After Entering The Abusive Novel, I Became The Empress - chapter 26

Elder Ye tilted his head to look, and when he saw the name Qin Yuqing was pointing at, he stroked his beard and chuckled.

“Ah, them… they’re all men who have sat the provincial and metropolitan exams in past years. Quite a few of their essays were excellent, but they just had a stroke of bad luck.”

As his words fell, Qin Yuqing felt the paper in her hand grow heavier. She understood Elder Ye’s meaning, yet she still felt somewhat puzzled.

“The slots on the Golden List are limited, but the number of aspiring scholars is endless.”

Elder Ye sighed. He carefully gathered the sheets of paper, tucking them close to his chest as though they were priceless treasures. Smiling, he said, “I’m old now. If I can help send a few more of them forward, then so be it.”

At this moment, Qin Yuqing didn’t know how to respond. She watched the shirtless students nearby, one hand balancing timber, the other clutching books, their recitations ringing through the entire examination yard.

She understood Elder Ye’s implication: a kind of “reasonable exam fraud”—helping impoverished scholars reach the officialdom that should rightfully have been theirs.

“Your Highness, Sixth Princess, do you see that young man there?” Elder Ye suddenly pointed at a lad hauling bricks not far away.

“I see him.” Compared to the others, this boy was darker-skinned, and when he read aloud, his teeth gleamed strikingly white. “And who is he?”

“He’s from Lucheng, by the name of Lin Haiyan.” Elder Ye’s expression was full of pride. “He and Chen Yijun are classmates. Speaking of talent, Chen Yijun is no match for him.”

Qin Yuqing grew more bewildered. If Lin Haiyan was so gifted, why had the original story never mentioned him? Could this be yet another brand-new character and plotline?

“No need for doubt.” Elder Ye noticed her puzzlement and patiently explained, “The boy has everything going for him, except that he’s far too upright, too stubborn. That sort of nature makes him suffer.”

The unspoken meaning was clear: just like Chen Yijun, unwilling to bend the knee to any faction, easily targeted by others.

“And now?” Qin Yuqing asked skeptically. She didn’t believe anyone could truly hold onto lofty ideals forever. In modern times, she had seen too many entrepreneurs—who, at the beginning, brimmed with ideals—yet once the chance of success appeared, not one of them failed to abandon those ideals.

Elder Ye simply smiled and patted her hand, like a kindly old man guiding a lost child. “As I said before, you needn’t be puzzled. He’s from a poor family. He came here for a living, nothing more. Besides, he already refused the olive branch I offered him.”

Qin Yuqing’s eyes lit up. A man with principles, yet not part of the original book—if such a person could someday be used by her, there might be unexpected gains.

“Sixth Princess, perhaps you and Lin Haiyan will get along.” Elder Ye placed a slip of paper on the table, pushing it toward her. “You are both unwilling to bow to fate. Perhaps you can help this child safely sit the examinations.”

Qin Yuqing picked up the slip. It bore only an address and a time. She looked at Elder Ye in confusion, just about to ask, when she saw him shake his head ever so slightly, then subtly gesture toward the staircase nearby.

Following his hint, she caught sight of several men standing on the steps. On the surface, they were there to supervise the students at work, but in truth their eyes never strayed from her and Elder Ye.

“Thank you, Elder Ye. I understand.” Qin Yuqing tucked the slip away, stood, and bowed. “I apologize for my earlier discourtesy.”

Elder Ye waved it off. “You came here for the students’ sake, no need to apologize.” Watching her departing back, he smiled faintly. “This time’s examinations—will the world finally change?”

“Miss, where shall we go next?” Chun Tao whispered, shielding her mistress from curious stares. How could these rough students be worthy of gazing upon her princess?

Qin Yuqing thought a moment, then pulled out the slip from her bosom and handed it to Chun Tao. “Dispose of this.”

Before she finished speaking, Chun Tao popped the slip straight into her mouth.

All of it. Swallowed down.

Qin Yuqing pressed a hand to her forehead, half-exasperated, half-amused. She rubbed Chun Tao’s belly. “Silly Peach, I said dispose of it, not eat it.”

Chun Tao gave a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of her head. “One step solution! Though the paper tastes awful.”

“Honestly. Since when does paper taste good? Next time, no eating.”

They wandered aimlessly through the bustling streets, crowded with students come to the capital for the exams. Vendors hawked trinkets emblazoned with phrases like Top Scorer, Success at the Exams, and Name on the Golden List.

Then Qin Yuqing spotted a secluded alley where a young man was stooping to gather up a fallen drawing board, surrounded by two or three figures whose backs looked vaguely familiar.

“You, a lowborn wretch, dream of sitting the exams? Keep dreaming!”

“Why not have your father buy your way in? Aren’t you a merchant’s son?”

“Exactly. Bring out the silver. We brothers feel like some real fun.”

That nauseating voice—familiar too. But Qin Yuqing had met so many people lately, she couldn’t place who they were at once.

She patted Chun Tao’s shoulder, signaling her maid to deal with the hooligans.

“On it, Miss. Stay safe.” Chun Tao rolled up her sleeves and barked, “Who are you lot? Don’t you know fighting’s forbidden in the capital these days?”

At the sound of her voice, one of the men sneaked a glance, then stammered in fear.

“B-boss, it’s the madwoman… she’s here!”

“What? Run!” The leader dropped his whip at once, dragging his lackeys limping away in panic.

Chun Tao looked at her mistress with starry eyes. “Miss, your charm is incredible! Even I’m falling for you.”

“Enough. Finish up here and I’ll treat you to cakes in the South District.” Qin Yuqing teased. “If you’re craving, just say so—no need to flatter me.”

“Yay! I knew you were the best, Miss!” Chun Tao skipped happily along.

Qin Yuqing approached the scattered paintings. Despite the smudges, the bold, vibrant colors still shone through. Whoever had painted them used dazzlingly bright hues, unafraid of extravagance.

“These are fine works.” She picked up one intact canvas and asked, “Pardon me—are these for sale?”

The young man straightened, smoothing his rumpled clothes, and bowed. “Greetings, Sixth Princess. If Your Highness is interested, these paintings are yours—no charge.”

“Oh? And how do you know who I am?” Qin Yuqing arched a brow.

The man, refined in bearing, his hair tied back with a simple wooden pin, smiled politely. “That day, when the Sixth Princess stopped the carriage and scolded those men—I was among the onlookers.”

That surprised her. She had thought him merely another exam candidate.

“Do not be startled, Your Highness. I am indeed here to sit the examinations, only I prefer to arrive a month early.” He seemed to read her thoughts with ease, continuing, “My name is Yao Yu, son of a merchant from Wuling City.”

Yao Yu. Yet another character absent from the original story.

Qin Yuqing felt as if she were playing Minesweeper—each step uncovering a new, unfamiliar tile, every one hiding a different trap.

“Since you are from a merchant family, why sell paintings to survive?” She noticed his clothes—fine material, yet the seams were frayed. A true rich son would never wear such a garment.

Yao Yu looked embarrassed, lowering his head. “Soon after arriving in the capital, my purse was stolen. I’ve had no choice but to sell paintings.”

She nodded, asking no further. Yet something about him stirred a strong intuition: this man would prove useful one day.

“I’ll buy all your paintings.” For the first time since arriving here, Qin Yuqing acted entirely on impulse.

“What? All of them?” Yao Yu asked in disbelief.

“Princess, we don’t have enough money!” Chun Tao blurted in panic.

Their voices overlapped in the narrow alley.

“Yes, all of them.” Qin Yuqing scribbled an address on a discarded sketch and handed it over. “Go to this place and ask for the money. Tell him I sent you—he’ll pay, rest assured.”

Chun Tao recognized the address and fell silent. If that person saw Yao Yu turning up with this note… he would be furious.

Yao Yu, still dazed, bowed his head. “Your Highness’s kindness is already more than enough. If funds are short after your return from the temple, it truly doesn’t matter.”

“Do I look poor to you?” Qin Yuqing glanced down at her attire. Modest yet tasteful, plain yet with subtle elegance. Perfectly fine, in her opinion.

Both Chun Tao and Yao Yu nodded—then immediately shook their heads.

Qin Yuqing: “…”

“Just go. Say I sent you.”

“Thank you, Sixth Princess.” Yao Yu kowtowed deeply, then gathered his canvases and departed toward the given address.

“Miss, where are we off to now?”

“To the place you swallowed.” Qin Yuqing poked Chun Tao’s stomach with a finger, then tapped it again. “Little Peach, have you gotten fatter?”

Chun Tao clutched her belly, shaking her head in alarm. “No way, Miss!”

They arrived at Elder Ye’s address, a district known as the most chaotic in the capital—a jumble of ramshackle dwellings filled with raucous noise. Shirtless men with scarred faces lounged in the open.

In modern terms, this was a slum of mixed elements: hardened criminals ruling their corners, impoverished families scraping by, even fugitives escaped from death row.

Chun Tao shivered, clutching her mistress’s sleeve. “Miss… do we really keep going? Not even the authorities dare step foot here.”

Qin Yuqing showed little fear. In her past life, her family had fallen on hard times; she had lived in conditions even worse than this.

“This is the place.” She eyed the collapsing gate, the lock already broken. Just as she reached to knock, the sound of smashing objects came from inside, followed by cries of pain.

Without hesitation, Qin Yuqing kicked the door open—just in time to see three or four thugs gripping Lin Haiyan’s clothes.

“Stop!”

The brutes sneered at her, tossing Lin Haiyan to the floor as they swaggered forward.

“Pretty little thing. Why don’t you let us brothers have some fun?”

“Arghhh!”

“You b1tch, how dare you sneak up on me—!”

Qin Yuqing stood cold as ice, small bow in hand, arrow nocked.

“Leave.”

“Otherwise, I’ll cripple you.”