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

Li Yanting's house was located at the east end of the village, similar to Ning's house, consisting of just a few mud houses. There was a pine tree in the yard, planted by the village head, Li Baoxin. Old Han, holding a book, shook his head and said that this was called the family's precious tree.

The village head went to the Taoist temple to get a talisman, hung it on the treetop, and then went to the temple to invite a senior monk to consecrate the precious tree. He also went to Hangezhuang to ask a shaman to examine Li Yanting's bones... Only then did the story of "Li Family Village producing a scholarly talent" finally become widely known.

Li Erlai lay on the earthen wall, his pockmarks even bigger than last year, with the skinny Li Xing lying next to him.

After Ning Nan arrived, the two of them jumped down.

"Big brother!"

"Big brother!"

Ning Nan nodded, glancing into the courtyard.

There were many people in the courtyard.

Almost everyone in Lijia Village, young and old, came; it was very lively inside.

An old lady even stood on the stone table, tiptoeing to peek inside.

"Walk!"

Ning Nan waved his hand.

"Hey! Uncle Jiu, make way! Make way! Everyone make way! Boiling water is here! It's hot, don't worry about it!" Li Sanzhuang held up a bowl and cleared the way.

"What are you looking at! My older brother is here!" Li Erlai glared and pushed Yang Qiniang aside. His pockmarked face twitched. Yang Qiniang cursed that the pockmarked man would never be able to find a wife in his life. The pockmarked man, unconcerned, said with a disdainful look, "My older brother will help me snatch one."

Li Xing was an honest boy. At this moment, he imitated Li Erlai, glaring at the children who were shorter than him. The children cried loudly, and Li Xing smirked with pride.

Whoosh!

Seeing the four hooligans from Lijia Village approaching, the crowd grumbled and made way for them with unconvinced expressions.

Ning the Demon was nicknamed the Rolling Tiger.

He was notorious in the area for his viciousness.

Li Sanzhuang's family rented ten mu of land from Grandpa Li.

Three years ago, the old man wanted to raise the rent. Sanzhuang's family lived downstream of the stream, and the river flooded. That year, there was no harvest, and his family couldn't pay the rent. The old man sent someone to collect the girl's sister. It was all in black and white, and Sanzhuang's father signed it.

Ning Nan was only fifteen years old that year. That night, he brought Li Sanzhuang and Li Erlai, each with a kitchen knife, and went to the door.

That brat is ruthless.

The black dog from his great-grandfather's house lunged at him. He grabbed the dog's head, twisted it to the ground, and with one stroke of his knife, chopped off the dog's head!

Poor black dog, it had just helped the old man hunt a wolf three days ago.

Ning Xiaozi grabbed the dog's head and smashed it into the old man's face.

He knocked on his great-grandfather's door with a knife and told him the names of his great-grandfather's three guards, how many people were in his family, and where they lived in that godforsaken place.

He also said that if he killed anyone today, he would take two brothers to Black Tiger Mountain to become outlaws, and come back in two years to kill their whole family.

After this outburst of fierceness, the three guards dared not make a move.

I'm not afraid of death.

Master Li and the government will deal with the other party and give him justice.

But this rascal said that if he killed anyone, he would simply go up the mountain and become an outlaw. That's different. The government can't control him. This is the behavior of a big bandit!

Now, they dared not force the brat to kill anyone.

The old man didn't make things difficult for the guards. He had someone bring out Sanzhuang's younger sister. When Nizi came back, she howled all the way, waking up the whole village. The next morning, the tenants' rent was restored to normal.

rustling --

The north wind blew.

The precious tree in the house rustled softly.

Ning Nan pushed through the layers of people, kicked off the hem of his clothes, and walked into the main room.

The home of the book-loving child is well-organized and very bright.

Li Yanting and the woman were in an inner room, and it was said that a doctor had been invited to treat the woman there.

Many people came out from the inner room. Several aunties laughed in hushed tones, saying things like, "He's quite handsome," "He's very good-looking," and "His clothes are beautiful." As soon as they saw Ning Nan arrive, they shut up and walked around him.

"Ningnan!"

Before we even entered the inner room, an old man's voice rang out from inside, his tone quite stern.

Li Sanzhuang shrank back, retreating behind his elder brother, and mumbled, "Village head!"

Village head Li Baoxin walked out with his hands behind his back, his white beard twitching twice.

Ning Nan glanced at Li Baoxin, the village head who was glaring at him, and frowned, asking, "What's wrong?"

Gray-bearded man: "What are you doing here?"

"Look at the bride that the book seed picked up." Li Erlai peeked out from behind Ning Nan.

"What are you looking at!" The white-bearded man glared, and the three treasures behind Ning Nan were so frightened that they took a step back. Many villagers who had been watching the commotion clasped their hands together and retreated with embarrassed smiles.

Ning Nan curled his lip: "I heard that the bookworm is amazing. He snatched a wife from someone else's house. I've come to learn from his experience."

"How dare you!"

Li Baoxin raised an eyebrow. In this day and age, reputation is everything. How could he tolerate such slander from this scoundrel!

"Ning boy! Yan Ting risked his life to rescue a young woman from the cliff edge of Luofeng Slope! He's a good guy doing a good deed! Don't you dare slander him!"

"Saving someone and not reporting it to the authorities? Carrying them home? Is that what a good person does?"

Li Baoxin was furious: "How are you saying we're not good people! How far is the county from our village? What do you, a country bumpkin, know? If Tingwa hadn't been carried there, he would have died! What would we have done if we hadn't carried him back to the village? Besides, I've already sent someone to report to the authorities. The yamen runners will be here soon to draw a portrait of the young lady and find her family. What business is it of yours, you four?"

"Gasou" is a local dialect word that means to insult someone as an idiot.

Ning Da sneered and said that he had read plays, and that in plays, the young women who were rescued would cry and beg to marry their saviors. He dared to say that Li Yanting was not after that.

Li Erlai chuckled and yelled, "Not for that?!"

Clang! The crowd that had been driven away by Muramasa surged back in, rubbing their hands, smacking their lips, and poking their heads in.

"Of course not."

As the white-bearded man pointed a trembling finger at Ning Da Gasou, a calm and composed young voice came from the inner room.

Li Yanting, a scholarly young man, stepped out of the inner room. He had a dignified appearance and a calm expression. His plain white clothes were stained with blood.

"I, Li Yanting, am upright and have a clear conscience. Today, I went to Luofengpo to visit a friend in Hangezhuang. I did not expect to see this young lady in distress. I have long studied the classics and received the teachings of the sages, so I did my best to help her."

His words were so formal and literary that they made Ning Nan's teeth ache.

Li Yanting looked indifferently at the scourge of the village.

"May I ask, Brother Ning, what crime have I committed?"

Once the seed of learning was revealed, even Li Erlai shrank back, somewhat resentful... This was a future scholar, and they dared not offend this future master even more than the village head.

"Then swear it?" The big scourge raised his chin.

Li Yanting smiled faintly, raised four fingers, and swore an oath by Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, parents, and teachers that if he had saved this woman out of any selfish motives, may he be struck by lightning and never be reincarnated.

Ning Nan frowned: "I'm not asking you to make this oath." He pointed to the inner room, "You have to swear that even if this young lady says she wants to marry you, you will never be tempted by her beauty, and you will never marry her even if you are beaten to death. At most, you can become sworn brothers with her, otherwise you will never be able to pass the imperial examinations... oh, no, I mean you will never be able to pass the imperial examinations."

"Big brother is right!" Li Sanzhuang shouted, banging on his bowl.

The usually composed face of the bookworm visibly flushed red: "Ning the Demon! What do you mean?"

"So that's what you mean? What? You really are just after her looks?"