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

The following day after class.

Li Yun'er was chatting animatedly with the person sitting next to her. Lin Shu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Li Yun'er had returned to her usual self.

Lin Shu got up and went to the outhouse. Seeing this, Chen Jin quickly followed, saying with a solemn expression, "A-Shu..."

"Hmm?" Lin Shu looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"The person with Li Yun'er is named Yang Liu. She...she's definitely not a good person." Chen Jin seemed slightly embarrassed by gossiping about others behind their backs: "If she stirs things up...then..."

"She won't." Without a doubt, "she" refers to Li Yun'er.

After saying that, Lin Shu continued walking towards the outhouse. Halfway there, she seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "Thank you, Ajin."

Chen Jin watched Lin Shu's receding figure, his eyes filled with an inscrutable expression. After a moment, he regained his former timidity and returned to the school, just in time to hear:

"I'm not trying to be mean, but Sister Li, what good can you possibly gain from being with Lin Shu?"

“She, she is my best friend, my good sister, she cares for me a lot, and she will become my brother and sister-in-law in the future…” Upon hearing this, Li Yun’er couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Yang Liu looked incredulous and said, "She takes care of you? Look at her, she receives praise from the teacher every day, while you were just punished by the teacher with a beating on your hands. Has she shown you even the slightest concern?"

After speaking, seeing that Li Yun'er's expression was not good, he paused and then said:

"In my opinion, since she is so outstanding, why doesn't she teach you with care? Today, the teacher even said that your position as a scholar has reached its limit..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun'er couldn't help but recall that her parents' letters had become increasingly infrequent, while they seemed to pay more attention to Lin Shu, an outsider...

She shook her head vigorously, banishing all these distracting thoughts from her mind. How could she have thought like that? She then sternly rebuked herself:

"If you continue to spout nonsense, there's no need for us to associate with each other anymore! I know my sisters and I better than you do about our character! You should go back now, the teacher is coming soon."

The woman named Yang Liu was somewhat annoyed by what she said, so she turned around and went back to her seat, thinking to herself: What's with the arrogance? If you don't think that way, then why are you angry?

While Li Yun'er was lost in thought, Lin Shu, who had returned at some point, handed her a porcelain bottle the size of a baby's fist.

Seeing Li Yun'er's surprised look, Lin Shu said, "It's medicine for wounds, to reduce swelling." It was something Lin Shu had just taken out of her spatial storage and squeezed into a porcelain bottle in the outhouse.

Li Yun'er took it blankly and was about to rush over when Lin Shu held her head back with one hand...

Seeing the way the two of them were getting along, Chen Jin, who was standing to the side and behind, felt a pang of envy...

……

Days passed by, and soon it was mid-June.

The Song family returned from Jiangnan, bringing back a fabric that emitted a strange fragrance. However, they brought very little of it. It was said that this fabric was called Hibiscus Cloth, and it was currently in high demand and extremely expensive.

"My lady, have you missed me?" As soon as Song Yun arrived home, she threw herself into Lin Shu's arms without any hesitation, rubbing against her and acting coquettishly.

"Mmm." Lin Shuyi reached out and hugged back.

After a long while, Su Mu finally had a chance to ask, "Ayun, did the trip go smoothly?"

"Everything is fine, but the people of Jiangnan seem to lack energy and spirit..."

After speaking, Song Yun pointed to one of the bolts of cloth and said:

“Look! This is the hibiscus cloth we heard about before. It is extremely expensive now and only high-ranking officials and nobles can afford it. This is because the main fragrance used to dye this cloth is rare. What is it called... um... right, hibiscus cloth…” Upon his return, Song Yun’s temperament was noticeably more composed.

"What? Opium?" Lin Shu's face showed fear upon hearing this, and she interrupted him, "Isn't that just poppy?"

This was the first time anyone had seen such an obvious expression on Lin Shu's face. Song Yun was stunned and exclaimed, "Yes...yes!"

Lin Shu looked worried and said in a deep voice, "This cloth cannot be kept."

Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Lin Shu patiently explained, "Opium is also known as poppy. Long-term use can easily lead to addiction, which can cause madness and deplete one's vital energy..."

After Lin Shu finished speaking, Song's mother, who was holding the cloth, immediately threw it on the ground and said, "I'll go get the brazier to burn it."

"No. We must use salt water and quicklime." Lin Shu hurriedly stopped her. If it were burned, the smell would spread even faster, and not only would the surrounding residents be affected, but the residents themselves might also inhale it...

After everyone had finished cleaning up the items, Song Yun suddenly realized and muttered to himself, "No wonder I felt earlier that the people of Jiangnan all seemed to have had their life force drained away."

Mother Song, looking terrified, said, "Luckily we arrived late and only brought back these two horses. Oh no, I heard that a batch has already been transported elsewhere, and I wonder if it might be... Mengzhou Prefecture."

Lin Shu was at a loss for how to respond. She was currently in a weak position and her words carried little weight; if she spoke out, probably no one would believe her…

……

Capital City, Jinluan Palace.

Crown Princess Feng Zhao was highly praised by the Empress for successfully averting the floods in the south and the drought in the north of Fengming Kingdom, and for planning and strategizing for future disaster prevention.

"Excellent! The Crown Princess has made outstanding contributions and deserves a reward!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Feng Zhao bowed in gratitude, then said, "Your subject has another matter to report."

"What is it?" The Empress seemed to be in a particularly good mood today.

"On my way back to the capital from Jiangnan, I saw that the people of Jiangnan were mostly listless and dejected, somewhat resembling... like those who smoked marijuana in the previous dynasty..."

After Feng Zhao finished speaking, the hall erupted in commotion. The Empress's eyes instantly turned cold, and she said in a deep voice, "Is this true?"

“It is absolutely true. Your Majesty, I conducted a brief investigation and only obtained a few clues, all of which I heard were related to a type of cloth called Hibiscus Cloth. I wanted to investigate further, but this item vanished overnight. However, when I traveled back to the capital by water, I heard some dockworkers say that several batches of it had been shipped to Mengzhou Prefecture recently…”

"Bang!" The Empress, enraged, slammed her hand on the dragon throne.

The ministers below hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Grand Tutor Wen hurriedly spoke up, reminding Your Majesty: "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to find the source of this item and destroy it completely. We must not repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty..."

The previous dynasty once enjoyed great prosperity, but gradually declined after a drug called hemp was introduced from the Northern Wilderness. This led to the current Phoenix Cry Kingdom; a single substance can destroy a nation, demonstrating the terrifying power of this drug. But why has this substance, unseen for a century, reappeared now…?

"By imperial decree, Crown Princess Feng Zhao is appointed as Imperial Commissioner to thoroughly investigate this matter in Mengzhou Prefecture. During the investigation, she may execute first and report later. It is better to kill the innocent than to let the guilty go free. Depart immediately."

"My son, I obey."

"Your Majesty is holy."

……

Mengzhou Prefecture, a courtyard.

"Master, how about the shipment from Nanli Kingdom...?"

Upon hearing this, a deep male voice rang out:

"Don't be impatient. A letter has arrived from the capital. The Crown Princess will be arriving in Mengzhou Prefecture soon. That person said that we should intercept her at all costs and keep her outside Mengzhou Prefecture forever."

"As ordered."

After the man left, the camera zoomed in, revealing an ordinary-looking man leaning against the couch, his right hand supporting his head, his eyes closed, and his hair disheveled...

-

[My darlings! I was going to add an extra chapter today, but because I went too far with the previous post, I have to revise and review it. Otherwise, you might not be able to see our gentle and adorable little Shushu anymore! Waaah... I'm too scared to go all out again!]