"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just feel that the person behind the scenes went to so much trouble, only to end up with nothing to show for it, losing both the wife and the soldiers. I wonder what they will think?"
Upon hearing Lin Qingge's words, Leng Ningyue asked with certainty:
"Do you know who wanted to kill you?"
Lin Qingge immediately recounted the analysis that Lin Moyuan had told her to Leng Ningyue.
"King Wucheng..."
Leng Ningyue repeated the three words, her eyes turning icy.
Meanwhile.
King Wucheng, who had already received the news, smashed everything within his reach to pieces.
"Useless! All of you are useless!
How can I use a bunch of trash who can't even handle such a small matter!"
"Your Highness, please calm your anger. According to the news we received.
Our men had already cornered Lord Lin to the cliff, but an unknown force suddenly appeared and severely injured most of our men.
As for the remaining martial arts masters, they were all dealt with by that Lady Lin, resulting in complete failure."
"I don't want to hear any excuses!
Not only did Lin Jingxing harm my Xin'er, but he also cruelly murdered my mother and Cheng'er!
How could I not avenge such deep-seated hatred?! kuAiδugg
That's why I not only brought cannons but also countless assassins, death warriors, and even renowned martial arts masters to set a trap.
But you people!
Not only did you fail to kill them, but you were all captured by them instead!
Truly, truly infuriating!"
Even though he knew his master was currently enraged, the subordinate kneeling amidst the mess still braced himself and asked:
"Your Highness, after this incident, they will most likely suspect you, so what do you think..."
"Hmph, issue my command. Everyone, prepare yourselves. Once Cheng Yi's residual poison is cleared, we will make our move."
"Yes!"
After responding, the subordinate did not leave immediately but presented a small booklet.
"Reporting to Your Highness, this is all the information you asked me to investigate regarding the scholar named 'Zhou Zeli'. Please review it."
King Wucheng took the booklet and flipped through it at lightning speed, his expression changing from grim to cheerful.
By the end, a smile of excitement appeared on his face.
"Good, good, good!"
King Wucheng said "good" three times in a row. Forgetting about the failed assassination attempt, he ordered his subordinate to make preparations, as he was going out.
On the other side.
Lin Qingge and the others rode their horses at full speed, finally returning to the capital safely.
Seeing the commoners walking in the same direction, she felt a little strange and dismounted to ask a nearby stall vendor.
"Brother, what happened? Why is it so lively?"
"Young brother, are you from out of town?"
Lin Qingge, too lazy to explain, simply nodded. The vendor then enthusiastically explained:
"Young brother, you might not know this, but after His Majesty ascended the throne, he granted a general amnesty and, with extra grace, established an additional imperial examination.
And today, it is the day the results are posted.
Everyone wants to catch a glimpse of the top scholar, so they have all gathered here."
Lin Qingge looked at the surrounding crowd, which could be described as a full mobilization, and was still a bit puzzled.
"Brother, although the imperial examinations are not held every year, you who have lived in the capital for a long time must have seen at least eight or ten top scholars, so why such a commotion?"
"Young brother, this posting of results is different from the past.
You don't know, but His Majesty personally issued an imperial decree stating that women can also participate in the imperial examinations and serve in court.
And according to rumors, there is a woman among the scholars who will be tested in the final palace examination.
The common people all want to see if this female scholar truly has talent and if she can rank among the top three. There are even special gambling houses set up for this!"
"Gambling houses?"
Lin Qingge's eyes lit up.
The next moment, Hua Jinrong's irritating voice came from behind:
"Judging by the time, the imperial list has already been released, so I advise Your Excellency to give up on that idea~"
"Tsk."
Lin Qingge smack her lips ungracefully and, under the stunned gaze of the vendor, bid farewell and left.
On the way, Lin Qingge couldn't help but strike up a conversation with Lin Moyuan, who was resting with his eyes closed beside her:
"Brother Lin, shouldn't the final palace examination involve the emperor personally setting the questions in the great hall, and then the candidates answering them on the spot?"
Although Lin Qingge was a fake posing as someone else, she still knew some of the procedures of the imperial examinations.
But Lin Moyuan had been adventuring with them for so long and had only just returned to the capital, so how could he have gone to set questions for the candidates?
As if sensing the deep confusion in Lin Qingge's eyes, Hua Jinrong fanned himself and explained:
"Your Excellency, isn't Feng Si still here?
It doesn't matter if Lord Lin is present or not, as long as Feng Si is here~"
"Oh, is that so?
I didn't expect this Prime Minister to be so important in your heart!"
Feng Qingchen's sinister voice suddenly rang out on the bustling street, startling Hua Jinrong. He stiffly turned his head and forced a fawning smile:
"Feng Si, it's been such a lo-long time since we last met~"
"It has indeed been quite a while, so long that I almost forgot there was someone like you in this world!"
Feng Qingchen had rushed over as soon as he received the news, only to hear such a remark.
Enraged, he gritted his teeth and ordered:
"An Ling, arrest him for me!"
"An Ling, don't forget who picked you up back then~"
...
An Ling, caught in a difficult position, simply played dead and disappeared on the spot.
And Hua Jinrong, most ungratefully, pushed the still-recovering Lin Moyuan onto Feng Qingchen, and then took the opportunity to slip away.
"Rong San, you are a damned bastard!
If I don't catch you today and skin you alive, I'll take your surname!"
After roaring, Feng Qingchen belatedly realized he had spoken too carelessly.
But he couldn't really leave the injured Lin Moyuan there. While helping him into his carriage, he grumbled indignantly:
"Serves you right for being so smug. Now look at you, going out on your feet and coming back on your back!
I've been waiting anxiously for your return, and you've gone and gotten yourself crippled. Doesn't that mean I'll have to shoulder everything alone?
I don't care, you either grant me three days of leave, or you help me catch that scoundrel Rong San. It's one or the other!"
After the rambling Feng Qingchen had left, Lin Qingge, under the pretext of Lu Huaiying needing a change of identity, had Lin Yan take the arrest warrant written by Hua Jinrong and lead people back to the yamen to handle the onboarding procedures, oh no, the imprisonment procedures.
As for Lu Huaiying, as a criminal who had abducted an official of the imperial court, considering his dangerousness, she assigned Yan Tinghao, the most skilled constable in the yamen, to personally escort him.
After doing all this, Lin Qingge happily linked arms with Leng Ningyue to go and see the new top scholar.
Upon arriving at the location, she discovered that the imperial list for this year's imperial examination had already been posted.
Although there was a throng of people and they were quite far away, fortunately, with Leng Ningyue as a cheat, she directly took Lin Qingge to fly to the eaves of a nearby wine shop.
However, when Lin Qingge saw the name of the top scholar, she was truly surprised.