I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 118 Suspect!
"This time the examination will be held in Mingde Hall, and the candidates will rest in Xuanhe Hall, which is closest to Mingde Hall. The examination will last for three days and will test the classics, history books, and current affairs."

Zhang Rui led a group of guards in front of the Mingde Hall and read out the examination rules: "Starting from tomorrow morning, special guards will escort candidates into the examination hall. They are not allowed to walk around or make noises. If they need to go to the toilet, they must report in advance and be escorted by special guards."

"The daily examination lasts for four hours. The classics and history books are divided into three volumes. Candidates who finish early can report to the head of the examination room to seal your test paper and then start the next volume early. In the morning and at noon, there will be special people to bring you meals, hot water, and tea. If you have any problems with your pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, you can report it immediately. If you feel sleepy at noon, you are not allowed to leave the examination room and can only rest in the examination room. Candidates who finish early are also not allowed to leave and must wait in the examination room until the end of the exam before being taken to Xuanhe Hall by the guards."

"Once you enter Xuanhe Hall, you cannot leave the hall at night. There is a special toilet outside Xuanhe Hall, but you must be accompanied by a guard every time you go to the toilet. There are special guards guarding outside the door at night. If there is any emergency, you can also ask the guards to notify me immediately. If you are unwell, there are special imperial doctors to treat you in time."

After saying everything, Zhang Rui put down the rules and looked at everyone: "Did you remember what I just said?"

"I understand, sir!" Most people said in unison, while a few people looked disdainful.

Zhang Rui stood on a high place, watching everyone's expressions but not taking it seriously.

The group of candidates is complex, with more than half of them being affiliated with aristocratic families. Candidates with potential have already found their organizations half a month ago.

For the giant families in the capital, the offerings from the court alone are far from satisfying their needs. The secret offerings are the bulk of the income, and these offerings require the cooperation of ordinary officials, and the union of local families and the capital's families. Only in this way can some blood food outside the order be offered to the capital. The dark side of this has been brewing for thousands of years and is unfathomable.

"If there are no problems, please follow me to the Xuanhe Hall to rest. There are temporary beds on the floor, desks and extra oil lamps. Please be careful when using the oil lamps. If they go off, whether it is intentional or not, it will be regarded as an attempt to disrupt the examination room and you will be disqualified from this exam!"

Some candidates without any background were shocked when they heard this. This was too harsh. It seemed that to be on the safe side, it would be better not to use oil lamps at night.

After saying that, Zhang Rui led many candidates all the way to Xuanhe Hall, and accompanying them was the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards, Hong Lie!

After arranging for the candidates to find seats, it was already past noon. Zhang Rui looked at the sky and said, "Commander-in-chief, shall we have lunch together?"

Hong Lie was stunned and looked at Zhang Rui in confusion. This guy was more leisurely than he had imagined. Didn't he know that he was signing a military order in front of all the officials?

"Let's have someone bring the food here." Hong Lie thought for a moment and said, "It would be hard to explain if something happened."

"That's fine." Zhang Rui smiled, and together with the other party, he found a pair of stools and sat down.

"Sir Zhang, you dare to issue a military order in front of all the officials this time, but are you sure?" Hong Lie took the initiative to start the topic.

If His Majesty had not been watching, he would have planned to ask the other party last night about the murderer who killed his daughter. If the other party was really sure, then the hope of revenge would lie with the other party.

"How can I be sure of that?" Zhang Rui shook his head and said with a smile, "It was just a last resort put in place by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Hong Lie frowned when he heard this: "Master Zhang, if you were forced, you wouldn't be so resolute, right?"

"I was indeed forced, but I am somewhat confident." Zhang Rui looked at the other party and said, "If that monster dares to attack, I am 70% sure that I can find him, but whether I can stop him depends on the help of the commander-in-chief."

"Depend on me?" Hong Lie was stunned, but then he immediately said: "As long as we can kill that thing, I will go through mountains of swords and seas of fire, just follow Master Zhang's orders!"

“Hehe, not really, not really,” Zhang Rui waved his hands.

"Does Master Zhang know the details of that thing?"

"I can probably guess some of it." Zhang Rui said faintly.

Why did he dare to let the imperial examination be held as scheduled? It was because he could see clearly even if it was the evil spirit guarding the country. The other party could not escape his eyes. As long as it dared to come, he would definitely catch it. But this time, among all the candidates, he really could not see the other party.
There are only two possibilities. Either that thing did not take advantage of this group of candidates to sneak in, or there is a warlock candidate who merged with the monster and melted the thing in his dantian!
Only in this way can the monster sneak in while hiding from the Four Spirits, and maybe even refresh its ability to devour people's memories.

As for who could convince that monster to merge, Zhang Rui was not quite sure.

"Mr. Zhang, can you reveal something?" Hong Lie asked directly.

Zhang Rui glanced at the other person and finally nodded: "There are three initial suspects." Zhang Rui wrote down the names of the three people.

Hong Lie picked up the list and looked at it, frowning immediately: "Are you sure, Mr. Zhang? Can you tell me, Hong, what is the basis for your judgment?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you that." Zhang Rui shook his head.

The fact that he could see evil spirits with his naked eyes naturally could not be revealed, as this was one of his trump cards.

As for why he was able to lock onto those three people, the reason was very simple. A high-level sorcerer could stabilize the evil spirits in his body within his dantian, and he could not see them at all. For someone at Master Tian Ye's level, there were more than ten kinds of evil spirits in his body, and he could not see any problem at the beginning.

As for the so-called descendants of reclusive families like the one in Jinque Tower yesterday, they were not very skilled in Taoism and the evil spirits in their bodies could be seen clearly.

Among all the candidates, only three of them had a faint evil aura surrounding them, but it was impossible to tell what the evil spirit was in their bodies. So Zhang Rui was sure that if the monster had sneaked in, it could only be in these three people!

Hong Lie looked at Zhang Rui, but finally did not continue asking. Everyone has their own secrets, and since he had something to ask of the other person, it would be inappropriate to continue pressing the issue.

Zhang Rui asked, "Does the commander-in-chief know the details of these three people?"

"I know a little bit." Hong Lie nodded, pointing at the three names and said, "This is An Qixuan, you should be familiar with him. He is the eldest son of Minister An, the most outstanding young man of this generation in the An family. Like you, he comes from a hidden family. His Majesty thinks highly of him. This time, he specially let his father An Lusheng take the exam in order to help him get promoted. I guess this person will take over after Minister Qi steps down."

"Aren't the Nine Ministers monopolized? Do other families have any objections to Your Majesty's doing this?" Zhang Rui was a little curious.

"That's what your majesty means, but whether it can be accomplished depends on the circumstances." Hong Lie said in a deep voice, "The Jiang family's strength has been greatly damaged this time, and the Qi family has taken the initiative to give up their position. This is a great opportunity. If the An family takes over, the capital's aristocratic families will completely form a three-way balance of power. The hidden aristocratic families are completely promoted by your majesty, which makes it easier for your majesty to control them. You can use them to balance the court and clean up some of the peripheral aristocratic families."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Rui flattered with a smile, but he disagreed in his heart.

This method is obviously only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution. If that old bastard only has this ambition, then all his years of forbearance would have been in vain.

Moreover, the hidden family is probably not simple either. Zhang Rui has been in contact with Wei Jiaming these days. Although the other party seems to treat him as one of their own, he always feels a little uncomfortable.

"The possibility of him is not high." Hong Lie narrowed his eyes and said, "The An family has a bright future. There is no need to take such a risk. Sending such an evil spirit into the palace is simply a waste of time."

Zhang Rui nodded. Logically speaking, this was indeed the case, but he couldn't completely let his guard down.

"Where are the other two?"

"This Bai Hong is the grandson of the Bai family, a prominent family in Xijing. Xijing is the rear base of the four great families headed by the Qi family. The Bai family is basically considered the number one family in Xijing. Many people speculate that if the Qi family completely declines, the remaining three families may consider replacing the Bai family and letting the Qi family retreat to Xijing. Even Elder Qi did not deny this arrangement."

"However, no one from the Bai family is employed in the Nine Ministries in the capital. The highest-ranking official is Bai Junfeng, the governor of Xijing, a third-rank frontier official. Xijing is very important, and Bai Junfeng will not easily enter the capital. If we want a smooth transfer of power, Bai Hong's performance is extremely important. According to estimates, he must be promoted to at least a fourth-rank official position in the Nine Ministries within ten years, so that the Bai family can smoothly take over the Qi family."

Zhang Rui nodded when he heard this. If that was the case, the one from the Bai family should not be a big suspect, so the only one left was the last one.

"The last one is a bit special." Hong Lie frowned.

"What's so special?" Zhang Rui asked curiously.

"It's a royal relative!"

"Forehead?"

　Please subscribe...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)