Chapter 265: Adding the Basin - Rebirth of the Noble Daughter

 Chapter 265: Adding the Basin

Could it be that she was involved?

Feng Jinlin had learned about this matter in advance. Could it be that he leaked it?

Otherwise, Su Cheng couldn’t understand why this would happen.

“Have you found the original documents?”

“Found them. They’re all piled up here.”

Xu Lin nodded, having already recorded the names of those on the list. He walked to the pile of original documents and said, “Let’s start verifying.”

Their tasks for today were twofold: first, to find out how Wen Jingsong had swapped the papers, and second, to identify which poor scholars had been replaced.

The former was hard to detect, while the latter was difficult to verify.

But the three of them were bold and meticulous. Within a short time, they had verified most of the documents.

Their speed surprised even them, thanks to Su Cheng’s ingenuity.

He guessed that the replaced poor scholar’s documents would likely be hidden in a place prone to damage or treated with substances that insects and ants would consume.

With this idea, they searched in that direction and soon discovered the first case.

The replaced scholar was from Cangzhou, while the replacement was the son of an official in the Duzhuyuan (Supervisory Bureau).

Su Cheng sneered when he saw the name. “This kid spends all his time in the Peony Courtyard. With just a few brush strokes, he can pass the exam. It’s clear he bought his way through!”

No wonder his family had boasted half a year ago that he was studying hard at home. It turns out he was just creating a pretense for today’s event!

Comparing the documents, it was clear that the original scholar’s paper and the transcribed one were identical, except for the name, which was that of the Duzhuyuan official’s son.

One by one, the three of them verified all the documents.

They recorded all the innocent poor scholars who had been replaced.

Su Cheng’s anger grew as he looked through the documents, cursing fiercely.

“The only way for poor scholars to rise is through this path, and they’re being so cruelly trampled upon. What scum!”

Xu Lin, however, remained silent. He took the documents of Wen Mengsheng and Yin Canwen and made changes with the water ink he had brought.

With a stroke of his brush, Xu Lin changed the names on the documents. The paper originally belonging to Yin Canwen, which was the top paper, now bore Wen Mengsheng’s name.

And the document that originally belonged to Wen Mengsheng was now replaced with another.

Su Cheng was stunned. Although Xu Lin was his superior, he couldn’t help but question this action.

“What are you doing?”

Is he trying to collude?

Before he could say more, Xu Lin calmly replied, “The prince instructed that no matter who was first, we should replace it with the name of the Wen family’s son. This way, we can make the issue as serious as possible!”

After hearing this, Su Cheng swallowed hard. It was indeed the prince’s style—cutting to the root of the problem, quick and ruthless.

But this was their just punishment!

It was only a pity that Yin Canwen would suffer for a while.

After the three of them had rearranged everything, they restored the place to its original state and locked the copper lock before leaving.

The sky was starting to lighten.

The antidote was waved under the noses of the two guards, who then gradually woke up.

“Hey, how did we fall asleep?”

“Who knows? I was suddenly so sleepy yesterday. We must not let anyone know about this; otherwise, it’ll cause trouble.”

“Right, right!” Looking back at the copper lock, which was intact, they stretched lazily and pretended to continue guarding the gate.

At dawn, the Kexin Prince’s residence was bustling with activity.

The cleaning and preparations had been arranged in advance, and now the busiest place was the kitchen.

More than ten cooks and maids were busy washing, selecting vegetables, cutting, steaming, and stewing, all in an orderly manner.

The earliest arrivals were from the Kexin Princess’s family.

They came early to prepare the basin for the heir apparent.

According to tradition, these rituals should have been done at the full moon, but the Kexin Princess was in the palace at that time, and many preparations were incomplete. Since this was the heir apparent’s ceremony, it naturally couldn’t be treated lightly.

Thus, the event was postponed to today.

Princess Li, born into a prestigious family of meritorious officials, was already highly esteemed.

Today, in preparation for the heir apparent, she couldn’t afford to lose face.

The finest Hetian jade basin was carved with a pattern of great fortune and was now placed in the inner hall.

The basin was filled with aromatic water and various auspicious dried fruits.

A luxurious gold-threaded satin fabric with colorful silk threads embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns was prepared on one side.

The wooden basin was wrapped with colorful silk thread in many loops, looking festive and auspicious.

Several experienced women from the family stirred the water with hairpins while reciting auspicious phrases.

The baby heir apparent, held by the wet nurse, looked curiously at the scene.

He was now well-fed and chubby, very adorable.

His round eyes were reminiscent of Emperor Qi, bright and clear.

The Li family’s members, led by the princess’s sister-in-law, kept up the good wishes.

“The heir apparent can go into the water now, Princess.”

One of the women stirring the aromatic water said cheerfully.

“Hmm, let’s put the baby down.”

“Yes, Princess!”

Soon, the chubby little heir apparent was placed in the basin, wearing only a bellyband embroidered with a qilin. The wet nurse held him and let him splash around.

“Look, our heir apparent is naturally intelligent. See how the water splashes more than other children.”

The speaker was a woman from the Li family, whom the princess would have called 'Second Aunt' while at her natal home.

As she spoke, she threw copper coins into the water while chanting.

“The basin is round and round, may the heir apparent’s fortune and longevity abound.”

Many others followed suit, throwing coins into the basin. The sound startled the baby, who immediately began to cry.

“Ah, the heir apparent’s voice is very strong. He will definitely have good fortune in the future!”

The louder he cried, the happier the women adding coins around him became.

After some time, the wet nurse picked him up.

The few jujubes standing upright in the basin were quickly collected by those with quick eyes and hands, cheerfully placed in a bag.

In folk customs, if the jujubes in the basin stand upright, eating them is believed to lead to having a son, hence the term “qilin jujubes.”

Those who didn’t get any could only blame their luck.

After wrapping the baby in the prepared satin fabric, the ritual of adding the basin was considered complete.