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

"Thank you, brother!"

Miss Zhu smiled contentedly, her face flushed. She turned her head and raised her eyebrows at Ning Nan, saying, "Hey, Ning, when the time comes, you'll come back with me... back to the manor, and cook lotus leaf chicken for me for the rest of your life!"

The woman's voice held an irrepressible joy.

The smug smile on Li Yanting's face froze instantly.

A lifetime... What does "a lifetime" mean?

Ning Nan: "..."

I just called him Brother Ning, how come he's surnamed Ning now?

"Well……"

As expected of a rich young lady, even with amnesia, she still subconsciously paints a rosy picture for those around her. Look at how far Li Yanting has been lured... Ning Nan shook her head inwardly, but smiled broadly, appearing flattered: "Thank you for your guidance, Miss Zhu. I'll come up with some good dishes for you when I get back~"

"Hurrah!"

A light drizzle was falling in the village, and a gloomy white light lingered on the horizon.

In this kind of weather, most villagers stay at home, either playing with their children or playing mahjong. They don't have to go to the fields and are quite happy.

Experienced old men would tap their pipes, smoke their pipes, sit on the doorstep, gaze at the sky, and mutter to themselves through their yellow teeth.

Summer is almost here, so please, Dragon King of the upstream waters, have some mercy and don't flood the area!

The light rain pattered on the ground. In the water towns of Jiangnan, the rain at this time of year always has a lingering, gentle feel to it, fine and long.

Ning Nan stood with his hands behind his back, stepping on the damp ground, feeling quite pleased.

In the morning, Dr. Jiang Sixue returned to Jiangning with her medicine kit. In the past few days, in addition to curing Miss Zhu, the female doctor also treated Yang Qiniang and other villagers, providing free medical care.

A long queue formed at the village entrance as doctors prescribed medicine and performed acupuncture. Villagers presented the doctors with eggs, and Lijia Village was bustling with activity for several days.

Traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture is a unique skill, and Dr. Jiang is a master among them. After a few acupuncture treatments, Yang Qiniang's old, cold legs improved considerably, and her reputation as a goddess doctor spread far and wide.

Before leaving, the female doctor cheerfully extended an invitation to Ning Nan: "If you encounter any difficult problems, come to Shangchuntang in Jiangning to see me. My master is very skilled and will not charge you for consultations."

Looking at the girl's stubborn yet smug little face, Ning Nan opened his mouth.

The doctor's connections are extraordinary, especially since there's a prominent doctor in Jiangning County. That makes him even more special. If you were to swallow your pride and ask him for help, you might actually have a chance to get a household registration.

But as the words were about to come out, Ning Nan's lips smoothly turned into a smile: "Definitely... I wish Doctor Jiang a safe journey." He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

The woman happily waved to him and the villagers who were seeing her off, and walked away with her paper umbrella.

She wore a simple white dress, her back to him slowly walking across the stone bridge, stepping onto Yaoshan Mountain, and leaving Lijia Village. Ning Nan's eyes suddenly felt a little lost... White dress, paper umbrella, rain and mist, green mountains... A line of poetry suddenly came to mind.

"A light umbrella shelters the rain on the rivers and lakes, while the misty clouds rise and fall on the mountainside."

In the dilapidated wooden house of the Ning family, Cui Cui stood by the table in the main room, took a bite of a juicy chicken leg, and frowned as she looked at the poem Ning Nan had written.

"Not bad... another incomplete sentence?"

Cui Cui is much better now. She was able to get out of bed the night before last, and yesterday at noon she was even able to have lunch with herself and her mother. However, her face is still pale, she walks very slowly, and her abdomen is probably still in pain. She can't move too much and will need at least another month to fully recover.

He didn't show favoritism; the Ning family also ate two chickens in those three days.

But the chicken legs and wings were stuffed into Cui Cui's bowl by her mother. Ning Nan protested by banging on the bowl, but after being hit twice by her mother-in-law, she behaved herself.

The old son's protest was ineffective, and the new daughter was the only one favored... Ning Nan said sourly, which made Cui Cui smile and almost aggravate her abdominal injury, causing her brow to twitch.

It was getting late, and a dim oil lamp was lit in the main room. The light was soft and warm, casting the shadows of the two people on the wall, their shoulders close together.

Chef Ning glanced at the somewhat disappointed Cui Cui, curled his lip, and said disdainfully, "What do you know? I have to sell my calligraphy to Old Monster Han for twenty coins a piece. If I write the whole poem, this old guy might not buy it... I'll just write the incomplete sentences and let him piece it together himself."

"You really think you can sell a piece of calligraphy for twenty coins?" Zhu Cuiwei couldn't help but ask, frowning.

Even dressed in simple cloth and plain clothes, the woman's aloof and otherworldly temperament could not be concealed.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Ning Nan smirked. "I asked Er Laizi to inquire about prices in Han Gezhuang. Let alone our Li Family Village, even the old scholars in Han Gezhuang only charge three coins for writing a letter. You want to sell your writing? And you expect to get twenty coins?"

Ning Nan raised an eyebrow: "Dream on!! They don't have that kind of power!"

Zhu Cuiwei's expression froze, her brows furrowed deeply, unsure of what to say.

Just then, the sound of rushing water came from nearby, and someone ran into the yard.

"Big brother!"

Clang!

Li Xing, panting, pushed open the door and rushed into the main room. Upon seeing Zhu Cuiwei, he stopped abruptly.

Zhu Cuiwei glanced at him, and Li Xing's heart skipped a beat, like a mouse seeing a cat.

This was the second time he had seen her. Strangely enough, even though this woman was so beautiful and didn't seem angry, she even smiled at him, but he inexplicably felt that she had a very dignified and imposing presence, somewhat like the old man Li he had seen at the sacrificial ceremony two winters ago. Old man Li, leaning on his cane, could sweep his eyes over them without even needing to glare, and all of them with the surname Li would lower their heads, afraid that Old man Li would call their names...

"Hmm, that doesn't seem right. Why do these pretty ladies' eyes... seem even more imposing than Master Li's?"

"That's really strange..."

Li Xing shook his head, overcoming the illusion in his mind, and greeted her with a blush: "Hello, Sister Cui Cui~"

I came to my older brother's house for dinner yesterday and met her for the first time. My brother introduced her as "Cui Cui," his cousin, who was visiting from Aunt Ning's hometown.

"She's exceptionally beautiful, even a little bit prettier than the fairy sister from the Book Seed family..."

She was both beautiful and imposing. Li Xing was stunned yesterday and instinctively called out, "Sister-in-law!"

Cousins, you know.

Such marriages are quite common; there are many such cases in the village, where so-and-so and so-and-so are cousins, or even cousins ​​who are older and younger.

when!

Before the sister-in-law could react, the brother-in-law slammed his chopsticks down on her.

Li Xing scratched his head, grinding his fangs as he quickly corrected himself, "Hello, sister!"

Zhu Cuiwei didn't mind at all, and even greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Xing-ge'er," and put a chicken wing on his plate.

When addressing peers or juniors, apart from Li Yanting who would address him in a more refined manner as "Brother Ning," most others would simply add "Brother" or "Sister" after their names.

When Zhu Cuiwei saw Ning Nan call the other person "Xing Ge'er", she followed suit and called him that too.

"What's wrong?"

Ning Nan waved her hand in front of the boy's eyes, interrupting his gaze as he looked at Cuicui.

Li Xing realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled Ning Nan, saying, "Big brother! The Embroidered Uniform Guard... ugh ugh ugh..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ning Nan covered her mouth and pushed her outside.

It had already gotten dark. Several puddles of mud in the Ning family's courtyard had turned into pools after the rain, reflecting the faint moonlight like mirrors.