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

After Han Chang finished speaking, he didn't say anything more and glanced at the night outside.

It's probably around midnight.

Just then.

Someone came to report, "Distinguished guests have arrived. Lord Dachun and Lord Nilong are waiting for the Third Prince."

Han Chang was stunned for a moment, put down the book in his hand, and smiled at Chen San, "You should go and rest first." Chen San nodded in agreement. He was a "bondservant slave" and was not allowed to appear in such a situation.

Han Chang stood up, wearing a bright yellow mandarin jacket and a melon-shaped hat, and pushed open the door to go out.

Moonlight bathed the courtyard.

On the veranda, a Manchu man carrying a lantern led the way for him.

Not long after.

They then walked to a side room.

The room was brightly lit.

Da Chun, who had a full beard but spoke in a soft voice, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This servant greets the Third Prince."

Nilon, who was standing to the side, also knelt down with two soft murmurs, "This servant pays his respects to Your Highness!"

Han Chang smiled and said, "Please rise, both of you."

He glanced at it and saw a map spread out on the round table inside the room.

Two distinguished guests stood beside the round table, bowing to him.

Ambassador Rostov, with blond hair and grey eyes, smiled and spoke a few words in Rostov's language. The portly interpreter beside him translated with a smile, "Nikolai Rostov greets Your Excellency."

Han Chang smiled and said, "Greetings, Ambassador Rostov."

He slowly walked to the round table and glanced at the map on it.

Yingtian Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture... Jiangxi... Yunnan... Guangzhou... Fujian... Han Chang narrowed his eyes slightly and saw that many coastal places were marked with red lines.

Rostov mumbled something in his speech.

The fat man translated, "We need the ocean."

……

……

The next day.

The rooster crows three times.

The dawn was breaking across the sky.

Ning Nan gulped down water, rinsed his mouth with salt, and spat it out with a "plop," leaving a wet patch on the ground.

There are still nine days until Prince Xin ascends the throne.

The Prince Xin's mansion next door was bustling with activity, with carriages and horses constantly passing by, creating a noisy environment that was driving him crazy.

Steward Wang explained that this was because the Prince Xin's residence had become the Eastern Palace, and with guests coming in droves, the Emperor had also delegated many government affairs to the Prince Xin's residence. After the Prince Xin's residence finished handling these matters, they were turned into a series of decrees, which caused some unrest. He said things would be fine once His Highness ascended the throne.

Ning Nan had no choice but to endure it for a few more days. What he was most worried about was that his wife, Cuicui, wouldn't be able to sleep well.

However, just like in Li Family Village, Cui Cui's wife was very easy to take care of, and she never complained about the Prince Xin's Mansion in private.

When Steward Wang said these words, he was actually quite uneasy, worried that the young master might say something outrageous in his youthful arrogance. Fortunately, the master was young and sensible, so he just nodded and didn't say anything more.

I heard recently that the master is a talented man, and his talent is said to be exceptionally high. However, in his experience, without the protection of an official position, even the greatest talent is just so-so.

Back when this was the residence of the Vice Minister of Rites, countless talented scholars from all over the country came to pay their respects to the Vice Minister every day, and every one of them would politely address him as "Uncle Wang".

After this place became the Ning residence, the people who came to visit the most were the Imperial Guards. Every time they came, they terrified him, thinking that his home was about to be raided.

When I was in charge of the residence of the Vice Minister of Rites, I could not be considered arrogant when I went out, but I always maintained a certain level of decorum.

After the new master took over, he and the servants in the mansion were always inferior to the other servants on the street when they went out to buy wine or other things. They were afraid that if they offended anyone, their master, who was not a commoner, would not only be unable to protect them, but might even whip them a few times, tie them up, and send them over to be vented on... Fortunately, such a thing never happened.

Ning Nan was naturally unaware of the servants' various thoughts, and even if he did, he wouldn't care too much. As long as he worked diligently, it didn't matter if he muttered a few words to himself, "The master is a commoner, I have no face."

Cui Cui's mother went to the yamen early again. After having breakfast with her sister-in-law, she thought that her sister-in-law was not in good health, so she instructed her sister-in-law's two maids, Xia Wan and Dong Ying, to take the second young lady to the garden more often to exercise. The two maids coldly said "Yes", but the sister-in-law, who was gentle, said "Thank you for your concern, brother-in-law".

The Ning family had many flowers planted everywhere, including plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums. There were also many crabapple trees planted outside his room. However, he and his wife, Cui Cui, were busy every day and had no time to look at them. It was only after his sister-in-law was born that the flowers and the servants who planted them finally had an audience.

While waiting for Uncle Ping to harness the big yellow horse to the carriage.

Ning Nan idly flipped through the essay questions that the "Reading Seed" had recently been working on. Seeing that most of the questions were from Mencius, he thought he should take a look at and do a few more questions on Mencius, lest the "Reading Seed" actually guess the right questions.

The imperial examination this year is a done deal, and Prince Xin will announce it to the world after he ascends the throne.

Preparations are already underway for the imperial examination hall and other facilities in Jiangning County.

Chu Pangzi learned from a student with connections at the Imperial Academy that the county examination in Jiangning County would begin in the middle of next month.

This scientific expedition is intended to reassure scholars; many things will not be done in a conventional manner, and they must be prepared at all times.

After boarding the carriage, Qian Sijin and the other three rode horses to guard the area.

The group drove off towards Phoenix Tail Street with great pomp and circumstance, like a prince on an inspection tour.

Today, the Education Commissioner of Yingtian Prefecture held a literary gathering at Tianjinlou on Fengwei Street. In addition to the Education Commissioner, the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, the Magistrate of Shangyuan County, and the Magistrate of Jiangning County were also present.

The imperial examination consisted of three parts: the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the provincial examination. The chief examiners were the county magistrate, the prefectural magistrate, and the education commissioner, respectively.

Today, the chief examiners of the first three examinations have gathered together, making it a big day for the candidates from Yingtian Prefecture, especially from Shangyuan and Jiangning counties.

This was because Dong Xuezheng had just taken office when Prince Xin ascended the throne and opened a special imperial examination. He wanted to get to know the candidates of this year's examination. If it were any other time, he probably wouldn't have had such an opportunity.

Ning Mansion is located on Datong Street, which is very close to Fengwei Street, so we arrived there quickly.

Tianjinlou is quite famous in Beijing, renowned for its exquisite Huaiyang cuisine. However, what makes Tianjinlou most famous is not its cuisine, but the fact that it once collected the calligraphy of the Eight Masters of Longchang.

Eight famous officials who passed the imperial examination during the Longchang era once held a literary gathering at Tianjinlou. Taking the "Butcher's Calligraphy" as an example, each of them used their best calligraphy skills to write a piece of the "Butcher's Calligraphy".

Among the eight scholars, one of them is the now-famous Liu Zhenxi. However, the scholar Liu used the running script at that time, instead of the Wei stele style that he later mastered. This made the scholar Liu only second, and the first place was given to the current second-in-command of the cabinet, Gao Congzhe, who wrote a vigorous and slender Yan style.

The fog was thick on the street.

It was indeed quite early, and most of the pedestrians were vendors. Ning Nan got off the carriage early and ordered Uncle Ping and Qian Sijin to find a place to feed the horses. When they arrived at Tianjinlou, they looked inside and saw only a few people sitting there.

Tianjinlou has already hung up a sign with red background and black characters, saying that it will only be accepting candidates from Yingtian Prefecture today.

The guests who were turned away were not annoyed at all. Instead, they praised Tianjinlou for its generosity and said that Tianjinlou had a sense of hometown sentiment. The waiter also responded with a smile, saying, "Sorry, sorry, would you like to have a bowl of wine to warm yourselves up?" The guests smiled and said no, no, and then left to find another restaurant.

Although Ning Nan lived in Shangyuan County, he was actually from Jiangning County. He took out his household registration certificate from his pocket and showed it to the waiter.

The waiter glanced at him, then looked away, and politely asked with a smile, "Young Master Ning, may I ask if you are a student at the Imperial Academy?"

Ning Nan paused for a moment, then shook his head.

The waiter then asked, "Are you a student of Bailu Academy?"

Ning Nan's expression froze again, and he said, "Well, not exactly."

"What about Qifeng Academy?"

"no."

"What about Mingli Academy?"