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

Li Yun'er: "I...I...I hope you can enlighten me."

"In that case, you will do three things for me, and after they are done, I will present Bai Yu to you with both hands. How about it?" The man pondered for a moment before speaking.

"This... I need to think about it carefully..." Li Yun'er looked hesitant and dared not agree easily.

“Of course!” The person behind the beaded curtain finished speaking, then abruptly changed the subject, saying to Bai Yu, “Bai Yu, you’ve seen it too! This is what women are like. Those vows of eternal love are nothing but empty words. Once their own interests are involved… ha!”

“Ayu, you…” Li Yun’er could clearly feel the man’s dejection and sorrow beside her.

“Yunniang, there’s no need for further words. I understand. I was just being presumptuous…” Bai Yu’s sorrowful voice came from behind.

Li Yun'er clenched her fists and then relaxed them, then clenched them again. After the man said "Show the guest out," she seemed to have made up her mind and interrupted him, saying:

"Wait! I agree! I'll do three things for you."

Upon hearing this, both the person behind the beaded curtain and Bai Yu, who was kneeling below, displayed a strange smile.

……

A few days later.

The Lin Family Restaurant.

Everyone was gathered around the table for breakfast. The room was very quiet, with only the occasional clinking of bowls and chopsticks. Strangely, Li Yun'er, who was usually very talkative, had been silent during her meals these past few days.

Lin Shu noticed that ever since they went to the second floor of the pleasure boat that day, Li Yun'er seemed to have been somewhat depressed and often absent-minded.

"My lady, we'd like to go out for a stroll today! We've been in the capital for several days now, but we haven't had a chance to see anything yet," Su Mu suggested.

"How about we go tomorrow?" Lin Shu wiped her mouth with her handkerchief and said, "I need to go to Jize Academy today, I'm afraid..."

"My lady, we've got our brother in our care! You go ahead and do your thing, we'll go shopping!" Before Lin Shu could finish speaking, Song Yun had already put down his bowl and ran behind Lin Shu to give her a gentle massage.

Li Huanzhi nodded and said, "Yes, and besides, there's Yun'er. She's free today, so let her come along and take care of her!"

After saying that, he nudged Li Yun'er, who was still in a daze.

Li Yun'er quickly came to her senses: "Ah! Yes...yes! I will definitely take good care of my brother and my two brothers-in-law!"

Finally, after much pleading and persuasion, the three brothers managed to convince Xue Wen to go out with them...

Seeing that they had all made their own arrangements, Lin Shu could only nod in agreement, but she still secretly arranged for Chou Er to follow and protect them.

After the meal, everyone tidied themselves up and then boarded their carriages, heading in different directions.

……

The Jize Academy is located at the foot of the imperial city, standing opposite the Imperial College.

The Lin residence was quite far from here, requiring an hour's carriage ride. Lin Shu was extremely bored, so she leaned against the carriage and closed her eyes to rest.

"Squeak." The carriage came to a stop in front of the Jize Academy.

"Master, we've arrived!" The servant who was driving the carriage jumped down first and lifted the curtain for Lin Shu from outside.

Lin Shu slowly opened her eyes, stepped off the carriage with a nimble gait, and looked up to see a milky white plaque with the words "Jize Academy" written in bright gold on it.

The gate is decorated with numerous phoenix totems, and the wall above the gate is gold with white accents, intricately carved with phoenix and peony patterns. The top is covered with glazed tiles, which gleam in the sunlight.

It stands out prominently among these red brick and green tile buildings.

This shows that the "Jize Academy" was indeed extraordinary, as it was granted the privilege of carving the phoenix totem of the Fengming Kingdom.

Lin Shu took out the waist token given to her by Lord Wen and knocked on the door. A woman dressed in black armor came out. Lin Shu handed her the waist token and explained her purpose.

The woman carefully examined the waist tag, and after confirming its authenticity, she asked Lin Shu to wait a moment while she went to inform the person in charge. Then she closed the door again.

The door had just closed when a burst of laughter came from behind:

"Hey! Where did this country bumpkin come from? How dare he stand at the entrance of Jizhe Academy?"

"Yeah! I thought she had some special ability to get in! But she was turned away in the end!"

"Hmph, so ignorant of your own limitations? You'd be better off going home and daydreaming. Hahahaha!"

"..."

Lin Shu turned around and saw a group of richly dressed men and women coming out of the Imperial College across the street, all of them sneering at her.

The woman at the head of the group was beautiful, with captivating eyes and a red mole on the tip of her nose. She was holding a folding fan and had a richly dressed young man in her arms. She was looking at Lin Shu with disdain, but when her eyes met Lin Shu's, an expression of disbelief appeared on her face.

Ling Wanzhen was a little stunned when Lin Shu turned around. She had seen this person at the teahouse some time ago, but she had not looked closely because she disdained to associate with him.

Looking at her now, it's clear that this woman doesn't resemble her, but rather her mother—Ling Huanan, the only non-royal king of Fengming Kingdom.

Especially those peach blossom eyes, they were practically identical. If she didn't know that her mother loved her father dearly, and that her father had always been her only son, stationed at the Northwest Fortress, she would have suspected that this person was her half-sister…

The person beside her did the same, glancing at Lin Shu, then turning to look at Ling Wanzhen. After a slight hesitation, he leaned close to Ling Wanzhen's ear and whispered, "Young Master, this person and you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ling Wanzhen interrupted him: "Don't talk nonsense! She's just a commoner, how can she be compared to me?"

After saying that, Ling Wanzhen raised the corners of her mouth and pointed in Lin Shu's direction with her fan with a hint of provocation, saying, "You! Come here! Why don't you, a commoner, kneel down and pay your respects to this lady?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu merely glanced at her coldly, without moving an inch.

Ling Wanzhen was startled by her gaze. This person's cold expression made her feel even more like her mother. Realizing this, she spoke with a hint of exasperation:

"You...you lowly commoner, do you know who I am? How dare you speak to me like that?"

"Is this all the noble ladies in the capital know?" Lin Shu was speechless. Why did the First Princess and the person in front of her like to use this to scare people? If this was effective, why would they fight a war?

"What did you say?" Ling Wanzhen said, her face grim, enunciating each word clearly. Then she turned to her follower beside her and said in a deep voice, "It seems this lowly commoner needs to be taught some manners! Bring her over here!"

At that moment, a beautifully decorated carriage sped towards them from not far away.

A round-faced, adorable man sat in the carriage, his hair being tied up by a child behind him, while he anxiously urged the child outside to hurry up.

"Little Flower, hurry up! Today is the day the Grand Tutor is giving his lesson. If I'm late, that old rascal will definitely complain to the Empress Dowager..."

I don't want to copy books anymore! My nanny says I've lost a lot of weight from it!

The boy who was tying his hair up behind him chimed in, "That's right, I brought a lot of food for the Seventh Prince. He should eat more to nourish himself later!"

After saying that, he turned to Xiao Hua, who was driving the carriage outside, and said, "We'll be there soon after the turn. Xiao Hua, hurry up, don't let the Seventh Prince go hungry!"

Xiao Hua, who was rushing to catch the carriage: ...Why don't you take a look at the Seventh Prince's chubby face with a bronze mirror before you talk?

Suddenly, the carriage was traveling too fast and, not noticing Lin Shu's carriage when turning, crashed straight into it.

"Ouch!"

The noise naturally alerted the crowd in front of the academy, and everyone turned to look at the suddenly appearing carriage.

Feng Yu's hair was tied crookedly from the impact of the carriage. She puffed out her cheeks angrily, forcefully lifted the curtain, and blurted out, "Who's the blind fool?"

Ling Wanzhen's eyes lit up when she saw him. She forcefully pushed away the man in her arms, took a few steps forward, and said gently to the person inside the carriage, "Ayu!"

Feng Yu sized her up and said with some disdain, "What, it's you again? Get out of the way! What are so many people doing gathered at the entrance of Ji Ze Academy?"

"You guys don't actually want to go in, do you? You guys? How can you be so clueless? You might as well go back to your rooms and go to sleep!" Then he gave them a look that said, "Don't be ridiculous."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a sense of familiarity; wasn't this the same thing they had said to ridicule Lin Shu before? They were immediately embarrassed.

Ling Wanzhen's face darkened after being humiliated, making her look even less attractive and giving her a sinister appearance.

Just then, with a "whoosh," Feng Yu nimbly rushed in front of Lin Shu, raised her round face, her eyes sparkling, and called out in a sweet voice:

"Zhu Lin~~, you...you've come looking for me?"

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