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

He glanced at Erlai and Dahei's faces and saw that their complexions were still quite rosy, and Erlai's snoring was also quite loud.

Relieved, she turned and told Li Xing to get some sleep as well. Li Xing pointed to the outer room, where there was a couch, and said, "Sister Chunyu has prepared bedding. I'll just sleep there for a while."

Li Xing looked up at Ning Nan and saw that Ning Nan's eyes were bloodshot, so he urged Ning Nan to go to sleep quickly, saying that he could watch over things here.

Ning Nan slowly exhaled and nodded.

Upon entering the warm pavilion, Chunyu and Qiumu had set up a screen and a bathtub. The cook had also prepared hot water. The two little maids dipped willow branches in water and splashed them all over him, chanting, "Wash away the bad luck, wash away the misfortune, may the Bodhisattva protect you, may evil spirits disappear..."

Ning Nan was both amused and exasperated.

The room was steamy, and the warm steam made his eyes feel much more comfortable. After they finished their "spell," Master Ning instructed them to go to the outer room. He took off his clothes, got into the bathtub, and the warm water completely relaxed his body and mind. He sat in the tub, leaned back, and took a good bath.

The warm room was filled with steam.

Not long after, Chunyu bypassed the screen, blushed, and sneaked in, took away the master's old clothes, and put the new clothes in his place.

She folded the old clothes, her face flushed, and asked softly, "Master, should I throw away all the old clothes?"

Done.

After a few breaths, seeing that the old man leaning against the bathtub didn't say anything, she mustered up her courage and walked over.

"Master?" she called softly, but the master did not answer her. The maid blushed and went over to take a look. She saw the master leaning back against the bath tub, his eyelashes wet with water droplets, trembling slightly, and making soft snoring sounds. The little maid bit her cheek and suddenly realized that the master had fallen asleep.

……

……

Ning Nan finally woke up from bed when the sun had climbed from east to west and hung on the top of a peach tree outside the room.

He rubbed his eyes, rolled over, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

The setting sun shone through the mosquito net, casting dappled orange light on the bed. Cui Cui's wife wouldn't be back until evening, so he would still be alone in bed.

He was so sleepy in the morning that he actually fell asleep in the bathtub. The maid was afraid he would catch a cold, so she blushed and changed the water for him from time to time. When he was woken up by the sound of the water, the two maids apologized in a panic. He rubbed his eyes in a daze and then remembered where he was.

He sent the two maids to the outer room, then slowly got up, changed into brand new clothes, and went back to his room for another nap.

As Ning Nan stepped out of the room, Chunyu and Qiumu greeted him. Ning Nan glanced at the two women and, seeing their bright and energetic expressions, asked them a question. The two women explained that they had taken a nap in the morning, and since the master hadn't gotten up by noon, they went back to take another long nap. Only then did Ning Nan feel relieved.

As the three walked towards the flower hall, Chunyu said, "Master, Miss Gongsun came by this morning."

Ning Nan nodded, relieved that the female disciple was alright, and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Gongsun?"

Chunyu nodded her little head and said, "Miss Gongsun seems to be in a hurry. She wants to invite Master to Bailu Academy."

"White Deer Academy?"

Ning Nan frowned. He had thought the female disciple had brought a hundred or eighty taels of silver to thank him for saving his life.

Chunyu said, "This servant said that Master is very tired and is sleeping. Miss Gongsun said that if Master has time after he wakes up, please come to Bailu Academy for a chat."

Master Ning shook his head and said directly, "I don't have time."

Upon hearing this, the two maids' expressions brightened slightly. They exchanged a glance, their eyes relaxing. Miss Gongsun was certainly very likable, but they hated that scholar Feng to the core and had no desire for their master to go to Bailu Academy!

Hearing the master's direct refusal, she couldn't help but feel happy, and her voice even became a little more cheerful.

Chunyu said, "Yes! This servant will go prepare a meal for the master!" Qiumu also smiled and said, "This servant will go make tea for the master."

Master Ning nodded and slowly walked to the flower hall.

As soon as we arrived at the flower hall.

Manager Wang then came to greet them.

"Master, Miss Gongsun just sent someone to deliver a message, saying that if you wake up, she would like you to come to Bailu Academy for a chat."

"Just now?" Ning Nan frowned.

Steward Wang said, "It's around 3 PM."

Ning Nan looked up at the sky. The horizon was ablaze with fiery clouds, but they were slowly fading away, and night was about to fall.

Steward Wang knew that the master was checking the time, so he lowered his head and said softly, "Master, it is now late Shen time."

Ning Nan hummed in agreement, then frowned and said, "It's too late, let's go tomorrow."

The female disciple came in person this morning and sent someone to summon her again this afternoon, so there must be something wrong. However, given that she is from a wealthy family, it's unlikely to be anything serious.

Last night, while chatting with my wife, Cui Cui, on our way back to the city, she mentioned that when the usually composed and dignified Master Gongsun heard that his beard had turned three-tenths white with worry, he sent out all the servants of the Gongsun family to search for his granddaughter under the guise of helping the Ning family find her, so as not to damage her reputation.

That night, the old man rode a carriage into the palace and asked the emperor to help him find the person.

If the disappearance of his granddaughter were reported to the authorities, and the matter were reported to the county government or the Ministry of Justice, his reputation would be ruined in an instant.

Master Gongsun was renowned throughout the land and was also skilled in managing his family. His eldest son served as the Provincial Governor of Zhejiang, a high-ranking official of the second rank. His second son was an Imperial Censor in the Censorate. He also had a young grandson who served as the Prefect of Meizhou in Sichuan. His students and former officials were spread all over the country, and even the Emperor treated him with great respect.

The old man must have been extremely frightened after his granddaughter was found.

No matter how big the problem, her grandfather would take care of it. Master Ning was not worried that his disciple would encounter any huge problems that even her grandfather could not handle.

He drank tea and ate in the flower hall. Qiu Mu brought him a golden basin, and Chun Yu wrung out a hot towel for him to wipe his hands and face.

After eating.

He took a deep breath and went to the study.

Manager Wang sent someone to check this morning and said that Jiangning County has already posted the results, and the date for the county examination has been set for September 15th, which is only half a month away.

Several oil lamps were lit in the room.

He sat in the chair with a mix of nervousness and mixed feelings, sorting through all sorts of materials related to the imperial examinations.

Some were bought by myself, and some were copied from Mr. Lizhou at the Liuye Lane private school.

The two most precious copies are those obtained by Han Laoguai. One copy is a collection of examination records from the eleventh year of the Longchang reign in Yingtian Prefecture, a collection of records of the top candidates from thirteen counties during the Hongjing reign, and a record of the two provinces in the fourth year of the Tianqi reign. Each of these copies is unique and cannot be found in bookstores. They were copied by officials who passed the imperial examinations at the time, and were kept as family heirlooms because of favors. The more people who knew about them, the more competitors their descendants would have on the path of the imperial examinations.

The second precious document was a thick stack of materials given to him by his female disciple when she became his apprentice: the imperial examination experience of three generations of the Gongsun family.