Xu Bin and Tang Fan only met for the first time, not to mention that they had never communicated before. Even if there were grievances and grievances, even if he was a businessman, no matter how rich he was, he would not dare to face the court officials in person, and he still slapped his face and stumbled.
Fan Zhifu had previously introduced that Xu Bin was a relative of the right servant of the Nanjing Ministry of Officials, and the relationship was a bit far away. If anyone and Mr. XX were from the same country and from the same family, they could have a relationship because of this, then anyone could talk about it. Tiger skin has become a big banner, so Tang Fan guessed that Xu Bin's identity might be something else.
Sure enough, Ji Min's words solved his doubts: "Xu Bin's original backer was Chen Zhi, the minister of households in Nanjing, but after Chen Zhi's retirement, it is said that he gave up most of his family wealth and directly relied on the relationship on the capital side to enter the city. In the eyes of Wan Shoufu, he directly gave him all the Yanyin from Jiangxi in the next three years."
After speaking, he shook his head and said half-jokingly, "Everyone said that the reason why Chen Zhi was unlucky was because of you. You forced Xu Bin to donate most of his wealth to Wan Shoufu. Do you think he would hate you?"
Tang Fan was stunned: "So that's the case, I said how he looked at me, the look in his eyes was as if he owed me tens of thousands of taels and he still couldn't get along with me everywhere, trying to embarrass me, so it turned out that he was relying on the big tree like Wan'an. Tree, no wonder there is no fear!"
Ji Min: "Yes, Runqing, although you don't have to be afraid of him now, but it's better not to provoke this kind of villain. If you offend a gentleman, people will at best scold you face to face. If you offend the villain, the other party will It will only give you shade from behind."
Tang Fan: "What do you mean, the case I want to investigate this time is probably also related to Xu Bin?"
Ji Min: "I don't know that. But there is one thing. On the eve of the academy exam, Xu Bin's son Xu Sui had an argument with the deceased scholar Lin Zhen in the academy. They were both scholars who participated in the academy exam this year. After the list was revealed, Lin Zhen was in the top 20, but Xu Sui was not."
This is a very important clue. Tang Fan pondered: "How did you find out about the quarrel?"
Ji Min shook his head: "The Bailuzhou Academy where they are located is the most famous academy in Ji'an, and it can spread to the streets and alleys with a little bit of trouble. At that time, things were a little big, and there were fights on both sides. I almost rushed to stop it. It is said that later The president of the academy came out and calmed it down, otherwise if the trouble came to me, the faces of the scholars would be disgraceful, and it might even affect their career and career prospects."
Tang Fan said: "I see, what you said is very useful, thank you, it's getting late, so I'll make you rest here for the night tonight."
Ji Min chuckled: "What's wrong with me, this official station is still arranged by me, I still have a lot of things to talk to you about, why don't you and I just fall asleep tonight?"
Before Tang Fan could speak, Lu Lingxi, who was mute beside him, responded faster than anyone else: "Brother Tang, my wound hurts!"
He didn't say a word just now, and most of his body was leaning on Tang Fan. Tang Fan thought he was asleep, but this sentence came out unexpectedly, which was really shocking.
Tang Fan turned his head and glared at him: "Go back and rest if the wound hurts."
Lu Lingxi laughed and said, "Brother Tang, can you send me back, please, I can't walk anymore."
Tang Fan is someone who is soft but not hard. If you stand tall, he won't necessarily accept you, but if you are soft-spoken, he may compromise.
Sui Zhou had already figured out his temper, but now there is another person who has figured out his temper. If Sui Zhenfu made him know from afar, he would not know how he would feel.
Ji Min chuckled: "Young Master Lu is not too young, why is he still a childish temperament, no wonder Runqing said that he treats you as a younger brother!"
His words made Lu Lingxi very unhappy. As soon as the aristocratic son's temper came up, Lu Lingxi really couldn't go away. He still grabbed Tang Fan's sleeve and refused to let go. stance.
Ji Min didn't care when he saw it. He had seen all kinds of human feelings since he fell, and had seen the faces and temperaments of many people. Lu Lingxi's level didn't make him have any thoughts.
"Runqing, you are tired of running around all day, why don't I send Young Master Lu back!"
But Tang Fan said, "No need, thank you brother Ziming for your kindness. I'll send Yiqing back. You can rest. Let's talk tomorrow."
When he said that, Ji Min couldn't say anything else, nodded and smiled, "That's fine too."
The three of them lived in the same yard, and they were only a few steps away. Lu Lingxi was injured and could come over to listen to Tang Fan and Ji Min chatting. There was no reason why he couldn't walk even a few steps. Tang Fan knew what he might have. If he wanted to tell himself, he obeyed his wishes and sent him all the way back to the house.
Lu Lingxi was actually very tired, but he still kept his spirits strong. As soon as he entered the room, he couldn't help leaning on the bed. Tang Fan looked a little distressed and guilty, and said, "If you have anything to say, you can't wait until tomorrow. If you were obedient to sleep here just now, you wouldn't be so tired."
Lu Lingxi showed him a tired smile: "I heard Eunuch Wang talk about the White Lotus Sect before, but I didn't take it seriously. I felt that you were surrounded by people like us, so you wouldn't be in trouble. Now I know it's a big mistake. A few unidentified thieves made us embarrassed at night. If there are a few more people, maybe you are now... Just thinking about it makes me scared, so I can't leave you alone now. place."
Tang Fan laughed: "This is an official post. Don't think about it blindly. It's right to be careful, but you can't be all grass and trees, otherwise how can you sleep at night?"
Lu Lingxi grabbed his sleeve and said, "Brother Tang, you can sleep here tonight, I have to watch you before I can rest assured, otherwise I will go to your house to keep vigil, you can choose by yourself, don't you have the heart to watch me here? Are you spending the night outside?"
Tang Fan really couldn't do anything about him: "Then go to my room, the bed should be bigger, you can't fit two people on this one."
Lu Lingxi snorted happily. He was ill a moment ago, but now he jumped up from the bed as if he had never been hurt.
Tang Fan: "..."
Although it is June now, it is not very hot at night, and the bed is covered with a cool mat, which is very refreshing. If the two men lie on it, it is just right.
But Lu Lingxi didn't know how excited he was. After lying down, he couldn't help twisting around, like a caterpillar, Tang Fan had to stretch out his hand to hold him down: "You sit with Shen Si at night, don't you? What did you find?"
When Lu Lingxi was reminded by him, he only remembered the business. He couldn't help but coughed lightly to cover up his guilty conscience, and then said, "I found out a bit. I think that Mr. Shen is really a big bastard."
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows: "How do you say?"
Lu Lingxi smiled and said, "I thought he was deliberately hiding his clumsiness when I saw his performance at the banquet, but after a few more sentences, I realized that he has used his identity as an old man to do things outside the past two years. It's a big mistake. No offense, constant minor mistakes, and lack of motivation in reading, Shen Kunxiu was so angry that he took his son wherever he went. If he was really hiding, there was no need to hide it from his own father, and he had been hiding it for so many years! "
Tang Fan shook his head: "Although Shen Kunxiu has an old-fashioned temperament, his knowledge is very good. Having such a son on the stall is also a sin in his previous life!"
The father was involved in the case, so he should avoid suspicion. The son also came out to the banquet in a grand manner, and he went to the banquet to welcome the imperial commissioner. Those who didn’t know it thought he was bribing the commissioner under his father’s order. If Shen Kunxiu knew about it, he would have pissed off.
With a son like this, it's no wonder that he has to take it with him to watch. If he doesn't take it with him, Shen Si may have some trouble.
Lu Lingxi smiled and said, "I'm about the same age as him. Do you think I'm much cuter than him, Big Brother Tang?"
Tang Fan rolled his eyes at him: "You're too low-level to compare yourself to Shen Si, or to compare with me anyway!"
Tang Fan was born to be gentle and handsome, and he couldn't match up with boys and girls at all. It was naturally impossible to cast a romantic and charming feeling if he lost his eyes, it was just a blank stare.
But in the eyes of the person he likes, he looks good no matter what, Lu Lingxi immediately pestered him and asked, "Brother Tang, tell me how you were when you were young!"
Tang Fan didn't answer: "Did you have an arm injury or a head injury? Why do you look like you're suddenly a dozen years younger, and you're still acting like a coquettish fool, it's getting late, hurry up and go to bed, if you don't honest!"
After that, he turned his back to Lu Lingxi.
Lu Lingxi wanted to put his hand on someone's waist, but he was afraid that Tang Fan would turn his face in anger. .
Silent all night.
Tang Fan didn't get up early the next day. After all, there was an assassination incident last night, and he had to toss for most of the night before falling asleep, but when he got up, he heard from the official station that Fan Zhifu came to visit and was waiting outside to see him.
Fan Zhifu had been waiting for most of the morning, afraid of waking Tang Fan, so he didn't let anyone tell him until Tang Fan woke up by himself.
Seeing that Tang Fan came in neatly dressed, he quickly got up and saluted, "I'm here to meet your lord."
"Fan Zhifu doesn't need to be polite." Tang Fan said, "Why don't people wake me up if something happens?"
Fan Zhifu laughed dryly, how dare he: "Xiaguan is here, he is here to plead guilty! After the adult was assassinated in the street last night, Xiaguan was shocked, and together with Tan Qianhu, he searched all parts of the city overnight, and now he has sent people to step up. After the search is complete, we will be able to find those gangsters soon!”
Having said that, he himself knew that the chance of finding someone was very slim. He couldn't catch it on the spot last night. If he wanted to catch it now, it would be very troublesome. If the assassin had other identities to cover up, the officers and soldiers would definitely be searching for it. They will only go to the homes of ordinary people to search, so they will miss many clues, which is tantamount to looking for a needle in a haystack.
As a local official, Fan Zhifu is indeed responsible for this matter, but Tang Fan has personally experienced the power of those assassins. The other party is obviously prepared, and he can retreat completely, as long as they have a place to live in the city , when the time comes to hide inside, and when it is dawn, I will dress up as ordinary people and go out of the city. Who can find it
So Tang Fan didn't hold Fan Zhifu too much responsible, but said: "Fan Zhifu doesn't need to blame himself, you have fulfilled your responsibility for this matter, and no one expected this matter, so you don't need to mention it, but it will be necessary in the future. Be careful, this kind of thing, I don't want to have a second time."
Fan Zhifu was trembling: "My lord has taught me that, the lower official knows his mistake! Your lord, all of your subordinates have been injured this time, and the lower official especially borrowed a few neat soldiers from Tan Qianhu for the sake of the lord. Send, what do you think?"
His character and behavior are completely different from Chen Luan. Chen Luan relied on his backing to ignore Tang Fan at all, while Fan Zhifu was afraid that he would be blamed by the imperial commissioner and then be blamed by the imperial commissioner. Do your best to curry favor, lest you be served poorly.
Tang Fan thought for a while, and now the four people Wang Zhi gave him have two serious injuries, and the manpower around him has dropped sharply. "
Shangguan was willing to accept his kindness, and he didn't show any intention to pursue it. Fan Zhifu was very happy and secretly wiped off his sweat by the way: "This is the post of the lower official, it should be, it should be!"
After Fan Zhifu left, Lu Lingxi came in: "Brother Tang, the people that Fan Zhifu called are all soldiers in the army. No matter how good they are, they are limited. It is estimated that no matter how many they call, they will not be able to match me!"
Tang Fan: "Aren't you resting, why are you up again?"
Lu Lingxi said with a smile: "You're already up, I can't sleep anywhere, I said, I'll follow you wherever you go, otherwise how can I protect you, like what happened last night, I don't want to do it again It's gone!"
His face was a little pale, but he was in good spirits. The young man recovered quickly and his injuries were lighter than Xi Ming and the others. As long as he didn't move the injured arm, there was generally no problem.
"Young Master Lu is right!" Xi Ming and Han Jin walked in from the outside and took Lu Lingxi's words. They were the least injured of the four last night. "My lord, that group of people failed to succeed last night, and they will definitely make a comeback. You can't have no one by your side."
Tang Fan frowned: "But your injuries..."
Xi Ming smiled casually: "There is no internal injury, and you can still walk and run, you don't have to worry!"
Since they insisted this way, Tang Fan couldn't object anymore: "Then, after breakfast, Xi Ming and Han Jin will follow me to see Shen Kunxiu, Yi Qing, you can ask Fan Zhifu for Lin Zhen's body, and then find Zu Zuo. Carefully examine the cause of death."
Lin Zhen was the scholar who committed suicide by hanging himself and wrote a blood letter before his death.
If this case is not found out in one day, it will not be possible to re-run the hospital examination in one day, because the case also involves more than a dozen other students' talents and fame. If the suspicion of cheating is confirmed, then Lin Zhen's death is a vain death. Even if they committed suicide out of fear of crime, it was impossible for those dozen or so people to recover their fame. If it turned out that Shen Kunxiu rudely concluded the case, made a wrongful conviction, and that the scholars did not cheat, then Shen Kunxiu's career would be over.
This is a very simple proposition, and how to break the case now is entirely in Tang Fan's hands.
If you change to another official, even if you don't have a guilty conscience, you will definitely try to get close to Tang Fan now, lest Tang Fan become angry because he was neglected, and directly tilt towards the scholar, but Shen Kunxiu is not. From yesterday to now, he has not at all. He never showed up, and he didn't even ask anyone to come over to greet Tang Fan.
I don't know if it's because I'm too open in my heart, or I'm too arrogant.
Xi Ming and Han Jin agreed, but Lu Lingxi was reluctant: "Brother Tang, why don't I exchange with Xi Ming and the others?"
Tang Fan patted his head: "Be obedient."
Lu Lingxi pursed his mouth invisibly and calmed down.
When visiting the door, you must submit a post first, but Tang Fan is an imperial envoy, so he doesn't have to be restricted by this rule. He directly brings Xi Ming and Han Jin to the place where Shen Kunxiu is staying.
There are two official posts in the city, Tang Fan and the others live in one of them, and there is another one, which is now lived by Shen Kunxiu.
Shen Kunxiu, who studied politics in Jiangxi Province, was resident in the yamen in Nanchang.
He is so troubled by the case now that he doesn't go out easily. When Tang Fan went, he was naturally there.
Both of them are third-grade, because of Tang Fan's identity, Shen Kunxiu had to give him a special half-salutation, but Tang Fan didn't refuse. After sitting down with each other, he didn't even talk nonsense, and he asked straight to the point, "I'm new here, what's wrong with this? This case only comes from imperial newspapers and hearsays, please Shen Xuetai repeat it from beginning to end."
Shen Kunxiu started talking, in fact, this matter is not complicated.
Since the Tang Dynasty used the imperial examinations to recruit scholars, some people began to cheat in order to take advantage of opportunities. In this dynasty, it has developed to the peak of the peak. Many candidates do everything they can to achieve fame. Hiding things under the feet is already too low-end. Not only is it easy to be discovered, but also the future will be ruined if it is discovered, so many smart people have come up with a way to cheat from the source - to buy the reviewers.
Markers are also human beings. People have emotions and desires, and naturally they will have weaknesses. However, after the Song Dynasty, the test papers were re-transcribed before they were sent to the marker, let alone impossible to recognize from the handwriting. If you come out, even your name will be blocked. Only after the results are out, the name will be unsealed, so tell the judges your name in advance, and then let them choose yourself. This method is useless unless you can Get exam questions directly from the examiner.
However, there are talents in Jiangshan, and a new cheating method will be available soon. That is to make an appointment with the examiner in advance for a password. Just like this time in the academy exam, "Dacheng Ye" is a password. Put it into the paper, and when the reviewer sees these three words, he will understand: This is the secret code that has been agreed long ago, and this paper is to be selected.
This exam is a typical cheating by password, but Shen Kunxiu didn't realize it beforehand. He has presided over many exams, and Ji'an Mansion is just one of them. There is nothing surprising at all. After all the scores of the test papers were ranked, he only read the first few, and swept over them with a glance and ten lines. He felt that there was no problem, so he agreed to publish the list. Unexpectedly, something big happened.
Including the dead Lin Zhen, a total of 16 people had the word "Dacheng Ye" appearing in their papers. Shen Kunxiu asked the examiners to no avail, so he gathered all the 16 people together and re-examined the school. The result was He found that there were a lot of people who were exposed, and he believed that these sixteen people were not wronged, so he wanted to expel them from their positions and never hire them.
This was like a bolt from the blue for the scholars who had devoted their lives to fame and fortune, and that's why Lin Zhen committed suicide by hanging.
After listening to Tang Fan, he asked, "Since Shen Xuetai has re-examined the sixteen students, must they all keep their papers?"
Shen Kunxiu: "I do keep it."
Tang Fan: "Can you take a look?"
The papers are important evidence, and Shen Kunxiu must keep them well.
He immediately found it, and showed Tang Fan the papers of the sixteen people during the academy exam.
Tang Fan took a look and asked, "Shen Xuetai, Lin Zhen's two exams are about the same level, and there isn't much difference. Even if you take a temporary exam later, it's not much worse. It can be seen that it should be made by true talents and practical learning. article."
Shen Kunxiu said: "Otherwise, although the two questions before and after are not far apart, it does not mean that he did not cheat, the word 'Dacheng also' did appear in the previous paper, which shows that he should have been thinking about it at the time. By chance, I thought that with these three words, there would be an extra guarantee, but who knew it happened."
Of course, this also makes sense. It cannot be said that Shen Kunxiu is wrong, but if other academic officials encounter this situation, after the second examination, if they find that the candidates are of similar level, they will generally choose to let those candidates go. Unless it is the kind that really differs too much between the front and the rear, it will be dismissed, otherwise it will turn a blind eye.
Because nowadays public opinion is decided by the scholar-officers, and the scholar-officers are all scholars who come here. The emperor seems to be aloof and only me. In fact, he does not govern the world alone, but together with the civil service group, so it is necessary to treat scholars relatively more Be forgiving.
There was an anecdote in a certain place. In that year, because of the disaster, the number of people who participated in the college examination was much lower than in previous years. In the end, the number of middle-aged talents was also much more than in previous years. Only five people failed the list. I signed a joint letter and asked the examiner to admit the five rejected candidates, so that they could have a good talk. The examiner thought it was reasonable, so he also admitted the remaining five candidates. Later This matter was circulated in Shilin, and no one said that the examiner did something wrong, but they all praised it.
Therefore, Shen Kunxiu's behavior was a little too harsh compared to the behavior of ordinary academic officials.
Of course, it cannot be said that he is wrong, because as he said, those 16 people are indeed suspicious, and there may be some people who could pass the test with their real skills, but feel that they have a cipher mark and pass the test. The chances will be greater, so I followed suit, but I didn't expect that I would make myself miserable.
Tang Fan came here to investigate the case. In fact, there are two main points of investigation: one is whether the sixteen people should be dismissed together, and the other is whether the cause of Lin Zhen's death was forced by Shen Kunxiu.
He said: "After I came to Ji'an, I heard some rumors related to Shen Xuetai."
Shen Kunxiu frowned: "What rumor?"
Tang Fan said, "I heard that Lin Zhen's father had some personal grudges with Shen Xuetai?"
"What nonsense!" Shen Kunxiu's reaction was very excited, he slapped the table directly, "Who made a statement in front of Tang Yushi, Lin Zhen and others are guilty of cheating, the evidence of cheating is conclusive, I deposed Lin Zhen and others, really out of The public heart, how can there be any slander!"
Seeing that his face was flushed with excitement, Tang Fan said, "Shen Xuetai doesn't need to be angry, even if it's a rumor, I should ask about the responsibility. Also, after the list was revealed, the person who spread the cheating was also suspicious. , has Shen Xuetai investigated this aspect?"
Shen Kunxiu really never went to the person who spread the rumors of cheating. When he knew the news, things were already very big, and he was too busy to put out the fire. How could he still be in the mood to find the person who started the fire
Hearing Tang Fan's question, he said with a dark face, "No!"
Tang Fan asked again, "Then Shen Xuetai asked those graders again, how did they explain how they cheated with the examinees?"
Shen Kunxiu said, "I've asked, but they won't admit it."
Tang Fan frowned. Did they refuse to admit it, or did you not ask carefully? Cheating alone is obviously impossible for the examinee to succeed, and the examiner must cooperate, otherwise, how would those cipher marks appear
Shen Kunxiu was very unhappy when he saw Tang Fan's frowning expression.
He asked himself that there was nothing wrong in handling this matter, but because Lin Zhen's death broke out, he became the target of public criticism. Now that the imperial government has sent an imperial messenger to investigate, he has nothing to say. He just saw Tang Fan's age. Gently, with another tone of taking him as a prisoner, Shen Kun couldn't help but get angry.
Tang Fan: "Dare to ask Shen Xuetai, how many judges are there in this college exam, and what are their origins?"
Shen Kun Xiu said: "There are five people in total, all of them are the head of the academy in Ji'an House."
Tang Fan: "Then what about them now? I want to meet them."
Shen Kunxiu: "They all went back."
Tang Fan finally couldn't bear it any longer: "Since this case is involved, all of them are suspect. Shen Xuetai clearly knew that the imperial court was going to send people down to investigate the case and put them back. What's the point!"
Shen Kunxiu snorted: "If Censor Tang is not satisfied, you can call them back and ask them again!"
Tang Fan was especially annoyed by his uncooperative attitude. It was clearly you who screwed up this matter, but now he is still acting righteously. Who are you trying to scare!
His face sank: "I will report this matter!"
It means I'm going to sue you.
Who would have thought that Shen Kunxiu also said in a loud voice: "Listen to your honor!"
The conversation between the two broke up unhappily. Tang Fan was completely aware of Shen Kunxiu's temper. He didn't talk much, he got up and was about to leave with a flick of his sleeves, but he saw someone hurried in outside with a look of panic.
"Master, master, it's not good!"
When the other party saw Tang Fan, his voice stopped, but the expression on his face had not faded, and he looked very strange.
Seeing that the other party didn't say anything, Tang Fan knew that it was something he didn't want him to hear, and he was not interested in staying here, so he said "goodbye" to Shen Kunxiu, and walked away with Xi Ming and Han Jin.
Shen Kunxiu didn't even get up to see him off, and was still sitting there.
As soon as he left Shen Kunxiu's place, Xi Ming said to Tang Fan, "Sir, the expression of Shen Kunxiu's servant just now is a little wrong."
Tang Fan nodded, and he also noticed that the expression was too panicked, if it hadn't happened, it wouldn't have happened. "Go and find out what happened, and also, the five reviewers and some other scholars who participated in the cheating at that time also came over, I want to ask questions, you can go to Fan Zhifu, he dare not Not helpful."
Xi Ming responded one by one.
If there is a cheating plot, then there must be the participation of the reviewer, but Shen Kunxiu let the person go without saying a word, and it is difficult for people not to feel suspicious.
Shen Kunxiu made it clear that he would not cooperate, but Tang Fan didn't think that if he left him, nothing could be done.
Xi Ming received the order and immediately went to find Fan Zhifu. Tang Fan took Han Jin back to his accommodation, but Lu Lingxi had already returned.
"Brother Tang, Lin Fengyuan said that Lin Zhen's body has been buried."
The author has something to say:
small theater:
Tang Fan: Actually, I'm the protagonist. Wouldn't it be alright to have me
Wang Zhi: In these years, the beauty of incompleteness is popular. Like me, who has status, status, ideas and connotations, after a rough childhood, he came from a strong man who finally reached the top of his life... There are too few people, so everyone loves Eunuch Wang, understand
Sui Zhou: I just need one person to like me.
Tang Fan: ... (pretends to turn his head indifferently, but actually blushed quietly)