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

……

The sun was gradually setting in the west.

Qianqing Palace.

East Warm Pavilion.

Although Zhu Boqing's face was pale and he had a lingering medicinal smell, he appeared quite happy today.

He smiled at Marquis Ning Changling of Jingbei, who was sitting below him, and said, "Marquis Jingbei, your grand-nephew has given me a very difficult problem."

Ning Changling, recently heartbroken over his family's affairs, had become gaunt, his complexion hardly better than Zhu Boqing's. He smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, this old minister is also helpless. I have repeatedly instructed my nephew to prioritize the greater good in all matters. But this nephew of mine always says he must repay the great kindness of the Imperial Family in taking in my Ning family, that he will dedicate his heart and soul to the Imperial Family, to serve Your Majesty with his life, to risk his life for Prince Xin, to vow to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains, to drive out the Tartars… truly, truly… alas…"

Ning Changling's face was flushed with excitement, but his voice carried a bitter smile: "This time, he had the good fortune to travel with Princess Tang. Upon seeing that the son of the Northern Dynasty's Iron-Cap Prince was suspected of bullying the Princess, this old nephew of mine was so eager to save her from this predicament that he didn't even care about his own life!"

talking.

The old Marquis sighed again, his eyes filled with confusion: "Imagine if it were the grandson of the Prime Minister Qin, who had been influenced by the sages for so long, or the well-read son of another civil official, who was well-versed in poetry and literature, that he would not have been as reckless as my grandson... What Northern Dynasty commander? My grandson would have killed him with a spear! What Iron-Capped Prince's son? My grandson would have smashed him with a spear! I heard from Physician Hu that the Fourth Prince is missing half of his teeth... Phew... This is truly fortunate... Fortunately, that Iron-Capped Prince's son dodged quickly, otherwise wouldn't my grandson have killed him with a single spear thrust?"

"If it were the grandson of the Prime Minister Qin, perhaps he would, like the Duke Yansheng of the North, immediately pick up his brush and write a magnificent congratulatory letter of several thousand words to that fourth young master, making him obedient and shouting 'Long live the Emperor!'"

Hearing the old marquis's blatant sarcasm, Zhu Boqing looked helpless.

He knew, of course, that the old man was mocking the civil officials and speaking up for his grandson, but the old man's words were a bit too much. The little maid, Lychee, burst out laughing.

Ning Changling said, "Your Majesty, my grandson is ignorant of worldly affairs. Although in terms of talent, compared to the so-called talented men who participated in the North-South Poetry Gathering—oh, it seems that the grandson of the Prime Minister Qin also participated—my grandson is slightly better than them, but not by much. I may only understand warfare and not poetry, but after all, the characters my grandson knows are also the characters that the Prime Minister Qin's grandson and the others know. Since everyone knows about the same number of characters, how much better can he be? If you ask me, Liu Zhenxi and his group of literary figures are really overestimating my grandson."

"Alright, alright."

Zhu Boqing said irritably,

"You didn't imprison your grandson. He was just placed under house arrest."

A faint smile immediately appeared on the old marquis's face.

The emperor, who had reigned for many years, sighed inwardly.

He killed the captain of the Northern Dynasty delegation in the street, shot the son of the Northern Dynasty prince in the street, and even chased after him after the first shot missed. What is even more shocking is that, judging from the folded paper on Zhou Jili's paper, his brother-in-law's shot was indeed aimed at Hong Jiao's head!

It's not pretentious, it's not intimidation.

That shot really made my brother-in-law want to kill Hong Jiao!

If it weren't for Hongjiao's guards rescuing him in time, this problem would have escalated to an unknown extent.

If the other party were merely his brother-in-law, although he had made a great contribution to the development of gunpowder and presented the Baiyufang with it, his arrogance and recklessness would have warranted a lesson, and he should have been sent to jail for a few days to calm down. Unfortunately, the other party turned out to be the heir of the Jingbei Marquis's mansion.

The Marquis of Zhenguo and the Marquis of Jingbei were two precious swords of the Great Liang. When the Northern Dynasty moved south, most of its officials were men of integrity, but it is likely that many civil officials would emulate Hong Chengchou and military generals would emulate Zu Dashou.

The only two families that would absolutely not surrender were the Zhenguo Marquis and the Jingbei Marquis. Their entanglements with the imperial family were far too deep. In fact, he and his sister were both descendants of the Grand Prince Consort Shangguan. Therefore, the person he trusted most at the moment was still Shangguan Yun in the north.

If this brother-in-law surnamed Ning didn't have this temperament, he really wouldn't have been able to inherit the Jingbei Marquis's mansion.

Ning Changling smiled and rose to his feet, bowing and saying, "This old minister thanks Your Majesty for your kindness."

He committed such a grave offense, yet he was only confined for three days; this is truly an act of divine grace.

"It's alright," Zhu Boqing smiled, "He was doing it to save my cousin. Besides,"

Zhu Boqing said arrogantly, "Even my cousin knows that Daliang is not Southern Zhao, and I, as your cousin, am not Zhao Gou. If I were to punish your grandson, wouldn't I be laughed at by the Tang and Gui Princes' mansions?"

Since the matter involved foreign countries, Ning Changling remained silent, only nodding gratefully.

At this moment, Zhu Boqing glanced at the old Marquis and said calmly, "It is truly a cause for celebration that the Marquis of Jingbei has found his nephew's family. I heard that your grandson has already started a family?"

Ning Changling smiled with satisfaction and nodded, saying, "Indeed. This old minister's grand-nephew has already found a virtuous wife."

"May I ask whose daughter she is?" Zhu Boqing asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this question, Ning Changling was immediately taken aback, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Finding my nephew's wife and grandnephew was certainly a joyous occasion, but seeing that my younger brother Changping, his wife Zhou Rui, and my nephew Beiwang had all passed away was like a knife twisting in my heart. I often forced myself to stay strong, frequently shedding tears unbidden. Therefore, I didn't dare linger too long at my grandnephew's wedding banquet and hurriedly returned home.

Then came the death of Zhiyuan, the events surrounding the Ning family in the capital, and the truth behind Beiyue's death. If it weren't for his wife, Xiao, and daughter, Beizhi, who were by his side every day, he might have truly gone with Zhiyuan. After all this, he still doesn't know who this granddaughter-in-law is.

But as long as his nephew's wife and grandnephew were satisfied, he naturally wouldn't interfere. Ning Changling then gave a wry smile and said that he really didn't know who his granddaughter-in-law was, and that he would visit his grandnephew's family after returning home to inquire about her.

Zhu Boqing smiled and said, "I think it would be better to do it tomorrow."

"Your grandnephew is currently under house arrest. The day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, tomorrow is the fourteenth of the eighth lunar month. Why not have a reunion dinner with your grandnephew's family tonight? That would be a way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together."

Ning Changling assumed that His Majesty was showing compassion for his grief over the loss of his son and advising him to enjoy the joys of family life. He didn't think much of it and nodded with a smile, saying, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. I will send someone to tell my grand-nephew later."

Zhu Boqing chuckled and nodded.

……

……

The sun sank behind the distant mountains.

Lanterns began to be lit everywhere in the Prince Xin's Mansion.

In the main hall of the Eastern Palace, the ministers were arguing heatedly over some matters.

Junior Chamberlain Chen Yuezhi rose gracefully and bowed to Prince Xin at the head of the table, saying, "Your Highness, I believe that although Ning Baixuan has made a contribution by establishing the Baiyufang, this man has ulterior motives. This time, in order to curry favor with Princess Tang, he has actually done such a shocking thing. Your Majesty's punishment of merely confining him to his quarters is truly unfair. I propose that he be imprisoned and handed over to the relevant authorities for further investigation."

Zhongyun Liu Zhi immediately stood up, his eyebrows raised, and retorted righteously, "Chen Shaozhan is mistaken. The situation was critical at the time. In my opinion, Ning Baixuan's actions were not only correct, but also a great achievement! If the Tang Prince and Princess had suffered even the slightest mishap, who knows whether the Tang Prince would blame the Northern Dynasty or our Southern Zhili court!"

"Excellent!" Zanshan Xu Longdao's expression also turned solemn, and he bowed with righteous indignation, saying, "What Liu Zhongyun said is absolutely right! Ning Baixuan is a great talent of our time! He possesses great wisdom and courage, and in a moment of crisis, he dared to brave danger and, with great courage, killed the captain of that delegation! He has truly rendered great service to the country..."

"Young Master Chen..."

Before Xu Long could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a soft female voice from the head of the table.

The ministers, who had been whispering and murmuring, immediately fell silent and all looked at Prince Xin, who sat on the dragon throne at the head of the table, wearing a gold-embroidered dragon-patterned jacket.

Zhu Cuiwei wore a pearl and jade nine-phoenix crown, her eyes sparkling like lightning. She raised her head slightly, her voice as clear as water.

"Chen Shaozhan Shi..."

"You just said..."

Zhu Cuiwei said calmly, "Who is he trying to please?"