Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 82: No suspicion of guilt
The Duke of England said with a hint of helplessness after hearing this.

"You kid, not only did I marry my daughter to you, but I also had to protect you from the wind and rain, right?"

"I don't know what I owed you in my previous life, but I have to help you in this life."

Jia Jue couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

After the father-in-law and son-in-law chatted for a while, the court meeting began.

Civil and military officials came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony one after another, standing upright and dignified.

Not long after, accompanied by the eunuch outside the palace shouting "Your Majesty has arrived", Emperor Yongping walked into the palace with the gait of a dragon and a tiger.

After Emperor Yongping stepped onto the golden steps and sat upright on the throne, all civil and military officials bowed and paid homage to him.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live the Emperor."

Emperor Yongping raised his hand slightly and said calmly.

"All the nobles, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After all the civil and military officials stood up and lined up in groups, Emperor Yongping looked around at them and spoke majestically.

"Today is the first day of April, the first day of the lunar month."

"During this period, the affairs of the court have been very complicated, and I am grateful for the hard work of all the ministers."

"Especially the Right Prime Minister. Prime Minister Ke has been in seclusion due to the imperial examination case, and the Right Prime Minister has been worried about the affairs of the court."

Right Prime Minister Xiao Qinyan bowed respectfully and said.

"Your Majesty has trusted me so much, how dare I not do my best."

"To receive the emperor's salary and share his worries is the duty of a minister. How dare I, a humble minister, take credit for it?"

Emperor Yongping said with a chuckle.

"Well said! If all of you ministers could be like the Right Prime Minister, there would be no need to worry about our Great Zhou not prospering and commanding prestige throughout the world."

"However, I cannot bear to let the Right Prime Minister work so hard every day, so I still need to learn about the imperial examination cheating case as soon as possible."

"After all, the affairs of the Central Government are very heavy, and it is not a good idea to let the Right Prime Minister shoulder all the responsibilities alone."

"Is Minister of Justice Li Wenmao here?"

"The minister is here."

Minister of Justice Li Wenmao immediately came to the hall.

Emperor Yongping looked at Li Wenmao and asked.

"Mr. Li, regarding the previous imperial examination cheating case, I ordered the three judicial departments to conduct a thorough investigation. What are the results so far?"

Li Wenmao said after bowing.

"Your Majesty, after receiving your Majesty's order, the three judicial officials have begun to fully investigate this case."

"After investigation, it was found that the mastermind behind the imperial examination cheating case was Wang Wenzheng, the Minister of Imperial Households. He was one of the examiners for this imperial examination and had access to the exam questions."

"After stealing the exam questions for personal gain, he instructed the Confucian scholar Sun Yuan to secretly find candidates and sell them to them."

"After interrogation and comparison, it was found that a total of six candidates purchased the exam questions."

"I have already written down the details in the memorial. Please review it, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongping said calmly.

"The Minister of Imperial Households, a third-rank official, is so audacious for such a small sum of money. It's truly despicable."

"Mr. Li, I want to ask you, is Sheng Changbai among the six candidates who purchased the exam questions?"

Li Wenmao shook his head and said.

"Sheng Changbai was not among these six, and his policy essay answers were not the same as those of the other six."

"On the day of the interrogation of Sheng Changbai, I and the Minister of Justice Cui Wenliang were ill and took a day off."

"Afterwards, I learned that it was Yang Lin, the Chief Censor of the Imperial Censorate, who believed that the family members and close relatives of the candidates who purchased the exam questions might have known about the questions in advance and participated in the cheating. Sheng Changbai's younger brother, Sheng Changfeng, happened to be one of the six candidates who purchased the exam questions."

"So Lord Yang summoned him to the Ministry of Justice for questioning."

"But later, Guanjun Hou took Sheng Changbai away with his men, so the matter was put on hold."

"Your Majesty, please make a holy judgment on this matter."

As soon as Li Wenmao finished speaking, Master Lou quickly came to the hall and said.

"Your Majesty, I have some humble opinions on this matter."

Emperor Yongping looked at Master Lou meaningfully and said.

"Master, please speak."

Master Lou bowed and said.

"Your Majesty, the imperial examination is the foundation of our country."

"Sheng Jia Sanlang purchased the exam questions. Although Sheng Changbai's paper is not identical, there is a strong suspicion that he knew the exam questions in advance."

"That way, he can prescribe the right medicine for his condition and delve into the exam questions and strategies early on."

"For the sake of fairness, I believe he should be stripped of his title for cheating in the imperial examinations. This will ensure that all students are convinced that the imperial examinations are impartial and impartial. Your Majesty, please make your decision."

Emperor Yongping said after looking around at everyone.

"What are your opinions, gentlemen?"

Jia Jue also came to the hall, bowed and said.

"Your Majesty, I cannot agree with what Grand Tutor Lou said."

"The imperial examination system naturally needs to be fair and just, but we cannot sacrifice the future of an innocent student just to demonstrate its fairness and justice."

"As the saying goes, when recommending someone from outside, don't avoid your enemies; when recommending someone from within, don't avoid your relatives."

"The Sheng family and I are indeed relatives by marriage, but I met Sheng Changbai many years ago. We were both students at Bailushan College."

"Sheng Changbai is a diligent scholar, and his classmates at Bailushan Academy know this."

"Moreover, his talent and reputation spread far and wide, and he always ranked among the top in the provincial and imperial examinations. His talent and learning were obvious to all."

"Only an uneducated person would resort to fraud to seize a high position. Sheng Changbai is already well-educated, so why would he risk ruining his career by cheating in the imperial examinations?"

"From the joint trial conducted by the three judicial departments, it can be seen that they have no evidence to prove that Sheng Changbai was involved in the imperial examination cheating case."

"If Sheng Changbai is convicted without evidence, then where will the fairness and dignity of the three judges' joint trial be?"

"Could it be that if Master Lou suspects someone, as long as that person cannot prove his or her innocence, then that person is guilty?"

"If that's the case, I'd like to ask Master Lou, I suspect you and your daughter-in-law are having an affair. I think you should be arrested and thrown into a pig cage. Do you think I'm right?"

"You, you are talking nonsense and rambling. What's the logic behind this?"

After hearing this, Master Lou's face turned red with anger and he couldn't speak clearly.

Seeing this, Jia Jue said calmly.

"Master Lou, why are you so angry? I'm just making an assumption based on your logic. If you think I'm wrong, then you can prove it. You didn't have an affair with your daughter-in-law. Come on, prove it to me."

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials burst into laughter, and the Duke of England even joined in Jia Jue's joking remarks.

"Master Lou, seeing how hesitant you are, could it be that you really have this habit?"

"Tsk tsk, it seems that when it comes to having no bottom line, it has to be scholars like you."

Master Lou said with great annoyance.

"Duke of England, please stop blindly following the crowd. What the Champion Marquis said is complete nonsense and cannot be trusted."

The Duke of England smiled and said.

"Look, why don't you just prove that you didn't do it? Why get angry?"

Master Lou said angrily, "How can I prove this? You're clearly forcing me to do something."

Jia Jue said with a sneer.

"Oh, thank goodness you, Master Lou, still know the saying 'forcing someone to do something difficult'. Then isn't it also forcing someone to do something difficult when you ask Sheng Changbai to prove his innocence?"

"What do you think of the Great Zhou Law and the Three Judicial Departments?"

"The Three Courts of Justice are the highest judicial body in the Great Zhou. Since they cannot prove that Sheng Changbai participated in the imperial examination cheating case, they should declare Sheng Changbai not guilty and recognize his results in this imperial examination. This is fair and just."

Seeing that Jia Jue openly protected his elder brother-in-law, Master Lou knew that he could no longer continue to entangle with Jia Jue. If Jia Jue said something nonsense again, he would never be able to clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Grand Tutor Lou then respectfully bowed to Emperor Yongping and said.

"Your Majesty, the imperial examination is a matter of national importance. There cannot be even the slightest flaw."

"If Sheng Changbai is found innocent despite facing such heavy suspicion, how can we convince the students of the world to trust the court? Your Majesty, please reconsider."

Sitting on the throne, Emperor Yongping said after a moment of thought.

"What the Champion Marquis and the Grand Tutor said makes sense."

"How about this, to ensure that Sheng Changbai's achievements are convincing, today in this golden palace, I will test Sheng Changbai's talent."

"All examiners participating in this imperial examination, please come forward. Discuss and formulate three policy essay questions, and then summon Sheng Changbai to the palace to answer them."

"All the civil and military officials in the court should participate in the judging. If Sheng Changbai is truly a learned man, then his results in this imperial examination should be preserved."

"If he is a good-for-nothing, his honors and titles will be immediately revoked. What do you think, my ministers?"

Xiao Qinyan took the lead and bowed before speaking.

"Your Majesty is wise."

All the civil and military officials then echoed in unison.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Seeing that Grand Tutor Lou was standing in the hall with a conflicted look on his face, Emperor Yongping said calmly.

"Master, what do you think?"

Seeing this, Master Lou could only say helplessly.

"Your Majesty is holy."

Emperor Yongping nodded slightly and said.

"Since no one has any objections, the examiners should immediately go to the side hall to discuss the exam questions. Xia Shouzhong, send someone to summon Sheng Changbai."

"Once the examiners have decided on the exam questions, they will order him to go to the palace and answer them."

"The slaves obey the order."

Soon the examiners went to the side hall. Taking advantage of this break, the attendant scholar Sheng Hong came to the hall, bowed, and said.

"Your Majesty, I, the Attendant Scholar Sheng Hong, have a memorial to present to Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongping said with a smile after hearing this.

"What did Lord Sheng say?"

Sheng Hong said after taking out the memorial.

"Your Majesty, I am writing to impeach Grand Tutor Lou for protecting his relatives. His relatives are rampant in the area, bullying men and women, taking lives, and looting the people's land. Their deeds are too numerous to list."

"As the Grand Tutor, not only does Grand Tutor Lou not restrain his relatives, but he uses his power to protect them, allowing them to become even more unscrupulous."

"In just the past six months, Grand Tutor Lou's eldest son has been involved in three murders and abducted six women."

"The Jingzhao Yin is afraid of the power of Grand Tutor Lou and has not dared to report the case to the court until now. I have recorded the details in the memorial, and the relevant witnesses and evidence are all under my protection."

"Your Majesty, please order the three judicial departments to conduct a public trial of this case, provide justice to the people, and severely punish these beasts in high positions."

Sheng Hong's memorial instantly caused an uproar in the court.

As mentioned in the previous document, there is no such thing as hearsay in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Anyone who wants to impeach someone needs to collect real evidence.

If the accusation is fabricated, once the truth is found out, the accused will be charged with false accusation.

Sheng Hong was only a fourth-rank academician, yet he openly impeached a first-rank tutor.

If it is later found out that the rumor is false, Sheng Hong will lose his official position.

Sheng Hong dared to openly impeach in the court meeting. Needless to say, he must have some powerful people in his hands.

Now, all the officials looked at Master Lou with complicated expressions. After all, no one could say for sure whether this would be the last time Master Lou appeared in the court meeting.

The one who was most panicked was Master Lou. His family knew his own business. Master Lou knew best what kind of people the Lou family members were like and what kind of person his son was.

Master Lou took great pains to clean up the mess for his son.

In the past, Master Lou would not have taken these matters seriously.

After all, his son was only bullying a group of untouchables. What was so scary about these peasants?

But when these things were exposed in the court, there was an uproar in an instant.

It’s the same old saying, you can treat the peasants as non-human beings in your heart, or you can bully them secretly, as long as you deal with them well and don’t leave any handle for the enemy.

Some things, if not weighed, would weigh nothing, but if weighed, they would weigh a thousand pounds.

Master Lou couldn't help but feel flustered.

This shouldn't be the case. I handle these matters myself and only seek out my confidants. How could Sheng Hong know all this?

And he spoke with such certainty, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

Although somewhat panicked, Grand Tutor Lou pretended to remain calm, bowed to Emperor Yongping, and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I have served as an official for decades and have always been upright. Lord Sheng is clearly resentful of my honest and honest speaking out about the imperial examination fraud case, and is therefore seeking revenge against me. I ask Your Majesty to understand this."

Emperor Yongping said with a calm smile.

"The Grand Tutor has always had a good reputation, I naturally know that."

"However, Lord Sheng has submitted an impeachment. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, I naturally have no right to dismiss it."

"Don't worry, Grand Master. If Mr. Sheng really did report something based on rumors, I will definitely punish him severely."

"As for this period of time, Taifu should follow Prime Minister Ke's example and recuperate in the mansion."

"Li Wenmao, your three judicial offices will soon be closing the imperial examination cheating case. It's a good opportunity to follow the instructions in Lord Sheng's memorial and thoroughly investigate this matter to see if any members of the Lou family have abused their power to bully and oppress the good."

"Remember, you must investigate carefully and thoroughly. Don't wrongly accuse a good person, and don't let a bad person go."

"I sincerely obey your Majesty's instructions."

Upon hearing this, Master Lou broke out in a cold sweat. He knew very well that he was doomed this time.

The Lou family simply couldn't withstand the scrutiny, and every time they did, they found out the truth.

If anything were to be discovered about what he had done for his relatives and children over the years, the Lou family would be completely ruined.

In fact, it is normal for a family like the Lou family to be domineering and overbearing.

Basically, the families of high-ranking officials in the imperial court would have similar situations.

Taifu Lou knew clearly that it was because he had sided with the eldest prince in advance that Emperor Yongping was annoyed and wanted to use him as an example.

When Master Lou thought of this, he felt extremely regretful. If he had known this would happen, he would not have done it in the first place.

But now Master Lou knows that he has no other choice but to go all the way.

Now it depends on whether the Queen and the eldest prince can support him and protect him. This is the only way to survive for him and his family.

After making up his mind, Master Lou bowed respectfully and said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for ordering the three judicial officials to prove my innocence. I will return to my residence to recuperate. I will take my leave."

(End of this chapter)