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

The imperial guards pounced on the scions of noble families in the examination hall like wolves and tigers.

Before Lin Yaozu's brain could even process what was happening, two burly imperial guards pinned him down on the table.

"What are you doing! I am the eldest young master of the Lin family, how dare you touch me!" Lin Yaozu struggled desperately, but in front of the fierce Imperial Guards, he didn't even make a splash.

A guard violently ripped off his shoes, held them upside down by the heel, and gave them a hard shake.

A neatly folded piece of paper fell to the ground with a thud.

Liu An quickly stepped forward and picked up the note.

After seeing the handwriting clearly, his smile became even more pronounced than AK's, and the wrinkles on his face instantly blossomed into a wide grin.

"Calculation of losses of horses and fodder for the Northwest Border Army..." Liu An shouted, reading the contents of the note aloud.

He turned and stared at Su Shi, his tail practically wagging in the air: "Lord Su, what else do you have to say? The exam answers were hidden in the candidates' shoes, isn't that cheating?"

Su Shi stood on the steps, staring at the note in Liu An's hand, and almost burst out laughing.

He forcibly suppressed the upward curve of his lips and immediately put on an acting performance, his face full of disbelief: "Lord Liu, is the note in your hand really found under his shoe?"

"With everyone watching, how could it be fake?" Liu An sneered, holding the slip of paper high for everyone to see. "Look closely, everyone! This is the exam question that Su Shi leaked! As the person in charge of the imperial examinations, to treat the grand imperial examination ceremony like a joke is simply unforgivable!"

The candidates in the examination room instantly erupted in chaos.

"The exam questions were actually leaked?"

"No wonder these young masters from wealthy families walked in with such an air of superiority!"

"How could Lord Su do such a foolish thing..."

Hearing the surrounding discussions, Liu An became extremely arrogant.

He practically poked Su Shi's nose with his finger: "Su Shi, surrender immediately and come back to the capital with me to beg for forgiveness from the Emperor! Otherwise, don't blame me for taking action!"

Just as tensions were rising, a lazy voice drifted slowly into the examination hall.

"Lord Liu, you have quite the airs of an official!"

Everyone turned around in unison.

Jiang Lin, dressed in a long, flowing robe and waving a folding fan, strolled in with an air of leisure. Zhao Lingjun and Qian Duoduo followed behind him, one on each side.

Liu An frowned: "Who do you think you are? This is the Imperial Examination Hall, a place of utmost importance. How dare any unauthorized person trespass!"

Jiang Lin strolled over to Su Shi's side and patted him on the shoulder familiarly.

He then turned to look at Liu An, a mocking smile playing on his lips, as if he were looking at an idiot.

"I am Jiang Lin, the headmaster of Jingshi Academy." Jiang Lin snapped his folding fan shut, tapping the fan ribs against the slip of paper in Liu An's hand. "Lord Liu, you keep insisting that Lord Su leaked the exam questions, is it all based on that tattered piece of paper in your hand?"

"Excellent!" Liu An raised his chin high. "It's written clearly here; this is the final essay of this provincial examination! The evidence is overwhelming. What are you trying to deny?"

Jiang Lin sighed deeply, his eyes looking as if he were looking at an exceptionally intelligent person.

"Lord Liu, has the bad feng shui of the capital affected your brain?" Jiang Lin teased. "Since you're convinced that it's an exam question, please lower your noble head and take a look at the exam papers on the candidates' desks. What exactly is printed on the last question?"

Liu An's heart skipped a beat, and a chill inexplicably ran down his spine.

He rushed to Lin Yaozu's desk in three quick steps and stared intently at the open exam paper.

"The Liangzhe Circuit has suffered from floods for years... 100,000 strings of cash were raised..."

Liu An's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

He rubbed his eyes twice, refusing to believe it, and then looked again, only to find it was still about water conservancy and finances!

There is no Northwest. Not even a single horse hair.

The color drained completely from Liu An's face in an instant.

He whirled around, grabbed Lin Yaozu by the collar, and roared, "What's going on! The questions on the test paper are different from the ones on the slip of paper!"

At this moment, Lin Yaozu's psychological defenses completely collapsed. He felt a warm sensation in his crotch and was so frightened that he wet himself on the spot.

"I...I really don't know!" Lin Yaozu wailed. "This note was an insider answer key we bought on the black market for a thousand guan! We thought it was the real exam question, but who knew it wasn't on the actual test at all!"

The entire room was deathly silent. You could hear a pin drop.

The candidates, who were just moments ago filled with righteous indignation, were now completely dumbfounded.

So it turns out that these arrogant young masters from wealthy families spent an exorbitant amount of money to buy a fake exam paper?

They were even stupid enough to bring fake answers into the exam hall, only to be caught red-handed by the Censorate!

Looking at Liu An's expression, as if he had swallowed a dead fly, Jiang Lin thought to himself, "We've won so badly!"

He stepped forward, his voice booming like thunder: "Lord Liu, if you're not deaf, listen carefully! What they brought is a fake exam paper that has absolutely nothing to do with the imperial examinations!"

"You come here with a fake exam question, spouting nonsense and slandering the Song Dynasty's examiner. I'd like to ask you, have you reached the end of your tenure as Vice Censor-in-Chief?"

Liu An trembled violently, his finger pointing at Jiang Lin shaking wildly: "You...you stop with the sophistry! Even if the questions were fake, they were still attempting to cheat! Su Shi, as the examiner, failed to detect the cheating, which is still dereliction of duty!"

"Dereliction of duty?" Jiang Lin scoffed. "Lord Liu's skill at turning the tables is truly masterful. You just said you received a secret report; may I ask who gave the report? Who told you that Lord Su set the 'Northwest Horse Question'?"

Liu An's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his lips moved but he couldn't utter a single word.

Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare say it was a false message sent by a spy planted by Grand Tutor Cai.

Jiang Lin gave him no chance to breathe, pressing on relentlessly: "Playing dumb, huh? This fake exam paper is bait you bastards used to lure us in!"

"Trying to frame Lord Su with fake exam questions and disrupt the Jiangnan imperial examinations! Too bad they weren't smart enough; they jumped out to bite before they even understood what the real questions were. Now look what happened, they've only got a mouthful of fluff!"

The examinees in the examination room finally realized what was happening, and their anger was instantly ignited.

"So it turns out the Censorate was playing dirty tricks all along!"

"Shameless! You framed Lord Su with fake exam questions!"

"Severely punish those who cheat! Severely punish corrupt officials!"

The insults came like a tidal wave, almost lifting the roof off the examination hall.

Looking at the murderous eyes around him, Liu An knew he was completely doomed. This fire had not only burned him, but had also dragged Cai Jing into the mess.

"Withdraw...withdraw quickly!" Liu An waved to the Imperial Guards in a panic.

"Where are you going?" Jiang Lin coldly demanded. "Is the Song Dynasty's examination hall your backyard? You think you can come and go as you please?"

He turned to Su Shi and asked, "Lord Su, according to the laws of our Great Song Dynasty, what is the sentence for leading troops to storm the examination hall and framing an official of the court?"

Su Shi stood ramrod straight, his voice booming: "According to the law, he must be immediately dismissed from his post, arrested, and escorted to the Court of Judicial Review for rigorous interrogation!"

Jiang Lin nodded in satisfaction, pointing at Liu An and the others: "Then please, Lord Su, take action! First, strip these cheating idiots of their titles and ban them from ever holding office again! As for this Lord Liu… Lingjun, teach him a lesson!"

Zhao Lingjun stepped forward, took out the mutton-fat jade pendant representing Princess Jianing from his bosom, and slapped it unceremoniously onto Liu An's face.

"You're blind as a bat!" Zhao Lingjun's voice was icy cold. "Get back to Bianjing and deliver those words to that old bastard Cai Jing. The imperial examinations in Jiangnan are none of his business!"

"If he dares to extend his claws again, I... I will personally go to the Emperor to lodge a complaint against him!"

Upon seeing the totem on the jade pendant, Liu An's knees buckled, and he collapsed to his knees on the blue bricks with a thud.

That was the personal keepsake of the emperor's most beloved princess.

The sky has fallen. Everything is over.

Liu An collapsed to the ground like a limp rag, as if all his life had been drained away in an instant.

Jiang Lin looked at the mess on the ground and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

He turned around, facing the bewildered students from impoverished backgrounds still in the examination hall, and raised his voice sharply: "What are you all standing there for! Time's almost up, hurry up and answer the questions!"

The students snapped out of their daze, quickly buried their heads, and the scratching sound of pens scratching paper rang out again.

Jiang Lin strolled to the entrance of the examination hall.

Gazing at the rising sun surging across the sky, he stretched lazily.

"The sky over Jiangnan should finally clear up," Jiang Lin murmured softly, a slight smile playing on his lips.