Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 70 Court Interrogation
Cui Wenhan led a group of Jinshi through Chengtianmen Street. When they arrived at Chengtianmen, an official came to him.

"Doctor Cui, I'm here to see you."

Cui Wenhan's heart sank. He followed the official around an office and saw Lai Ji standing under the eaves, looking at him expressionlessly.

Cui Wenhan walked over, bowed and said, "Come and see me."

Lai Ji said coldly: "Cui Wenhan, do you remember what I told you that day? Don't regret it!"

Cui Wenhan's face changed slightly, and he asked, "What happened?"

Lai Ji said word by word, "The Saint has just issued an order to conduct another examination in a side hall, personally examining all the successful candidates."

Cui Wenhan cried out in surprise, "What? This goes against our ancestral rules!"

Lai Ji said coldly, "Don't you understand? The commander told you long ago that the sage had other purposes from the beginning. You idiot, you still jumped in without knowing the consequences!"

Cui Wenhan said anxiously: "Come and save me!"

Lai Ji said calmly: "At this point, no one can save you."

Cui Wenhan fell to his knees and cried, "Lai Xiang, I was wrong, I was really wrong. You can't just stand by and watch me die!"

Lai Ji sighed, "If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place? It's too late now. With the Saint's current temper, if he wants to do something, not even the Grand Marshal can stop him."

Cui Wenhan was stunned and asked, "Then what should I do?"

Lai Ji said, "At this point, you have no way to survive. You should consider your family."

Cui Wenhan was startled. After a long while, he said in a low voice, "I understand. I will take all the responsibility myself and will not involve anyone else!"

Lai Ji glanced at him and said, "Good, at least you're taking some responsibility."

Cui Wenhan gritted his teeth and said, "I also want a promise from you."

Lai Ji said slowly, "Don't worry, I will guarantee the lives of your family. After a few years, when the storm has died down, I will rescue them."

Cui Wenhan kowtowed three times to Lai Ji.

Lai Ji said calmly, "Go back. Remember one thing: the tighter you keep your mouth, the safer your family will be."

The examination venue is located in a side hall to the left of Liangyi Hall.

Nearly a hundred tables had been set up in the hall. After the scholars were brought into the side hall, they were all shocked when they saw these tables.

They had noticed that the order in which the tables were arranged did not look like a banquet at all, but more like an examination.

The hall was surrounded by armored and sharp-armed Qianniu Guards, with dozens of pairs of eyes staring at them. It was more rigorous than the imperial examination.

Wei Daiju's face turned pale. He asked, "Master, what's going on?"

Cui Wenhan said expressionlessly, "His Majesty has ordered you to take another exam."

"what?"

"how so?"

"There's no precedent for this before!"

The scholars were in chaos.

Only Lu Zhaolin and a few others remained silent.

They all passed the imperial examination based on their real abilities. Although they were secretly surprised, they were not panicked after all because they had a foundation of talent and knowledge.

Cui Wenhan didn't have the energy to explain to them anymore, so he just lowered his head and kept silent.

On the north side of the side hall stood several Qingliu officials, including Di Renjie. They were all new examiners selected by Li Zhi.

Just then, Xue Rengui strode in, followed by two scholars, Gao Youdao and Du Yijian.

When Cui Wenhan saw Gao Youdao, his expression finally showed some signs of reaction. He secretly wondered, "Why is he here too?"

After Di Renjie exchanged a few words with Xue Rengui, he walked towards Cui Wenhan and said with a smile, "Doctor Cui, please hurry up and go see the emperor. I will be in charge here."

Cui Wenhan's mind went blank, but he went to Liangyi Hall with his head held high, only to see that the king and all the civil and military officials were already seated in the hall.

When he walked in, he felt like he was going to an execution ground. Every minister looked at him as if he were a dead person.

Cui Wenhan didn't dare to look at the emperor's expression and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, I, Cui Wenhan, pay my respects to you."

Li Zhi said calmly, "Doctor Cui, how many candidates have passed the exam this time?"

Cui Wenhan said, "There are 36 Jinshi candidates and 84 Mingjing candidates, for a total of 120 Jinshi candidates."

Li Zhi asked, "Who are the top three candidates?"

During the Tang Dynasty, there was no concept of second place and third place.

Cui Wenhan hesitated for a moment, then said with a stiff upper lip, "The top scorer is Yuwen De, the second is Wei Daiju, and the third is Xiao Ming."

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers began to whisper. Li Zhi glanced around and said, "You ministers, have heard this? These three are the most outstanding talents of our Tang Dynasty this year."

All those summoned to the court this time were high-ranking officials of the fourth rank and above. They were all smart people. As soon as you heard their surnames, you could tell that the three of them were from aristocratic families.

The Minister of the Imperial Household Xiao Rui, the Minister of Agriculture Wei Hongji, and the Minister of the Imperial Household Yuwen Qiao looked at each other and lowered their heads slightly.

These three children from aristocratic families became the top three. Although they were not directly involved, they were all aware of it.

Liu Rengui, Shangguan Yi, and Xu Xiaode also exchanged glances with each other, and there was a hint of smile in their expressions.

Originally, they were on guard as if facing a powerful enemy, worried that the aristocratic factions would play tricks and ruin their reputation.

But in the end, I overestimated them.

After all this time, they actually put on such a good show.

Li Yifu, Xu Jingzong and others also gloated over his misfortune.

Li Ji glanced at Changsun Wuji and felt a little strange. He wondered why such a smart man like Changsun Wuji would make such a stupid move.

Changsun Wuji looked at his nose with his eyes, and his nose at his heart, with his eyes half open and half closed, as if he was wandering in the sky.

Li Zhi said to Shangguan Yi, "Shangguan Aiqing, please tell us what the Jinshi candidates are taking the exam for next door right now."

Shangguan Yi stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the scope of the test is similar to that of the imperial examination, only the specific questions have been slightly modified."

Li Zhi said, "So, those who did well in the imperial examinations should also do well today?"

Shangguan Yi said, "As long as the imperial examination results are true, then in my opinion, the rankings will not change much."

Li Zhi frowned and asked, "Why do you insist on the authenticity of the results? Could it be that some students are cheating?"

Shangguan Yi said sternly, "I have no such intention. I just heard a rumor recently and I dare not deceive Your Majesty."

Li Zhi said: "Oh, what rumor is it? Tell everyone."

Shangguan Yi said, "I heard that the exam questions have been leaked."

Li Zhi said in a deep voice, "Before the exam began, only I, a few prime ministers, and the chief examiner knew the exam questions. How could it have been leaked? Could it be a rumor?"

Liu Rengui suddenly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial examination is the selection of talents for the country, which is of paramount importance. Even if it is just a rumor, it cannot be ignored. I request your permission to investigate this matter immediately."

Li Zhi asked, "How does Liu Qing plan to conduct a thorough investigation?"

Liu Rengui looked around and said, "Those who have the opportunity to leak the exam questions are all in the hall right now. Your Majesty, why don't you question them one by one?"

He continued, "This matter will eventually come to light. Whoever leaked the exam questions had better confess to His Majesty now, otherwise they will be charged with deceiving the emperor!"

Lai Ji's expression changed slightly.

As the situation developed to this point, every minister in the hall had his own guesses.

It is naturally impossible for the emperor to leak the test questions. The prime ministers are in high positions and have great power. Their names will be recorded in history, so it is even more impossible for them to do something that would destroy their reputation.

The only person who has the ability and motivation to do this is Cui Wenhan.

The only uncertainty is whether he did it alone or was instructed by someone else.

Liu Rengui proposed the interrogation in front of the palace in order to add a crime of deceiving the emperor to Cui Wenhan, to put psychological pressure on him and force him to confess the person behind it.

When Lai Ji thought of this, he was about to step out of the line, but Changsun Wuji beside him suddenly coughed lightly.

Lai Ji was startled and just as he was about to stand up, he sat back down.

"It was a close call. I almost lost my temper. If I had come forward now, even if I had confessed, Cui Wenhan would have lost confidence in me and turned against me."

Lai Ji calmed himself down and sat down steadily on the mat again.

Li Yifu smiled and said, "I agree with Prime Minister Liu's opinion and am willing to accept your majesty's questioning."

Changsun Wuji slowly stepped out of the group, raised his head, and said, "Since the Yonghui period, it has been many years since such a serious leak of exam questions has occurred. This matter must be thoroughly investigated. I second this motion."

When Changsun Wuji said this, people couldn't help but think of a question.

Why has there never been any leak of exam questions since the Yonghui period, but it suddenly happened now?

The problem naturally lies with Cui Wenhan, but wasn't the person who appointed Cui Wenhan the current emperor himself?
If the emperor severely punished Cui Wenhan, it would be tantamount to slapping himself in the face.

This sentence not only separated Cui Wenhan from the aristocratic family faction, but also implicitly linked him with the emperor, with the intention of secretly helping Cui Wenhan.

Suddenly, the mentality of the officials from the aristocratic factions changed.

They originally felt that they had made a mistake and were afraid that the emperor would catch them.

On second thought, the problem clearly lies with the emperor, but it is a bit too much to use it as an excuse to make a fuss.

Han Ai and Lai Ji looked at each other, stepped out at the same time, and expressed their support.

Cui Wenhan's blank mind suddenly cleared up a bit, and he thought, "Your Majesty has set up this trap and will never let me go. Now, to save my family, I can only rely on General Changsun."

　The results are out, and I'd like to report to everyone. Thanks to Alang and the ladies for their support, the first order is 2,300, and there's hope for a quality product. Please allow me to offer a dance as a token of my gratitude! Three updates today, four tomorrow, and at least three in the future. If I'm in good shape, I'll update four. That's all for the military report, and I'm back to writing.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)