The Empress was present

Zhao Lianying smiled gently upon hearing this. She turned slightly and looked at Chen Si beside her, saying, "Sister Chen, you did very well."

As she spoke, she gently raised her hand and covered the hand that was covering her face in deep thought. She said softly, "Why cover it up, Sister Shen? You should let Sister Li... take a good look."

She originally meant to call Li Yin a slut, but with Wen Youqing present, she couldn't say it aloud, so she changed her wording on the spot.

When Chen Si touched Zhao Lianying's hand, she trembled slightly. She tried to make it less obvious, wanting to take a step back but restrained by her status, she dared not back down.

Zhao Lianying leaned closer, and Chen Si's breathing slowed down. Zhao Lianying whispered something in her ear, and Chen Si's pupils trembled. She looked up in disbelief, and then her lips parted slightly.

Before she could speak, Zhao Lianying spoke first, saying calmly, "You can only do as I say, or there will be consequences." Then, she smiled gently and said, "Sister Chen, you know that, right?"

Seeing the still incredulous look in her eyes, Zhao Lianying raised her hand and pushed the person away.

She stumbled back several steps, nearly losing her balance, and after regaining her footing, she lowered her head and said, "Your Highness... don't worry."

Zhao Lianying smiled dismissively, lifted the hem of her pink skirt with gold trim, and walked away. She walked ostentatiously, not giving way at all, and directly bumped into Chen Si. As she passed by, she muttered, "What bad luck."

Upon hearing the words, he fell into deep thought, then smiled softly, a bitter smile.

Li Yin watched from afar, and seeing this scene, he didn't go forward. He only glanced at it a few times before following into the courtyard.

The venue was more spacious than before, with stage and pavilions right in front of us, surrounded by walls on all sides, and the sounds of birds rose and fell, never ceasing.

The pillars are carved with pine and moon, and people and immortals can be seen in front of the hall. Li Yin was staring blankly at the round stage when he heard a mocking laugh, "Oh, what a country bumpkin."

Upon hearing this, Li Yin was neither angry nor annoyed. What this person said was true. She had never seen such a high stage for singing before. Firstly, she didn't particularly enjoy listening to music, and secondly, the royal scale was indeed magnificent.

But when she looked at the pine and moon on the pillar, she felt a sense of familiarity, which was quite strange.

She lowered her eyes and stopped looking.

However, this appearance made him appear inferior to the group of people, who then mocked him even more, discussing Li Yin's family background.

A woman dressed in green said to the woman in pale yellow beside her, "It's not easy for a beauty to emerge from such a remote place as Jincheng. This person is really lucky to have caught the eye of Young Master Wen, and not just as his primary wife. If I were Young Master Wen, I would make her a concubine. After all, the young ladies in the capital are all exceptional in both background and appearance."

The woman in the pale yellow dress covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "Sister, you're so joking. Aren't you afraid of talking like this?"

After she finished speaking, she deliberately glanced at Li Yin, and then smiled.

Li Yin saw the two of them talking back and forth.

With these two involved, the topic spread like wildfire, and everyone was talking about whoever it was, though no names were mentioned, but Li Yin knew exactly who it was.

The same old lines, in short, describe how shameless she is, how lucky she is, and how good she is at seducing men.

Li Yin walked along the corridor, listening the whole way. Couldn't they come up with something more innovative?

Qi Xue wore a smart red dress with narrow sleeves, wrist guards, and a skirt that didn't touch the ground. Her clothes were simple and almost unadorned. Her hair was tied up with a red ribbon, which fluttered gently in the wind, just like her free and unrestrained personality.

She looked up at Li Yin with concern in her eyes. Along the way, she had not spoken to the group of noble ladies from the capital, but had mingled in the crowd and listened silently. However, these people were too talkative and their words were vicious. They were truly people from a prominent family.

Li Yin lowered her eyes, still thinking about the historical materials. The royal academy might have some useful information for her. However, after going around in circles, she still couldn't avoid dealing with Lin Zhaoshan's case from eighteen years ago. If she had known this would happen, she would have agreed to Qi Shixu's request and gotten a favor in return.

Li Qinglu, who exactly are you, that you too suffered the massacre of your entire family?

Same surname, same experience, what a coincidence.

Just as she was lost in thought, she noticed someone was watching her. She slowed down, turned around, and saw a familiar face: Qi Xue.

Qi Xue noticed that Li Yin kept his eyes downcast, and thought that Li Yin must have been hurt by the harsh words. Just as she was thinking about how to comfort him, she saw that Li Yin's eyes were very calm, without any ripples of emotion.

Qi Xue quickened her pace and reached Li Yin's side. She simply walked beside him without saying a word. As they were about to sit down, she parted her red lips and asked, "Li Yin, are you really not sad?"

Li Yin noticed the hesitation of the person beside him. Seeing the person's hesitant expression, he assumed that the person knew about Qi Shixu and wanted to ask for details.

Unexpectedly, this was the question asked. Li Yin sighed at the man's frankness and said truthfully, "Why be sad? It's all just template rhetoric, talking about appearances, family background, face, luck, and men."

She smiled slightly and commented sincerely, "Boring and unoriginal."

Qi Xue was amused by her words and put aside the concerns about being judged. She put her hand on Li Yin's shoulder and asked, "You are quite a character. If you had to comment on your own strengths and weaknesses, what would you say?"

Li Yin said, "When learning storytelling, make it as exciting as possible."

Qi Xue said, "Isn't that fake?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yin glanced at the chattering group of people, smiled gently, and said, "Since you're going to slander us anyway, why bother turning a blind eye? Isn't it uncomfortable to turn a blind eye to one thing and a blatant one?"

Qi Xue nodded and said, "That makes sense."

The two finished speaking and sat down. Qi Xue sat upright. She glanced at Li Yin and saw that Li Yin was also sitting upright. She looked at Li Yin's hands but did not find any calluses. She thought to herself, "Miss Li, you must be a young lady from a wealthy family in Jincheng. You don't practice martial arts, yet you have such a good figure."

Li Yin lowered her eyes, pondering her question: how should she get to the royal academy?

If open methods don't work, then try covert ones. However... she had no idea how many hours the guards in the imperial city rotated, and she was completely clueless and hitting a dead end.

A bell rang, and silence fell instantly. The crowd fell silent, and people stood up straight.

A woman emerged from the palace, surrounded by attendants. She wore a yellow gown with tiered skirts that flowed to the ground like falling flowers, adorned with jeweled hairpins and a phoenix crown.

With a pearly face and peach blossom eyes, she is a beauty more beautiful than any painting, her face as smooth as jade, her eyes full of affection, and her slightly parted red lips evoke pity.

With a sharp shout, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!" Everyone stood up, walked around to the side, and bowed respectfully.

Wen Lan raised her hand slightly, looked at Li Yin, who had an outstanding appearance in the crowd, frowned slightly, whispered something to the person next to her, and then told the person to stand up.

Everyone returned to their seats and sat up straight. Zhao Lianying, however, lifted her skirt and stood up. She strode up to Wen Lan and said, "Mother, today is Father's birthday. Could we skip this meeting and go directly to the front hall to be with the young masters of the Wen family?"

She called her "Mother," but the two actually looked more like sisters.

Wen Lan pulled Zhao Lianying's hand, gently held it in her hand, rubbed it, and said softly, "In the past, men and women walked separately, but today we can sit together. Lianying, this meeting is to let everyone here get to know each other first, so that we won't lose our composure later."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lianying pouted and muttered, "But I want to see Brother Wen."

Wen Lan smiled and gently tapped her head, saying in a doting tone, "Your brother Wen is now married and is with your brother the emperor. You should behave yourself this time."

After saying that, she let go of his hand, and Zhao Lianying returned to her seat. She glanced at Li Yin again, but the smile on her face disappeared.

There was an eerie silence all around, which made Li Yin feel a little uncomfortable.

Everyone sat upright, without making a sound, waiting quietly for the message to be relayed from the other side.

Li Yin lowered his eyes, lost in thought, when he noticed the gaze from above. This person was beautiful, but the feeling he gave off was strange. Everything in front of him seemed like a shell, and beneath that shell, this person hid a madness just like Wen Youqing.

Li Yin took a deep breath. She felt that she might be going crazy. Ever since she saw Wen Youqing more clearly, she had become a little paranoid.

But this person's features... do indeed resemble Wen Youqing somewhat. Could it be that this person's surname is Wen? This important figure from the Wen family in the palace must be the Empress.

But aren't women from noble families generally not allowed to become empresses? The emperor's first wife was usually a commoner. Otherwise, if the maternal relatives interfered in politics, how would the emperor deal with it?

Something unusual must be going on, but Li Yin didn't care about that. She was only thinking about whether this person could help her get to the academy.

Whether it was because her mental chanting had an effect or not, the person on the platform called her name, "Li Yin." The name was called very softly, yet it reached the ears of everyone present.

Wen Lan looked at Li Yin again. Upon hearing this, Li Yin stood up and walked to Wen Lan.

Wen Lan said, "Raise your head."

Li Yin obeyed and did as she was told. Wen Lan saw Li Yin's full appearance this time, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. Then she said, "You are Li Yin from Jincheng?"

Li Yin said, "Yes."

After saying that, Wen Lan smiled and said, "I didn't expect it to be from Jincheng. Wen Youqing really knows how to pick for herself, choosing the furthest one, which is also the most beautiful."

Li Yinguang couldn't figure out the relationship between this person and Wen Youqing after hearing this.

Wen Lan said something, then gestured for Li Yin to go back.

Zhao Lianying stared straight at Li Yin. Upon hearing the words "the most beautiful," she gritted her teeth, her anger rising even more. She cursed inwardly, thinking that Li Yin was nothing but a pretty vixen who would one day ruin that disgusting face.

But then she thought about what was about to happen and felt a little better. Li Yin, Li Yin, we'll see.

I want to see if you'll remain as composed as before when you're publicly humiliated in front of everyone.