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

The child ran to Ningnan's table.

Ning Nan glanced at him and said with a smile, "Xing-ge'er, sit down."

Li Xing sat down obediently.

Shangguan Xiu gave him a nonchalant glance, and Li Xing subconsciously said, "Brother Shangguan!"

Shangguan Xiu nodded and smiled in satisfaction, then ordered the waiter to bring out a plate of Five Delicacies Sliced ​​Meat.

Both he and the talented scholar couldn't eat anything, so they just ate some noodles, drank a few cups of tea, and chewed some broad beans.

The small dish of Five Treasures Sliced ​​Rice, worth eight coins, was given to that little devil Li Xing for a bargain.

Another cup of tea's time passed.

Qian Sijin stepped forward quickly and bowed his head, saying, "Young Master Ning, the Black Hero has arrived!" Ning Nan nodded.

A few breaths later, the tall, broad-shouldered blacksmith from Lijia Village came over carrying a large cloth bag.

"Big Brother," Big Black whispered.

Ning Nan didn't waste any words. He stood up, patted Xing Ge'er's head as he wiped his greasy mouth, handed Li Xing some writings, and then said to Da Hei:

"Is everything ready?"

A few short whiskers had grown under his dark chin, and a solemn expression appeared on his resolute face as he nodded.

The elder brother sent someone into the gunpowder workshop with a letter, and it took a full hour to finally get everything ready.

He put the large bag on the table and lifted the cloth.

Shangguan Xiu glanced at it, narrowed his eyes, and saw several black cloths, three bows with exaggerated and strange shapes, two quivers, many fire tumblers, and... He looked at them and saw some very small cloth bags, not knowing what they contained. There was also a small bag inside, which seemed to be wrapped in oilcloth. Hmm, there were also some lead bullets here.

Ning Nan glanced at it, silently took a breath, and after seeing that Da Hei had prepared at least five fire tumblers, he felt relieved. After a quick count and finding nothing missing, he shouted, "Let's go, get on the horse."

He brought his big white horse and handed it over to Big Black.

Big Black took out the three bows separately, wrapped them in black cloth, and hung them on the left side of the white horse. He then took out the other items and hung them on the right side of the white horse.

After getting ready, he hung the token his elder brother had given him on his waist to deal with patrols, and finally mounted his horse. Li Xing quickly climbed on and sat behind him.

Ning Nan instructed Shangguan Xiu to hand the horse to Qian Sijin to lead and told him to get into the carriage.

Qian Sijin held the reins of his brown horse with one hand and the reins of Shangguan Xiu's black horse with the other.

Walking beside the carriage.

He didn't know what Young Master Ning was planning to do, but seeing that Young Master Ning had called Commander Shangguan into the carriage, he figured it was to discuss the plan with Commander Shangguan.

At that moment, an incredulous roar came from inside the carriage: "Are you insane?"

Qian Sijin was taken aback.

The sound was soft and rustling, and quickly faded away.

However, it wasn't long before Shangguan Qianhu's angry voice could still be heard from time to time: "Are you out of your mind?", "I can't guarantee anything", "Even if there's no other way, it won't work", "You believe what they say?"...

The two seemed to have been arguing for a long time.

As the carriage approached Qiaotou Lane...

Enraged, Commander Shangguan lifted the curtain, jumped off the carriage, took the reins from him, and mounted the big black horse.

Qian Sijin glanced at the seventh young master of the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion and said softly, "Lord Shangguan," he pointed to the distance where more than thirty Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) dressed in black flying fish robes had gathered at Qiaotou Lane.

Shangguan Xiu glanced at them; they were the men he had shamelessly begged from the Commandant's Office.

Shangguan Xiu gritted his teeth.

His expression was unpredictable, shifting between light and dark.

Last night, when this person was talking about some "great achievement," he thought the other person had some special clues. He never expected that the other person would come up with such a dangerous and risky move!

This person had been earnestly explaining for half an hour, saying things like, "With Big Black behind me, there's no danger," "As long as you come quickly," "There's no other way," "They came to capture me anyway, and no matter what their purpose is, they're going to take me there; they can't just kill me directly," "Even if I'm not captured, you might not be able to touch them," "They're quite skilled"... After arguing for a long time, Shangguan Xiu finally made a compromise... because the other person simply shrugged and said, "If you don't help me, I'll do it myself."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Xiu was at a loss for what to do.

This man is both a great talent and a madman. If I don't help him, he'll definitely do it secretly on his own.

Shangguan Xiu gritted his teeth and shouted, "Pang Ting!"

A simple-looking man immediately stepped forward, and Shangguan Xiu pointed to the thirty-odd Imperial Guards in front of him and said, "Order them to change their clothes."

Pang Ting asked, "Are you bringing weapons?"

Shangguan Xiu nodded: "Take it!"

Pang Ting nodded: "Then half will be the escort agency, and the other half will be for the young master's trip." After Shangguan Xiu nodded again, Pang Ting rode off.

The carriage arrived at Qiaoshui Lane.

Ning Nan stepped down from the carriage, glanced at the Jinyiwei stronghold not far away, his pupils contracted, and then he slowly exhaled, his face ashen.

……

……

"Clang!"

A somewhat dilapidated door opened from the outside and was pushed in.

Bamboo opened her eyes and suddenly sprang up from the bed.

He had injured one eye and his finger, which had been pierced, had been in excruciating pain for the past few days. He couldn't remember how many days he had been imprisoned. Only after his injuries had healed a little in the last two days did he begin to vaguely sense the passage of time.

Ever since Ning Baixuan's fellow villager gave the order, those servants who looked like family members have indeed stopped torturing him and have been providing him with good food and drink every day.

However, he naturally knew that such days would not last long. If he, Tian Laosi, and Cheng Zhuang did not confess, they would either end up in jail or in the imperial prison sooner or later.

These past few days, he's had this feeling that the next time the door opens from the outside, it will be the Embroidered Uniform Guard coming in to arrest someone... If that's really the case, then that's great... He's not afraid, he's lived long enough in this life, it's time to go see the Ox-Head and Horse-Face King of Hell.

With a creaking sound, the newcomer revealed himself.

Bamboo was taken aback when it saw this person.

He then chuckled, got off the bed, and said in his local accent, "Fellow villager, you've come to visit."

Ning Nan remained calm as she slowly entered the room and closed the door.

He dragged a bamboo chair over and placed it next to the table, then sat down with a thud.

Bamboo sat opposite him, feeling a pang of regret for his fellow townsman Ning Baixuan. This man was very talented; even the pedantic scholar Feng Yu and the female Taoist priest Xu Xiyin said he was talented.

If the North were also under the control of the Han people, perhaps a top scholar would emerge from Hejian Prefecture.

Bamboo, with his gaping teeth, grinned and said, "We don't have any tea here."

Ning Nan didn't joke, but just stared at the bamboo. After a long while, he sighed deeply, took a package from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said in a low voice with a Hejian accent:

"Brother Bamboo, can I ask you for a favor?"

Bamboo glanced at the package on the table, then paused, stunned. "What?"

Ning Nan, his face grave, patted the package on the table with his palm:

"Inside this box... are a few strands of hair that my mother cut from my maternal grandparents' heads after they died, just as they asked... Brother Bamboo, my family... my maternal grandparents' family lived in Caojia Village, Dongshui Township, Jinghai County, Hejian Prefecture. My maternal grandparents were from Qingzhou Prefecture, but she couldn't remember exactly where... My maternal grandparents lived with my maternal grandparents... Brother Bamboo... after you return to Hejian Prefecture, could I ask you for a favor?"

Ning Nan's eyes gradually turned red, her eyes welled up with tears, and her voice trembled slightly:

"Just go to Caojia Village, find a tree for me, and bury these few strands of my grandparents' hair under it, so they can return to their roots..."

Master Ning's voice was filled with sorrow: "...and there's more."

He looked up and stared directly at the bamboo, saying:

"...Brother Bamboo...please kowtow a few times for me and my mother..."

The windows inside the house had already been nailed shut.

In the dimly lit room, only a few rays of light shone in through the cracks in the wooden planks.

Bamboo's pupils contracted slightly. At first, she didn't understand what the other person meant. Her mind was a little sluggish and confused. After a while, her breathing became rapid.

He glanced down at the gray cloth bundle on the table, then looked up at Ning Baixuan, whose eyes were unknowingly brimming with tears. After going back and forth for a few moments, his breath caught in his throat... and his heart suddenly trembled!

"Fellow villager... what do you mean...?"