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

The morning sunlight streamed through the window and into the bed curtains.

The two people sleeping in each other's arms on the bed frowned and opened their eyes one after the other.

Lin Shu quickly regained her senses, then sat up casually, got out of bed, and picked up her clothes one by one.

When Li Huanzhi saw the other person's firm chest, he blushed and buried his head in the pillow, as if something had occurred to him.

Lin Shu, fully dressed, turned around and saw Li Huanzhi's appearance. She shook her head helplessly and said to the person on the bed:

"I've been too busy the other day, so I'll take you out for a stroll today."

Upon hearing this, Li Huanzhi, disregarding any hesitation, quickly stood up.

After the two finished washing up, they appeared in the dining room. Lin Shufu repeated what she had just said. Su Mu and the others were very happy. They were afraid of encountering the same thing again and dared not go out casually. Now that Lin Shufu was with them, it was the best.

So the whole family left without even eating the prepared meal, and naturally, Xue Wen and Xiao Ansi were not left behind either.

Hearing that Bao Fang Zhai's tea and snacks were among the best in the capital, and that one could also listen to storytelling there, Lin Shu decided to take Xue Wen and her three husbands to have a look and some breakfast.

Baofangzhai is located in the most bustling southern part of the capital, surrounded by famous teahouses and taverns, and the streets are bustling with traffic.

The street vendors' cries were louder than usual, presumably because the imperial examinations were approaching and students were gathering to take them.

It was tough on the travelers. What should have been a half-hour journey took almost an hour. The carriage moved slowly, stopping and starting frequently. Seeing that her husbands all looked unwell, Lin Shu frowned deeply.

"Xu~"

The carriage stopped immediately.

"Have we arrived?" Although Song Yun was pregnant, she was naturally lively and could no longer sit still.

The coachman's voice came from outside: "Reporting to the master, gentlemen, we have not yet arrived; the road ahead is blocked..."

Lin Shu lifted the curtain and looked around. She could already see Baofangzhai in the distance, so she turned back and suggested:

"It's not far now, why don't we walk there?"

"We'll listen to our wife," Su Mu and Li Huanzhi said in unison.

Xue Wen nodded.

"That's great!" Song Yun 'whoosh' lifted the curtain and was about to jump off the carriage excitedly.

Lin Shu helplessly pulled the man back, and under his questioning gaze, pointed to his abdomen.

Song Yun then seemed to wake from a dream, realizing that she was now pregnant. She gently stroked her belly, then slowly stretched out her foot to test the ground before carefully getting out of the car. The whole process was unusually slow.

Lin Shu and Su Mu and the others behind her couldn't help but twitch their lips slightly, realizing there was no need to be so cautious.

After everyone got off the car, Su Mu carried Xiao Ansi in his arms and headed towards Baofangzhai.

Although Baofangzhai seems to be within easy reach, it actually takes some time to get there.

"Give me Ansi." Amidst the surging crowd, Lin Shu was afraid of jostling her husband, so she took little Ansi from Su Mu's arms. She kept looking around, keeping an eye on the people around her. Little Ansi's round little head followed her as she looked around, which made Lin Shu unable to help but smile.

Along the way, everyone on the street couldn't help but look at Lin Shu and her group; the family members were all exceptionally good-looking.

The woman was also holding a chubby baby in her arms, and her movements were so skillful that she must have carried the baby quite often!

This was indeed a rare sight. After all, it was a man's duty to give birth to daughters and raise children. It was extremely uncommon for a woman to be seen holding a child outside, or even at home. Seeing how nervous she was with her husband, everyone couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness...

Soon, the men on the street all cast envious glances at Su Mu and his companions.

The group paid no attention to the gazes and thoughts of those around them. After passing one more teahouse, they would arrive at Baofangzhai.

By the window of a private room on the second floor of the teahouse, a woman gazed at Lin Shu and the others below, a hint of envy in her eyes. Then she lowered her head and looked at her own women's clothing, a hint of gloom and stubbornness appearing between her brows.

How could Lin Shu be completely oblivious to such an intense gaze?

She looked up and saw Xu Jingyun on the second floor of the teahouse with a gloomy expression. As if sensing Lin Shu's gaze, Xu Jingyun instantly regained his usual demeanor and winked at Lin Shu in a flippant manner.

Lin Shu remained expressionless, averting her gaze, her steps never faltering.

Unexpectedly, a pitiful-looking, thin man suddenly rushed out from the crowd, startling the group. They knelt down in front of Lin Shu with a thud: "Miss, please have mercy!"

After saying that, he reached out to grab Lin Shu's skirt. Lin Shu nimbly freed one hand to lift the skirt and quickly retreated, the skirt drawing a graceful arc in the air.

"Get away." Lin Shu said coldly, then gently patted Xiao Ansi's back. Xiao Ansi had been frightened and shivered. She then pouted and buried her head in Lin Shu's chest, her chubby little hands tightly gripping her long hair that fell in front of her chest.

The man seemed not to hear her and continued his persistent harassment. Only then did Lin Shu and the others realize that this man was the root cause of the congestion.

A cart was parked not far from him, and on a wooden board next to it were written the words "Selling oneself to bury one's father for ten taels of silver".

There seemed to be a person lying on the cart, wrapped in a thin white quilt. A gust of wind blew by, and the quilt was slightly lifted, revealing a bit of the rotting flesh of the dead person inside...

The protagonist, dressed in plain clothes, looked pitiful as he knelt before Lin Shu, blocking her path, and stammered about his father's hardships, hoping Lin Shu would take pity on him.

Lin Shu didn't have time to listen to his sentimentality and coldly said, "Say it again, get out."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ansi in her arms opened her mouth and spat out saliva, as if she was also scolding the man who was selling himself. She echoed with "Ah... Ah..." twice, which amused the people around her.

The man blushed, then, seeing that Lin Shu's approach was blocked, he turned to Su Mu and the others, saying:

"I beg you gentlemen, please buy me. I was raised by my father, but he passed away yesterday. I cannot bear to see him without a place to rest in peace. I beg you..."

As he spoke, he began to kowtow repeatedly.

The people around were also talking about it, and most of them felt sorry for the man.

Su Mu frowned slightly, took out ten taels of silver from his purse, placed it in the man's hand, and said in a deep voice, "Take this and give your father a proper burial. There's no need for you to sell yourself."

The man seemed to pause for a moment, then stopped the group of people who were about to leave again, saying sadly, "Since the money has been paid, then I am Miss's person..."

Su Mu felt displeased. Could this man not understand human speech? So he repeated himself:

"Young master, we don't need you to sell yourself. We've already given you the money. Please step aside."

"Miss...Miss, please let me stay. I'll do anything, including..."

The man ignored Su Mu's words and seemed determined to cling to Lin Shu today. By the end, he even blushed, and at first glance, he did have a certain beauty.

Everyone around envied Lin Shu for her good fortune with men; not only did she have three handsome young men, but now another one had arrived!

Although she may not be as good as those three, most women in the world are like this: after eating too much rich food, who wouldn't want to change it up with some simple porridge and side dishes?

Lin Shu gave Su Mu a reassuring look, then glanced subtly at the cart over there, and said mercilessly to the person on the ground:

"It's best for people not to be greedy."

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