After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The next day.

As autumn arrives, the sunlight is no longer so glaring and dazzling.

The phoenix trees planted inside and outside the palace were lush and verdant.

As the morning mist dissipated, sunlight shone on the treetops. The summer southeast wind had turned into a few cool breezes blowing from the north. A few slightly yellowed sycamore leaves were blown down by this cool breeze and slowly fell into the courtyard.

Upon seeing this scene, the on-duty historian made a note of it in the daily records... On the 27th of July, the paulownia tree heralded autumn.

The wind direction has changed.

The temperature then changed accordingly.

Most of the people who gathered at the Meridian Gate to watch the execution by slow slicing today were wearing an extra layer of clothing.

The three Ning brothers of the Ning family in the capital, along with Kong Xiang, the deputy general of Yunhu Camp, were sentenced to death by a thousand cuts by His Majesty.

Six stewards who had been deeply involved with the Ning family, a commander of a thousand men and three commanders of a hundred men in Yunhu Camp, a deputy commander of the Five Armies Commandery, and three minor officials were sentenced to beheading.

In addition, Ning and Kong Xiang were executed along with their entire families.

After noon, those who deserved to be slowly sliced ​​to death were done so, and those who deserved to be beheaded were beheaded. Heads rolled everywhere, and blood flowed all over the ground.

But just as they were about to execute the wailing and lamenting family members.

His Majesty suddenly issued an imperial edict.

The three clans of Ning and Kong were taken back.

The prisoners were overjoyed. With their hands bound behind their backs, they kowtowed loudly towards the palace, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" and other such words, tears streaming down their faces. However, the thought that their heads would still be choked off tomorrow brought tears to their eyes. Their hearts felt as if they had been boiled in water, filled with extreme pain and injustice.

The people below were also in an uproar, not understanding why the emperor, who was always a man of his word, had suddenly withdrawn his decree.

It wasn't until late afternoon that a startling piece of news came out.

It is said that Ning Zhiyuan, the son of the Ning family in the capital who was originally adopted by the Marquis of Jingbei, was so ashamed after hearing that his family elders had committed such a disgraceful act that he could not speak. He felt that he had failed the Great Liang and his sovereign and father. Seeing that the Ning family had been exterminated, he was overcome with grief and chose to hang himself at Chenshi (7-9 AM) today.

As the son of a noble marquis, according to the patriarchal system, the Ning family's serious crimes in the capital are no longer his concern.

But the fact that he chose to live and die with his biological father's family in such a resolute way immediately shocked and saddened the people of the capital.

After Shenshi (3-5 PM), His Majesty, moved by his filial piety, issued an edict to change the sentence, changing the extermination of three clans to exile, exiling the Ning and Kong families to Yazhou to serve as border guards, and prohibiting three generations from taking the imperial examinations... The Ning and Kong families, who had survived the ordeal, immediately kowtowed repeatedly, and a chorus of joyful weeping filled the prison.

……

……

"Hmm... Uncle is still too kind."

The carriage rolled forward, heading back to Nanjing from Lijia Village.

Inside the carriage, Ning Nan rested his head in Cui Cui's arms, propped his feet on the seat, sighed, and said softly,

"If you ask me, we should just send their whole family down there. There's so much loose endeavor left unchecked."

A disdainful sneer appeared on Cui Cui's oval face as she stuffed a segment of orange into the mouth of the squinting young doctor.

"You think it's all your fault... Marquis Renyi of Jingbei took Ning Guangtiao's confused old mother back to his residence that very night. Fortunately, the old woman was confused and didn't understand anything at that time. She only knew how to call out the nicknames of Ning Guangtiao and his two brothers, and couldn't even remember their formal names."

The young doctor smacked his lips, and juice dripped from the corners of his mouth.

Cui Cui frowned and wiped the corner of the man's mouth in her arms with disgust... He had no manners at all.

However, despite saying that, she could roughly guess that the idea of ​​first executing the three Ning brothers by slow slicing and then letting the rest of the Ning family members go was most likely suggested to Marquis Jingbei by the man in her arms.

Let the three brothers die with the thought that their whole family will perish, instead of being subjected to slow slicing while still clinging to the comfort of having bloodlines left behind.

But actually... it doesn't really matter whether you know or not. In the past few days, Ning Guangtiao's hair has turned completely white, and he is heartbroken; after being castrated, Ning Guangshao is like a dead dog, bleeding from his lower body, writhing and howling on the dry straw in the cell; the second brother, Ning Guangxian, seems to be scared out of his wits, banging his head against the wall every day, wanting to kill himself, but he can't bring himself to do it, and he is very noisy, so the jailers simply tied him up.

Ning Nan smiled and said, "But no matter what, the matter is finally settled."

Today, Li Baoxin was buried. To his surprise, Cui Cui's wife actually came back with him to see him off.

The old woman also returned to Lijia Village. She had a good cry today and hugged her filial daughter Li Yi tightly, saying that she would be Li Yi's older sister from now on, and the aunt of Li Baoxin's granddaughter. She would fight to the death with anyone who dared to bully their family.

If she had said this before, the old lady would have really needed to fight with a kitchen knife. But now, as the mother of the big landlord in Lijia Village, she doesn't need to bring a kitchen knife when she says this within a 30-mile radius. She only needs to open her mouth, and Uncle Ningfu and his six servants can get things done for her.

Li Yi also cried, calling out "elder sister" repeatedly, and even made her daughter kowtow to her aunt. The old woman immediately took a silver hairpin and put it in her niece's hair.

Li Baoxin's funeral was very lively. Ning Nan personally chose the coffin for him, selecting a top-quality cypress coffin, making it a grand funeral... Ning Nan also prepared a generous dowry for Li Baoxin's granddaughter, treating her like a younger sister.

However, unexpectedly, this generous dowry benefited the students who were destined for education.

Today, the scholar from Bailu Academy blushed and knelt down before Li Yi, saying that he wanted to marry Li Baoxin's granddaughter and take care of her for the rest of his life. This kneeling moved Li Yi and her mother so much that they pulled the scholar up and praised him repeatedly as a fine young man.

The marriage between the two has been arranged today.

According to folk customs, when a grandfather passes away, one must observe the mourning period of "Qi Ai". If it is the eldest grandson, he must observe the mourning period for three years, but other grandchildren only need to observe the mourning period for one year.

The couple set their wedding date for a year later.

Ning Nan was quite emotional, thinking that if Li Baoxin were alive and heard this news, he would probably laugh for three days and three nights straight, walk around in the field with his hands behind his back, frowning, asking this and that, saying that his grandson-in-law had read too many books and that his eyesight was probably going to be ruined, and what should be done about it.

Thinking of this scene that was destined never to actually happen, Ning Nan lay in Cui Cui's arms and couldn't help but smile slightly... Cui Cui was bored in the carriage and tapped his forehead. He wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he felt a sense of peace and even managed to fall asleep peacefully for the first time in a long time.

……

……

A north wind blew gently by.

The atmosphere at the Liuye Lane private school has been quite tense these past few days.

Zhi Bao, the servant responsible for cleaning the courtyard, hung his head and occasionally sobbed quietly behind people's backs.

The students were not in high spirits, their faces were sad, and they walked with dragging steps, unlike their usual high spirits.

The students were filled with anxiety.

The private tutor, Huang Lizhou, had a gloomy expression. During his lecture, he suddenly burst into tears, a rare occurrence for him. The old man wiped his eyes with his sleeve, gave a few essay questions, and then said that class would end for the day before hurriedly leaving the school.

The students cast sympathetic glances at the old man's retreating figure.

Even now, no one has been able to accept the reality: Ning Zhiyuan... Ning Chengbo has actually committed suicide.

As Ning Zhiyuan's good friend, Chu Pangzi had also been crying his eyes out these past few days. When he heard the teacher announce that school was over, the usually most diligent Chu Pangzi didn't want to leave today and stared blankly at Ning Zhiyuan's empty seat.

Ning Nan sighed and patted the fat man on the shoulder.

He tried his best to compose himself and stayed in the school, studying the materials Han Laoguai had given him while working on the eight-legged essay questions left by Huang Laotou.

Today is July 29th, an auspicious day for ancestor worship.

The future master of the capital, His Highness Prince Xin, offered sacrifices to his ancestors at the Xiaoling Mausoleum and made a plea to Heaven in preparation for his coronation ceremony next month.

Nanjing was bustling with activity.

As a clerk in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Cui Cui's wife is staying at the yamen to work overtime tonight and won't be coming back, so there's no rush for her to go home today.

As dusk approached.

Satisfied with his composition, he packed his things and got up to leave.

After leaving the school, when passing by Old Man Huang's study, Ning Nan thought for a moment, then knocked on the door and went in to see Old Man Huang.

Old Huang sat in his chair like a patient. When Ning Nan came in, he forced himself to be energetic and asked Ning Nan, "Bai Xuan, do you have any questions about learning?" He sat up straight and said, "Bai Xuan, please speak freely, and I can answer them for you."

Ning Nan shook his head, his eyes filled with struggle. After hesitating for a long time, he still told Old Man Huang something: that before his death, Brother Zhiyuan had worked as a teacher at Lijiacun Primary School for more than ten days.

Old Huang exclaimed "Ah!" and a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes, but the light quickly faded like a candle. He remained silent for a moment, then asked about the location of Li Family Village. After hearing from Ning Nan that it wasn't far, the old man tapped his leg and said he would go to Li Family Village to take a look later.

Ning Nan nodded, pursed his lips, and without revealing the other side of the story, took his leave.

Just as I was leaving the study.

"Bai Xuanna..."

The old man suddenly said something in a sorrowful voice.

"I am not a saint... but I do understand the sorrow of even a saint like Yan Hui who lost his way..."

The old man had his eyes closed, his face was deathly pale, and he was breathing rapidly. His expression and tone were like those of a seriously ill patient.

Ning Nan glanced at the sad old man, lowered his head, and ultimately said nothing more. He silently stepped out and gently closed the door behind him.

Although it was still late summer, a chilly autumn wind seemed to be blowing outside.

Ning Nan glanced at a clump of green bamboo in the courtyard, slowly exhaled, and tightened his robes.

……

The days passed by.

Even the biggest waves eventually subside.

The first day of August.

A startling piece of news spread through the private school in Willow Leaf Lane, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching.

The waters of the Qinhuai River seemed to be boiling, as all sorts of poetry and literary gatherings were being prepared in Nanjing.

This means that students now have the opportunity to become famous overnight.

Furthermore, with the imperial examinations approaching, if one's name reaches the ears of the county magistrate or the education commissioner, one will have a significant advantage in the three minor examinations: the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the provincial examination.

After all, in the minor examinations, the names of candidates were not recorded and their names were not copied. The final ranking was basically determined by the examiner's preference. Talented students were naturally valued more by the examiner, who would then establish a mentor-student relationship with them.

But just as talented individuals of all ranks were preparing to showcase their skills at the poetry gatherings and strive for overnight fame, they were at a crucial juncture.

However, news from the north sent the entire city of Nanjing, which was already gearing up for battle, into a state of high alert.

Emperor Wenzong of the Northern Dynasties brought Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy copybook with him.