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

"Then I'll head back to my residence for my meal. Your Highness, you should also return soon, lest you go hungry." Before Ling Huanan could finish speaking, Lin Shu interrupted him with a teasing expression.

“You…” Ling Huanan’s face darkened, his brows furrowed, which was quite frightening. However, Lin Shu showed no fear. Instead, she raised her eyebrows at him provocatively and then strode into the Lin residence.

"Pfft..." Ling Huanan angrily flung off the carriage curtain, and then heard a burst of suppressed laughter coming from the guards outside.

"Return to the manor!" The laughter outside abruptly ceased as soon as the two cold words were uttered.

But the guards secretly thought to themselves: The prince has been teased by his own daughter and is now angry and embarrassed.

Upon arriving at the Prince's residence, as he alighted from the carriage, a guard obsequiously lifted the curtain for Ling Huanan. Only then did Ling Huanan realize why Lin Shu could still recognize him even though he had changed to a dilapidated carriage.

The reason lies in the guard with the silly grin on his face. He was still wearing the same armor he wore when he first stopped Lin Shu at the entrance of the academy.

How dense must Lin Shu be to not see her? She said she wanted to keep a low profile, but this bodyguard is certainly being very high-profile!

Thinking of this, Ling Huanan coldly scrutinized the guard from head to toe, and said in a deep voice, "Not bad attire!"

"Hehe! You look so smart in this outfit!" The guard patted his armor with a clang, thinking that Ling Huanan was praising her, and grinned broadly, even though she dressed like this every day.

Ling Huanan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he gave a soft snort: "If that's the case, then you can wear it from now on!"

After saying this, he took the lead and walked into the mansion. After crossing the threshold, he added, "You must not take it off when you go to bed."

"Ah? This... Your Highness, I know I was wrong..." The guard's smile froze instantly, and she hurriedly chased after him to admit her mistake, but she didn't know exactly what she had done wrong!

……

Upon returning to her residence, Lin Shu did not intend to conceal the matter of the Prince of Dingbei. Instead, she went straight to Xue Wen's courtyard and told him in detail about the rumors circulating in the capital over the past few days, as well as what had just happened.

Xue Wenzheng was turning over the ground with a small hoe about the size of his arm when he heard this, and his movements stopped abruptly.

He then continued digging as if nothing had happened, but his furrowed brows revealed that he was far from calm on the surface.

After a long while, Xue Wencai left the vegetable garden, walked onto the bluestone slab, scraped the mud off his shoes with a bamboo stick, and softly asked Lin Shu, "Shu'er, what do you think your father should do?"

"Father has already made his decision, hasn't he?" Lin Shu said softly, looking at Xue Wen's determined expression.

"Hmm. In that case, let's leave it alone for now."

After speaking, Xue Wenyan seemed relieved.

For over a decade, he had been unable to let go of the fact that she had tried to kill him, and he always wanted an answer. Now that it was clear that she was not the one who did it, his obsession dissipated.

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu nodded slightly. She had thought the same thing. After all, eighteen years had passed, and it was hard to say what the Prince of Dingbei's feelings for her father were—romantic love or guilt?

After Lin Shu left, Xue Wen washed up and returned to his room. For some reason, he found himself sitting in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection, lost in thought.

After a long while, Xue Wen raised his hand as if to smooth out the fine lines at the corners of the person's eyes in the mirror, but was startled by the cold mirror surface and couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly...

Time has passed, eighteen years have gone by, he is no longer the mischievous and spoiled boy he once was, so how could she still be the same as before?

At this time, Ling Huanan was unaware that her path to winning back her husband would be long and arduous...

……

In the blink of an eye, it was already February, with ten days left until the imperial examination.

Meanwhile, thanks to Lin Shu's tireless efforts, Song Yun became pregnant, much to the delight of the Lin family and Song's parents.

Recently, Song Yun's appetite has increased significantly. He eats non-stop all day long, and his belly has become noticeably swollen. He thought he had just gained weight, so he went to run and jump around in the yard.

Unexpectedly, not long after jumping, she experienced unbearable abdominal pain and had to call a doctor for treatment, only to find out that she was pregnant.

Upon hearing this, Song Yun was overjoyed and couldn't wait to spread the news throughout the land, stopping everyone he met to tell them...

Mr. and Mrs. Song had already moved out of the Lin residence. Lin Shu funded the opening of a clothing shop for them in the east of the city, and life went smoothly. Now that they learned that their son was pregnant, they rushed over early in the morning.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw Song Yun leaning against the bed, laughing like a fool.

"Hehe! Mom, Dad! I'm pregnant!" Song Yun pointed to her lower abdomen and said it again with a silly grin. Lin Shu, Xue Wen, and the others in the room shook their heads helplessly.

"You silly boy!" Song's father gently poked Song Yun's head with his finger and scolded him with a laugh.

Laughter rippled through the room, but Li Huanzhi's smile seemed somewhat forced. He was the last to marry into the Li family, so it was normal that he had no children yet; however, he couldn't suppress his anxiety.

Moreover, Li's parents were brought to the capital a month ago. Perhaps because Li Yun'er has achieved some success, her parents hope that someone can help their daughter. Therefore, they have often urged her to do so.

Li Huanzhi was well aware that Lin Shu treated Su Mu differently, visiting his room most frequently; while she treated him and A-Yun equally. Now that A-Yun was pregnant, he...

Thinking about it, he gently stroked his abdomen, and recalling what his parents had said, he couldn't help but lower his head sadly.

Suddenly, Lin Shu grasped his hand and gently squeezed it, which calmed him down a little.

That night, in Li Huanzhi's room.

Li Huanzhi lay down on the canopy bed and suddenly heard the door open. He thought it was the servant in charge of turning off the lights and didn't pay much attention. But after waiting for a long time, the room was still brightly lit.

He turned around and saw Lin Shu lift the beaded curtain and walk in.

"Why is my wife here...?" Li Huanzhi was quite surprised, seemingly not expecting her to come, and propped himself up as he asked.

Lin Shu's fingers slowly traced Li Huanzhi's face as she teased, "I noticed during the day that my husband seemed to be in a bad mood, so I came to comfort him."

Li Huanzhi bit his lower lip tightly and remained silent.

Lin Shu continued, "You, Amu, and Ayun are all my husbands. My happiness for you has nothing to do with anything else."

As she spoke, Lin Shu took off her clothes one by one and placed them under the couch, then went straight up to the canopy bed.

As he threw back the covers, a chill swept over Li Huanzhi, bringing him back to his senses from the visual shock. A desire that had somehow ignited in his eyes caused them to redden slightly...

Lin Shu lay on the bed, propping her head up with one hand, looking at Li Huanzhi, then lowered her head and seductively pecked his lips...

Just as the man couldn't resist wrapping his arms around the woman's waist, she leaned down, her warm breath brushing against Li Huanzhi's ear:

"It's late, let's go to sleep!" ('Sleep' → verb.)

As she finished speaking, the temperature inside the room gradually rose. Lin Shu touched the man's clothes with one hand and swept the bed curtains with the other.

Then, the bed curtains were gently drawn, blocking the view, but they 'swayed' along with the candlelight in the room...

Until late at night, the melted wax finally dripped onto the ground like water...

The lights went out abruptly, and the commotion subsided...

No sleep for one night.

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