"Grandmother, has something happened?" he asked in a low voice.
The Lin Family matriarch looked at her eldest grandson, a fourteen-year-old boy. Although he was not quite comparable to her own son and daughter back in the day, he was much more composed than the average fourteen-year-old boy.
"Shenxing, are you confident about this year’s Imperial Examination?"
This matter, she had to discuss with her son, Lin Xingyi. Lin Shenxing was still too young, and with the importance of this year’s Imperial Examination, it was best not to burden him with worries, lest it affect his performance.
"Grandmother, why do you suddenly ask about the Imperial Examination?" Lin Shenxing could clearly see that something was amiss with his grandmother.
The old Madam Lin sighed, "I just encountered the Chen Family’s Old Madam at Sanqing Temple, who mentioned this year’s Imperial Examination. Her grandson is also participating in it this year. Shenxing, do you think you could become the Jieyuan (top scholar)?"
As Lin Xingyi’s only son, all eyes from within the court were on him, to see if the son could match his father’s feat of becoming Jieyuan on his first Imperial Examination.
Due to such immense pressure, Lin Shenxing was not allowed to participate in the previous Imperial Examinations. Only now at fourteen was he entering his first Imperial Examination.
Lin Shenxing bowed his head and said in a low voice, "Grandmother, Beijing is not like Qingshui Town. The Imperial Examination in Beijing is also not comparable to the local examinations." Therefore, he had no certainty.
The old Madam Lin intended to change the subject and was not truly worried about his examination, letting out just a light sigh before smiling again.
"Do your best, you must not feel too much pressure. If you don’t become Jieyuan, becoming a successful candidate in the provincial examinations is also good enough."
Lin Shenxing breathed a sigh of relief and responded with a smile, acknowledging the statement.
The journey from Jinxiu City back to Beijing was peaceful.
Yue Rujing was right, as they left Manxiu Building they saw the Lin Family’s coachman.
Lin Qianqing immediately bombarded him with questions, but it was as if the coachman had a piece missing from his mind; he knew nothing.
It was unclear whether he truly knew nothing or if he was pretending to be ignorant.
In any case, it was good that no one was harmed.
Gu Youyou admonished Lin Qianqing to not breathe a word about the danger they had encountered en route today, otherwise, she could look forward to being grounded until her wedding day.
Lin Qianqing nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Of course, seeing this, Xiang Chun, who had no say in the matter, dared not speak even more so. Not even to the old Madam.
Gu Youyou’s carriage followed Jie Qinyun and Jie Zhonglin’s carriages. When they reached the outskirts of Beijing, they saw the grandmother’s carriage, who had returned from Sanqing Temple, already waiting for them.
She nudged Lin Qianqing and said, "There, quickly go to the carriage across the way; I’ll enter the city first, you follow later."
Lin Qianqing replied and quickly donned her cloak before boarding the old Madam Lin’s carriage.
Gu Youyou opened the window, waved to the other side, and then had her coachman drive into the city.
She needed to drop Abao off at Jisheng Hall first, wait for Yue Rujing to return to pick her up, and then head back to the Lin Residence.
The old Madam Lin’s carriage was quite large, and even with four people inside, it did not feel cramped.
Seeing Lin Qianqing return, she asked, "Your cousin..." She originally wanted to inquire whether her cousin had exhibited anything unusual, but feeling that might not be appropriate, she swallowed the rest of her sentence and changed it to, "How is your cousin’s health today?"
Lin Qianqing smiled and said, "The weather is not cold anymore, and cousin is doing very well."
"That’s good to hear!" the old Madam Lin mused thoughtfully.
Gu Youyou had been at the Lin Residence for several months. She was personally brought back by Butler Qiu, and since she resembled her own daughter somewhat, the old Madam had never doubted her authenticity.
However, the words Yu Jizi reminded her of at the Sanqing Temple had planted a seed of doubt in her mind.