They had always known that quite a few of the women in the backyard of the Yingchuan Royal Manor were spies sent by His Majesty.
However, they had also tried to contact that concubine, but she had never passed any information to them. She had even maintained an appearance of being indifferent to worldly affairs within the manor.
They truly had not expected His Majesty to value that woman so highly.
"Go investigate how that woman died and where she was buried."
It was truly fortunate that the child had survived after being ill for so many years!
He had witnessed the methods employed by those people and was astonished that a young child could endure under their hands.
He strongly suspected that the King of Yingchuan had discovered something, which led him to kill that woman.
Upon receiving the news from the spy that Princess Fu'an's health had improved, he knew that woman must have died. If she were still alive, there would be no possibility of Fu'an recovering.
If he were to learn that his three children had all been cursed in such a way, he would surely take drastic action.
He was his lifelong adversary. He still couldn't forget that on his father's deathbed, it was his name his father had called out.
Unfortunately, his luck had been poor, and he hadn't returned in time. Otherwise, it was uncertain who would be sitting on the throne now.
He absolutely could not give him any chance to make a comeback. Since his sickly daughter had recovered, let her come to the capital to see a doctor and recuperate.
According to the intelligence from the spies, that couple cherished their only remaining daughter greatly. With her present, he likely wouldn't dare to make any rash moves.
"Go receive your punishment. From now on, all matters concerning that side must be thoroughly investigated and reported to me."
"Your subordinate obeys." Fortunately, he had escaped this ordeal. The man in black breathed a sigh of relief.
When the results of the imperial examinations were released, Lin Yan did not join the commotion. After all, there was always the custom of "capturing a groom at the list" since ancient times.
Lin Yan, in her current situation, could not afford to be captured, so she stayed in her small courtyard, letting her bookboy, Shi Qi, accompany Lin Bo out.
Although Lin Yan sat there calmly drinking tea, she still felt a sense of restlessness. In her previous few worlds, she had never been this nervous when her college entrance examination results came out.
Of course, the college entrance examination could not compare to the imperial examinations.
The modern college entrance examination was probably equivalent to the provincial examinations, similar to the provincial examinations in ancient times. The selection process for the provincial examinations was much more difficult than the college entrance examination.
This was also because in ancient times, the number of literate people who could read and study was small.
The imperial examinations were equivalent to the written part of a national civil service examination, and the subsequent palace examinations were equivalent to the interviews.
Once one passed, they could become an official, instantly becoming part of the exploitative class and achieving a leap in status for themselves and their entire family.
Originally, she had planned to stay in the capital for a few years before seeking an official post outside the capital. However, now she felt she should find an external position as soon as possible.
The female protagonist had already arrived in this world, and the capital would soon be plunged into the cat-and-mouse game between the male and female leads. Lin Yan felt that her current influence was too low and she dared not get entangled between a prince and a young lady from a marquis's household.
Since she needed to leave quickly... Lin Yan tapped her fingertips on the table. The best choice, of course, would be to be near the King of Yingchuan. Then, leaning against a large tree would provide ample shade.
She had also lived near Yingchuan for some time before and was somewhat familiar with the local customs and traditions. If she were to become an official near Yingchuan, she believed she could competently handle the position.
Then she could bring her mother and grandmother over, and they could slowly realize her ambitions in that small county town.
The book was turned to another page. Dong Mei peeked her head in from the doorway, also looking anxious. Seeing Lin Yan look over, she quickly retracted her peeking posture.
"Dong Mei, go rest in the back." Lin Yan covered her eyes.
"Young Master, please let me wait a little longer." She had never seen her Young Master appear so composed. She felt that her Young Master was practically guaranteed to succeed.
Then she wanted to stay here and wait for the procession bearing the good news. Her Young Master was aiming for the Jinshi degree, so of course, she wanted to be the first to know this joyous news.
It was just that she was a woman. If not, she would definitely have gone out with them to check the list.
"If you truly want to wait, then wait openly over there. Don't peek like this."
"Yes, Young Master." Dong Mei quickly agreed.
After a considerable amount of time, the officials bearing the good news had arrived, but Lin Bo and the others had still not returned.
Dong Mei was extremely excited when she saw the officials who had come to deliver the good news. Lin Yan, feeling shy, thanked the officials and then asked Dong Mei to give them the prepared purses.
After receiving the purses, they left with great joy.
Only then did Lin Yan pay attention to the ranking written on it. It was within the top ten. This ranking, of course, could not be compared to her teacher's or the original host's past achievements.
However, Lin Yan felt this was a very good result. It wasn't as eye-catching as the top three. She wondered if anyone among the top three looked good.
His Majesty the Emperor still had several daughters of marriageable age who were not yet married.
Although the original host had not been bestowed a marriage by the Emperor, he had intended to. However, the original host's family was too poor (compared to royalty), and after marrying, there would be two mothers-in-law above her.
There were also rumors that the original host was a jinx who brought misfortune to wives, so the Emperor did not issue an edict. In retrospect, the Emperor letting it go so easily was likely related to the reputation of the original host being a jinx.
He truly knew that some unscientific things existed, which made him reluctant to marry his precious daughter.
One must know that the princesses of marriageable age were currently the Emperor's favorites, and he would definitely choose the best for her.
Now, she had already instructed her grandmother to spread the news of her being a jinx in their hometown. Even if it wasn't universally known, quite a few people could say a few words about it.
Lin Bo and the others returned about half an hour later. Looking at their disheveled state, one could roughly guess what they had experienced.
"Cousin, congratulations!" The person delivering the good news came again. Lin Yan received him. Lin Bo had also passed, but his ranking was somewhat precarious. If he couldn't move up further in the palace examination, he might fall into the ranks of the Tong Jinshi.
Tong Jinshi were treated like concubines. If they truly entered this rank and became officials, they would surely be looked down upon by officials who had achieved the Jinshi degree.
Although passing as a Tong Jinshi was also excellent for a small family like the Lin family, it was always better to advance further.
"Brother Yan, congratulations to you too!"
"Cousin, what happened to you all? Why are you in such a state?" Lin Yan asked, feigning suspicion.
"We ran into some people trying to capture a groom at the list. We went through great hardship to rescue Young Master," Lin Bo said, feeling somewhat ashamed to speak, so Xiao Kai answered on behalf of his Young Master.
"Cousin, you are truly blessed with good fortune. Achieving success in the imperial examinations and celebrating your wedding night on the same day!"
"Brother Yan, please stop teasing me," Lin Bo said with a look of helplessness.
"Which young lady has such discerning eyes?"