Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Although these candidates were already used to being watched by others, they were still a little nervous. After all, this assessment was highly anticipated, and many housekeepers, or even some of them with their sweethearts, had come to watch. Naturally, they hoped to perform well.

As Ye Churan rang the competition bell, the competition officially began, and the topic of this competition was "Summer".

The first student began, “Midsummer nights are short and dreary; I open the window to let in a cool breeze.”

The second student followed closely behind, writing, "Early summer is still mild and pleasant, and the fragrant grasses have not yet withered."

...............

The extended duration of this "Flying Flower Order" competition was expected, given that the Imperial Academy wasn't an institution open to just anyone. Therefore, the number of participants was actually quite small, only a few dozen. These few dozen were all elites from official families, each possessing exceptional talent and ability.

After a while, finally some students couldn't finish the poem and were given extra points. After several rounds, more and more students gradually couldn't finish.

The competition was now in full swing, tense and fierce; "In early summer, the grass and trees grow tall, and the trees around the house are lush and verdant."

"In the long summer days, the village is bathed in sunshine and gentle breezes; swallows and sparrows have already taken up residence under the eaves."

As time went on, more and more students were unable to answer the questions and were eventually defeated. Now, only Lin Zifeng, He Jinyu, Pei Wenyu, and Wen Yixuan remained to persevere.

After several more rounds of competition, Wen Yixuan was ultimately defeated and said helplessly, "It seems that I can only stop here."

Immediately afterward, He Jinyu also ran into trouble. Despite racking his brains, he couldn't think of any more suitable verses. After all, he had already used all the poems he could remember in the previous competitions.

At this moment, only Pei Wenyu and Lin Zifeng remained on the field, fiercely competing. The two were usually on good terms, but at this moment, neither was willing to give in to this match.

"Summer snow still lingers in the valley, and the shady cliffs are indistinguishable between day and night."

"The summer branches are already lush and green, and the crimson calyxes are bright and fresh."

"A cool breeze blows on a summer evening along the Yuan River; we enjoy spring wine together amidst the bamboo groves."

............

In the end, Pei Wenyu was no match for Lin Zifeng and was defeated, sighing, "I, Pei, have lost."

"You flatter me, Brother Pei," Lin Zifeng replied with a smile.

Unsurprisingly, Lin Zifeng won first place again, a result that did not surprise anyone, as he always came out on top.

The intensity of this competition thrilled the spectators.

Lin Wanwan, who was watching from the sidelines, proudly raised her head and boasted, "As expected of my brother, he's number one every year, and he's number one again this time!"

"Yes, yes, your brother is the best," Chen Ruoyao chimed in from the side. While agreeing with Lin Wanwan, Chen Ruoyao's eyes unconsciously glanced at the proctor, revealing a faint smile. In fact, Chen Ruoyao had already started to notice him when they first met in the pavilion.

"Ruoyao, what are you looking at?" Lin Qianning noticed that Chen Ruoyao was staring blankly at the examination room. Lin Qianning looked left and right but couldn't figure it out, so she asked curiously.

"It's nothing," Chen Ruoyao smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

Seeing that Chen Ruoyao was indeed alright, Lin Qianning didn't ask any further questions.

Lin Wanwan turned around to look for Lin Zifeng, but bumped into Wen Nanwan and Chen Xianlin together. Lin Wanwan rolled her eyes, snorted, and walked past them.

Wen Nanwan was already upset because she lost to Lin Wanwan last time. Then, she was grounded by her father and had to be arranged to get married. She was in a very anxious state. When she finally got out to get some fresh air, she ran into Lin Wanwan.

Not only did she run into Lin Wanwan, but she also had to endure Lin Wanwan rolling her eyes at her. This immediately reminded her of what had happened before, and her anger had nowhere to go. Her anger level reached its peak, and she was about to take action when she remembered what her father had said, so she held back. She simply ignored Lin Wanwan and walked past her.

.....................

Prime Minister's Mansion

"What? What did you say?" Zheng Luoqi was speechless upon hearing this news.

Although she changed the outcome of Chen Xianlin's victory, she couldn't stop the emperor's desire to woo women. When Zheng Luoqi learned that the emperor was disguised to watch the Imperial Academy's examinations, intending to bump into the female lead who was watching the competitions, Zheng Luoqi thought to herself, "The emperors in these romance novels do nothing but think about dating all day long."

"Don't they have anything else to do besides dating? It seems the emperor is determined to drag the Lin family down with him. Chen Xianlin's father is the Imperial Censor, and her maternal family is the Pei General's Mansion. No wonder he's going to such lengths." Zheng Luoqi's emotions were truly fluctuating.

“Emperors are indeed cunning,” Zheng Luoqi murmured.

Zheng Luoqi remembered that this part was not in the book. She guessed that she changed the ending of some things. Now the plot is going in a different direction, which can be considered a change. Doesn't this prove that the ending in the book can indeed be changed?

As Zheng Luoqi was pondering what to do, a sudden inspiration struck her: "Why don't I just kill the female lead and the male lead? If I kill them, why would I need to think about breaking them up every day?"

Zheng Luoqi immediately thought it was a good idea, but then shook her head and rejected it. The male lead, Xue Huaiyu, was currently the emperor, so she couldn't kill him openly. If she did, where would she find a compliant puppet emperor? The female lead was easier to kill, so she could start by targeting her.

After thinking it through, I suddenly felt it was a good idea to start with the female lead.

Zheng Luoqi then instructed Boyu to go and do his job.

Then, on Chen Xianlin's way back home, a group of assassins suddenly rushed out to kill her. Chen Xianlin was completely terrified. Whenever the assassins were about to succeed, they would always fail because of some small thing. They would either trip over something or the knife would suddenly slip to the other side. It was all very strange.

Finally, the male lead, Xue Huaiyu, suddenly appeared when Chen Xianlin was in imminent danger and saved her, causing their relationship to suddenly heat up rapidly.

Zheng Luoqi was furious when she heard the news. She finally understood why she was in a villain's script—we villains are just stepping stones for the protagonists' romance to blossom! It seems assassination isn't an option; who knows, it might even unexpectedly strengthen their relationship. Looks like the male and female leads do have some kind of halo.

It seems we still need to take it slow and stop the male and female leads from forming an alliance first.

..........

The next day, the second round of examinations at the Imperial Academy began. This time, the competition was on archery skills. The examination was held at the Royal Hunting Grounds, and it was said that the Emperor would also be there to watch the competition, so many students were very much looking forward to it.

As expected, not only were the examiners present at this competition, but Emperor Xue Huaiyu also came to watch.