My family has been wielding knives for generations, but now it's my turn to wield a pen!

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinxuan's expression noticeably turned colder.

Those eyes first swept over An Zhiyuan kneeling on the ground, then looked at the pale-faced scholar, and finally slowly stopped on Jiang Xiaobai: "Jiang Xiaobai, do you have anything else to say?"

"Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

Jiang Xiaobai bowed and said, "This student... did this entirely for His Majesty's sake!"

"How dare you say such a thing!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhanqiu's face immediately turned cold: "You mean, there's nothing wrong with the imperial examination fraud?"

"Exactly!"

Jiang Xiaobai nodded slightly.

"Heh, I'd like to hear how you'll do this for me?" Xiao Jinxuan said with a faint smile.

As Xiao Jinxuan spoke, Chen Zhanqiu fell silent, but looked at Jiang Xiaobai with a cold smile.

Yes, now that all the witnesses are here, he wants to see what Jiang Xiaobai has to say.

Jiang Xiaobai straightened up and looked at Xiao Jinxuan, saying, "Your Majesty, I have a few questions I'd like to ask this scholar who wrote the paper for me. Is that alright?"

"allow."

Xiao Jinxuan did not stop him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As Jiang Xiaobai spoke, his gaze fell on the scholar, and a smirk appeared on his lips as he said, "I'm asking you, have you seen me before?"

Upon hearing this, the scholar was visibly taken aback. After a brief hesitation, he replied, "No!"

"good!"

Jiang Xiaobai smiled and said, "Then let me ask you again: if you've never even met me, why did you take the exam for me?"

"It's Lord An!"

This time, the scholar answered much faster: "It was Lord An who found me and asked me to take the exam for Prince Jiang!"

As these words were spoken, many officials in the court exchanged glances.

These words alone are enough to prove that Jiang Xiaobai and this scholar had no direct contact.

"Lord An."

Jiang Xiaobai slowly turned her head to look at An Zhiyuan and said, "You just said that I asked you to help me find a substitute writer, right?"

"yes!"

An Zhiyuan nodded.

"You also said that I threatened you, saying that if you didn't help me get the top scholar title, I would send someone to assassinate you, right?"

"Hmph, if it weren't for your threat, I wouldn't have done such a foolish thing!" An Zhiyuan said with a look of grief and indignation.

"it is good."

Jiang Xiaobai suddenly laughed: "As the Vice Minister of Rites, you are an official appointed by the imperial court!"

"He was in charge of the imperial examinations, but because he was afraid of dying, he dared to leak the questions, find substitutes for others to write the answers, and even... dared to send the substitutes into the examination hall."

"So, can I understand that...?"

At this point, Jiang Xiaobai paused slightly, his eyes sharpening: "You'd sell anything to save your life?"

"Selling the rules, selling the laws, selling the fairness of the imperial examinations, and even... betraying the imperial court?"

boom!

As soon as those words were spoken, An Zhiyuan's expression changed drastically: "I...I didn't!"

He can't afford such a big hat.

"No?"

Jiang Xiaobai looked at him, her smile unwavering: "Then why did you have someone else write it for you just because of my threat?"

"this……"

An Zhiyuan was speechless.

"Heh, speechless now, huh!"

Jiang Xiaobai snorted coldly and continued, "Besides, if even a substitute could get in smoothly, how many people have you bribed behind the scenes?"

"Searchers, body examiners, inspectors, copyists, sealers... Tsk tsk, you, a mere Vice Minister of Rites, actually have the ability to infiltrate the entire examination system so thoroughly?"

"Or is there someone else behind you?"

"This...this..."

After a few words were spoken, An Zhiyuan froze on the spot, cold sweat beading on his forehead, unsure of what to say next.

"Jiang Xiaobai!"

Just then, Chen Zhanqiu finally couldn't stand it anymore and snorted coldly, "Stop trying to divert attention!"

"Even if An Zhiyuan is guilty, it doesn't clear him of the fact that you bought the top scholar's name and hired a substitute writer!"

"A distraction?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaobai immediately laughed, then turned to look at Chen Zhanqiu, his face still bearing a mocking expression: "May I ask what official position you hold, sir?"

Chen Zhanqiu's expression darkened slightly: "Hmph, Minister of Rites!"

"Oh, so it's the Minister of Rites."

Jiang Xiaobai nodded, then abruptly changed the subject: "Then I would like to ask Lord Chen for his advice."

"As the Minister of Rites, you should be in charge of the imperial examinations. Knowing that there were problems with the examinations, why didn't you report it to His Majesty in advance?"

"Why wasn't a thorough investigation conducted before the results were released? And why weren't the people apprehended immediately after the examinations concluded?"

"Why wait until the list of successful candidates has been released, until the scholars of the entire city have gathered in front of my manor to hurl insults, until the matter has become known throughout the land, before bringing these so-called witnesses to the court?"

At this point, Jiang Xiaobai's eyes turned cold: "Lord Chen, do you know that the list has already been released? If word gets out about the cheating, it won't just be the Ministry of Rites that loses face, but the entire imperial family!"

"What do you intend to achieve by doing this? How will the people view the court? And how will the world view His Majesty?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhanqiu's face turned deathly pale almost instantly.

"His Majesty!"

Chen Zhanqiu immediately turned around and said urgently towards the throne, "Your Majesty, I only wish to verify the evidence before reporting to you!"

"You didn't mean that?"

Jiang Xiaobai then calmly retorted, "Heh, but that's exactly what you did. I think you don't respect His Majesty at all!"

Each word was like a heavy hammer blow.

Chen Zhanqiu felt a tightness in his chest. He wanted to explain something more, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't find the words to say.

Meanwhile, in the imperial court, the expressions of many officials had subtly changed.

That's right.

If Chen Zhanqiu's actions today were merely for the purpose of investigating the case, then so be it.

But upon closer examination, he was clearly waiting for things to escalate to their peak before releasing the evidence.

How can such a practice be considered fair in the imperial examinations?

It seems more like they're using this as a pretext to launch an attack!

"His Majesty!"

Chen Zhanqiu's expression changed drastically, and almost without thinking, he knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, I had no such intention! Your Majesty..."

"That's enough!"

Just then, Xiao Jinxuan's chilling voice slowly descended.

The entire court fell silent once more.

Xiao Jinxuan frowned slightly and gave Chen Zhanqiu a cold look.

That one glance sent a shiver down Chen Zhanqiu's spine, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Then, Xiao Jinxuan's gaze slowly fell on Jiang Xiaobai: "Jiang Xiaobai, so... it's true that you took the exam for someone else?"

"Your Majesty, it is true that someone took the exam for you."

Jiang Xiaobai frankly said, "But I did this because I had already noticed that there was something wrong with this imperial examination."

"But at the time, the students had no credentials and did not know who in the Ministry of Rites was secretly tampering with things, so they dared not make any rash moves that might alert the enemy."

"Therefore, the students simply went with the flow and deliberately entered the game, all for the purpose of... personally luring out this black sheep hidden within the Ministry of Rites!"

As he continued, Jiang Xiaobai emphasized the word "deliberately": "Now, your student has fortunately fulfilled his mission and successfully relieved His Majesty's worries!"

These words caused a stir among many in the court.

"puff……"

Li Bingzhang couldn't help but laugh out loud at that moment.

Good heavens, thanks to Jiang Xiaobai's actions, buying official positions and writing for others has become a righteous act!

Tang Kui, on the other hand, was also chuckling slightly.

I have to say, Jiang Xiaobai really does have some skills.

"So, you're saying that I... should thank you for having someone take the exam for me?"

Xiao Jinxuan stared at Jiang Xiaobai and said.

"It is my duty as a subject to share Your Majesty's burdens, therefore I do not need any reward!"

Jiang Xiaobai paused, looked at Chen Zhanqiu and An Zhiyuan kneeling before him, and said angrily, "This student only hopes that Your Majesty will execute these two parasites on the spot as a warning to others!!"