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

Cui Cui's wife patted her face, and Master Ning groggily opened his eyes, reaching out to grab his wife's soft hand.

He took a deep breath and slowly sat up, his face looking somewhat dazed.

In winter, getting out of bed gradually becomes an incredibly difficult task.

When I was a child in Lijia Village, we would set traps in the mountains to catch wild rabbits and foxes. With those in mind, I would always get up in the winter.

As soon as it was light, he jumped up and ran into the mountains to see if any rabbits had been infected.

Now that I have nothing to worry about, I just get up and do some really boring things.

Reading, formulaic writing, reading, formulaic writing... As a result, getting out of bed inevitably requires some willpower.

But the owner of that soft little hand—my own wife—for some reason, still gets up so quickly every day.

Chunyu brought over a golden basin, the water inside steaming hot, with rising and drifting mist.

The woman's hand was pulled away from his palm.

I dipped the hot towel into the hot water, wrung it out, and heard the dripping sound.

The woman snorted, threw the hot towel at his face, and vigorously wiped his face.

Master Ning then regained some of his composure and answered his wife's earlier question: "Okay... um... I'll take the exam..."

"Hoo..." Ning Nan's expression returned to blankness, and he felt like lying back down again.

The imperial examinations begin today... which means that for the next nine whole days... he'll have to stay in that small examination cell at the Jiangnan Examination Hall...

The howling north wind blew all night long, sounding like ghosts wailing and wolves howling, and the windows rattled incessantly all night long.

Although it wasn't snowing, the courtyard near the side gate of the Ning residence was covered in a layer of frost.

Chunyu and Qiumu, the two maids, put on thick cotton-padded coats and held up the examination baskets, their four little hands red from the cold.

Cui Cui's wife also reached out and turned the cold inkstone and other items in the examination basket over and over to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

They had to stay in the examination hall for nine days, and their food consisted of cured meat, dried bread, and ham.

He was wrapped up like a rice dumpling. Cui Cui's wife brought him a cotton quilt and a small stove to keep warm. The examination hall would provide some charcoal.

After tidying up.

Two young maids, kicking their cotton boots, carried the examination basket to the carriage, where Uncle Ping quickly jumped down to take the master's examination basket.

Ning Nan was eating the vegetarian buns his wife had sent to buy, but he seemed a little absent-minded.

As his wife straightened his clothes, she gave him some instructions, such as:

"Don't worry, this year's examination is a special one. Hmm... In addition to providing you with fire knives and flint, the Empress will also give you candidates some hot food. However, to prevent cheating, the two chief examiners and eighteen co-examiners will be outside the examination hall to watch over the hot food..."

Master Ning nodded and said, "The Empress is truly kind."

Cui Cui's wife gave a small hum and wrapped his padded jacket inside his clothes.

Big Yellow Horse is getting a good amount of weight.

Even in this season, her big, dark eyes are still so bright and piercing.

Most of the shops on Datong Street were open, and Ning Nan glanced through the carriage window before realizing that he had indeed gotten up a little late.

However, it's not a big problem, since the examination hall only starts calling out names and searching for people to enter in the afternoon.

Even if you go early, you still have to wait.

We gradually approached Gongyuan Street.

Along the way, one could often see other candidates also going to take the imperial examination.

Some candidates carried examination baskets, quilts, and stoves on their backs, walking slowly by themselves.

Some candidates wore square headscarves, rode horses, and had servants carrying their examination baskets and other belongings, looking quite impressive.

There were also sedan chairs and horse-drawn carriages, which also headed towards Gongyuan Street. The sedan chairs and horse-drawn carriages often had a picture of the emperor winning the imperial examination or a small flag on them, so you could tell at a glance that the people sitting inside were also candidates for the imperial examination.

After passing the provincial examination, one can go from a scholar to a licentiate, which is indeed a step towards becoming a "master".

However, this only means he has become a "master" in terms of status. It will take quite some time before he can turn that status into real, tangible wealth.

Moreover, he lived in the capital and his expenses were not high.

Some candidates, however, had to travel thousands of miles to the capital to take the imperial examinations. The expenses on the way, in the capital, and in dealing with social connections after arriving in the capital were all considerable.

The situation of "impoverished scholars" was not uncommon in the capital.

If Li Yanting, this newly appointed scholar, had not had Master Zhu sponsor his studies at Bailu Academy and had not had a part-time job at the Nancheng Daily arranged by Master Ning, he would probably still be a poor scholar if he had only relied on the Li clan of Lijia Village.

Ning Nan stepped down from the carriage.

Before even stepping into Heming Tower, I saw Li Yanting.

Master Ning looked at him with his hands behind his back.

"Li Wenzhao greets his brother-in-law!"

Li Yanting stepped forward, his face reddened by the north wind or perhaps it was naturally red, and bowed loudly to him.

Ning Nan raised her hand with a complicated expression: "Get up."

"Wen Zhao thanks brother-in-law!" The studious boy from Lijia Village straightened up with a bright look in his eyes.

Mr. Ning had a slight headache, and his expression became increasingly complicated.

Unexpectedly, the studious boy who was dumped by his cousin from Lijia Village ended up becoming his brother-in-law after many twists and turns.

However, the one who has now exchanged betrothal gifts with the bookworm is... his sister-in-law, Qinghuan.

On the day the results of the provincial examination were announced, the student ranked second only to him, the top scholar.

After the student returned to the academy, a matchmaker was already waiting for him.

The matchmaker said that there was a second young lady named Yunying in the Ning family who was still unmarried… Before the matchmaker could finish speaking, Li Yanting eagerly asked, “Which Ning family? Which second young lady?”

When the matchmaker said it was "Master Ning Nanning's Residence on Datong Street," Li Yanting was overjoyed and agreed without hesitation...

Ning Nan learned of this news the next morning.

While the family was having breakfast together, Cui Cui's mother casually mentioned that she had arranged a marriage for Qing Huan.

My sister-in-law's face suddenly turned deathly pale!

Ning Nan paused, glancing at his wife with a look of surprise and uncertainty, then at his sister-in-law who had suddenly lost all color in her eyes. Instantly, he imagined a forced marriage drama unfolding in his mind!

Cui Cui's wife, however, remained calm and unhurried, not even glancing at Qing Huan, who was on the verge of tears, and continued eating the strange pastries made by Chef Xu.

"My surname is Li," she said.

"Hmm???" Master Ning's expression suddenly turned strange.

Upon hearing this surname, Qinghuan suddenly looked up, a hint of rosy color returning to her pale cheeks. She looked at her composed sister with her large, misty eyes, her gaze filled with hope.

Cui Cui's wife said, "Call him Li Wenzhao."

"Waaah..." The sister-in-law's face visibly fell again, and large tears welled up in her eyes: "Sister, I, I, I..."

The little girl's lips turned pale with fright, and she spoke in trembling voices, but she couldn't bring herself to say "I don't want to get married."

It was Master Ning who couldn't stand it any longer. He tapped his sister-in-law's head with the tip of his chopsticks and said helplessly:

"Li Wenzhao is Li Yanting... Wenzhao is his courtesy name."

The younger sister's cheeks quickly flushed red, and she let out an "Ah!" The corners of Cui Cui's lips instantly became round as she successfully teased her younger sister.

Ning Nan glanced at his sister-in-law's flushed face, then at the scar on her face, sighed inwardly, his gaze softened, and he couldn't help but feel happy for her...

My brother-in-law sat to the side, pouring tea.

Ning Nan waited from morning until afternoon.

Shen Shi Shi Fen.

The examination hall began calling out names and conducting searches.

"Phew..." He exhaled, stood up, slung his exam basket over his shoulder, and carried his quilt and small stove on his back. Li Yanting, the academic star of Lijia Village, also slung his exam basket over his shoulder and carried his things on his back.

He passed the provincial examination with top honors, while Li Yanting passed with top honors.

After the news spread, Lijia Village put on a grand opera for ten days and ten nights, trying to attract everyone from the surrounding villages to come and watch.

The newly appointed magistrate of Jiangning County personally presented Lijia Village with a memorial archway inscribed with the four characters "Hometown of Literature".

On the day he and Li Yanting registered under the government's name and rode back to their hometown, his mother was so happy that she went on stage to sing a play called "Si Lang Visits His Mother".

The old woman's pronunciation was unclear, her intonation was off, her posture was terrible, and her singing was practically nonexistent... But no one in the audience said that the old woman who was a star performer couldn't sing opera; they just looked on with envy and said:

"Tsk tsk tsk! Look at Madam Ning's elegant speech, no wonder she raised a literary genius!"