A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"I have been busy with official duties at home these past few days and have not been involved in this matter at all!"

"Dr. Li, you need to provide evidence to prove your claims. Do you have any proof that I participated?!"

"You're slandering me!"

"Did you hear that? He's slandering me!"

"Your Majesty, he is slandering me!"

Li Linfu was so anxious that he jumped up and down, pointing at Dr. Li and shouting loudly. The sound was so heartbreaking that it brought tears to the eyes of anyone who heard it.

"Slander? Who dares to slander His Excellency the Prime Minister?"

Dr. Li smiled enigmatically. "The Prime Minister's steward, acting on the Prime Minister's orders, has instructed the chief examiner to revise the exam papers, conduct a rigorous review, and not allow anyone to pass."

"Could it be that Your Excellency is implying that all of this has nothing to do with you, Your Excellency, and that your steward acted on his own initiative?"

"Is this really true?!"

Li Linfu snorted angrily, "I never expected him to be such a traitor!"

"Don't worry, Doctor, I will absolutely not protect this person!"

"Your Majesty, I suggest that he be executed immediately, without any leniency!"

"The Prime Minister is indeed upright."

Dr. Li sneered. These Imperial Academy doctors were mild-mannered, but some people were not.

Those large families that have been passed down for hundreds of years are often ruthless in their methods.

A mere housekeeper can't withstand the methods of those people.

"Your Excellency, your steward has confessed!"

"Time, place..."

"Since he has already confessed, then execute him immediately. Issue my decree to send the Imperial Guards to the Prime Minister's residence to arrest him, execute him on the spot, and exterminate his entire family!"

"At the same time, the results will be announced throughout the land, and anyone who has committed any wrongdoing in the imperial examinations will be severely punished."

Li Longji's voice came down from the court, which surprised Dr. Li.

His eyes flashed with incomprehension and disappointment; he never expected Li Longji to have fallen so low.

Even at this point, they still insist on protecting Li Linfu to the death.

Can power really change a person so much?

Dr. Li took a deep breath and looked at Li Longji.

"Is Your Majesty trying to protect Li Linfu?"

A fleeting moment of embarrassment crossed Li Longji's face, quickly replaced by a surge of rage.

He is the emperor of this world, what gives Dr. Li the right to speak to him like that?!

Even his uncles and elders are not allowed!

"What do you mean by this, Imperial Uncle? Wasn't it all done by that steward? Does Imperial Uncle have any evidence to prove that the Prime Minister was indeed involved?"

"That steward's testimony might just be an attempt to implicate the prime minister and reduce his punishment."

Do you have any concrete evidence?

"Of course there are."

Dr. Li's words made Li Longji's face stiffen, and he glanced at Li Linfu with a hint of displeasure.

He actually managed to get concrete evidence; he's utterly useless.

"As the prime minister of the court, the imperial examination is the national talent selection ceremony. All procedures require the approval of Prime Minister Li. The examination questions also need to be reviewed by Prime Minister Li and then reviewed by His Majesty. The results also need to be approved by Prime Minister Li before being reported to His Majesty."

"If we say that Prime Minister Li was not involved, we probably cannot silence the people."

Li Linfu's face was gloomy, but a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes.

"Dr. Li, you may not know this, but when I was reviewing the exam questions, I asked the chief examiner. The chief examiner increased the difficulty of the questions mainly to select truly talented people."

"In recent times, the court has been prosperous, and the number of officials has gradually increased, resulting in a large number of redundant officials in the court. Therefore, the Ministry of Rites wants to increase the difficulty of the examination questions to select truly talented people."

"But to my surprise, the people who participated in the imperial examination this year were really uneducated. They answered extremely poorly even though the difficulty was slightly increased."

"Ten thousand people took the exam, yet not a single one passed; they were all mediocre."

"Oh."

The Imperial Academy scholars were so angry they laughed. How dare Li Linfu, a man of such high caliber, utter such words?

Every student who participated in the imperial examination was a graduate of the provincial examination, and each of them was more cultured than Li Linfu. How could Li Linfu possibly understand anything?

"Since the Prime Minister says so, why not review the papers in public?"

A PhD stepped forward and offered his advice.

Li Linfu's eyes darted around as he tried to justify himself.

"Your Majesty is aware that my cultural attainments are not high, and the chief examiners of the imperial examinations are all learned men, so I naturally follow their opinions."

"absurd!"

"The imperial examinations are held every year, and talented people participate every year, so why are they not held this year?"

"The Prime Minister really went to great lengths to prevent anyone from threatening his position."

Dr. Li sneered, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the Minister of Rites.

The Minister of Rites, looking grim, led the troops out of the ranks and bowed to Li Longji.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty."

Li Linfu's eyelids twitched suddenly, and a bad premonition rose in his heart.

"What crime have you committed?"

Li Longji frowned slightly and looked at the Minister of Rites.

"As Dr. Li said, this imperial examination was unfair."

"The imperial examination was influenced by Prime Minister Li Linfu, and the difficulty of the examination became extremely high. The more difficult the examination, the more obscure and strange questions were asked, rather than testing the students' true talents."

The fact that a high-ranking official from one of the six ministries of the imperial court filed a formal complaint against Li Linfu dealt him a fatal blow.

Now Li Linfu can no longer sever ties with Guan.

Li Linfu's face was grim, and he stared at the Minister of Rites with murderous eyes.

What benefit would it bring to the Minister of Rites to say this? No.

The Minister of Rites is trying to take him down with him!

Damn!

Is the Minister of Rites out of his mind?

Only by standing on his side can one mitigate their own guilt; what benefit would there be in betraying him?!

Damn!

Once he lands safely this time, I will definitely kill the Minister of Rites and let him know the consequences of betrayal.

Li Longji glanced at the Minister of Rites with displeasure. He made no attempt to hide his bias towards Li Linfu and his desire to protect him, but the Minister of Rites openly opposed him, which greatly displeased Li Longji.

His gaze swept across the court. In recent days, he had been overworked, and his eyesight was deteriorating day by day.

When Li Longji was selecting people from among the students, he had already turned and left, so he did not know who had been chosen.

In the imperial court, the three scholars were not qualified to stand at the front of the court, and stood at the very back. Even now, Li Longji still does not know that Li Bai is standing there.

"Where are the chief examiners for the imperial examinations? Tell them to bring me their three best papers. I want to see whether these students lack knowledge or if someone is sabotaging them!"

Li Longji was prepared to nitpick the exam paper to express his dissatisfaction.

Soon, officials from the Ministry of Rites presented the examination papers. Li Longji's eyes lit up at first, but he quickly concealed his excitement.

They picked and chose from the contents of the exam paper, pointing and commenting.

Then I opened the second copy and repeated the above steps.

Finally, he took out the third one, which was also the one that the re-examiner thought was the best.

The candidate's name is Li Qing, and his courtesy name is Qinglian.

Li Longji glanced at it briefly, then turned to the poems and essays and policy questions at the back. Although it was the third time he had seen them, he felt refreshed every time he saw the policy questions.

Such a considerate prime minister should indeed be protected.

However, as he continued reading, Li Longji's thoughts changed somewhat.