Chapter 269 Want to kill two birds with one stone?
"Chengyu! Do you think it's true that the test questions were leaked?"
Zheng Lun was a little confused. The reason he didn't believe it was the same as Gu Chengyu's. Could Mr. Wan be so stupid? Who wanted to frame him?
Gu Chengyu shook his head, "Before the end of the examination, the person who wrote the questions will be supervised separately. It should be impossible to leak the test questions."
Of course Sun Xian and others know this truth, but are they sure it will really be leaked?
The people in charge are all official servants. Could those people be bribed and then pass on the information?
Gu Chengyu sat on the chair and thought about it. Song Shujing was a connection of the eldest prince, and his eldest daughter became the eldest prince's concubine. Could it be that this person wanted to kill two birds with one stone?
There were only four princes in the Dayan Dynasty. If you exclude these two, there would be only the second prince and the fourth prince.
However, Gu Chengyu felt that any one of them was possible, and he could not rule out that the two princes deliberately used a bitter trick.
He hasn't entered the court yet, and the relationship inside is still unclear. On the surface, it seems that the two adults support the third prince and the eldest prince, but who knows in private?
Ye Zhiqiu couldn't help it. He wanted to ask clearly, but Sun Xian stopped him.
Sun Xian pointed at Gu Chengyu and signaled Ye Zhiqiu to stop talking. Gu Chengyu was thinking hard, trying to figure out the relationship.
"Who were the exam questions leaked to? Candidates from the Wan family? Who bribed Song Shujing?" Gu Chengyu suddenly remembered the most important question.
"I don't know. I have to wait until my father comes back from the court before I can get the news."
Zhu Pang was a little confused. He was just a young man with no connections, so he couldn't find out any useful information.
Gu Chengyu felt that instead of making random guesses here, it would be better to wait for the senior brother to come back. The senior brother would definitely get the first-hand news when he goes to court.
"Ming Mo, ask people to guard Wanfu and Songfu. As soon as there is news, send people to report."
Gu Chengyu felt that for the time being, he could only keep an eye on the two families to see if they had any changes.
Everyone panicked when they saw that Gu Chengyu had no good solution.
"Chengyu! If the evidence for this matter is conclusive, then are we?"
Ye Zhiqiu couldn't help but ask. If this matter was taken seriously, the best result would be to retake the entrance examination.
If you are unlucky, they may all be implicated, especially Gu Chengyu.
Of course Gu Chengyu knew what Ye Zhiqiu was saying, and it all depends on the ranking in this examination.
These two days are when the results will come out. If he gets into the top ten, he probably won't be able to escape.
Rumors spread, and even the names of the officials were clear, but they did not find out who bribed the examiner, nor did they know who leaked the examination questions to.
Before the palace could come to a conclusion, the news spread outside. How difficult is it to find out the source of the rumor?
I'm afraid, it will be difficult for him to escape from it. However, he will not sit still and wait for death. He has already planned that if the senior brother cannot get the news, then he will visit the palace at night.
Once this incident comes out, will the third prince's biological mother Xian Fei still sit on the Diaoyutai? Naturally, she is very anxious. This is a major matter of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan. If her mother's family falls, her life in the palace will definitely be difficult.
Gu Chengyu suddenly thought that Concubine Xian might take a desperate risk and deliver the news to Wanfu. At this moment, Wanfu was not under surveillance, so maybe things could turn around.
"Ming Yan, ask people to guard outside the palace. If someone comes out of the palace, ask them to follow them. As long as they go to Wan Mansion and Song Mansion, find a place where no one is around, and intercept the contents of the letter."
Ming Yan said yes, then thought about it and asked again: "I intercepted the letter, but do I have to send it back to the two houses?"
Gu Chengyu nodded, "Of course I want it."
He couldn't protect himself at the moment, and he didn't want to participate in the battles between the princes. The purpose of intercepting the letter was to understand the whole story and come up with countermeasures.
It will be beneficial to him only if the two adults are safe and sound.
"Chengyu?" Zheng Lun was a little dazed. Only then did he see Gu Chengyu's calm and calculating side.
He always felt that Gu Chengyu was a young man like them. Although he was good at studying, how could they have the right to interfere in court matters?
"We can't sit still and wait for death, right? If we don't have connections, we can only check it ourselves. Intercepting letters is also a last resort."
Gu Chengyu thought that these people couldn't accept it, so he explained a few words. If they knew that he wanted to visit the palace at night, they would be scared to death.
Everyone discussed for more than an hour, but they had no clue. Gu Chengyu asked them to go back first, and then send someone to inform them when there was news.
Several people also felt that staying at Gu Chengyu's house was not an option, so they all went back.
Gu Chengyu waited in the mansion for a while, waiting for news about Ming Yan.
"Sir! I intercepted a letter to Wanfu on the way. The younger one has asked someone to compare the handwriting and make a copy."
Secret letters like this will be sealed with wax. Once opened, they cannot be restored. Therefore, the handwriting on the outer envelope must be imitated, copied and then sealed with wax.
The letter in Ming Yan's hand was copied. Gu Chengyu took the letter and read it carefully.
The more he looked at it, the more solemn his face became. This was a letter written by the Concubine Xian to Wanfu. It said that Wan Xuenian and Song Shujing fought to death and refused to admit it, but someone caught them. That person turned out to be Guo Shi, the censor of Youqiandu.
.
When talking about who Guo Shi was, Gu Chengyu remembered the official who delivered the imperial edict to Jiang Mingyuan. He was there at the time and was praised a few times.
Concubine Xian said in the letter that this person should be Xia Qing, the first assistant, but he was actually an in-law of the Wan family.
The letter mentioned very little about these things. It was probably written in a hurry and there were not many words. The purpose of this letter was just to let Wanfu check the study room to avoid any actual correspondence.
From this point of view, doesn’t Concubine Xian trust her mother’s family? If Wan Xuenian really leaked the test questions, who did he give them to? If not, who framed her?
As for Guo Shi mentioned in the letter as being from Xia Qing, he had some doubts. Although Xia Qing was arrogant, he was very cautious. How could he possibly leave any clue to others?
No matter how you look at this fraud, it seems strange. Who is so ambitious that he wants to kill two birds with one stone?
In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a man wearing yellow embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon sat on the dragon chair.
This man was over fifty years old, with slightly white hair on his temples. He was squinting his eyes as if he was taking a nap. This was actually the emperor - Emperor Huiming.
De'an, the chief eunuch on the side, looked at the ministers who were about to make a quarrel below, and then looked at the emperor who seemed to be concentrating with his eyes closed, and his heart trembled.
The emperor has become more and more moody recently. Such a big thing happened, but the emperor was not angry at all.
But the more this happened, the more it made his hair stand on end.
Wan Xuenian was very angry. This Guo Shi was still his in-law, but he didn't expect to jump out and expose him. How could he commit such a major fraud? It's not like he lived too long.
"Guo Shi, don't spit on anyone with your blood. Why would I do this? Just for such a small amount of money?"
Wan Xuenian's body was trembling as he knelt on the ground. The emperor's attitude had always been unclear. Did he believe that thief?