Top Scholar in a Jail Cell

Julian Chase's wife is a princess. She keeps that to herself in order to test what kind of man he is, and in his father's house she is laughed at as a peasant. Julian was born outside the household and brought back into it three years ago, and the family holds his birth against him. His father, a court official, also has an adopted son, and that son wants Julian gone. He sets a trap, and Julian is jailed for three months on a false charge. When he comes out, nothing at home has changed. The examination results come in, and the father takes it for granted that the Top Scholar is the adopted son. He cuts Julian off. Julian's wife starts asking questions on her own. A Grand Secretary calls at the house and says the Top Scholar is Julian. The two of them agree to go to the Feast of Honors together. At the feast the family treats Julian as a hanger-on, and the adopted son claims the title in front of the guests. Julian stands up and goes through what has been done to him over three years, the frame-up included. Then his wife steps forward and tells the room who she is, and the adopted son goes on arguing his case even then.