The queen is spoiling the king and madly criticizing him for spoiling her

[The little crybaby can also show his courtesy to Xiao Cong and help him handle government affairs. How great.]

I suddenly feel that the Emperor's punishment might actually be a help to these two. The crybaby's mother is about to bring the two women she's arranged to marry him to the capital. Now that Xiao Congbei is confined at home recuperating from his injuries, he has no chance of hearing any news from the outside world, and thus none of those ridiculous misunderstandings will arise.

How could this not be considered a blessing in disguise?

Gu Jianchu looked towards Minister Lin with a gossipy look, only to see that Minister Lin looked worried. Seeing that he seemed to be of no use here, he sneaked away.

[Oh, I can't help it, I'm going to secretly look at Xiao Cong now.]

Xie Ci'an followed Gu Jianchu's gaze and saw Minister Lin slipping away.

Xie Ci'an didn't say anything. With Gu Jianchu around, he could understand Xiao Cong's feelings.

The Minister of the Central Secretariat whispered, "Your Majesty, how should we deal with this young Master Ai?"

Ai Qing stood aside and watched indifferently as Yan Cheng was taken away. He still did not feel relieved, but he admired the emperor even more. People outside said that the emperor was a tyrant, but everything the emperor did was beneficial to the country and the people. Even those corrupt officials were dealt with as quickly as possible.

[Things are still going on. Of course, the runner-up spot should be returned to him. He studied so hard for so many years, and it wasn't easy. He finally passed the exam, but his score was taken away by a loser. He was almost driven to return home to farm.]

Ai Qing was a very honest man. His family was relatively poor, so he worked as a laborer in a private school while studying. He also frequently went to the government office to help the poor write petitions, and he never charged a penny for writing these petitions. If such a person could become an official in the imperial court, he would definitely be a good official. However, whether he would ultimately be a good official is anyone's guess. Some good officials turn bad during their time in office, but it's still better than Yan Cheng's bad behavior.

Xie Ci'an tapped the tabletop with his barely perceptible fingers, making a crisp sound that made everyone afraid to speak and could only stand by silently.

Ai Qing stepped forward at the right moment and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to return to my hometown to repeat my studies and take the imperial examination next spring."

"There's no need to go back and forth."

Xie Ci'an's words made Ai Qing look at the emperor, somewhat unresponsive. Xie Ci'an continued, "This is your result. We cannot let the poor students in the world feel discouraged. I order you to handle the rest of the matter. All those implicated in cheating will be executed as a warning to others, so as to prevent those who always take advantage of the situation."

"I bow to the emperor and thank him for taking charge of my affairs." Ai Qing knelt on the ground excitedly and kowtowed three times.

"Your policy paper is really well written. Where is your hometown?" Xie Ci'an asked lazily.

Everyone couldn't help but sigh in a low voice, saying that Ai Qing had turned a disaster into a blessing. Although his article was stolen, after many twists and turns, he still got what he deserved, and thus caught the emperor's eye.

Ai Qing said truthfully, "My hometown is in Zhejiang."

"What a coincidence, I'm from the same place as Yan Cheng. How does the Governor of Zhejiang treat the people?" Xie Ci'an asked lazily.

Some people were already secretly sweating for the Governor of Zhejiang.

The Governor of Zhejiang is being targeted by the Emperor.

Ai Qing didn't expect that the emperor would ask such a life-threatening question right away. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that Yan Cheng's matter had completely offended the Governor of Zhejiang. Even if he could win the emperor's favor and hold a high official position, he would still be powerless whether he stayed in the capital or was demoted elsewhere.

"I want to hear the truth." Xie Ci'an's oppressive voice exploded above Ai Qing's head.

Ai Qing felt a chill run down his spine. He had always heard that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger, but now he had experienced half of the horror of it. "Although Lord Yan is not a bad official, he is not a good one either. He condoned his son's crimes, raped women, and even stole poems from poor students. Although Lord Yan did not participate in any of these, he knew everything. Lord Yan has also been involved in many unjust, false, and wrongful convictions."

"Lord Yan loves money. As long as you can afford enough money, Lord Yan can turn black into white. What I know is also what the people of Zhejiang know. As for other things, I don't know." After Ai Qing finished filing the complaint, he did not forget to cleverly get himself out of it.

Someone is going to be unlucky again.

It seems that whenever the emperor and the queen appear in the same place, something is bound to happen.

It seems they need to stay away from the Queen from now on.

The moment Ai Qing finished speaking, Zhongfeng ran back, "The Emperor has already interrogated the two servants who followed Yan Cheng. According to their account, not only did Lord Yan know about Yan Cheng's cheating, but he was also the driving force behind it. The young eunuch was being directed by someone else."

[There really is one, I was so careless that I overlooked it. It means that it's not that easy to bribe a strange young eunuch. Even if you offer a high price, you still need to think twice.]

[It turns out that there was a Master Yan in the Hanlin Academy who sponsored a student from childhood until he was a university student. Master Yan was using that student to carry out this mission.]

This person was afraid of being discovered, so he paid a large sum of money to find a young eunuch to handle the task, while he provided counsel behind the scenes. He also leaked the words of the Feihua Ling through the young eunuch. This shows that no matter how powerful a young eunuch was, he couldn't have achieved this without someone's help.

[After Yan Cheng arrived in the capital, this person had been helping him arrange accommodation and other matters. Yan Cheng also acted according to this person's arrangements. Yan Cheng did not reveal this person. Could it be because he was afraid that this person would implicate the Governor of Zhejiang?]

[Given Yan Cheng's dissolute personality, he's still holding his tongue. This must be related to something even more serious. However, I can't eat any more melons without seeing him. I can only wait for the emperor to capture him first, and then I can eat the melons based on him.]

Xie Ci'an had already guessed that two little eunuchs alone could not accomplish so many things.

I just don't know how high the person behind this has climbed.

Xie Ci'an sneered and looked at Zhongfeng coldly, "Send Yan Cheng and the two eunuchs who helped him cheat to the Imperial City Division for a thorough interrogation. Make sure they reveal who is behind this."

Chongfeng immediately took the order to do this matter.

The other ministers were so frightened that they dared not make a sound, fearing that the fire would burn them.

[The Emperor and I seem to have overlooked one thing.]

Upon hearing this, Xie Ci'an frowned instantly and looked at Gu Jianchu with hesitation.

All officials seem to be present at today's Qujiang Banquet. Therefore, the person who helped Yan Cheng cheat should be among them, and he must be from the Hanlin Academy, which greatly narrows the scope.