Behind the hall separated by a curtain, Wen Shuo saw the rare interest on Han Yue's face and whispered, "Your Highness, I heard that the Marquis of Zhongyi knelt in the Imperial City for half the night yesterday, but his Majesty did not summon him. He was assisted back by the imperial guards at dawn."
"He used his merit to hold favor. Father Emperor must have developed a grudge in his heart." Han Ye said indifferently.
"The Marquis of Zhongyi has always been close to His Highness, so this time Ren Anle has done His Highness a favour by playing a crooked game."
Wen Shuo laughed, his eyes narrowed into slits in delight. Han Yue patted his head and listened intently as he heard Ren Anle's order for the magistrates to take a group of people with them.
In the hall, Wu Yue and the two candidates were kneeling on the floor, looking terrified.
"Wu Yue, the other day in the hall you admitted to handing over the test questions to Song Xian and Liu Jiang, now do you plead guilty?"
Wu Yue nodded, "This student admits his guilt." The other two looked ashen and nodded in unison.
The cheating cheat sheet was found on all three of them, and the evidence of their guilt was conclusive, so they could not argue.
"Since you have admitted your guilt, this official will pronounce the sentence in this court——" Ren Anle rang the bell and said in a deep voice.
"Song Xian and Liu Jiang have cheated in the examinations. This official sentence, you both no longer have the right to enter the imperial examinations in the future, to be stripped of your title of scholar, and to be sent to the northwest for three years of forced labour."
The two men bowed down and were then taken away by the magistrates. Wu Yue was still in the courtroom, and everyone knew that the case had only just begun.
The Left Minister was calm, but when he saw Du Tingsong, who had been escorted in, he unconsciously recalled his first son's terrified and worried expression, and the hand that was touching the jade ring paused slightly.
Ren Anle inadvertently glanced at the left Minister, the expression in her eyes unclear.
In the hall, Du Tingsong was kneeling quietly, his face buried low and his expression could not be clearly seen. Only Gu Qishan, who had been imprisoned for a day, still looked arrogant despite his wretched clothes.
At the sight of these two being announced into the hall, Wu Yue visibly cowered and looked terrified.
"Wu Yue, yesterday when Lord Huang asked about the case, you said that the test questions had also been given to Gu Qishan, is that correct?"
"Back to Your Excellency ..." Wu Yue's voice trembled slightly, then became firm. He kowtowed repeatedly and said, "Yes, this student's momentary confusion has led to a big mistake. This student willingly admits his guilt. He just hopes that it will not bring misfortunes to his family. "
If it wasn't for the safety of his family, he wouldn't have dared to confess Gu Qishan and Du Tingsong in the courtroom. If he were to be accused of cheating in the imperial examination and of being the mastermind behind the death of the university scholar, it will surely bring disaster to the nine generations of his clan.
"Nonsense, where did I ask for the test questions you gave me? You are spitting blood!" Gu Qishan almost jumped up and roared, his expression fierce, then turned to Ren Anle and said with an arch of his hand, "Lord Ren, Wu Yue only climbed on others to get away with it. I was wrongly accused!"
[ to spit blood (idiom); venomous slander; malicious attacks.]