Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Royal Palace

Inside the Imperial Study, the ministers were presenting memorials to Song Mingxian.

"Your Highness, Lord Song is the chief examiner for this imperial examination, yet he has engaged in favoritism, abused his power for personal gain, and committed malfeasance. We urge Your Highness to punish him severely."

"This humble official seconded the motion. Lord Song secretly manipulated things, substituting one thing for another, and actually promoted his own son-in-law to the top scholar in the imperial examination. I urge Your Highness to investigate thoroughly."

"Do you have any evidence?" Song Mingxian asked calmly.

"The top scholar in this high school examination is your son-in-law, which is the best proof."

"What a joke! Is this how you, Lord Li, the Minister of Justice, usually handle cases? Relying entirely on suspicion and ignoring evidence."

"Then how do you explain that the top scholar in this imperial examination is your son-in-law?"

"What, can't my son-in-law become the top scholar in the imperial examination? Or is it that my son-in-law can't participate in the imperial examination?"

"How can Lord Song prove that he did not show favoritism?"

"It's ridiculous. In the past, when Lord Li investigated cases, did he not need to look for evidence? He just let the suspect find a way to prove his innocence. If he couldn't find any, then he was guilty."

"That's slander."

“Then Lord Li is also slandering me. Lord Li says I have abused my power for personal gain. I ask Lord Li to provide evidence, otherwise, I will definitely sue you for slander,” Song Mingxian said righteously.

Seeing that he couldn't win the argument, Li Chuping turned to Mu Jinchen and said, "I ask Your Highness to grant me permission to thoroughly investigate this matter."

"After all this talk, it's still just empty talk, based solely on my suspicions. That's how Lord Li usually handles cases."

"My actions are for the sake of all the students. If the matter is not thoroughly investigated, it will inevitably discourage them. Therefore, I humbly request Your Highness's permission."

"Lord Li is right. Lord Li is also trying to silence public opinion. Otherwise, it will definitely affect the reputation of the court and His Majesty's prestige. Therefore, I humbly request Your Highness to allow him to investigate."

"I second that opinion."

"You don't believe Lord Song, you don't believe Su, do you not even believe Grand Tutor Song?"

"What do you mean by what you said, Lord Su? What does this have to do with Grand Tutor Song?"

"That's right, we're talking about Lord Song, not Grand Tutor Song."

“If you question my son, you are questioning Grand Tutor Song.”

The crowd looked at him, puzzled and not quite understanding what he meant.

Then Su Jing'an said, "My son is the last disciple of Grand Tutor Song, a student he personally trained. So, do you still think my son needs to cheat?"

"What? Su Mingxuan is actually a student of Grand Tutor Song?"

"How could that be? Didn't Grand Tutor Song stop accepting students a long time ago?"

"Lord Su, you wouldn't be saying that your son is a student of Grand Tutor Song just to help Lord Song clear his name, would you?"

“Since Lord Li doesn’t believe me, why don’t you ask my father to come back and explain it to you?” Song Mingxian retorted.

Li Chuping remained silent.

Su Jing'an then said, "Have you gentlemen not considered why my son was able to marry Lord Song's daughter?"

They had certainly thought about it, but in their view, Song Shiyu was mostly married to a powerless man like Su Mingxuan because she was not favored by the emperor. Therefore, they did not think much of it. However, they never expected that there was such a relationship behind it. If they had known, they would not have made such a fuss today.

Although Song Taifu had few students, they were all pillars of the nation. For example, Zhang Qian, Minister of War, Xu Hengyi, Vice Minister of Works, the late emperor, and Mu Jinchen were all his students, and their abilities and skills were beyond doubt.

Li Chuping hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to investigate, but then he became firm and said, "Even so, it cannot clear Lord Song of suspicion. If Lord Song has a clear conscience, why should he fear my investigation?"

"Alright, if Lord Li wants to investigate, then let him investigate. But what if he finds nothing, Lord Li?"

"Naturally, we will clear Lord Song's name."

“I have a clear conscience, why should I need you to clear my name?” After saying that, he looked at Mu Jinchen and said, “Your Highness, I agree to Lord Li’s investigation of this matter, but if Lord Li cannot find me guilty, then I ask Lord Li to give me an explanation.”

"What does Lord Li think?"

"This humble official has no objection."

"If that's the case, then investigate. I'll give you three days, that's fine."

"Yes, Your Excellency obeys."

Afterwards, the group came out of the Imperial Study, with Su Jing'an and Song Mingxian walking together.

"Lord Song, they seem to have come prepared for this matter. You should be careful."

"Don't worry, Lord Su, they can't cause any big trouble."

"It seems that Lord Song had a plan in mind," Su Jing'an said with a smile.

Song Mingxian smiled slightly and said nothing.

Su Jing'an did not pursue the matter further.

Youlan Courtyard

In the study, Su Qianrou was busy writing some invitations. The first few were fine and she wrote them smoothly without any hesitation. But when she got to the last one, she suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, Chunzhu asked, "Miss, this is the last letter, why aren't you writing any more?"

“This is for the Regent, but my interactions with him have always been clandestine. If I give him this invitation, wouldn’t that expose our relationship? So, I’m wondering whether I should give it to him or not.”

"That's true. Even the master and mistress don't know that you two are acquainted. If outsiders find out, I'm afraid it will cause trouble."

"That's what I think too."

However, Su Qianrou still wrote it in the end.

Soon, the three-day deadline arrived.

Inside the Fengtian Hall, Mu Jinchen looked down at the ministers below and slowly said, "Now, three days have passed. Lord Li, how is the investigation into the imperial examination fraud case progressing?"

Li Chuping stepped forward and replied, "Your Highness, it seems this is all a misunderstanding. Lord Song did not engage in any favoritism or corruption."

"Back then, Lord Li firmly accused Lord Song of favoritism and corruption, but now he's trying to cover it up with a misunderstanding. Does Lord Li think I'm easy to fool?"

"This humble official dares not."

At this moment, Song Mingxian also stepped forward. “Your Majesty, Your Highness, as the Minister of Justice, Lord Li has made baseless accusations against me for favoritism and corruption without any evidence. I beg Your Majesty and Your Highness to uphold justice for me.”

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Lord Li's investigation into the imperial examination fraud case was at the request of many students. We urge Your Majesty and Your Highness to make a clear judgment."

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, it is a good thing that no wrongdoing by Lord Song has been found. It proves that there was no unfairness in this imperial examination, and it can be considered as giving an explanation to the scholars of the world. Therefore, in my opinion, Lord Li should not be punished, but should be rewarded."

"Lord Xie's ability to distort the truth is truly remarkable. Lord Li is the Minister of Justice and should know that everything requires evidence. Yet he slanders Lord Song without any evidence, which is a dereliction of duty. To reward him for this is simply a huge joke."

“That’s right. It’s one thing for others, but if Lord Li, as the Minister of Justice, does this, wouldn’t it mean that we are guilty and can be investigated whenever he wants?”

"Lord Cao is right. Lord Li's behavior is truly despicable. I urge Your Majesty and the Regent to punish him severely."

"Your Majesty, please have the Regent punish him severely."

"It's just a small matter, why make a big deal out of it?"

“Your Highness is mistaken. If this is left unchecked, won’t everyone live in fear in the future?”

"Lord Su is right."

Prince Qing couldn't help but glare at Su Jing'an.