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

With the problem unresolved, he naturally lost his appetite. After silently drinking a few more cups of wine, Shangguan Xiu decided to leave.

The fat man respectfully stood up, intending to see the seventh young master of the Marquis's mansion off, but Shangguan Xiu waved his hand, and he wisely lowered his head and stopped in his tracks.

After that somewhat desolate white figure walked away into the distance.

The fat man patted his chubby face, which was almost frozen from laughing, and asked the madam for a few girls to keep him company.

"If he is the heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, then I really have no choice, he is the seventh son born out of wedlock—"

The fat man took a sip of the wine the pretty girl had poured for him with a satisfied smile, "There's no need for that."

We were full and satisfied.

Back at the county government office.

Two hours later.

The fat man learned from others that ten years after the death of his first wife, the Marquis of Zhenguo was finally planning to promote a favored concubine to the rank of official wife next month and even planned to hold a grand banquet. He inquired out of curiosity and learned that the concubine was actually the birth mother of the Marquis of Shangguan's seventh son!

The illegitimate son became the legitimate son in the blink of an eye!

The fat man was sweating profusely and his eyes were glazed over. He hurriedly went to find the seventh young master of the Shangguan family, but he was stopped by the gatekeeper of the Marquis's mansion at the side gate and told that the seventh young master was not at home and had already left the city.

The fat man stamped his foot in frustration and quickly ordered the coachman to drive the carriage to the Jingbei Marquis's residence in the south of the city. He jumped off the carriage and knocked on the side gate of the Jingbei Marquis's residence.

"Thank you for your help! My name is Tian Xiong. I have important business with your esteemed Second Young Master Ning!" the fat man said urgently, pulling on the doorman's arm.

...

...

Yaoshan Mountain is located to the east of Lijia Village, acting like a barrier to separate Lijia Village from many other villages to the east. The mountain is not high, with an altitude of about 500 meters, and it does not cover a large area, but it is lush and green, and has many mountain products, supporting many woodcutters and hunters.

There is a stone pavilion on the top of the mountain, where literati and poets occasionally come to compose poems. It is one of the few decent attractions in the area.

Ning Nan reached the top of the mountain, stretched out his hand, and handed it to Zhu Cuicui who had followed him. Zhu Cuicui rolled her eyes at him, lightly stepped on a rock, and gracefully climbed up. Her waist was slender and agile, light and powerful. Ning Nan stared blankly for a moment, then quickly looked away.

The two walked to this simple stone pavilion.

"No name?" Zhu Cuiwei frowned.

"It doesn't have a special name." Ning Nan shook his head and sat on a stone stool. "Everyone calls this place Hawk Pavilion."

"Your injury has just healed, so breathing more fresh air will do you good."

Zhu Cuiwei frowned and said, "So, you invited me to climb the mountain for my own good?"

Ning Nan shrugged: "Otherwise what?" It's true, it's not good to stay cooped up at home all the time.

Zhu Cuiwei ignored him and sat down opposite him with an elegant and poised posture.

If it weren't for the poem he gave her last night that touched her heart, she wouldn't have wanted to say another word to him even if you beat her to death... Just thinking about how that drunkard was lying on her chest that night made Zhu Cuiwei's rosy lips purse.

It was precisely because of the other party's behavior that she began to doubt the abilities of the Imperial Guard, and she refused to rush out and reveal her identity after the other party sobered up.

Ning Nan wasn't embarrassed at all. They chatted casually, sometimes about how nice the weather was lately, sometimes about which wild animals in the mountains were stupid and which were fierce, and sometimes about each other's health. As they talked, they mentioned that this place was actually not far from Nanjing, less than sixty li away, and that they could see the city walls of Nanjing from there.

"Oh, by the way, where in the city is your Zhu family located? Jiangning County or Shangyuan County?" Ning Nan asked this question very naturally, and handed a wild fruit to the other party.

"Shangyuan." Zhu Cuiwei took a bite of the fruit; it was sweet and sour.

"Oh, Shangyuan County? Is it one of those luxurious mansions?"

Zhu Cuiwei paused for a moment, her eyes fixed on the east. The morning mist obscured her vision, but she could still vaguely make out the walls of the fortified city.

"Yes, the house is very big, very big..." It was so big that she didn't really know how big it was. She had lived there for more than ten years and had never been to every corner of the house.

Ning Nan nodded.

He spat out the pit of the mountain fruit from his mouth.

After repairing his relationship with Ms. Zhu yesterday, he suggested that Ms. Zhu write a letter home so that he could take her to Jiangning County to find her family.

Ms. Zhu hesitated for a long time before saying that she couldn't remember where her home was.

Ning Nan hurriedly said that they could go to the Zhu family mansion. The parents would be anxious if they lost their daughter. Based on her given name and handwriting, they could find Miss Zhu's family. The government had been searching for so many days with her portrait but couldn't find her. Maybe they weren't even looking. It's not uncommon for them to be incompetent and hold positions without doing their jobs.

Miss Zhu nodded, picked up the pen, but put it down again after a long pause. "I forgot to write," she said, her big eyes wide.

Ning Nan choked.

So they had no choice but to beg Cuicui.

"What do you think?" Ning Nan handed over a gourd filled with hot water.

Write a letter, and the other party will take it to Nanjing to deliver to the Zhu family, asking the Zhu family to send someone to pick her and "Miss"... Zhu Cuiwei stared at the other party with some suspicion, took the gourd, and asked, "Have you drunk from it?"

Ning Nan shook his head: "No, it's a new one, a new gourd."

Zhu Cuiwei then took a small sip of hot water, satisfied.

"Okay." She nodded. The other party was just a country boy, so there was no danger on this trip. "I'll write it when I get back. When you do, just go to Fulai Tavern on Datong Street and give the letter to the manager."

Fulai Tavern is one of the properties of the former residence of Prince Xin. The manager is a former employee of the Prince's Mansion who comes to pay his respects to the Prince once a year. He recognizes your handwriting. As long as you write one or two things about the Prince's Mansion in your letter that only he knows, he will go to the Prince's Mansion's Chief Secretary and Grand Tutor.

"A tavern?"

Ning Nan frowned.

"That's right, that's one of the Zhu family's properties."

Zhu Cuiwei nodded her chin.

There are too many people watching the Prince Xin's mansion now, and she is worried that something might happen to the young man. Going to Fulai Tavern is the safest option, since not many people know about Fulai Tavern. The Grand Tutor and the others will naturally know that the young man is someone she sent, and they will not make things difficult for him. They will only send someone they trust to accompany him and pick her up.

Ning Nan nodded to indicate that he understood, and then asked some more details, such as whether Datong Street was easy to find. The other person said that it would be visible once past Xuanjin Bridge, and when he asked about Xuanjin Bridge, the other person gave him a place name called "Shichengmen"...

As Zhu Cuiwei answered, she looked at the young man with some surprise, not expecting him to be so thoughtful.

She had thought of this idea before, and at that time she thought of having Widow Ning deliver the letter, but she had too many concerns. People in the countryside don't know how to read, and most of them may never have left the surrounding area in their entire lives. They don't even know where Nanjing is, let alone how to deliver a letter. In addition, the recipient is just an old woman, and the journey is far away. She was really worried that something might happen to her.

But if she summoned the village head or ward chief, she would inevitably have to reveal her identity, and if the news leaked out, the Imperial Guards might not arrive, but those well-connected assassins would. She didn't have many people she could trust.

But this young man was different. He was physically strong, quick-witted, and clever. Although the specific reason was unknown, he certainly had the ability to be on friendly terms with the Imperial Guards, and he was literate...

She recognized quite a few... But as soon as her thoughts turned to this, she felt rather helpless.

Including the words he wrote when it rained that day, and this poem from yesterday, that bald-headed monk must have recited four poems by now, right?

"Did you really write this poem last night?" Zhu Cuiwei couldn't help but ask.

"No," Ning Nan shook his head. "It was written by a bald-headed monk."

He saw that the other party seemed to care about this kind of thing, so he just wrote a poem to try his luck and see if he could repair the relationship... and, well, he hit the jackpot!

A bald-headed monk...

Zhu Cuiwei: "..."

She rolled her eyes at Ning Nan and stood up irritably.