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

As she watched the person she had longed for approach her, Feng Rui felt her heart race. She quickly tidied her carefully styled hair and clothes, her face slightly flushed, and stepped forward to greet him.

"Your Majesty, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ji Yan interrupted him:

"Nan'er is back!"

After saying that, Ji Yan stepped forward, took Ling Huanan's hand, looked him over carefully, and said, "My Nan'er has lost weight!"

Ling Huanan simply uttered two words: "Father."

Ji Yan seemed to be used to her behavior and didn't mind. Instead, he pulled her towards the main hall.

Ling Huanan first turned around to arrange the guards who had come with her, and then turned around to follow Ji Yan into the mansion.

As she passed Feng Rui and Ling Wanzhen, she paused briefly, glancing only briefly at the aggrieved look on their faces before walking past them indifferently, as if she hadn't seen them at all...

Feng Rui froze, his face turning deathly pale. If it weren't for Ling Wanzhen supporting him, he would probably have already fallen to the ground in a sorry state.

……

The main hall of the Prince of Dingbei's residence.

Ling Huanan and Ji Yan sat in the main seats, and the two asked and answered questions in a harmonious atmosphere.

After a short while, Ji Yancai, with a smile on his face, pointed to Lin Dafeng's family sitting to the left and said to Ling Huanan:

"Nan'er, this is my adopted daughter and her daughter. From now on, they will be your sister and niece!"

Then he said to Lin Dafeng, "Bei'er, Yue'er, quickly call for help."

Upon hearing this, Ling Huanan glanced at them coldly. She had already noticed them when they were secretly observing her at the door.

She disliked the probing looks these people gave her, just as she disliked Feng Rui's scheming.

Lin Dafeng and Lin Yue quickly stood up. When they first saw this person's cold face at the door, they thought he looked exactly like that wretched child, Lin Shu, and were momentarily stunned. Now, regaining their senses, they respectfully bowed and said:

"elder sister!"

"Great Aunt!"

Ling Huanan stared at the top of their heads for a long while before coldly replying, "Hmm."

He didn't tell anyone to get up after he finished speaking.

Lin Dafeng and her companion felt as if they were being watched by thorns, their hair standing on end, as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing down on them, making it hard to breathe!

Ji Yan quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying:

"Nan'er, you must be tired from your long journey. Take a good rest first, and I will come to see you again tomorrow."

"Ah."

Upon hearing Ling Huanan's response, Ji Yan led the Lin Dafeng family, who were drenched in cold sweat, away in a hurry.

After everyone left, Feng Rui finally seized the opportunity to speak. He quickly pulled Ling Wanzhen aside, forced a smile, and looked at Ling Huanan with anticipation:

"Your Highness, this is Zhen'er. You have been away from the capital for several years and have not seen her. She often misses you."

"Mother!" Ling Wanzhen looked at Ling Huanan with admiration, but the other party's eyes were sharp and piercing, which frightened her so much that she quickly looked away.

Ling Huanan slightly raised his eyelids and looked his daughter up and down. He saw that her eyes were darting around and she didn't dare to look him in the eye. How could this be the kind of look that showed she cared about him?

His interest vanished instantly. He withdrew his gaze and, without any politeness, dismissed him: "I need to rest."

The unspoken message: Go back to where you came from.

Feng Rui's smile froze on his face, but when he looked up and met the other person's slightly closed eyes, who seemed extremely tired, he had no choice but to take his daughter out the door.

"Father, Mother seems to dislike me. What should I do? My position as the eldest daughter of the family..." A little distance away from the door, Ling Wanzhen recalled Ling Huanan's gaze just now and couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Feng Rui first looked back at the tightly closed door, then said softly:

"Don't talk nonsense! You need to be well-behaved these days and spend more time with your mother. She has been away from home for many years, and you are, after all, her 'only' daughter. She just doesn't know how to get along with you."

Ling Wanzhen was unaware of Feng Rui's assassination attempt, and therefore she was also unaware that Lin Shu was her half-sister.

"I understand, daughter." Ling Wanzhen finally felt relieved and nodded in response.

As the footsteps of the two faded into the distance, Ling Huanan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright, showing no sign of drowsiness.

After a moment, she spoke in a deep voice to the void:

"Ling Yi".

Before any response could be received, Ling Huanan's cold voice rang out again in the room:

"Go and investigate recent events in the capital, with a focus on Feng Rui and Shi Nu."

Then she saw a dark shadow flash by, which proved that she was not talking to herself.

However, without waiting for the secret guards to investigate, the eldest princess, that fool, "accidentally" let it slip at the welcoming banquet in the palace the next day, and His Majesty punished her by confining her to her quarters!

Ling Huanan maintained the same expression throughout, simply drinking her wine and ignoring everything except when His Majesty asked her questions. It was unclear whether she was angry.

After the palace banquet ended and she returned to the main courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, she noticed someone on the bed as soon as she entered the room. She paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes and slowly approached as if nothing was wrong.

As they approached, she could see by the moonlight that the man was her husband, Feng Rui, who was wearing a thin nightgown on such a cold December day.

Feng Rui blushed deeply, sat up sideways, leaned against the edge of the bed, and said in a seductive voice, "Your Highness..."

"Get lost." Before he could finish speaking, Ling Huanan impatiently uttered a single word.

He was unwilling to give up and still wanted to reach out to pull Ling Huanan's black robe, but Ling Huanan dodged him. Feng Rui lost his support and ended up sitting on the bed with his buttocks sideways and his hands on the ground.

"Throw him out."

Before Feng Rui could get up, he heard Ling Huanan's voice, which sounded like he was getting angry. Then he felt a blanket being pulled over his head, and he was lifted into the air and started moving. Finally, with a "bang," he was thrown outside the courtyard.

He crawled out from under the covers and saw the faint, almost imperceptible gaze of the night watchman in the distance. He felt ashamed and indignant, as if he wanted to die.

He couldn't understand why she treated him this way. What did he lack compared to that vile woman, Xue Wen? For years, except for that one night she had schemed to win him over, she had never touched him...

Ling Huanan, inside the room, stared at the bed with disgust, then turned and walked towards the door, saying to the void:

"It's all burned!"

The implication was that everything Feng Rui had touched should be burned.

After opening the door, he added coldly:

"If he is ever let in again, he shall die!"

……

On December 23rd, the four kingdoms held a great meeting.

The annual grand court assembly was always held at the Jize Academy, because the academy had a large grounds and its own horse farm and martial arts training ground.

On the day of the grand court assembly, officials of the fifth rank and above could bring their families to attend, and for a time, the area in front of the academy was bustling with carriages and people.

As soon as Lin Shu entered the academy, she noticed that there were several times more guards than usual. After all, the envoys of the three countries were gathered here, and if someone were to get into trouble here, wouldn't that give the other countries something to criticize?

There was still more than half an hour until noon, and those so-called important figures had not yet arrived. However, Lin Shu did spot Lin Yue in the crowd. Dressed in fine silk and satin, she looked somewhat like a young lady from an official family. It seemed that she had come with the students of the Imperial Academy.

When Lin Yue saw Lin Shu, a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes. She then lowered her head and whispered to the students beside her. Seeing the glances they kept casting at her and their contemptuous expressions, Lin Shu knew without a doubt that they were talking badly about her...

Just then, a deep, cold, and seemingly familiar voice rang in my ears:

"Ah Shu... how have you been?"

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