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

Yan Yuqing assumed that the soon-to-be eighteen-year-old Emperor was acting childishly, trying to show off that her husband was an eighteen-year-old top scholar in the provincial examinations—what was so great about being a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)? So she smiled and comforted him:

"Your Majesty, your son-in-law is already the top scholar in the Southern Zhili region at such a young age; he must be the envy of countless people in the Great Liang..."

Wang Bing shook his head and said:

"No wonder, son-in-law... I've been listening intently, and there are still many talented people whose names haven't been called... such as Zhao Shiheng, the talented scholar from Sichuan; Liu Yubo, one of the two talents from Hunan; Qian and Min from Bailu Academy; and You Muyuan, the child prodigy from Suzhou..."

"Although You Muyuan is called a child prodigy, that only applies to his childhood. He is already twenty-four years old, which is several years older than the young master. Therefore, his chances of passing the imperial examination are naturally much greater than the young master's..."

"Zhang Kezai, a talented man who failed the imperial examination last year, has passed this year's exam, but he only ranked third from the bottom, which shows how difficult this year's exam is... Zhang Kezai is forty-nine years old, which is quite remarkable..."

"Besides these few, there are at least a dozen other people who could compete for the top spot..."

Wang Bing sighed, "My son-in-law's ability to pass the provincial examination with top honors is truly a gift from heaven..."

The lanterns on the side of the carriage quietly emitted an orange glow.

Zhu Cuiwei said "Oh" and nodded, clearly agreeing with the eunuch's words.

Yan Yuqing's white hair trembled, and she snorted, "What's so strange about that? Eunuch Wang boosts the morale of others while diminishing his own. Does he have no confidence in his son-in-law at all?"

Wang Bing didn't argue, but gave a wry smile and took out an exquisite little brocade box from his sleeve.

"Click".

Once opened.

Zhu Cuiwei and Yan Yuqing looked down and saw that it was a string of Buddhist prayer beads.

Wang Bing sighed:

"Your Majesty, to be honest, Wang Bing naturally hopes more than anyone else that his son-in-law will pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, so that he can assist Your Majesty in the future, just like the Grand Prince Consort Shangguan. I will not listen to the gossip of the civil officials..."

"...It took a lot of effort to find this string of agarwood prayer beads... It is said that these were once worn by the Pure Land Buddhist monk Daochuo. After a thousand years, they were finally collected by the Great Bao'en Temple... I asked the temple for them..."

"Well, it's not worth much money, but it's a small token of my appreciation. I was thinking that after my son-in-law passed the imperial examination, I would ask His Majesty to give it to him as a good luck charm... But now it seems I'll have to wait three years..."

Zhu Cuiwei glanced at the Buddhist prayer beads, then at Wang Bing, and smiled gently.

"You're very kind, Eunuch Wang."

"His Majesty……"

Wang Bing quickly lowered his head, and just as he was about to express his humility, a chorus of names was heard outside:

"...Congratulations to Master Ning Nan of the Ning family... for achieving the highest honors in the imperial examination... for becoming the top scholar... and securing the top spot!!"

The fame spreads like a great river, never ending.

Yan Yuqing was taken aback, then her wrinkles smoothed out and she revealed a look of wild joy.

A look of joy flashed in Wang Bing's eyes, but his face suddenly turned pale, his knees buckled, and he said bitterly to the Empress above him:

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty...This servant deserves to die...This servant misspoke...I misspoke..."

……

……

"Two wins in a row!"

"Ning Baixuan..."

"Huiyuan..."

"How is this possible? How is this possible?!"

"Wasn't he last in the county exam?"

"The old almanac is outdated... Brother Hong, are you still reciting it here?"

"Lou Jizuo deserves to die... He'll probably never recover..."

"Serves him right! Selecting talent for the country... He put the top scholar, who had passed the imperial examination twice, last place... Haha..."

"Such jealousy of talent... truly a disgrace..."

"What a pity...what a pity..."

"Brother Zhang, what a pity!"

"It's a pity he's from a noble family... his actions are too ruthless..."

"That's true... He's not a poet... He doesn't socialize... I've never seen him at poetry gatherings or literary parties... He doesn't even attend tea parties... He gets along better with those nobles and dignitaries... But he doesn't frequent brothels... Brother Ge, have you ever seen him in a brothel?"

"No, several girls in different buildings are talking about him... Pshaw..."

"Ha...the day he became famous at the North-South Poetry Gathering...wasn't Shangguan Xiu sitting right next to him...?"

As soon as the top scholar emerged, the Crane Cry Tower erupted in chaos and confusion.

Hong Feng, who was originally second in high school, had already left with his group, his face ashen... Ning Nan couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

When the scholars in the restaurant saw that he had passed the imperial examination with top honors, they congratulated him, but their attitude was far less friendly than when they were facing Li Yanting and the other candidates. Most of them only offered their congratulations from afar.

After all, with Qian Sijin and the others by their side, coupled with the previous conflict with Hongfeng and his ruthless act of pressing Lu Jing's head into hot wine, the scholars were quite alarmed and even had some complaints.

Quite a few calling cards were sent over, and Qian Sijin accepted them all for him.

The students of Bailu Academy came forward to congratulate him, partly to thank him for standing up for their senior brother Yang.

The sycophants who came to deliver the good news didn't care about anything else. They all rushed over to ask for a reward, rubbing their hands and bowing, calling him "the top scholar" or even "the best scholar in the imperial examination."

Gongsun Heng was overjoyed, her face beaming like a peach blossom. She wiped away her tears and snot, though she was also saddened by the loss of her senior brother Yang and her master's hands.

But he also promptly took out his purse and, just like he had done for Senior Brother Yang and Junior Brother Li before, generously gave money to the person who brought the good news on behalf of his master.

"Thank you for the reward, Miss!" said the oblivious messenger.

"Thank you for the reward, young master!" said the quick-witted messenger.

But this time, the messenger who called her "Miss" received several more coins...

They all chimed in with their names.

He toasted the guests with a broad smile.

He was invited to the literary gathering.

He was invited to the poetry gathering.

They invited him to a brothel's top courtesan competition.

People gathered around, one circle after another.

Every face was smiling, as bright as a flower, and it felt like stepping into a sea of ​​flowers.

Ning Nan had already drunk seven or eight bowls of rice wine and was feeling dizzy; now he was even more disoriented.

Despite his somewhat intimidating reputation, people gradually gathered around him because he seemed easy to get along with and treated the students of Bailu Academy and some other students with great courtesy.

After all... passing the imperial examination is the same as passing the metropolitan examination... there's a world of difference between a metropolitan graduate and a provincial graduate... what's more... he was the top scholar in the metropolitan examination...

"Phew...and..."

Master Ning took a breath, a hint of confusion appearing in his eyes.

"Two wins in a row..."

They asked Qian Sijin and other members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to stop people.

Students from Bailu Academy offered their help.

Overjoyed at surviving such a close call, the shopkeeper called out with a smile, "Gentlemen! Gentlemen! Please allow Master Huiyuan to rest for a while..."

He led his female disciple upstairs with a fake smile and retreated to a private room on the second floor.

"Clang!"

Close the door to the private room.

……

Gongsun Heng looked intently at her master, who had retreated into the private room, and said:

"Master, you've won two prizes in a row!"

Qian Sijin and his men stood guard outside, and voices calling out repeatedly that they wanted to see "Ning Huiyuan."

Ning Nan shook his head, clearing his mind a little, and strode from the doorway to the round table, with Gongsun Heng following closely behind.

After walking a few steps, Gongsun Heng saw her master's hand wrapped in gauze, her lips pursed slightly, and she couldn't help but feel guilty.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered something strange that had been bothering her for a long time, and asked in surprise:

"Master, um... how did you manage to keep winning the drinking contest with that Tartar just now?"

She and the others were stunned and discussed among themselves, not knowing what was going on.

In my imagination, the scene where my master boldly set up a bet, betting on whether the other person dared to drink the bowl of wine, never materialized... My master kept drinking... and my master kept winning...

"How did you figure that out?"

Gongsun Heng said urgently.

They had been looking at the wine for a long time but couldn't tell the difference. However, their master seemed to know what the Tartar was up to just by looking at the prince.

Ning Nan sat on the round table stool, glanced at the female disciple, and without answering her question first, simply smiled and said:

"It must feel terrible to be bullied by the Tartars, right?"

Gongsun Heng's eyes, which had been full of curiosity, instantly reddened, and she nodded.

Ning Nan flipped a teacup with his left hand, then picked up the teapot, poured himself a bowl of tea, and smiled:

"You want to become my student to learn Go... but when it comes to Go... well... with your grandfather teaching you, your master probably won't be able to beat you anymore..."

Gongsun Heng's face immediately turned red.

"but……"

Ning Nan glanced at her and smiled, "Starting tomorrow, your master will teach you some other things..."

Gongsun Heng hummed in response.

Ning Nan took a sip of tea and put down the teacup.

He took out a wooden box from his pouch, then took out the glass rod used for testing poison, waved it, and said softly:

"Master was just fooling that Tartar... it was a trick... This thing is called... um... a thermometer... a Cui's thermometer... Starting tomorrow, Master will teach you one... um... no, several... truly good things..."

……

……

Open the window.

A cool breeze blew in from the Qinhuai River.

Going through the door won't work; it's too noisy outside.

Fortunately, this place is only on the second floor. He instructed the female disciple to travel with the students of Bailu Academy and said that he would have Qian Sijin send people to protect her in the next few days.

Ning Nan then stepped out of the window, onto the roof that extended about seven or eight feet out of the window.

He ignored the cracking sounds of the tiles breaking under his feet and decided to send money to Heming Tower tomorrow to repair the roof.

I injured my hand, and although I applied medicine and bandaged it, I was still a little unbalanced.

But after a "bang!", he calmly jumped onto the grass by the river, leaving shallow footprints that crushed two withered leaves.

Walking west along the riverbank for about a hundred steps, I saw the large yellow horse from the Ning family under the hazy moonlight.

The big yellow horse snorted and pawed at the ground.

The honest and simple driver, Uncle Ping, squatted by the river watching the water.

Ning Nan glanced at it a few times, walked to the carriage, and stepped onto it.

Lanterns hung inside the carriage, and a faint, dim light shone through the gaps in the carriage curtains.

Ning Nan raised his head, opened his mouth, and was about to call Uncle Ping, who seemed to be staring at the water in a daze, to come back and drive the car.

"Oh,"

A clear and calm voice suddenly came from inside the carriage.

"Master Huiyuan is back..."

Master Ning was stunned for a moment...

The mistress of the Ning household sat inside the carriage, her voice rising slightly:

"Come in."

At the same time, a noise came from inside the carriage. The woman seemed to be fiddling with something like a medicine box, and a medicinal smell wafted out of the carriage.

Holding scissors and gauze in one hand and some kind of ointment in a wooden box in the other, she said calmly:

"Look at your hands."