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

The moonlight was hazy.

Silver sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, dappling the woods of Xiaoyanshan.

Xiaoyanshan Mountain is large, but its terrain is not high. The main river flows eastward, and about thirty or forty miles west of Xiaoyanshan Mountain, a small tributary branches off, flows into the mountain, passes through Xiaoyanshan Mountain, and then flows into the main river downstream.

Halfway up Xiaoyanshan Mountain, the lake called Yanhu is already full of water.

The boat inside floated up, but because it was anchored, it hadn't yet drifted downstream.

"This is the hiding place we prepared a long time ago. We built a boat in the woods, and the downstream river channel has been secretly widened. We built a dam to store water. Once the dam is opened, we can go straight into the Yangtze River in a little while."

The man in black wearing a Guan Gong mask sighed deeply and said:

"We have to go, or the warships that were relocated will be back."

After the officials of the Eastern Palace and the female officials were escorted out by several Imperial Guards and rushed down the mountain, Ning Nan stopped wearing the Kitchen God mask.

He frowned and asked, "Why would I be the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect?"

This was something he still couldn't understand. Less than a quarter of an hour ago, this person suddenly threw him an iron plaque with some kind of special pattern engraved on it, saying that he was the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect and that he could command everyone in the Heavenly Principle Sect, including the Right Protector. He naturally didn't want such a strange leader.

The other party offered a condition: regardless of whether he became the leader or not, as long as he accepted the plaque, they would immediately release the ministers of the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, they would have no choice but to let him fight to the death with the Right Protector's faction. At the same time, the other party also proposed another condition: to take away all the remaining members of the Heavenly Principle Sect.

Ning Nan thought about it briefly, and after discussing it with Qin Yuanyao, the two of them naturally agreed, since it was just a matter of accepting a plaque anyway.

After agreeing, he was about to board the boat, but Guan Yu stopped him, saying that great kindness can be as great hatred as great enmity. Now is the most embarrassing time for those ministers of the Eastern Palace. If you go to their rescue and see their most embarrassing state, they will be grateful now, but in the future, when they think of today, it will be like a huge rock in their hearts, and they may even accuse you of being the mastermind of the rebellion.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is different; after all, that's their job. If the Embroidered Uniform Guard goes to rescue someone, the person who should be grateful is the Emperor. It's only right that they don't owe the Embroidered Uniform Guard a favor, but rather the Emperor.

Such favors are naturally better the more one owes them. The emperor's favor is as vast as the sea; the more one owes, the more the emperor trusts them.

Ning Nan thought about it for a moment and felt that what the other person said made a lot of sense, so he picked up the Kitchen God mask and put it on.

After rescuing Princess Tang, they learned from her that Prince Xin had not been arrested, nor had his wife, Cui Cui. Instead, she was under the command of Commander Yan of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital, assisting Prince Xin.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief, realizing why he hadn't seen Cui Cui among the group of female officials when he looked left and right.

The remaining dozens of members of the Heavenly Principle Sect were boarding the ship one after another. Those who were injured, such as Xu Tianji and Shen Shou, as well as Xing Kaiyang and others, were carried onto the ship on stretchers.

The glaze on the Guan Gong mask reflected the torches on the boat, casting a dim, flickering light that appeared and disappeared intermittently.

He stood on the shore, gazing at the large ship, and said calmly, "There are two reasons. First, the old leader chose you as the new leader."

"The old cult leader?" Ning Nan frowned.

Guan Yu shook his head, saying nothing more, only saying, "He's elusive, but he chose you. Whether we're convinced or not is another matter; we have no choice but to accept it. As for the second reason..."

Guan Gong turned his head, and a pair of clear and deep eyes looked at him.

"It means your sister agreed to let you become the leader." The implication was that if Ning Nan's sister hadn't agreed, he wouldn't have supported Ning Nan becoming the leader.

Ning Nan was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "I don't have a sister."

Guan Gong, hidden behind the mask, seemed to smile:

"I'm talking about your older sister in the north. Ning Beiwang died twenty years ago, and you were only eighteen then, so you're not his child. With your intelligence, you must have known this long ago. Hmm, your adoptive mother is very good. Your sister knows you have such a good adoptive mother, and she's very happy and relieved for you in the north."

Ning Nan remained calm on the surface, but his pupils narrowed slightly, and a wave of emotion surged within him.

elder sister?

Guan Yu continued, "Your sister has a leg ailment and cannot travel south to see you. If there is an opportunity, I hope you can travel north someday, and I will protect you."

Guan Gong's voice seemed to drift away at times and be heavy at others.

"...When you were born, you didn't cry, and then your mother died. Your older sister was only seven years old at the time, and she cried uncontrollably, thinking you had died too. She carried you and held my hand, walking for a long time until we finally found a house where a baby had just been born. The mother there took you to breastfeed, patting you for a while before you finally cried. Your sister cried too, and seeing your sister so sad, I couldn't help but cry as well. Ah..."

Deep night.

Guan Yu chuckled, then his voice abruptly stopped.

He glanced at Ning Nan one last time.

"Well, whether it's Feng Yu, Ge Jianhong, or anyone else you've captured, if they're not dead, as long as you show them that iron token, they'll be at your service. Of course, if you think they're useless, you can kill them. Don't worry too much about it. If the leader wants to order us around, he can go to the Qiudao Temple in the south of the city."

That's all.

He stepped onto the plank and boarded the boat.

The people on the ship furled the anchor and hoisted the sails.

The wind was howling.

The large ship, laden with torches, sailed downstream.

The water roared loudly.

Ning Nan stood on the water plants on the shore and squinted his eyes.

A bright moon is reflected in the center of the lake.

The hour of Zi has passed, and today is the 29th of August.

Ripples spread across the water.

The bright moon slowly became full again.

……

……

Before Xiaoyanshan Mountain, the mighty river flows on and on.

The chestnut horse left hoofprints on the beach.

Zhu Cuiwei ordered people to arrange sedan chairs and carriages by the forest and sent the surviving officials of the Eastern Palace up to them one by one.

They arranged a road so that they could hear the voice of the King of Wu, who was hysterically cursing Chen Mu as a "traitor." Then, they had Liu Xinghan tell them who had kidnapped them. Upon hearing this, the ministers recalled the King of Wu's various misdeeds in prison and immediately began to curse him, saying that he was "hypocritical," "a thief crying 'stop thief'," and "extremely hypocritical."

Having experienced this, even if the vassal kings and members of the imperial family, out of a sense of shared fate, petitioned for her life, the court officials would not agree. Instead, they would unite in hatred and be determined to imprison the Prince of Wu until his death, even wishing for a cup of poison to kill him. The imperial family and vassal kings could not say anything to her, otherwise the Tang emperor would be the first to object.

A river breeze blows.

Her jet-black hair swayed gently in the wind.

From the woods ahead came a rustling sound, and a figure emerged carrying a woman dressed in red on his back.

"drive!"

Zhu Cuiwei snorted and spurred her horse over. The chestnut horse had long legs and touched the ground very lightly. The horse's shadow under the moonlight was exceptionally majestic.

"I told you to go out with Vice Minister Qin and the others, but you insisted on waiting for me there. What are you waiting for me for? Look, you sprained your ankle! You already had a big bump on your head." The man carrying the woman walked on the beach, grumbling incessantly.

"Do you think I wanted to sprain my ankle? Do you think I wouldn't feel pain if I sprained my ankle? Do you think I wanted to have a big bump on my head? Take it or leave it, it's no big deal!" the woman shouted, looking aggrieved.

Da da da.

A series of hoofbeats approached.

A man and a woman looked up abruptly and saw a woman dressed in emerald green riding a chestnut horse toward them in the moonlight.

The woman on horseback had an oval face, skin as white as snow, and an extremely beautiful appearance, like a goddess in a painting, but with more resilience and agility. She held a riding whip in her hand, and with a swift movement, dismounted.

The woman, wearing embroidered shoes, walked over calmly in a few steps.

He curtsied, his gaze calm, and said:

"This humble woman, Cuiwei, greets Princess Tang."

Master Ning stared blankly at the woman performing the Jiangnan lady's etiquette, his whole body trembling as if struck by lightning.

After taking a breath, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

……

"You ride a horse with the princess."

Master Ning helped the princess onto her chestnut horse, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said to his wife, Cui Cui.

Zhu Cuiwei did not reply to him.

Standing on the other side of the horse, he handed the whip to Zhu Jiamu, glanced at the large bump on her forehead with an apologetic look, patted the back of her hand, and whispered, "It won't happen again." Zhu Jiamu didn't look at him, but just gripped the reins of the chestnut horse tightly and hummed softly.

Zhu Cuiwei smiled, patted the chestnut horse's rump, and the horse neighed and galloped towards the capital.

A trail of hoof prints was left on the beach.

Ning Nan rubbed his sore eyes and looked around. To his right was the surging river, to his left were mountains, and in front and behind were deserted beaches.

"Where are the others?" he called out. He didn't ask any further questions about Cui Cui's wife, who wasn't riding with the princess.

Zhu Cuiwei did not answer, leaving only the two of them on the entire beach.

"Squat down," she said calmly.

Ning Nan frowned: "What?"

Zhu Cuiwei rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to pay him any attention. She circled around him, and with a leap, jumped onto his back. Master Ning bent over, his back slumped, and his hands instinctively reached out to grab her.

Zhu Cuiwei wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her head behind his ear, and whispered in a sweet voice, "Carry me on your back."