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

……

……

It felt like a gust of wind blew by, and my eyes started to itch.

Her nose twitched.

The wind seemed to carry a strong, fishy smell.

Open your eyes.

What came into view was a gloomy, overcast sky.

Zhu Cuiwei was stunned for a moment, her mind a little confused.

She blinked, her eyelashes fluttering gently in the wind, and looked around.

Ahead, the sea and sky merged into one, and it seemed as if I were standing in front of an ocean.

Then he turned his head and looked around.

Flat ground, stones, weeds, and a few bare trees.

I felt as if I were standing on a mountain, with the sea in front of me and the sea breeze howling.

Turning around, I discovered that the sea was also behind the mountains.

Looking around again... I realized that the mountain seemed to be surrounded by the sea on all sides.

Zhu Cuiwei was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Oh..." She nodded slightly. "It's an island."

"Bang bang bang, bang bang bang..."

Footsteps came from below the flat ground.

Zhu Cuiwei turned her head to look down the mountain.

I saw a little boy, about seven or eight years old, running up from the foot of the mountain.

Zhu Cuiwei was stunned when she looked at the boy's face.

The seven- or eight-year-old boy had a round face, bright eyes, and facial features that resembled his own.

Zhu Cuiwei's expression froze.

"Mother, mother!"

At this moment, the seven or eight-year-old boy jumped up and down with joy.

Zhu Cuiwei's eyes suddenly stung from hearing those few calls of "Mother," and her heart softened.

He was about to wave when he agreed.

A voice said "Eh?" from behind her.

Zhu Cuiwei felt as if an icicle had suddenly slid down her back.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he turned his head back.

A woman with her hair tied up and dressed in simple clothes was happily responding to the little boy's call.

The little boy called out "Mom" and scurried into the woman's arms.

Zhu Cuiwei seemed to freeze.

If she felt a sense of familiarity, fondness, and a desire to hug the little boy she had just met...

The moment she saw the woman who was much older than her, her heart ached.

The woman resembled me somewhat, but her features were more like those of a young traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

Zhu Cuiwei stood aside, watching the woman rub the boy's head and listening to her talk to him. Then, the woman took the boy's hand, and the mother and son walked towards the top of the mountain.

...and the voice sounds similar too.

...Their walking gait is also similar.

This woman... looks remarkably like the young doctor.

Zhu Cuiwei took a step and involuntarily followed the mother and son towards the mountaintop.

The weather was gloomy.

The grass and trees on both sides were withered and yellow.

The gravel on the mountain path seemed a bit uncomfortable underfoot, so the boy would walk a short distance, then pause and hop forward again, which made the woman laugh.

The mother and son walked briskly.

Zhu Cuiwei followed behind them at a leisurely pace.

Before long, the top of a large banner came into view.

The black and red banner fluttered in the wind.

The character "梁" was embroidered on it.

Her Majesty the Empress of the Great Liang Dynasty paused, staring blankly at the great banner.

After a long while, she lowered her head and saw a group of people gathered under the banner.

Some are old.

Some are young.

Some were wearing large red official robes, standing in the wind.

Some were wearing tattered armor and sitting on a large rock.

After the woman, dressed in simple clothes, walked over with the child in her hand, the people all stood up, bowed to her and the child, called the woman "Your Highness," but called the boy "Your Majesty."

Zhu Cuiwei's expression froze.

She followed and moved a little closer.

As her gaze swept across the group of faces, she noticed that although their appearances had changed, they still gave her a sense of familiarity.

One of the old men with a full white beard could be vaguely identified as Xu Longdao. There was also an old man with a resolute face, who resembled Jia Shi'an.

A man around fifty years old, sharpening a knife, with pockmarks on his face, resembled Li Erlai.

There was another person, around forty years old, wearing a crimson robe. His face was both unfamiliar and familiar. After looking at him for a while, she vaguely realized that this person seemed to be Li Xing as an adult.

Two streams of hot tears slid down Zhu Cuiwei's face.

She walked over and asked Erlai, who was sharpening a knife, "Where is your older brother?" Erlai ignored her. Although he looked like a man in his fifties, the expression on his face as he sharpened the knife was almost the same as when he was a boy.

Zhu Cuiwei's heart tightened, and she ran over to ask Li Xing, "Where is your older brother?" Li Xing squatted on the rock, looked at the horizon, then at the paper in his hand. He moistened the brush with saliva and continued to write and draw on the paper, which contained some symbols that she could not understand.

Zhu Cuiwei felt a little stiff all over.

Before she could ask any more questions...

Then an elderly voice said, "Your Highness, they have arrived."

Zhu Cuiwei looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the very old Jia Shi'an speaking.

The woman, whose appearance resembled that of the young doctor, hummed in agreement, stood up, curtsied to everyone present, and said with a smile, "After years of wandering, I thank you all."

Everyone stood up and said, "We wouldn't dare."

As she spoke, she smiled and bowed to Erlaizi and Li Xing, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Erlai and Uncle Xing. You've worked hard all these years." Erlaizi remained silent, while Li Xing smiled gently.

Immediately, everyone turned their heads and looked in the direction Jia Shi'an was looking.

The place where the sea meets the sky.

A series of dark shadows appeared on the horizon, slowly approaching the island, like a black line suddenly appearing on the sea surface, surrounding the island.

Zhu Cuiwei gazed into the distance.

"Boat..." she murmured in a daze.

As the surging black lines gradually revealed their true form, Zhu Cuiwei saw that they were warships closing in on the island, and an indescribable sense of despair suddenly welled up in her heart...

The boat docked.

The people on the boat poured off like water.

"Come!——"

"kill!--"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Climb the mountain! — The first to reach the top will be granted a noble title!"

"Whoever beheads the great banner will be granted a noble title!"

"..."

Shouts of battle suddenly rang out.

The glint of swords flashed on the shore, converging on the mountain.

The entire mountain seemed to burst into flames in an instant.

A flash of light appeared.

Zhu Cuiwei felt a chill run through her body. Looking back, she saw groups of armored figures suddenly ascend the mountain, looking ferocious and menacing, pouncing towards her like tigers and wolves...

"Run..." Zhu Cuiwei's tears streamed down her face, and she uttered a single word with a hoarse voice.

She turned around abruptly, and the crimson robe was gone, the armor was gone, the sword was gone, the pen was gone, leaving only a mother and child standing on the edge of the cliff, surrounded by towering flames.

Zhu Cuiwei's lips were agape as she strode towards the mother and child, her legs feeling like they were filled with lead.

"Where's your father..." she cried, tears welling in her eyes, as she called out to the woman...

"Where's your father..." she called out repeatedly to the woman, stretching out her hand.

But the woman paid no heed. She simply lowered her head, patted the boy's head, smiled gently, took his hand, and leaped off the cliff...

"Bang!"

A soft voice rang out, and Zhu Cuiwei's heart sank. Suddenly, everything went black...

……

……

salty……

astringent……

bitter……

Gradually, a metallic sweetness filled my mouth.

When she came to her senses, her tears and the blood from someone's shoulder had already mixed together and flowed into her mouth.

"What's wrong?"

A familiar, warm voice rang in my ears.

Mr. Ning's face turned pale after his wife inexplicably bit him hard on the shoulder.

He touched his wife's forehead.

"What's wrong? It's so cold?" He frowned, staring at his wife. "Dreaming again?"

……

……

The morning mist shrouded Nanjing in a hazy atmosphere.

At the side gate of Ning Mansion.

The big yellow horse snorted and proudly hoofed as it prepared to leave.

While the mistress and master were still whispering sweet nothings to each other in the carriage, the honest-looking Uncle Ping secretly rubbed a handful of soybeans and put them in his mouth.

Chunyu and Qiumu carried the exam basket, their shoulders trembling slightly.

In November, the two maids forgot to put on extra clothes when they got up early, and they felt a little chilly when the wind blew.

Ning Nan looked helplessly at his wife, who was turning the exam basket over and over again, just like during the previous exams, and said, "Don't worry, nothing is missing."

Zhu Cuiwei gave a soft hum and looked up at him:

Are you really confident about passing the provincial examination?

Master Ning patted his wife's head, his eyes softening, and smiled:

"Just wait to become the wife of this scholar!"