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

early morning.

The sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

The wisps of mist were blown by the autumn wind, floating and scattering in the air, permeating every corner of the Ning Mansion.

As soon as Zhu Cuiwei got out of the study and opened the door, a gust of wind rushed in, and the two maids, Chunyu and Qiumu, who were waiting in the outer room, stood up with flushed faces and greeted her.

The matriarch of the Ning family pretended to be calm and put on the thin veil that Chunyu handed her to keep out the autumn wind.

I had sweated a bit last night and felt sticky all over, so I raised an eyebrow and told the maid to prepare some hot water, saying I wanted to take a bath before going to the Embroidered Uniform Guard office to go on duty.

The two maids already admired their mistress immensely for working in the infamous Embroidered Uniform Guard. As soon as their mistress gave the order, they nodded and ran off in a flurry. Their wild thoughts vanished instantly in their haste.

Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived. Under Steward Wang's direction, lanterns have been hung everywhere in the Ning Mansion.

After Zhu Cuiwei finished bathing and had breakfast, the young doctor was still sleeping in.

After thinking for a moment, she ordered Steward Wang to gather the dozen or so servants in the mansion, and then, as was customary, gave each of them a red envelope.

Although the Ning family didn't have many people, they distributed a considerable amount of money. Each servant received one tael and two mace of silver, the cook and several old women received one tael and five mace, and the two personal maids each received two taels. Steward Wang and the family accountant each received five taels.

In addition, she gave each person two strings of cured meat and a beautifully packaged mooncake. Those whose families lived in the capital could ask for leave to go home for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The servants immediately beamed and bowed in unison, saying, "Thank you for your generosity, Madam!" Zhu Cuiwei pursed her lips, indicating that there was no need for such formalities.

Logically, this should have been done when the master of the mansion was present, but firstly, Master Ning was only eighteen years old... and she was a few months younger than him... so she might not be as experienced and meticulous in her work; secondly, Master Ning was still sleeping in. So, she, as the mistress of the house, could only imitate what she had seen the chief steward of the Prince's mansion do when she was a child, copying his actions.

Leave Ning Mansion.

She boarded a carriage at a corner, and after a short walk, the carriage entered the Prince Xin's residence. The Prince's chief secretary, steward, several eunuchs, and a few maids came forward to greet her. Zhu Cui smiled and said, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival," and everyone immediately smiled and bowed in unison, saying, "Your Highness, happy Mid-Autumn Festival."

Many of them either watched Prince Xin grow up or grew up with him, and in fact, they had spent many Mid-Autumn Festivals together.

But this year's Mid-Autumn Festival is a little different. The first difference is that Prince Xin... got married.

Back when this place was still the princess's residence, everyone had imagined the grand occasion of Prince Xin's wedding and the days that followed.

But none of the people present at the time could have imagined that things would turn out so... so bizarrely. The Prince Xin, who was to be married, was marrying into the family next door, and they hadn't even had a proper greeting with his future son-in-law yet... This strange situation was going to continue until the end of the month, and it might not end until the Prince Xin ascended the throne.

Hmm… Prince Xin… is about to ascend the throne… This is the second difference this Mid-Autumn Festival is making. Prince Xin… is clearly about to ascend the throne.

This Mid-Autumn Festival, the Prince's Mansion will be extremely lively and very different.

A month ago, the chief steward began to give detailed instructions to every servant in the household, and it could even be said that he was severely reprimanding them. The requirements and standards for etiquette were more than ten times stricter than before. Every day, being scolded was a minor matter; many people even had to be beaten with a rod.

To prepare for this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the chief steward prepared more than twice the estimated amount of bowls and chopsticks, meticulously separating them according to etiquette and regulations. What kind of guests would receive official kiln celadon, what kind of guests would receive folk kiln white porcelain, what kind of guests would receive silver cups… nothing could be done incorrectly or in the wrong way; whoever made a mistake would be punished severely.

The decorations on the porcelain were also meticulously categorized. The imperial family required dragons and phoenixes, civil officials' families required cranes and egrets, and military noble families required lions, tigers, and leopards... A mistake in the design was considered a minor breach of etiquette, or a serious overstepping of authority. The chief steward and several managers meticulously checked the guest list against the corresponding porcelain pieces dozens of times, allowing no room for error.

The wines prepared in the mansion were extremely plentiful, including imperial wine, Fenjiu, yellow wine, Jinhua wine, Magu wine... all kinds of wines from all over the country were ready.

According to etiquette, different guests required different wine pitchers and cups, and the chief eunuch was extremely strict about this. First and second-rank officials needed gold pitchers and gold cups, third, fourth, and fifth-rank officials needed silver pitchers and gold cups, and officials from the sixth to ninth ranks used silver pitchers and silver cups. Prince Xin was the ruler of the land, and not all of his guests were imperial relatives, nobles, or civil and military officials. If merchants or other distinguished guests came, they would use tin cups, jade cups, or ancient rattan cups as a sign of respect.

The chief secretary also ordered that all wine shops and taverns on Datong Street should not close their doors to sleep that night, in case the Prince's Palace needed to requisition cooks or use wine.

With the chief secretary managing the Prince's residence, Zhu Cuiwei didn't need to worry about many things.

Accompanied by maids and several eunuchs, she walked towards the inner quarters, and the servants who passed by bowed to her in greeting.

Before changing into Prince Xin's clothes, she first went to the outside of a side room and asked the two maids standing outside, "How is Qinghuan?"

The two maids quickly curtsied and said, "Miss is much better today; her memory seems to be clearer."

Zhu Cuiwei pursed her pink lips and nodded slightly.

On the day of the attack, her two maids, Ziyuan and Qinghuan, stabbed her in the abdomen. When an assassin slashed at her again, Qinghuan blocked the blow and collapsed softly into a pool of blood.

The place where she fell wasn't far from her. If the young doctor had been more careful when he treated her, he might have been able to save Qinghuan as well.

Or perhaps it was that scholar from Li Village who, had Zhu Qingmian not suddenly fled on horseback to escape her arranged marriage and was mistaken for a member of the royal household by those swordsmen, was stabbed along with her… Perhaps that scholar could have saved Qinghuan if he had walked a few more steps. Unfortunately, he ended up saving Zhu Qingmian, an outsider.

Qinghuan was rescued too late. She lost too much blood, suffering not only severe injuries but also amnesia. After waking up more than ten days later, she couldn't remember anything the Imperial Guards asked her. She groggily complained of a headache and even forgot who she was. Fortunately, this girl was lucky; after two months of recuperation, she had almost fully recovered, though she remained lethargic.

What delighted her even more was that although Qinghuan didn't remember who she was, she was extremely dependent on and close to her. Whenever she saw her, she would grab her sleeve and cry, not letting her leave... So she recognized Qinghuan as her sworn sister, bestowed upon her the surname Zhu, and from then on, the people in the Prince's mansion addressed Qinghuan as "Miss".

Zhu Cuiwei pushed open the door and entered the room. Seeing the girl still fast asleep on the bed, a slight smile appeared on her lips as she gently stroked her sleeping sister's hair. Her eyes then shifted to the scar on Qinghuan's face, which ran from the left side of her nose down her cheek. She took a slight breath, a hint of worry in her voice. But she reasoned that even with Qinghuan's facial disfigurement, as long as she was there, her in-laws would never dare to look down on her after marriage.

As for the maid Zi Yuan who stabbed her in the back, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also found out. Zi Yuan's father favored his concubine over his wife, and also took money from thieves, threatening her with the lives of Zi Yuan's mother and two younger brothers, which led Zi Yuan to betray him.