“Third Master.”

The one keeping watch at Yan Sanhe’s gate was Old Ding. “With such heavy rain, why have you come?”

Xie Zhifei’s clothes were half soaked. “Is Miss at the residence?”

“No, she went out.”

“Where did she go?”

“As servants, how would we dare ask about Miss’s whereabouts!”

Xie Zhifei’s expression showed some impatience. “Zhu Qing, go ask Tangyuan.”

“Yes!”

Zhu Qing seized the umbrella from Old Ding’s hands and headed straight for the inner courtyard.

Xie Zhifei stood under the eaves, his gaze falling on Old Ding. He thought to himself that this man wasn’t sharp at his duties. If it were Xie Xiaohua, she would surely have extracted every detail of where Yan Sanhe had gone.

He’d have to replace him with someone more clever later.

Just as he was thinking this, Zhu Qing returned with Tangyuan in tow.

Tangyuan furled her umbrella. “Third Master, Miss and Yan Miss said they were going for a walk on the streets. They didn’t say where, only that they’d return for dinner and told this servant to prepare the meal.”

Xie Zhifei looked at the sky. “How did the two of them go? On horseback or by carriage?”

“They left on foot.”

“Did they take an umbrella?”

“No.”

Xie Zhifei’s face instantly darkened, frightening Tangyuan into hastily saying, “This servant will go wait at the alley entrance…”

Before she finished speaking, a series of urgent hoofbeats approached from far to near.

In the rain and mist, it was impossible to see who it was. Only when the horse drew near did they realize it was his subordinate, Luo Daqiang.

Xie Zhifei’s heart sank. “How did you find your way here?”

Luo Daqiang wiped the rainwater from his face. “Boss, those scholars are causing trouble.”

“Where are they causing trouble?”

“At the entrance to the Three Judicial Offices.”

Xie Zhifei’s heart pounded fiercely.

Not at the Ministry of Rites, not at the Imperial Academy, but causing trouble at the entrance to the Three Judicial Offices? What did those scholars want?

“Zhu Qing, let’s go!”

Xie Zhifei swiftly mounted his horse and pulled the reins, shouting to Tangyuan, “When Miss returns, tell her not to go out again. Tonight won’t be peaceful.”

“Third Master can rest assured.”

“Hya!”

Three horses rushed into the rain and mist, quickly disappearing without a trace.

Tangyuan, remembering Third Master’s instructions, said to Old Ding, “Go get two umbrellas. I’ll wait for Miss at the alley entrance.”

“Right away.”

In no time at all, Tangyuan was already at the alley entrance, craning her neck to look. She had barely looked twice when a dark figure rushed over.

“Tangyuan, why are you here?”

“Miss Li?”

Tangyuan saw Li Buyan drenched like a drowned rat and quickly held the umbrella over her. “Where’s Miss? Why don’t I see her?”

Li Buyan’s expression was anxious. “Never mind her for now—have you seen Third Master?”

“Third Master just left. He said scholars are causing trouble outside.”

Li Buyan let out a long breath of relief, her heart finally settling down.

“Where’s Miss?”

Tangyuan kept looking behind Li Buyan. “Third Master instructed that when Miss returns, she shouldn’t go out again. It won’t be peaceful outside tonight.”

These words made Li Buyan shiver. She quickly thrust the umbrella into Tangyuan’s hands. “I’m going back to get a horse.”

Tangyuan stamped her foot anxiously. “Miss Li, you still haven’t said where Miss is!”

How would I know where she is?

Li Buyan ran while shouting, “Don’t worry, I’m going right now to bring her back.”

…

The rain poured down heavily, making it impossible to see the world clearly.

Yan Sanhe could only keep her eyes on the scholars ahead. Wherever the scholars ran, she ran.

Yan Sanhe was unfamiliar with the capital. At this moment, she had no idea where she had run to—she was completely in the dark.

She didn’t know how long she had been running when the pace suddenly slowed.

Yan Sanhe stood on tiptoe to look, and her heart couldn’t help but skip twice.

The first skip was because ahead was a mass of black—all scholars.

The second skip was because she was now at the entrance to the Censorate.

“Fellow brothers, we’ve studied hard in cold windows for over ten years, suspending our heads from beams and pricking our thighs with awls. In the end, we’re still not as good as those who spend some silver. What kind of world is this? What kind of heavenly justice is this?”

At the forefront was a square-faced scholar.

In the heavy rain, his expression was agitated. “Today we must seek justice for ourselves, seek justice for the parents who worked so hard to support our studies!”

“Seek justice!”

“Seek justice!”

“Seek justice!”

With just a few sentences, everyone’s hearts surged with passion, and they all raised their arms and shouted.

The square-faced scholar lifted his robe and sat down on the ground.

The scholars also followed suit and sat down.

“I told you they were problematic.”

“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I did say it—who would have believed me!”

To the side, two scholars put their heads together, speaking in low voices.

“Two brothers.”

Yan Sanhe deliberately lowered her voice to make it deeper. “The spring examinations were inspected so strictly—how did they manipulate things?”

“Simple!”

One scholar gave Yan Sanhe a cursory glance. “They got the exam questions several days in advance. Piecing things together, they could still write a decent essay.”

This method was very similar to the Tang Qiling case.

Yan Sanhe said, “So besides that dog eunuch Yan Ruxian, all those great scholars who set the questions were involved.”

“Blockhead.”

The scholar glared at Yan Sanhe. “Would the great scholars dare throw stones at their own feet? Weren’t they all greedy petty men from the Ministry of Rites?”

The expression on Yan Sanhe’s face instantly froze.

“They all wish for our Tang family to stink, rot, and decay. I can’t let them have their way. I must live well, live until the day when there is blue sky and bright moon.”

“When the Tang family had trouble, all of us students deeply believed in Teacher’s character and felt he was wrongly accused. So we jointly submitted a petition to plead for his innocence, wanting to do our small part.”

If one thought about it from another angle—Tang Qiling was the one who set the questions. What did question-setters fear most?

They feared the exam questions being leaked!

How could he risk his lifelong reputation for a few thousand taels of silver?

Therefore, there was definitely something wrong with Tang Qiling’s case.

Then who had framed him?

How did they frame him?

What was their true purpose in framing him?

A series of questions rose like bubbles from the bottom of a lake, gurgling upward. Yan Sanhe fell into deep thought, not even hearing the distant sound of approaching hoofbeats.

…

Xie Zhifei dismounted and jumped down, his lips pressed into a thin line as he strode up the steps before the vermilion gate of the Censorate.

He stopped, turned around, and surveyed the scene. His eyes grew dark.

The Imperial Academy had only four to five hundred students, but before him were at least a thousand people. Clearly, all the scholars residing in the capital had mobilized.

Damn it, that was too fast!

“Master, what should we do?”

Xie Zhifei glanced at Zhu Qing. “Where’s the Crown Prince?”

Zhu Qing pointed at the vermilion gate behind them.

Damn!

Xie Zhifei cursed inwardly but actually calmed down. He leaned his head toward Zhu Qing’s ear.

“Go notify the Crown Prince’s Manor guards to come quickly to protect the Crown Prince and Crown Grandson. I’ll find a way to persuade these scholars to go back.”

“What if they can’t be persuaded?”

“What can we do?”

Xie Zhifei’s tone was indescribably helpless, though his eyes were exceptionally cold and calm. “Keep persuading!”

As soon as he finished speaking, someone among the scholars—no one knew who—shouted.

“The Embroidered Uniform Guard is here.”