Chapter 277: The Gleam - Rebirth of the Noble Daughter

 Chapter 277: The Gleam

But who could be behind this?

For a moment, she had no clear idea. Meanwhile, Feng Jinlin couldn’t sit still.

“Father, I must go to the palace to stand up for Canwen! How can Wen Mengsheng, a nobody, steal his top spot? He should look at his own abilities first!”

This statement made Feng Jinyao suddenly realize something.

Indeed, from what she knew about this former father-in-law, he was not a conceited person.

Yin Canwen’s talent had long been praised throughout Dongdu City. To so blatantly swap his exam papers with her brother’s meant someone wanted to make a big fuss.

The person behind this must have known about the Wen family’s cheating in the imperial exams.

Yin Canwen was merely a pretext.

Even if he hadn’t appeared, Wen Jingsong’s wrongdoing would likely have been exposed eventually.

Thinking of this, she admired the strategist behind the scenes.

Their strategy was well thought out, timely, and ruthless, leaving no opportunity for the enemy to catch their breath. They had sent the Wen family straight to hell.

Truly formidable!

However, now was not the time to investigate the person behind it but to find ways to substantiate Wen Jingsong’s cheating. So, she calmed herself and said.

“Second Brother, don’t rush. With Elder Xu and Uncle Bai here, they will surely protect Mr. Yin.”

“Ah Yao is right. How do you expect to get into the palace? You are neither an official nor do you have a summons; how can you enter?”

Feng Hai remarked to his son.

Though his results were good and he could serve as an official, his thinking was still too simplistic, acting impulsively. Compared to the steadiness of Feng Jinxu, he needed much more practice and refinement.

It would be best for him to be sent to a remote area for training. If he spoke recklessly in the palace, even the Feng family might not be able to protect him.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt the need to carefully consider his son’s future!

“It is good that Second Brother wants to stand up for his friend, but just speaking out without evidence will not convince anyone. You should think of a way to prove that the papers were swapped!”

“Right! If they were swapped, we need to find the original documents. A comparison would reveal the truth!”

But the papers were sealed in the Ministry of Personnel’s archives. How could they obtain them?

This was a question they could think of, and so could Wen Jingsong.

Thus, when he sent people to the archives to destroy evidence, those sent had already been captured by the hidden guards arranged by Prince Ding.

As for the documents, they remained undisturbed, awaiting the emperor’s examination.

Seeing Feng Jinlin’s anxious demeanor, Feng Jinyao felt a twinge of guilt for Yin Canwen.

From the moment she heard about him, she had intended to use him.

From this point forward, although she could leverage him to bring down the Wen family, it wasn’t fair to him.

Not only would it create enemies, but it would also damage his future reputation.

For an official, what is more important than their reputation?

Unfortunately, now that things had reached this point, Yin Canwen’s good reputation had already been compromised by her schemes.

But there was no alternative; if she could gather evidence, she would go directly to the emperor. After all, she had dealt with the Wen family for many years in her previous life and knew how formidable her former father-in-law was!

Thus, sacrificing Yin Canwen to achieve her goal was somewhat underhanded, but she had little choice.

So, she glanced at Yunxu, who understood and stepped forward to say.

“Miss, there seems to be some glitter on your sleeve.”

Her remark seemed out of place given the urgency everyone felt for Yin Canwen. Why mention something about the sleeve now?

Feng Jinyao, noticing, deliberately raised her sleeve to look.

Her face showed a hint of helplessness as she explained to the puzzled onlookers.

“This glow powder that Sister Xu sent is really something. Even after so many days, it hasn’t washed off! The glow powder on this clothing is from when I accidentally got some while preparing peace bracelets for you.”

Saying this, she deliberately held her sleeve up to the sunlight.

Indeed, the area sparkled with light.

Feng Jinlin
, eager to follow her lead, suddenly thought of something. He lifted his sleeve and placed his peace bracelet under the sunlight, and soon saw the sparkling effect.

His face lit up with excitement, and he hurried to get ink and paper.

The others were confused, but Feng Jinyao knew.

Second Brother was truly perceptive. He picked up on the hint immediately.

But she maintained a facade of not understanding, watching him to see what he would do.

He wrote a passage on the paper, then held it up to the sunlight. It too shone with light.

Feeling delighted, he said to Feng Hai.

“Father, look, when I write, the glow powder from the bracelet accidentally rubs off on the paper, which makes it shine. Yin Canwen’s writing posture involved his wrist resting on the paper, so the documents he handled should have similar marks. If we use this as evidence, can we perhaps get some justice for him?”

Feng Hai pondered this carefully.

This could indeed prove that the original papers were written by Yin Canwen, but he felt there was more to the story.

As he was thinking, someone announced that Feng Jinxu had returned.

Hadn’t he gone early to the Dali Temple for his appointment? Shouldn’t he be in the process of transitioning work? Why was he back home?

For a moment, the father and sons were puzzled.

In contrast to the peaceful Feng family, the palace was currently filled with tension.

When Wen Jingsong and his son were 'invited' into the palace by the Imperial Guards, a large crowd had already gathered.

Everyone was indignant, glaring at the two men with an eagerness to devour them.

Wen Mengsheng, having never seen such a scene, was understandably nervous.

Wen Jingsong, however, had made some preparations before being 'captured.'

With these plans, he hoped to turn the situation around, so he didn’t show much fear.

He composed himself and said to Emperor Qi.

“Your humble servant reports to Your Majesty.”

“Commoners report to Your Majesty.”

The father and son performed their respectful bows, with Wen Jingsong showing no sign of guilt.

Elder Xu snorted. Indeed, such a scene still found Wen Jingsong trying to bluff his way through, though he remained calm and confident.

Seeing Wen Jingsong, Emperor Qi’s eyes blazed with fury.

The recent headache caused by the ten censors was all due to him.

At this moment, Emperor Qi was eager to transfer all his anger onto Wen Jingsong, and thus began to scold him sternly.

“Wen Jingsong, do you know your crime?”

“Your humble servant does not know what crime he has committed. Please, Your Majesty, clarify!”