The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

The air inside the Chuigong Hall was as thick and viscous as a stagnant pool.

At this time of day, the main hall would usually be a scene of chaos, with people arguing over trivial matters, their spittle flying from the imperial steps to the main gate.

But today, it's eerily quiet.

The two classes of civil and military officials stood on the left and right, each with their eyes downcast and their breathing as quiet as possible.

As Jiang Lin stepped over the high threshold, he could clearly feel countless gazes piercing his back like needles.

Zhao Zhen, sitting high on the dragon throne, had a face so dark it could drip water.

This official, who was known for his benevolence, now looked down at Jiang Lin, who stood in the hall, with an extremely complex gaze.

There was disappointment, heartache, and a hint of suppressed anger at being betrayed in his eyes.

"Your subject, Jiang Lin, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Jiang Lin bowed, his movements were perfect, without the slightest flaw.

Zhao Zhen did not wake him.

The deathly silence in the hall lasted for a full ten breaths. To others, those ten breaths felt like an eternity.

"Jiang Lin," Zhao Zhen finally spoke, his voice hoarse and unreadable, "Do you know your crime?"

Jiang Lin knelt on the ground, his back ramrod straight, and even had the leisure to dust off a speck of dust from his sleeve: "Your subject does not know."

"I was just about to take a nap when Eunuch Qian dragged me here. I haven't even had a sip of water on the way. I really don't know what crime I've committed."

"I don't know?"

A cold laugh came from the left.

Censor-in-Chief Wang Kui strode forward. He held a memorial in his hand, and looked at Jiang Lin as if he were looking at a lamb to the slaughter.

"Is Jiang Shanzhang truly unaware, or is he feigning ignorance?" Wang Kui's loud voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Colluding with enemy countries, selling military supplies, and even... plotting rebellion! Each and every one of these crimes deserves the death penalty of having one's entire family wiped out!"

rebellion.

The moment those two words were uttered, the air pressure inside the hall instantly plummeted to freezing.

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow and finally looked up at the righteous and awe-inspiring Lord Wang.

Last night he was drinking tea with Liao people in Tingyuxuan, and today he's shouting "Catch the thief!" in the main hall.

His acting skills deserve an Oscar.

"Lord Wang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want," Jiang Lin said calmly.

"I'll accept being called greedy, but what about treason? What would I be after? The drudgery of getting up early every day to attend court?"

"Eloquent and silver-tongued!"

Wang Kui gave Jiang Lin no chance to explain, turned to face Zhao Zhen, and knelt down heavily.

"Your Majesty! I have obtained conclusive evidence! Jiang Lin is using the Jingshi Academy as a cover, ostensibly to give lectures, but in reality, he is secretly recruiting soldiers and manufacturing prohibited weapons!"

He took a sandalwood box from his sleeve and held it high above his head.

"This is a secret box seized by officials of the Ministry of Personnel during a search of the academy's freight wagons. Inside is the blueprint for the 'Repeating Heavy Crossbow,' personally drawn by Jiang Lin! Please inspect it, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Zhen's eye twitched suddenly.

Zhang Maoze, who was standing beside him, immediately stepped down the steps, took the wooden box, and presented it to the emperor's desk.

The wooden box was opened, and a neatly folded drawing was slowly unfolded.

Zhao Zhen glanced at it once, and his face instantly turned deathly pale, then ashen. He slammed his hand heavily on the imperial desk, making the brush holder tremble.

"Jiang Lin! What else do you have to say?!"

Zhao Zhen grabbed the blueprint and threw it down hard.

The blueprints floated in the air and finally landed right in front of Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin picked up the blueprints.

The first impression upon seeing it is one of familiarity.

too familiar.

This slightly yellow and resilient bamboo paper is a special product supplied by the Jingshi Academy paper mill and cannot be bought on the market at all.

Looking at the ink stains again, the shades were just right, and even the subtle patterns of the ink spreading on the paper fibers were exactly the same.

The most amazing thing is the handwriting.

Jiang Lin looked at the lines of scribbles that looked like gibberish and almost couldn't help but applaud himself.

As everyone knows, although Jiang is exceptionally talented, his calligraphy is so bad that it's outrageous.

And the writing on this drawing is indeed ugly in its original form, ugly in a way that seems perfectly natural.

"Excellent handwriting." Jiang Lin couldn't help but exclaim. "This level of imitation skill can't be achieved without ten years of hard practice. Lord Wang has a wealth of talent under his command."

"Still talking tough even when you're about to die!"

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel also jumped out, pointing his finger at Jiang Lin and cursing, "This paper is unique to your academy, and this handwriting is your own!"

"The object depicted in the picture is a deadly weapon with a range of eight hundred paces, capable of firing ten arrows in succession! If not for treason, what purpose did you intend to have such a murder weapon for? Was it for hunting?!"

Wang Kui sneered repeatedly: "Jiang Lin, you always pride yourself on your investigation of things and your pursuit of knowledge, but the mechanism structure on this drawing is exquisite."

"Besides you, who else in the world could draw like this? Don't say this is a frame-up; no one in this world can imitate your handwriting to such an extent!"

The court was in an uproar.

Several ministers who had initially wanted to speak up for Jiang Lin fell silent upon seeing the "ironclad evidence."

The handwriting can be imitated, but the unique paper and the unheard-of complex mechanical structures on the blueprints could only have been created by Jiang Shanchang, whose mind was full of ingenious ideas.

This is practically sealing your coffin lid shut.

Zhao Zhen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his voice was filled with deep weariness: "Jiang Lin... I have treated you well. You wanted land, and I granted it; you didn't want to be an official, and I forced you to. Why... why did you take this step?"

Everyone was looking at Jiang Lin.

We await his breakdown, we await his pleas for mercy.

however.

Jiang Lin neither cried nor knelt down and kowtowed.

He simply sat cross-legged in the center of the hall, spread the blueprint on his knees, tilted his head, and looked at it from left to right.

He looked as if he were admiring a masterpiece.

"Lord Wang," Jiang Lin suddenly spoke, pointing to a component on the blueprint, "you're saying this thing has a range of eight hundred paces?"

Wang Kui was taken aback, then puffed out his chest and said, "Of course! The old craftsmen from the Ministry of Works have seen it; this crossbow is powerful enough to pierce through heavy armor!"

"Oh..." Jiang Lin nodded, then pointed to another spot, "Can it fire ten arrows in a row?"

"Excellent! One load, ten arrows fired in succession—no one, not even gods or demons, could withstand it!" Wang Kui gritted his teeth. "If we hadn't intercepted this weapon in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable if it had fallen into enemy hands!"

"Amazing, amazing!"

Jiang Lin clicked his tongue in amazement, his fingers tapping lightly on the drawing.

The hall was eerily quiet, with only the sound of him tapping on the paper.

Sudden.

"puff--"

An extremely untimely sneer broke the deathly silence.

Then came the second tone, and then the third tone.

Jiang Lin's shoulders twitched, and he began to tremble violently as if something had hit his funny bone. Finally, he threw his head back and burst into unrestrained, maniacal laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

Laughter echoed throughout the hall, wild, unrestrained, even bringing tears to the eyes.

Everyone was stunned.

crazy?

Has Jiang Lin gone mad with fright?

Wang Kui frowned and shouted sternly, "What are you laughing about in the main hall?!"

"What am I laughing at?"

Jiang Lin abruptly stopped laughing and raised his hand to wipe away the tears that had welled up in his eyes.

next second.

The smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a look as if he were looking at someone with an idiot.

"Snapped!"

Jiang Lin grabbed the blueprint that was considered "ironclad evidence," crumpled it up without even looking at it, and slammed it hard into Wang Kui's righteous face!

"Ouch!" Wang Kui was caught off guard and was hit squarely by the paper ball. His nose hurt and he staggered backward.

"You—you dare—"

"What do I dare to do?"

Jiang Lin stood up from the ground, patted his backside, and was no longer as dejected as before. He approached Wang Kui step by step, his aura even more imposing than that of the Imperial Censor.

"You've drawn it so well, Lord Wang."

Jiang Lin pointed at the crumpled paper on the ground, a mocking smile curving his lips:

"The handwriting is a flawless imitation, and the paper was stolen at just the right spot. You've really gone to great lengths to ruin me."

"But this thing..."

Jiang Lin stomped on the wad of paper and crushed it hard.

"It's a complete joke!"