Bystander

"What are you doing? What is hidden in your sleeve?" An examiner suddenly snapped.

Zheng Qiming looked up subconsciously, and the examiner clearly walked towards him.

Zheng Qiming didn't have time to think about it, so he stuffed the ball of paper hidden in his sleeve into his mouth and swallowed it. The examiner stepped forward to stop him and opened Zheng Qiming's mouth, but it was too late, and the examiner was so angry that he pushed Zheng Qiming down On the side, he asked, "What did you just swallow?"

Zheng Qiming asked instead, "My lord, what is the reason? What Xiaosheng just swallowed was just ordinary paper."

"Ordinary paper? I think it's cheating paper!" The examiner mocked.

"My lord, I have noticed that Xiaosheng just had a stomachache, which was unbearable, and there was no medicine or food around him, so he could only use paper as food, and try a dead horse as a living horse." Zheng Qiming pretended to be calm on the surface, not knowing the severity, but inside It has long been silent, and the ears are buzzing.

"Absurd. How can anyone use writing paper as medicine and food to cure stomach pain? You are clearly lying."

"It is often said that Huang Fu turns water into water to cure diseases. Why can't there be white paper to relieve pain? Besides, Xiaosheng also said that there is nothing else around him. It is helpless to treat a dead horse like a living horse."

"Don't make excuses. The officer saw a ball of paper falling in front of you. You can keep it in your sleeve. I must have swallowed the evidence in a panic after I discovered it." The examiner glared at Zheng Qiming angrily, trying to This aura of his own frightened the brat in front of him.

Zheng Qiming is not one to follow this pattern. He swallowed the evidence in a panic, but he did not cheat. He did so because he was afraid that he would be misunderstood or implicated. The examiner was indeed right by five points, but This made Zheng Qiming even more anxious. Zheng Qiming immediately frowned, raised his eyes, and said angrily, "My lord, you can't draw conclusions without evidence. You will ruin a move." It’s your son.” Zheng Qiming also specially emphasized the tone of the word “juzi”.

"Pretty words, will this official still wrong you?" The examiner has never seen such a bold candidate, who dared to overwhelm others with the identity of the candidate. The status of the candidates in the past dynasties is indeed different from that of the poor. The future pillar also has a lot of preferential treatment, but how can he, a cheater in the examination room, have the face to speak so shamelessly here?

Zheng Qiming respectfully bowed to the examiner and said, "My lord will not wrong Xiaosheng for no reason. It's just that Xiaosheng answered the questions smoothly. Although he is a bit boastful, Xiaosheng's knowledge and character are also recognized. Why is there any need to cheat? Maybe it's the adults who have been working hard these days." Excessive, dazzled."

"You!" The examiner pointed at Zheng Qiming's nose, not knowing what to say for a while, trembling with anger.

"My lord, time is running out. If there are no other questions, Xiaosheng can sit down and continue answering the questions." Just as Zheng Qiming was about to take his seat, someone in the examination room shouted, "My lord, Xiaosheng is wrong. Xiaosheng shouldn't cooperate with Zheng Qiming in cheating. "

There was an uproar in the audience for a while.

Zheng Qiming searched for his reputation. It turned out to be an examinee diagonally behind Zheng Qiming. This person Zheng Qiming knew and was his classmate, but he was not familiar with him. Not to mention Zheng Qiming's usual personality, his classmate was not only mediocre in knowledge, but also a classmate. Even with his mediocre appearance, if this classmate hadn't sat in front of him in class, Zheng Qiming would not have remembered him.But where did this "collaborative cheating" start today?

Before Zheng Qiming woke up from the shock, he saw the classmate stand up, bowed tremblingly to the examiner, and said, "My lord, I know I was wrong."

The examiner heard the sentence just now, and asked, "What you just said is true?"

The classmate still lowered his head and replied, "Master Bing, what Xiaosheng said is true. The note that the adult saw just now was the one that Xiaosheng threw to Zheng Qiming. Everyone only knows Zheng Qiming's knowledge. On the eve of the exam, Xiaosheng took care of him. Zheng Qiming, begging him to help me cheat, I will give you 50 taels of silver as a reward regardless of whether I am in high school or not. The students in the previous exams were barely able to answer, but today’s questions are really, really... that’s why I threw the ball of paper at You Zheng Qiming."

"You're talking nonsense." Zheng Qiming didn't want his classmate to make up any more. Somewhat believable, you could have kept silent just now, even if I was expelled from the examination room, it has nothing to do with you, why did you suddenly stand up and tell me about cheating? neck.

"I just can't bear the guilt of my conscience."

"If you really have a conscience, how can you frame me, you..." Zheng Qiming's forehead was bruised, his whole body was trembling, he was angry and afraid, how important this exam was to Zheng Qiming.

"That's enough. This is the examination room. You can't stand arguing here. Somebody, take these two out of the examination room." The examiner didn't allow Zheng Qiming to distinguish, so two servants came to carry the two out of the examination room.Zheng Qiming tried his best to break free from the shackles of the Yacha, but it was of no avail. He could only shout to the examiner at the top of his voice, "My lord, have you been wronged? This person framed me, and please ask my lord to look into it..."

But no matter how Zheng Qiming complained about his grievances, the examiners ignored them, and the other candidates also focused on answering the questions, who would care about what happened just now.In the examination room, Zheng Qiming's voice gradually weakened and faded away, as if a stone fell into a pool of water, but it only caused a few ripples, and it finally returned to calm.

Zheng Qiming was thrown out by the guards, staggered a few steps and nearly fell down, Zheng Qiming was annoyed, rolled up his sleeves and was about to smash the door that was just closed, when he saw the classmate who was thrown out together——Xu Zhian didn't care, Zheng Qiming All of a sudden, he became even more angry, this classmate who had almost never greeted him, today he said the words of cooperating with him in cheating.Zheng Qiming grabbed Xu Zhian's collar, frowning so tightly that a fly could be crushed to death, "Xu Zhian, what do you mean? Since when did I cheat with you, did you really throw that note?"

"Let go, let go!" Xu Zhian struggled to break Zheng Qiming's hand away, and while lowering his head to straighten Zheng Qiming's crumpled collar, he said slowly, "Brother Qiming, why don't you get so angry? ? Hurt your body with anger."

Zheng Qiming saw that Xu Zhian's mood was abnormal, and he was already a bit contested in his heart, but he still asked stubbornly, "Xu Zhian, you and I have no grudges in the past. I don't care why you framed me today. After the exam is over, I hope you can be with me." Go to the chief examiner and return my innocence. If I fail the exam this year, I will admit that I am unlucky. I don’t care about you, but you must not destroy my innocence. I have been wronged for no reason, and I will not be able to take the exam next year. "

"What are you talking about? I don't understand. We were cooperating to cheat, didn't we? Didn't we agree?" Xu Zhian smiled ambiguously, with an inexplicable teasing expression, "Brother Qiming, we failed and were discovered. Now you just admit it, don't quibble."

Zheng Qiming grabbed Xu Zhian's collar with both hands, and roared angrily, "What are you talking about? Don't spit blood."

Xu Zhian shook off Zheng Qiming, "Again, why do you always like to grab other people's collars? It was smoothed just now, look at you, it's wrinkled again."

Just as Zheng Qiming was about to roll up his sleeves and beat this kid hard, the big gate of the examination room suddenly opened, and the examinees inside filed out one after another.Zheng Qiming couldn't care about Xu Zhian anymore, he just wanted to find the examiner to explain everything.Zheng Qiming saw that the examinee had almost left. Seeing that the door of the examination room was about to close, Zheng Qiming sneaked in. The guards saw him sneak in and turned around to catch him. Zheng Qiming ran fast and ran into the inner hall in a few steps , Seeing that the chief examiner is sorting out the test papers, he immediately stepped forward and said, "My lord, Xiaosheng has been wronged."

"Where did the injustice come from?" The examiner snorted without raising his eyes.

"My lord, it was Xu Zhian who wronged Xiaosheng just now, and Xiaosheng never cooperated with him in cheating, please be careful."

"Will he wrong you for no reason? And block his own future? You take yourself too seriously." The examiner still lowered his head and sorted out the test papers in his hand.

"My lord, just now Xu Zhian's actions are obviously unusual. When there is no evidence and no one doubts him, he stands up and says he is cooperating with me in cheating? Judging from the situation at the time, even if the lord thinks that Xiaosheng is cheating, he will just use it. Xiaosheng was expelled from the examination room alone. As long as he didn't stand up, no one would doubt him. Besides, didn't the adults allow Xiaosheng to continue answering the questions at that time? He suddenly said that he threw the paper ball to me. Isn't it a fire? Normal people are afraid Avoid it!" Zheng Qiming analyzed the situation word by word.

The examiner tidied up the test papers in his hand, raised his head, and looked Zheng Qiming up and down, "Are you very arrogant in the examination room? You say that others have wronged you, and you show evidence. If you talk empty teeth, aren't you wronging others? Is it? Trying to shirk all the blame on others, and read the sages' books in vain."

"My lord..." Zheng Qiming wanted to continue to distinguish, but was interrupted by the examiner, "That's enough, I don't have time to listen to your empty words here, you can go."

"grown ups……"

"Let's go!" Seeing that Zheng Qiming had no intention of leaving, the examiner immediately called the guards next to him to throw Zheng Qiming out.

Zheng Qiming didn't shout this time. The examiner was right. If he wanted to prove his innocence, he had to produce evidence, otherwise no one would believe him.

Zheng Qiming was kicked out of the examination room by two guards again.The people in front of the examination room had long been deserted, and only Shen Qing was leaning against the stone pillar with a piece of grass in his mouth, as if he was waiting for Zheng Qiming.

Seeing Zheng Qiming coming out, Shen Qing protruded the green grass in his mouth, went forward to meet him, and asked, "Brother Qiming who came out, how is it? Is there any result?"

Zheng Qiming shook his head, drooping his head and drooping shoulders, like a defeated rooster.

Shen Qing patted Zheng Qiming on the shoulder, "I told you a long time ago that the officialdom is dark and the examination room is unpredictable."