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

The temperature was not high and the wind was humid and comfortable. After two days of intense writing, my wrists were a little sore.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves and quietly rubbed his wrists inside his robe.

The scholars around were chatting in hushed tones, passing by in twos and threes. Their expressions were all similar, with red eyes, presumably from insomnia or having stayed up all night.

Ascending the white stone steps, behind a threshold a foot high stood an old official, his back slightly hunched, but his eyes held a hint of arrogance. He pointed in a direction and said, "The ceremonial office is over there."

Ning Nan bowed to express his gratitude.

On the left-hand veranda, the minor official walked back and forth without even glancing at the scholars. The scholars, in turn, paid no attention, walking past with their heads down to avoid bumping into anyone.

The plaque had just been waxed, and the two large characters "礼房" (Lifang, meaning "gift room") gleamed like new.

The couplets on both sides have been hanging for quite some time, and the characters appear somewhat grayish. The first line reads "Advocating rites and promoting learning, respecting Confucius and Mencius," and the second line reads "Establishing rules and regulations, emulating Xiao He and Cao Shen."

A boxwood desk was placed on the south side of the ceremonial room. The clerk in charge of registering the candidates was about forty years old, with a goatee and a serious face.

The goatee picked up the strips and squinted as he scanned them one by one.

Household registration documents, pledges, guarantees... He checked them all, nodding as he said, "They're all ready."

He wrote down the two characters "Ningnan" in his notebook and handed him a new slip of paper stamped with the official seal of the prefectural government.

He tucked the new slip into his pocket, and his registration for the prefectural examination was complete... He breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he turned around, the goatee suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and frowned, saying, "Ning Nan? Hmm... Ning Baixuan?"

Ning Nan nodded.

"Heh." The other person glanced at him, paused, chuckled, and waved his right hand in the air. "Go on, go on."

Upon hearing his name, the other five or six scholars in line in the ceremony room couldn't help but turn their heads, their gazes following him.

He had just stepped out of the ceremony room when a low gasp came from behind him.

The boy, who had come in last place in the county exam, had no interest in listening to their conversation.

His complexion remained normal, and his pace was neither hurried nor slow.

Passing by the old clerk at the gate, and stepping out of the gloomy and oppressive government office, my vision suddenly cleared up.

Ning Nan took a sniff of the fresh air and exhaled softly.

The government office faces the Qinhuai River. There are painted boats of brothels, riverboats transporting grain, boats with black awnings for outings, and small fishing boats... The boats are crisscrossed. At a glance, you can see prostitutes playing the zither at the bow, scholars waving paper fans, boatmen rowing with all their might, and fishermen casting their nets... Ning Nan watched this scene and slowly walked onto the carriage with his hands behind his back.

When he woke up yesterday morning, his wife suddenly found her pillow soaked with tears, which gave him quite a fright.

Mr. Ning, who had intended to get up and go to read, quickly lay down again. After waiting for his wife's eyelashes to flutter and her to slowly wake up, he asked her why she was crying like this.

Cui Cui rubbed her eyes, and after a long while, she finally let out a small breath and said with a smile, "I was dreaming." He asked her what she had dreamed about, but Cui Cui wouldn't say. She just buried her head in his chest and whispered, "It was a nightmare... nothing to say."

There were several books in the carriage. He lifted the curtain, and the wind rustled the pages of the book in his hand. He then turned his gaze away from the window.

For the next few days, I got up earlier than usual. In the mornings, I would eat breakfast prepared by Chef Xu while reading.

After having breakfast, I started writing. When faced with a topic, I would first come up with a preliminary idea, and even if I wasn't satisfied with it at first, I would finish writing that piece. Then, I would come up with a better preliminary idea, and so on, until I had written three pieces, and the articles had developed in a progressive manner, before I would stop writing.

I rushed to Master Gongsun's house and asked him for guidance.

In the afternoon, I would read a lot.

The Gongsun family had an extensive collection of books. The old man would select books for him, instructing him to read them carefully rather than superficially. He also taught him how to use allusions, how to use them precisely, and how to make them seamless.

At first, I was still unfamiliar with using classical allusions, and some of them were not appropriate and seemed pretentious and empty.

Or, if he didn't use classical allusions where they were appropriate, it would make him seem unlearned. After being criticized by the old man a few times, he became more and more adept at using classical allusions and was scolded less and less.

On one occasion, his apprentice, the young girl Gongsun Heng, sneaked into the Gongsun family's library and whispered to him, "Master... Grandpa said... your writing is no longer petty... it has the air of a great Confucian scholar..." The girl looked excited and was very happy for him, and Ning Nan himself was also very happy.

The weather in Beijing has been quite unpredictable these past few days.

It might be sunny in the morning, but turn cloudy in the afternoon, and there were two days in between when it suddenly rained heavily.

He hadn't brought an umbrella, and when he got off the carriage and ran to the Gongsun family, he got soaked to the bone, much to the amusement and exasperation of the Gongsun family's steward.

"Young Master Ning, please bring your carriage in through the side gate from now on. There's no need to stop outside." As he spoke, the steward had someone prepare hot water and clothes for him. The somewhat disheveled Master Ning quickly thanked him.

On September 29th, I was invited to have a meal in a private room at Songhelou Restaurant.

Zuo Yong, Tang Lianbin, Zhao Jing, Zou Tianju and several others came to the capital to prepare for the prefectural examination.

All four of them did well in the county examination, and Zuo Yong even took first place in their county's examination, which was quite remarkable.

Ning Nan and the others raised their glasses in congratulations with smiles, while Zuo Yong's face turned red.

During the meal, Zuo Yong and the others avoided mentioning Ningnan's county exam results, lest they upset him. After all, he had only come in last place; there was still the chance to take the prefectural exam, and the later exams were the more important ones.

Tang Lianbin raised his wine glass with a smile and said, "Brother Bai Xuan is hosting again this time. If we pass the imperial examination in the future, we must take turns inviting Brother Bai Xuan back."

Zuo Yong's face flushed red, and he patted his chest with great pride, saying, "I'll go first!"

Zhao Jing and Zou Tianju both laughed: "Brother Zuo, are you so sure you'll be the first to pass the provincial examination?"

Zuo Yong then realized that he had boasted a bit, and he awkwardly raised his glass as a self-punishment, saying, "I was presumptuous, I was presumptuous..." The others then continued to laugh and tease him.

Ning Nan watched with a smile.

The food at Songhelou was quite good, but Ning Nan only ate a little bit and spent the rest of the time just grinding some peanuts.

Although they had booked a private room, discordant voices occasionally drifted in from outside… “That Tartar is quite something… He took first place in the county examination, but he still has to participate in the prefectural and provincial examinations…”, “He’s aiming for the top three…”, “He’s surpassed Li Wenzhao and Ning Baixuan…”, “At least Li Wenzhao got second place, Ning Baixuan… hehe… tsk tsk…”, “It’s Xu Qingteng who got second!”, “How can he compare to Xu Qingteng… Xu Qingteng at least failed the provincial examination repeatedly, he didn’t do that in the county examination…”, “Hahaha, Brother Lü is very knowledgeable…”

At one point, the atmosphere in the private room became awkward, and only the sound of Master Ning chewing peanuts could be heard.

Zou Tianju reacted very quickly. After a moment of embarrassment, he immediately launched into a long and eloquent discussion, starting with Mencius.

Tang Lianbin immediately echoed loudly, and even slammed his hand on the table, saying that the question their county set this year was a parable from Mencius, which was really infuriating... The argument among the group grew louder and louder, gradually drowning out the noise outside.

We've eaten.

Ning Nan remained calm and smiled as he bid farewell to everyone.

……

For the next three days, the autumn rain continued.

On the morning of October 2nd, the drizzling rain finally stopped, and as dawn broke, a thick fog enveloped the side gate of the Ning residence.

Cui Cui's wife got up very early that day, dressed in a white dress, with her hair casually tied up, and carefully checked the exam basket for him.