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

"no."

Hearing his second uncle's question, Ning Nan shook his head, a slight look of doubt in his eyes:

"My wife has been quite busy with official duties these past few days. Yesterday, she rested at the yamen and did not return home."

Zhu Ensong's eyes flickered, and he quickly nodded, saying with a sigh, "Oh, that child must have had a hard time."

As if the heavens were about to unleash another autumn rain, the sky suddenly turned gloomy and overcast.

The stark white light shone directly onto the broken bricks and tiles on the ground, adding to the desolate scene.

When the wind blew, the tiles swayed on the ground like roly-poly toys, crashing against the bluestone floor, which already had several cracks.

Several servants ran up the steps, lifted the crossbeam, and with a creak, closed the Ning Mansion's gate. They then picked up dustpans and brooms and began cleaning up the broken bricks in the front yard.

Ning Nan waved his hand, beckoning Chef Xu and Chun Yu Qiu Mu to go to the kitchen to make tea.

He spread his hands, inviting his second uncle and his second uncle's advisor to sit in the flower hall for a while.

They hadn't gone far when they heard Chef Xu complaining to her two maids, "They've broken so many bowls!" Chunyu chimed in, "They're really wicked!"

Ning Nan listened to their words in silence. More than anything, he wanted to know what kind of criminal the imperial court was suddenly arresting, that it had gone to such great lengths.

Even now, although my home is quiet, Datong Street has become lively again.

"Bang, bang, bang," the soldiers were banging on the door; ping-pong, the soldiers were smashing someone's jars; "Get out here, line up, search!" the soldiers shouted and cursed... coupled with the sound of orderly footsteps and horses' hooves passing by, the tense atmosphere was terrifying.

If it weren't for what he had just experienced, he would have even thought that the Northern Dynasty was moving south and that the imperial court was preparing for war.

As Ning Nan walked, he frowned and asked his second uncle if he knew what had happened outside.

Zhu Ensong glanced at him, then shook his head, saying that he lived near Xuanwu Lake and that his family's house had also been searched, by the city gate commander.

Worried that his nephew-in-law might encounter trouble since he lived so close to the palace, Ning Nan rushed over to check on him. Ning Nan immediately expressed his gratitude, saying that his second uncle had gone to great lengths.

Dou Yuan frowned, his folding fan tightly closed, and he remained silent the whole way, simply following closely behind the two people who were talking ahead.

There is a small lake in the front yard of Ning Mansion. Floating in the lake are all sorts of things: leaves, branches, withered flowers, and even some scraps of cloth.

The once beautiful landscape had been destroyed, leaving it in ruins. Dou Yuan's pupils constricted slightly.

As you walk onto the small bridge, you'll see the old steward of the Ning family arranging for people to take a small boat to the lake to retrieve the debris.

Dou Yuan stared intently, then stretched out his hand and stroked the knife marks on the vermilion railing of the small bridge.

The marks were fresh, untouched by wind and rain, scattered haphazardly and chaotically, like wildly cleaved by knives and axes, exuding a chilling aura. It must have been those low-level martial artists taking the opportunity to vent their anger.

For families who are particular about their appearance, the railings will need to be replaced.

Stepping onto the wooden arch bridge, Dou Yuan glanced around and saw a large, slightly yellow banana leaf slowly floating on the lower right side of the bridge. Before long, it bumped into a tree branch, causing ripples on the water's surface.

The two collided and floated in different directions, the banana leaf then bumping into half a withered chrysanthemum.

Dou Yuan blinked and looked away.

After crossing the bridge, the state of the main hall inside the courtyard was even worse.

Many seats were damaged; fine sandalwood chairs were inexplicably dismantled and torn apart, leaving a mess of wood chips scattered everywhere. Several doors appeared to have been kicked open and were half-fallen over. There were also shattered vases and potted plants on the ground.

"Please excuse my poor attempt."

Ning Nan glanced around, gave a wry smile, and said...

"It's like our home has been ransacked."

His Highness Prince Qi of Daliang waved his hand and laughed:

"It's alright, it's alright. My second uncle's house was also smashed up by those brutes."

Dou Yuanwei, who was behind, lowered his head slightly.

The Qi Prince's residence was indeed searched. The Shence Gate guard was in charge of that area, and Chen Mu personally led the search.

Chen Mu certainly didn't have the guts to smash up the Qi Prince's mansion, but he did thoroughly search the entire mansion, inside and out, though he was very polite, and the mansion didn't suffer any major damage.

The second courtyard of the Ning residence was in an even worse state. The garden was completely destroyed. Not to mention the flowers and plants, the ground looked like it had been plowed over, as if the soldiers were checking for a cellar. Ning Nan sighed again.

Dou Yuan remained silent the entire way.

Upon arriving at the second courtyard's main hall, the servants had already tidied it up, ensuring they had at least a place to sit.

Ning Nan invited the two of them to sit down.

He thought his second uncle would come over with something important, like Sujin Pavilion.

He had originally intended to say something, that his son-in-law had taken over the nobleman's business, and although he had encountered some problems, he had managed to avoid squandering it all and had resolved all the issues.

As Cui Cui's wife once said, 70% of Su Jin Ge's share belongs to her, while the remaining 30% belongs to her, her husband, and her aunt, which is Ning's Trading Company.

However, Ning Nan thought that the "70% chance" referring to his wife was naturally referring to her maternal family, the Zhu family, not to her personally.

I was just trying to show my appreciation that I haven't squandered your Zhu family's business; in fact, I've expanded it. You'll definitely get your share of the profits this year.

Unexpectedly, the other party didn't mention it at all, so he couldn't take credit for it.

Chunyu served tea, its aroma wafting and steam rising, and my mind finally calmed down along with the tea.

The second uncle didn't talk to him about anything important; he just asked how Cui Cui's wife was doing, whether she was tired, and how her nephew-in-law was doing.

It was quite heartwarming. After chatting for a while, the second uncle picked up his teacup with a smile and said that he had important matters to attend to and would be taking his leave today. Ning Nan hurriedly got up to see him off.

Dou Yuan remained silent, only smiling as he followed King Qi.

The two followed the path they had come from, and with the host of the Ning family seeing them off, they walked out of the Ning family mansion gate.

They got into the black carriage, one after the other.

The carriage rolled along for a while, leaving behind puddles of water and broken pieces of mud and tiles on the ground.

"Mr. Dou."

Zhu Ensong leaned back against the main seat of the carriage and shouted with lightning-fast eyes.

However, he only shouted it once, without saying anything else, and there was no follow-up.

call.

Dou Yuan's eyes were deep and thoughtful. He exhaled a breath from his lungs, and after a moment, a glint of light flashed in his eyes. He said in a deep voice:

"Your Highness, the grand ceremony cannot be abandoned... This is indeed an opportunity."

Zhu Ensong's short beard trembled slightly, and he unconsciously pressed his hands on his knees.

L.

L.

The autumn rain began to fall, tapping on the roof of the carriage and blowing against the curtains. When the curtains were lifted, the autumn rain was also falling on the blue bricks and white tiles on both sides.

The interior of the car was dimly lit.

After a long period of struggle and reflection.

Zhu Ensong finally raised his head and looked at the chief advisor of the Prince Qi's residence sitting to his side. His chest heaved, and after a long while, he spoke in a suppressed voice:

"Call Cheng Qianqiu over..."

……

……

The autumn rain is pattering down.

Like a broken string of beads, the drops fell onto the paper umbrella held up by Ning Nan.

He cooked a bowl of noodles to comfort his sister-in-law with the delicious food before leaving the house.

The entire city of Nanjing was in chaos, with everyone filled with fear and unease.

Squads of soldiers and Imperial Guards constantly patrolled the streets, searching house to house for so-called imperial criminals.

He had three bronze medals given to him by Fan Shiwei, and although he was questioned a few times, he had a relatively smooth journey.

First, I went to Qiaotou Lane and gave Erlai a bronze plaque to prevent them from being accidentally injured, and then I went to the private school in Liuye Lane.

The students in the private school were also restless, their minds unsettled by the tense atmosphere throughout the city.

Mr. Huang then had Zhibao light sandalwood incense in the school and calmly told everyone a story about the former Liang dynasty.

It is said that during the provincial examination in a certain place, the earth shook and many students were so frightened that they could not write and scurried around like rats. Only one student in blue robes remained as steady as Mount Tai.

Even as the roof tiles fell and shattered into countless pieces on the ground, and even as the table creaked and rattled, his wrists did not tremble even slightly. Upon seeing this, the local education commissioner declared that this man possessed great courage and talent and should become a pillar of the nation.

Later, this person indeed won first place in the provincial examination, passed the provincial examination on his first attempt, passed the metropolitan examination, and even ranked second in the palace examination.

In the morning he was Tian Shelang, and in the evening he ascended to the Hall of the Son of Heaven.

He was only in his early twenties, yet he wore official hats and flowers, and in one day he rode his horse all over the capital, which made everyone who heard about it yearn for him.

Mr. Huang stood at the front and coldly raised his chin, saying:

"The capital is not suddenly transformed by an earthquake. Do you all lack even this much resolve? Even if the Northern Dynasty were to march south, so what? It would simply be a matter of throwing down our pens, going to the city gates to defend the city to the death. What's the big deal! You're even making such a fuss that you can't concentrate on your studies!"