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

"Young master, I saw it was you with both eyes. I hope you will settle the matter as soon as possible and not make things difficult for me." The shopkeeper raised his voice, and everyone in the shop gathered around to watch.

"Who is this person? Why is he dressed like that?"

"I don't know, perhaps she's some nouveau riche's mistress!"

"No wonder, they can't even afford to pay for this! They even tried to snatch that jade pendant from that young lady just now? They were simply overestimating themselves."

"..."

Hearing the contemptuous words of those around her, Zhu felt utterly humiliated and angrily pushed Du Ruo, saying, "Father, you'd better pay up!"

Du Ruo glared at him fiercely, then turned to Lin Shu with a fawning expression and said:

"Shu'er, we are family. I didn't bring much money with me today. Could you help us pay for it so we won't be laughed at?"

Lin Shu didn't say anything. She took out a five-thousand-tael silver note from the purse at her waist, handed it to the shopkeeper, and then picked up the items she had just wrapped, saying, "Keep the change."

After saying this, he prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, Du Ruo mistakenly thought that Lin Shu had been persuaded by her and was going to pay for their losses, so she hurriedly stopped her and said, "Shu'er! How can you not give me change? If you don't want it, have him give me the change. We're family!"

After saying that, he turned around and adopted a condescending posture, asking the shopkeeper for change: "We only broke two thousand eight hundred and thirty taels, so just give me two thousand taels in change. Consider the rest as a reward from me."

Shopkeeper:......

The shopkeeper's lips twitched slightly; he had never seen such a shameless person in all these years.

"I don't know them," Lin Shu said, and then walked away without looking back.

But everyone around knew that the implication was that whoever broke it should pay for it.

Du Ruo realized what was happening and was about to chase after him to yell at him.

The shopkeeper had no intention of wasting any more words with them, so he immediately summoned the shop assistants outside to surround them, his expression no longer friendly: "I hope you will not make things difficult for me, otherwise... my Qizhen Pavilion is not to be trifled with."

Two women sat facing each other in the teahouse across the street, sipping tea and enjoying the view below. One of them, her face grim, slammed her teacup down on the table, splashing water everywhere, and said:

"idiot!"

Then he instructed the person outside the door, "Go and settle the debt."

This Treasure Pavilion is owned by the Crown Princess. If this matter blows up and the Crown Princess traces it back to me... then I'll be in real trouble!

The woman in blue opposite him had a red mole on the tip of her nose, a languid expression, and an air of untamed freedom. She was currently holding a teapot and personally pouring a cup of tea for him, saying:

"Your Highness, please calm down! No matter how powerful Lin Shu is, she is nothing more than a lowly commoner! Dealing with her is not difficult. If I find a good opportunity in the future, I will definitely teach her a lesson about respect and hierarchy..."

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, cousin!" The woman addressed as Your Highness softened her coldness slightly, picked up her teacup, gestured to the other woman, and then drank it all in one gulp.

"Haha! It's nothing! It's getting late, we should go to the pleasure boat to admire the beauties first... I was confined to my house a few days ago, I wonder if the little beauty Bai Yu missed me... You must arrange a private room for me today."

After saying this, the two of them got up together and walked towards the pleasure boat...

……

Night falls on the banks of the Huai River.

A magnificent painted boat, shaped like a twin lotus, floats on the water, its lanterns gleaming. The boat's hull is designed to resemble a twin lotus, with one stem and two blossoms. The entire boat looks like a blooming lotus, and when it enters the water, the reflection of the other lotus is mirrored on the surface.

Locked in the tower, a painted boat gently rocks, the flowers of Qinhuai are like brocade, the splendor of the Six Dynasties is gone.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the premier brothel in the capital.

Once aboard, the place was bustling with people, mostly women dressed in the finest attire, while some rather attractive male prostitutes moved about among them.

As soon as Lin Shu and her companion entered, a well-mannered male prostitute came forward to greet them. Seeing that they were dressed elegantly, and Lin Shu had an extraordinary air about her, but he didn't recognize her, he led them to the third row of seats in the main hall. The first two rows were reserved for the纨绔 (playboys) of aristocratic families...

Although the pleasure boat has private rooms, some VIPs prefer to sit in the main hall to avoid being snatched away by some clueless people.

"I wonder if this is your first time here, ladies?" The young man spoke to the two women, but his eyes were only on Lin Shu.

"Yes! Could you introduce me?" Lin Shu replied politely.

"Although all the gentlemen on the pleasure boat can participate in tonight's 'Gentlemen's Grand Competition,' it's actually a competition between four gentlemen: 'Wen, Ya, Qing, and Yun.'" He then leaned closer to Lin Shu and the other gentleman, whispering:

"However, I've heard that this 'Yaxuan' young master is the eldest princess's favorite, and it seems he'll win again this year... If the two young ladies came for the sake of the four young masters, I'm afraid it won't work..."

However, although I am not as good as the four young masters, I am not bad either..."

As he spoke, the male prostitute tried to get closer to Lin Shu, but Lin Shu quickly pulled Li Yun'er in front of her, and the male prostitute's hand landed squarely on Li Yun'er's chest...

Somewhat embarrassed, Li Yun'er pulled the man over, glared at Lin Shu, quickly gave the male prostitute a silver ingot, and said, "We don't need to serve you, you can leave!"

The male prostitute looked at Lin Shu's face with regret and left reluctantly.

Soon after, the competition began.

In the first row at the front, there was only a woman and a maid. The woman held a folding fan in her hand, but she didn't open it. She just tapped the table casually, watched the singing and dancing on the stage, and swayed her head with a frivolous smile on her face.

His roguish and dissolute appearance, coupled with his spotless white robes, seemed somewhat incongruous.

This competition bears a resemblance to later talent shows. First, the four gentlemen each led a group of male prostitutes around the stage, then each displayed their talents. Finally, the four gentlemen took to the stage to perform, and each of them was exceptionally handsome...

When Bai Yu, the "elegant young master," stepped onto the stage, Li Yun'er seemed to freeze instantly, staring intently at him.

After the performance ended, the eldest princess, Feng Xin, casually said from the front row, "Pimp, take him to my room."

Bai Yu on the stage seemed startled, his body trembled slightly, and he raised his watery eyes to search below the stage. When he saw Li Yun'er, he looked at her with eager eyes.

"Wait!" Ignoring Lin Shu's obstruction, Li Yun'er stood up and said loudly, "I've heard that if two people both fancy one person in the competition, they can decide who gets it through a contest. I wonder if this young lady would be willing to take the test?"

These words caused an uproar among the audience.

"Who is this person? How dare he publicly humiliate the First Princess?"

"Yes! But it's no easy task to defeat the First Princess, as her dozen or so talented women are no ordinary people."

"Could it be that they are ignorant of their own limitations?"

"..."

Amidst the commotion, the First Princess's face darkened, and she turned to look at Li Yun'er with narrowed eyes. No one had ever dared to compete with her for a man.

"Do you know who I am? How dare you contend with me?"

Li Yun'er had been cautious and timid since arriving in the capital, fearing to offend powerful figures, but at this moment she couldn't care less about such things:

"No matter who you are, you must follow the rules."

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess, Feng Xin, slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her beautiful face filled with anger. She said sternly:

"presumptuous!"

-