Jing Yi looked with satisfaction at Gongsun Yan who was choking with speechless rage. "Can't blame Minister Gongsun... you passed the imperial examinations twenty-seven years ago. 'To know what you know and know what you don't know is true knowledge' - guess you've forgotten it completely?"
Before Gongsun Yan could open his mouth, Li Rusheng's son suddenly raised his small hand. "I know!"
Jing Yi was taken aback, and before he could react, he heard the little boy recite seriously: "From The Analects - Governing. Confucius said: 'You, shall I teach you about knowledge? What you know, you know, what you don't know, you don't know. This is true knowledge.' It means knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing - that's true wisdom."
Xiao Jin Yu's lips curved slightly upward.
Jing Yi remained stunned for quite a while before turning to Wu Jiang. "This sentence... you handle it as you see fit."
"......"
Jing Yi smiled and looked at Gongsun Yan. "Minister Gongsun, remembered now?"
Gongsun Yan was pondering whether to answer with his head raised or lowered when Jing Yi continued, "Take your time, no hurry. Let me continue with my story about Li Rusheng. Why did Li Rusheng pretend to be his son? Actually, he didn't even know he was pretending to be his son... Two years ago, Li Rusheng was doing manual labor for some official's family. The weather was so hot that Li Rusheng took off his upper garment. When he did so, that dark mole was revealed. Once the mole showed, he went from being a laborer to becoming a scribe... Yun Gu, this happened, right?"
Yun Gu nodded repeatedly. "Exactly, exactly..."
Jing Yi looked at Gongsun Yan. "This official's family treated Li Rusheng with extraordinary care - providing food, drink, and wages. Li Rusheng always wanted to find an opportunity to repay them. So before the Metropolitan Exam, this Official Master asked Li Rusheng for a small favor, and Li Rusheng agreed without hesitation. What this Official Master asked Li Rusheng to do wasn't anything major - just instructed him to wear several layers of clothing, to cry and make a scene to attract attention during the inspection at the Imperial Examination Hall entrance, to take the privately made official uniform from Granny Qin who delivered water to the examination hall and wear it underneath, then carry on as usual... Of course, this Official Master forbade Li Rusheng from telling his family. So when Yun Gu asked Li Rusheng to bring charcoal from home to the examination hall, Li Rusheng didn't say that nothing was allowed to be brought into the examination hall this year, but said wearing more clothes would be enough - thus reasonably taking away a pile of clothes without arousing his family's suspicion."
Jing Yi looked at the astonished Yun Gu. "Before Li Rusheng left, he told Yun Gu he would definitely pass the exam this time. Why? Because he knew that the Official Master who appreciated and sympathized with him was serving as the Chief Examiner of the Current Examination. He saw hope for fairness... Minister Gongsun, you serve in the Ministry of Rites, so you probably aren't very familiar with criminal law matters. Before I name this bastard explicitly, if this bastard confesses voluntarily, the sentencing standards would be different. With good luck, he might even keep his life."
Gongsun Yan gritted his teeth without making a sound.
"Minister Gongsun, you've had a hard life. Fifty years old, with only one son who just turned two years old, and not even your own biological child..."
Gongsun Yan suddenly jumped up from the ground. "You're talking nonsense!"Jing Yi looked at him with an innocent expression. "Did I say something wrong? I saw it clearly from the beam last night—you're empty down there. Judging by the scar, it must be at least twenty years old... Could it be that Lady Gongsun was pregnant for over twenty years before giving birth to such a precious son?"
"Shut up!"
Everyone’s gaze instantly shifted to Gongsun Yan’s lower body. Even Xiao Jin Yu opened his eyes, and Chu Chu curiously moved closer.
Jing Yi smiled harmlessly. "If you think my eyesight is poor and I’ve misjudged, we have the Imperial Concubine here who has sharp eyes and expertise. Just take off your pants and let her examine you to clarify..."
Before Xiao Jin Yu could glare and speak, Chu Chu’s clear, bright voice rang out, "Alright!"
Wu Jiang’s hand trembled, leaving a dark streak across the center of the paper.
Chu Chu’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the space between Gongsun Yan’s legs—she had never seen what a man looked like when he was empty down there!
Xiao Jin Yu’s face turned pale then flushed. Gongsun Yan felt a chill rushing through his lower body under Chu Chu’s gaze. Jing Yi, his eyes full of laughter, said, "Lord Gongsun, the Imperial Concubine is an expert at dissection. Her cuts are precise and steady, guaranteed to examine you clearly and uncover the truth..."
Gongsun Yan’s legs gave way, and he knelt back down with a thud, tightly covering the void between his legs as if the long-dormant, unbearable pain had resurfaced. His body trembled uncontrollably. "No... no... I’ll speak myself. I’ll talk..."
Chu Chu pouted in disappointment and stepped back.
Xiao Jin Yu silently breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes again.
Gritting his teeth, Gongsun Yan lifted his head and glared coldly at Xiao Jin Yu. "Prince An, Lord Jing... you noble-born people have no idea what it’s like to endure hardship in study... If it weren’t for that thieving couple from the Qin Family who stole me from the Gongsun Family, I wouldn’t have ended up like this!"
Xiao Jin Yu frowned slightly and opened his eyes.
Gongsun Yan sneered, "You’ve all been deceived by those two old fools... They didn’t come looking for me out of concern—they’re just unable to have children due to their own misdeeds and shamelessly clung to me to provide for them in their old age!"
Clenching his jaw, Gongsun Yan’s eyes seemed to spit fire. "How dare they say they were searching for me... What did I eat? What did I wear in their home? If they hadn’t stolen me, as the son of the Minister of Rites, would I have been beaten out of the Imperial Examination Hall for exposing the cheating of an official’s son? Would I have been left injured on the streets and crippled by that official’s servants? If my father hadn’t found me in time, I would have died on the streets!"
"Fortunately, my father recognized the birthmark on my body, treated my wounds, and told me about my origins... I passed the imperial examination on my second attempt. Many young ladies sought to marry me, willing even with my condition... Back in that thieving couple’s home, even country girls wouldn’t look at me! I thought, since they raised me, and I had a family and career, I wouldn’t settle scores with them. Who knew those shameless ones would come to the capital and wait to ambush me at the Imperial Examination Hall... Luckily, they didn’t know I had reunited with my birth father, so they foolishly waited there, and I enjoyed some peace for a while..."
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