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

The personal testimony includes information such as the place of origin and life history of three generations.

Mutual guarantorship means that five people taking the same exam vouch for each other. If one person cheats, all five are held responsible.

The pledge involved having a scholar from the county act as guarantor, guaranteeing that there would be no cheating and that the identity was reliable.

The former has already been arranged, and the latter two are being handled together with classmates from the private school. They also went to the county government's ceremonial office to register early.

Ning Nan looked down at Cui Cui, who was shorter than him. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her complexion was not good.

"I brought everything... in the exam basket... and food too," he said with a smile. "I've checked it several times."

He patted his wife's head and said gently, "Don't worry... it's just a county exam... why are you in such a hurry?" Zhu Cuiwei remained silent, only reaching out to smooth his clothes.

Uncle Ping has harnessed the horse and the carriage is ready.

The groom fed the horse top-quality feed, and the big yellow horse, having eaten and drunk its fill, was now stamping its hooves on the ground, head held high and chest puffed out, looking very proud, and even neighed a few times.

Ning Nan smiled and hugged his wife briefly before letting go, saying, "Don't you still have to work? Go ahead and get on the carriage." With that, he turned and boarded the carriage.

In the past, the county examination in Daliang required five sessions, which often lasted for ten days or even a month, depending on the location. Each session was set by the county magistrate.

After the southward migration, the county examinations were changed to three sessions, but they still took seven or eight days, with one or two sessions held every other day. After each session, some people were eliminated, and if you failed one session, you could not participate in the next session.

This is a special imperial examination, and Jiangning County has already posted the results. This year's county examination will only last five days, with three sessions to be completed in five days.

The students were overjoyed. After all, the county government was in the capital, and every extra day they stayed meant an extra day of expensive expenses. Naturally, they wished they could finish all five exams in one day.

The county examination was held at the Jiangning Examination Hall, located on the south side of Fengwei Street.

The crowd outside the examination hall was dense, yet not noisy. The outermost layer consisted of concentric circles of relatives who had come to watch and see off the examinees.

There were quite a few people inside as well, a sea of ​​heads as far as the eye could see. Ning Nan, carrying his exam basket, squeezed in and silently counted, there were probably two or three hundred students, all crammed together, making a lot of noise.

He looked ahead.

A red table was placed in front, and several officials were verifying the personal testimonies.

After the red case, there was a small wooden room. The students would go in neatly dressed and come out disheveled. The shy ones would blush when they came out... This was the body search.

A short while later, someone called out the name: "Yan Siqiu!" A short, chubby student raised his hand, responded loudly, and pushed his way through the crowd to the red table...

call.

Master Ning withdrew his gaze, silently exhaled, and felt a slight sweat on his palms.

At this time.

A rustling sound came from behind, along with shouts of "Make way!"

Ning Nan looked back and saw that the crowd indeed parted in a rush, and out of the cleared passage emerged a figure wearing a red striped mandarin jacket and a melon-shaped hat... Oh... that Northern Dynasty prince.

All eyes in the crowd turned to the prince; some covered their mouths, others turned their heads away, and a cacophony of voices immediately arose.

"He's quite handsome." "He actually came." "A Northern Tartar." "Oh! I can't say... I can't say... he might become one of us later." "The future son-in-law." "I wonder what rank he'll get." "Haha, it would be hilarious if he failed the county exam." "The county magistrate wouldn't dare..."

A cacophony of voices arose, and after the constables maintaining order shouted "Silence!" a few times, the crowd gradually quieted down, though their eyes remained fixed on the man in the red striped mandarin jacket. Some looked on with disdain, some with envy, some with anger, and some with affection—the expressions varied.

The previous rumor about using "south of the Huai River" as a betrothal gift... seems to be... becoming true.

This came true for two reasons. Three days earlier, the Northern Dynasty envoy, Da Chun, formally proposed a marriage alliance to the Liang Dynasty at a court meeting, and included the land south of the Huai River as one of the conditions. He said that the Grand Council had already drafted the letter and was just waiting for the Northern Emperor's approval. This news excited the Liang Dynasty and the entire capital.

On the other hand, news came from the second northern city that the three major camps of the Northern Dynasty, which had been besieging the area within twenty miles of the second northern city, had collectively broken camp and retreated thirty miles to set up camp again.

If the people of Daliang knew perfectly well that the previous news was just a test between them, and it was still unknown whether the Tartars were truly willing to cede the land, then...

The second piece of news, however, made the people of Daliang truly appreciate the benefits of this marriage alliance.

The three major camps of the Northern Dynasty retreated thirty miles. Not to mention the soldiers in the two northern cities, even the people in the capital felt that the arm that had been tightening around their necks had suddenly loosened a lot.

For a moment, the air in the capital seemed to be fresher, and everyone was in high spirits.

In addition, some rumors, whether true or false, have been circulating... saying that the land where the Tartars rose to power has been occupied by the Rakshasa people, and if the Tartars do not form an alliance with the Southern Dynasty, they will face national ruin and destruction in an instant!

As a result, even when facing this high and mighty Prince, the people of the capital couldn't help but light up and straighten their chests slightly... After all... this time, it was the Northern Dynasty that came to ask them for help.

"If the marriage alliance can be successfully completed, I wonder how many soldiers could be saved from death."

"I'll miss the area south of the Huai River..."

"Hmph, they have to be willing to give it up... Even if they only give us one city or one county, they won't be able to hold onto the rest of the area south of the Huai River..."

"The Tartars still have some guts..."

"To defend the Yangtze River, one must also defend the Huai River... It's impossible to defend just the two northern cities... Just look at how much silver the imperial court spends on those two northern cities every year!"

"...By holding the Huai River, the Great Liang dynasty can extend its reign by at least two hundred years!...If we can find another wise ruler, when the world changes, we can recover the Central Plains in an instant!..."

Even though Ning Nan has been going back and forth between two places every day, he still can't help but hear all sorts of comments.

He is of low status and his voice carries little weight, so he doesn't care much about these things.

However, they also knew that the imperial court was not stupid and would definitely send people to the northern border to verify the situation.

If the Northern Dynasty is truly weak, then it is the perfect time to demand higher prices, and such negotiations are likely to continue for a long time.

Those wearing melon-shaped hats have special privileges.

Ning Nan and the other students glanced at them sideways.

After the man in the melon-shaped hat arrived, an official immediately called out his name, "Hong Huifeng!" and then led him directly to the red desk to have his identity checked first.

The students from Jiangning looked indignant, but no one spoke up.

The imperial examination was crucial to one's future. If one spoke up at this time, one would likely be labeled as "disrupting the talent selection ceremony," not only failing to get the top scholar behind them but also getting oneself implicated.

Fortunately, the man in the melon-shaped hat spent just as much time inside the search room as the others, and when he came out, he was carrying a basket and tying his clothes, just like everyone else... which meant he had been thoroughly searched. The others were relieved.

A long-bearded official shouted, "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar? ... Our China has been a land of etiquette since ancient times... We should treat each other with courtesy..." and so on.

The long-bearded official concluded, "All candidates must remain silent."

……

Upon hearing the name called, two stern-faced constables searched him.

Master Ning dressed calmly, slung his examination basket over his shoulder, and came out.

The examination hall was very large.

Following the old official's directions, Ning Nan walked to the examination cells... six rows of low, east-west facing bungalows.

His cell was in the middle of the third row. He didn't know his neighbors on either side; one was tall and the other short. The shorter one seemed a bit nervous, his face was covered in sweat, and he kept wiping it with his sleeve.

The cell was pitifully small, only four feet deep, three feet wide, and six feet high... After entering, Master Ning silently took a breath.

He reached in and picked up two movable wooden planks from inside the cell, then pieced them together to make a table.

He opened the examination basket and placed the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone inside one by one...