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

"pain……"

"Headache……"

On the bed in the main room of the Ning family, Ning Nan mumbled incoherently, rubbing his head haphazardly. Then, he felt a gentle hand rubbing his head, which immediately made him feel much better.

"water……"

"water……"

"Gurgle gurgle..."

Someone is feeding themselves water.

My burning throat felt much better and more soothed.

After drinking the water.

He turned over and fell asleep again, completely satisfied.

A long time passed.

He finally woke up from his daze.

I opened my eyes, and the light was so bright it hurt. I quickly closed them again, my eyelids trembling. After a while, I slowly opened them again, and the light filled my entire field of vision. By then, the sun was already high in the sky.

"call……"

His head still ached a little. He slowly exhaled, thought for a moment, and then sat up.

The first thing you see is a wooden table with several dishes on it, and an old woman is picking up some food.

Ning Nan watched his mother eating by herself and rubbed his head.

He cursed Master Li under his breath, muttering, "That old bastard, sending me this kind of wine... he's just trying to drink me to death!"

Seeing that he was awake, Widow Ning slammed down her chopsticks and said with a stern face, "Awake?" Her voice was loud and clear, as if she was afraid that others would not hear her.

"Ah," Ning Nan shook his head and replied.

"Do you know what you did last night?" Widow Ning raised her voice and questioned.

Ning Nan's throat burned, so she cleared it and patted her face. "Huh?"

"Gasou!"

Snapped!

Widow Ning picked up her chopsticks and slammed them on the table: "I'll hit you on the head!"

She stood up again, *smack!*

He clapped his hands suddenly: "I'll slap you!" The slap was loud and the voice was booming.

Ning Nan asked in confusion, "Huh?"

I don't understand what I'm doing. Aren't you supposed to be playing mahjong all day to develop your intelligence? How come you're so young and already have dementia? Are you playing against yourself?

*Slap!* Widow Ning clapped her hands again: "I'll slap you again! Do you know you're wrong? Huh? Do you know you're wrong?! Are you still going to drink or not?!"

Ning Nan took a breath, increasingly confused. Just then, Widow Ning suddenly winked at him, clapping her hands as she asked, "Does it hurt? Huh? Clatter? I'm asking you, does it hurt?"

"It hurts..." Ning Nan said blankly.

"If you know pain, then get up right now and go inside! Go apologize to Cuicui!"

Snapped!

His mother slapped him hard on the shoulder again, and this time it was real. A farmer's hand is rough and strong, and Ning Nan winced in pain, hissing.

His mother grabbed him by the back of the collar and shoved him into Cuicui's room.

When Ning Nan went inside, he was still completely dazed.

What's wrong?

What's there to apologize for?

But as soon as he entered the room, he saw Zhu Cuicui lying on the bed, covered with a quilt, lying on her side with her back to him, not saying a word, and even pulling the quilt up a little... something vaguely came to mind.

He must have been drunk last night. When he saw that Shangguan Xiu had nowhere to go, he dragged her back and made her sleep on the floor of his room. He probably made a lot of noise and scared the girl.

Ning Nan rubbed his face vigorously.

"Hmm... let me take your pulse."

As he walked, he calmly used an excuse.

He thought to himself, "First, find a starting point, have a chat to figure out the situation, and then apologize..."

At that moment, the figure on the bed seemed to stiffen for a second.

Then, she suddenly pulled the blanket over her head.

"Get out..." A muffled voice came from under the covers.

"Huh???" Ning Nan stared wide-eyed.

This trick isn't working anymore?

Still refusing to engage in dialogue?

Before Ning Nan could say another word, the widow Ning, who had been eavesdropping outside, rushed in and pulled Ning Nan outside.

"You little brat! Who let you into Cui Cui's room!"

Ning Nan stared blankly at the old woman, her eyes wide with confusion... Wasn't it you who pushed me in? My goodness, Aunt Ning!

Ignoring her son's somewhat innocent look, Widow Ning forcefully shoved him away.

"Cui Cui, you rest now, Mom will call you for dinner tonight!"

Widow Ning closed the door to the inner room, looked at her bewildered son, sighed inwardly, and with a stern face, felt a sense of disappointment. She suddenly punched his arm and took out a piece of paper from her bosom to pat his chest.

"Reflect on your actions!" the old woman scolded first, then gestured towards the paper with her lip. "Hey, your cronies from last night left this morning. He wrote this to you. I can't read, so read it yourself!"

Done.

The old woman angrily turned and left, going to her third sister-in-law's house to play mahjong.

The weather is nice today, and it's raining, so we don't need to go out into the fields.

I just stepped out of the yard.

The old woman stopped in her tracks, seemingly unable to hold back any longer, and finally burst out laughing, unable to suppress the chuckles on her lips... When she returned home last night and entered the main room, she was completely stunned by the sight. Not to mention the strange man in black, after she realized he was a member of the Imperial Guard, she even took the opportunity to kick him twice.

The main problem was that her drunken son... had fallen on top of Cuicui... Poor Cuicui couldn't move this soundly asleep son, her expression was so aggrieved, her eyes were misty and watery.

She rushed over to help, moving her son aside, patting the boy to vent her anger for Cui Cui, and repeatedly apologizing to Cui Cui...

Fortunately, Cuicui wasn't really angry. She took care of her son all night, helping to massage his head and feeding him water. By the time he stopped whimpering, it was already dawn, and the village chickens were crowing. Only then did Cuicui go to sleep.

The other guard wasn't so lucky. He dragged the man to the floor of his son's room, covered him with a blanket, and let him sleep there all night. Fortunately, the official was indeed an official; he was healthy and generous. When he woke up at dawn, he first thanked her, then left a note for his son and gave her ten taels of silver.

Ten taels of silver could buy a calf... She was really tempted, but she didn't dare to accept it. On the one hand, it would seem stingy and she was afraid of embarrassing her son. On the other hand, she didn't know if the official was sincere or not, and she was afraid that the silver would burn her hands. But since the official insisted on giving it to her, she had no choice but to accept it for now, but she dared not spend it.

She ran into Xing Ge'er on the road, who told her that the Imperial Guards and the three constables had already returned, and the woman's steps immediately became much lighter.

Her son had been drinking with a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) officer all night. Tsk tsk tsk, what a relationship... She thought this should be discussed at the mahjong table. To be able to drink with a Jinyiwei officer was an honor for the Ning family... no! It was an honor for the entire Li family village!

The woman raised her head, took a big step, and walked out with an air of arrogance, as if she were wearing an invisible phoenix coronet and wedding robe.

On the wooden table, Widow Ning had left some food and rice for Ning Nan. Ning Nan picked up his chopsticks and opened the note left by Shangguan Xiu.

"Thank you for your trust, my dear brother! You're willing to give me the blueprints first, and then let me help you with the household registration. Rest assured, my brother will definitely get this done in one to three days!"

"call……"

Ning Nan took a deep breath, feeling a sense of satisfaction at first, but then a sense of emptiness followed.

He never expected that his years of planning would be resolved after such an ordinary drinking session.

"A commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is a man of his word!"