She knew how many people around the world were watching her.

She quickly looked away from that woman, her gaze falling in panic on Lian Xin’s face. Lian Xin had some ink stains on her cheeks, probably from the red silk—she had drawn a ghost face on it, and Lian Xin had smeared the ink on her face.

“Detestable! Li Huaisu, did you hear me calling you! Brother Chao, give him a hole to taste.”

Seeing Lian Xin shouting in exasperation, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Did she now look as ugly as Lian Xin?

Only Lian Xin’s ugliness was on her face, while hers was in her heart.

That day she had wanted nothing more than to give this girl a beating, but now she unexpectedly pulled out a handkerchief from her bosom, pointed to her own face, and tossed it to Lian Xin, saying, “A girl should still be pretty to be likable.”

Only after seeing Lian Xin’s stunned expression as she reached up to catch the handkerchief did Su Zhen realize what the dead girl had just said. She heard Mu San shout sternly “Chao Huang, stop!” but her shoulder was already in severe pain.

At the same time, a figure swept down from mid-air, grabbed her collar, pulled her back from the sword, then threw her forcefully—

Damn! Su Zhen was furious: “Wuqing, couldn’t you tell me before you drew your sword? You’re killing me here.”

The other looked at her expressionlessly, threw her into someone’s arms, who then threw her to another person behind, continuing this relay until she was tossed onto a saddle and into Leng Xue’s embrace. Leng Xue’s expression was grim as he stared coldly at Lian Xin’s direction, then spurred his horse to gallop out through the archways.

Su Zhen struggled to look back through the gap in Leng Xue’s arms, seeing Wuqing, Iron Hand, and Life Chaser fighting with a man in brocade robes.

Earlier Lian Xin had mentioned General Chao—the person who had tried to run her through was… Quan Feitong’s brother, General Chao Huang?!

The Imperial Academy was now in complete chaos.

Lian Xin, Mu San, Li Zhaoting… everyone was blocked from view by the soldiers rushing in from all sides.

Someone had given orders, and a squad of soldiers was pursuing her and Leng Xue.

Leng Xue snorted coldly and kicked the horse’s belly fiercely.

Racing to one location, they saw a dark-colored carriage parked by the roadside with two drivers, and another man standing with his hands behind his back in front of the horses. Seeing the two of them, this person smiled, “Li Huaisu, are you sure you didn’t go to the wrong military examination venue? Taking a literature exam and ending up looking like this—that’s quite an accomplishment.”

Sword-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes—this person was actually Marquis Xiaoyao, Huo Chang’an.

It turned out that the letter Su Zhen had given to Steward Huo that day was to arrange a meeting with Huo Chang’an here today.

She knew that once Lian Xin’s people discovered her missing this morning, they might track her to the Imperial Academy.

That would be big trouble!

With just her and Leng Xue, they might not be able to escape Lian Xin’s furious pursuit.

She needed Huo Chang’an’s assistance to completely avoid everyone’s sight, then return with a new identity.

From the moment she received Baiyi’s letter, she had understood that regardless of whether she passed the examination, the identity of Li Huaisu was no longer usable. She was just a gambling chip in a game of entertainment for the powerful. Li Huaisu, who had offended the princess in the capital, would have no place to stand. Today she had fought with all her might for the chance to take the examination only to give herself closure, to prove to Lian Xin that even common people’s strength should not be underestimated.

Even if the result was still defeat, she had no regrets about this process.

——

Thank you all for your comments, gifts, and long reviews. This is the slowest-burning, most seemingly loveless story I’ve written. It won’t be until tomorrow or the day after’s update, with the formal appearance of a certain person mentioned in the synopsis, that the curtain will truly rise. Honestly, I’m conflicted, knowing in my heart that many readers will certainly abandon this story. But this time, beyond writing romance, I hope to bring you something new—writing about the past through the present, properly depicting a woman’s growth. For those who stay, my heartfelt thanks.