"Mother, Mother, your son is back."

Inside Ping'an Mansion, Lin Rui'an walked in from the entrance, his usual composed demeanor completely different from his usual appearance.

Ye Lanyin was waiting inside. Today was the day of the palace examination results, but Lin Rui'an wouldn't let her go, saying it was too cold outside and he wanted her to receive the good news at home.

"Ruian, how is it?" Ye Lanyin asked, grabbing his hand as soon as he came in.

"Mother, your son has become the second-highest scorer in the imperial examination! Your son has made something of himself!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Lanyin suddenly hugged Lin Rui'an, tears streaming down her face, "Good, good, my son has made something of himself."

The second-place finisher was neither too high nor too low, but as the son of the future regent, he was just right.

Ye Lanyin wiped away her tears excitedly and said, "Mother will go and tell our ancestors... tell your maternal grandparents, and inform the Ye family ancestors..."

The Regent stood behind Lin Rui'an and calmly took over Ye Lanyin's words, "Ruian will soon be my son, so naturally I will inform the Xiao family ancestors."

"Mo Feng and Mo Qing, go to the palace immediately and have your elder brother offer incense at the ancestral hall to inform our ancestors that the Xiao family has produced a second-place scholar."

The two were thrilled and said in unison, "Yes, Your Highness."

Ye Lanyin wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She didn't want to refuse anymore. Rui'an stayed up late at night and even brought books with him when he ate. This was what he deserved. He was of the Xiao family bloodline, and it was only right for the Xiao family patriarch to know.

"Thank you, Regent."

"No need for thanks, we're family, no need for formalities."

Hua Xin and Hua Mei embraced and wept bitterly, saying, "Young Master, your suffering has finally come to an end; Heaven has eyes."

"Yes, yes, our young master is no worse than anyone else."

Ye Lanyin looked at Shi Zairen, who was standing to the side, holding Lin Wanwan and rejoicing together, and asked with a smile:

"By the way, Young Master Shi, how did your exam go?"

Shi Zai Ren waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Madam Ye, but I'm all alone now, so it doesn't matter what exam I take..."

"Mother, Young Master Shi passed the imperial examination with top honors. We went to see him today and he almost didn't make it back..." Lin Rui'an said with a smile.

Ye Lanyin was taken aback. The top scholar?

Lin Wanwan was right yesterday; he really did become the top scholar in the exam?

"Young Master Shi..."

"Madam, just call me and I'll be there."

If you were to call him "Shi Zai Ren," it would be easier to say. But if you dropped the "Shi" character and called him "Zai Ren," Ye Lanyin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The name he chose was indeed as surprising as his achievement of becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Very well, congratulations on becoming the top scholar. You will be a future Hanlin Academy scholar and a favorite of His Majesty."

Shi Zai Ren said slowly, "Madam Ye, I owe my knowledge to my benefactor. Back then, my benefactor taught eight of us. Only I was slightly better at memorizing, so my benefactor urged me to memorize every day."

"The credit still belongs to my benefactor."

Ye Lanyin never expected that he had acquired his talent in this way, and couldn't help but praise him: "Then your benefactor is truly talented, to have educated you into a top scholar."

Shi Zairen glanced at Lin Wanwan, seemingly unintentionally. "Yes, my benefactor is not only talented but also very capable. She often makes people afraid because she doesn't control her abilities very well."

"Fortunately, she's different now, and she should be able to control her abilities."

Ye Lanyin nodded with a smile, "Being capable is a good thing; some people want it but don't have it."

"You'd better go and change into your undergarments, the entourage will be here to fetch you soon."

The two exchanged a smile and then bowed to Ye Lanyin.

"Yes, Mother."

"Yes, Mrs. Ye."

Before long, the sound of gongs and drums grew closer, and Lin Wanwan ran out with a smile.

【Oh dear, the parade is here! I want to ride a horse too!】

Hey bro, can you take me with you?

Looking at the mountain of people and the respectful procession at the entrance, Lin Wanwan was extremely excited.

Her little feet hopped upwards with all their might, trying to get the white deer to hug her.

Upon seeing this, Bai Lu immediately squatted down and struggled to lift Lin Wanwan up.

Seeing that her line of sight was exactly the same height as his, Lin Wanwan angrily broke free again, and then opened her arms for the butler Tian Zhong to hug her.

Tian Zhong chuckled twice and then affectionately picked her up.

"Miss, you are so clever. You even know that little Bai Lu is not tall enough."

"Hehe, Uncle wants to ride a horse too~"

"Wow, Lin Rui'an is really capable. He was second to last in the autumn imperial examination, but unexpectedly he became the second-place candidate in the blink of an eye. He's really enjoying great success."

"Yes, Ye Lanyin is really lucky. Although Lin Rui'an's biological father is unknown, if I had a son like him, I would be happy even if he was a bastard, let alone if his biological father was unknown."

"That's right, that's right. He'll be a chair in the future court, maybe even the prime minister. The Ye family is really blessed."

"Yes, Lin Rui'an isn't married yet, is he? It would be amazing if someone married him in the future. Once the Regent marries Ye Lanyin, he will be the Crown Prince, and the person who marries him in the future will be the Crown Princess."

"Yes, it's fortunate that we left the Marquis's mansion, otherwise, I'm afraid they would beat me to death if I married this woman."

"You don't know yet, do you? Last time Liu Ruyan died, I saw Lin Shixuan beat her to death with my own eyes. That Lin Shixuan is really cunning. He actually said that she committed one of the seven grounds for divorce, that she ran out of the house and was beaten to death by someone else." A young man said disdainfully.

"Tsk tsk, I heard he failed the imperial examination and went crazy because he couldn't accept it."

"Oh, by the way, I just came back from outside the city today and saw that mistress burning her daughter in the mass grave..." the woman said, shaking her head as she carried a basket.

"The Lin family is truly ruthless. This mother dared to throw her own daughter into a mass grave and burn her, and she didn't even dare let anyone know. Do you think she might have been beaten to death by Lin Shixuan?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!