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

During the Jin Dynasty, Ruan Ji visited the hermit Sun Deng at Mount Sumen.

During the banquet, Ruan Ji spoke at length about Taoist principles, Confucian morality, and the practice of breathing exercises and elixirs, covering everything and making him a renowned scholar of his time. Sun Deng, however, seemed unimpressed and remained silent.

Ruan Ji had no choice but to give up and get up. He had come with high spirits but left in disappointment. On his way down the mountain, he was still a little angry. In order to express his sorrow, he let out a long howl in the mountains, and the clear howl echoed throughout the valley.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a high-pitched cry like that of a phoenix came from the mountaintop, harmonizing with Ruan Ji's. The clear sounds resonated throughout the valley, and it was Sun Deng's high cry! Upon hearing this sound, Ruan Ji laughed three times and returned home in high spirits.

Seeing Nalan Ruo use the story of Su Menxiao to humbly express his feelings, everyone praised him, saying, "His high-pitched whistle is indeed extraordinary, and his long whistle is like that of a phoenix. Brother Nalan is too modest."

Everyone in the room sighed and laughed, creating a harmonious atmosphere as they discussed and appreciated the poem "Nian Nu Jiao" in turn.

It was at this moment.

Another wave of congratulations, like a surging tide, came from the North Pavilion where the woman was.

Everyone was taken aback.

A series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and the servant brought over another piece of paper, saying that it was sent by Madam Ren and was written by Madam Xiao's grand-nephew.

Everyone looked at each other.

"Two songs?" someone asked, surprised.

Old Crane was quicker and snatched the paper first.

Everyone was speechless and laughed, scolding him for being disrespectful to his elders.

Scholar Liu frowned and said, "Also a grand-nephew of Lady Xiao? Hmm, from Ningnan?"

He was extremely surprised that Ning Baixuan was actually the grand-nephew of the Marquis of Jingbei, but compared to the even more surprising "Nian Nu Jiao", this surprise seemed insignificant.

The servant nodded repeatedly.

The old man took the poem and first recited the first line, "Shuidiao Getou".

Upon hearing this, everyone knew that the poem had been given a different poetic form.

Old Crane paused, took a breath, his white eyebrows furrowed tightly, and under the urging of the crowd, after a few breaths, he finally read out the title of the poem.

"Prelude to Water Melody - A Mid-Autumn Festival Poem Presented Again to the Virtuous Couple Ning Changling and Xiao Minmin..."

"Oh," someone exclaimed in surprise, "another one? Two poems?"

"The Marquis of Jingbei has rendered great service to the country..."

"Ning Baixuan is indeed filial."

Immediately, there was much discussion.

"When will the moon be bright...?"

The old crane ignored the crowd, seemingly lost in thought, and slowly spoke.

"Raising my cup to the heavens, I ask, 'What year is it tonight in the celestial palace?'"

As soon as the words were uttered, the room fell silent, and all eyes turned to the old man with the deep, resonant voice.

"I long to ride the wind and return, yet I fear the jade palaces and crystal towers..."

The old crane paced back and forth a few steps, then continued reciting.

"The higher you climb, the colder it gets; I dance with my shadow, how can it compare to being in the human world..." Everyone's gaze froze.

His voice was deep and resonant as he continued slowly.

"...People experience sorrow and joy, separation and reunion; the moon waxes and wanes, and nothing in this world is ever perfect...May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even from afar."

That concludes the sentence.

The crowd fell silent in shock.

After a long while, someone finally couldn't resist taking the note from the old crane's hand and singing it again...

After repeating this several times.

Nalan Ruo sighed deeply, then smiled at everyone and said, "Nalan calls himself a long howl, but I never imagined that a long howl would be like 'Nian Nu Jiao,' and a high howl would be like this one..."

"Prelude to Water Melody..."

……

……

"So," Ning Nan said with a complicated expression, turning to his classmates who were staring at him expectantly, "you'll call me Brother Changxiao? Brother Gaoxiao?"

"Yes!" Everyone's eyes lit up, and they all nodded.

Ning Nan had no other choice but to eat his meal with his head down, while thinking about going home and asking Cuicui's mother.

Forget about "Nian Nu Jiao," that was originally given to Aunt Bei Zhi. "Shui Diao Ge Tou"... how did this woman manage to reveal it?

Both poems were dedicated to Uncle and his wife. Could it be that Bei Zhi is so filial that she received "Shuidiao Getou" from Cuicui's wife and gave both poems to her parents?

Chu Pangzi and the others complained that he was unfair for not mentioning that he was from the Jingbei Marquis's family. Ning Nan then laughed and said, "He's of a lower generation, so there's nothing to say." Everyone laughed.

Fatty Chu was slow to realize, saying, "No wonder Brother Cheng treats you differently; it turns out you're his nephew." Fatty Chu smiled, but his expression darkened in an instant. Everyone knew he was thinking of Ning Zhiyuan again, so they skipped the topic and stopped talking about the Marquis of Jingbei.

These days, when it comes to kinship, everyone can always find a connection with a high-ranking official or even a king. I don't really care about Ning Nan's identity. I just think that Brother Ning is very thoughtful. I'm sure your esteemed uncle will be very pleased to see these two words.

While eating, the group inevitably chatted about some recent events in the capital.

Chu the Fat Man lowered his voice and said something about the Northern Dynasty suffering a great loss!

Everyone immediately became curious.

The fat man was vague, only saying that it seemed a noble son from the Southern Dynasty had beaten up a noble young master from the Northern Dynasty.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the Northern Dynasty people launched an attack at the Prince Xin's mansion's Mid-Autumn banquet, they were once again driven back by a noble son of the Southern Dynasty... Everyone was immediately astonished, wondering if a noble son could possess such courage? Fatty Chu said smugly, "Of course!"

After listening for a while, Ning Nan realized that the imperial court must have deliberately blocked the news.

If such a thing were to spread, it would damage the reputation of Princess Tang, and if it aroused the indignation of the southerners, it would turn a major incident into an even bigger one, making it difficult to control.

We've eaten.

The group slowly returned to the school.

In the afternoon, to the students' surprise, Mr. Huang invited two teachers to give lectures to them.

One of them was surnamed Gu, named Gu Tinglin, of medium height and with a thin and refined appearance.

The other one was surnamed Chen, named Chen Dazun. He was more handsome than Mr. Gu and had a long beard.

The former was skilled in the Mencius, while the latter was skilled in the Book of Documents.

The two men were about the same age as Mr. Lizhou, around fifty years old.

While Ning Nan was listening to the lesson in the back, he remembered something. The first time he came to this private school, Mr. Lizhou asked him whether his teacher's surname was "Chen" or "Gu". Now that he thought about it, Mr. Lizhou was referring to these two teachers.

The teaching styles of Mr. Gu and Mr. Chen were quite different from those of the rigid and effective Mr. Lizhou. Although the former were rigid, they were good at quoting classics and allusions, which broadened people's knowledge and made them accumulate more allusions without them even realizing it.

The latter had a kind smile and delivered lectures in a humorous and easy-to-understand way. Some difficult and complicated things were often made into simple and easy-to-understand things by him, which not only made the students laugh, but also made them think deeply.

The two teachers each lectured for an hour. Ning Nan gained a lot and even took his five essays in the eight-legged essay style to ask the two teachers for advice.

These two were indeed worthy of being teachers invited by Mr. Lizhou; with just a few words, they enlightened Ning Nan and the others.

Ning Nan obediently lay down on the table and started making changes as instructed.

The sun is westward.

The autumn wind blows through the yellowing peach trees in the courtyard, causing the leaves to fall rustling down.

After Ning Nan finished writing his five essays in the eight-legged essay style, only a handful of students remained in the school.

He blew the ink dry, releasing the fragrant aroma of Huizhou ink. Ning Nan nodded in satisfaction. After the revisions, he felt that although it couldn't compare to the top scholar's paper, it was still quite good compared to the other papers.

I've folded these five essays into a stack, intending to take them to Mr. Lizhou's study for the three gentlemen to review, and after receiving their feedback, I can go home.

When I arrived at Mr. Lizhou's study, before I even knocked, I heard a burst of laughter coming from inside. It seemed that the three gentlemen were having a lively and enjoyable conversation.

He heard the usually stern Mr. Lizhou say that it was a rare occasion, and that Mr. Dazun and Mr. Tinglin should have a drinking contest. The other two gentlemen readily agreed.

Mr. Lizhou then suggested that they play the Bailiang style rhyme scheme to the end, and whoever couldn't keep up within three breaths would have to drink a cup of wine as a penalty. Would you two dare to do that? Mr. Chen and Mr. Gu immediately laughed and said, "Why wouldn't we dare?"

Then, Mr. Lizhou began with "China is fraught with danger, the Yangtze River is long".

Mr. Gu continued, "The mighty Yangtze River protects the Great Liang."

Mr. Chen said, "Let us not speak of the tragedy that came from the south in the year of Jiazi."

The room fell silent; Mr. Lizhou seemed not to have responded.

Mr. Chen and Mr. Gu laughed and said, "Brother Lizhou, let's drink..."

Two gurgling sounds followed by the sound of a porcelain bowl hitting the table.

Mr. Lizhou seemed to have finished a bowl of wine, and with a touch more bravado, continued, "Three cups of turbid wine reflect the light of the sky."

……

Then, the three of them went inside and discussed about ten sentences on their own.

Ning Nan's expression became somewhat dazed.

"I am too old and ashamed to be associated with the fragrance of ink..." said Mr. Lizhou.

"I regret not being young and wielding a long spear..." Mr. Chen stood up.

Mr. Gu concluded by saying, "When will I be buried beside the Great Wall...?"

……

Ning Nan then turned and left.

He threw his five proudly written essays into the bamboo basket that Zhibao used to sweep fallen leaves.

"Don't you want it anymore?" Zhibao exclaimed.

Ning Nan waved his hand behind him and said loudly as he walked away, "Rewrite it tomorrow."