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

Lin Mansion

After dinner, Lin Wanwan was called to the study by her father.

Upon entering the study, Lin Changsheng told her about sending her to the palace.

Upon hearing this news, Lin Wanwan felt a surge of panic and immediately knelt down to plead, "Father, I don't want to go to the palace!"

Lin Changsheng frowned and asked, "Why don't you want to enter the palace?"

Lin Wanwan lowered her head, her face flushed, and said softly, "Daughter...daughter has already secretly given her heart to another, and really does not want to enter the palace."

Upon hearing this, Lin Changsheng asked in surprise, "Oh? Who is it?"

Lin Wanwan bit her lip and mustered her courage to answer, "It is the young master of the Wen family. I met him at a banquet in the palace a few years ago and fell in love with him at first sight."

Upon hearing this, Lin Changsheng was immediately displeased and asked again, "The Wen family? Which Wen family?"

Lin Wanwan hurriedly explained, "It's the Grand Commandant, the Wen family, Young Master Yichuan!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Changsheng's face grew even uglier, and he couldn't help but curse, "How dare you, an unmarried woman, utter such shameless words! You even dare to say you secretly harbor feelings for someone? You've utterly disgraced the Lin family!"

Lin Wanwan trembled with fear, but still insisted, "Father, I know I was wrong. Please grant my wish. My heart belongs only to the young master of the Wen family."

Lin Changsheng sneered and angrily rebuked, "Hmph! Who do you think you are? You think you can climb up to the Wen family's young master? Let me tell you, the Wen family's boy doesn't even consider you a threat! If you were really that lucky, he would have come to propose marriage long ago."

Lin Wanwan cried out in distress, "Father, I beg you, please don't let me go to the palace! I just want to stay at home with you, my mother, and my sister."

Lin Changsheng remained unmoved and replied coldly, "This matter is not up to you. Since you were born into the Lin family, you must bear this responsibility. This trip to the palace is the Emperor's decree and also an honor for our Lin family. As the eldest daughter of the Lin family, you should bring glory to the family."

Seeing her father's resolute attitude, Lin Wanwan was disheartened and could only cry silently.

Lin Changsheng said coldly, "Alright, stop crying. From now on, you'd better stay home obediently and prepare for the imperial concubine selection. On the day of the selection, you can go to the palace with the other candidates."

Lin Wanwan looked at Lin Changsheng in despair, her eyes filled with tears.

After learning about this, Lin Qianning wanted to come and comfort Lin Wanwan, but Lin Wanwan was in a low mood and refused to see anyone, including Lin Qianning.

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

The day of the selection arrived, and carriages carrying the young ladies came and went in an endless stream within the palace.

Lin Wanwan boarded the carriage with tears in her eyes. Just before getting on, she saw Lin Qianning at the door, seeing her off. Unable to hold back any longer, she rushed down and hugged Lin Qianning, whispering, "I'm sorry, sister, I've made you worry these past few days."

Lin Qianning couldn't help but cry. The two had grown up together since childhood, and she knew that entering the palace this time meant that they would see each other less and less in the future, and would no longer be able to go out and play together.

"Sister," Lin Qianning cried uncontrollably, also filled with fear, afraid that she would follow in her sister's footsteps and be sent by their father to an arranged marriage.

Looking at Lin Qianning, Lin Wanwan said her final goodbye and entered the palace.

Upon entering the palace, the young women were led to a separate palace to await the emperor's summons. Lin Wanwan stood nervously among the crowd, noticing that the other young women were all meticulously dressed, hoping to attract the emperor's attention.

Soon after, the emperor finally arrived. He examined each of the young women in turn, occasionally asking a few questions. When the emperor saw Lin Wanwan, his gaze lingered on her for a moment, but quickly moved away.

The emperor began selecting his favorite concubines. Lin Wanwan's mood grew heavier. She knew she would definitely be chosen, because she was just a pawn sent by her father to the emperor to consolidate the relationship between the emperor and his subjects. Just then, the emperor's voice came: "Lin's eldest daughter, keep her."

Along with Lin Wanwan, Chen Xianlin, Wen Yanxi, and more than a dozen daughters of officials were also sent to the palace.

On the first day, Lin Wanwan, Wen Yanxi, and Chen Xianlin were all granted the title of concubine.

Lin Wanwan was bestowed the title of Consort Wan, Wen Yanxi was Consort Xi, and Chen Xianlin was Consort De.

On the first day the emperor summoned someone to serve him in bed, the person who served him was Consort De.

Wen Yanxi was furious when she heard the news. "That damned vixen! I don't know what tricks she used, but she got the Emperor to stay overnight at her place on the very first day!"

Lin Wanwan, on the other hand, had no interest in this at all; she didn't care who the emperor would favor.

The day after the emperor had slept with Chen Xianlin, he fell ill with very strange symptoms: his whole body was itchy and he developed a rash.

This terrified everyone in the palace, and speculation arose. Some said that Consort De carried some kind of infectious disease and transmitted it to the Emperor; others believed that Consort De was an unlucky person, because the Emperor was usually in good health, but problems arose only after he favored her. These rumors spread far and wide.

Wen Yanxi was even more gloating after learning about this. Wen Yanxi thought to herself, "Hmph, I finally caught her! You vixen."

After the emperor rested for a few days, during the morning court session, many people impeached Chen Tongyu, saying that he had failed to properly educate his daughter and had also committed the crime of endangering the emperor's health by sending all sorts of people into the palace, showing no regard for the emperor's safety.

Chen Tongyu was in a terrible state of mind! Although he felt sorry for his daughter, he could only worry about his own official position for now.

Chen Tongyu immediately knelt down, crying out his innocence: "Your Majesty, please be wise! I would never dare to be so audacious! My daughter is innocent too. She was perfectly fine before she went there. This must be a deliberate frame-up!"

The impeachment memorials submitted by the officials who were impeaching him almost piled up on the emperor's desk, each one sharply criticizing the behavior of the Chen family father and daughter.

Upon hearing this sudden event, the emperor's expression turned extremely grim.

He had hoped to use this opportunity to support the Chen family, but he didn't expect to be tripped up on the very first day.

I never expected things to develop to this point, with not only the Chen family being implicated, but also myself getting caught up in it.

If the emperor wanted to save the Chen family, he needed to find a reasonable excuse.

He then said, "After the imperial physician's examination, it was found that I had eaten something unclean before, which caused this condition. Moreover, my health is no longer a problem, and this matter has nothing to do with Consort De or the Chen family, so let's not mention it again."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tongyu was secretly relieved, but on the surface he still respectfully replied, "Thank you for your wise judgment, Your Majesty."

Chen Tongyu knew he had been put in a show of force, but he didn't know who had done it.

The emperor did not want this matter to create a rift between him and the Chen family, so he would naturally side with the Chen family.

The other ministers didn't think so. They thought, "Can't you see that this is foolish? They're planning to give the Chen family important positions."