"Very well. In that case, someone take him into a room and search him."
An Laiyun gave the order to the men beside him.
Wu Hongcai shook his head and said:
"No need. We can do it right here. Otherwise, someone as fond of slandering others as Shi Yongfu might accuse the chief examiner of shielding me. Let everyone here bear witness."
Even as he spoke, he did not forget to take a jab at Shi Yongfu.
"You..."
Shi Yongfu was so furious that words failed him. But on second thought, doing it here was fine. Once the cheat sheet was found under everyone's watchful eyes, Wu Hongcai would have no way to deny it.
Let's see whether he can still talk so tough then.
With that thought in mind, Shi Yongfu kept his eyes fixed on Wu Hongcai.
The other scholars watched Wu Hongcai just as closely.
Wu Hongcai took off his outer robe, leaving only his inner garments on, and handed it to an official.
Under everyone's scrutiny, the search was soon completed. Not a single scrap of paper was found.
"That's impossible!"
Shi Yongfu cried out in shock at the sight.
Acting on impulse, he snatched Wu Hongcai's outer robe and searched the spot he had tampered with. Yet no matter how he rummaged through it, he could not find the cheat sheet.
"What's impossible about it? And aren't you being a little too specific? It's such a large robe, so why did you go straight for that particular spot?"
Wu Hongcai looked at Shi Yongfu and spoke calmly.
The others also began to realize something was amiss, and their gazes turned suspicious as they looked at Shi Yongfu.
"Besides, you gave me this robe. You said it had been blessed before the Buddha and would ensure