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

The moon shines brightly, but dawn always comes...

When Ning Nan groggily got up, the sun was already high in the sky. He glanced around and saw that his wife, Cui Cui, was not by his side.

He opened the door while yawning.

The blinding sunlight streamed in, causing me to squint.

The maid Chunyu came up to greet her and said that the madam hadn't gone to the Imperial Guard to work today, but was cooking in the kitchen herself, and that the second young lady had come to the mansion.

"Second Miss?" Ning Nan frowned. "Who is she?"

Chunyu shook her little head and said in a soft voice that she wasn't quite sure either, but her eyes flickered a few times, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Ning Nan said with dissatisfaction, "Speak your mind, and the master will reward you with silver."

Chunyu said, "The second young lady brought a lot of clothes, as if she intends to stay for a long time. She also brought two maids with her, who looked fierce. Qiumu and I were both a little scared."

"Oh, so you're here to complain..." Ning Nan laughed, "How fierce is it?"

"Very fierce, very fierce..." Chunyu said, her eyes glazing over.

Ning Nan strolled leisurely to the flower hall and saw a slender figure sitting there drinking tea. This must be the second young lady.

There were indeed two maids standing beside him, who looked older than Chunyu and Qiumu, and were tall and slender, both exuding a sharp and imposing aura.

Since Cui Cui's wife didn't introduce them, Ning Nan felt it was inconvenient to meet her directly, so he slowly went to the kitchen first.

Thump, thump, thump.

Cui Cui's wife had her hair tied up, and her fair face and hands were covered in water droplets as she chopped vegetables.

As soon as he arrived, she handed him the kitchen knife.

Ning Nan took the kitchen knife and asked who this "Second Miss" was.

Cui Cui's wife said that it was her younger sister.

Ning Nan was taken aback: "You have a younger sister?"

Besides the brother-in-law, there was also a sister-in-law!

Cui Cui's wife sat down on the bench, picked some vegetables, and said casually, "Hmm, my dear sister, her name is Zhu Qinghuan."

Ning Nan kept wielding the kitchen knife, but he was still full of doubts. Why had he never heard Cui Cui's wife and brother-in-law mention it before, and why did they not come to the wedding?

"My sister was injured at the time," said Cui Cui's wife. "She was bedridden for a long time, and her injury hasn't healed yet; she's even fallen ill."

"Oh, that's pretty bad," Ning Nan yawned. "What illness?"

Amnesia.

The sound of the cleaver suddenly stopped.

Ning Nan's expression froze for a moment, then he turned his head and asked a few more questions.

Cui Cui's wife said that her sister-in-law was robbed outside Nanjing. She was not only stabbed in the abdomen, but also suffered facial injuries. She was treated late and it took a long time for her injuries to heal before she was finally able to walk again.

Cui Cui's mother decided to take her with her and spend more time with her to see if she could regain her memory. Well, her sister-in-law would be staying at the Ning residence for a long time.

Upon hearing this, Ning Nan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

They were both in distress and both suffered from amnesia.

Miss Zhu, however, is fortunate enough to meet a male lead like Li Yanting; her luck is off the charts.

Zhu Qinghuan's sister-in-law, however, could only lie in the wild waiting for someone to treat her, her face also damaged. They suffered the same illness but had different fates.

The couple cooked together while chatting.

The conversation inevitably turned to the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Qinhuai River last night...

After returning home last night.

Qin Yuanyao, the newly promoted deputy commander, quickly caught up and asked him what had happened and if he was injured.

Ning Nan was initially too lazy to pay attention to her, but then he suddenly remembered that she was already a fourth-rank commander, whose status was even higher than Shangguan Xiuxiu's. She also seemed to be highly regarded by Prince Xin. Who knows, she might be promoted again one day and become the kind of big shot who could control everything in the court.

He then patiently explained the situation to the female assistant.

Actually, the matter wasn't complicated. It was just that I couldn't stand sitting there and listen to it, so I went to the training ground to find Danzhu and Anatoli.

When he said he wanted to fight the two of them, Danzhu, who knew a little Rakshasa language, acted as his translator. The two of them naturally sneered and said things like "overestimating yourself" and "courting death," but they quickly agreed. What difference did it make who he killed?

He went to the right, and the two of them went to the left.

They agreed on a number of steps to take together, and once they reached the line, they could either dodge or turn around and shoot.

They intentionally wanted to demonstrate the superiority of their muskets, so they kept a long distance between them. At this distance, the muskets of the Southern Liang often failed to hit their targets due to their extremely poor accuracy.

Ning Nan lit the fuses of the two muskets.

He kept counting in his mind, his heart was in his throat, and his forehead was covered in sweat... After crossing the line, the three of them turned around at the same time. Ning Nan was not aiming at the person, but at Anatoli's gun... His gun had the advantage of a barrel and gunpowder, so it naturally hit the target farther and more accurately than the other party expected.

While listening to the wind and before crossing the line, he adjusted his gun position, calculated the landing point, threw the second musket high over the line, and then pressed down the serpentine shaft of the gun in his hand. He covered the medicine box with his left hand, endured the pain, and let the match cord on the serpentine shaft burn on the back of his hand, almost pressing down on the medicine box.

As soon as his body crossed the line, he immediately leaned over, fell to the ground, moved his hand, pressed the fuse down on the medicine box, and lit it.

The two opponents had already turned around and, seeing his changed position, shifted their gun barrels. The weakness of flintlock muskets is their low rate of fire and low accuracy; careful aiming is crucial, especially since they had already fired several rounds and were instinctively more cautious. This is why one of the officers survived the third round. It was at this moment that he aimed at Anatoly's gun and fired! A deafening "boom!"

Anatoly's gun exploded with a deafening roar, severing several fingers and sending fragments flying. Danzhu was startled by the commotion, her face and throat cut in several places by the shards. Just as Danzhu was wondering why the other's musket was so accurate, Ning Nan's second gun fell from the sky and, with a "bang," pierced through the other's chest...

After listening, Qin Qianshi remained silent for a long time.

Taking the opportunity, Ning Nan rummaged through the spoils he had received, took out the jade set, and said he would give it to Vice Commissioner Qin as a token of his gratitude for his help.

The other person looked suspicious and refused to accept it.

Ning Nan then asked her somewhat awkwardly when Cui Cui's wife would be back. Qin Yuanyao replied that it would probably be around 1 AM before Miss Cui Wei finished organizing some documents from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Ning Nan then pushed the jade ornament towards Qin Qianshi, pleading with him to grant him an hour's leave, as it was the Mid-Autumn Festival and he needed to go out briefly… after all, he was under house arrest by His Majesty… After much deliberation, Qin Qianshi accepted the jade ornament, raised an eyebrow slightly, and instructed him to return within an hour. Ning Nan immediately breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly agreed…

It was the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

He then took Cui Cui and her wife to the Qinhuai River to release lanterns.

The moon is bright and clear.

The river surface was a beautiful blue.

When the night wind blows, the bright moon reflected in the river ripples along with the waves, the willow branches, and the wind.

He drove the carriage and brought Cui Cui's wife to a relatively quiet place.

He wrote "Master Zhu's martial arts are unparalleled" on his own face and handed the pen to the other person, but the other person just wrote it secretly and didn't let him see it at all.

He only caught a glimpse of the character "宁" (Ning), and it seemed to have been scribbled in black in the middle, as if it had been misspelled and corrected.

Once the lanterns were released, they flew higher and higher with the north wind, farther and farther away, until they were no longer visible.

……

Inside the Ning family's kitchen.

"Hey," Ning Nan said, frowning as he cut some mutton, "what did you write on the side of that Kongming lantern you released last night?"

"What did you write to me?" Zhu Cuiwei asked casually as she sat on a stool, picking vegetables.

"Master Zhu's martial arts are unparalleled!" Ning Nan said irritably. "Haven't I said that several times already?"

Zhu Cuiwei puffed out her cheeks.

I don't know if it was water from the vegetable leaves that got into my eyes, but suddenly my eyes felt a little watery.

She naturally wouldn't tell the other party.

After hearing gunshots last night.

She subconsciously looked towards the last seat.

The moment I can't see the other person, my heart seems to stop.