I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 11 Evidence
Xue Xiang frowned; he had already discerned Qiu Xian's inclination and was secretly anxious.

"Master Xie has arrived."

Upon hearing the shout, the entire audience stirred, and Xue Xiang breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Yuanrang's expression tightened as he looked at Su Suiran, who nodded slightly, remaining unmoved.

Qiu Xian, seated at the head of the table, hurriedly descended the steps to greet him, bowing respectfully from afar and saying, "Greetings, Manager Xie."

The core layer of Yunmeng City is the Hall of Seals, and the City Commander is one of the seals.

Beneath the palm print lies the Thirteen Academies.

Of the thirteen academies, only Xie Haiya, who was newly transferred, held the position of both head of the academy and head of the seventh academy.

Outside the Seventh Academy, to show respect, people would address Xie Haiya by his most prominent title, calling him "Master Xie".

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Su Suiran bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

"No need for formalities."

Xie Haiya looked displeased and sat down in the chair opposite Su Suiran. He said coldly, "I'm only a little late, and the Seventh Academy has already caused quite a commotion, even reaching the First Academy. How wonderful."

"Thank you for your help, Master Xie. Please take a seat."

Qiu Xian pointed to the grand master's chair behind his judge's bench.

Xie Haiya waved his hand, "No need, I'm here today to attend the trial. I want to know what serious case has occurred."

"Vice President Qiu, could you introduce yourself to me?"

While assessing Xie Haiya's inclinations, Qiu Xian explained the dispute in detail.

Xie Haiya sneered, "Is it true that Jiang Kun rushed into the Plum Blossom Hall to make a move?"

Jiang Kun trembled and dared not meet Xie Haiya's gaze.

Su Suiran cupped his hands and said, "Your Honor, the case of Xue Xiang's fraud will be tried first."

Xie Haiya glanced coldly at Su Suiran, "Vice Dean Qiu, wasn't it Xue Xiang who struck the tiger-striped drum?"

"Yes, yes, it was Xue Xiang who beat the drum."

Qiu Xian realized what was going on, "I originally thought that the two people's accusations were one and the same, and it would make no difference who I asked."

However, since Xue Xiang beat the drum first, he can be tentatively identified as the plaintiff. So let's ask the defendant first.

"Defendant Jiang Kun, how dare you attack Xue Xiang in the Plum Blossom Hall?"

"I... I didn't hit anyone, I was just too excited."

Jiang Kun said stiffly, but in his heart he was filled with regret.

"Whether or not someone was hit can be determined by asking the witnesses."

Qiu Xian slammed his gavel and ordered the witnesses to be called.

Tong Shouhu and the others were crowding at the entrance of the hall. Upon hearing the shout, they all rushed in.

These people are all smart; they could tell that Xie Yuanzun was harboring resentment, so they naturally knew what to say.

Currently, everyone is saying the same thing: Jiang Kun assaulted someone.

Xie Haiya snorted coldly, "Plum Blossom Hall is the main office of my Seventh Academy. What crime should be committed according to the law for resorting to violence in Plum Blossom Hall?"

"Xue Xiang committed fraud first and then fled the scene. Jiang Kun's pursuit was justified and did not cause any real harm to Xue Xiang. We hope Vice President Qiu will investigate this matter thoroughly."

Su Suiran's clear and melodious voice echoed in the Begonia Hall.

In his own opinion, he did not want to have a direct confrontation with Xie Haiya, after all, it is a major taboo in officialdom to use one's inferiority to bully one's superior.

But now that things have happened, and Xie Haiya is coming on strong, if he keeps backing down, he will lose public support. Once the people's hearts are scattered, he will no longer have the capital to fight against Xie Haiya.

Qiu Xian nodded and said, "Vice President Su is right, Chief Secretary Xie, that's how it is."

The basic fact that Jiang Kun chased and beat Xue Xiang has been established.

However, there are prerequisites for how to punish such behavior.

If Xue Xiangzhen committed fraud first, Jiang Kun's actions were at most inappropriate due to desperation.

If Xue Xiang did not commit fraud, Jiang Kun is guilty of three crimes: false accusation, assaulting a colleague, and disrupting a public office.

The three crimes were combined, and the punishment was not lenient.

Therefore, we must first determine whether Xue Xiang committed fraud before we can discuss Jiang Kun's crime.

Qiu Xian did not want to get involved in the conflict between Xie Haiya and Su Suiran, and tried his best to remain neutral.

"Then let's discuss it." Xie Haiya glanced at Xue Xiang and, seeing that the boy was calm and composed, felt relieved.

Qiu Xiandao said, "Jiang Kun, Xue Xiang accused you of fraud, and you swore that Xue Xiang cheated you out of spirit stones. How many spirit stones did Xue Xiang cheat you out of?"

Jiang Kun was stunned; he suddenly realized the problem was serious.

To say it was twenty spirit stones would be clearly unreasonable.

But if you give a false number, you'll make the truth seem false.

"You can't even tell me how many spirit stones I've cheated you out of?"

Qiu Xian frowned and stared.

Jiang Kun gritted his teeth, "Twenty."

There was an uproar in the field.

"Who's a fool? Trading a flying fish dart for twenty spirit stones?"

"Such a thing happens at Jiufen Mountain?"

"........."

"I have a clear conscience."

Jiang Kun said, his neck stiff.

He hated Xue Xiang to the core.

He knew in his heart that even if he won this time, his reputation would be ruined.

Qiu Xian snorted coldly, "Is there any witness?"

"Have!"

This time, Jiang Kun answered decisively, having already received a hint from Zhu Yuanrang.

"Call the witness."

Qiu Xian slammed the gavel.

A pale-faced, plump man walked in. He was in his early twenties. Before speaking, he smiled and walked to the center of the hall, bowing deeply and saying, "My name is Feng Chun. I am a clerk in the Second Office. I am friends with Jiang Kun and Xue Xiang."

I know about Jiang Kun's collusion with Xue Xiang to obtain flying fish tokens. Jiang Kun even borrowed money from me, saying he wanted to collect forty tokens so that Xue Xiang wouldn't suffer a loss.

But I was short on cash, so I didn't lend him any. Also, I was there when Jiang Kun gave Xue Xiang the spirit stones, though I was standing far away. I didn't hear what they were saying, but I saw everything I needed to see.

Zhu Yuanrang naturally chose a meticulous person, and Feng Chun's words cleverly plugged many loopholes.

Jiang Kun snorted coldly, feeling smug.

Qiu Xian turned to Xue Xiang, "Xue Xiang, what else do you have to say?"

Xue Xiang was agitated and pointed at Jiang Kun, shouting, "How dare you be so shameless! You were the one who extorted twenty spirit stones from me, how dare you tell such a huge lie in public!"

Should I have considered you my friend? Should I have taken your shift that night when the fire broke out? You, you…”

Xue Xiang's acting skills are unparalleled; even Jiang Kun was stunned.

There was a lot of discussion on the sidelines. Everyone in Jiufenshan knew about the fire, but few people knew that Xue Xiang had filled in for Jiang Kun.

Jiang Kun was extremely anxious and pointed at Xue Xiang, saying, "The witnesses are clear, how dare you deny it?"

Xue Xiang rushed to Feng Chun's side in a fit of rage, grabbed his collar and yelled, "Why did you lie? Why did you give false testimony?"

Xie Haiya frowned, feeling disappointed.

“Everything I’m saying is true. You know what you’ve done.”

Feng Chun sneered and sent Xue Xiang staggering. Suddenly, with two clinking sounds, two spirit stones rolled from Xue Xiang's sleeve onto the floor tiles.

Jiang Kun jumped up and pointed at Xue Xiang, shouting, "Search him! Search him! He must have my twenty spirit stones on him!"

Yes, yes, he's never seen a lot of money before. He only carries it on his person and can't bear to put it anywhere else. That's it, that must be it..."

"Nonsense, you're talking nonsense, this is my spirit stone..."

Xue Xiang looked distressed and threw himself down to press down on the spirit stone.

"Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to verify it."

Qiu Xian waved his hand, and two burly men in tight-fitting clothes stepped forward, grabbing Xue Xiang from the left and right, and pulled out a large red, bulging money bag from his sleeve.

He opened the money bag and poured out a pile of spirit stones.

Two burly men in tight-fitting clothes quickly arranged the spirit stones in a row of four and a column of five, making it easy to see that there were exactly twenty of them.

(End of this chapter)