Chapter 228 Big Trouble

The imperial examination is held once every three years. It was held only once last year. Logically, it should not be held this year, but this year is special.

It happened to be the 70th birthday of the empress dowager. The emperor specially opened the special examination to pray for her.

The examination process of the imperial examination is not much different from last year's provincial examination.

There are three examinations in total, each lasting three days, and the schedule is extremely tight.

Perhaps because of the unrest along the way, Gu Mingda's eyelids twitched violently. He always felt that something unexpected would happen.

The lights in front of the Imperial Examination Hall were bright, but he didn't need to carry a lantern himself.

He held the examination basket in both hands and didn't squeeze into the crowded place, but carefully checked the examination basket again.

Although the pre-examination search was carried out very early, it was not until the morning (7 o'clock in the morning) after entering. Four hours was enough to complete the search of all candidates.

Going in earlier, although you can rest earlier, this is a three-day examination, so there is no need to argue about the length of this time. Now that you are away from the crowd, you can also avoid some dirty tricks.

Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder hard.

"Brother, you don't seem to be in a hurry. Can I go to the front first?"

Gu Mingda glanced at the person who was talking.

The man opposite had a long face, with a sense of desolation unique to people who were not doing well in life. He was wearing a thin, worn-out long gown, and the exam basket in his hand was covered with a layer of black cloth.

For some reason, Gu Mingda felt a thrilling feeling when he saw this person.

Although Gu Mingda blamed this person for not being gentle enough, he did not argue with him. He quietly moved aside and let him move forward.

This long-faced reckless guy did not thank him. Seeing that this trick worked, he followed the same method and asked others to give him a seat.

Some people had a good temper and gave up their seats like Gu Mingda.

But there were also people with bad tempers who were unwilling to give up their seats no matter how hard the long-faced reckless guy talked.

"Why do you have to squeeze forward? Are you in a hurry to reincarnate? Hitting someone so painfully, are you looking for death?" The round-faced scholar who was unwilling to give up his seat said bluntly.

"Are you sure you don't want to give up?" The long-faced daredevil said coldly.

The round-faced scholar was not afraid and said, "I got up early by my ability and occupied this position. Why should I give it to you?"

The long-faced daredevil's eyes immediately turned cold and said, "You are such a person, and you can actually pass the exam to become a juren?"

The round-faced scholar sneered and said, "You look so shabby and downtrodden. Are you really a juren? Are you here to join in the fun?"

These words hit the long-faced daredevil's sore spot. He reached out and lifted the black cloth covering the exam basket,

and then took out a dagger with a cold light and stabbed the round-faced scholar with force.

The round-faced scholar was not prepared at all and was stabbed in the abdomen. In an instant, his clothes were stained with blood.

"You...you're crazy..."

The round-faced scholar was speechless.

The other scholars were so scared that they hid back instantly.

But the long-faced daredevil seemed to be stimulated by something when he saw the blood. He waved his dagger and stabbed at other people again.

Most of the scholars were scholars. They had never seen such a scene before. They all hid in a swarm.

The entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall was in chaos.

Gu Mingda was not far away. It was his luck. He happened to see the riot in front and hid in a place with few people.

There were a few scholars who loved to join in the fun and squeezed forward without knowing whether to live or die.

When the first scream came into his ears, Gu Mingda knew that it was bad. He retreated even more.

Now he was not on the boat, but outside the Imperial Examination Hall. He had no environment to watch the fun. Any accident might affect his exam today, so he forced himself to suppress his desire to watch the fun.

"With so many people, what happened in front will spread to the back sooner or later, just wait..." Gu Mingda kept comforting himself.

Various guesses kept flashing through his mind, wondering what was going on in front, a quarrel? Or a fight?

But the next second, he heard someone shouting: "Murder!"

Gu Mingda felt a chill on his back when he heard this, and looked around, as if he wanted to find a weapon that was handy.

The scholars in the center of the excitement ran around like a tide.

People were crowded together, so it was easy to cause trouble. No one wanted to stay with the madman with a sharp weapon.

Obviously, the long-faced madman was thin, but just because he had a dagger in his hand, he stabbed another person. All the scholars didn't want to be the second injured person, and no one dared to stop him for a while.

But the more they gave in, the easier it was for the madman to succeed.

"You look down on me too, right? You kidnapped my wife, right?"

The madman waved the dagger and stabbed whoever was close.

The second victim appeared, and the crowd retreated more urgently.

"Don't push me! Don't push me!"

"Who is stepping on my foot!"

The crowd was crowded together noisily, and Gu Mingda stood in the distance, with anxious shouts and wailing in his ears.

He watched helplessly as a scholar was pushed by someone because he did not retreat in time, and then disappeared in the crowd, and his life or death was unknown.

Such a big riot broke out, and even if the soldiers at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall stepped forward to maintain order at the first time, there were still many victims.

One person was stabbed to death and five people were injured by the madman.

But four people were trampled to death because of panic, and more than a dozen others were injured while trying to avoid the crowd.

"Asshole! A madman turned the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall upside down! Investigate, investigate thoroughly, and see who this madman is! Is there anyone behind him directing him!"

The chief examiner of the imperial examination, Pan Zhenren, was so angry that he almost slammed the table.

This was the first time he was in charge of the imperial examination, and he encountered such a big mess, especially this spring examination was to celebrate the 70th birthday of the empress dowager. If something went wrong, he didn't know how the emperor would blame him.

Pan Zhenren vaguely suspected that someone was targeting him.

It would take time to investigate the madman, but now the candidates outside were waiting.

"Sir Pan, will the examination continue?" an official asked cautiously.

Pan Renzhen didn't sleep much last night, and he was holding back his headache to preside over the work. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Continue the examination, let the candidates line up for inspection, and don't let them be too crowded."

The official hesitated.

Pan Renzhen added, "I will write a memorial and ask the counties outside the capital to mobilize some yamen runners to come and assist."

In fact, his first thought was to ask for someone from the Beijing Camp, but he gave up the idea after just thinking about it. The Beijing Camp was the main force to protect the capital. If he caused trouble in the capital because of his request for someone, he would become a sinner for all eternity.

Outside the Imperial Examination Hall, after waiting for about half an hour, a soldier came to organize the queue and prepare for the search and physical examination again.

Gu Mingda stood silently at the end of the queue with the examination basket. He was required to be at least three steps away from the person in front. The space between the two was enough for several more people to line up.

The team gradually moved forward and soon passed the scene of the incident.

Gu Mingda's eyes condensed, and with the brightening skylight, he saw a large blood stain on the ground two meters away.

That was the blood spilled by the madman stabbing someone.

Gu Mingda's eyes moved up and he saw a familiar young man standing next to the blood stain.

Qin Jing

The young master of the Xianguo Mansion, who was so handsome when we first met, now had a pale face and a deep sorrow between his brows.