其暗中售卖考题被发现 便想把郑夏当作替罪羊
“Exposed for trading examination papers, he tried to shift the blame onto Zheng Xia.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
真凶乃径州令史迟于
“The true culprit is Jingzhou Clerk Chi Yu.”
其暗中售卖考题 被发现 便想 把 郑夏 当作 替罪羊
“Exposed for trading examination papers, he tried to shift the blame onto Zheng Xia.”
不但指使衙役 打断郑夏左手 以毁灭证据
“Not only did he order a yamen runner to break Zheng Xia's left hand to destroy evidence,”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Exam security was taken with utmost gravity in imperial China, where leaking or selling exam questions was a capital offense subject to severe imperial investigation.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
scapegoat
A common noun referring to someone blamed or punished for the wrongdoings of others.
in secret / behind the scenes
Adverbial modifier frequently used in crime and political narratives to describe clandestine acts.
then thought to / then planned to
Common literary or narrative connector introducing a character's subsequent intention.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“You say Zheng Xia is wronged. Explain exactly how.”
“Are you willing to throw away your future for Zheng Xia?”
“You saved Zheng Xia merely to gain people's favor, didn't you?”
“Why is Zheng Xia sentenced to death?”
“Zheng Xia has been wronged. I ask Your Highness to order a retrial.”
“You want to help clear Xia Xiaolan of suspicion, right?”