Aspirations

Chapter 66 Fight to Fame

Zhang Hou, Shen Bao, Cai Bei and others watched such a dramatic scene and waited eagerly to see how Xia Xiang defended himself.If you make trouble unreasonably, you will commit the crime of deceiving the king, not to mention fame, and even your life will be lost.As a result, all the test takers have no intention of taking the test again at this time, and they all want to see what happened.

"The two of you lied to the emperor, and one of you dealt with the palace exam. You only wanted speed, not thinking, and you despised the field of study. One of you didn't care about the subject, and you wrote sloppily. It's only natural that you two dare to disturb the palace exam. Could it be that you still want to despise the Sage?" Wen Changju first buckled a big hat for the two of them, so that they could retreat in spite of difficulties and dare not talk nonsense.

The emperor's people were far away behind the gauze curtain. He didn't know what the emperor's face was, but only listening to the emperor's peaceful tone, Xia Xiang strengthened his thoughts even more - the emperor was not angry.

"Wenqing, let's listen to Xia Xiang and Teng Zhengyuan." The emperor paused and coughed a few times, "Xia Xiang and Teng Zhengyuan, you two don't need to worry, don't be afraid, whatever grievances come, feel free to come. I am in charge of you. Stand up and speak."

"Thank you, my lord." Xia Xiang got up and bent slightly, "My lord, in the student's first exam, No. 2 handed in the paper, and the paper was interleaved, but Wen Shangshu judged the student's paper as invalid. The student has no objection. This is a student. fault..."

Wen Chang raised his eyelids and jumped a few times, secretly saying that it is not good, Xia Xiang is really cunning, and there is even a backhand.

"Why stagger test papers?" The emperor was also quite curious.

"The students rewrote the questions they answered during the provincial exam, and then wrote the questions for today's palace exam. When they handed in the papers, they didn't read them carefully, and ended up taking the wrong papers." Xia Xiang was respectful and serious. .

"So, you wrote two articles at the same time, one old and one new?" The emperor was even more puzzled, "Why do you have to rewrite the exam paper during the provincial exam? What is the reason?"

"Returning to the sage, because the questions answered during the provincial exam echo today's questions, so the students can rewrite it again to better solve the proposition of today's sage." Xia Xiang glanced at Teng Zhengyuan, seeing Teng Zhengyuan looked calm, not panic, secretly surprised in his heart.

"Is there such a thing?" The emperor asked curiously, "I remember that the topic of the provincial examination was the theory of punishment and reward, and the palace examination was a civil servant, and there is nothing in common. Xia Xiang, how do you solve the problem?"

"In "Minjian Fu", the student's problem is - Yunqi Yuansheng, Tianlin Zhaomin..." Xia Xiang replied, "On punishment and reward, the student's idea is to make the crime lighter, and the problem is - God has a good life. Virtue, the Holy One has a generous grace..."

The corner of Gao Hai's mouth grinned, and he almost didn't laugh out loud. If he wasn't in the lecture hall at this time, he would have jumped up and applauded.What a Xia Xiang, not only has outstanding literary talents, but also knows how to figure out the sacred meaning. When he checked the papers on the theory of punishment and reward, he didn't think it was so outstanding, but combined with the problem of "Minjian Fu", there was a winding path The beauty of Tongyou is a natural interest.The Great Xia Imperial Examination has been held for many years, and there are countless exams. Xia Xiang is the No. 1 who can combine the completely different questions of the provincial exam and the palace exam into one.

Wen Chang raised his eyes and closed his eyes, unable to hide the sadness on his face. Xia Xiang's talent was more than ten times higher than he expected.He tried his best not to let Xia Xiang participate in the palace examination, but he didn't want to fail.
"It's all God's protection of the ancestors, how dare I be? Haha, haha." The emperor smiled, "Come on, present Xia Xiang's article."

"Yes."

The chamberlain took the two articles of Xia Xiang's provincial examination and the palace examination, and handed them over through the gauze, and then there was silence in the gauze.After a while, the emperor only heard a cough.After a while, there was the sound of the emperor's finger tapping the dragon case.There was no sound in the hall, and even Wen Changju held his breath, waiting for the emperor's conclusion.

"Teng Zhengyuan, what's your grievance?" The emperor finally spoke, but he didn't mention Xia Xiang's test paper.

"Returning to the Holy Lord, the student just handed in the No.1 test paper. I don't know what's wrong and was canceled by Wen Shangshu? Hearing Xia Xiang's words, the student suddenly remembered that the test paper he handed in just now was also wrong. It wasn't the student's essay, but Plagiarized Xia Xiang's essay." Teng Zhengyuan stated his grievances in a serious manner, "The essay written by the student itself is above the student's examination paper."

What?Plagiarism?Or admit plagiarism in front of the saint, is Teng Zhengyuan broken or stupid?It’s okay to not want fame, is it possible that you don’t even want your life?
"It turned out to be plagiarism? How bold!"

"It's more than daring, it's completely lawless!"

"No, Teng Zhengyuan and Xia Xiang didn't sit together. He has a clairvoyance, how can he copy Xia Xiang?"

"Also, how could he see Xia Xiang's article, it's all nonsense."

"What a bunch of nonsense!" Wen Chang was so angry that it was not easy to attack on the spot in front of the emperor, but his hands were trembling with anger, "Teng Zhengyuan, you deceived the king, your sin is unforgivable, you step back!"

"Let's listen to him." The emperor was not angry, and coughed a few times. "He is not only beating the drum, but also giving him a chance to defend himself."

"The saint is wise." Although Teng Zhengyuan was not as polite and respectful as Xia Xiang's words, his attitude was very respectful, "The student copied Xia Xiang's essay during the provincial examination. The students thought that Xia Xiang's essay was unrestrained and majestic. , there is something worth learning for students, so they wrote it down silently to seek inspiration. It was with the help of Xia Xiang's article that the students began to think about it, and they became the strategy and theory of "Minjian Fu" in one go. It was only when the paper was handed in that I was excited for a while. I actually took Xia Xiang's article to hand in. Fortunately, Wen Shangshu's red pen crossed it out and it became a waste book, so I didn't mistake the student for a literary thief."

For some reason, Wen Changju blushed slightly when he heard the word "Wen Thief", and Cai Bei's eyes kept jumping and he was restless.

"Your Majesty, this minister thinks that Xia Xiang and Teng Zhengyuan are suspected of colluding, and the two deliberately disturb the palace exam. Their hearts can be punished, and their actions can be killed."

One of the reviewers stepped forward and wrote a letter with a righteous resignation: "I ask the sage to severely punish the two of them, get rid of their merits, and never hire them!"

Gao Hai raised his eyelids, and saw that the person who wrote the letter was tall and mighty, with a face like a black pot and a beard. At first glance, he looked like a military general, but in fact he was an authentic civil official, Xiong Shiwang, a servant of the Ministry of Personnel.

"Xiong Shilang's words are not good." Gao Hai saw that the time had come, and retorted, "Sacred, Daxia imperial examinations, inheriting the practice of previous dynasties and making some innovations, Taizu Taizong opened the door for Daxia to recruit sages, and swept the world in an unrestricted manner. People of insight, if everything sticks to the rules, how can there be the territory of today's Great Xia? How can there be the prosperity of today's Great Xia?"

"Sacred Lord, the words of the high servant, the slanderous words to confuse the public, humiliate the saint, the minister..." Wen Changju couldn't help but jumped out, wanting to compete with Gao Hai.

"Cough cough..." The emperor coughed a few times.

"The official dragon body is not good, you can't let the official family worry about it, stop arguing?" Chang Guanchao glanced at a few people, and then gave Gao Hai a wink, "The official family has presided over the palace exam today. You did your best, but if you truly love the official family, you should say less."

In the palace, the emperor is mostly called the official family, which is a kind and respectful title.

Gao Hai understood, and immediately knelt down: "The sage forgives the sin, and the minister is guilty. Today is the chief examination of the sage, and the minister is only responsible for marking the papers."

Wen Changju was extremely disdainful of Gao Hai's servants who kowtowed at every turn. He was shocked when he heard Gao Hai's last sentence, and he realized that today is the emperor's examination, not him, so he hurriedly crossed his hands and saluted: "Wei Chen Convicted, please be judged by the Holy One."

The gauze curtain is automatic when there is no wind, and there is no movement in the gauze curtain for a long time.After an unknown period of time, the emperor's slightly tired voice came: "I am a little tired today, so I will only take one test. Wen Qing, present Teng Zhengyuan's test paper."

When the students heard this, they were both happy and worried.The good news is that candidates who did well in the first test do not have to be afraid of failing in the next two tests.Worryingly, the candidates who passed the test in the first round had their hopes of performing at a super-level in the next two rounds in vain.

Although Wen Changju was reluctant, he could only obey orders.Teng Zhengyuan's waste paper and the second test paper were presented.The two papers were passed into the gauze curtain. After a while, the emperor exclaimed softly, "Hey, you're not wrong, Teng Zhengyuan, you have a good memory."

"Xie Shengshang praised that students have the ability to remember their eyes and ten lines since they were young." Teng Zhengyuan's words were quite conceited, and he said, "But the students just read the article written by Xia Xiang Gongyuan after the exam, Xia Xiang wrote it silently. It is not known whether the article written by him is exactly the same as the one he wrote during the Gongyuan examination."

Hearing this, Wen Chang raised his face as pale as paper, and nearly fell on the spot as his body swayed.Gao Hai stretched out his hand to support Wen Changju, and was extremely concerned: "Wen Shangshu is not in good health?"

Wen Changju pushed Gao Hai away with all his strength: "Little man, really little man."

Gao Hai laughed and straightened his back: "Wen Shangshu has won the award. Although the official position is not as good as Shangshu, he is standing upright and a little taller than Shangshu."

Gao Hai is indeed a few points taller than Wen Chang.

Wen Changju was so angry that he was speechless.

The emperor said lightly: "Xia Xiang, is the article you wrote by default exactly the same as the one you took the exam?"

"Go back to the saint, although students have the ability to remember and remember, but they also believe that they can write their own articles by dictation, and they can also be word-for-word." Xia Xiang paused deliberately, "I'm just afraid... there is no proof."

"How come there is no proof?" Gao Hai took the opportunity to answer, "Take out the examination papers of the Gongyuan and compare them, it will be clear at a glance."

"Come on, adjust the exam paper of Xiaxiang Gongyuan." The emperor's curiosity was fully mobilized.

"Yes." Chang Guan stretched his voice, "The official family has a purpose to adjust the exam paper of Xiaxiang Gongyuan Province."

Not long after, the exam papers of Xia Xianggong Court were transferred and presented to the emperor's desk.At this time, Wen Chang raised his legs and trembled, and he was almost unsteady.Gao Hai watched coldly, secretly glad that he had taken the right step. If he hadn't listened to Cao Yongguo's words, he would have been the one whose legs were shaking today.He was extremely grateful to Cao Yongguo, and thought that he must say a few good words for Cao Yongguo in front of the emperor.

Generally speaking, the emperor will take a look at some of the top-ranked test articles in the provincial examination. At the same time, the chief examiner and the examiner will also blow air in front of the emperor, focusing on the names of several candidates who are expected to win the championship.Because Xia Xiang was ranked very low, he added it at the end, so the emperor had never seen his article.

The rolls passed through the veil.

Wen Changju kept trembling, sweating coldly, his face pale, Gao Hai knew it well, he smiled, and whispered: "Wen Shangshu is not feeling well, he should rest and take care of himself for some time, and there is no need to work so hard. Up and down the court, Although there are many places to rely on Wen Shangshu, you cannot rely on Wen Shangshu for everything, the court is full of talented people, and Wen Shangshu can recuperate at ease."

Wen Chang raised his eyes and spit fire, remembering the humility and obedience of Gao Hai to him in the past, and then looking at Gao Hai's cynicism and schadenfreude at this time, he hated the blind dog's eye to support and reuse Gao Hai, and wished to grab one of Gao Hai's Big head kicks the ball.

It's a pity that at this time, he has no power to turn the clouds over the rain.At the last moment of the list, Gao Hai admitted Xia Xiang. When he learned that the matter was irreversible, he confessed to Cai Beihaosheng privately, but he never thought that besides Gao Hai, there was another Teng Zhengyuan who dared to During the palace exam, he stood up for Xia Xiang in front of the Holy Master, sang a harmony with Xia Xiang, and put on a good show.The countermeasures he and Cai Bei formulated were completely useless.

"Cai Bei..."

What no one thought was that after Xia Xiang's test paper was handed into the gauze curtain, after a while, the emperor opened his mouth, and when he opened his mouth, it was Cai Bei's name.

"The students are here." Cai Bei hurried out of the queue, knelt down with his robes up, "Congratulations to Your Majesty."

When Cai Bei fell to his knees, he stole an eye and signaled to Wen Changju, who shook his head slightly, motioning him not to say more.Cai Bei nodded knowingly, thinking of Wen Changju's repeated instructions on the boat on the rain, although he was worried that things were revealed, he firmly believed that with Wen Changju, everything would be solved.

"Who do you learn from?" The emperor suddenly asked a question that no one could think of.

"Go back to the saint, the students will inherit the texts from the master." Cai Bei answered truthfully, but he was afraid that others would criticize him. "You don't shy away from relatives. Besides, in the field of science, you can record your name in an obscure manner, which can ensure fairness."

"Teng Zhengyuan, who is your mentor?" The emperor did not answer Cai Bei's words.

"Back to the saint, the students have only read private schools for a few years, and then they learned to read by themselves, and they have no teacher." Teng Zhengyuan was secretly shocked, who said that the emperor was ill, the emperor was bright-eyed and wise like the sea.The questions asked seem to be out of bounds, but in reality they are in crisis step by step.

"Xia Xiang, who is your teacher?" The emperor's topic turned to Xia Xiang again.

"Returning to the sage, Xia Xiang has been taught and cultivated by His Majesty." Xia Xiang's mind is as bright as a mirror. Although the emperor's dragon body is not healthy, he sees everything clearly. Today's palace test does not see the third prince and Hou Pingpan. It must be the emperor's intention.

"Haha, what a Xia Xiang." The emperor laughed happily, and his voice revealed a bit of joy, but his tone suddenly became cold, "What a Xia Xiang, who claims to be the son of the emperor, why would he be ashamed of plagiarism? Things?"

Xia Xiang fell to his knees in a panic: "Sir, the students are frightened. I don't know who copied who?"

"Dare to argue!" The emperor seemed to be furious, and suddenly threw several test papers out of the gauze curtain. It doesn't match, and most of the sentences used in the article are copied from Cai Bei's article, what else do you have to say?"

Chen Feng picked up the test paper on the ground, and Zhang looked at each other, and the two quickly sorted it out and put it away.

Xia Xiang's voice trembled, as if he was frightened: "Holy, sage, can you let the students take a look at the students' Gongyuan exam papers?"

"That's right."

After listening to the emperor's approval, Chen Feng came to Xia Xiang and handed over the test paper.Xia Xiang only glanced at it, and his heart was ecstatic, Wen Changju, Wen Changju, I didn't expect you to be so daring. Today, I will read for nothing, unless you ask for your life as a scholar who has worked hard for the people and the world for ten years. After ten years of sage books, my surname is not Xia!

"Sir, the Gongyuan exam paper, although it is a student's article, is not written by me. I hope the sage will learn from it." Xia Xiang knew that the opportunity was not to be missed.

As soon as these words came out, all the students were shocked.In the Gongyuan exam, names and transcripts are required. Xia Xiang's words are equivalent to saying that someone is cheating.Needless to say, the fraudster must be one of the examiners.

"Is there really such a thing?" The emperor snorted coldly, "Wen Qing, what do you have to say?"

Wen Changju couldn't stand still anymore, and fell to his knees with a "plop": "Sacred Lord, Wei Chen is convicted, please forgive me."

Um?Xia Xiang was stunned for a moment. He thought that Wen Changju would struggle for a while, but he didn't want Wen Changju to admit it directly, but it was a big surprise to him.Thinking about it again, I can't help but admire Wen Changju's old traitor and giant slippery. If he makes more quibbles and is forced to admit it, he will not make the emperor angry.Rather than that, it's better to plead guilty now.

"Hmph, Wen Changju, are you still convicted? Do you still see Zhen? Do you still see the teachings of sages? Is there any court order?" The emperor threw out a test paper again, "Cai Bei, do you know the crime?"

Cai Bei was so frightened that he bowed his head to the ground and kowtowed again and again: "Students are convicted, and students are convicted. Students greedy for fame, plagiarized Xia Xiang's articles, and then destroyed Xia Xiang's articles, making him fall off the list, students are detrimental to the teachings of the sage, some I am willing to take the blame for insulting the scholar's name."

Wenchang bowed his head and confessed his guilt. Cai Beiqing knew that the situation was over. Not only was it unnecessary to resist, he also didn't have the courage to talk nonsense in front of the emperor, so he told the whole story in one breath.Of course, he did not know that Wen Changju asked him to plagiarize Xia Xiang's article Li Dai Tao Zong, and there was the intervention of the third prince.

"Bastard!"

"Shameless scum!"

"Sven scum!"

"Not killing is not enough to make people angry!"

When all the students heard this, their emotions erupted, and regardless of whether they were in the Hall of Lectures, all of them were filled with righteous indignation and accused Wen Changju and Cai Bei of their shameless act of plagiarizing Xia Xiang's article in unison.

"Quiet, quiet!" Chang Guan shouted in a shrill voice, "What's the matter, can't you rebel?"

One sentence suddenly shocked the students who did not dare to say another word.

"Wen Changju, what else do you have to say?" The emperor directly called Wen Changju's name, which showed that he was extremely dissatisfied with Wen Changju.This is the first time since the establishment of the country in Daxia.He couldn't hold back his anger. He had presided over the palace exam more than a dozen times, and it was the first time he saw such a serious fraud in the field, and when he was ill, a sense of humiliation of being deceived came to his heart.

"Wei Chen is guilty, Wei Chen is guilty..." Wen Changju slumped to the ground, trembling all over, knowing that he was pushed down the fire pit by Gao Hai, Chen Feng, and Zhang Zeshi.Although he was instructed by the third prince to dig the fire pit for Xia Xiang, he buried himself in the end. Who is to blame?The three kings only let him win Xia Xiang's fame, but did not let Cai Bei copy Xia Xiang's exam papers.

I can only blame myself for being too greedy and too confused.

It's just that he clearly asked Gao Hai to destroy Xia Xiang's test paper, but Gao Hai did not destroy it. Why did he adjust Xia Xiang's test paper today, or did he let him make a fake test paper?Who is deliberately behind the scenes?Is it Gao Hai, Chen Feng or Zhang Zeshi?

No matter which one of the three, there must be an instigator behind them, otherwise the three must not risk offending the third prince rather than put him to death.So who is behind the three?King Jing or King Qing?
"Gao Hai, knowingly committing a crime, knowing the law and breaking the law, and cheating for personal gain, what should Wen Changju be guilty of?" The emperor asked Gao Hai instead of asking others.

Xiong Shiwang wiped a cold sweat secretly, but fortunately he didn't stand up for Wenchang just now. The old man made such a big mistake secretly, and he still wanted to pull him into the water?Really bad.

Chen Feng and Zhang looked at each other, and the two of them moved the corners of their mouths imperceptibly, and shook their heads at the same time, both knowing that Wenchang was in danger.

(End of this chapter)