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

Li Longji was also exhausted. He felt a wave of weariness and glanced helplessly at Li Linfu. "If you're going to cause trouble, then so be it. Why couldn't you have chosen a better time? Why did you have to do it when Li Bai was taking the imperial examination?"

The group of people in front of him were also cunning and treacherous. Li Longji had already realized that they knew Li Bai's identity all along and were just trying to trick Li Linfu.

Unexpectedly, not only Li Linfu but also him fell for the trap.

Words spoken are like water spilled; they cannot be taken back.

Moreover, as an emperor, his word is law; how could he possibly change his orders overnight?

Can we leave it as is?

Continuing to protect Li Linfu would be a blatant slap in the face to the Prince of Yan.

You can give up; he's already made his point.

Li Longji was caught in a dilemma.

unless……

Li Longji looked at Li Linfu, his gaze conveying a clear message.

In this situation, only if Li Linfu himself steps forward can he save face.

Li Linfu immediately understood the meaning in Li Longji's eyes, knowing that he was about to be abandoned.

He gave a wry smile and slowly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die!"

"I, your subject, have openly interfered with the imperial examinations for my own selfish reasons, thus affecting the selection of talent for the entire nation. My crime is unforgivable."

"Your subject is willing to relinquish all official positions and titles, retire to his hometown, and atone for his sins to the world."

Li Linfu knew that if he took the initiative to speak up, he might still be able to save face.

If we really wait for Li Longji to speak, then there will probably be plenty of people who want to save face for him.

Speaking up first might save your life; otherwise, your entire clan might be wiped out.

Hearing Li Linfu's words, Li Longji breathed a sigh of relief.

However, such a light punishment is hardly enough to satisfy others!

Dr. Li stepped forward again and declared eloquently, "For the crime of failing the imperial examination alone, such a punishment is sufficient."

"However, he has committed five major crimes and cannot go unpunished. I beseech Your Majesty to make a wise decision."

Li Longji also took the opportunity to retaliate, severely punishing Li Linfu, ordering him to be punished for six crimes, demoting him to a commoner, confiscating his family property, removing him from the imperial family genealogy, exiling his entire clan ten thousand li away, and prohibiting his descendants from participating in the imperial examinations or serving as officials for three generations.

At the same time, all those involved in the imperial examination fraud case and the other five crimes were severely punished, and the three judicial departments were ordered to conduct a joint trial and punish them without leniency.

At the same time, outstanding scholars from the Imperial Academy were selected, new examination papers were prepared, and the current imperial examinations were held again, invalidating the results of the examinations influenced by Li Linfu.

Considering that many of the students taking the imperial examinations came from impoverished backgrounds, the imperial court provided them with accommodation and food until the end of the new imperial examination period.

At this moment, Wei Wen stepped forward, and the entire court fell silent.

"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."

Wei Wen slowly said, "I suggest adopting a system of anonymous grading. After the exam, candidates should cover their names with their names and write their numbers on them. Then, someone should copy the exam papers for the examiners to review, in order to prevent cheating."

"At the same time, it can also restore the candidates' confidence in the imperial court and prove the fairness of the imperial examination."

The students of the Imperial Academy were all delighted and applauded.

Li Longji nodded slightly in agreement.

When the news spread, the students of the entire capital cheered with joy. The treacherous minister had fallen, and the bright and clear sky of the Tang Dynasty had returned.

Furthermore, the system of anonymous grading and the practice of copying official records ensured the fairness of the imperial examinations; he truly lived up to the reputation of the Prince of Yan.

At the same time, news also broke about Li Bai's identity. Many students never expected that Li Bai, a disciple of the Prince of Yan, would be taking the imperial examination with them.

They were actually born in the same year as the Prince of Yan's disciples, which was quite an extraordinary relationship.

In previous years, poor students who took the imperial examinations in the same year would often stick together and support each other.

Therefore, even in the Tang Dynasty, peer relationships had already been established among students from poor families.

They flocked to Li Bai's residence to pay their respects. Li Bai had long anticipated the uproar that would ensue once his identity was exposed, so he led Du Fu and others away from Luoyang early on to avoid the turmoil and return when the imperial examinations began.

When the students arrived at Li Bai's residence, they discovered that Li Bai was not in Luoyang, and returned home disappointed.

At Li Longji's behest, the doctors of the Imperial Academy jointly prepared a new set of examination papers.

As per Li Longji's request, this examination paper emphasized substance over abstract concepts, with most of the questions being practical and highly applicable.

At the same time, many etiquette and morality questions were added to prevent the recurrence of officials like Li Linfu.

After discussion, the doctors unanimously decided that the last question on the exam paper should be about Li Linfu's six major crimes.

This effectively cemented Li Linfu's place on the pillar of shame.

When the exam questions were presented to Li Longji, his face twitched, but he did not object. Apart from this one question, Li Longji felt that the exam questions were indeed of a very high standard.

He still agreed to use this exam paper as the test question.

He also ordered that future imperial examination papers should be jointly prepared by officials of the Ministry of Rites, doctors of the Imperial Academy, and doctors of the Yanzhou Academy, and submitted directly to the emperor for review, with no one allowed to interfere during the process.

After the emperor approved the examination papers, a new round of imperial examinations began in earnest.

After receiving the news, Li Bai's men all returned to the capital and participated in the imperial examinations again.

However, Li Bai used his real name this time, and his identity had already been exposed, so there was no point in hiding his identity anymore.

Several days later, Li Bai, Du Fu, and others met again in front of the imperial examination hall, but this time their expressions were completely different from before.

"The difficulty of this imperial examination was just right, and the questions were also normal, especially the last question, which I really liked."

Yuan Jie laughed heartily, seemingly extremely satisfied with his exam performance.

Du Fu and Gao Shi smiled, clearly quite satisfied with the first question.

"We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's hurry and get out of the city first."

The imperial examinations had just ended, and the students who had just left the examination hall were looking around, trying to find out who Li Bai was.

"Indeed, let's go quickly."

A group of people took advantage of the fact that everyone had just left the examination room and fled in a disheveled state.

Some people noticed their departing figures and wondered why these people weren't waiting for Li Bai to appear. By the time they realized that Li Bai was among them, the group had already gone far away.

"Gentlemen!"

Suddenly, several servants shouted loudly towards the group of examinees, attracting everyone's attention.

"I am a servant of the Li family. I am acting on the orders of my young master to book a banquet in the restaurants surrounding the examination hall to entertain all of you fellow students."

"If you are free, you are welcome to come and participate."

"Is your young master perhaps Brother Taibai?"

Someone nearby immediately asked.

"It is indeed my young master!"

The servant nodded, his face beaming with pride.

The students' eyes lit up. They had thought they wouldn't have this opportunity because Li Bai had avoided them before, but they never expected to be able to meet him.

Although there were so many people present, it was impossible for everyone to talk to Li Bai, but as long as they participated, they could tell others that they were classmates with Li Bai and had eaten and drunk together.

It's a great source of pride to talk about them; even the local county magistrate would look up to them.

If I get into a high school and enter a government department in the future, I can use this experience to gain favor with my superiors. At the very least, no one will dare to cheat me because of my background.

After all, those people couldn't guarantee whether they really knew Li Bai, or even if they had only met briefly and exchanged a few words.

Some even fantasize that if they could win Li Bai's favor through eloquent conversation at a banquet, they could rise to prominence overnight.