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

August 22nd.

It rained a little this morning.

Light rain tapped on the banana trees outside the flower hall.

Drizzling and tinkling sounds.

Ning Nan squinted at the misty, rainy courtyard, and while eating the pastries carefully prepared by Chef Xu, asked Chun Yu.

"Did you take a paper umbrella with you when you went out, Madam?"

Chunyu sat to the side doing needlework, sewing a pair of black-soled shoes. She nodded and said, "Master, Madam brought them."

Ning Nan hummed in agreement and stuffed the last oddly shaped pastry into her mouth. Qiu Mu, taking small, quick steps, brought over a golden basin and a hot towel at just the right moment.

After washing my hands and face, I decided to go out.

His sister-in-law handed him a paper umbrella, and Ning Nan took the opportunity to remind her not to go out in the rain. As soon as he said this, Ning Nan couldn't help but find it a little funny, as if he were telling a child what to do. However, when he thought about how his sister-in-law was still suffering from amnesia and her mind was indeed a little confused, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. Qing Huan said earnestly, "Don't worry, brother-in-law." Ning Nan smiled and gave her twenty taels of silver.

The autumn rain is continuous.

When Ning Nan arrived at Willow Leaf Lane in a carriage, Qian Sijin and the others, wearing raincoats, arrived on horseback, the rain was still pouring down like beads from the sky.

Ning Nan took out five taels of silver from his pocket and instructed Uncle Ping to take the four Jinyiwei officers to the nearby restaurant for a good meal while they waited for him.

The imperial guards dared not accept his money, so they gave it to Uncle Ping instead. Uncle Ping quickly agreed, and Qian Sijin and the others showed their gratitude.

As part of their duty, they left two people wearing straw raincoats to guard outside the academy, taking turns on duty every hour.

The private school held a mock exam, which Mr. Huang called a "private test".

The question was taken from the Analects of Confucius, "Gongye Chang": "In his conduct he was respectful, and in his service to his superiors he was reverent."

Ning Nan gave a starting point: "The conduct of a gentleman is to be respectful to himself and courteous to his superiors." He then proceeded to discuss the topic, starting with the main points and working his way up to the conclusion, writing over seven hundred words. He checked and revised the text repeatedly, and finally copied it out before submitting it to Mr. Huang.

By late afternoon, Mr. Huang gave his evaluation, saying that only about half of the students in the school would pass. He also provided annotations for each essay. The students who failed were devastated, but when they heard the teacher say that the standard was the provincial examination standard, including Fatty Chu, the students breathed a sigh of relief.

The imperial examination can be taken step by step. If you can pass the first three tests this time and become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations), that would be quite good.

The judges also selected the top three in this private examination: Zuo Yong, Tang Lianbin, and Ning Nan.

Ning Nan was taken aback. He had thought he would be lucky to pass half of the tests, but he had unexpectedly gotten the third place, so he couldn't help but feel happy.

Zuo Yong and Tang Lianbin were somewhat uneasy.

When school ended, they even came to Ningnan's place to say that they were definitely not as good as Ning. Ningnan listened for a while and was both amused and exasperated. It turned out that the two of them felt bad for overpowering him.

On the one hand, he is so famous, while the other two are not, so he might feel resentful.

On the other hand, if word got out that they had outmaneuvered Leng Lengqing, the two of them would likely become a laughingstock.

Ning Nan frowned and thought for a moment, then said that poetic talent was not literary talent. He cited Xu Wenchang, a poet of unparalleled talent from the former Liang Dynasty who repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, as an example. He helplessly spread his hands and said, "Brother Zuo, Brother Tang, my only wish is to pass the provincial examination and not be called Xu Wenchang. I would be content." The two of them breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Ning Nan really didn't care.

When I came out of school.

The rain started again.

The knocking echoed on the blue bricks and white tiles of the school.

Ning Nan sighed as he watched the beaded curtain dripping continuously.

Then he opened the paper umbrella again.

At night.

Ning Nan was very pleased when Gongsun Heng, Senior Brother Feng, and Li Yanting came to visit again.

This time, Senior Brother Feng not only brought the invaluable chess set, but also a jar of fine wine, laughing and saying, "A thousand cups are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend!"

Seeing Feng's generous spirit, Ning Nan smiled and ordered his servants to bring out several dishes of peanuts, broad beans, and dried bean curd to accompany his drinks.

To his surprise.

I originally thought that Senior Brother Feng's academic achievement was only that of a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination), and that he had not passed the provincial-level imperial examination for ten years, so his level should not be very high.

They drank wine while playing chess.

I discovered that this Senior Brother Feng was a man of great learning and knowledge, able to talk about everything from the Northern Dynasties of the Liang Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the Six Dynasties, and the end of the Han Dynasty.

Senior Brother Feng wasn't just talking about fictionalized accounts or superficial discussions like those in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When he saw the Shu brocade in Qinghuan's hands, he could recount the story of Zhuge Liang's governance of Shu, saying, "I only rely on brocade." When he saw a banana tree, he could tell the story of Huaisu practicing calligraphy on a banana tree. He could readily cite various allusions and even list the wine connoisseurs, chess masters, famous jades, famous swords, and famous manuals from various dynasties for Ningnan, saying, "Among the chess games that can be compared with the Laurel Chess Game, I, your humble brother, would count six more."

Ning Nan couldn't help but gasp, wondering just how many books this person had read.

As Ning Nan placed his piece, he sighed deeply, feeling that his senior brother Feng was having trouble passing the imperial examinations and that he might be the second Xu Wenchang, a man of talent who was not recognized.

However, after drinking all night, Ning Nan discovered that Senior Brother Feng was skilled in many things, but his most impressive ability was to persuade others to drink.

All he had to do was blush and redden his eyes and say, "Junior brother, do you think your senior brother's academic achievements are too low?" Li Yanting would then have no choice but to listen to his advice and drink another cup of wine.

The wine that Senior Brother Feng brought was strong and aged. After being warmed, it had a rich and fragrant aroma. Even with Ning Nan's large capacity for alcohol, he felt a little dizzy after drinking three large cups, let alone a student like him.

After finishing three games of the Laurel Chess Game, Gongsun Heng memorized the game records and was also given a small cup by her senior brother Feng. After drinking just this small cup, the young girl immediately blushed and felt dizzy.

The bookworm was already drunk, lying on the table, completely unaware of his surroundings.

Feng Yu looked smug and laughed heartily.

It will be midnight.

Cui Cui's wife hasn't come home yet.

Feng Yu rubbed his forehead, glanced at the dizzy Gongsun Heng, and said with a wry smile:

"Brother Bai Xuan, there's a difference between men and women. Could you please have one of your maids escort my junior sister?"

Although Ning Nan was also quite drunk, he had a surprisingly high alcohol tolerance. At this moment, he was perfectly sober and laughed, saying that there was nothing wrong with that.

He asked Qian Sijin for a token, then ordered Chunyu and Qiumu to help Miss Gongsun into the carriage. He gave the token to Uncle Ping and instructed Uncle Ping and the two maids to deliver Miss Gongsun to her maid at Bailu Academy before returning.

Senior Brother Feng has an amazing capacity for alcohol.

He drank the most.

Even in the darkness of night, he could still carry the heavily intoxicated bookworm onto Miss Gongsun's carriage.

If Miss Gongsun were here...

He and the bookworm naturally sat with the coachman.

Miss Gongsun is not here.

He then let out a few "hey-ho" sounds and threw the drunken bookworm into the car.

He sat with the driver, hiccuping a few times while waving goodbye to Ning Nan, looking quite carefree.

Ning Nan smiled and said goodbye, thinking to himself that this Senior Brother Feng was truly a remarkable person.

Cui Cui's wife didn't return until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM). By then, Ning Nan had already drunk five bowls of hangover soup and was so tired from waiting that his eyelids were drooping.

Zhu Cuiwei was already very tired, but when she saw him like this, she still took him to take a bath, and then went back to bed. Because he slept so late, he was sleepy the next day and went to work an hour late.

The next day.

The autumn rain has not stopped.

On the evening of August 23rd.

Only Gongsun Heng came.

Gongsun said resentfully, "After Senior Brother Feng drank so much last night, his classmates said he's still sleeping and can't come today." Ning Nan smiled upon hearing this.

Since Senior Brother Feng wasn't coming, the bookworm dared not ride in the same carriage with her to avoid gossip, so she didn't come either.

Ning Nan then personally played several rounds of the Laurel Chess Game with Gongsun Heng's disciple, who was extremely excited.

Around midnight, Cui Cui's wife returned home.

Ning Nan slept soundly again.

Early morning of August 24th.

The autumn rains have not yet stopped.

As dawn broke, the Prince Xin's mansion became noisier than ever before, far more so than usual. Ning Nan, half asleep, struggled to keep his eyelids open for a while before pulling the blanket over his head tightly.