The Heavenly Drum could directly reach the Emperor, so every time the Heavenly Drum was beaten, there must have been something big that had caused bloodshed.

  As the second runner-up of the Imperial Examination, Wu Wen could see the Emperor and didn’t have to beat the Heavenly Drum.

  But he still beat the Heavenly Drum to attract as much attention as possible.

  Wu Wen had just learned that his fiancée had been sold to a brothel in Yangzhou, so why should Qiao Jinniang still be the crown princess, living a luxurious life?

  The envoys from foreign countries were all in the Imperial Palace today, and beating the Heavenly Drum would not only make him famous, but would also make his image of integrity be known to the world, and his name might even be recorded in history!

  Wu Wen was aching terribly all over because he had just rolled on the nailed plate.

  In the Taiji Palace, all the ministers arrived.

  Wu Wen knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, I want to sue the Crown Princess for forcing a young girl of a good family into prostitution and helping her brother cheat in the Imperial Examination.

  Duke Anyuan came out and said, “What a joke. As my heir, why does my son have to cheat in the Imperial Examination that is just icing on the cake to him? And my son is only seventeen years old. Why would he be so desperate to pass the first Imperial Examination he took?”


  Wu Wen kowtowed and said, “After all, literati all value fame. If Young Master Qiao wins in the first Imperial Examination he takes, he will definitely rise to fame, but this is really unfair to those poor examinees who have studied hard for ten years or more!

  “Moreover, someone can prove that Young Master Qiao knew the exam questions in advance!”


  Emperor Huilin frowned and said, “If you have a witness, call him over.” Then he turned to a eunuch. “Come, invite the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess over.”


  Qiao Jinniang and Lu Chen had been waiting outside the palace. Hearing Emperor Huilin’s words, they came in together and bowed to Emperor Huilin. “Father.”


  Emperor Huilin said, “Wu Wen beat the Heavenly Drum to sue you for forcing his fiancee to be a prostitute. Do you admit it?”


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  Qiao Jinniang bowed her head and said, “Father, I grew up among commoners and know the hardships of women. How could I force a girl into prostitution?”


  Wu Wen said to Qiao Jinniang, “My fiancée is Liu Chunxian. Her parents were servants of Duke Anyuan Mansion. She was sold to a brothel in Yangzhou. How dare the Crown Princess say she didn’t do that?”


  Although Qiao Jinniang didn’t know who Liu Chunxian was, she guessed this girl must be Aunt Liu’s daughter. She remembered that Huaishan had said that her niece was going to marry an examinee of the Imperial Examination, and that examinee must have been Wu Wen.

  Qiao Jinniang said, “Her mother made a terrible mistake, falsely accusing me of committing adultery. I certainly could not spare her, so I sold her and her family.

  “Besides, I just asked the human trafficker to sell her out of Chang’an, but I have never asked him to sell her to a brothel.

  “Don’t plant what the human trafficker did on me.”


  Imperial Censor Tong came out and said, “Your Majesty, the Crown Princess dated a man before her wedding, which is known to almost everyone in Chang’an, but in fright of Duke Anyuan’s power, the people in Chang’an were forced to shut up.

  “If this is true, the servants of Duke Anyuan Mansion may be unfaithful to her master.

  “But she was just trying to defend the reputation of the royal family and prevent His Royal Highness from being deceived, so the Liu family didn’t do anything wrong.”


  Wu Wen angrily pointed his finger at Qiao Jinniang and snapped, “Qiao Jinniang, you dated a man at home, and the Liu family just told the truth, but you sold them and forced them to be separated from each other forever. You are really vicious!”


  All the ministers secretly admired Imperial Censor Tong and Wu Wen for their boldness.

  Qiao Jinniang said, “An imperial censor’s responsibility is to supervise the officials for His Majesty, but you should perform your duty based on solid evidence instead of random false accusations.

  “Imperial Censor Tong, you accused me with some ridiculous rumors. Are you still worthy of being an imperial censor?

  “Father, I’m innocent. I can ignore the slanderous rumors against me among the commoners, but now even a high-ranking official dares to slander me at will. Please uphold justice for me!”


  Imperial Censor Tong remembered Tong Yingying’s suggestion, so he said, “Everyone in Chang’an has known about this matter and it has been confirmed by the servants of the Duke Mansion. How could it be false?”


  Lu Chen glanced coldly at Imperial Censor Tong and said, “I should have explained this earlier. That night, I went to Jinniang to discuss our wedding with her, and the Old Madam of the Duke Mansion didn’t know it was me.

  “All the servants and guards present can testify for me. That Aunt Liu wasn’t even in the Jin Garden that night but made up a story to slander Jinniang!

  “The rumor has long since disappeared among the commoners. Imperial Censor Tong, why did you mention it again? What’s your purpose?”


  Hearing that the Crown Prince admitting in public that he had sneaked to the Duke Mansion to date his crown princess before their wedding, the ministers were all surprised.

  Emperor Huilin was a little embarrassed at his son’s behavior, and said, “The Crown Prince shouldn’t have gone to the Duke Mansion at night to meet the Crown Princess before the wedding, but since the imperial decree has been issued, his behavior was not against the rules.”


  Emperor Huilin continued. “But that servant spread such malicious rumors about her master. It is reasonable to sell her whole family. Besides, her daughter is still the Duke Mansion’s slave, so the Duke Mansion has the right to sell her. As for where the human trafficker sold her to, what does it have to do with the Crown Princess?”


  “Wu Wen, even though you’ve rolled the nailed plate, if you falsely accuse the Crown Princess, you still committed a felony!”


  Wu Wen’s face turned pale when he listened to Emperor Huilin’s words. He had heard that the Crown Prince didn’t sleep with the Crown Princess on the night of their wedding.

  He thought that the Crown Prince must have done this because Qiao Jinniang committed adultery, but it turned out that he was wrong.

  Imperial Censor Tong pleaded for Wu Wen. “Your Majesty, Wu Wen is a talented person. He was just too eager to protect his fiancee.”


  Qiao Jinniang said casually, “Eager to protect his fiancee? I only ordered the human trafficker to sell that girl out of Chang’an. If he really loves her, why didn’t he follow that human trafficker out of Chang’an to buy Liu Chunxian?”


  “Besides, Imperial Censor Tong has slandered the Duke Anyuan Mansion and me for no reason. If he isn’t punished for this, doesn’t it mean that all the imperial censors can do the same to me?

  “Father, please uphold justice for me!”


  Qiao Jinniang knelt on the ground.

  Duke Anyuan got on his knees too and said, “Your Majesty, please uphold justice for us. We never dared to forget our ancestors’ teaching that we must be loyal to the royal family forever. How could we possibly do such a ridiculous thing?”


  Emperor Huilin said, “What the Crown Princess and Duke Anyuan said is reasonable. Pass on my order that Tong Lei is hereby dismissed from office, which is a warning to all officials!”


  Imperial Censor Tong collapsed to the ground and set his pleading gaze to Duke Wu, but the latter simply ignored him, his elder brother-in-law.

  He narrowly beat the Crown Princess last time on the matter of the Qiao clansmen, but he didn’t stop and offended the Crown Princess over and over again. Now he just got what he deserved.

  Emperor Huilin was always partial to Lu Chen. Qiao Jinniang was Lu Chen’s wife. How could he allow a mere official to bully his beloved son’s wife?

  Wu Wen hurriedly said, “Even if I didn’t find out the truth about Liu Chunxian’s matter, it’s absolutely true that Qiao Lu knew the exam questions in advance. The witness is already waiting outside the palace.”


  Emperor Huilin said, “Bring him in!”


  From the outside, a petite and thin young man came in. His face was a bit feminine and he looked a little like Lu Chen.

  When Emperor Huilin saw this young man, he almost thought that this was the Queen’s stray son.

  He looked exactly the same as the Queen when she was dressed as a man when she was young.

  Wu Wen said, “This young scholar can testify for me!”