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

As the month draws to a close, the moon will soon be full again.

The snow seemed to fall incessantly, lingering and drifting under the cold, white moonlight, sprinkling onto the glistening snow in the courtyard, making the already stark white courtyard even whiter.

"Tomorrow is the grand ceremony of announcing the winners..."

The two walked side by side on the dark veranda.

Master Ning was carrying a lantern, and Zhu Cuiwei, holding his hand, looked up at him and said:

You have to get up early tomorrow.

"I know." Ning Nan nodded, his expression calm, but his eyes still held a hint of fear, as if he wanted to sigh and rub his forehead... Hmm... Starting tomorrow... it seems I'll have to go to work on time.

The wind howled as it swept across the covered walkway. The two men tightened their robes, but their steps remained slow.

It seemed they didn't want to go back to their room so early and wanted to continue walking together.

"What place do you think you'll get this time?" the woman asked curiously.

"Phew..." Ning Nan sighed, then inhaled, rolling her eyes at her.

"It's already good enough that you passed the imperial examination... What, you want to be the wife of a top scholar?"

"I don't want to," the woman said softly as she walked along, her arm linked with his left arm, which was carrying the lantern.

"Hmph!" Master Ning snorted, glancing sideways at his wife. "What? Don't you trust your husband that much?"

I knew it… Zhu Cuiwei thought to herself, not wanting to pay him any attention, and simply said:

"I sent someone back to the countryside to fetch Mother. She should arrive in the capital tomorrow. Mother will definitely bring lots of food with her."

"What do you want to eat?" Ning Nan asked directly.

"Honey-steamed preserved fish, please." She nodded her chin.

As she spoke, the woman couldn't help but look up at the night sky.

The snowflakes continued to fall like goose feathers. If it continues to snow like this tomorrow morning, Mother probably won't be able to come until the day after tomorrow.

Master Ning grunted, yawned, and said:

"My aunt will probably bring some preserved fish over. I don't know if Mi's family has any left. I'll have Chunyu buy some tomorrow..."

They chatted about all sorts of random things.

No matter how slowly they walked, they eventually reached the main house.

The two dozing maids had slightly red eyes, each holding a hand warmer.

Hearing the noise, she woke up quickly and rushed around, some making the beds, others fetching hot water, and helping the master and mistress to bed...

……

……

The bright moon moves from east to west.

The snow in the night sky stopped for some reason.

The official roads in the capital were covered with a thick layer of snow.

To prevent the horses from slipping in this weather, Uncle Ping and the grooms at his residence had nailed the horses' horseshoes long ago.

With eight anti-slip hooves on each hoof, pointed at the top and large at the bottom, and having fattened up for the winter, the big yellow horse wouldn't have any problems traveling, as long as it didn't walk too fast.

The car was equipped with soft cushions and a stove.

Taking advantage of this moment, Master Ning lay down on the cushion again and dozed off slightly.

At this moment, he was wearing a set of "Jinshi robes".

He wore a scholar's cap, shaped like an official's hat.

He was dressed in a dark blue robe, with a black leather belt around his waist, and holding a scepter made of locust wood in his hand.

This is the uniform sent by the Imperial College.

However, once the announcement ceremony is over, this set of clothes must be returned to the Imperial Academy.

When Chunyu received it, she looked at it and said excitedly, "Don't worry, sir, this is newly made. No one else has ever worn it before."

Relieved, he told Chunyu to wash the plants only three times and that was it.

The imperial examination robes were uniform, but if one became the top scholar (状元), the emperor would bestow upon them a special "top scholar robe."

The hat was a two-tiered crown with gold trim, the same style as that worn by a first-rank official.

The court dress was a crimson round-necked silk robe, paired with a plain silver belt, and matching court boots and felt socks, making it very radiant.

He didn't want to think about that.

He had secretly guessed that the top scholar should be Li Yanting.

Even if it wasn't Li Yanting, a scholarly talent...

"Hoo..." Master Ning sighed softly as he lay on the soft cushions of the carriage, thinking to himself.

There's also a chance it might be one of the Tartars...

Based on what the Tartar had said to him in the gallery of the Nancheng Daily that day, he had been feeling somewhat uneasy.

However, no matter what, if the Great Liang Dynasty is truly so short-sighted, it will have its own way of dealing with it, meeting force with force and water with water.

Ban Dingyuan is not incapable of being a candidate.

Thinking about these things gradually dispelled my sleepiness, and I became more awake.

As he sat up, the big yellow horse slowed down at the same time.

We've arrived at the Meridian Gate.

It was not yet dawn, and the sky outside was still pitch black.

With each step, the snow on the ground made a hissing sound.

This work schedule made Mr. Ning feel a bit miserable.

Fortunately, his home was very close by. It would probably only take him less than fifteen minutes to get there for court.

We have to thank Master Zhu for his foresight in gifting him this house, which is located so close to the palace.

After leaving a trail of footprints in the snow, I arrived at the Meridian Gate and saw an official in a green robe standing solemnly in front of me.

Unlike the previous days when the imperial examination required waiting in the cold wind outside the Meridian Gate, this time the examination was different.

Upon his arrival, the official in the green robe greeted him, introducing himself as the Left Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial. After verifying his identity, he turned to look at a middle-aged eunuch who nodded and ordered a junior eunuch standing nearby to lead him into the palace, saying, "Please wait in the side hall."

Ning Nan bowed and agreed.

Only then did I feel relieved.

No wonder I saw so many footprints but no one waiting; they all went to the side hall.

Following the hunched-over eunuch, we entered the palace through the left side gate, where we were greeted by the same colossal Fengtian Hall.

The Fengtian Hall was brightly lit.

From afar, one could already see the row of imposing and dignified Han generals in front of the palace.

You can even see dozens of red pillars inside.

He was momentarily stunned.

When I was a child, Old Man Han boasted in the village that there were seventy-two golden pillars in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, and eight of them, which were coiled dragon pillars, were close to the emperor’s throne. Each one of them was a large beam.

The villagers stared wide-eyed: "Mr. Han has been to the imperial palace in Nanjing?"

Old Han shook his head.

"How did you know that, sir?"

Old Han, waving his fan, shook his head and laughed:

"I only mentioned the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, not whether it was the southern or northern Forbidden City."

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed, knowing that Mr. Han was joking with them.

Going to the imperial palace in Nanjing would be incredible.

How could I possibly have gone to the imperial palace in the north?

As Ning Nan drew closer to the steps in front of the Fengtian Hall, walking on the snow-covered square, he couldn't help but think of this matter again.

Old Han left long ago, in early September, even before the county examination. He only left a letter for him and Li Yanting, saying he was going home to see his children.

If Mr. Han were still alive, during the provincial examination, one of his students, Li Yanting, would have been the runner-up, and the other half of his student would have been the top scholar. I don't know how much he would have boasted!

The imperial examination was approaching.

He won the top prize, Li Yanting came in third, and the old man was teaching at Bailu Academy. If he hadn't left, he probably would have been respectfully called "Great Confucian Han" by the famous scholars of Jiangnan.

Before long, he reached the white marble steps.

At this moment, four eunuchs were standing on the white marble steps. Seeing him come up, the head eunuch quickly led the other three to come forward and bow.

"May I ask if it was Young Master Ning Baixuan in person?"

Ning Nan was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

The other three eunuchs clearly didn't recognize him, but the head eunuch seemed to know him, his eyes slightly excited, and he bowed respectfully, saying:

"Young Master Ning, this is your servant, Shen Pei. Please forgive me, but Princess Yong has invited you. Please come with me..."