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

The peddler paused for a moment, then his expression became more serious.

Given his family background, it would be difficult for this archer to kill his entire family. However, unless he never leaves the house, there will always be a few unlucky people in his family who will die at his hands. Of course, the archer will also be discovered and die on his way to revenge. It wouldn't matter if these unlucky people were his father and brothers, but what if his mother was among them?

The peddler clicked his tongue twice. He had to admit, this threat was quite effective.

The peddler looked up, a puzzled smile appearing on his rather handsome face. He picked up the small iron handcuffs in his hand and shook them: "Kid, you're quite interesting."

boom!

Before he could finish speaking, he was struck on the head with a stick. The peddler hissed and his expression twisted as he quickly lowered his head.

"How dare you talk to my older brother like that? You dare call me older brother, kid?" Sanzhuang glared at him with his bull-like eyes.

Ning Nan raised his knife, stopping San Zhuang. The peddler immediately covered his head. He wasn't afraid of a clever person with a knife, but he was afraid of a simpleton with a stick in his hand.

San Zhuang snorted and put away his stick.

Ning Nan raised his left hand and slowly untied the strip of cloth wrapped around his right hand.

After waiting for a long time in the bamboo forest, he made sure the other party could see the woman's face clearly before letting Dahei fire the arrow. His purpose was naturally to make the other party think that Li Yanting had not rescued Miss Zhu.

But this is only a temporary measure. Once the other side has searched the entire surrounding area and found no trace of Miss Zhu, they will inevitably turn their attention back to the nearest village, Li Family Village.

Therefore, they had no choice but to take action and capture the peddler to extract information about the opposing forces from him, so as to make preparations in advance.

In the imagined scenario, after Big Black finishes shooting the arrow, he appears with a knife, and the other party immediately shouts, "I'm from such-and-such mountain stronghold, try touching me!" or something like, "I'm so-and-so's man, please give my big brother some face."

Unfortunately, nothing happened. The whole process went very smoothly. The other party directly admitted that he was a "womanizer" and said he would be imprisoned. He did not resist and cooperated very well. While it went smoothly, there was not a single useful piece of information. Ning Nan felt like he had punched cotton, which was very frustrating.

Seeing the other party's nonchalant attitude, Ning Nan knew he was in trouble.

"They have connections in the government." Ning Nan's eyes darkened.

If he didn't have connections in the government, he wouldn't be in such a hurry to go to jail.

Threatening or using torture to interrogate the other party is pointless. It won't verify whether what they say is true or false, and it's easy to alert them. If the other party has some connection with the government, it's even worse. Going too far might backfire. It's better to take the easy way out and send the other party to jail.

Thump, thump, thump... Ning Nan took a few steps toward the man with his knife in hand. The peddler's originally indifferent face finally showed a hint of tension.

Ning Nan's expression darkened slightly. There was no need to rush. According to the original plot of the book, Li Yanting had handled the assassins who tried to kill Miss Zhu; there was no reason he couldn't.

Unlike the original book, he also rescued a pretty maid.

Although Miss Zhu has lost her memory, she should still be able to write. As long as she is in better health, we can teach her to write a personal letter, and then get the exact address of Master Zhu from the pretty maid, and deliver the letter.

With Master Zhu around, everything will naturally be fine.

With this pretty maid around, the time to get the household registration might be greatly shortened. According to the original book, it would take three months for Miss Zhu to regain her memory, but as long as she can write, it might only take a few days.

"Then so be it."

Ning Nan nodded, instructing San Zhuang to take the man to the kitchen and lock him up with Li Liang.

San Zhuang grabbed the peddler by the back of the neck.

"Young man, what's your name?" The peddler staggered and called out to Ning Nan with a smile, but this time he didn't call him "boy" for fear that the simpleton would hit him with a stick again.

Ning Nan waved his hand, ignoring the other person.

Only a fool would leave their name everywhere.

The footsteps in the front yard became chaotic. Hearing Yang Qiniang's shouts, the villagers stared wide-eyed and came over one after another, hoes in hand.

"They caught another one! Ningwa caught another one!" Yang Qiniang kept screaming.

"The village head is almost here; he's already sent someone to report to the authorities!"

"Castrate them! They have to castrate one, right? These flower pickers are too brazen! What if they pick flowers on our property?"

"Ha, who would want your wife..."

"Hey!……"

"The young scholar is here... Oh... He's finally here..."

"Is the young lady alright? Did you fail?"

"No! Ningwa's keeping watch! She's been watching all night!"

"Wow! Even more ruthless than a wolf cub..."

……

Ning Nan ignored the noisy front yard and returned to the bamboo forest. He figured Li Baoxin and Li Yanting, grandfather and grandson, could handle this.

He figured all he had to do was have the constables from Jiangning County remove the handcuffs once they arrived; he was worried that ropes wouldn't be effective against a thief of this caliber.

Reaching a ridge deep within the bamboo forest, Li Dahei jumped down, grinning as he handed over the powerful bow and quiver he was carrying.

Ning Nan took it, covered it with a black cloth, and said with a smile, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Li Dahei was tall with broad shoulders. He pursed his lips, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Speak your mind." Ning Nan tucked the object covered by the black cloth under his arm.

"Big brother," Dahei said earnestly, "If you really die one day, I will sell the blacksmith shop and give all the money to Sanzhuang so that he can take care of Aunt Ning and my master in their final days. I will risk my life to avenge you."

Ning Nan patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I won't die."

"A scourge can live for a thousand years," he said with a gentle smile to the burly man.

……

……

Jiangning County is located west of the Qinhuai River and is one of the eight counties under the jurisdiction of the capital region. As an attached county of Yingtian Prefecture, it suffered from hardship year after year, just like Shangyuan County.

Under the emperor's nose, any stone that falls could potentially hit a member of the imperial family, a high-ranking official, or a nobleman. If one is not careful, the county magistrate could find himself caught between the laws of the Great Liang Dynasty and the prestige of his official hat.

The constables and police officers of Jiangning County had an even harder time. They always had long faces. When arresting a criminal in the city, they had to smile and flatter him first. Only after confirming that the criminal did not have any of his daughters married to anyone as concubines could they dare to show their official authority and stand up straight.

Originally, I thought that going to the countryside today to arrest two lecherous thieves in Lijia Village would not cause any trouble. However, as soon as we arrived at the prison, Chief Constable Chen slammed his fist on the table and ordered the two constables who had arrested the two men to give them a beating as a warning.

But I didn't expect it.

Not long after this infuriating beating began, someone came to bring up one of the lecherous thieves.

Wearing a flying fish robe and carrying an embroidered spring knife, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard issued a warrant, stating that this person was their spy and ordering a commander to come to the Jiangning County jail to bring him in.

The county magistrate didn't even look at him, and directly ordered the other party to come to the prison to take him away. Constable Chen's face turned as white as paper, and his shoulders slumped as if the sky had collapsed.

The old walls were pitted and uneven, and the prison was dark. The guards would stick torches out of the larger holes.