"Lord Lin!" Cai Quan smiled kindly and walked towards Lin Kun, who was working in Dali Temple. Over forty years old, slender and long, with a wide forehead and horse face, and a pair of slender and narrow eyes, compared with Cai Quan, who is elegant and graceful, Lin Kun looks a lot more philistine.

"It's Cai Xiang!" Lin Kun hurriedly walked out of the mansion to meet him, "I didn't expect Cai Xiang to come so early", and accompanied Cai Quan towards the inner hall as he spoke.

"Cai Xiang, please, this fraud case was handed over to Dali Temple and the Criminal Department to cooperate, and Dali Temple must be doing their best to live up to the emperor's grace!"

With Lord Lin's words, the old man was relieved. I have long heard that Lord Lin is upright and fair, and it is very appropriate for this case to be handed over to Dali Temple. ”

"Cai Xiang has won the award, and if Cai Xiang can be in charge of this case, the lower officials will be much more down-to-earth!"

Dali Temple is in charge of the review of serious cases, and the buildings are all in cold colors such as gray and black, which makes people feel depressed. But few people know that there is a small courtyard with a good scenery in the back hall of Dali Temple, full of green plants and gloomy vitality, and Lin Kun accompanies Cai Quan to sit here.

"Come on, serve tea!"

After a while, a person who looked like a non-commissioned officer served two teas, a teapot and two teacups were in the shape of lotus flowers, fresh and elegant, antique, Lin Kun personally placed the teacup in front of Cai Quan, "This tea is called Foqing, although it is not precious, but there is a cool and sweet feeling in the aftertaste." ”

"The old man of this tea has also heard that it is produced on the top of the Buddha of the Green Mountain, and it is picked in March and April every year, and it is also a good curative effect on throat diseases." Cai Quan raised his hand to pick up the tea cup, gently pushed open the tea lid, put it on the tip of his nose to sniff, and took a small sip.

"What Cai Xiang said is extremely true!" Lin Kun raised his hand and poured tea into the already empty teacup again.

"It would be nice if you and I could still drink tea so leisurely after this case is over." Cai Quan seemed to be talking to himself, and his eyes kept watching the tumbling ups and downs of the tea leaves in the tea cup.

Lin Kun, who had just withdrawn his hand, paused slightly, and said with a smile: "That's natural, Cai Xiang rest assured." ”

"Oh? Lord Lin is so sure? Cai Quan pretended to be surprised.

"Cai Xiang can rest assured, this case is the greed of some officials, and those gentlemen happen to do what they like, and the officials should enforce the law impartially!"

Cai Quan nodded with great satisfaction, and took another sip of tea, "The old man has always believed in Lord Lin's uprightness, this time the saint was very angry, Lord Lin naturally knew that the saint had always hated fraud in the imperial examination, once it was found that no matter who it was, it would be severely punished according to the law, and the court would be clear, and give justice to the world's scholars, don't you say, Lord Lin?" ”

"Yes, the lower officials will do their best to live up to the emperor's grace and Cai Xiang!" Lin Kun lowered his head as he spoke, and made a gesture of wanting to salute.

"Haha, Lord Lin doesn't have to be like this, come on, continue to drink tea." This time, Cai Quan lifted the blue and white porcelain pot and poured it for Lin Kun, "Sure enough, as Lord Lin said, this Buddha Qing is really sweet." It's a pity, the old man still has something to do today, and he can't stay here for a long time. ”

"It's important to get down to business, and the next official will send Cai Xiang." Lin Kun stood up, supporting Cai Quan with one hand and pointing out the door with the other.

"Lord Lin's trial is important, the old man can go by himself, the old man is not old enough to even know the road." Cai Quan put down the teacup, followed Lin Kun's direction, and walked towards the door.

"Cai Xiang said with a smile, and the next official sent Cai Xiang off!" Lin Kun bowed deeply, but Cai Quan didn't say any more greetings, and walked out of the door directly. As soon as Cai Quan left on his front foot, Lin Kun immediately returned to his serious appearance in front of him, and walked towards Dali Temple Prison accompanied by Master Yan.

Three miles away from the inner court of Dali Temple is the Dali Temple Prison, all the felons are imprisoned here before they are convicted, the high walls and black tiles, the guards are heavy, especially the pair of tiger heads on the gate, the fangs are clear, and it is terrifying to see.

With the jailer's push, the big iron door slowly opened, and in front of him was a dark walkway with no end in sight, full of ghosts. Lin Kun's official boots stepped on the ground, making a slight creaking sound, and the sound seemed to be amplified in the aisle, and it was extremely harsh when it came into his ears. Lin Kun and Master Yan didn't care about the prisoners in the cages on both sides, but walked all the way forward until they came to a corner.

The cell boss saw the person who was coming, hurriedly bent over, and said with a flattering smile: "Lord Lin, you are here!" ”

"Open the door!"

"Yes!"

Lin Kun pushed open the cell door, walked in, and looked at Cheng Bobin, who was sitting at the wooden table in prison clothes, "Lord Cheng, but are you thinking about how to be honest about the case?" ”

Cheng Bobin faced Lin Kun from the side, he was neither surprised nor concerned by Lin Kun's visit, and only after hearing Lin Kun's question did he turn his head to look at Lin Kun with a calm expression, "Lord Lin is right, I am indeed thinking about how to explain my crimes." ”

"Lord Cheng or has he decided to bear all these charges himself?"

"What does Lord Lin mean by this? Do you want me to frame others? I can't do that! ”

Since he was imprisoned, Cheng Bobin has been biting everything by himself, and Lin Kun is very clear about this situation. "Lord Cheng, what a pair of sharp teeth, no wonder His Royal Highness King Xiang values you so much!"

Cheng Bobin laughed, "Lord Lin, Lord Lin, you are inducing a confession!" In vain, you are the secretary of Dali Temple, if this matter reaches the ears of the saint, what will happen, I think Lord Lin will also know it! ”

"Don't talk nonsense!" Master Yan was obviously angered by Cheng Bobin, Lin Kun hurriedly appeased Master Yan, gave him a look, and let Master Yan leave the cell first.

"Lord Lin, the people around you are too impulsive, and this impulse is easy to make mistakes." Cheng Bobin turned around and lay down on the straw mat directly, closed his eyes and rested by himself.

"If you can rest, let's rest as an adult, after all, if you want to rest in the future, you won't have a chance!" After Lin Kun finished speaking, he also simply walked out of the cell.

When Lin Kun walked to the door of the cell, Hu Ziming stood up and said to Lin Kun outside the cell: "It's really Lord Laurin who came to see me, what Lord Cheng said is what I want to say." ”

Lin Kun continued to walk forward expressionlessly, Zhong Lin seemed to have completely lost his mind at this time, and the whole person knelt on the ground, kept kowtowing, and said something in his mouth.

"My lord, since I heard that all my family members died in that fire, Zhong Lin has become like this." Master Yan stepped forward to explain.

"What a 'timely' fire!" Lin Kun shook his head and looked at Chen Kangji in the opposite cell, where he was meditating with his eyes closed.

"It's a talent, it's a pity."

Lin Kun didn't see that after he left, Chen Kangji opened his eyes, and closed them again after a while.

When Lin Kun and Master Yan walked out of the Dali Temple Prison, it was almost dusk.

"My lord, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will come to hear tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, I'll let them speak." Lin Kun looked at the scarlet sunset, and the meaning in his eyes was complicated.

There is a small lake in the imperial garden of the imperial city, called Jingye Pond, surrounded by forests, there are many mandarin ducks fed in the pool, in early summer, with the red lotus that gradually opens, the concubine is taking Emperor Liang is walking by the pool.

"I haven't been to this mirror for a long time, and I don't want the scenery to be so beautiful." Emperor Liang is in a good mood today, holding the arm of the concubine, holding the life and death of the world, what else do men ask for in the world?

"It's not all because Your Majesty has the world in mind and is always busy with government affairs." Concubine Ying feigned anger and said.

"Haha, my heart and liver are angry?"

"How dare you, the concubine is just talking. Your Majesty is not only the Majesty of the concubines, but also the Majesty of the people of the world, there are so many political affairs that Your Majesty needs to deal with, and the concubines only hope that Your Majesty will be healthy! ”

"It would be nice if everyone could be like you!" Emperor Liang stroked Concubine Ying's cheek with his fingers.

At this moment, a portun ran to Grandpa Cui's side and whispered something, Grandpa Cui nodded, cautiously came to Emperor Liang's side and said, "Holy Lord, the Prince, Cai Xiang, Lord Ye Rongxuan, Lord Ye and Lord Lin Kunlin ask to meet." ”

"The case was closed so soon? I finally got free time to accompany the concubines, they are good, but they came at this time! Emperor Liang was obviously very dissatisfied with Yaxing, who was interrupted from swimming in the lake.

Concubine Ying glanced at Gonggong Cui, who didn't know how to reply, and immediately played a round, "Your Majesty, the concubine just said that Your Majesty should focus on political affairs, and Your Majesty will forget about it?" As long as His Majesty needs it, the concubines can come to serve at any time, and several adults must have something important to ask for to see at this time, so Your Majesty should go. ”

"You're still the most sensible!" Emperor Liang liked the beauty in front of him more and more, "What else can it be, isn't it a case of fraud in the imperial examination?" ”

"The concubine heard that in order to be able to enter the official career, the concubine studied hard for ten years just to get a chance to take the imperial examination, Your Majesty, you must not spare the main culprit of fraud, otherwise it will chill the heart of the world's scholars!"

Looking at Concubine Yingchu's pitiful look, Emperor Liang was a little moved, "I can't imagine that you, a woman, have such a mind, okay, I'll go see you." The crown prince, Cai Xiang, Ye Rongxuan, and Lin Kun are waiting in the political palace! ”

"Yes!" Gonggong Cui glanced at the herald, and the herald quickly ran away.

The Lizheng Hall is one of the three main halls of Chengyuan Palace, and it is the main palace of Emperor Liang to meet his courtiers.

"The emperor has arrived!" The prince, Cai Quan, Ye Rongxuan, and Lin Kun, who were already waiting in the Lizheng Palace, immediately knelt down and saluted after hearing Cui Gonggong's report.

"Son-in-law, see father!"

"Chen Cai Quan, Chen Ye Rongxuan, Chen Lin Kun, see the Holy Lord!"

Emperor Liang walked past the few people who knelt on the ground, walked to a warm pavilion, and sat down leisurely, "Flatten." The prince, Cai Xiang, Ye Aiqing, and Lin Aiqing gave seats, but there has been progress in the case? ”

Lin Kun, who had not yet had time to sit down, replied respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty, several main culprits have already confessed. ”

"Tell me the details of the case."

"Yes. Cheng Bobin and Hu Ziming stole the test questions that were originally kept by Lord Liu, on the one hand, they wanted to curry favor with Sun Shangshu and Lei Yushi, and on the other hand, they accepted heavy money from nine scholars such as Wu Zhe and Ma Daochuan, and instructed the three transcription officers to make special marks on the files of these people during the transcription, so that these people could be on the list. Especially that Ma Daochuan, it can be said that he is a gentleman, he does not learn and has no skills, his article is actually written by Zhong Lin, and Cheng Bobin also coerced Chen Kangji to be with them, and the heavy money he received was hidden in Chen Kangji's mansion. ”

After listening to Lin Kun's speech, Emperor Liang slapped his palm on the handle fiercely, "How can this be reasonable!" I dare to do this under my nose! ”

This palm frightened everyone in the hall and hurriedly knelt down, and the prince and Cai Quan said in unison: "The Holy One is angry!" ”

"This is a confession, please look at it!" Lin Kun held a stack of confessions in both hands and handed them to Grandpa Cui. Taking advantage of Emperor Liang's rummag of the confession, the prince said: "Father, in the past few days, the sons and sons, Cai Xiang and Lord Lin have also checked every volume, and found that it is indeed the southern scholars whose knowledge is superior, and there is no favoritism in the southern affairs. ”

Seeing that Emperor Liang's face became more and more pale, the prince continued: "Cheng Bobin and Hu Ziming alone can't plan such a big game of chess, and the help of Lei Qiwei and Sun Hanghai is indispensable. ”

As soon as the prince's voice fell, Ye Rongxuan, who was the secretary of the Criminal Department, immediately agreed: "Back to Your Majesty, the nine Shizi ministers involved in the case have all been arrested and brought to justice, and they have confessed that in order to be on the list of the Beijing Examination, a total of twenty-one court officials from the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Households, and the Inspectorate have been bought off through various means, and the roster is attached to them!" ”

Emperor Liang didn't have time to read it all, and his hands that insisted on confession couldn't stop trembling, "I hate cheating the most in my life, and this time I dare to cheat in my Beijing examination, and I will never spare it!" Spread my will to the province of Menxia, Cheng Bobin, Hu Ziming, Zhong Lin and three transcription officials to show the public! Sun Hanghai, Lei Qiwei and the 21 officials involved in the case were assigned to the frontier together with the fraudulent Shizi and were never allowed to return to the DPRK! All those involved in the case had their homes raided, all men over the age of 14 were confiscated into the army, and all female dependents were confiscated into the secluded court as slaves! Liu Yi was derelict in his duties and demoted to the history of Jiangzhou Thorn! Although Chen Kangji was coerced, he was still derelict in his duties and demoted to Yunzhou Sima! All the papers will be handed over to Sungkyunkwan for re-review, and half of the northern and southern Shizi will be re-listed! Emperor Liang finished in one breath.

"His Royal Highnesses King Naxiang and King Ling......" Cai Quan deliberately reminded Emperor Liang.

"Lift the ground!"

"Shengshang, this fraud case has indeed hurt the court's painstaking efforts to open up a science and technology, but through this matter, Shengshang has also gained something." Cai Quan's move to capture the old man really aroused Emperor Liang's interest.

"Oh? What do you mean by that? ”

"The Holy Lord handed over the fraud case to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to deal with, and during the entire trial of the case, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did it himself, regardless of the hard work, and analyzed the case with Lord Ye and Lord Lin, and finally brought the main culprit to justice, and returned justice to the world."

"Cai Xiang reminded me that I saw that the prince was indeed a lot thinner today. Speaking of which, Cai Xiang, Ye Aiqing, and Lin Aiqing are also indispensable. ”

"Trying the facts of the case is a matter within the minister's responsibility, and the minister is ashamed!" Lin Kun knelt down in a panic.

"The prince is diligent, rewarding thousands of clouds and thousands of taels of gold! Lin Kun and Ye Rongxuan have meritorious service in investigating the case, Ye Rongxuan concurrently serves as the right scattered cavalry attendant of the subordinate province, and Lin Kun concurrently serves as the right counsellor of the subordinate province! Cai Xiang......."

"Holy Lord, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Lord Ye, and Lord Lin really deserve to be rewarded, as for the old minister, what he has done is very limited, and the Holy Lord doesn't need to reward the old minister anymore."

"Where Cai Xiang said, Cai Quan also has credit for this case."

"As the prime minister, the old minister has already failed to share his worries for His Majesty in the Beijing Entrance Examination, and it is within the minister's duty to find out the facts of the case, and it is not worthy of His Majesty's gift."

When Emperor Liang heard Cai Quan say this, he was very satisfied, stood up from his position, and walked in front of Cai Quan, "It's really my honor to have Cai Xiang."

"Your Majesty has a reputation!"