Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 102 You little devil, you've finally come out!

On the high platform and among the crowd, various forces were poised to strike.

Only Zhou Wei and Jiang Yueli remained calm, waiting for everyone else to make their appearance.

"You, the third-ranked scholar, are now gathered here by representatives of all the scholars in the land, as well as the people of the capital. Do you dare to tell everyone where your astonishing essays came from?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianze felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his hands and feet began to go numb.

Could it be that Youniang's act of helping him steal has been exposed?

Chu Tianze looked at the Crown Prince on the high platform, whose gaze was scrutinizing.

Chen Wenyu, the Vice Minister of Rites, looked at Zhao Wuji's corpse on the ground with a pained expression.

These people's reactions all indicate that there's a serious problem with the article!

Chu Tianze was a little dazed, but he knew that he absolutely could not admit it at this moment.

Otherwise, he will be doomed!

Therefore, he looked at Li Yanzhang among the students and said with grief and indignation, "Brother Yanzhang, save me!"

"In order to avoid annulment of the engagement, the eldest princess is trying to accuse me of cheating on my writing."

“This lowly maid under her command killed Lord Zhao Wuji before even entering the hall.”

"It's simply because Lord Zhao wanted to speak up for me!"

"This is not just an insult to me alone, but an insult to all students in the North!"

As the initiator of the petition, Li Yanzhang immediately understood what had happened upon seeing this.

Thanks to Chu Tianze's cleverness, he used Jiang Yueli's reluctance to annul the engagement as a starting point, which immediately aroused the sympathy of the students in the North and made them stand with him.

Without a second thought, Li Yanzhang led the surrounding students from the north to kneel on the ground.

He cried out to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, please see the truth! Chu Tiance's literary talent is admired by all scholars in the land!"

"Brother Chu's two essays on the provincial and palace examinations are still posted at the entrance of the Imperial Academy. It was ordered by His Majesty that all students in the country should read them."

"The imperial examination is a serious matter, and with Lord Chen Wenyu presiding over the examination, how could Brother Chu possibly cheat?"

"Today's essay was witnessed by millions of students and ordinary people. How could Brother Chu have cheated?"

"Your Highness, please do not listen to the slanderous words of petty people, which have chilled the hearts of us students from the North!"

After Li Yanzhang finished speaking, his head slammed heavily to the ground until it was covered in blood, a truly horrifying sight.

The students from the north followed suit, kneeling down and pleading with the Crown Prince to see the truth!

Since taking over the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince had never seen such a scene.

The thousands of students' cheers were like a tidal wave, kneeling densely on the ground, almost engulfing him.

Chen Wenyu was extremely nervous and excited, saying, "Your Highness, this is the student movement! It is the aspiration of all scholars in the land, Your Highness must not ignore it!"

Chen Wenyu already has a psychological trauma from Zhou Wei's direct killing of Zhao Wuji.

A high-ranking imperial censor was actually killed by a mere guard from a princess's residence.

If this is not curbed, those officials in the court will be the ones to suffer in the future.

The prince's face gradually turned pale, and he gripped the chair armrests tightly.

After the two identical articles appeared, he knew in his heart that Chu Tiance was a literary thief!

But now, overwhelmed by the momentum of the students from the North, he felt a sense of fear.

The eldest princess saw through the crown prince's thoughts and couldn't help but laugh.

"Yueshan, now you finally understand my predicament, don't you?"

"That's how Chu Tianze threatened me when he brought his beautiful wife to my door that day, forcing me to break off the engagement."

"When all the scholars and students in the world unite as one, their power is enough to destroy anyone, including nobles like you and me."

"What do they think of the eldest princess, and what about the crown prince?"

"If anything doesn't go their way, it will be a petition with ten thousand words, a plea to the emperor, or a student movement of millions of people to coerce us!"

Jiang Yueli became more and more agitated as she spoke, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances she had suffered in her previous life.

Her brocade robe swayed in the wind, her words were mournful, yet she possessed an indomitable spirit!

"They thought that the law does not punish the masses! They thought that as the crown prince, you should consider the interests of all the people and not silence the voices of the people."

"You are now the crown prince, yet you are being forced by them, unable to control your own destiny."

"When he ascends the throne and tries to balance the interests of all parties, he will find that the court is deeply entrenched and he is hampered at every turn."

"If you back down today, you will never have the courage to fight against the student movement again!"

"You are the Crown Prince, the choice is yours!"

The princess's words were so powerful that even Chen Wenyu couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

He never knew that the eldest princess, who was known for her domineering nature, had such a presence and vision.

The Third Prince, Jiang Yuelin, also stared blankly at the Eldest Princess.

It seems he doesn't recognize his own sister!

"When did my elder sister become so decisive?"

Only Zhou Wei should applaud!

This is the villainous princess she knows!

How could someone who led troops into battle in his teens not understand military strategy?

Chu Tiance used the student movement to pressure the Crown Prince, and wasn't the Eldest Princess's words also a form of indirect pressure?

Jiang Yueli knew that as a woman, her words carried little weight at such an occasion as the Cultural Heritage Ceremony.

Then the Crown Prince must step forward!

But the Crown Prince always kept to himself and didn't care about things that didn't concern him, so he had to make him feel the pressure.

He only stood up to resist because he felt that even if he ascended the throne in the future, these scholars and students would still coerce him!

At this moment, the prince's hesitant and fearful gaze gradually faded, replaced by composure.

He stood up and looked directly at Li Yanzhang, who was leading the disturbance.

He slowly began to speak: "Fellow students, please rise. What happened today was that Chu Tiance stole the talents of others through cheating and deceived the world!"

"Dear students, do not be swayed by his few words and oppose the imperial court."

"As for Lord Zhao Wuji, he protected Chu Tiance, and even offered his own head as collateral."

"Now that Chu Tiance's cheating has been exposed, Zhou Wei, the military commander of the princess's residence, was executed on my orders. It was by no means an abuse of private punishment."

"I understand that you have been misled by Chu Tiance and are unaware of the reason, so I will not hold it against you."

"But if you do not rise and leave, then I will order the Imperial Guards to take action."

Zhu Zhen stood ready below the platform, his long sword already drawn.

We are just waiting for the Crown Prince's order to take down these troublemaking students!

Upon hearing this, the students from the north stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

Was Chu Tiance cheating?

Since these words came from the Crown Prince, doesn't that mean they are true?

They may not trust the eldest princess, but they cannot distrust the crown prince!

Seeing this, Chu Tiance feared that the situation was hopeless and was about to speak up to incite others.

Then Zhou Wei said, "If you dare to say another word, I'll plunge this knife into your mouth and spin it around."

"Try it if you don't believe me!"

Chu Tianze was filled with fear. He opened his mouth a few times, but ultimately couldn't utter a single word.

Student representative Li Yanzhang, unaware of the situation, could sense something was amiss from Chu Tiance's expression.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, could you tell me how Chu Tiance cheated?"

The Crown Prince nodded, signaling the Third Prince to speak.

The third prince immediately jumped out and said, "Did you all hear the article I just read?"

The students nodded in agreement, and Li Yanzhang added, "We heard that, Your Highness, was that essay written by Chu Tiance?"

"His writing is exquisite, truly a masterpiece, even better than his essays in the imperial examination!"

The Third Prince nodded: "This article was indeed written by Chu Tiance, but he plagiarized someone else's work."

"Before the exam questions were distributed, the essay I read aloud was taken by the Crown Prince. You all kept staring at the platform, so you should remember that, right?"

"The article I read is exactly the same as the one written by Chu Tiance, but it was written much earlier than Chu Tiance's writing time."

"A few days ago, a thief broke into the Princess's residence and took the exam questions from the brocade box. The thief escaped unscathed and was not caught."

"Do you understand what I've said?"

What's there to not understand!

The truth has finally come out!

Li Yanzhang and the other students only needed to think for a moment before they understood the trickery involved.

It turns out that today's grand scene was actually to confirm Chu Tiance's identity as a traitorous scholar.

It turns out that the literary master of the North, whom they had always admired, was actually a complete scoundrel.

All his literary talent was stolen from others!

They were actually fooled by Chu Tianze and wrote a lengthy petition for him.

How hateful!

This is putting the reputation of students from the North on the ground and rubbing it in the dirt.

How will students from northern regions gain a foothold in officialdom in the future?

After figuring it out, the students' gazes towards Chu Tianze changed.

Their eyes gleamed with malice, as if they wished they could skin him alive and tear him apart!

It was clear that Chu Tiance had incurred public wrath and was about to escalate into a mass incident.

Zhou Wei acted decisively, not giving the students a chance to cause a disturbance.

She leaped down from the high platform with her sword in hand and slashed at Chu Tiance!

At the critical moment, Hu Youniang leaped out from the crowd, grabbed Chu Tianze, and slightly turned to the side, dodging Zhou Wei's fatal blow.

Zhou Wei smiled when she saw the main character appear.

You vixen, you've finally arrived!