My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 291 - 170: The Hopes of Song Jiaren and Li Anning

As Li Nuo's eyes were dazzled by flashes of light,

the newly appeared portraits on the Law Code vanished along with Wei Xun's.

Gu Yanran's portrait also transformed into countless points of light and entered Li Nuo's body.

This meant that his calligraphy ability had become permanent.

While Li Nuo was looking puzzled, Housekeeper Wu happened to walk in from outside, and he turned to ask, "Has something happened outside?"

Housekeeper Wu said with surprise, "Young Master, how did you know something happened outside?"

Li Nuo hesitated for a moment, "What happened?"

Housekeeper Wu replied, "Didn't you catch that Mr. Wei? His disciples, along with some students from the academy, gathered at the Ministry of Justice to cause a disturbance, demanding his release…"

"And then?"

"Then the Master ordered all those troublemakers to be arrested."

"…"

Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief, no wonder the number of portraits on the Law Code surged, spitting on the street was just a matter of public security punishment.

Inciting public sentiment, gathering crowds to cause trouble, assaulting the government office, such bad intentions were extreme, and under normal circumstances, one would have to be locked up for two years.

However, the court was always lenient toward these students, so it was unlikely that there would be too severe consequences.

Although he had not directly given the order, the root cause of the matter was still him.

It was precisely because he had arrested Wei Xun that he indirectly caused the group incident, the two events were a cause-and-effect relationship.

But it was just as well.

It saved him the trouble of having to deal with those calligraphy masters across different regions.

Meanwhile, at the palace,

the three provinces had already received feedback from the Imperial Censorate and the Capital Prefecture office.

The officials looked at each other.

The students' behavior was undoubtedly a violation of the law, an extremely serious one, a great provocation to the court's authority.

If it had been someone else, catching a few ringleaders and beheading them in the street would not have been excessive.

The court had been too indulgent with these scholars in the past.

This led them to a misconception, believing that the court would back down every time.

Li Xuanjing certainly wouldn't indulge them.

And with Wei Xun, did he think his connections with the nobles and those covert actions he'd been doing were really unknown to the court?

Did he believe Li Xuanjing was not aware?

Why provoke him needlessly?

However, as culpable as these people were, their special identities meant they truly could not be severely punished.

These less experienced students were already the group most easily agitated. Now with the imminent Imperial Examination and a hundred thousand candidates gathering in the Capital, carelessness could escalate things to uncontrollable extents.

At that point, who was right and who was wrong would no longer be important.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Justice had extremely independent authority, and in the situation of acting according to the law, aside from Your Majesty, the three provinces also had no power to command their release.

To resolve this matter, another approach had to be sought.

At the King Chun Mansion,

officials from the three provinces came personally to visit, and King Chun couldn't well refuse, saying, "I will go to the Ministry of Justice and ask, but I can't guarantee the result."

Immediately, everyone bowed and expressed their gratitude, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Not long after, at the Ministry of Justice,

King Chun offered a bowl of hot soup, probing, "Xuanjing, what do you plan to do with those students?"

Li Xuanjing replied, "Lock them up for three days. If we just let them go that easily, next time they might be tempted to emulate---Did Your Highness come to plead for them?"

King Chun waved his hand and said, "No, what would I plead for them for? I came to bring you soup. It's a bit hot, take it slow. After you finish, let's play a couple of games of chess…"

Moments later, King Chun placed a piece on the chessboard and said, "You tell me, this child Li Nuo, silent but astounding, took the top place in the spring exam without a word, over these years, have you really been letting him play the fool and hide his talents?"

Li Xuanjing nodded, not denying it.

King Chun's eyes widened in surprise, "So what they say is true!"

The next moment, a look of complaint appeared on his face, saying, "Such a big deal, and you didn't even tell me, let alone others!"

Li Xuanjing picked up a chess piece and said, "It is precisely because I kept it from everyone, that I was able to fool everyone. If not for this, he wouldn't have survived to this day. I hope Your Highness will not blame me."

King Chun sighed and said, "All right, I can understand, after all, you have too many enemies. If he had shown the same brilliance as you did back then, those people probably would not have tolerated him…"

After playing chess for a while, King Chun thought of something, suddenly raising his head to ask, "Do you think this kid won't end up like you, becoming the top scholar of the Six Arts?"

Before Li Xuanjing could speak, King Chun muttered to himself, "That won't do, if he becomes the top scholar in all Six Arts, wouldn't he have to be Anning's Prince Consort? If he becomes Anning's Prince Consort, that would make him my brother-in-law... This is a mess, a complete mess…"

…

At the King Chun Mansion.

King Chun left for more than a two-hour period before returning from the Ministry of Justice. Looking at the officials waiting here, he said, "The Minister of Justice said that since it's their first offense, they won't pursue the matter seriously. After locking them up for three days, they will release them..."

Hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

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Being locked up for just three days meant the Minister of Justice was definitely showing leniency, even not affecting their opportunity to take part in the Imperial Examination.

This was already a very favorable disposition.

However, they still needed to make a trip to Qingfeng Academy to notify them of this decision and to soothe the students' emotions, so as to prevent them from taking any more radical actions.

The several men bowed to King Chun and said in unison, "Thank you, King Chun."

King Chun coughed lightly and said, "You can't just thank me with words. I've gone to great lengths to help you this time, nearly wearing out my lips to convince the Ministry of Justice not to pursue their culpability. I've been asking you for a garden for half a year, and you haven't agreed. The garden is just lying there unused; just assign it to me through the Ministry of Revenue..."

...

The next day.

Many students from Qingfeng Academy came to the gate of the Ministry of Justice.

Unlike yesterday, they did not sit in silence but simply watched from a distance.

After an unknown period, a figure emerged from the Ministry of Justice.

The students burst into cheer when they saw this.

"It's Mr. Wei!"

"Mr. Wei has come out!"

"They've really released Mr. Wei..."

Wei Xun walked out of the Ministry of Justice and subconsciously cleared his throat. Realizing something, he forcibly swallowed back a mouthful of thick phlegm.

The crowd came forward to meet him. Mr. Wei's release without any additional harm meant this matter had essentially come to a rest.

Ironically, Mr. Wei, the first to be arrested, had been released, but the disciples and students who protested for him still had to be locked up for another two days.

The Ministry of Justice stated that those people would be released after two days, and they tentatively chose to trust the Ministry of Justice.

That was all they could do for now.

Two days later.

As promised, the group detained in the Ministry of Justice for causing a public disturbance was indeed released.

With that, the uproar was thoroughly settled, and everyone's attention focused on the upcoming Imperial Examination.

The Imperial Examination, held once every four years, was undoubtedly the grandest event in Chang'an.

Compared to previous exams, this one held a special significance.

Whether it was the top scholar in the examination or in the Six Arts, they all had the chance to become the Prince Consort of Princess Anning, not only winning a beautiful wife but also becoming an imperial relative. It was a chance to rise to the heavens and have limitless prospects.

Almost all students were making their final efforts before the examination.

In Qingfeng Academy, Wei Xun looked at the disciples practicing their calligraphy, a look of satisfaction on his face.

At an inn in Chang'an, Zheng Zhi organized his examination certificate, his eyes filled with hope.

In a secluded private residence, a figure lifted their fingers from the strings of an instrument, revealing an expression of having everything under control.

In a lavish estate, a young man exuding nobility shot several arrows one after the other, each arrow hitting the bullseye.

At Yunmeng Horse Field, a dark-skinned youth drove a carriage at high speed on a complex track.

In the Ministry of Transportation, a man with disheveled hair and a stubbled beard pushed open the door and stepped out. Despite his sloven appearance, the eyes hidden under his long hair twinkled with intelligence.

...

The first day of the third month.

In the early morning at the gate of the Song Residence.

Li Nuo and Song Yu got into the carriage, ready to head for the Examination Hall.

Nearly one hundred thousand students were participating in this session of the Imperial Examination, spread out across thirty examination halls inside and outside the city of Chang'an.

The smallest Examination Hall also held two thousand people, and some larger ones could even accommodate more than ten thousand at the same time.

Li Nuo and Song Yu were assigned to the First Examination Hall, with students from the Four Great Academy generally placed in the first few halls.

These examination halls were located within the city of Chang'an, closest and with the best environment, and also a special privilege for students from the Four Great Academy.

Li Nuo sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looking at his wife and daughters Mumu and Ning'er standing outside, waved and said, "You should go back now..."

The Imperial Examination was not a spring exam, and martial law was enforced outside the examination halls; no one besides the examinees was allowed within a hundred paces.

Song Jiaren stood at the door, watching the carriage recede into the distance, secretly hopeful.

Hoping he would become the top scholar, even just in five subjects.

The carriage slowly traveled along the streets of Chang'an. During the Imperial Examination, neither shops nor peddlers were allowed to occupy the streets, which were full of students heading to their respective examination venues.

When the carriage passed a certain spot, Li Nuo lifted the curtain and after a brief startle, waved to a figure waiting there.

Li Anning chased after the carriage, shouting, "Don't be careless during the exam, write your composition first on draft paper and only copy it over if there are no issues, think carefully before you start writing, and don't hand in your paper early..."

Watching the carriage leave, she took a deep breath and silently prayed.

May the ancestors bless him that he may become the top scholar, achieving full marks in all six subjects...