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

Outside the carriage, a burly man, seven feet tall with broad shoulders and a thick waist, cracked his whip, jumped down from the carriage, and took the reins of the princess's horse.

The burly man had extremely thick eyebrows and glared angrily, cursing at the driver, "You son of a bitch, how dare you offend our master! You think I won't rip your head off?"

The driver shrank back, his face turning deathly pale with fright.

At that moment, with a clang, the four guards accompanying Princess Tang on horseback drew their swords.

The head guard, Zheng Ming, waved his hand to stop the crowd, jumped off his horse, stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Friend, let's all go our separate ways. Just now, your horses were startled and charged towards us, which caused the two carriages to collide. Friend, your words are rather unreasonable."

"If your driver hadn't cracked the whip just now, and our horse hadn't heard it, how could it have been startled?"

Zheng Ming glanced at the other person's bald head, on which was an unusually conspicuous coin-tail braid.

Zheng Ming felt that neither side was injured, so it was not advisable to cause any unnecessary trouble and alarm the princess, so he said calmly.

"When riding a horse in the street, who doesn't crack the whip? If you really think it's our fault, I, Zheng, can compensate you for your losses."

Zheng Ming was a cautious man; he only said that "Zheng" would compensate you for your losses, without mentioning "Princess Tang" at all.

The burly man remained noncommittal, glancing at the four men on horseback who were eyeing him menacingly, and chuckled, "What? Drawing your knives? You Southern Dynasty people dare to fight us?"

talking.

A dozen or so burly men in black, each with a fierce face and a knife at his waist, walked over from the three carriages behind him.

Zheng Ming narrowed his eyes and said solemnly, "Gentlemen, this is Phoenix Tail Street under the Emperor's nose. Isn't your behavior a bit too arrogant?"

The burly man laughed and said, "Whether I'm tough or not, didn't your parents tell you?"

"What did you say?!" the other guards shouted angrily.

Seeing that the other party was provoked, these burly men from the Northern Dynasty were not angry but happy, and they shouted one after another.

"Hey, come on, let's get started!"

Zheng Ming waved his hand to stop the people behind him, his temples throbbing as he said, "What do you intend to do?"

The burly man pointed at the princess's carriage and said, "Your master must come down and kowtow to our master to apologize!"

Zheng Ming gripped the hilt of his knife, slightly raising his chin, and said, "If you don't apologize, what are you going to do?"

The burly man narrowed his eyes, gripped the whip in his hand, and chuckled, "If you don't apologize... I'll drag her down and make her apologize."

A cold glint flashed in Zheng Ming's eyes, and he tightened his grip on his finger, about to draw his sword. Suddenly, a shout came from afar.

"stop!"

"Stop right there!"

The group turned to look.

An official in a blue robe led a group of people running over. Zheng Ming immediately relaxed his hand on the hilt of his sword and let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Zhou Jili, Assistant Minister of Rites, greets the Fourth Young Master." The official in the green robe bowed to the carriage where the burly man was and said this as he approached.

The curtain of the black carriage was lifted, and a young man wearing a melon-shaped hat and a pale yellow robe leaned out.

The man in the melon-shaped hat glanced at the official in the blue robe and said indifferently, "Greetings, Lord Zhou."

Zhou Jili smiled and said, "Greetings, Fourth Young Master." He then glanced at the two quiet carriages behind him and added with a smile, "I presume that the Seventh Prince of Heshuo Yi and Emperor Wenzong of the Northern Dynasty, Mr. Nalan, are also in your entourage?"

The fourth young master, who was unremarkable in appearance but always seemed to have a fierce air about him, said, "Lord Zhou, our delegation has already entered the capital. You can go and greet them. Mr. Nalan and we are just passing by, so there's no need for you to trouble yourself. After we visit someone, we will return to the Northern Dynasty's embassy."

Zhou Jili said, "Fourth Young Master, rest assured, my Minister Cui has already welcomed your delegation to the capital. Upon hearing that Fourth Young Master, Seventh Prince, and Mr. Nalan were not in the delegation, Minister Cui sent me to welcome you… May I ask, Fourth Young Master, who is Mr. Nalan wishing to visit?"

"You talk too much," Hong Jiao said calmly.

Zhou Jili chuckled and said, "Fourth Young Master, you are mistaken. I was just worried that someone might offend you..."

Hong Jiao interrupted with a smile, saying, "You're right about that."

He raised an eyebrow at the fragrant carriage across the way: "There really are some reckless fools who dare to bump into me."

Zhou Jili chuckled and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "That's right. Don't worry, Fourth Young Master, I will immediately disperse all the bystanders."

That's all.

Zhou Jili strode forward and said to Zheng Ming with a stern face, "Look, you and your carriage owner, it is extremely inappropriate for you to bump into our distinguished guests. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!" He winked and gestured for them to leave, "Make way for the Fourth Young Master."

Zheng Ming naturally understood what the official meant. He implied in his words that the other party was a high-ranking figure from the Northern Dynasty delegation, and it seemed that he wanted to settle things peacefully.

But the words spoken by the burly man with thick eyebrows were so insulting that he was momentarily unsure of what to do.

Just then.

The fourth young master laughed and said, "Wait a minute, Lord Zhou. Didn't you hear what Mu Lang said? Bumping into me is a minor matter, but bumping into my seventh brother and my master is a serious matter. Is it so difficult to just ask the owner of this carriage to get off and apologize?"

Zheng Ming said coldly, "Young master, this is clearly your carriage..."

"Shut up!" shouted Mu Lang, a burly man with thick eyebrows. "My horse is moving just fine, it's all your coachman's fault." He snapped his whip and said viciously, "Either pay me with your coachman's head, or make your master get out of the carriage and apologize!" The coachman was immediately terrified.

Zhou Jili sighed inwardly, feeling a sudden headache.

Hongjiao was the fourth son of Prince Yi of the First Rank, and was known for his unruly and stingy nature. Like many of the Eight Banners' sons, he constantly clamored in the Northern Court to march south. Just now, seeing that the carriage belonged to a woman, he must have seized the opportunity to cause trouble, intending to humiliate the Great Liang and thus reignite border conflicts.

Zhou Jili forced a smile and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "Fourth Young Master, I have long heard of your strict upbringing and magnanimous nature..."

"Zheng Ming".

Just then, a woman's soft voice suddenly came from inside the carriage. Zheng Ming hurriedly bowed his head and replied, "Yes."

Immediately, the curtain was lifted.

A man and a woman stepped out of the carriage.

The woman was beautiful and had an extraordinary air about her, exuding the air of a noblewoman.

Zhou Jili was taken aback. At first glance, he felt that the woman's face seemed somewhat familiar. The man who got off the car with the woman walked straight to the back without even looking in their direction.

Zhou Jili felt a surge of disdain. Although he didn't know the nature of the relationship between the man and the noblewoman, seeing the Northerners making things difficult for her, the man simply fled, which was truly chilling.

The fourth young master, wearing a melon-shaped hat, brightened up, thinking that she really was a noble lady. It wouldn't be a big deal to waste a little time on her. He smiled and said, "What? Miss, do you know you've made a mistake and are planning to kowtow to me to apologize? However, as Lord Zhou said, my family is very strict and magnanimous. You don't need to kowtow; just apologize."

Zhu Jiamu stepped down from the carriage with a cold expression.

The four guards immediately dismounted and stood guard around the princess.

Zhu Jiamu didn't even glance at the so-called fourth son of a prince, and simply said calmly, "Da Liang is not Nan Zhao, and the emperor is not Zhao Gou. Our dynasty is neither the master of your dynasty, nor a brother state of your dynasty, nor a state of uncle and nephew."

"So, Zheng Ming,"

Zhu Jiamu's tone turned serious, and she pointed with her slender hand at the burly man with thick eyebrows, saying...

"Chop him up!"

Zheng Ming's eyes gleamed!

Clang!

His arm bulged, and his waist knife was drawn, flashing with a cold light!

He slashed straight at the burly man with thick eyebrows from the Northern Dynasty!