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Minister Jia stood with a stern face and with a bow towards the sky, said, "His Majesty is wise and enlightened, encourages open dialogue, accepts counsel, does not tolerate favoritism or fraud in the imperial examination, nor does He tolerate inciting trouble on opportunistic grounds.

In response to the petition of the candidates from Taiyuan Prefecture, who are seeking justice, today a public re-examination of Lian Mu from Taiyuan Prefecture is held in the Shanxue Square of the Imperial Academy, under the watchful eyes of the public.

The Minister of Rites personally sets the questions, with several ministers and great Confucian scholars jointly grading the papers.

If it is proven that Lian Mu lacks the talent to justify his position, his academic titles will be revoked, and he and his family for three generations will be barred from participating in the imperial examination. "

Minister Jia paused, looking over the expressions of the people, then said grimly, "If it is proven that Lian Mu truly possesses the talent and is worthy of the title Jieyuan of Taiyuan Prefecture, then all the petitioning candidates of Taiyuan Prefecture who spread rumors and falsely accused him will have their academic titles revoked and shall be banned from taking the imperial examination for twenty years! "

His words were emphatic, and he glared threateningly, scanning the entire audience.

Immediately, the crowd averted their gaze and a pin-drop silence ensued.

Upon hearing that academic titles would be revoked and they would be banned from the imperial examination, the scholars shivered, a calamity for any literatus. Everyone who heard this felt a pang of anxiety.

But upon second thought, they realized such a fate would not befall the honest among them; likely, those from Taiyuan Prefecture were in for it. Smirks of anticipation appeared on many faces. Less competition in the exams and fewer contestants vying for titles would be a welcome development.

The crowd’s support gradually leaned towards Lian Musu.

Out of nowhere, someone shouted, "His Majesty is brilliant!"

The crowd, coming to their senses, echoed the sentiment, "His Majesty is brilliant!"

The square once again erupted into a lively atmosphere.

Letting the crowd shout for a while, Minister Jia turned to see that Lian Musu was prepared and raised his hand for silence, his brow furrowed as he barked, "From this moment, anyone who makes a disturbance or disrupts the order here, regardless of their background, will be taken to Shuntian Prefecture! "

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a man who was hugging a column dropped his grip in fright, cried out, and then managed to hold on again, causing a wave of tension among the onlookers.

But before that man could feel relieved, officials rushed towards him, gagged him, and dragged him away.

The crowd immediately quieted down.

Minister Jia was pleased.

He turned to look at Lian Musu, who smiled faintly at him. He smiled back but quickly caught himself, adopting a stern posture again, his presence foreboding like the executioner on the scaffold, intimidating and unavoidable.

This was the extent of his assistance; the rest was up to Lian Mu.

At that moment, a troop of Imperial Guards arrived from the edges of the crowd, led by the Commander of the Imperial Guard, carrying a box.

As the crowd parted, the Commander of the Imperial Guard reached the square, motioned with his hand, and the well-trained guards swiftly spread out, forming another layer of a circle among the officials every ten steps.

The Commander of the Imperial Guard asked in a loud voice, "Where is Taiyuan Prefecture candidate Lian Mu?"

Lian Musu bowed in respect, "It is I, sir."

After a brief exchange to confirm his identity, the Commander of the Imperial Guard explained his mission, delivered the sealed exam questions as ordained from above, and asked Lian Musu to take his seat.

The questions were to be shown to the public, and the examination was to start immediately, with papers to be submitted by dusk.

Aside from emergencies that would necessitate a bathroom break, escorted by ten Imperial Guards, he could not leave the covered area of the exam hut at any other time. The Imperial Academy would provide food and drink at noon.

Everyone held their breath; this public re-examination of a village Jieyuan in history was unprecedented.

The spectacle was immense, with Shanxue Square of the Imperial Academy serving as the open examination site, the esteemed Minister of Rites setting the questions.

Not only were officials overseeing the examination, but even His Majesty’s Imperial Guards were deployed, and with the public scrutiny, it was truly without precedent!

There could be no more just examination than this, where every move of the examinees inside was scrutinized and magnified in detail, leaving no room for any covert actions.

Moreover, the test questions were personally escorted by the Commander of the Imperial Guard, eliminating any possibility of cheating.

Apart from His Majesty, no one had the authority to influence the Imperial Guards.

Such a spectacle opened the eyes of the onlookers, who, as ordinary citizens, had only ever heard of the imperial examination and in their whole lives did not know how it was conducted.

Upon seeing it today, they realized how stringent it was and immediately felt relieved that it was not they themselves taking the exam.

Otherwise, they would have been so frightened before the start that they might have wet their pants.

With so many eyes watching, it was terrifying, and even as mere onlookers, they felt an overwhelming pressure.

The scholars who came to watch had also never seen such an imposing array, and imagining themselves in the same situation at the Tribute Academy in the future, they couldn’t help but turn pale.

The pressure in such an environment was indeed too great, and their minds became chaotic, unable to think clearly.

Everyone couldn’t help but admire the person who was to take the exam. They saw Lian Musu, whose face remained unchanged, poised and calm, with every action showing grace and natural ease, as though it were an ordinary day, without a hint of nervousness.

At that moment, Lian Musu thought of nothing else. Even when the Imperial Guards delivered the test questions, he did not ponder any deeper.

Gathering his thoughts, he sat down as instructed by the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and looked back at the Commander.

The Commander of the Imperial Guards watched and inwardly admired; he handled his duties impartially, letting his subordinate hold the box, and he personally opened it and unfolded the test questions in front of everyone.

After opening it, he paused in slight astonishment. Why was there only one character?

Without the time to think, he raised the test questions high, turning a full circle to present them to the crowd.

The crowd immediately became restless.

With a cough from Minister Jia, the crowd instantly fell silent again, yet within their hearts, waves were surging.

Minister Jia turned to look, and upon seeing the question clearly, he felt a chill in his heart and couldn’t help but worry for Lian Musu.

Lian Musu saw the strong and powerful character and his pupils contracted, restraining himself from looking around.

On the test question was only one character: justice.

With neither title nor directive, there was only one character.

He couldn’t help but think that his conversation with Brother Liang from the previous day must have been overheard, hence today’s test question consisted of just one character.

It must have been that old man with entirely white hair, right? In these past days, only that man had been sneakily lurking around him. He couldn’t think of anyone else who possessed the capability to influence the test questions so significantly.

That old man was no ordinary person.

He stared at the character for a moment, shook his head to dismiss distracting thoughts, and couldn’t help but smile, a smile that spread naturally, his features bright and clear.

This heartfelt smile was very comforting to those who saw it.

While it was pleasing to look at, the sight made the watching scholars anxious. Had Lian Mu from Taiyuan Prefecture lost his mind? Why was he still laughing, and laughing so happily?

A single-character test question seemed simple to answer at first, but when there’s only one character, with nothing else provided, answering it properly becomes extremely difficult.

With no direction or guidance to infer the examiner’s intent, it was as cumbersome as a dog trying to bite a tortoise – nowhere to begin.

Especially this single character, ’justice’, a word with such vast connotation, ten thousand people might have ten thousand interpretations, none exactly alike.