Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 44 I only do three things: fairness, fairness, and damn fairness
The examination was over and with the Jinyiwei guarding it, nothing went wrong.

After that, the examination was about to begin. With Hu Yi, the old minister who had been in charge of the Ministry of Rites for more than 20 years, in charge, who would dare to cheat? No tricks could escape his eyes.

Finally, the day of announcement of results arrived and all the candidates were waiting with great anticipation.

In the early morning, the Ministry of Rites Imperial College was already crowded with people. The candidates, young or old, gathered here because of their lifelong dream of studying, looking forward to the glory of passing the high school entrance examination.

"Here they come!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites carried a huge scroll of venue cloth and slowly walked towards the archway. Hu Yi, the Minister of Rites, stood at the door, looking at the students in front of him, and couldn't help but recall the exciting moments when he was in high school.

That kind of excitement only happens once in a lifetime!
"I wish all your dreams come true!" Hu Yi clasped his fists and blessed the students.

Then, he raised his hand and the golden list hanging on the second floor fell down. Students rushed to the golden list, carefully looking for their names.

"I won! I won!" someone shouted in surprise.

"I didn't win again." Some people sighed to the sky with tears streaming down their faces.

An old man with gray hair looked at the list and burst into tears: "It's over, it's all over. I have failed the exams over and over again. Why is my fate so rough?"

Before he had finished crying, another old man with white hair and beard beside him shouted, "I won. God has not let me down!"

For a moment, joy, anger, sorrow and happiness were intertwined in front of the gold list, and all kinds of life were revealed.

Finally, everyone's attention was focused on the name of the top scorer in the imperial examination - Yang Guifang!

"Who is this person?" someone asked curiously.

"I know, that's Yang Rong, the youngest son of Lord Yang." Someone answered.

Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Lord Yang had passed away many years ago, and no one expected that his youngest son would win the first place in the imperial examination.

"That's not right. I feel like most of the people on the list are either from wealthy families or officials."

"Yes, yes, there are very few students from poor families."

"Humph, there must be something fishy going on here. This isn't fair!"

"unfair!"

A feeling of anger spread quickly.

……

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen looked at the list of candidates for the imperial examination in his hand and felt satisfied. In his opinion, this imperial examination was fair and those who were admitted should all be people with real talents and knowledge.

"Your Majesty~" Jinyiwei Commander Shi Biao hurried in and reported nervously, "Something happened! After the results were announced, the students found that almost all the successful candidates were children of wealthy families or officials. They all expressed disapproval."

"How could this be? Take me to see it!" Zhu Qizhen stood up immediately after hearing this.

He hurried to the Imperial Examination Hall of the Ministry of Rites, where more and more students gathered, shouting that it was unfair. The elderly Minister of Rites Hu Yi stood at the door, patting his chest and assuring the students that this imperial examination was absolutely fair and impartial.

"You can't just say it's unfair just because you didn't pass the exam," Hu Yi shouted. "As scholars, where is your sense of shame?"

"Mr. Hu is right." Zhu Qizhen stepped forward.

When Hu Yi saw the emperor coming, he knelt down to greet him. When the students saw the dragon robe, they knew who was coming and knelt down. Zhu Qizhen looked at everyone and raised his hand to signal, "Everyone, stand up!" At this time, a middle-aged student rushed in front of him and shouted, "Your Majesty, this exam is really unfair!"

Zhu Qizhen's voice suddenly turned cold: "Why do you think it's unfair?"

"Your Majesty, look at this list of successful candidates. Those on it are either children of wealthy families or children of officials. What about us, children of poor families? Almost all of us have been eliminated." The middle-aged student cried.

Zhu Qizhen said in a deep voice: "This has nothing to do with whether the exam is fair or not!"

"It's related!" the middle-aged student shouted, "I am Wang Qizhi, the third on the list. The reason I made the list is that I spent fifty gold to buy the test questions from Mr. Hu's concierge!"

……

a bolt from the blue!

Wang Qizhi pointed at Hu Yi and cursed: "If he can sell the test questions to us poor kids, he will definitely sell them to those rich kids and those officials. Your Majesty, if I hadn't happened to get fifty gold coins, I would never have passed the exam! This is so unfair, I will tell it even if I risk my life!"

Now, Zhu Qizhen was confused.

Hu Yi sold the test questions? How could this be possible! There was no need for this. He was not a greedy person. With his current prestige and age, he did not need to take this risk.

"You're talking nonsense!" Hu Yi's face turned blue with anger. "If I leak the answer, you can chop off my head!"

"I bought it from your concierge." Wang Qizhi's eyes were blazing with fire. "Even if I die, I will speak out against this injustice."

Of course, those students who failed the exam believed what Wang Qizhi said. They looked at Hu Yi viciously, wishing they could eat him up.

Zhu Qizhen shouted in a deep voice: "Wang Qizhi, since you have accused Hu Yi, I will definitely investigate thoroughly! If what you said is true, I will severely punish Hu Yi. If you are making a false accusation, I will severely punish you according to the law! Come on, take them all away!"

Jinyiwei rushed over, took Hu Yi and Wang Qizhi away, and quickly left the scene. Zhu Qizhen secretly praised Shi Biao in his heart. He had been with him for so long that they had a tacit understanding. If he didn't take him away quickly, when the students got angry, something big would happen. "Everyone, disperse first." He coaxed, "Within ten days, I will give you an explanation and guarantee that it will not affect the next palace examination. This spring, I will only do three things: fairness, fairness, and damn fairness!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The students bowed together.

Zhu Qizhen turned around and went back to the palace with a stern expression.

Hu Yi was selling the exam questions, which was beyond his expectation and he didn't believe it. But Wang Qizhi risked his own future, why did he do that?
……

After returning to the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Qizhen immediately summoned Xu Youzhen and Li Xian and told them about Hu Yi selling the test questions.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Li Xian shook his head. "Mr. Hu has been in charge of the Ministry of Rites for more than 20 years. If he wanted to sell the exam questions, would he wait until now?"

"I don't believe it either!" Xu Youzhen's eyes were sharp, "Maybe someone wants to frame Mr. Hu."

Zhu Qizhen nodded slowly: "You go to the Jinyiwei and assist Shi Biao to find out the truth. I also need to give an explanation to all the students in the world."

The two men took the order and left. Zhu Qizhen felt more at ease with them assisting Shi Biao, especially Xu Youzhen, who was very good at playing tricks. Zhu Qizhen sat on the throne, his brain working quickly: "Who could it be? What is the purpose? Hu Laosi is an old minister of the fourth dynasty. He is kind and kind. He has no mortal enemies, right? Even if there are, they have been outlasted. The court is full of troubles. I really want to go back to the countryside."

"Your Majesty, Yu Shaobao requests to see you." Eunuch Jin Ying came to report.

"You've come just in time." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

He stood up and walked out, calling out to Yu Qian at the door: "Old Yu, let's go smoke, drink, and get our hair permed."

Yu Qian followed him helplessly and walked out of the palace.

4th update, please vote!



(End of this chapter)