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

Nilon's two small mustaches parted, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes as he looked at a certain spot in the room and said, "That is naturally the famous Marquis of Jingbei... the Marquis of Jingbei's residence."

Everyone was taken aback.

They all turned their heads immediately to look at the table where Madam Xiao and Ning Beizhi were sitting.

At this moment, Ning Beizhi, in the prime of her youth, was stuffing pastries into her mouth with a rather bored attitude, while Madam Xiao, who was forty years old but looked only thirty, was pleading with her daughter, "Just give me your nephew's poem! Change the title and make it 'Give it to me'."

"no."

Ning Beizhi, her mouth stuffed full, glared at him nonchalantly.

The mother and son weren't interested in playing chess or anything like that, and had been bored for ages... Besides here, the Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the east wing of the Prince Xin's Mansion was also hosting a poetry gathering, inviting some talented scholars and renowned figures. Grand Scholar Liu, He Weng, Xu Yang, Shang Duo, and even Chen Yuanhan and Du Xiangqing were all there.

Her close friends and some ladies were there too, as was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Jinxi. They were pooling their wisdom and efforts, waiting to compose an extraordinary Mid-Autumn Festival poem to intimidate the Northern Dynasty and restore face to the Southern Dynasty... Unlike her, they didn't have to suffer here.

She had no choice. Her father was in poor health and disliked such gatherings; he couldn't endure them. Her nephew hadn't officially become the heir apparent of the Jingbei Marquis's mansion yet. Her father said that the formal investiture could only be made after His Majesty the Prince of Xin ascended the throne, so that there would be a bond between her nephew and the new emperor.

Therefore, the only people from the Jingbei Marquis's residence who could attend the banquet were her and her mother. She wanted her mother to come alone, but her mother refused. She said either she wouldn't come either, leaving the Jingbei Marquis's residence empty-handed, or the two of them would come together and suffer together.

Ning Beizhi, filled with a sense of honor for the Marquis's mansion, had tears in her eyes. She begged her mother for a long time, but her mother seemed indifferent, acting as if to say, "Why don't we just not come and embarrass the Marquis's mansion together?" So she had no choice but to come along with a pout.

On the way, she pulled out some stationery and showed off the Mid-Autumn Festival poem her nephew Ningnan had written for her to her mother. She had planned to clear her throat and head to Xiaoxiang Pavilion as soon as the banquet ended. Didn't those sisters all disbelieve that Leng Leng Qingqing was her nephew? They even said Leng Leng Qingqing had stopped writing poems—she was going to show them! What did it mean to "obey one's aunt's command!"

But just as the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family was pouting in the carriage, she was pestered by the Marquis's wife, who insisted on getting the poem from her. She said she wanted to change the title from "A Gift to Aunt Ning Beizhi on Mid-Autumn Festival" to "A Gift to the Virtuous Couple Ning Changling and Xiao Minmin on Mid-Autumn Festival," and wanted her to "show filial piety" to her father. When the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family heard such shameless words coming from her own mother, her eyes widened, her cheeks puffed out, and she was so angry that her face turned red!

The moonlight shone down.

The autumn breeze is slightly cool.

Just as Madam Xiao was tugging at her daughter's sleeve with a pitiful expression, the mother and daughter suddenly realized that it seemed that all eyes in the room were on them.

The eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion stared blankly at the strange gaze directed at her. Her chubby lips dared not move, and her face turned bright red with embarrassment!

But the look and expression of the Marquis's wife, who had been pleading and acting pitiful, seemed to transform without a trace into one of loving kindness. With an extremely natural demeanor and movement, she wiped the corner of her daughter's mouth and said with a smile, "I told you to eat something to fill your stomach a long time ago, but you were afraid of delaying your audience with Prince Xin. Now you must be starving!"

The gazes of the crowd immediately softened.

After speaking, Madam Xiao turned her head slightly, then immediately showed surprise, and said with an awkward smile, "Gentlemen, have I overlooked something important about Prince Xin? My daughter is starving, I am truly terrified..."

Everyone assumed that the virtuous lady of the Jingbei Marquis's mansion was preoccupied with her daughter and hadn't heard what the deputy envoy from the Northern Dynasty said. At this moment, regardless of whether they were nearby or far away, they all hurriedly smiled and said, "Madam, there's no need to be so worried. It's nothing serious. We've only disturbed you."

Niron, whose face had been filled with provocation and mockery, suddenly froze.

Someone frowned and asked, "Vice Envoy Nilon, what did you just say about the Jingbei Marquis's residence?"

Nilon's gaze darkened. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then smiled and said, "What I wanted to say was that we in the north had heard of the Marquis of Jingbei's great name. We heard that the Marquis's elephant playing is unmatched in Jiangnan. So we thought of asking the Marquis of Jingbei to help us curb Tong Jia's arrogance."

Madam Xiao, quick-witted and perceptive, understood the other party's meaning in just a few words. A gentle, graceful smile curved her lips as she said, "Your Excellency, my husband sheathed his sword and returned home more than ten years ago. In recent years, with peace prevailing throughout the land, he has spent his time at home practicing martial arts, compiling military texts, and teaching disciples to serve His Majesty. He doesn't participate in plays or anything like that much anymore. However," she changed the subject, smiling, "if Your Excellency and the father of this Northern Dynasty prodigy don't know how to teach their child, I can certainly help. It's just that," her gentle eyes flashed with a slight sharpness, "that is, using a stick to beat him."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the crowd lit up, and some even chuckled, whispering, "Yeah, hit them with sticks!" The crowd couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Zhu Cuiwei, seated at the head of the table, couldn't help but smile. But beyond the smile, she felt more admiration for Madam Xiao's quick wit. She, along with everyone else in the room, hadn't realized it before, but they had all understood what Nilong meant afterward.

This person just wants to embarrass the Jingbei Marquis's mansion. He wants Bei Zhi to go on stage, lose to Tong Jia, and make the Jingbei Marquis lose face.

Losing the game was secondary; what Nilon probably wanted to do more was mock the Jingbei Marquis's mansion for having no heir and having to send an unmarried girl to the game.

But Madam Xiao didn't take the bait. Not only did she not take the bait, but she didn't even use the rather low-class excuse that the Marquis was recuperating from illness. Instead, she said that the Marquis was at home "practicing martial arts," "organizing military books," and "teaching military books," which didn't look like a theatrical performance. In this way, she not only didn't lose face, but also effectively intimidated the Southern Dynasty, which truly showed her dignified demeanor.

Upon hearing what the seemingly frail Madam Xiao said, Nilon's eyes narrowed immediately, and he smiled, "Madam Xiao is right. I was merely," he paused, and said with an indescribable smile, "that is, seeing so many noble families from your esteemed courts come forward to test Tong Jia's skills, I was worried that if your family did not participate, you would inevitably be ridiculed by the other noble families."

"Who would laugh?" the young marquis of Jingxi said indifferently. "Your Excellency Deputy Envoy, you don't need to judge others by your own standards." These words were a sharp remark, and everyone immediately laughed at the Northern Dynasty Deputy Envoy.

At this moment, Madam Jia of the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion stood up and said, "Now that you mention it, Vice Envoy, I just remembered. Our Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion hasn't sent anyone yet, has it?" She smiled and glanced at Shangguan Xiu on her left. Shangguan Xiu was immediately dumbfounded and couldn't help but wink at his mother, signaling her to call his fourth brother on the other side.

Madam Jia shook her head and sighed, then turned to look at her fourth son, Shangguan Zhao, who looked embarrassed. He wasn't her biological son, but as his legal mother, she naturally treated him as her own. She smiled and said, "Zhao'er, why don't you go and have a go with that Tongjia boy?"

Shangguan Zhao's face flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but swallow. Although she didn't want to go, she stood up and said, "Yes, Mother," since her stepmother had given the order.

Madam Jia said in a low voice, "Zhao'er, it's alright if you can't finish. Just finish slowly and keep the child occupied. You finish for half an hour, then have your seventh brother finish for half an hour... and then you go... and your seventh brother goes... keep this child occupied until he's blind... so that these two little mustaches don't provoke Bei Zhi into a bad situation." Upon hearing his mother's words, Shangguan Zhao's face turned even redder.

……

……

Second courtyard.

Ning Beizhi pouted and secretly slipped out of the third courtyard.

The eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion had red eyes... She gave that poem to her mother... Her mother allowed her to sneak out and go to the poetry gathering first.

How embarrassing… How utterly shameful… So many people saw her eating without any ladylike manners… That bearded man even wanted her to play chess with that kid on behalf of the Jingbei Marquis's mansion… How could she possibly win… Losing isn't the problem, the others can't either… But at least the others can win one or two games, some even three… She can't win a single game… If she doesn't leave now… she'll utterly disgrace her father… She might as well slip away…

Led by a young eunuch, she pouted and slipped onto the path leading to the second courtyard, intending to pass through the octagonal gate to reach the Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the east wing.

Just then, she saw two people arguing nearby, saying things like, "Come on! Come on! Brother Dongtai, go avenge me!" and "Brother Hu, what happened to your forehead?" "I bumped it, I bumped it on Jia Wudi." "Jia Wudi?" "Oh, Brother Dongtai, don't worry about it, come with me, either go avenge me, or you bump it too!" "What is Jia Wudi? What's invincible? Who is he?" "Chess!" "He can play dozens of games by himself! Are you even human if you don't go?" "Jia Songling, Jia Songling, oh, that Jia Songling!"...

Ning Beizhi popped a piece of candy into her mouth, her almond-shaped eyes narrowed, and with the candy in her mouth, her eyes showed a slight doubt... Jia Songling... This name, why does it feel like I've heard it somewhere before?

At this moment, the two people, who were pulling and tugging at each other, said, "Jia Songling, huh!" "The Fox Spirit Girl, the fox spirit!" "The one from the Nancheng Daily!" "Jia Songling!" "Oh, oh, oh, that one!"

"A Chinese Ghost Story!" Ning Beizhi's eyes lit up as she suddenly remembered, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! Jia Songling!!"