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

Da da da, da da da!

Uncle Ping, the old coachman of Ningfu, cracked his whip and drove the carriage through the deep night, a hint of joy on his wrinkled face.

He secretly named this incredibly stamina-bound yellow horse Ping Er. All three grooms in the manor said that Ping Er had the best temperament of any horse they had ever seen.

He was delighted to hear this, and with a smile he handed the man a handful of roasted beans, saying, "It pulls the cart for the master every day, so feed it some good stuff." The groom, while gathering the fodder, rolled his eyes at him, "It's all good stuff."

Uncle Ping smiled and stuffed a handful of beans into his mouth, chewing them with a crunchy sound. This was one of the things he admired most about the master.

The master is truly exceptional in his treatment of the horses in the manor. Even a seemingly unremarkable yellow horse like Ping Er is fed the finest feed, unlike in the previous manor where Ping Er, who did the most work, rarely had a full meal.

He was on tenterhooks all day, worried that Ping Er, who hadn't had a proper rest since last night, would get diarrhea on the road and be unable to run.

Unexpectedly, even after taking the young lady from Bailu Academy home and traveling back and forth for almost an hour, Ping Er's twelve-year-old horse was still walking briskly and breathing steadily.

This actually made him somewhat relieved. At this moment, the whip he was lashing at Ping Er was a light lash that didn't hurt or itch. Listening to the sound of hooves coming from the ground, he was planning in his mind that he would have to go and nail a shin nail to Ping Er's palm in a few days.

"Thank you, Uncle Ping!"

Chunyu and Qiumu, two sleepy maids, jumped off the carriage. Uncle Ping quickly smiled and said, "You two are too kind."

Chunyu rubbed her eyes, smiled, waved goodbye, took Qiumu's hand, and the two of them jogged all the way to the second courtyard.

Qiu Mu yawned and ran to the kitchen, intending to boil some hot water for the two of them to wash up.

Chunyu went to the flower hall to see if the master was asleep. If he wasn't asleep, she would stay until she had served him to bed.

The Ning family's flower hall was brightly lit. The master, with his hair somewhat disheveled, was sleeping on the table, covered only by a blue blanket. Even standing at the door, one could hear his loud snoring. The little maid couldn't help but smile.

In the afternoon, seeing the master sitting in the flower hall writing and drawing with a fierce look, she and Qiu Mu were both a little worried. They had never seen the usually amiable master like this before. And the madam hadn't been home for several days, so the two of them couldn't help but feel uneasy.

It wasn't until Mr. Feng, Mr. Li, and Miss Gongsun arrived in the evening that the master's expression softened a bit out of politeness. He even played chess and drank some wine with Mr. Feng. Only after seeing this did she and Qiu Mu breathe a sigh of relief.

Tap, tap, tap... The little maid took small steps and slowly walked to the square table where the master was lying.

Carefully drag the chessboard away a bit, just in case the master wakes up and ruins the game when I call him to go back to his room to sleep.

Chunyu pursed her lips, dragged the chessboard away, and carefully nudged the master's shoulder: "Master...Master...go back to your room and sleep...you'll catch a cold..."

The maid's voice was soft.

At this moment, the old man, who was lying on the table, grunted an "uh-huh" but continued to snore loudly.

Upon hearing this voice, Chunyu frowned. Why did the master's voice sound so strange?

"I hope he hasn't really caught a cold..."

The maid muttered something to herself.

He stepped forward, intending to lift the blanket draped over the master.

Upon approaching... I saw the old man's profile...

The maid's pupils first showed a hint of doubt, but after looking down carefully, her pupils suddenly contracted.

With a press of two tiny hands, the head that was lying on the table was turned around... and then, a sharp explosion shattered the peaceful sky of Ning Mansion!

"Aaaaaaah...Young Master Li!"

The urgent, loud scream instantly woke Qiu Mu, who was dozing off in the kitchen while boiling water.

Xu Cheng, who was dozing off against the vermilion pillars of the main hall, suddenly turned around.

Qian Sijin, who was taking turns keeping watch with Xu Cheng and getting one hour of sleep each, also suddenly turned over and got out of bed.

A breath later, a jumble of footsteps converged on the flower hall.

After a dozen or so breaths, the sound of chaotic footsteps spread out again from the flower hall.

Some people rode two horses to Qingliang Mountain.

Some people gathered in large groups, holding torches, and rushed to Bailu Academy.

The two maids, Chunyu and Qiumu, were no longer sleepy and ran to wake up the coachman, Uncle Ping, with pale faces.

When Uncle Ping heard about this, he was dumbfounded. He then turned around and ran to bring out Ping Er, the big yellow horse that was sleeping.

He kept calling out "Ouch! Ouch!" while stroking the mane of the big yellow horse, muttering, "Son, son... wake up, wake up... come on, come on, let's take the two girls to find the master, to find the master..."

Qian Sijin, a newly promoted captain in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, rode his horse with unfocused pupils, closely following the carriage as it galloped towards Bailu Academy...

……

Nausea, dizziness, darkness, shortness of breath, stomach cramps...

He frowned, feeling extremely uncomfortable all over. His mouth was dry, his stomach was churning, and he felt like vomiting.

He involuntarily murmured a few syllables that were not meaningful.

"Clang, clang," a few crisp sounds.

A faint fragrance wafted to his nose, and he took a sniff.

"confused……"

A stream of cool water, like a clear spring, flowed into my mouth, making it moist and full, and my throat involuntarily tumbled.

Water flowed in.

The moment my throat was moistened with water, I felt much better.

After flowing into the stomach, the stomach calmed down considerably.

call.

He let out a long breath and fell into a deep sleep again.

After an unknown amount of time, he felt his eyes were swollen and sore.

I can't open my eyes.

I tried to rub it with my hands, but found that I couldn't seem to feel the presence of my hands.

After a while.

As consciousness gradually returned, I finally sensed where my hands were, but... um... my hands seem... immobile?

I frowned and took another look. It seemed like I was lying on my side, my left hand was pinned down by my body and I couldn't move it, and my right hand was on top of me but I couldn't move it either... It seemed like both of my hands were behind my back?

He took a few long breaths, moved his upper arm, then his forearm, then his wrist, and finally his fingers.

He clenched his fist, and feeling the strength in his palm, he finally understood his situation... It seemed like he was... tied up?

Both hands were tied behind his back?

He was somewhat confused, even wondering if he was dreaming. Confusion fermented in his mind, as if he were in a fog and chaos.

As he moved his wrist again, a crisp "clang" sounded, and a tearing pain shot through his wrist, confirming that he was not dreaming.

He touched the thing binding his hands with his fingers again; his fingertips were icy cold, like touching a piece of metal.

As his consciousness gradually returned, Master Ning of the Ning family suddenly had an absurd thought... that he seemed to be handcuffed?

Handcuffs…didn’t I give the blueprints for these things to the Embroidered Uniform Guard myself?

Who would use this thing to handcuff themselves, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

In a daze, a sound came over.

"Are you awake?"

"No, no..."

"Master Feng's strategy is indeed brilliant..."

"Damn it, what a brilliant move you've made! You surnamed Feng, you motherfucker, you stole three jars of my good wine..."

"Brother Peng, three jars of wine were enough to accomplish the great task of the Right Protector. Do you think it was worth it?"

"Worth it for nothing..."

"Master Feng, why not use poison? Why not use that anesthetic powder from Nun Xu…?"

"That stuff smells awful, it even makes the alcohol rot... Besides, do you have a way to poison him but not me?"

"Old Feng, why did you kidnap this young lady? Your whereabouts have been exposed. Are you taking her north to be your wife?"

"To be a mother's wife...sigh...this is my junior sister...I can't leave her out...she saw this...don't touch her, we'll get some money from the Gongsun family later..."

……

pat.

pat.

After an unknown amount of time, a few drops of warm water hit her face. Ning Nan took a breath, her eyelashes trembled, and she finally slowly opened her sore eyes.

With a quick glance, what came into view was a face flushed like a peach blossom, with tears streaming down like a broken string of pearls.