Chapter 130: Murder Trial

The official imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty were divided into the township examination, the hui examination, and the palace examination.

The township examination is held once every three years, called the township, and is also called the autumn examination because the examination period is in autumn and August.

The township test is called Juren, and the first name is Xie Yuan. Tang Bohu, a famous genius in the Tang Dynasty, was the first place in the township examination that year and was called Tang Jieyuan.

The general examination is a national examination, called Liyu, which is usually held in the spring, so it is called Chunfu. The one who will take the test is called Gongyuan, and the first place is called Huiyuan.

The palace examination is an examination presided over by the emperor himself, the first name is the champion, the second is Tanhua, and the third is the list. The Jinshi list is written on yellow paper, so it is called Huangjia, also known as the gold list, and the title of the gold list also comes from this.

As the saying goes, "the dynasty is Tian Shelang, and the twilight is in the Tianzi Hall." ”

How many people in the world don't listen to things outside the window, and only read the books of sages, in order to one day be famous in the world for the title of the gold list, and from then on, one person will ascend to heaven.

Capital Gongyuan

The much-anticipated examination finally kicked off, and early in the morning, the Gongyuan ushered in batches of candidates.

"See that one? The first place in the township exam, Liu Shilin and Liu Jieyuan, he is a great talent, he read Confucius and Mencius at the age of three, and he recited poetry at the age of seven. ”

Zeng Qingfeng heard someone talking about Xiucai in front of him, and paid special attention to him, with a white face and a thin body, he looked like a scholar who was powerless.

"Behind him, there are people talking about the Xie Yuan here, why not only one? The surname Bai, the surname Wang, and the surname Xu are probably no less than a dozen, depending on who will win the championship in one fell swoop. ”

When an invigilator heard someone talking, he put on a black face and shouted, "Anyone who enters the Tribute Academy is not allowed to talk to each other, and no loud noises are allowed." ”

The crowd suddenly fell silent.

After a strict body search, Zeng Qingfeng was arranged into one of his single rooms, which is also called a number room.

Five feet long, four feet wide, and eight feet high, it is extremely narrow, and if a normal person lies down, he cannot straighten his body, but can only curl up.

Once the candidates enter, the room is immediately locked, and the candidates answer questions and sleep in the play room, and they are not allowed to go out at will until the end of the exam.

Bell bell bell ...... The crisp bell rang, and the scientific expedition officially began.

The examiner took out the exam papers from the sealed bag and distributed them one by one.

Zeng Qingfeng got the exam paper and skimmed it roughly, the test questions are not difficult to be nothing more than eight shares, although he disdains this rigid and stylized exam content, but the situation is like this, and he can only follow the crowd.

Zeng Qingfeng's room next door was Liu Shiyuan, who he had seen before, and he only heard him take a long breath when he got the title and then wrote non-stop.

Talented candidates answered with confidence, and some alternative candidates gradually became active.

A fat man with a fat head and big ears next door, looking at a rich kid who doesn't know how to learn, his face is bulging with horizontal flesh and meat, and his face is full of oil.

I don't know if it was the candidate quota bought during the township exam, or if it was obtained by asking someone to cheat. No, you see, dogs can't change the old routine of eating, and it's repeated.

I saw him look around, and when he saw that there was no one around, he secretly twisted the special brush from the beginning and took out the answer hidden inside.

This is not ridiculous, the thin talent on the other side is more clever.

He slyly laughed a few times, took off the wig, and revealed his round bald head.

The bare head was densely covered with words, and he secretly took out a mirror from his cuff and looked at his head, and the answer was clear at a glance.

What's more, some of them use magnifying glasses to cheat on rice characters, and some come up with all kinds of clever tricks, such as the kite that suddenly appeared outside the courtyard, the Kong Ming lantern floating high in the air outside the wall, and the use of slingshots to transmit answers, etc., which are really all kinds of tricks.

Although the scientific examination management of the Ming Dynasty was quite strict, it was clearly stipulated that those who were caught cheating would be beheaded directly. In addition, all invigilators must live in the Tribute House in advance to prevent favoritism.

However, as the old saying goes, there are policies and countermeasures, and there are always many policies, which is an eternal truth.

It was getting late, and the candidates who answered the questions had successively made and eaten, curled up sideways and lay down to rest, and the night slowly deepened, and the sound of the surroundings came and went.

The lights of the third watch and the fifth watch of the chicken are when the boy is studying.

The next day, the candidates washed up and got up one after another, and Zeng Qingfeng also got up.

Last night's cramped room made Zeng Qingfeng, who was tall and tall, unable to stretch his legs and fall asleep, and couldn't sleep well at all.

Bell bell bell ...... The examiners of the examination patrol room began to inspect one by one, and suddenly there was a roar that pierced the sky: "Ah...... Someone's coming...... Dead man......"

One of the examiners fell to the ground, screamed in fright, and crawled away with a trembling buttocks.

The audience was shocked by the sudden shouting, and everyone's faces showed a hint of fear.

A group of guards and examiners gathered around, and everyone looked at the corpse hanging from the head in the room in horror, their eyes closed and their whole bodies stiff.

The chief examiner, Liu Da, commanded: "Come and put him down!" ”

Several guards worked together to carry Xiucai's body down and place it on the ground.

Lord Liu asked Lord Zuo, who was in charge of this area, "What is the name of this candidate?" ”

After verifying, Lord Zuo replied: "My name is Yu Mingcai, and he participated in the examination of the Jiangnan Gongyuan last year and won the first place in Huiyuan. But for some reason, I came to the north again this year to participate in the exam. Those who know him have reported that he has an arrogant personality, and unlike others, he is a quirky person. ”

Lord Liu frowned and sighed: "Remove the corpse from the horse, don't affect the other candidates, otherwise you and I will not be able to protect the Wusha." In addition, please come over to check the cause of death, remember that this matter must not be publicized, and report to the higher level after the cause is found. ”

"Yes."

was frightened by this episode, but fortunately, the three-day examination was finally over, and after the papers were closed, all the candidates left the venue one by one.

There is also preliminary news about the cause of death of the examinee Yu Mingcai, and it is concluded that the deceased did indeed die of hanging, and there are obvious strangulation marks on his neck.

Just when everyone thought that the matter was over, a Xiucai who claimed to be reporting the case came to the Yamen, and according to his own account, he had witnessed Yu Mingcai being killed by him on the night of the exam.

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

Huang Liangzhi, who was kneeling on the ground, nodded affirmatively and replied: "I know, although I have hesitated for a long time whether to report to the official, but when I think of my personal relationship with Brother Mingcai, I have to stand up and avenge his grievances." ”

Lord Liu, who was sitting in the hall, asked, "What did you see that night?" ”

Huang Liangzhi opened his mouth and said: "It was late at night on the night of the test, and it was past the third watch, and I was originally sleeping in a daze but I was awakened by urine, and I was going to get up." I accidentally saw a dark shadow flashing in the room opposite, and I sighed in my heart, and lay down and continued to pretend to sleep. There was no sound around, and I didn't dare to get up at night, and then I didn't know how long it took for me to fall asleep. It wasn't until dawn that the news came that Yu Ming was hanging zì shā that I remembered the black shadow and felt that there must be something strange about it. ”

"Why didn't you report it sooner?" The lobby scolded.

Huang Liangzhi cried bitterly and said: "I am a cowardly person, for fear of causing trouble, if it weren't for the dream of the dead Brother Yu who shouted injustice to me every night, I wouldn't have come to report to the official." ”

Lord Liu asked, "How did you meet Yu Mingcai?" ”

Huang Liangzhi opened his mouth and said: "Yu Mingcai and I were originally fellow villagers, we met during the township test, Yu Mingcai was only eight years old, and he became famous as a teenager, and he was the first to win the name of Yu Xie Yuan in the township test that year, I admired him very much, and I wanted to make friends with him." But Yu Mingcai has a strange personality, often walks alone, and is extremely difficult to approach. Later, at the meeting examination of the Jiangnan Gongyuan in the South Jīng Fū Zǐ Temple, I met him by chance and became close friends. ”

"As far as I know, this Yu Mingcai won the first place in the Jiangnan Gongyuan examination last year, but is there such a thing? And why did you come to the capital to take the exam again? ”

Huang Liangzhi explained: "The reason why I want to come to the northern examination is because I didn't do well in the southern examination, and it is said that the northern examination is slightly easier, and my father asked someone to help me get a place." ”

Lord Liu blew his nose and glared at him: "I'm not asking you, I'm asking Yu Mingcai why Gao Huiyuan refuses to accept fame and fortune?" And come to the capital to take the exam? ”

Huang Liangzhi sighed and said: "Brother Yu is arrogant, no one is convinced, and he wants to prove that he is the most knowledgeable person in the world. In fact, he has no intention of being an official at all, he just wants to prove that he is talented. ”

"I think you're the shadow, or is there no shadow at all, but what do you want to hide and make the grafting? I checked that you took the examination last year, Yu Ming is the Huiyuan, and you are the third place. Is it possible that you deliberately killed Yu Youming because of jealousy? ”

Huang Youliang, who was kneeling on the ground, was so frightened when he heard this, and hurriedly denied it: "My lord is wronged, I am not that black shadow, I didn't kill you, I didn't ......"

Lord Liu asked condescendingly, "How can you really see the dark shadow clearly?" How tall? What is the body type? ”

"No, Lord Hui, in fact, I know that one of all the candidates hates to the bone."

"You mean?"

"Shi Honglei"

"Who is he?"

"Shi Honglei is from Jiangnan Gongyuan like us, but he was the second place that year. He often competed with Yu Youliang, and they didn't like each other. ”

"Why?"

"It is said that this Yu Youliang's wife used to be Shi Honglei's heart, and later because the two missed each other, she married Yu Youliang, Hong Lei was against Yu Mingcai everywhere for this, and Yu Ming was the first person in the exam, and Shi Honglei was the second in the exam, so the resentment was deeper."

Lord Liu pondered for a while and said: "Even so, you still can't get rid of suspicion, and everything will be decided after Hong Lei is interrogated." ”

"Yes! My lord, I hope to check it out. ”