Chapter 242: Mockery - Rebirth of the Noble Daughter

 Chapter 242: Mockery

Wen Mengsheng was unaware of how the Bai family's third branch was criticizing him. All he cared about was ensuring that Yin Canwen failed the exam. Thus, he paid extra attention to his examination papers and results.

In the Da Jin dynasty’s imperial examinations, there was a practice of copying exam papers to prevent the examiners from recognizing familiar handwriting and grading unfairly. Unfortunately, this step gave Wen Jingsong an opportunity.

Wen Jingsong had arranged for trustworthy people to copy the exam papers. They had all accepted his bribes and kept their mouths shut.

During the copying process, he deliberately used ink that could be easily erased on the name sections, making it easy to alter names later.

The examiners could only judge based on the uniform handwriting of the papers, so they evaluated based on the quality of the essays. When the results were out, Wen Jingsong swapped the papers of high-scoring scholars from humble backgrounds with those of low-scoring sons of wealthy families.

After altering the names, it was done discreetly.

The original papers would inevitably disappear without a trace.

Even if someone wanted to investigate, there was no way to do so.

This had been the practice for years, and everyone involved was quite skilled at it.

With support from the influential families, no one would dare to investigate or challenge it!

Elder Xu, after taking office, had carefully reviewed the list of candidates who had passed the examinations. If he hadn't been aware of the situation in advance, even he might not have detected the flaws.

That's why Wen Jingsong was considered an old fox.

The sons of influential families who passed through his hands typically ranked at the end of the second tier, so attention was focused on the higher rankings, and no one paid much attention to the lower ranks.

Although their ranks were low, most remained in the capital and started from lower positions.

Some powerful families could promote their members to important positions in three to five years, while weaker families could at least keep their offspring in official posts.

“Damn it!”

Elder Xu slammed the lists onto the ground with a forceful thud, his eyes blazing with anger.

“How many talented sons from humble backgrounds have had their futures ruined by him? He’s not afraid of being struck by lightning!”

Those whose papers were swapped would become unknown, either returning to their hometowns or sinking into despair, thus harming the aspiring talents of Da Jin!

If military generals who betrayed the country were intolerable, how could civil officials who bought and sold positions be forgiven?

“Prince, you’d better root out their evil deeds! Otherwise, I will risk my life to see that Wen and his accomplices are brought to justice! Give the scholars from humble backgrounds an explanation!”

Elder Xu had a fiery temper in his youth and had not mellowed much in old age. After his descendants had all died, he felt everything was in vain and stopped fighting.

But now that Wen Jingsong had touched his sore spot, he was determined to see this through to the end.

Wen Jingsong, meanwhile, was unaware that he was being targeted by Elder Xu and thought everything was fine.

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This novel is translated by the Eternal Novel Hits translators. Please read it at https://eternalnovelhits.blogspot.com

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However, in recent days, his son had been behaving erratically, constantly trying to swap Yin Canwen’s paper and expressing dissatisfaction in his words.

But Wen Jingsong was not foolish. Given Yin Canwen’s reputation, if he failed, it would likely cause many problems.

Thus, he repeatedly scolded Wen Mengsheng, urging him to stay at home and not to run around. Everything would be settled once the results were announced.

Wen Mengsheng was so frustrated he couldn’t sleep for several nights, wishing he had wings to go and swap the exam papers himself.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Bai Sihan and Shen Shi boarded the carriage with their luggage and under the escort of the escort agency, made their way slowly to Qiongzhou.

Thinking about how only Bai Lin and Princess Wen Yi had come to see them off, Shen Shi was quite indignant.

There was nothing to be done, as Bai Siruo had already left for Mingchi with Princess Changlin's invitation, and there, the Feng family’s carriage had been waiting for quite some time.

“Cousin!”

As Bai Siruo stepped down from the carriage, she saw Feng Jinlin standing outside, chatting with Ah Yao.

Hearing her call, Feng Jinlin turned around and, seeing her cheerful demeanor, felt some of his worry dissipate.

“Why did you arrive so late?”

“Wouldn’t it be unpleasant to arrive early and hear all those gossips about me?”

Feng Jinlin was caught off guard by her words, and with a chuckle, he said, “You’re quite bold!”

“Well, I learned it from cousin!”

As she spoke, smiling, she walked forward, and Feng Jinyao alighted from the carriage. Together, they entered the polo grounds.

As expected, as soon as Bai Siruo arrived, the nearby chatter and gossip did not cease. Although they did not mention her by name, every word was a sharp jab.

Especially Liang Luo!

Her grievances with Xu Mingyue were closely related to Bai Siruo. At such a time, why wouldn’t she take the chance to undermine her?

“A few days ago, I had a maid executed for having an affair. She was one of my top maids, and I had planned to find her a good position as a reward. But she was foolish enough to get involved with some unknown man and became pregnant. In my anger, I had her killed. Tell me, such a scandalous woman should be left alive for what?”

“Exactly! Though Da Jin’s morals are not that conservative, we cannot tolerate such depraved behavior. It’s better she was executed to save our faces!”

“Indeed, I also detest such disgraceful people. I can’t believe some still have the nerve to be seen in broad daylight, not even fearing the wrath of heaven!”

After a few exchanged remarks, more than a dozen young masters and ladies around laughed.

Liang Luo looked at Bai Siruo with a provocative gaze, as if challenging her to do anything about it. Now that she was a coveted 'noblewoman,' everyone knew her father had been promoted and she was about to marry into the Ninth Prince’s residence.

The Liang family and the Wei family were truly at odds this time, whether to avoid offending the Wei family or to cling to the Liang family. In any case, Liang Luo was now as much in demand as Wei Lanxuan once was.

Feng Jinyao watched Liang Luo with cold eyes, her mind filled with thoughts of the mess that had been left to Liang Quanbin in Jinling. It was clear that Liang Luo’s pride had blinded them to their own folly.

As she considered making a sarcastic remark, she saw Bai Siruo move.

Bai Siruo’s hands clenched her skirt, crumpling it slightly. It was clear she was distressed when she first heard the remarks.

But for some reason, she now walked over with grace and raised a bright, familiar smile as she addressed the three who had spoken.

“Miss Liang truly has a heart of iron and stone. Killing a maid is nothing, but it does tarnish the reputation of a virtuous family. I wonder who will be the unfortunate one to bear the brunt of such harsh treatment before even being married in? Who would be pleased with such a reputation?”