"Madam, Madam. The yamen runner is still waiting in the courtyard," the maidservant said again when she received no reply from the room.
"I know. Serve the official some tea, and I'll change my clothes before I come over. Have you notified Mother?"
Lin Mu forced herself to calm down. She stood up from before the Buddha statue, then straightened the clothes on her body.
"Someone has already been sent to notify the old madam as well."
Lin Mu walked to the door, took a deep breath, then suppressed her inner turmoil and forced a smile as she opened the door.
"Thank you for your trouble, officer!" Old Madam Lin motioned for her personal maid to hand over a purse.
The runner pinched the contents of the purse, and his smile became noticeably more genuine.
"I still have other places to deliver the good news to, so I won't disturb you any further. Congratulations again to Old Madam Lin and Madam Lin." The runner tucked the purse into his sleeve and departed.
"Mother?" Lin Mu called out to Old Madam Lin with great concern.
"We'll talk when we get back." Old Madam Lin shot her a glare, and Madam Lin immediately fell silent.
She then followed behind Old Madam Lin towards the back courtyard.
Upon entering the main hall, Old Madam Lin dismissed everyone present. Madam Lin immediately and anxiously approached her.
"Mother, what are we going to do?"
"What are we going to do? Your performance in front of outsiders today, are you afraid they won't know?" Old Madam Lin was quite displeased with her daughter-in-law.
"I..." Madam Lin was very afraid of her mother-in-law, but she was naturally meek and obedient, so she usually did as Old Madam Lin said.
"It's a good thing Yan'er passed the Tong Sheng examination. You need to be happy. Later, the Lin family members will come to congratulate you. Don't you dare put on a sad face." Old Madam Lin looked down on her daughter-in-law, but since the latter was obedient, she didn't find her too disagreeable.
"But Yan'er she..." She's a girl, how could she take the imperial examinations?
Why wasn't Yan'er a boy? If she were a boy, she would happily welcome her passing the Tong Sheng exam.
But she was a woman, and how could a woman take an exam?
"What about Yan'er?" Old Madam Lin's gaze was bright and dangerous.
"Although Yan'er only passed as a Tong Sheng, he is the youngest Tong Sheng in the entire Lin family. As his mother, you need to pull yourself together and be proud of him.
I am old. You will be the one to receive all the clan members who come to congratulate us from now on."
"But what if Yan'er is..."
"She won't be!" Old Madam Lin's face suddenly turned stern, and her tone became severe.
She recalled the conversation she had with Lin Yan before she went to take the exam.
That frail little figure knelt before her, begging for a chance to prove herself.
It was her idea to have Lin Yan impersonate a boy; it was she who made this child bear burdens from birth that she didn't have to.
Now that she wanted to participate in the imperial examinations and live her life as a man, she would protect her.
Even if it were ultimately exposed, it would only be the lives of these three women. The main branch of the Lin family was already without an heir, leaving only three women.
So why couldn't she fulfill the child's wish? In fact, she also wanted to see how far this child could go.
"Yes, yes, she won't be," Madam Lin said hesitantly.
She never had much of her own opinion. Now that her mother-in-law had spoken, she could only obey.
The news of Lin Yan passing the Tong Sheng exam quickly spread throughout Lin Family Village. This time, only Lin Yan from the Lin family participated in the county examination.
Those of her generation had either already passed as Tong Sheng or lacked the ability to take the exam yet.
Lin Yan, at less than twelve years old, had directly passed as Tong Sheng, filling the entire Lin family with hope.
They had always known Lin Yan was good at studying, but they hadn't expected him to be this good. After the runner left, the Lin family went to the village head to discuss collectively going to the Lin residence to offer congratulations.
"Sister-in-law An enjoys quiet, and Brother Xu's wife is timid. It's better to wait until Brother Yan returns before visiting," said the village head, who was also the patriarch of the Lin clan.
Everyone agreed with the patriarch, and they all returned. On the way, they discussed what gifts to bring.
After Mr. Lin took the three of them to visit some of his friends in the county town, they prepared to return.