuan respectfully.
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"It's okay not to pursue the case. Just answer a few questions from me!"
Fang Yuan frowned slightly, and soon understood why they were afraid.
I thought I would be caught for violating the curfew, and I was worried that I would be punished by myself as the Chang'an Order.
"You, you said."
The two candidates breathed a sigh of relief and asked.
"What are your names?"
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice.
The two were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other, as if they wanted to run away.
After all, Fang Yuan doesn’t know the two of them, so if the two of them escape, won’t it be over?
"There are only so many candidates for the Beijing Examination. Can you escape?"
Fang Yuan couldn't help but be amused.
Although there are many candidates taking the Beijing Examination, there are only about a thousand people.
With a little research, you can find out who the two of them are.
You want to run away in this situation. Have you drunk too much?
"Yang Zhenyou, Yang Wenjun."
The two candidates quickly answered respectfully.
No more thoughts of escape.
"How did you bet on the right question?"
Fang Yuan continued to ask.
"This..."
The two of them lost most of their drunkenness and slowly sobered up.
They looked at Fang Yuan warily, as if they were thinking about whether they could answer.
"Bo Wu, remove their thighs and bring them back to the county government for retrial."
Fang Yuan's eyes darkened and he said coldly.
Xue Bowu said oh and walked towards the two of them.
After taking just two steps, his stomach began to growl with hunger.
Xue Bowu stopped immediately and turned back to look at Fang Yuan aggrievedly.
"Fang, Fang Ling, you can't do this."
"We just trigger a curfew, with a maximum of twenty lashes."
The two candidates were frightened and quickly backed away, looking at Xue Bowu and Fang Yuan in panic.
"You should have heard about the leak of test questions, right?"
"The imperial court is stabilizing the emotions of the candidates, but will also conduct an in-depth investigation into whether the questions were leaked or revised."
"You two are both candidates who have passed the test. If you are on the investigation list, if you recognize your identity, please tell me truthfully. Otherwise, it is normal procedure for me to take you back to the county government to serve you."
Fang Yuan said in a deep voice.
"I, we..."
"He is the husband of the Lord of Shouchun County, Yang Yuzhi, who is prepared by thousands of cattle."
"That's what he told us the day we had a conflict with you at Yipinxiang Restaurant last time."
The two candidates looked at each other and finally confessed truthfully.
They have completely recovered from their drunkenness and their thoughts have become normal.
After a little thought, I realized that Fang Yuan was not lying, and the court might really conduct an in-depth investigation.
"Yang Yuzhi?!"
Fang Yuan frowned slightly.
A little surprised, but also reasonable.
Yang Yuzhi has a close relationship with the third prince Li Ke, and the third prince Li Ke knows the test questions.
If Yang Yuzhi learned the test questions from the third prince, and then revealed them to these candidates, he would "bet" on the question.
"Yes, yes."
"That day at Yipinxiang, he even told us not to tell anyone."
The two candidates nodded in succession.
"Who was with him that day?"
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment and continued to ask.
That person can stand shoulder to shoulder with Yang Yuzhi, so his status should be high.
"A young master from the Bolingcui family, we don't know his name either."
The two shook their heads and said.
"Take out your examination certificates and take a look."
Fang Yuan nodded and said in a deep voice.
The young master of the Bolingcui family, that is quite reasonable.
Except for the candidates from Liaozhou this time, the Cui family and the Yang family received the most questions.
Yang Yuzhi and the young master of the Boling Cui family came together and "shoved" the test questions, which was normal.
The two of them touched their bodies and finally took out two examination certificates and handed them to Fang Yuan.
"The case of leaking test questions is of great significance."
"If you want to survive, don't tell anyone you talked to me."
Fang Yuan checked the documents, handed the documents back to the two of them, and reminded them.
"Yes, yes, yes."
The two nodded in succession.
"Let's go."
Fang Yuan waved his hand and let them go.
The two of them are just candidates, and the big fish is Yang Yuzhi.
While it is easy to catch Yang Yuzhi, it is difficult to find out the truth behind it.
If it is the third prince Li Ke, then he has offended a prince.
It is better to discuss this matter in the long term and let the matter ferment for a while before talking about it.
The two of them fled away and soon disappeared into the night, as if they had never appeared.
"Let's go, let's go eat."
Fang Yuan was in a good mood and took Xue Bowu to Yipinxiang.
Not long after, the two of them went to Yipinxiang Restaurant to have a feast.
The leak of test questions did not stop just because Chang Sun Wuji and others came forward.