To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

On the high platform, Yu Miaoyan watched Zhang Fan frantically jumping back and forth in the crowd, adding drama to his life, and she was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to powder.

That bastard!

Are you addicted to putting on this charade?

Taking a deep breath, Yu Miaoyan patiently suppressed the urge to rush down and beat Zhang Fan up, and raised the gavel again.

"Snapped!"

A loud bang was heard, and the area outside the hall immediately fell silent.

Yu Miaoyan, her face cold, swept her gaze over the anxious students and civilians outside, and announced loudly:

"The imperial court established the imperial examination system to select true pillars of the nation, and will never allow any talented person to be overlooked!"

"I hereby announce that, effective immediately, the county examination results will be re-examined and the results released! All those who committed cheating are stripped of their places and titles, and the legitimate students who passed the examination but were replaced will be listed in order of merit!"

Upon hearing this, many students in the crowd were already trembling with excitement.

Yu Miaoyan paused, her voice becoming increasingly firm and powerful:

"As for the county examination! All results are invalid! The examination hall will be reopened in three days, and new papers will be prepared!"

"I, the official, will personally supervise the examinations, ensuring a clean and absolutely fair imperial examination system for all students in Jiangnan!"

These resounding words echoed, as if dispelling the gloom hanging over the students' heads.

After a brief period of deathly silence.

"We can retake the exam...we can retake it!"

"The county-level examinations will be reorganized, and the prefectural-level examinations will be retaken! We still have a chance! We really still have a chance!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live forever!! Long live the Great Qin Dynasty!"

Countless impoverished students who had failed the imperial examinations were moved to tears, kneeling in the mud and water, wailing and cheering wildly as they kowtowed towards the government office.

……

The three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Jiangnan County Examination resumed as scheduled, and Yu Miaoyan, still dressed in a cold and aloof men's attire, personally oversaw the examination with two hundred elite armored soldiers.

With her intimidating presence, the atmosphere at the examination halls in Jiangnan was completely transformed, and no one dared to have even the slightest thought of committing crimes.

Meanwhile, in the backyard of the imperial envoy's residence, a completely different scene was unfolding.

Zhang Fan, completely disregarding the image of an imperial envoy, was half-reclined in the armchair, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, and looking contentedly at the courtyard.

One heavy mahogany box after another was being carried in by armored soldiers from Fang Zhengge's private residence.

One of the subordinates in charge of the inventory quickly stepped forward, excitedly cupping his hands in a salute and reporting, "Lord Qi, the Fang family's cellar has been completely searched and inventoried!"

The total amount obtained was 100,000 strings of copper coins and a full 1,000 taels of gold! In addition, there were mountains of various calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, jade artifacts, and antiques!

"puff!"

Zhang Fan spat out a mouthful of water and sprang up from the armchair.

"How much? A thousand taels of gold? One hundred thousand coins?"

Zhang Fan's eyes widened, he gasped, and couldn't help but smack his lips: "Good heavens! This Fatty Fang looks like a pig, but I never expected him to be such a golden pig!"

"How could a mere prefect have become so wealthy!"

Standing to the side, the eldest son, Fusu, looked at the mountain of people's ill-gotten gains and was so angry that he trembled all over, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Inhuman! Utterly shameless!"

Fusu's eyes blazed with fury as he gritted his teeth and angrily denounced, "Our people of Great Qin are starving, yet he, as their official, is hiding such a huge sum of money in his residence!"

These parasites who wreak havoc on the country deserve to die! Killing them a hundred times wouldn't be enough!

Although Fang Zhengge had already been imprisoned and would be executed in the autumn, and was beyond dead, Fusu still could not hide his shock and anger.

"Alright, alright, he's completely dead now, he won't hear you even if you yell at him."

Zhang Fan touched his nose, suppressing the green light in his eyes, then cleared his throat, beckoned to his subordinate, and ordered in a low voice:

"Go, remove all the seals on these valuables, do some minor accounting, and then put them all under the name of our 'Academy of Natural Sciences' private treasury. Load them into separate carts and transport them back to Xianyang, making sure they are not mixed with the government's treasury."

Without a word, the servant immediately obeyed and went to carry out the order.

Fu Su, who was standing to the side, was stunned when he heard this. He turned to look at Zhang Fan in confusion and asked, "Teacher, what do you mean by this?"

Shouldn't this huge sum of money confiscated be recorded, turned over to the national treasury, or used to provide relief to the people of Jiangnan?

Zhang Fan felt a little uneasy under his gaze, coughed twice, and patted Fusu's shoulder with a dry laugh: "Oh, don't worry, young master. Our Institute of Physics is currently engaged in scientific research and construction for the Great Qin Dynasty, and money is flowing out like water every day. We're just worried about not having enough funding."

"Once I return, I will certainly write a memorial myself and submit it to His Majesty for approval. Consider it... a borrowing! Yes, a borrowing!"

Fusu didn't believe his story at all.

"Teacher! This is an act of embezzlement!"

Fusu immediately became anxious, and with a righteous air, he stepped forward to block Zhang Fan, and began to earnestly advise him: "A gentleman loves money, but he acquires it in a proper way!"

This is all ill-gotten gains! If the Censorate finds out that you have embezzled a huge sum of money, they will surely impeach you!

As the eldest son of the Qin Dynasty, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch my teacher go astray and bear the eternal infamy of corruption and bribery!

Fusu invoked Confucian principles and launched into a long, rambling discourse that Zhang Fan found utterly tiresome.

Zhang Fan took a deep breath, rolled his eyes helplessly, and immediately raised his hand to interrupt his spellcasting.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Zhang Fan glanced sideways at Fusu and said in a low voice, "Young master, you are aloof and impressive! But shall we settle our accounts?"

"Huh? What account?" Fusu was taken aback.

Zhang Fan counted on his fingers and began to dig up old grievances in a serious manner: "Last time in Shangdang County, you insisted on investigating some kind of 'people's conditions,' and ended up accidentally entering a brothel, where you spent five thousand coins in one night!"

And this trip to Jiangnan, with all the eating, drinking, and sleeping along the way, the drinks at Ji Honglou alone must have cost at least a thousand coins!

Zhang Fan became more and more self-righteous as he spoke, "Do you think we're gods who grew up eating nothing but the northwest wind? I paid all this money out of my own pocket!"

"If I don't raise some funds, are we going to beg our way back to Xianyang?!"

"I……"

Fusu was struck dumb, frozen in place as if by lightning.

Is that what I'm supposed to do to be considerate of the people's plight?

Didn't the teacher pull me in?

Besides, having lived in the palace since childhood, how could I possibly have any concept of prices among ordinary people?

They had no idea whether going to a brothel for 5,000 coins was a rip-off, or whether what Zhang Fan said was true or false.

But... he who eats another's food is bound to be obligated, and he who takes another's money is bound to be obligated

He touched his pockets, which were even emptier than his face, and realized that he was indeed penniless, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal.

Thinking of his embarrassing encounter at the brothel that night, and now being confronted with debts in person, Fusu didn't know how to refute them.

He stammered for a long time, his face flushed, and finally flung his sleeves and fled in panic, not daring to look at the gold and silver again.