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

Ning Nan tucked the crumpled letter into his pocket, smiled and sighed. His stomach was empty, and his appetite was whetted. He ate three large bowls of rice with his mother's leftovers.

Yesterday I promised Ms. Zhu I would make lotus leaf chicken for her, but when I thought about how my household registration was almost settled, I lost interest. After I finished making it, I still brought it to Ms. Zhu as usual, but this time I didn't sit there and chat with her like before, tell her interesting stories, and accompany her to finish eating.

"Being there for someone is the most enduring expression of love," is a wise saying, but coincidentally, he doesn't want to confess his feelings today.

After delivering the food, he made up an excuse and left while whistling.

When I got home, I made one for my mother and Cuicui.

Cui Cui is easy to raise. Although she was angry with him and didn't want to talk to him, she still ate the chickens. She just had a gloomy face and looked unhappy.

Ning Nan didn't care. Once he had a household registration, he would first pass the county-level imperial examination and then the provincial-level imperial examination. For the rest of her life, as long as Cuicui thought about how a handsome and dashing provincial-level imperial examination master had personally cooked so many chickens for her, even if she was old and had a full head of white hair, she would definitely stand up proudly.

"Hehe!" He chuckled... then his mother, thinking he was gloating, smacked him with her chopsticks, and Cui Cui's sharp eyes grew even more hostile.

The next day, Ning Nan was restless from the moment he woke up. He hadn't put much effort into making the lotus leaf chicken, and had even forgotten to add salt. Miss Zhu protested, stuffing a chicken leg into his mouth for him to try. He was about to say "take it or leave it," but he held back and said with an awkward smile, "It's free, it's free today."

On the third day, he stayed at the bridgehead for the entire day. A total of twenty-five people walked by, and two peddlers came in to sell their goods. He stepped forward with a gloomy face, wanting to see if it was the peddler Shangguan in disguise, trying to give him a surprise. He almost scared the peddler away.

On the fourth day, Ms. Zhu said she was tired of eating lotus leaf chicken, and, lifting her chin, asked the chef if there were any new dishes. He said no.

On the fifth day, he slept all day at home with his head down. His mother thought he was sick and made him some ginger and brown sugar water. He refused to drink it and even threw a tantrum. His mother didn't scold him, but silently bent over and left.

On the sixth day, he went out for a two-hour run, worked up a sweat, took a shower when he got home, and started working on new recipes. His mother tasted them and praised them highly, saying, "My son is really amazing."

On the seventh day, he successfully won Miss Zhu's forgiveness with a dish of braised duck in rice wine. Miss Zhu nodded and allowed him to continue being her personal chef.

That same evening, it was a dish of braised duck with rice wine that made Cui Cui, who hadn't spoken to him for a week, say, "Not bad."

That evening, he roused himself, wrote a poem, and slipped it through the window into Cuicui's room.

Cui Cui glanced at him and finally said her second sentence: "The words are good."

After a pause, Cuicui added, "Your handwriting is also quite good." She also promised him that she would climb Yaoshan Mountain with him the next day.

"Thank you," he said, somewhat touched, with a sigh, "I need to get rid of the musty smell."

A man can bend and stretch...

Screw you, Shangguan Xiuer!

...

...

Willow trees are planted along the riverbank. The early summer sun shines through the gaps in the willow leaves, sprinkling the clear water. When the wind blows, the water surface presents a shimmering and magnificent scene. It doesn't need an artist's touch; it's a wonder of the world at first glance.

The Qinhuai River, teeming with beautiful women, is a place of breathtaking scenery.

The river was filled with painted boats and brothels; it was a place of unparalleled luxury, not only in the city of Nanjing, but also in the entire Liang Dynasty, and even in the whole world.

Today is another wonderful day. The sun is not scorching, and the breeze is pleasant. On a painted boat drifting on the river, the melodious sounds of silk and bamboo instruments linger and ripple, and countless romantic tales unfold like waves amidst the clinking of glasses.

Inside the slightly noisy pleasure boat, a table was set up in an inconspicuous corner. Waiters brought over plates one after another, gradually setting out a table of delicious dishes. Shangguan Xiu sat at the head of the table, not wearing his flying fish robe today, but only a white casual outfit, drinking alone with a gloomy expression on his face.

He raised his eyelids slightly, frowned, and looked at the fat man opposite him who was dressed like a wealthy old man.

This person was the clerk in the Jiangning County government responsible for managing the Yellow Register and household registration of Lijia Village.

"Is there really no other way?" he asked the other person again, unwilling to give up.

The clerk forced a wry smile: "Oh, Young Master Shangguan, we only thought you were a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard before, so we didn't dare to speak frankly with you. Now that you've revealed your identity, how could we dare to deceive you?"

Clang! Shangguan Xiu slammed the cup on the table. "This decree is utter nonsense! What rubbish is this about southerners returning to the south and northerners returning to the north!"

The fat man's heart skipped a beat. He looked around and quickly advised, "Young Master Shangguan, watch your words! Watch your words!"

The household registration system of the Great Liang Dynasty was based on the Yellow Register, which was compiled every ten years. It recorded the population and land of each village and household. The court collected taxes and levied corvée labor based on the Yellow Register. Each village had a village head, and under the village head, ten households formed a li (a unit of distance), with about ten li chiefs managing the household registration of each village.

Apart from military households, which are managed by the Five Military Commands, all other household registration categories must first be registered through the village head, then the village chief must sign the document, then the county government must update the yellow register, and finally the county government will issue a household registration certificate to the household. Only then can the household be considered a legitimate Daliang household.

"Ten years ago, dealing with unregistered residents was easy. There were always some troublemakers who would run to the mountains to evade taxes and corvée labor, only to be killed by bandits and then run back down the mountain to beg the government to take them in. There were many such cases, and we have experience with them."

"But the problem arose ten years ago when a large number of Han Chinese fled south from the Northern Dynasty. The Northern Dynasty was furious and sent envoys to Nanjing to demand an explanation. Qin, the chief minister, was worried about angering the Northern Dynasty, so he proposed the policy of sending southerners back south and northerners back north, driving all the northerners back and forbidding them from being recorded in the Yellow Register. The Ning family of Lijia Village is one of those who fled from the Northern Dynasty thirty years ago..."

Shangguan Xiu slammed his hand on the table impatiently: "Isn't this the heart of the Han people in the cold north?!"

"It's better than heading north to south, isn't it?" The fat clerk shrugged, but he didn't say the next sentence... Who could stop him?

The fat man's small eyes darted around. The illegitimate son of the Marquis's mansion opposite him was clenching his fists, seemingly holding his breath, but at least he wasn't making things difficult for him anymore. The fat man immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

About seven days ago, the other party came to the county government office dressed in a black flying fish robe, saying that he wanted to register the household registration of so-and-so from Lijia Village. He naturally said, "No problem, no problem." After checking, he found out who the other party was talking about.

He paused for a moment, then licked his lips.

This person's household registration... is going to be difficult to handle.

So he smiled and said, "I'll get it done tomorrow."

The next day, he took leave and avoided it.

Thinking that the other party was only a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he thought that by doing this, he was giving the other party a way out, and the other party should be sensible and take the opportunity to back down.

After all, in Jiangning, it was fine for the big shots of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to show off their power to the officials, but it wouldn't be very effective against them, the clerks.

Officials are officials, and clerks are clerks. Officials are appointed officials, all of whom passed the imperial examinations, while these clerks are all from hereditary positions!

Over a century of accumulation has resulted in a complex web of relationships. Take Tian Xiong, for example. His second brother-in-law's second wife was the niece of a commander of the Imperial Guard, and the daughter of his third aunt. She was married as a concubine to the son of a steward in the Five Armies Commandery. Given all these relationships, he had already shown the other party considerable respect, which was more than enough.

But to his surprise, three days later, this simpleton came looking for him again, seemingly in a hurry, even with a hint of accusation. He was immediately displeased, but still said politely, "I was unwell the other day, but I will definitely take care of it for you tomorrow!"

Then, he took a three-day break.

Until yesterday, when the other party came to his door and revealed their true identity... Shangguan Xiu, the seventh son of the Marquis of Zhenguo... He was completely at a loss.

He set up a table at the most expensive Yanchun Pavilion on the Qinhuai River to apologize, told the other party the truth, and even invited the popular Miss Jin'er to accompany him, but the other party is no longer buying it.

Who cares if he buys it or not... The fat man tasted Yanchun Pavilion's signature dish, braised chicken with smoked bamboo shoots.

This chicken is prepared in an unusual way. I heard that it was fed rouge and jade nectar from a young age. Before it was killed, it was fed a bowl of the finest "Immortal's Intoxication." The meat is firm, fresh, and delicious, with a rich, spicy flavor. Taking a bite is like being a deity who has descended to earth and is drunk on earth...

It's a pity...

The fat man clicked his tongue.

The real signature dish of Yanchunlou is actually Miss Jin'er, but unfortunately she only sells her art and not her body, so no one has ever tasted her.

Thinking of this, the fat man couldn't help but chuckle and put a piece of chicken in his mouth.