Chapter 281: Beating - Rebirth of the Noble Daughter

 Chapter 281: Beating

“You...”

Wen Jingsong had no prior dealings or grudges with Bai Chaohai, so he was caught off guard by Bai Chaohai’s sharp remark.

Court matters were ever-changing, and now, as he had barely settled into his situation, Feng Jinlin came at him with renewed vigor.

Turning to Emperor Qi, Feng Jinlin said, “Your Majesty, I have another important matter to report!”

“Speak!”

Emperor Qi’s forehead veins bulged, indicating his anger.

Seizing the moment, Feng Jinlin continued, “Your Majesty, I am a friend of Yin Canwen from the same examination. We both studied at Yunqi Academy, and during holidays and before the exams, I had invited him to stay at the Feng family residence, so our relationship is quite good. Before the exam, my younger sister had made some safety amulets for us, which we wore all the time. Today, it was suddenly brought to my attention that these amulets had accidentally come into contact with the palace's special fluorescent powder, which is hard to clean. Therefore, it is likely that some of this powder may have transferred to the exam papers when we were writing. If we could obtain the exam papers for inspection, the truth would become clear!”

He then displayed the amulet and also presented an essay he had written at home.

“If Your Majesty’s men examine this item under sunlight, the situation will become clear.”

Yin Canwen immediately rolled up his sleeve to reveal a similar red cord on his wrist.

He and Feng Jinlin exchanged a grateful glance.

The Feng siblings had indeed been his benefactors, aiding him not only in his studies but now in clearing his name. If he could recover the top scholar’s title, he would be sure to thank the Feng family properly!

On the other hand, Wen Mengsheng suddenly recalled the amulet given by Bai Sihan. Didn’t she say the amulet was her own request?

It seemed she had stolen Feng Jinyao’s credit to flatter herself! If he had known the amulet came from Feng Jinyao, he would have cherished it, but now the amulet was lost, and he had no way to retrieve it.

At this critical moment, Wen Jingsong was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, with no time to think about such details.

Elder Xu, always eager to seize an opportunity, quickly suggested, “Your Majesty, since the crux of the issue lies in the exam papers, we should retrieve them for verification. A thorough comparison will reveal the truth. If the papers are fake, they cannot be disguised; if they are real, they cannot be falsified. Don’t you agree, Master Wen?”

Wen Jingsong’s heart raced. If the papers were retrieved, his deception would surely be exposed. But if he refused, it would be like admitting his guilt. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Unfortunately, everyone was eager to see him fall, leaving him no chance to breathe.

Facing so much evidence and testimony, Emperor Qi was clear-headed and no longer interested in maintaining the court’s stability. If Wen Jingsong’s death could bring order to the scholars of the poor families, it would be a good thing. His face hardened as he said, “In that case, let us retrieve the exam papers from the archives.”

“Your Majesty, it may not be enough to search only the papers of Master Yin and Young Master Wen. I believe we should inspect all the exam papers thoroughly to understand the extent of Master Wen’s manipulation.”

Elder Xu’s words terrified Wen Mengsheng, nearly making him wet his pants.

He had believed that they were only targeting the swapping of Yin Canwen’s and his own essay. Now it seemed they were prepared to reveal everything.

If all the exam papers were examined, it would soon be clear what his father had done behind the scenes.

The Wen family was in grave danger!

Trembling with fear, Wen Mengsheng desperately tugged at Wen Jingsong’s sleeve. Unfortunately, Wen Jingsong, like a clay Buddha crossing a river, was unable to offer any protection for his son.

Soon, the exam papers from the archives were brought back by Emperor Qi’s trusted aides, along with the individuals who had collected and organized these papers. They could immediately find and retrieve what was needed.

In the great hall, several piles of exam papers were stacked, and the people responsible for managing them were trembling as if they were sifted grain.

They had never seen such a scene before, let alone faced the emperor.

Naturally, they were scared stiff.

“Are you the ones in charge of the exam papers?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The person who answered was among the bolder ones, though his tone was nervous.

“In that case, retrieve the exam papers of Yin Canwen, Wen Mengsheng, and Feng Jinlin. I want to see if there is truly any forgery!”

Hearing this, Wen Jingsong’s heart sank. He could only hope that the powder on the papers had caused damage, making them illegible.

Yin Canwen and Feng Jinlin, on the other hand, felt reassured and were eager for the papers to be brought forth.

Since the transcribed papers were easy to locate, it didn’t take long for them to be presented.

Indeed, the essay that Yin Canwen had brought matched exactly with the top scholar’s essay, but the name on it was Wen Mengsheng’s.

Emperor Qi’s anger flared. He glared at Wen Jingsong as if wishing to smash him with whatever was at hand!

Then, Feng Jinlin’s essay was also presented. After reading it, Emperor Qi was quite impressed with his literary skill.

Observing that he was also quite promising, the emperor thought that Feng Jinlin’s ranking could be raised.

However, he did not voice this immediately.

The process of retrieving the original papers was neither too difficult nor too easy.

The organizers of the papers had classified them according to their examination locations, so once they knew the locations of the three candidates’ exams, it did not take long to find the original papers.

“Eh, what’s this damage?”

Yin Canwen’s original paper was badly eaten away by termites and was now barely legible. Upon seeing this, Wen Jingsong finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would not give up.

So he spoke up, “The archives of the Ministry of Personnel have not been renovated for many years, so there are many termites. Especially the papers at the bottom are prone to damage. It is likely that Mr. Yin’s original paper was at the bottom, which is why it looks like this.”

Feng Jinlin sneered, “Master Wen is quite clever, knowing about the termites yet refusing to renovate the archives. What were you planning?”

“Master Feng, stop slandering me. As the Minister of Revenue, I have repeatedly reported the need for repairs to the court. However, the Ministry of Finance always has excuses to delay the funds for repairs. What could I do?”