The Female Lead is Quite Unusual - Episode 57

Although no cheat sheets were found on Li Si, the matter was deemed too significant to overlook. Nearly all the scholars participating in the imperial examination were detained in their examination cubicles, awaiting the arrival of the emperor’s envoys to investigate the incident thoroughly.

The few individuals who had brought cheat sheets lacked strong mental fortitude and could not withstand the harsh interrogations and torture. They quickly confessed, and within just three days, the emperor had uncovered the truth.

It was Academician Zhang who had deliberately leaked the exam questions.

With ambitions of becoming the chief minister in the future, he had resolved to cultivate a faction of loyal followers from that point onward. To this end, he had organized several poetry gatherings to identify students who were easily manipulated.

Somehow, Academician Zhang caught wind of the investigation. By the time the arresting officers arrived, he had already taken his own life out of guilt. However, everyone who had attended his poetry gatherings fell under the emperor’s suspicion. Not only did the emperor execute the scholars who had cheated, but he also issued a decree banning all attendees of Academician Zhang’s poetry gatherings from participating in the imperial examinations for ten years.

A few days later, when Li Si stumbled out of the examination hall in a daze and heard this news, he collapsed to the ground in despair.

Shortly after handling the examination fraud case, the emperor, overwhelmed with fury, fell gravely ill and took to his bed.

Over the years, the emperor’s children had met “untimely” deaths, leaving only two or three young heirs. The court was now rife with undercurrents of intrigue, as powerful ministers aligned themselves with various factions. Some even sought to control the emperor to command the nobles, plunging the court into chaos.

Lin Wan learned of these events from her mother.

As turmoil spread across the land, more and more people joined Lin Wan’s escort agency. Hu Yi proved exceptionally capable, attracting numerous business opportunities. Lin Wan grew increasingly busy, spending her days shuttling around with Sheng Qian and having no time to concern herself with other matters.

Lin Wan had a lingering suspicion that behind Academician Zhang stood the Prince of Yunyang’s estate. Academician Zhang was merely the scapegoat presented to the public.

However, given Lin Wan’s capabilities, she lacked the strength to confront the Prince of Yunyang’s estate. Moreover, her soul did not belong to this world, and she could not intervene too deeply. If she were to cause events that drastically altered the world’s trajectory, it would inevitably disrupt the world’s order and lead directly to its destruction.

Lin Wan could only quietly provide disaster relief, distributing porridge and doing her utmost to aid the refugees.

Half a month later, while returning from a business negotiation, Lin Wan encountered Li Si, who blocked her path.

Li Si looked utterly dejected, devoid of his former arrogance. He reeked of alcohol and appeared disheveled and destitute.

“Cousin, you have to believe me,” Li Si said, noticing Lin Wan’s wide-eyed stare. Mistaking it for lingering affection, his eyes lit up as he explained, “I did attend the poetry gatherings, but Academician Zhang was never particularly warm to me. I truly knew nothing.”

He had no idea that Lin Wan was staring in shock at the value above his head—

His luck points had completely dropped to zero.

Could luck points truly vanish like this?

Lost in thought, Lin Wan lowered her head without responding. The guards accompanying her grew impatient and began pushing Li Si away.

“Who does he think he is? When our young lady treated him well, he ignored her. Now that he’s down on his luck, he remembers her?”

Li Si seemed to want to say more, but the guards covered his mouth and dragged him away.

This was the last time Lin Wan ever saw Li Si. He never appeared before her again.

After learning that luck points could resolve matters, Lin Wan hurried home, wanting to see if there had been any changes in Sheng Qian’s luck value.

Sheng Qian was in the study helping her organize the account books. Lin Wan had intended to go to the study to find her, but to her surprise, as soon as she returned home, she saw Sheng Qian standing at the door, seemingly waiting for her.

“Sister, I heard you ran into Cousin Li?” Sheng Qian’s eyes looked over with concern. “Sister, is Cousin Li doing alright?”

Seeing that the luck value above Sheng Qian’s head had changed to “45%,” Lin Wan marveled inwardly, feeling that perhaps the world’s consciousness favored Sheng Qian, which was why her luck value had risen as a result of the ebb and flow.

Given the world’s favoritism, as long as she took good care of Sheng Qian, she would surely receive a generous gift of luck points in the future!

Lin Wan felt increasingly motivated.

Hearing Sheng Qian inquire about Li Si, Lin Wan’s internal alarm bells rang loudly: a gentle and kind-hearted girl like Sheng Qian was most compassionate toward the unfortunate. Ever since witnessing the chaos outside the city that day, Sheng Qian had been frightened for a long time, coming over every night with her blanket to sleep with Lin Wan. If Sheng Qian were to see Li Si’s pitiful state, she might worry about him all day.

“He’s doing just fine.”

Lin Wan lied without batting an eye: “When he used to study, he worked tirelessly day and night, and the hardships were beyond words. Now that he can’t take the imperial exams for ten years, he’s given up on that ambition. He spends his time reciting poetry and painting with friends, living quite happily. Qianqian, you don’t need to worry about him.”

“So, Cousin Li is so broad-minded after all. I was being narrow-minded.”

Sheng Qian glanced at Lin Wan, her expression somewhat peculiar. Meeting her gaze, Lin Wan raised her chin, trying her best to appear completely normal and feigning innocence as she looked back.

Sheng Qian looked at Lin Wan and suddenly laughed.

Lin Wan thought Sheng Qian had seen through something and felt a bit uneasy. After all, though Sheng Qian was kind-hearted, she was far from foolish. In fact, she was extremely clever. The security bureau was growing stronger by the day, and the financial transactions were increasingly complex, yet Sheng Qian had never made a single accounting error.

“That’s good, then,” Fortunately, Sheng Qian didn’t seem to doubt her words. Instead, she smiled gently at Lin Wan. “Now that Cousin Li is idle at home, he has plenty of free time. Why don’t you invite him out a few more times, Sister? Perhaps you could become a loving couple.”

Sheng Qian’s words sounded utterly sincere, as if she had only Lin Wan’s best interests at heart. But after spending so much time together, how could Lin Wan not recognize Sheng Qian’s subtle possessiveness?

Sheng Qian regarded Lin Wan as her most important companion and loved sticking close to her. If Lin Wan were to actually invite Li Si out, Sheng Qian might offer blessings on the surface, but she would likely hide under her blankets and cry in secret.

Lin Wan had no intention of making her delicate princess shed tears over an irrelevant person like Li Si.

At that thought, Lin Wan immediately and firmly denied it.

“Why would I go invite Cousin out?” As she spoke, Lin Wan pulled out the pastries she had bought earlier for Sheng Qian and stuffed them into her arms. “I don’t want to seek him out. What’s so great about him? I’d much rather spend time with you, Sister.”

After making her stance clear, Lin Wan didn’t want to continue this dangerous topic and decided to divert Sheng Qian’s attention. She patted Sheng Qian’s head and exclaimed in surprise, “Qianqian, have you grown taller again? I’ll call the tailor tomorrow to make you new clothes.”

In the past, Sheng Qian only reached Lin Wan’s shoulder in height, but now that she had grown taller, she was already up to Lin Wan’s forehead.

Sheng Qian blinked, seeming to catch up with Lin Wan’s abrupt change of topic, and after a moment, she let out a soft “Mm,” unable to suppress the smile at the corners of her lips.

Lin Wan noticed Sheng Qian’s small reaction and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief: at last, that matter was put to rest.

But Sheng Qian really was still a child. Just hearing about buying clothes made her unable to hold back her smile.

Watching the faint smile on Sheng Qian’s lips, Lin Wan’s mood suddenly lifted as well. She couldn’t help but wonder what Sheng Qian would look like once she fully matured.

Lin Wan suddenly felt a sense of anticipation.

The days passed slowly, one by one.

The court situation grew increasingly turbulent. The emperor fell gravely ill and could no longer rise, leaving no one in the court capable of taking charge. Various factions argued endlessly, many regions along the borders began forming their own militias, breaking free from the court’s control, and civil unrest broke out frequently elsewhere. Neighboring countries along the borders also showed signs of unusual activity.

In such an environment, merchants found it several times more difficult to transport goods than before.

Amid the turmoil, the risks of escorting goods rose sharply, and the cost of hiring escorts soared accordingly.

Lin Wan never overcharged, always keeping her prices within the most reasonable range. Every time she arranged an escort mission, she equipped the guards with the most complete gear and offered them excellent benefits. Over the years, the scale of her escort agency had multiplied several times over.

Whether due to the quality of the guards or some other reason, other escort agencies inevitably encountered bandits, but Lin Wan’s agency seemed to have divine assistance. They never lost a shipment.

It was only then that Lin Wan’s father realized the importance of owning an escort agency. He attributed all this success to Lin Wan’s natural talent for business and began intentionally grooming her as his successor.

Lin Wan was so busy every day that her feet barely touched the ground.

Seeing Lin Wan so occupied, her mother felt too embarrassed to…

Seeing her mother like this, Lin Wan also felt uneasy and could only ask Sheng Qian to help comfort her mother.

Somehow, Sheng Qian managed it. She took Lin Wan’s mother to a temple, and after they returned, her mother’s attitude toward Lin Wan changed. She never again brought up the topic of Lin Wan getting married.

Lin Wan was very curious and privately asked Sheng Qian about it. Sheng Qian told her everything truthfully.

“I used the silver you usually gave me to bribe the fortune-telling monk there. He deliberately interpreted the divination slip your mother drew, saying that you have a noble but solitary fate. Only someone with an even more exalted destiny would be a suitable match for you; otherwise, there would be unexpected disasters.”

Lin Wan’s eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected Sheng Qian to use such a method. But upon reflection, for her mother, who firmly believed in gods and fate, this was the most effective approach.

Lin Wan felt even more reassured about Sheng Qian: with such intelligence, as long as she forgot her past and stopped being so indiscriminately kind-hearted, Sheng Qian was bound to have a decent future.

And just as Lin Wan had seen in the world’s timeline, when Lin Wan was sixteen, the emperor passed away, and the common folk were prohibited from holding weddings or joyous events for a year.

Perhaps the world’s consciousness also didn’t want Sheng Qian to be triggered into remembering events from the palace. When the palace mourning bell tolled, Sheng Qian and Hu Yi had coincidentally traveled to another region a few days earlier: Sheng Qian had taught herself many dialects of small localities and could help Hu Yi communicate smoothly with people from other areas.

Sheng Qian returned on the third day after the emperor’s death.

She looked utterly exhausted, her lips pressed together as if deep in thought, the light in her eyes dimmed, and her entire frame had grown noticeably thinner.

“Let’s not go out anymore!” Lin Wan murmured, her heart aching as she massaged her shoulders. “I don’t want to see you so tired.”

As Lin Wan rambled on, she suddenly heard a soft chuckle. Sheng Qian’s eyes brightened again, her gaze fixed intently on Lin Wan.

She turned and wrapped her arms around Lin Wan’s, letting out a soft sigh.

“Thank goodness I have you.”

When news of the emperor’s death reached them, Lin Wan immediately began preparations. She stockpiled large quantities of food at home, reinforced the doors, and equipped the guards with the finest gear.

Only after completing all this did Lin Wan finally feel somewhat at ease.

As Sheng Qian entered her growth spurt, her height increased rapidly. By the age of thirteen, she was only slightly shorter than Lin Wan.

Hoping to broaden Sheng Qian’s horizons, Lin Wan often took her along when handling affairs outside. Perhaps because Sheng Qian was the protagonist, Lin Wan’s luck seemed exceptionally good whenever she accompanied her. Every task was accomplished without fail.

Yet, while Sheng Qian appeared reserved and sharp-tongued in front of others, striking right to the point with her words, she seemed to harbor a timid side. She was always afraid of sleeping alone and would often bring her pillow to Lin Wan’s room.

Thinking this couldn’t go on, Lin Wan took advantage of the door reinforcements to have her bedroom and the adjacent guest room connected, separated only by a screen. She then invited Sheng Qian to move in with her.

Sheng Qian never hesitated in such matters and agreed without a second thought.

From then on, Lin Wan’s daily joy became waking up early to go to the next room and help Sheng Qian with her makeup and attire. This was the most relaxing part of her day: she had bought Sheng Qian countless outfits, and every time she saw Sheng Qian’s different looks in the mirror, Lin Wan felt a sense of pride, as if watching a flower bloom.

The protagonist she was raising would surely be the cutest, smartest, and most beautiful!

Lin Wan was immensely proud and resolved to give Sheng Qian the very best of everything.

When Sheng Qian came of age, Lin Wan persuaded her parents to each gift her a shop, along with some properties. Given Sheng Qian’s capabilities, Lin Wan was confident she could manage the shops well. Even if the Lin family were to face unforeseen troubles in the future, Sheng Qian’s livelihood would be secure.

Not long after Sheng Qian’s coming-of-age ceremony, once the emperor’s funeral rites concluded, the world descended into its most chaotic era.