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Chapter 63: Qiao Family Banquet
Chapter 63: Qiao Family Banquet (Part 2)
King Jing sat at the top, and Princess Lu Yang sat next to him. The two drank tea happily, as if they were watching a play in a theater.Calm and relaxed, as if very calm in general.
The people standing next to the two were not so calm, especially Qiao Hongxi, who was fidgeting and looked very nervous at first glance, but Qiao Zeyu, although he was the protagonist, was calmer than anyone else.
Because he knew that he had indeed passed the exam based on his own real materials, and if he found something, it would only be framed by King Jing.
Pei Rongbai sat on the side, with no expression on his face, but in fact, there were countless thoughts in his heart, and he was constantly thinking about countermeasures - he had every reason to suspect that King Jing came here today with complete preparationsYou can tell by his confident and calm appearance, and the glance he gave Qiao Songyu just now was clearly aimed at him, so he must consider a perfect plan.
Taking a step back, if Song'er was really wronged, he would have to find him a more comfortable prison.
Just as he was thinking, a soldier came in holding a wooden box, cupped his hands and said:
"My lord, I found a locked wooden box in Qiao Zeyu's room."
"Oh?" King Jing looked at Qiao Zeyu and asked gently, "Second Master Qiao, is this box yours?"
"It's mine." Qiao Zeyu nodded without concealing anything, "This is for the students to store their own poems, and there are notes of inspiration for writing poems that students get occasionally, if you don't believe me, you can ask someone to open it and have a look."
"Okay, open it." Jing Dynasty waved his hands to his subordinates.
The soldier broke open the small lock with the handle of a knife in a simple and rude manner, then opened the box, took out all the notes inside, and presented it to King Jing.
King Jing held the notes in his hand, and flipped through them one by one, until he saw one of them, his face suddenly changed, and he became furious: "Qiao Zeyu, Qiao Songyu! You are so courageous!"
Qiao Zeyu and Qiao Songyu looked at each other, and looked at King Jing in surprise.
Pei Rongbai thought on the sidelines, if it really came, he knew that Mu Chengan was going to make a fuss about Qiao Songyu!
"Sure enough, there is fraud. Look at what it is!" King Jing turned over one of the notes, and faced the people with the written side, "'Four scripts, swaying', this is the topic of this year's palace examination!The inscription below is 'Di Songyu', Mr. Pei, you didn't give the test questions to your lady, did you?"
The blood on Qiao Songyu's face faded immediately, and his whole body was cold. He looked at Pei Rongbai, waiting for his answer, but he didn't know what kind of answer he wanted to hear from him.
"Of course not." Pei Rongbai was very calm, "The lower officials know that cheating in the imperial examination is a serious crime that affects the whole family, and my wife also knows it."
"In other words, it was Qiao Songyu who stole Prime Minister Pei's test questions and gave it to Qiao Zeyu?" Jing Wang Junmei's face was cold, and his phoenix eyes were like unsheathed daggers, staring straight at Qiao Songyu, as ifThe next moment he wanted to kill Qiao Songyu.
"I didn't!" Qiao Songyu retorted without hesitation. His beautiful face was full of arrogance. "My second brother is amazingly talented and full of knowledge. There is no need for me to steal the test questions for him! You are setting the blame!"
"Exactly!" Qiao Zeyu also retorted loudly, "Everyone in the capital knows my reputation as Qiao Erlang, why should I take such a big risk to do such a capital crime? Take ten thousand steps back, even if I reallyIf you want to cheat, there is absolutely no way for Song'er to steal the test questions for me!"
"Hmph, who knows?" King Jing snorted coldly and said mockingly, "Your Qiao family are lowly businessmen, so it's not difficult for you to come up with a champion. And you have no other way to steal it."Except for Mr. Pei's test questions, and Mr. Pei is so upright that he will never cheat, so Qiao Songyu can only steal the test questions for you, can't he?"
"No!" Qiao Rongyu stood up with a stern expression, "This note is not necessarily written by Songyu, even if it is signed by him, it can be forged, not to mention that if my second brother really wants to steal the test questions, Songer gave it to himAfter the test questions, why didn't he burn or destroy them, instead he hid them in this box? He knew that this was a death penalty for implicating the nine clans!"
At this time, Princess Lu Yang spoke, and she raised her red lips, disdainful: "Maybe he got carried away and forgot? Also, is the handwriting really Qiao Songyu's? When the time comes, the letters and poems that Qiao Songyu usually wrote, bring a pair and youβll know. Now, itβs not the time to talk about this.β
King Jing seemed to have been reminded, and immediately said: "Exactly, come here, arrest everyone in the Qiao family and put them in prison!"
"Wait a minute!" Pei Rongbai immediately took a step forward and said earnestly, "My lord, I'm afraid you won't be able to convince everyone by arresting people so rashly. With just this piece of paper, you can arrest the entire Qiao family and put them in the sky prison.It is the imperial merchant, and Qiao Songyu is my wife. If you arrest them like this and interrogate them where no one can see, it is very easy to cause torture. What's more, although the prince is in charge of this matter, this kind of matter is originally the responsibility of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Justice.The responsibilities of Dali Temple, and the prince did not discuss with them, and I am afraid that I am suspected of trespassing. If the prince really wants to do this, I am afraid that I will go to your majesty to discuss criminal laws and national laws with you!"
As he spoke, the minister of Dali Temple, who was having a wedding banquet at Qiao's mansion, immediately stepped forward and said, "My lord, Lord Prime Minister is right. This matter is too serious to act hastily. I suggest that the officials of the Criminal Department and Dali should be sent immediately."The officials of the temple were summoned together to open a trial in Jingzhao Mansion, so that we can convince the public and satisfy His Majesty."
As soon as his words fell, other officials also stood up and echoed.
Seeing this, Pei Rongbai and Qiao's family breathed a sigh of relief - if they were allowed to be taken away by King Jing, they would definitely suffer a lot, and I am afraid that the final result will be manipulated by King Jing and made public under the supervision of all officials.After the trial, there is still a turning point in this matter.
Qiao Songyu looked at Pei Rongbai who had a firm and resolute face, and discovered for the first time that Pei Rongbai was fully dedicated to the government, covering the sky with one hand, and had such functions...
King Jing, who was sitting at the top, was naturally unwilling, but with so many officials present, not to mention Pei Rongbai's power should not be underestimated, if he did not agree to him, it might be self-defeating at that time... What's more, he has already done everythingPrepare, even if there is a public trial, he still has the evidence to condemn all members of the Qiao family, including Qiao Songyu, to death for cheating in the imperial examination!
Thinking of this, he seemed reluctant, and said: "Well, since you ask so, let's do it."