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

Pain...pain...pain...

Hong Jiao coughed up blood, half of his dough collapsed, and several teeth flew out of his mouth along with the blood. His tongue trembled, and he realized that the remaining teeth were also about to fall out. "Pain!" His heart clenched violently, and he let out a cry. Only this feeling remained in his mind...pain, excruciating pain. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout.

"Ah, ah..."

Hongjiao's eyes bulged out, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and he unconsciously made a sound.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah..."

"Fourth Young Master!"

"Young Master!"

"Save the young master! Save the young master first!"

A cacophony of sounds filled my ears.

As Hong Jiao screamed with a contorted expression, he felt four or five hands grab him and drag him off the carriage. Then, the same hands dragged him along the ground.

The horses are neighing.

The horses' hooves were clattering wildly.

People on the street were running and shouting in panic.

The military officers cursed as they brandished their swords, the clash of weapons creating a deafening sound.

On the two carriages behind, the seventh brother got off, and an old man followed him off... Kill him, I want to kill him... As Hongjiao was dragged on the ground, tears streamed down his face, his legs kicked on the ground, his hands waved wildly in the air, and he made unconscious squeaking noises.

"stop!"

"Bold thief!"

"Stop! Stop right now!"

The sound of footsteps approached from afar, and Hongjiao glanced at them out of the corner of her eye.

At the end of the long street, officials dressed in red, green, and blue robes hurried over, waving their hands and shouting. Black-clad constables drew their swords, and a group of armored Southern Dynasty soldiers, wielding long spears, also rushed over.

"Ah, ah..." Hong Jiao opened his mouth in excruciating pain. His mouth was covered in blood, and many teeth were visibly missing. But as so many officials arrived one after another, his shouts finally subsided.

……

……

"You bastard!"

"You bastard!"

"You bastard!"

On the long street, Cui Xianghai, a senior official from the Ministry of Rites, dressed in a scarlet official robe, waved his arms and shouted loudly at the young man who was being held at gunpoint by a cluster of spears.

"Do you know what you're doing?!"

Cui Xianghai pointed at Ning Nan and shouted angrily.

About a squad of soldiers from the Beijing garrison, dressed in blue cloth armor and holding long spears, aimed at Ningnan.

The gun was now pressed against his throat.

If Princess Zhu Jiamu of Tang hadn't stepped forward immediately, Cui Xianghai would probably have ordered his soldiers to stab him in the thigh.

The surrounding taverns have all closed.

The pedestrians, still in shock and with their blood boiling, were all driven away.

The guards of the Tang Prince's Palace collapsed to the ground, and a doctor was bandaging them.

The three carriages from the Prince Heshuo's residence were respectfully escorted back to the Northern Dynasty's embassy by the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

The imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy have been dispatched to treat the Fourth Prince. The body of Commander Mu Lang has been recovered and placed in the coffin by Shangyuan County.

While dealing with these matters, Cui Xianghai listened intently to Zhou Jili's report on the events, his veins bulging.

Once the three carriages from the Northern Dynasty had left, he immediately attacked the thug who was being held down by a squad of long spears.

Outrageous!

This is absolutely outrageous!

Cui Xianghai, enraged by the three corpse gods, glared at Ning Nan and roared.

"So you're Ning Nan, you're Ning Nan! Good, good, good!"

Cui Xianghai pointed at Ning Nan's nose and angrily cursed,

"The talented scholar from both the north and south, the arsonist, the owner of the Jade Workshop... are all you?!"

"To kill someone in the street, to attack a noble envoy from the Northern Dynasty, and with firearms at that… to disregard the laws of the court—do you really think Gu Xichuan can protect you?! A mere staff member, a small merchant running Baiyufang, you dare to be so arrogant after conquering a small Black Tiger Mountain! You dare to commit such a heinous crime! If this sparks a border conflict, can you bear the consequences? Can you bear the consequences?!"

Cui Xianghai's eyes widened, and he stepped forward, fiercely flicking his sleeve, saying, "I'm telling you, this time you've committed an unforgivable crime, punishable by the extermination of your entire family! I will inform the Emperor! Your entire family will be executed!"

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes. His white robe was stained with blood. He raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the words of the furious Dr. Cui.

"Lord Cui," Zhu Jiamu stepped forward and said calmly, "Brother Ning's killing of that captain and serious injury to that so-called Fourth Prince of the Northern Dynasty were all ordered by me. The musket was also given to him by me. If you want to exterminate your entire family, you might as well exterminate my entire family." Princess Tang's tone was light and ordinary, yet she stood like a mountain in front of Ning Nan.

Upon hearing this, Cui Xianghai's expression froze, and his face, which had been flushed with anger, softened slightly. He sniffed, and slowly cupped his hands towards Princess Tang, saying, "Princess, Princess, you flatter me."

He gritted his teeth, sorted out his thoughts, and slowly said, "The princess is kind-hearted and magnanimous, a rare quality in the world. His Highness the Prince of Tang is even more righteous and benevolent, so the princess has been deeply influenced by him since childhood, and her family has a rich tradition of learning."

"But as the saying goes, a gentleman can be deceived by his principles. It is precisely because the princess is kind and benevolent that she is easily misled by scoundrels... Today, Your Highness had a minor disagreement with the young master of the Prince of Heshuo's mansion, but it was just a small misunderstanding. If you are tolerant and talk it out, everything will be fine."

"But this man, without distinguishing right from wrong, recklessly used a musket to kill a Northern Dynasty commander, and dared to shoot the son of a Northern Dynasty prince, even seriously injuring him with a musket! This crime is unforgivable. If the Northern Dynasty uses this as an excuse to launch an attack, the consequences will be unimaginable. Most importantly, if he is not punished according to the law, and if this is used by someone with ulterior motives, the Northern Dynasty may launch a full-scale invasion southward in an instant, and the people of the world will suffer!" Cui Ruhai said earnestly, bowing his head in deep sorrow.

Zhu Jiamu smiled faintly and slowly said, "Lord Cui, according to you, because Brother Ning injured that Fourth Young Master, the Northern Dynasty is going to march south?"

Cui Xianghai remained silent. But judging from his expression, he naturally acquiesced to this.

Zhu Jiamu said, "If that's the case, then Lord Cui, during the Ming Kai era, when the Northern Dynasty entered the pass, was it because Emperor Ming Kai injured the son of so-and-so from the Northern Dynasty? And then the Northern Dynasty marched south and massacred people in Jiangnan?"

Zhu Jiamu's tone suddenly turned stern: "Is it also because the people of Jiangnan injured so-and-so's precious prince from the Northern Dynasty?!"

"Well……"

Cui Xianghai's pupils contracted, and he was immediately speechless. The Northern Dynasty's entry into the pass and the massacre of Jiangnan were certainly not because Emperor Mingkai and the people of Jiangnan had injured the son of so-and-so from the Northern Dynasty.

Zhu Jiamu snorted disdainfully: "You keep saying that it is an unauthorized provocation, but why isn't it the Fourth Prince of the Northern Dynasty who is afraid of it?"

"He's on my Daliang soil, so why shouldn't he be the one to keep a low profile in Daliang?"

Zhu Jia narrowed his phoenix eyes.

"Lord Cui, why was it he who dared to order his carriage to ram my carriage, instead of me ordering someone to ram his carriage?!"

"Furthermore, Lord Cui, if it weren't for me, the princess, but for an ordinary person, would you expect her to kowtow and apologize?"

Zhu Jiamu snorted coldly and said in an unfriendly tone, "You say it's just a small misunderstanding? You want to tolerate it? How long will you tolerate it?"

Zhu Jiamu stepped forward, tilting his chin up and speaking coldly.

"Are we going to endure this until the Battle of Yamen?"

"Endure until the cliff..." Cui Xianghai's eyes widened in surprise, somewhat taken aback by the little princess's sharp words. Then he sighed inwardly... This was a true attack on the heart.

He knew that the events at Yai Shan were a perpetual nightmare for these members of the imperial family. Once they brought it up, he would have no way to refute them. But after a while, Cui Xianghai's face darkened, and he said in an iron voice, "Your Highness is too harsh. Today's matter is not that complicated. He did kill someone after all..." The Southern Dynasty was weak, and it was impossible to launch a Northern Expedition by simply tolerating the situation.

But is killing someone in the street enough? Is using sharp words enough? What good does killing one person in the street do for the greater good? Cui Xianghai's eyes darkened. This Ning Nan, indeed, must be killed!

As for whether he would be resented by the princess, reprimanded by Gu Xichuan, or even attacked by the Zhu clan, Cui Xianghai didn't care about that. He was simply putting up with it for the sake of the country.

The second-generation Marquis of Zhenguo has passed away, the third-generation Marquis of Zhenguo is mediocre, and the Marquis of Jingbei is already old. If the Marquis of Jingbei hadn't still been alive, the Northern Dynasty would have fallen in an instant. At this moment, not only is there no great general in the court, but the Princes of Qi, Wu, and Jing in the capital are all harboring their own schemes, while the Princes of Gui and Tang outside the capital are stirring up trouble. And at this critical juncture, His Majesty has chosen to pass the throne to the woman, the Prince of Xin!

At such a time, Sun Chengshan actually dares to dream of reform! In such a precarious situation, if the Northern Dynasty were to advance south, the Southern Dynasty's collapse would be imminent! It's not as simple as this little princess makes it out to be! Cui Xianghai gritted his teeth... Let's get through this hurdle first!

Just as Cui Xianghai was about to forcibly execute Gu Taifu's junior advisor on charges of murder in order to give the Northern Dynasty an explanation and prevent the Northern Dynasty from using this as an excuse to invade the south,

But at the end of the long street came the sound of hooves.

His Majesty's decree has arrived.