Pei Yuanshao played with the jade beads in his hand, his round fingertips rolling them one by one, not raising his head as he chuckled lightly: “This question should be asked by me to the Marquis of Zhennan. I arrived at the palace later than the Marquis, and am not clear on the situation. The Marquis asking this now, could it be… could it be that you are feeling guilty and deliberately asking?”

“Your Highness, mind your words. In front of the Emperor, how can you deliberately slander an important court official without evidence!”

Jing Huan gave a meaningful look at Empress Mingxing, and seeing her unmoved, shrugged and lowered her head without saying more.

The power in the Auxiliary State Empress Consort’s hands had been growing over the past two years, but the principle that a country cannot have two masters applied to all dynasties.

Empress Mingxing was young, with a weak and indecisive character, hesitant and swaying in handling affairs.

But the Auxiliary State Empress Consort was good at using people, with far-sighted vision and deep, long-term planning.

In comparison, the difference was clear as day.

As a member of the Emotion Demon clan, Jing Huan understood human nature best.

Humans have seven emotions and six desires, and both power and interests can change people’s hearts.

At the moment, there was no rift between the Empress Consort and the Empress due to pressure from the court scholars.

But in the long run, the emperor’s heart of suspicion would surely grow.

Pei Yuanshao’s current overwhelming power would become the handle for his death in the future.

Even if he had seen through Emperor Yongtai’s plot and disguised himself as a young man with a blemish.

But this was not enough… As long as the Auxiliary State Empress Consort remained in court for a day, Empress Mingxing would eventually be unable to tolerate it… Competing with the sun and moon, Empress Mingxing had been reduced to dust in comparison.

A smile flashed in Jing Huan’s eyes as she sat upright in the red lacquered wooden chair, with a respectful expression.

The young emperor sitting on the throne, her eyes flickered.

The dazed expression was hidden in the shadows as she pursed her lips and slapped the table: “What kind of behavior is this noisy clamor! Listen to Grand Secretary Yang explain the circumstances first, then you can discuss later.”

With these words from the Empress, her voice still sounding young, but also showing some anger.

All the court officials who had been whispering in the imperial study fell silent.

Grand Secretary Yang coughed lightly and stepped out of line. She bowed to the Empress with her hands down, respectfully saying: “I request the Emperor’s permission to summon the Hanlin academicians who supervised the examination that day to the hall.”

The Empress nodded, and the guards waiting outside the imperial study escorted twenty Hanlin academicians in to kneel before the hall.

Grand Secretary Yang stepped forward and said slowly: “This old woman has been presiding over the grading of papers in recent days. While reviewing one candidate’s paper, I discovered this silver needle inside the case file.”

As she finished speaking, she took out a silk handkerchief from her bosom. When the handkerchief was opened, inside was a fine needle.

This needle was different from ordinary embroidery needles, being short and thin in shape, with a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing, almost transparent. If not carefully examined, it would be difficult to notice the silver needle’s existence.

The gazes of all the officials focused on the silver needle, their expressions complex.

“I don’t know if you have heard of the blowgun technique created by jianghu magicians. This old woman, untalented as I am, saw someone use a blowgun twenty years ago, capable of harming people from a distance. The silver needle in my hand is exactly the same as the fine needles used in blowguns.”

“This is assassination! Someone wanted to assassinate a fellow candidate…” The one who spoke was Cui Binghuan, Minister of Rites. She was now trembling with anger.

The spring examination of the Jin Feng Dynasty was usually handled by the Ministry of Rites. As the Minister of Rites, the construction of the examination hall and the drafting of all supervising officials passed through her hands. If something went wrong with this metropolitan examination, she would inevitably be the first to bear the blame.

Cold sweat dripped down Minister Cui’s back as she looked up at Grand Secretary Yang, urgently asking: “Have you found out who did this?”

Grand Secretary Yang, hunched over, raised her eyes and carelessly swept a glance at her, calmly denying: “Minister Cui’s guess is incorrect. This is not assassination. What was smeared on the silver needle is ‘Nine Days Down’, a drug that causes those affected to fall into a deep sleep for nine days. However, there is no danger to life! This old woman guesses that someone’s intention was not to take a life, but to… secretly plot for the candidate to sleep for nine days in the examination hall, fail the exam, and cut off their official career. The candidate in question must have blocked someone’s path!”

After Grand Secretary Yang finished speaking, her cloudy eyes looked straight at Lord Zhou in the crowd.

Zhou Zheng’s thick eyebrows rose high, her hot temper flaring up as she stepped out of line and raised her voice to question: “Why is the Grand Secretary looking at me? Could it be that you suspect this was done by the Marquis of Dingyan’s household? What a joke! We of the Zhou family have always conducted ourselves properly, how could we engage in such despicable actions? Moreover, the examination papers have not yet been opened, and we don’t even know who the victim is. How can you make baseless accusations without any evidence?”

Grand Secretary Yang remained noncommittal. She lowered her eyelids and replied neither lightly nor heavily: “This one certainly trusts in the Marquis’s character. However, if my guess is correct, the student who was harmed today – if they fail the examination, the biggest beneficiary would be your eldest daughter.”

“You, you, you…” The Marquis of Dingyan trembled with anger, her eyes wide with rage, her words stammering.

Grand Secretary Yang lifted her eyelids, her eyes flashing with sharp light, but she didn’t give Zhou Zheng a chance to speak.

She continued coldly: “This old woman would not make baseless guesses without evidence. I was the chief examiner for the metropolitan examination. During the nine days of the exam, I had to be fully aware of all situations regarding the candidates. Speaking of which, during those nine days in the examination hall, a strange thing happened – one candidate slept for eight consecutive days. When a candidate sleeps during the metropolitan examination, it’s either because the questions are too difficult to answer or… Can you guess who this person was?”

Grand Secretary Yang paused, swept her gaze over everyone, drawing all eyes, then said: “This person is Liu Changning from a humble family! All scholars in the world know that Liu Cang Yun is extraordinarily talented, with brilliant literary skills. She is a hot favorite for this year’s top scholar, and the exam questions should not be difficult for her. But she slept for eight consecutive days in the examination hall, how can this not arouse suspicion? With today’s discovery of the silver needle while grading papers, this old woman has roughly guessed. But as the Marquis of Dingyan said, these are all conjectures, without evidence. To avoid dispute and ensure fairness and justice in the examination, I trouble you all to open the case files with me, to see the name of this victimized candidate, and investigate who has interfered with the examination rules set by our ancestors.”

“According to the Grand Secretary’s words, that famous first scholar from a humble background, Liu Cang Yun, was most likely the candidate who was secretly harmed during the metropolitan examination a few days ago!” The officials lowered their heads and whispered, inquiring.

Grand Secretary Yang neither confirmed nor denied. She was about to speak.

Suddenly, two “screech” sounds came from above. The red lacquered wooden chairs were pulled back from behind. The friction on the ground made a harsh noise, with two sounds of dragging wooden chairs occurring one after another, abrupt and sharp.

All the court officials looked up in response, and saw the Auxiliary State Empress Consort and the Marquis of Zhennan standing up one after another, walking down to the hall.

“Open the case files!” Jing Huan ordered with a dark face, her eyes spitting the surging waves before a storm.

Pei Yuanshao stood beside Jing Huan. He narrowed his eyes, sweeping a glance over everyone, curled his lips, and flashed a cold smile at the Marquis of Dingyan not far away.

Others might not know, but he did. That day when Liu Changning came out of the examination hall, she fainted on the ground, her face drained of color. Thinking about it now, it must have been due to the effects of the anesthetic!

Nine Days Down! Well done. Having slept for a full eight days, even if she were an immortal in the mortal world, she definitely couldn’t have finished the three exam subjects!

Even if the silver needle plot was discovered tonight, if the real culprit pushed out a scapegoat, they could still deceive everyone without anyone knowing.

But she slept for eight days, her exam paper blank…

The metropolitan examination had ended days ago. The most the court could do for her was to find the culprit and silence the gossip.

How could the results of nearly a thousand scholars in the triennial metropolitan examination be invalidated because of one person’s victimization?

If she wanted to enter officialdom, she would have to wait another three years.

The schemer had planned meticulously, considering multiple aspects!

Pei Yuanshao crushed the white jade beads in his hand, raised his hand and blew away the remaining powder.