Shocking! In this matriarchal society, every man wants to marry me!

Zhongtian's expression changed in surprise, and he immediately ran to His Majesty: "Your Majesty, have you discovered anything?"

His Majesty's face darkened: "It's too clean inside! Except for a monkey jumping around!" The monkey he was referring to was Xia Lan.

Zhongtian also felt somewhat uneasy.

It's so clean, which means the dirty tricks involved have been dealt with!

It would be quite frustrating if His Majesty personally took the exam and couldn't find anything out.

His Majesty was in a bad mood, and even the servants around him dared not breathe loudly until His Majesty entered the palace, at which point Nakata felt the atmosphere around him improve.

A month later, the candidates' results will be posted on the city wall. The atmosphere among everyone is tense, except for one person.

Xia Lan played with cats and dogs, spent nights in brothels, and even took a concubine as her husband. However, on the very day the concubine entered the house, Xia Lan was beaten black and blue and kicked out of the Xia residence. It is said that she spent the night outside in the cold.

On the day the results were posted, Zhongtian and a group of examinees waited by the city wall, nervously watching the results.

His Majesty also arrived, but remained seated inside the carriage and did not come out.

Zhongtian was somewhat surprised to see that Master Li was serving His Majesty again, but he had no time to pay attention to anything else at the moment.

Zhong Tian first looked for His Majesty's name, and His Majesty, using the alias Zhong Nian, passed the imperial examination with the rank of Tan Hua Lang!

This result is quite surprising. If there is no exaggeration involved, then His Majesty's talent is definitely no less than that of the scholars in the world.

If His Majesty can only be ranked as the third-ranked scholar, then who is the top scholar?

Xia Lan's name was prominently displayed at the top. Seeing this result, Zhong Tian was not surprised at all!

Intermittent murmurs arose around them; it seemed that even the scholars of the capital had some knowledge of Xia Lan's learning.

Xia Lan laughed triumphantly, the sound echoing in everyone's ears, making everyone's expression very serious.

Several students from Zhongtian Academy passed the imperial examination, but Shen Qingyu, who was the most learned, failed.

Xia Lan looked around smugly, wanting to find someone to show off to, and then she saw Zhong Tian in the corner.

A hint of mockery played on her lips: "Zhongtian, look! I'm the top scholar! I'm the top scholar, and I've brought glory to the Xia family! You, a petty man who rose to officialdom through business, could never compare to me!"

Nakata looked at her, a hint of pity in his eyes.

Poor child, you've been exposed!

This isn't the title of top scholar! It's the executioner's guillotine hanging over your head!

Sure enough, the next day, Shen Qingyu beat the grievance drum in public and accused Xia Lan of cheating in the imperial examination!

The Dali Temple immediately investigated the matter and sent troops to the Xia residence to arrest Xia Lan.

At that moment, the Xia family was holding a grand banquet. Xia Lan was apprehended on the spot.

Xia Lan tried to argue, but the evidence was irrefutable and she couldn't deny it. Xia Lan slumped to her knees and listened to the verdict.

Xia Lan's mother knelt on the ground, crying desperately. She was filled with regret, realizing she shouldn't have spoiled her child so much: "Your Majesty, please spare my daughter! She is my only daughter, my only son!"

Jiang Yuxiao looked down at her trusted minister and asked lightly.

"Minister Xia, I'd like to ask you, where did you get the ten thousand taels of gold you prepared for your daughter's cheating in the imperial examinations? The salary I give you isn't enough, is it?"

A clean prefect for three years, accumulating 100,000 taels of silver—how much corruption and bribery, how much of the people's hard-earned money, is involved here?

"Men, take her away and find out where every penny came from. If she doesn't confess to something, we'll cut off a piece of her flesh."

"Yes!"

Despite the swift and decisive action taken against the Xia family, His Majesty remained unhappy.

This imperial examination only found one insignificant maggot in the Xia family. So who organized the cheating? And what role did others play in it?

This matter has fallen far short of expectations. Where did things go wrong?

His Majesty's suspicious gaze lingered on Nakata!

Zhongtian was startled. His Majesty was about to say something when suddenly Master Li whispered something in her ear, and His Majesty's expression immediately became serious.

Prime Minister Jiang entered from outside.

He bowed to His Majesty, treating him as if he were a playful child: "Your Majesty, have you had enough fun? Let's go back to the palace."

Standing before His Majesty, Zhongtian could clearly see the wariness on His Majesty's face instantly transform into warmth. He looked up at Prime Minister Jiang and said, "Prime Minister, yes."

Prime Minister Jiang turned to look at Zhong Tian, ​​his gaze lingering on Zhong Tian. Zhong Tian immediately bowed and said, "Your subordinate greets Prime Minister Jiang."

"Are you Nakata? You should advise His Majesty to stop making trouble."

Zhongtian's heart tightened. His Majesty was very concerned about investigating the cheating in the imperial examinations, but the Prime Minister had described it as nonsense. Zhongtian didn't look at His Majesty's expression, but he knew it must be very unpleasant.

"Thank you for your guidance, Prime Minister Jiang!"

Sudden!

A crossbow bolt shot from afar, its powerful trajectory piercing the air and heading straight for Prime Minister Jiang.

Prime Minister Jiang's expression turned cold, but she remained calm. With a wave of her hand, the guards on both sides stood directly not far from her, blocking the attack from afar.

His Majesty was protected behind Nakata.

His Majesty looked calmly at Prime Minister Jiang, observing the flaws in his defenses.

The crossbow bolts that caused the injury were not just single shots; they could fire in rapid succession, one after another, with remarkable accuracy. One by one, the guards around Prime Minister Jiang were wounded, and the last bolt struck Prime Minister Jiang's arm, causing blood to flow immediately.

"This arrow can only fire seven shots, over there!"

Prime Minister Jiang remained calm and observed the situation carefully, immediately pinpointing the location of the thieves.

The guards immediately gave chase, but the thief didn't seem to be very skilled in martial arts and was caught in no time.

The thief was pinned to the ground. Although his face was covered with a veil, Nakata recognized him at a glance.

That's Ye Qing!

After being captured, Ye Qing looked at Prime Minister Jiang with a look of despair in his eyes!

Prime Minister Jiang ripped off Ye Qing's face mask and, upon seeing Ye Qing's face, a hint of understanding appeared on his face.

"You're the one who wants to kill me?"

"Yes!"

Prime Minister Jiang looked at Ye Qing. "Ye Qing, look up and see my face clearly."

Ye Qing looked up at Prime Minister Jiang with hatred in his eyes.

Aren't you afraid of retribution?

"I've never been afraid. You couldn't defeat me when you were alive! Do you think you can suppress me now that you're a ghost?!"

"Did you see my face clearly? Don't seek revenge on the wrong person in your next life!"

After saying that, Prime Minister Jiang pulled the arrow out of his arm. The sharp arrowhead went straight across Ye Qing's neck, leaving a bright red bloodstain in the air!