Female Supremacy and Rise to Power: Lin Shu's Imperial Examination Adventures

“A pot of wine among the flowers, drinking alone without any blind date.

Toast Mingyue, and Yingying became three people.

The month does not drink, the shadow follower follows me.

For the time being with the moon, Xingle must be in spring.

I linger on the moon, my dancing is chaotic.

Woke up with lovers, scattered after drunk.

Let us forever roam freely, unburdened by worldly desires, and meet again in the distant Milky Way.

"At first glance, this poem seems to express a sense of loneliness and sorrow, but upon closer examination, one discovers its complex and turbulent undercurrents. It deconstructs and establishes, how wonderful! How wonderful! It's Lin Shu again? Talented people emerge in every generation! The problem that this old woman could never solve is now so easy... This woman's state of mind is clearly extraordinary!"

Prefect Qiu also took a look, his brows furrowing as he asked with some doubt, "I have a question. Your Excellency's question should have two sides, mutually 'breaking' and 'establishing' each other. But this poem only features her. How can this be...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Lord Wen already understood her meaning, but instead of answering immediately, he looked at Magistrate Xu and her daughter and asked, "Do you two think so too?"

Xu Tongzhi subconsciously glanced back at his daughter, Xu Jingyun, who walked into the hall and bowed in greeting.

"In my humble opinion, I can only discern the meaning in the last line, 'Let us forever forge an unfeeling bond, and meet again in the distant Milky Way.' The 'moon' and 'shadow' are inanimate objects; by forging a bond between these inanimate objects, the poet highlights his own 'feeling.' In the line 'Let us forever forge an unfeeling bond,' 'unfeeling' represents destruction, while 'forever forging a bond' and 'partnering' represent construction—it's both destruction and construction."

Lord Wen exclaimed with admiration, "Excellent! Miss Xu truly lives up to her reputation as a renowned talent in the capital. Although Lin Shu's poem features only one person, it is a monologue that establishes and dismantles itself, and then establishes and dismantles itself. A true talent!"

What Master Wen didn't say was that Lin Shu's poem expressed a similar sentiment to her own early years, and in the end, she herself had broken through and established herself again. No wonder the abbess sent her to this small Mengzhou to find answers! Although she didn't understand why Lin Shu, at such a young age, would have such a sense of frustration, she could understand it upon reflection. After all, with powerful families in power these days, it was truly difficult for students from poor families to make a future.

After quickly glancing at the remaining poems, Lord Wen made his final decision and personally went to the fence to announce:

"Although the questions were difficult, they allowed this old woman to witness true talent. Therefore, I hereby declare Lin Shu of Shangyang Academy to be the winner of this Ink Fragrance Poetry Competition. Where is Lin Shu?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu immediately stood up and bowed deeply.

"Meet the adults!"

After carefully examining the man, Lord Wen felt even more strongly that with proper guidance, he would surely achieve great things.

"Yes! I will be setting off for the capital tomorrow, but since I said I would give you guidance, I will not break my word. This is my waist token. After the provincial examination, whether you pass or fail, you can use this to find me in the capital."

As he spoke, he took a jade pendant from his waist and had a servant take it to Lin Shu.

"Thank you, sir!" Lin Shu accepted the gift with neither arrogance nor servility, amidst the envious or jealous gazes of the surrounding students.

Lady Wen was even more pleased and instructed everyone to enjoy poetry together today. After everyone had made their own arrangements, they went up to the third floor. She also had another purpose for this trip: to bring the Seventh Prince back to the capital.

After the adults left, Li Yun'er quickly approached Lin Shu and said, "Sister, you're amazing! If it weren't for Master Du holding us back, everyone would probably be trying to curry favor with you!"

Lin Shu was puzzled. It was just a champion; there had been champions in previous years, hadn't there?

Li Yun'er, with a look that said, "You must know," whispered:

"Did you know that the Jize Academy is even superior to the Imperial Academy? The Imperial Academy is open to any child from a noble family; but the Jize Academy only admits geniuses and serves directly for Her Majesty the Empress. Graduates from there can at least secure a high-ranking position in one of the Six Ministries..."

After Li Yun'er finished speaking, Lin Shu had a pretty good understanding of the situation, so she nodded, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to her...

……

On the third floor, just as Wen Da had determined the champion, a steward came to deliver the poetry collection. Seeing Feng Yu's lazy demeanor, the nanny had already reminded him countless times:

"My little ancestor, let's go take a look! I heard that Lin Shu won the championship and even wrote several famous lines! Let me read them to you."

The wet nurse was about to read aloud the poems copied by the manager of Tianxiang Tower when Fengyu suddenly rolled over, slowly stood up, and walked to the window. There was a small aisle separated by a desk by the window. Usually, people would crowd into this aisle to look downstairs, but today…

Feng Yu tried to squeeze in, but couldn't. He tried again, still no luck. He had a bad feeling, so he sucked in his stomach and tried to squeeze in again. Okay, he got in, but he got stuck. The corner of the table was almost squeezing the grapes he had just eaten out...

"Daddy, Daddy, please save me!"

A chaotic scene ensued, and it took the nanny considerable effort to pull the two tables apart and free him.

"Daddy, have I gained weight?" Feng Yu rubbed his stomach, which was still sore from being constricted, and carefully nodded.

"Your Highness, you haven't moved around much these past few days, and this old servant thinks you've gained a little weight." More than just a little! You can barely fit into your old clothes anymore!

Feng Yu sighed and moved closer to the window to change the subject: "Daddy, which one is that Lin something tree?"

“It should be her! This old servant inquired beforehand and heard that she is very beautiful. It seems that she is the only one who fits the description.” The wet nurse said, pointing to Lin Shu below.

Feng Yu looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a somewhat plump woman drinking tea in large gulps. She glanced at her nanny with a complicated expression, and seeing his expectant eyes, she said helplessly, "Heh...hehe! Nanny has good taste!"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. The nanny went to open it, and it was Lord Wen who entered.

"Seventh Prince, you have been away from the palace for many days. His Majesty has specially instructed me to bring you back to the palace on this trip." Minister Wen first greeted him at the window, and then, upon seeing Feng Yu, he was taken aback. When did the Seventh Prince become so plump?

Feng Yu felt a little embarrassed and annoyed by her gaze, snorted, and turned her head to casually look out the window.

Just as the nanny was confirming that they would be setting off the next day, he heard the chubby little dumpling by the window shake his head righteously and refuse: "No, no, I haven't properly investigated that Lin Shu for my elder sister yet!" He hadn't found Zhu Lin yet.

Upon hearing this, Lord Wen finally remembered that the person who had caused a sensation in the court was named Lin Shu. He hadn't paid much attention to her at the time because she was in the Huguo Nunnery, but now that he was reminded, he realized it.

Thinking of this, Lord Wen smiled and said, "This old woman has already investigated this person, and will inform Her Highness the Crown Princess later."

"But...but I..." Feng Yu's eyes darted around, clearly not wanting to go back. Suddenly, he seemed to see something, his expression froze, he muttered a few words, and ran downstairs.

Lord Wen looked completely bewildered. Only the wet nurse beside Feng Yu heard him mutter the name he had repeated countless times:

“Zhu Lin…”

-