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

"What is the matter?" Feng Han's deep voice came from the hall.

Lord Liu straightened up, lowered his head and brows, raised the memorial above his head, and slowly replied: "Your Majesty, the heir of the Prince of Dingbei, Ling Wanzhen, disregarded the law and secretly abducted and cruelly murdered as many as 108 men over the past three years."

Furthermore, Zhou Chong, the Prefect of Jingzhao, colluded with him to cover it up. Now that the truth has come out, the Jingzhao Prefectural Government Office is completely besieged by the people...

These two men have committed despicable acts with extremely negative consequences. We earnestly request Your Majesty to punish them severely without leniency, so as to give the people an explanation.

After speaking, he presented the folded document and the newspaper in his hand.

After Feng Han finished reading the memorial and the contents of the newspaper, she slammed the memorial on the ground with a 'bang,' her anger barely contained, her tone icy:

"Outrageous! Such audacity! Such heinous acts have occurred right under the emperor's nose, and have continued for three years..."

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is hereby ordered to investigate this case thoroughly…

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Seeing Feng Han's anger, the court officials all knelt down in fear.

Crown Princess Feng Zhao also stepped forward and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, I believe we should first search the Dingbei Prince's residence. If there are any survivors, they may be silenced once the news leaks out..."

"I second that opinion." The speaker was none other than Lord Liu, who was worried about his only son.

“Your Majesty, you must not do this. The Prince of Dingbei is currently guarding the Northwest. If we take advantage of his absence to search and confiscate his palace, wouldn’t that discourage the soldiers?” Naturally, some old-fashioned people also expressed their opposition.

Before she could finish speaking, Feng Han raised her hand to signal her to be quiet. After a moment of contemplation, she then spoke:

"No need for further words. This matter will be handled by the Crown Princess leading three thousand Imperial Guards. If the facts are verified, they will be directly imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison to await judgment."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Feng Zhao bowed and accepted the order.

"Your Majesty is holy."

……

Dingbei Palace.

Ling Wanzhen had been quite annoyed these past two days. Not only did she have to go to her grandfather Ji Yan's place every day to learn manners, but she also had to endure the cold words and sarcastic remarks of the so-called "Ling Huabei" daughter.

Du Ruo and the other two were brought into the Prince's mansion the day after Ji Yan and the others returned. They were still apprehensive when they arrived, but after learning that their mistress (mother) had become the second wife of the Prince, they became completely unrestrained...

Ji Yan originally looked down on Du Ruo's petty nature, but Lin Dafeng and Lin Yue were good at sweet-talking and pleasing people.

This morning, when Ling Wanzhen came to pay her respects, she saw a short woman standing behind Ji Yan, massaging his shoulders and back.

Seated at the lower seat were a woman and two men. The woman was his so-called aunt, Ling Huabei. He had never met the other two men before, but judging from their age, they should be Ling Huabei's husband and son-in-law...

However, these people dared to sit in the seats that were with him and his father.

In the Phoenix Kingdom, the right side is considered the most honorable position. The seat to the right of the main seat is usually reserved for the ruler, but it has now been occupied by these lowly people.

"Move aside!" Ling Wanzhen said in a deep voice to Du Ruo, who was sitting in her seat.

"Huh? This..." Du Ruo was at a loss and looked up at Lin Dafeng.

Lin Dafeng, having followed Ji Yan for some time, has improved considerably compared to before. She said to Du Ruo, "Get out of the way!"

After Du Ruo reluctantly got up, she smiled at Ling Wanzhen and said, "Wanzhen, don't be angry. It's your uncle who's being unreasonable!"

"Hmph! You think you're worthy?" Ling Wanzhen didn't even bother to pay attention to her. She snorted coldly, dusted off non-existent dust from the chair with a disdainful look, and plopped down on the chair.

Lin Dafeng looked slightly embarrassed, and Ji Yan's expression was also rather unpleasant.

Lin Yue, who had been silent all along, spoke up at this moment: "This must be Sister Wanzhen! It's true that seeing is believing, Sister Wanzhen is truly an outstanding person."

After speaking, seeing that Ling Wanzhen ignored her, Lin Yue wasn't angry and continued:

"But when I was in school, my teacher once said, 'Without observing propriety, one cannot stand upright.'"

"Father is, after all, my sister's elder; how could he speak so disrespectfully..."

"What are you, daring to speak to me like this, young lady..." Ling Wanzhen was furious. She saw the greed flash across Lin Yue's eyes.

However, before she could finish speaking, Ji Yan sternly stopped her: "Wanzhen, have you forgotten all the etiquette you learned at the Imperial Academy all these years?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue's eyes lit up. The Imperial Academy! If only she could get in…

Seeing this, Ling Wanzhen assumed Lin Yue was mocking her. She was furious, but dared not lash out in front of Ji Yan. She could only grit her teeth and threaten Lin Yue with a dark expression, "You just wait!"

After saying that, he quickly left Ji Yan's courtyard.

After everyone left, Ji Yan noticed that Lin Yue seemed a little frightened, so he pulled her in front of him and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. Your sister Wanzhen is just spoiled. There's no need to take it to heart."

"Grandfather, Yue'er won't hold it against my sister. Yue'er just feels a little regretful that she couldn't continue her studies because of poverty in the past!"

Lin Yue seemed to be recalling her school days, her face full of longing and envy as she watched Ling Wanzhen's departing figure, and said:

"If I had a family background as illustrious as my sister's, I probably wouldn't be bullied everywhere. I would be able to bring honor to my ancestors and make my parents and grandfather proud."

Although Lin Yue's words were somewhat exaggerated, they stirred up Ji Yan's feelings of guilt towards Lin Dafeng's family. He had let his children wander outside for decades, never expecting that they would live such a difficult life.

So, feeling sorry for Lin Yue, he made the final decision:

“Good child, who says you don’t have a good family background? Tomorrow you will go to the Imperial Academy with Wanzhen to study.”

"Thank you, Grandfather. I will study hard and will not let you down!" Lin Yue, having achieved her goal, excitedly flattered him.

Lin Dafeng, Du Ruo, and Lin Yue's husband, Zhu Shi, were all secretly delighted.

However, they were unaware that Ling Wanzhen was destined not to go to the Imperial Academy tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Ling Wanzhen, after leaving Ji Yan's courtyard, was furious. She returned to her own courtyard panting all the way. She drank several cups of cold tea, but still could not calm down. Her hands made a "crunching" sound as she gripped the teacup.

Then, unable to bear it any longer, she rose violently, grabbed the riding crop from the round table, and headed towards the backyard. She had just passed through the carved archway when she was stopped by several maids:

"The lord has ordered that the young lady is not to approach the inner courtyard in the coming days. Please return!"

Ling Wanzhen kicked him to the ground, then said viciously, "Even you dog slaves dare to disobey me, and you even try to use my father to intimidate me? Get out of my way!"

After saying that, he went into the backyard, pushed open a door, and slammed it shut with a "smack." A moment later, he heard the sound of a whip cracking and Ling Wanzhen's veiled and angry curses.

The person who was beaten did not make a sound this time. Last time, it was because the screams of these lowly people were too shrill that Ji Yan noticed them. Therefore, this time, Ling Wanzhen gagged the person as soon as she entered the door.

The maid guarding the gate was in a hurry to go to the front yard to report to Feng Rui, but she had just stepped out of the gate when she bumped into Feng Zhao leading a group of people walking quickly towards her, with Feng Rui following beside her with a gloomy expression.

Seeing the maid's flustered expression, Feng Rui sensed something was wrong and glanced discreetly at the backyard in the distance. She stepped forward, raised her hand, and slapped the maid to the ground, harshly rebuking her:

"Such panic and disarray, what kind of behavior is this?"

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