Chapter 5002 Dou Huairang: Princess Jinyang cannot be touched!

Chapter 5002 Dou Huairang: Princess Jinyang cannot be touched!

Fang Jun looked at Li Yun speechlessly. Why is this guy crazy?

Although he is usually uneducated, undisciplined and playful, he is not ignorant of the overall situation and is not a troublemaker. Why would he do such a thing in this important examination hall?
Li Yun was sweating a little under Fang Jun's gaze. He was worried and explained hurriedly, "Brother-in-law, you can't listen to his one-sided story. He obviously brought the paper ball with him. What does it have to do with me? I came to take the exam just to go through the motions. I just wanted to faint. How could I frame him? It doesn't make sense!"

Fang Jun looked at Dou Huairang again.

He felt that what Li Yun said made sense. How could this guy, who was ignorant and incompetent, pass the exam? However, this time the Zongzheng Temple issued a strict order that all the children of the royal family who were of the right age must take the exam regardless of their academic level, and the princes were no exception. So Li Yun was just going through the motions to complete the task of the Zongzheng Temple. No one thought he could pass the exam.

In this case, what is the benefit of framing Dou Huairang?
Lack of motivation.

Xu Jingzong had a cold face. He glanced at Li Yun for a moment, then at Dou Huairang. His mind raced as he asked the invigilator beside him, "Have you ever seen King Jiang throw a ball of paper at Dou Huairang?"

Several invigilators looked at each other and shook their heads: "I haven't seen it!"

The two men suddenly started fighting, and there was indeed no one to tell why.

Dou Huairang felt that something was wrong and said hurriedly, "There are students nearby, someone must have seen it. We can ask them carefully, and there must be someone who can testify!"

Xu Jingzong sneered, "The imperial examination is a national talent selection ceremony, and it is also related to the students' career. If you call the students here to testify for you, maybe you can prove your innocence, but it will ruin the hard work of the other students for a year. Such selfish people, even if they pass the imperial examination and are appointed as officials, will definitely be corrupt and selfish. Although the country lacks talents, it does not need such corrupt officials!"

Dou Huairang's eyes were wide open with a look of bewilderment. He didn't know that he was being wronged. He proposed to let other students prove it. How could he be regarded as a corrupt official who only cared about personal gain?

Xu Jingzong ignored him and waved his hands at the Jinwu guards: "Dou Huairang is suspected of plagiarism and disrupting the order of the examination room. He even tried to sabotage the imperial examination and implicate other candidates. His behavior is abominable and his intentions are vicious. He will be expelled from the examination room immediately and his candidate name card will be cancelled by the Ministry of Rites. He will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination within three years!"

"In addition, King Jiang got into a fight in the examination room. He will be disqualified from this exam and kicked out!"

How could he not know the relationship between Prince Jiang and Fang Jun? Although there was no final conclusion, the court and the people were almost certain that Prince Jiang was about to marry Fang Xuanling's youngest daughter, so naturally they would be partial to Prince Jiang. However, Prince Jiang did disrupt the order of the examination room this time, so it was impossible for him to go back and take the exam. He could only take it again next year, so fortunately Dou Huairang's qualification for the exam was revoked for three years to give Fang Jun some vent.

He was the Minister of Rites and nominally the organizer of the imperial examination, so he had the qualifications and power to do so.

Although it might offend the Dou family, if he had to choose between the Dou family and Fang Jun, he would choose Fang Jun no matter what.

Besides, this decision has sufficient reasons, and no one can find fault with it...

Fang Jun stood aside with his hands behind his back, looking on indifferently. He didn't care what decision Xu Jingzong made, as long as it was well-founded and would not be accused of favoritism and corruption afterwards.

Dou Huairang was shocked and cried out, "Why did Minister Xu do this? I was wronged!"

Their branch had limited capabilities. His father, Dou Dexuan, was only a junior supervisor in the palace until today. Because he had played a role in the Jin Prince's rebellion, his career was bound to be difficult. The only political resource his father and brother could give him was probably a "good reputation."

If he could not make progress in the imperial examination, the end of his career would be almost foreseeable, and he would no longer have the opportunity to realize his ambitions...

However, Prince Jiang Li Yun was very complacent. He didn't care about the imperial examination at all, and he knew he would not pass it. When he saw the punishment given to Xu Jingzong, he felt that he was obviously favored. Then he looked at Fang Jun who was silent on the side, and guessed that Xu Jingzong must have been instructed by Fang Jun to do this on purpose.

It seems that Fang Jun not only thought highly of his "future brother-in-law", but was also taking advantage of the situation because he was dissatisfied with Dou Huairang.

As for the reason for his dissatisfaction with Dou Huairang, it was naturally because this fellow actually coveted Jinyang and tried to propose marriage to Your Majesty...

I will definitely explain the details to Jinyang later.

Xu Jingzong looked at the loudly shouting Dou Huairang, frowned and scolded: "A son of a noble family is actually acting like a shrew. How can this be tolerated? This is the imperial examination hall. How can we allow such bad apples to destroy it? Come, take this man out, give him 20 strokes of the cane, and expel him!"

"Here!"

Several Jinwu guards stepped forward and saw that Dou Huairang was still shouting, so they pinned him to the ground, blocked his mouth, and quickly carried him out of the county government office. They read out his crimes in front of many common people, officials, and servants of noble families at the gate of the county government office, then beat him with twenty military sticks and ordered him to leave immediately.

Li Yun laughed and said, "It is my fault for causing trouble to you two. I will leave immediately and will not delay the exam!"

He turned around and left gracefully.

After the farce ended, the invigilator repeatedly scolded the candidates who were watching the fun to maintain order in the examination room and the exam continued.

Fang Jun frowned, somewhat puzzled: "Why does King Jiang look like he is deliberately provoking me?"

Xu Jingzong disagreed: "Perhaps there has been a conflict between these two people? But it is harmless. We are not the law enforcement department, so we don't need to care about who is right or wrong. Since they disrupted the order of the examination room, we will expel them together. As for their own affairs, let them deal with it. It has nothing to do with the examination room."

Fang Jun also thought it made sense. Prince Jiang was the type of guy who "never made big mistakes, but kept making small mistakes". He looked well-behaved, but in fact he had some playboy habits. This matter might not be as innocent as it seemed. If it was investigated further, it would be hard to predict what would happen.

It would be better to expel them both. As for the grudges and conflicts between the two, they can settle them between themselves...

"It's better to have less trouble than more. The top priority right now is to ensure the smooth progress of the imperial examination. The rest are just side issues."

"What the commander said is very true."

……

This imperial examination was probably the largest in terms of number of participants since the establishment of the imperial examination in the Former Sui Dynasty. In particular, all the children of the royal family who were of the right age participated, and the families of the nobles followed closely. With so many spoiled and pampered children taking the exam, each family naturally sent servants and maids to serve outside the examination room and solve various problems at any time.

Dou Huairang was taken out of the county government gate by the Jinwu Guards, and was pressed on the wet ground in front of the gate and beaten with twenty military sticks. The servants of the Dou family who had followed him immediately knew what was going on, and they rushed forward in horror, not knowing what to do, and glared at the Jinwu Guards.

Dou Huairang struggled to stand up with the help of the servants. His face was pale and he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go home."

He knew that it was pointless to argue about it. They were just a few invigilators and soldiers who were following orders. How could he argue about right and wrong with them?

The main culprits are Prince Jiang Li Yun, the Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong, and Fang Jun, the mastermind behind the whole thing!

Do you really think that if you just stand aside and say nothing, others won’t know how sinister and cunning you are?
It’s so deceiving!
The servant brought the carriage, helped Dou Huairang get on, and quickly drove back to the Dou family.

On the carriage, Dou Huairang, lying on the mattress, clenched his fists. The pain in his thighs was unbearable, but the anger in his heart made his whole body tremble.

After a while, they returned to the Dou family. The carriage drove directly through the side door and arrived at the central courtyard. A servant jumped out of the car and ran inside to report the news, while the others helped Dou Huairang out of the car and walked into the hall.

The entire Dou family was in chaos.

The slaves and maids couldn't understand why Erlang, the most talented writer in the family, went to take the imperial examination but came back before the appointed time, with a bloody scar on his buttocks and severe injuries?
Dou Dexuan and his son Dou Huaizheng hurried into the hall together. When they saw Dou Huairang's miserable condition, they were shocked. They rushed forward to check and ask what happened, and at the same time quickly asked someone to notify the doctor in the palace to come.

Dou Huairang was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat and gritted his teeth, "Fang Jun, you are going too far!"

Dou Dexuan asked curiously, "How could you have offended Fang Jun when you were taking the imperial examination?"

In the past few years, Fang Jun did behave recklessly, often fighting with the children of royal families, aristocratic families, and powerful families, and his attacks were not mild. However, in recent years, as his status has continued to rise, his own cultivation has improved day by day. In addition, his power is so great that no one dares to provoke him, so there are no fights anymore.

Dou Huairang snorted angrily, feeling aggrieved: "How could I have provoked him? It was clearly my father who wanted to marry into the royal family for the sake of our family's future, and thus pushed his son into the fire pit!"

Dou Huaizhen, who was standing by, was shocked and scolded, "How can you say that, second brother? Father is making all this preparation for your future. As long as you pass the imperial examination and marry Princess Jinyang, you will rise to prominence and become a great talent in our family. Others can't even ask for such a good thing, and you are still complaining. It's really foolish!"

"It's impossible for others to beg for it? Brother, go out and ask around, is it impossible for others to beg for it? It's impossible for no one to beg for it!"

Dou Huairang was heartbroken and slapped the bed, "It is said that Princess Jinyang and Fang Jun were entangled and had an affair, but you just don't believe it. Qiu Shenji died unclearly and it is still an unsolved case. Who among the civil and military nobles and aristocratic families in the court dares to marry Princess Jinyang? But for the sake of your family's prosperity, you are willing to push me into the fire pit without any consideration for family affection. It's chilling!"

Dou Dexuan and his son Dou Huaizheng were confused and at a loss.

Dou Dexuan went forward to check on his injuries and tried to comfort him. Seeing that Dou Huairang was calmer, he asked, "What happened? Why didn't you take the exam? Why are you so seriously injured?"

Dou Huairang looked frustrated and recounted the incident in detail. Dou Huaizhen was furious, but Dou Dexuan was full of doubts: "This matter was caused by King Jiang's nonsense, but what does it have to do with Fang Jun? It has nothing to do with Princess Jinyang!"