Seeing the other party's face turn the color of liver, not knowing whether it was anger or shame, Wei Tingyu felt that it was not normal enough, "I heard that you have the talent to be the first place in the imperial examination, but your words are quite radical, which is not suitable for the current Qi Dynasty. It would be better if you could be more steady and cautious, so I slightly suppressed your ranking. I did this originally.
I still feel a little guilty, thinking that maybe I shouldn't judge you based on some written stuff. I also want to take a good look at you during the palace examination. If he misunderstood, then you will definitely get a lot of honor.
In fact, Master Wenren was not wrong about you, and he really was wrong about you, wasn't he? "
Inadvertently noticing the bulging blue veins on the back of his hand due to clenching his hand tightly, Wei Tingyu did not comment, and then announced the punishment given by Emperor Xuanren in a bland manner, "Thank you for your Majesty's mercy. If it were someone else, it would be at least ten years." After saying this, he turned away.
At the back, some of the grown men were in a daze, some couldn't stop crying, some were cursing hysterically, and some even banged their heads against the wall. Outside the prison, the Kaiping guards were all indifferent, with a hint of mockery in their eyes. They opened the prison door and said, "You can be released now, leave quickly."
Before today, they were still thinking about getting out early, but now, many people did not move. No matter what attitude they showed, there was an atmosphere of dejection and despair.
The people of Kaiping Guards had no patience to wait for them, and they drove them out in the same way they had captured them before.
There were naturally not many people outside the Kaiping Wei Prison, not least because most people were taboo about this place and would not easily set foot in it. Also, of course, it was because they did not know that these people would be released from prison today, and when they came out, they did not know where to go for a while.
After a moment, someone suddenly covered his face and left. It was obvious that he knew what he would face next. But no one had the nerve to stay in the imperial city any longer. It would be better to go back and pack up and leave early while others were still looking at the list.
However, since they wanted to be taught a profound lesson, how could such an idea come true? When Wei Tingyu entered the Kaiping Wei Prison, the punishment results of these people had already been spread out. Now that they had gone back to pack their things, they were still the objects of everyone's attention and criticism.
—Seriously speaking, none of the people who caused the trouble this time grew up in the Kaiping Imperial City.
When it comes to Wenren Taibo's being cleared of the injustice done to him, besides his own people being very happy, another group of people were also very happy. They were those people from Lindu Prefecture who had "passed the test" under Xiaocao. They were grateful for everything Xiaocao had done. They had participated in matters related to the epidemic and knew very well how many people Xiaocao had saved.
When that scholar, who was also from Lindu Prefecture in the past, stepped forward as the "whistleblower", they did not believe a word he said. Normally, people from the same place would help each other, but they hated that man to death. After the incident, they were the first people to unite to fight against the rumors. The fight was unprecedentedly intense. Quarrels were common and they even fought. But now that the truth was out, they all felt proud and no longer cared whether they were on the list or not.
"Just say that Lord Wenren and Princess Anguo are not that kind of people, and that there are villains behind the scenes slandering them."
"Your Majesty is wise and did not let those evil villains succeed."
It's not that no one has suspected that it was Emperor Xuanren who did this because Princess Anguo was shielding Wenren Taibo. However, no one dared to say it out loud. In fact, because of Emperor Xuanren's words, some private discussions completely disappeared, and no one was muttering about anything anymore. Even as the instigator of this incident, he did not dare to continue to sow discord and incite the emotions of many candidates and the people to cause trouble. Emperor Xuanren had already spoken clearly, but if you still dare to continue to stroke the tiger's whiskers, I would be really looking for death. No matter who is caught, there will be no good ending.
Those who wanted to argue with the candidates from Lindu Prefecture could not hold back the words when they thought of the fate of those troublemakers. They were all glad that they did not get involved. Some of them were actually timid, so at this time they confidently stated that they knew something was going on and that was why they did not get involved. It was indeed a wise decision.
Then in the morning, several people shook their heads and expressed their regret to someone and someone else. After all, they were favored before the exam, but even if they passed the exam, they were expelled.
It is hard to say how many people truly expressed regret, but there were a total of 167 people causing trouble, and among them, there were at least dozens who could have passed the exam. After they were eliminated, dozens of places were left vacant. Some candidates who were originally unsure and felt that their chances were in jeopardy could not help but feel excited and nervous, wondering if they would be admitted as supplementary candidates.
Then the topic shifted to the next imperial edict. Some people were still discussing with great interest who would be the first place this time, while those who were more confident responded humbly to the compliments of others, but were actually thinking about their possible ranking in their hearts.
The time had arrived, and the sound of gongs shook the sky. The crowds surrounding the imperial edict, as well as the people waiting in the surrounding restaurants and teahouses, became agitated and stretched their necks to look.
People in the imperial city are no strangers to this kind of atmosphere. Even if it has nothing to do with them, some people like to get together, occupy a good position, and then happily help call out other people's names. This year's imperial list is obviously different from previous years. Although the fate of those troublesome candidates was already known before, they did not expect that it would be posted. This is after the execution, they will be publicly executed again!
Therefore, the first and second place did not attract as much attention, and everyone's eyes fell on the names that were crossed out on the list. Some people felt regretful, some gloated, and some were indifferent, but it was destined to become a topic of conversation for a long time.
However, those who should be called out were called out, and those who should announce the good news were announced. Those who passed the exam laughed out loud, some cried with joy, and some even fainted from excitement. Of course, there were also many who cried in disappointment because they failed.
The happiest people here were probably those who were admitted as additional students. There were as many as fifty or sixty of them. Some people even said sourly that they were just lucky.
However, as long as they pass the exam, who cares about this? Sometimes luck is also a kind of strength. If they encounter something that others don’t, then it means that it is theirs. If someone feels ashamed or even humiliated because of this, then he is a fool.
It should be noted that the 300 candidates selected in the joint examination will all take part in the palace examination, and in the end they will at least be ranked as Jinshi. There is no such thing as failing the palace examination.
Although very few people can rise to the top in the officialdom even after entering it, as long as you are in, it is an opportunity, which is naturally completely different from those who cannot even step into the threshold.
From this point of view, the dozens of people who were admitted should seem to thank the people who caused trouble. Of course, this is just thought.
The candidates congratulated each other and looked quite reserved, obviously trying hard to suppress their inner joy.
"So the results of this examination are still a bit watered down." Someone said in a corner.
The people around him hurriedly told him to be careful with his words.
Although this actually means that the overall 300 tribute students are weaker than before, if it is distorted by someone with ulterior motives, it might even be linked to "fraud". Now that the situation has finally been settled, it would be better not to cause trouble again.
"Hey, look, isn't that Gao Han?" someone suddenly exclaimed.
Gao Han's name is definitely more famous now than this year's champion, because he was originally the third place.
"No, no..."
Many people stretched their necks to look for Gao Han, and more and more people noticed him.
"They were released from prison? But they actually came to see the imperial edict. Did they really think that nothing would happen to them after walking out of prison? Is this arrogance or self-righteousness?"
"Maybe he already knows. The guards may have told him a long time ago. Now, maybe he just doesn't believe it and has to see it with his own eyes?"
But who knows
Some people even wanted to step forward and ridicule him, but when they met his red eyes and were looked at gloomily, their scalps tingled unconsciously. They cursed in a low voice and finally walked away.
Gao Han stood in front of the imperial edict, looking at his own name that had been crossed out, and clenched his fists.