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

Seeing Lin Shu's all-knowing expression, Lin Yue felt a surge of anger and embarrassment. Her face flushed slightly, and she frowned, saying:

"Sister, I won't hold the past against you, but this Jizhe Academy is not a place for you!"

"Miss Ling, what kind of status does she have that you would call her 'sister'?" The woman in pink started jumping around again.

"And who are you? What gives you the right to question Lin Shu?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a chubby boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blocking Lin Shu's way with his hands on his hips and his head held high, as if no one else was worthy to look at his nostrils.

"Seventh...Seventh Prince!" Several people bowed to Feng Yu. Lin Yue was so angry she almost gritted her teeth. She never expected that Lin Shu knew the Seventh Prince, and it seemed that they had a close relationship.

"Hmph!" Feng Yu turned her head to the side.

Looking at the chubby boy who had stood up for justice, a hint of a smile flashed in Lin Shu's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

Then, with a half-smile, he looked directly at Lin Yue and said something that left everyone puzzled: "I'd also like to know, what is my identity? What do you think?"

Lin Yue was flustered by the teasing in her gaze.

"Tch! What could you possibly be? Don't think you can act recklessly just because you know the Seventh Prince." The woman in pink was still somewhat wary of the Seventh Prince and only dared to mutter under her breath.

Lin Shu pulled Feng Yu back from getting angry, not wanting to get entangled with this group of people with questionable intelligence, but the next sentence from the other party directly enraged her.

"Your father is a servant! How could he raise such a lowly person like you..."

Before the woman in pink could finish speaking, Lin Shu turned around and grabbed her by the neck, her eyes flashing with murderous intent and her whole body radiating coldness.

Everyone else felt the air around them freeze. Lin Yue shrank back in fear, just like when Lin Shu looked at her when they were kids and Lin Yue had secretly torn up her schoolwork...

Only Feng Yu was beaming, his bright cat-like eyes gazing at Lin Shu with undisguised admiration!

"Cough cough... Lin... Lin Shu, this is the Jize Academy. My... my mother is a fourth-rank Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. If... if you dare to kill me..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu actually let go of his hand.

Everyone thought Lin Shu was scared.

"Cough cough... Huff..." The woman in pink collapsed to the ground, finally breathing in the long-lost air, panting heavily.

At this moment, Lin Shu, recalling the private matters reported by Zi Yi to various households, spoke up: "Lord Jin, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices? But I feel that you don't resemble her at all. You are more like the Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices!"

After saying that, he ignored the few people standing there dumbfounded, pulled Feng Yu and turned to leave.

Even after walking quite a distance, one could still hear Feng Yu's cheerful voice asking:

"Lin Shu, is she the child of Lord Jin's legitimate husband and another man?"

"Mmm," Lin Shu said softly.

"Sigh! I wonder who the mastermind behind the Peerless Pavilion is? If the next batch of newspapers writes about this, that would be great. It's her fault for bullying you..."

Lin Shu did not respond to this, but the content of the next batch of newspapers was already decided...

The woman in pink finally came to her senses. Lin Shu dared to call her an adulterer. She was about to get angry, but the other woman had already gone far away, so she had to give up.

Looking back, she noticed that her former friends were now giving her a slightly different look. They hadn't noticed it before, but after Lin Shu pointed it out, the more they looked, the more it seemed...

However, they didn't say much, but instead surrounded Lin Yue and led her towards the main hall.

The woman in pink looked at the crowd, and for some reason, she also seemed a little flustered!

……

Three women stood on a covered walkway not far away, taking in the scene below. One of them, dressed in black, said mockingly to the expressionless woman beside her:

"I had no idea that there were two women in South China?"

Ling Huanan withdrew his gaze from Lin Shu's retreating figure, his sharp eyes sweeping over the timid Lin Yue below, and he said coldly:

"I was also unaware that the Seventh Prince was so 'helpful'."

The voice was completely flat, but the other two managed to sense a different meaning in it.

Feng Han was speechless, wondering why Feng Yu, that brat, had taken a fancy to this ice block's daughter. December was already cold, but being next to this ice block seemed to make it even colder!

Feng Zhao, who was watching from the side, quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "It's almost time, Mother Empress and Aunt should move to the main hall first!"

The three then headed towards the main hall.

Throughout the journey, Ling Huanan's mind was filled with Lin Shu's profile and back view. He had some vague guesses in his heart, but he dared not believe them...

Noon.

The grand assembly is about to begin.

The officials and their families took their seats, but the Empress and the envoys had not yet arrived.

In Fengming Kingdom, the right side is considered the place of honor. To show respect to the envoys, the country's officials all sat on the left side, while the right side was reserved for the envoys from the three kingdoms.

Lin Shu, as one of the candidates for this competition, has three seats lined up in a row, all in the first seat on the left below the Empress.

"Your Majesty is here!"

With a call from the Imperial Aunt, Feng Han entered the room.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The officials immediately knelt down and shouted.

"Everyone is safe."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Everyone then stood up and took their seats. Feng Zhao had somehow ended up sitting to Lin Shu's right, so the person to her left must be the last candidate! Turning her head, she saw that it was—Xu Jingyun.

However, it is understandable. After all, it can be seen from previous interactions that this person is both literate and skilled in martial arts, and is also Xu Guijun's niece, so it is not surprising that she was chosen.

Seeing Lin Shu looking at her, Xu Jingyun stopped covering her eyes, revealing a comical panda eye, and said with a rather mournful tone:

"Ah Shu... how cruel you are!"

Looking at the other person's appearance, Lin Shu suddenly felt a little regretful.

Why didn't they get the other eye pierced at the same time? Now it looks so asymmetrical; it's giving me OCD a nagging feeling...

Feng Zhao naturally saw Xu Jingyun's expression as well. Mainly because they were too close, she couldn't pretend not to see it, so she could only ask:

"Miss Xu, what's going on...?"

Xu Jingyun turned to Feng Zhao, glanced at Lin Shu with a half-smile, then pointed helplessly to the scar on her brow bone and the bruise around her eye, and said with a sigh:

"Your Highness, I have a proud tiger. Last time it got angry and scratched me with its claws, and this time too... Sigh! It's really disobedient. Don't you agree, A-Shu?"

Feng Zhao's lips twitched. "I'd be a fool to believe you."

Lin (the tigress) didn't even glance at the other person.

She had just noticed the person opposite her, their gaze cold and aggressive, fixed directly on her. This was the most prestigious seat to the Empress's right, and yet this person sat there, seemingly above all the envoys from other nations!

Lin Shu felt a little impatient being stared at, and looked up to meet his gaze, only to be met with his cold eyes.

This man was none other than the Prince of Dingbei—Ling Huanan!

Yes, she is Lin Shu's biological mother!

Thinking of this, a hint of mockery appeared in Lin Shu's eyes as she met his gaze, and a slight smirk appeared on her lips before she looked away.

Ling Huanan, sitting opposite him, was taken aback. A crack seemed to appear on his cold face, and his eyes narrowed dangerously before he gently curled the corners of his lips.

The expression on that perpetually expressionless face was terrifying!

However, Ling Huanan herself was unaware that she was currently preoccupied with Lin Shu's bold actions.

Ha! How interesting!

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