The battle for the throne in Kowloon starts with the steady prince

Chapter 219 clarifies everything that's hard to say (Seeking monthly votes and continued reading)
In the prison cell, Qin Changge, Xie Buyan, Ye Hanzhou, and others came to interrogate the handsome scholar who smelled of osmanthus perfume.

At this moment, Qin Changge sat in a chair, looking at the handsome scholar, and calmly asked, "Name?"

The handsome scholar honestly confessed, "My name is Ling Shuo."

Qin Changge asked, "Did you have Murong Guihe give Xuan Yi the test questions?"

Ling Shuo nodded without denying it. After all, the matter had already been investigated, and denying it would only cause him unnecessary suffering.

Seeing that Ling Shuo had admitted it, Qin Changge continued to ask, "Why did you leak the exam questions to Xuan Yi? Did he instruct you to do it?"

Clearly, Qin Changge had imagined a grand scheme of cheating. He believed that Xuan Yi and Ling Shuo were in cahoots, and that Murong Guihe was used as a pawn to separate their relationship. In reality, both Xuan Yi and Ling Shuo were likely the masterminds. This was Qin Changge's calculation.

Ling Shuo shook his head and said, "It was I who exposed Xuan Yi's cheating in the imperial examination."

Upon hearing this, Qin Changge, Xie Buyan, Ye Hanzhou, and the others were all taken aback. This was rather strange. The idiom "the thief cries 'stop thief'" suddenly popped into Qin Changge's mind.

Qin Changge asked, "Why did you do this?"

Ling Shuo explained, "I have a grudge against that Xuan Yi. We were both students at Bailu Academy, I was a year behind him, but Xuan Yi often bullied me. I couldn't take it anymore and took this opportunity to send him to jail, but I didn't expect to be arrested myself."

Ling Shuo's answer was very clear and organized, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Qin Changge asked, "I have a question. If this is just a revenge plot, how did you know the questions for the imperial examination?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Buyan, Ye Hanzhou, and the others nodded secretly. Yes, it's only natural for Ling Shuo to want revenge.

Xuan Yi bought the test questions because he knew that Murong Guihe could "predict the future," which is only natural.

This can also be explained by the fact that Murong Guihe would do something beneficial and cost-free for the sake of money.

But the question is why Ling Shuo, a poor boy, was able to get the exam questions for this imperial examination.

It should be noted that the imperial examination was a major event held every three years in the Great Xia Dynasty, and it was of utmost importance. It was absolutely impossible for any high-ranking official or nobleman to obtain the examination questions.

How could Ling Shuo, a poor boy living in an ordinary city with a osmanthus cake workshop near his home, possibly have obtained the exam questions for this imperial examination?

In other words, there are other people behind Ling Shuo.

Qin Changge asked, "You can't avoid this question; you must answer it."

Ling Shuo explained, "I possess a special physique—the All-Seeing Eye—which allows me to see what's happening in any corner of the world."

Upon hearing this, Qin Changge, Xie Buyan, Ye Hanzhou, and the others were all stunned.

Special physiques are possessed by one in ten thousand cultivation prodigies. Generally speaking, geniuses who ascend from lower planes are more common.

However, very few natives of the True Martial Continent are able to awaken a special physique because the population is too large; most people are just ordinary.

Of course, there are also geniuses like Ling Shuo, who are one in ten thousand or one in a million, and who are able to awaken a special physique.

Qin Changge asked, "Can you see what's happening in any corner of the world?"

Ling Shuo nodded and said, "I call this special physique the Heavenly Eye."

Qin Changge said, "Did you see the questions for this imperial examination through your Heavenly Eye?"

Ling Shuo hesitated for a moment, then said, "You could say that."

Qin Changge frowned and said, "What do you mean by 'you can say that'? It's either yes or no. Do you think you can get away with this?"

Ling Shuo shook his head and said, "I saw the examination questions for this year's imperial examination at the residence of Yun Shu, the Minister of Rites. At that time, Yun Shu was leaking the questions to another candidate."

Upon hearing this, Qin Changge, Xie Buyan, Ye Hanzhou, and the others fell silent.

What did they hear? Yun Shu, the chief examiner of the imperial examination and the Minister of Rites, was leaking the exam questions to others; this was the real case of cheating in the imperial examination.

Upon hearing this, Qin Changge looked at Ling Shuo and asked, "Are you sure?"

Ling Shuo nodded and said, "There are many places in our Great Xia Dynasty where you can't see these things, but you can see them at the Ministry of Rites. It was from the Ministry of Rites that I saw the imperial examination questions."

Qin Changge frowned and said, "Didn't you say that you could see any corner of the world through your all-seeing eyes? Now you're saying you can't. Are you telling the truth or not?"

Ling Shuo explained, "There are some places that cannot be seen. Many places in our imperial city cannot be seen, such as the imperial palace, which is absolutely invisible. It seems that there are special means to shield the secrets of heaven."

Upon hearing this, Qin Changge realized that they were in the capital city of the Great Xia Dynasty, one of the ten great dynasties of the True Martial Continent.

This place is full of hidden talents and all sorts of special methods to shield one's secrets, which is normal. Just like Qin Changge's previous attempt to use divination to find out who the mastermind was, he still couldn't.

why?
It's not that those who took the imperial examinations were particularly capable, but rather that most of the royal city was shielded from the secrets of heaven, and Qin Changge's divination skills weren't high enough, which is why he couldn't figure it out.

Qin Changge understood, nodded, and said, "You saw it at the residence of the Minister of Rites, and the Minister of Rites, Yun Shu, is leaking the exam questions to others."

Qin Changge asked again.

Ling Shuo nodded. In truth, being caught leaking exam questions meant he was already finished. There was no point in wrongly accusing a few more people now; Ling Shuo simply wanted to confess.

Qin Changge stood up and said to Xie Buyan and Ye Hanzhou, "Keep an eye on him. Don't do anything else or anything unnecessary. Protect him."

Xie Buyan and Ye Hanzhou both nodded, knowing that the case had suddenly become very serious.

Qin Changge arrived at the main office of the Golden Knife Constable and paid his respects to Constable Chu Linfeng.

Chu Linfeng looked at Qin Changge and asked, "How's the investigation into the imperial examination cheating case going?"

Qin Changge said, "The mastermind behind this has been caught, and the truth has been uncovered, but the outcome is probably hard to predict."

Chu Linfeng calmly said, "Since His Majesty has entrusted us, the Golden Knife Guards, to investigate this case, we must naturally clarify everything that is difficult to say."

Qin Changge understood and said, "The mastermind behind this is called Ling Shuo. He wants to take revenge on Xuan Yi, the unlucky guy who was exposed, because of a personal grudge. But the key question is, where did Ling Shuo get the imperial examination questions?"

Qin Changge said, "He saw the exam questions through his special physique, the 'Heavenly Eye,' at the Ministry of Rites's residence. At that time, Ling Shuo saw the Minister of Rites, Yun Shu, leaking the exam questions to others."

Upon hearing this, Chu Linfeng raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you sure?"

Qin Changge shrugged and said, "That's exactly what Ling Shuo answered. He had no reason to wrong the Minister of Rites. This matter can be easily investigated. I just don't know if Lord Chu wants to continue the investigation."

Chu Linfeng calmly said, "We Golden Knife Guards never care about personal relationships or complicated matters; we just investigate."

Qin Changge clasped his hands in obeisance and said, "This humble servant obeys!"

Qin Changge then returned to the prison and took Xie Buyan, Ye Hanzhou, and the others away.

Xie Buyan asked, "Captain, what should we do next?"

Qin Changge said, "Go to the Ministry of Rites' residence to arrest the criminals."

(End of this chapter)