There is a god in the sky

Chapter 231 The Mummified Corpse Case 24

Sun Wei pounded on the iron cage like a madman.

"Let me out! You can't keep me locked up like this! I want to see the Imperial Censor! I want to see the Emperor!"

Xiao Ji let him bang his head until it bled, and only after he calmed down a little did he say, "Vice Minister Liu has only been in the capital for less than a year. He doesn't have such great abilities in Bianjing."

"Who is that?"

"Think carefully, what huge secret have you revealed? It's the long-standing problem of cheating in the imperial examinations. Which official involved would dare let you live?"

Sun Wei was stunned.

His eyes darted around, and he gripped the edge of the iron cage tightly, lowering his voice to say, "Lord Xiao, you...you spread those things around?"

How dare you? Aren't you afraid of dying?

He had told Xiao Ji about the cheating scandal in the imperial examinations, but he thought Xiao Ji wouldn't believe him.

Even if he believed it, he wouldn't dare to investigate.

He just wanted to use this news to gain some leniency.

"Haha... Lord Xiao, are you also about to die? We can keep each other company on the road to the underworld!"

Suiying smacked him and shouted angrily, "Watch your mouth!"

Xiao Ji wasn't angry. Instead, he sighed and agreed, saying, "Yes, we're in the same boat now."

He sat down on the ground and started chatting with Sun Wei.

Sun Wei gradually calmed down from his agitated state.

He's capable of murder and corpse refining, so he must be both bold and intelligent.

"Lord Xiao, you've been so kind in saving me, surely it wasn't just a sudden act of kindness? Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"Can you guarantee the truthfulness of what you told me before?"

“A few years ago, many people in the academy knew that the questions for the provincial examination could be bought, but not everyone could buy them, and it wasn’t just a matter of having money; you had to go through someone.”

"Who?"

Who has such great power?

Could it be Headmaster Tong?

Sun Wei leaned closer, staring at Xiao Ji, and asked, "Sir, do you really want to investigate this case? Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble to your family?"

"You don't need to worry about that, I have my own plans."

"Then listen carefully, this person is Master Sun from the academy."

"What? Master Sun has no official position, how could he have obtained the exam questions?"

"I don't know about that. You could ask him. I remember about nine years ago, there was a guy named Qian Tai who was just an average student, but he had a grandfather who held military power. That year, he actually passed the provincial examination."

The Qian family? Xiao Ji had some recollection of them. There was once a General Qian in the court, but after his death, none of his descendants followed in the martial arts, and it seemed they had moved out of Bianjing.

"This is just your guess. Some people are lucky and perform exceptionally well in the exam."

"Others might be able to, but Qian Tai couldn't. He made a bold statement before entering the exam hall, saying that he would definitely pass. At the time, I didn't understand why, but I later found out that he knew the exam questions in advance."

"He told you himself?"

“Once, after I got him drunk, he let it slip. Otherwise, how would I have known it was Master Sun?”

He was taught by Master Sun at that time, and I also know that the Qian family gave Master Sun a very generous gift back then.

He spoke mysteriously, thinking Xiao Ji would be eager to ask him, but Xiao Ji didn't want to know.

What gift could be worth more than a place in the imperial examinations?

"Don't you want to know, sir?"

"No need to know, are there any others? Qian Tai alone is not enough to explain the problem."

"If adults are willing to investigate, there will definitely be a few people on the list of successful candidates in the provincial examinations over the years who are not outstanding in their studies but come from prominent families."

Do you think no one in the academy is talking about this? They're just angry but dare not speak out.

"If that's the case, Qian An and the others will have no chance of passing the imperial examination."

"The people behind the scenes who manipulated the imperial examinations were very clever. Those who bought the exam questions didn't rank high, and there weren't many spots available."

Xiao Ji felt that the road ahead of him was somewhat tortuous, and finding out who these people was extremely difficult.

There is no absolute first place in literature; who can say they will definitely have an advantage in the exam?

"Aren't you going to ask me about the case from fifteen years ago, sir?"

Sun Wei thought that Xiao Ji would care more about this case.

"Too much time has passed, it's even difficult to identify the deceased, there are too few clues, and no concrete evidence, making it more difficult than investigating a fraud case."

"Or should I secretly tell the adults my guess?"

Xiao Ji immediately became wary of him.

Does Sun Wei know too much?

Was his crime really committed solely out of jealousy?

Where did your guess come from?

"Of course, it's based on my careful observation over the years. The cases all happened in Jiufeng Mountain, so the murderer probably lived in the mountains."

But only Yishan Academy has people in the entire mountain, so the murderer is very likely someone from the academy.

Xiao Ji shook his head. "Not necessarily."

"Also, that kiln is near the academy; it couldn't have been built by the villagers from the foot of the mountain, could it?"

Do you know the origin of earthen kilns?

“I don’t know, but I do know that there is someone in the academy who is passionate about porcelain and has a particular enthusiasm for firing porcelain.”

“The Sun family deals in porcelain, so you would be a good fit.”

Sun Wei chuckled self-deprecatingly. "If I were content to stay at home making porcelain, I wouldn't have spent over a decade at the academy. I'm determined to become an official in this lifetime!"

"Getting back to the point, who are you talking about?"

"It's our Headmaster Tong!" Seeing the cracked expression on Xiao Ji's face, Sun Wei burst into unrestrained laughter.

Xiao Ji turned and left.

Sun Wei called out to him from behind, "Lord Xiao, don't be angry. I didn't lie. Why don't you check on Headmaster Tong while you're at it?"

Also, whenever you let me out, I promise I won't leave the manor!

Xiao Ji ignored him. He couldn't let Sun Wei out; if his whereabouts were exposed, he would also be in danger.

When Xiao Ji came out of the villa, he felt a chill.

Sun Wei's words were mostly speculation, but they were not without reason.

Moreover, he could indeed check the records of previous provincial examinations.

If there was cheating in the provincial examination, what about the metropolitan examination?

He rode back to the city and went in for a look when he passed by Jifeng Study.

The bookstore is doing very well; there are quite a few people buying and reading books.

Shen Lan understood the preferences of scholars very well.

The books he used when he participated in the scientific expedition were also borrowed by Shen Lan, who said she wanted to compile a notebook.

However, he didn't know that Shen Lan's notes were for Fu Qingyan's use and she didn't intend to sell them.

He went straight to the counter and asked Xiao Ding, "Where is Manager Shen?"

"Young Master!" Xiao Ding looked up in surprise and pointed behind him, saying, "The manager has gone to the backyard for dinner. Are you looking for her?"

"No need, I remember there's a collection of past provincial and metropolitan examination questions here, please find it for me."

"Please wait a moment." Xiao Ding ran to the bookshelf and brought over a thick, large-format book.

"The exam questions from the last ten years are all here; this is the most popular item."

Xiao Ji casually flipped through the papers and found that not only were there exam questions from Bianjing, but also some from other prefectures.

"Very well, I'll take this one."

He was about to leave when he hesitated for a moment and asked, "Go ask Manager Shen if he wants to come back to the manor together?"