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

The bed frame is very hard.

The weather is quite cool again.

When the wind blew through the corridor, it sounded like a ghostly wail.

He was only wearing a white dress, and his nose was already running while he was walking on the road. After he came in, the snot was even more difficult to wipe away.

With a very bachelor mindset, he simply lay down on the bed, curled up in a ball for warmth, and took it one day at a time.

Fortunately, he had just lain down.

Several jailers then came in carrying stoves, quilts, and a basket of charcoal.

"The cotton quilt, cotton clothes, and flint and steel are all on the table, and the charcoal is in the corner. You can add the charcoal yourself later."

After coldly uttering a few words.

"Clang!"

The iron gate closed.

The sound of prison chains rang out again.

Then came the sound of jailers' footsteps in the empty corridor.

He sniffed, got off the bed, and put on the black cotton coat.

There are two quilts in total.

One bed was laid on the bed board, and the other was used to cover oneself.

Add charcoal and kindling to the stove.

*Click-clack.*

He struck the flint and steel and lit the stove.

Next, he picked up an iron kettle from the table and used a ladle to scoop some water from a wooden bucket in the corner and poured it into the kettle.

Then place the iron kettle on the heated stove.

The cell contained a bed, a table, a bamboo chair, a bucket of water, a chamber pot, and a basket of charcoal in the corner.

He dragged over a bamboo chair and sat down, stretching out his hands to warm himself by the fire while keeping an eye on the flickering flames in the stove.

Wait for the water to boil.

He was put into a carriage, and when he got off, he was at the prison gate. He didn't know which prison he was in.

Jiangning County Prison?

Shangyuan County Prison?

Or is it the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Ning Nan took a breath, shook her head, and stopped thinking about it.

No matter which prison it is, there's no escaping it.

Fortunately, he had just looked through the iron bars and saw that there were seven or eight cells on this floor, but he was the only one imprisoned, which was quite peaceful.

Wearing a cotton-padded coat and sitting by the fire, my body felt much warmer.

There were two teacups on the table, both with missing rims. He rinsed each one with boiling water for a long time before actually pouring water in and drinking from them.

There was a small iron window on the wall directly opposite the iron fence, but it was quite high.

You need to stand on a wooden table to reach it.

He lay on the bed, his head facing the iron fence, looking at the small fence. Outside, the sky was still white, and snow was falling.

Master Ning, who had just passed the imperial examination with top honors that morning, frowned, feeling quite puzzled.

In the past, he would have definitely tried to shake the small fence by standing on the table to see if it could be opened, but this time... he didn't want to move at all.

I watched the snow for a while.

His eyes stung slightly, so he pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes...

As darkness fell, the jailer brought him food.

The "ding-ding-dang-dang" sounded for quite a while.

"Dinner's ready," the jailer said coldly.

He heard it, but didn't even open his eyes. He turned over, tucked his head under the covers, and continued sleeping.

All told, he hadn't eaten anything since leaving home in the morning except for a vegetarian bun, but he wasn't hungry at all.

Moreover, apart from taking a sip of water when he first came in, he hadn't drunk any water since, and had been lying in bed, curled up in the blankets.

It got dark outside.

The cell naturally darkened.

The world turned pitch black.

However, he was huddled under the covers, so it was pitch black in front of him. Occasionally, he would open his eyes and see the darkness before him, his warm breath swirling in the blankets, and he would feel an unprecedented sense of security and relaxation...

I don't know when, but my tired eyes really closed.

I don't know when I actually fell asleep.

In short, after sleeping for who knows how many hours, he opened his eyes, his face contorted, and his aching hands threw off the blanket, wanting to breathe in some fresh air.

At this moment, he raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

The prison cell, which should have become completely dark after nightfall, was not dark at this moment.

Instead, it was a warm, dim yellow.

A dark shadow loomed on the ceiling of the cell.

"call……"

He took a breath, turned his head, and looked in the direction of the light source.

On the only table in the cell, an oil lamp was lit.

There was someone sitting at the table.

She sat in the only chair in the cell.

She was wearing a light green dress and her hair was styled in a bun.

His right hand was wrapped in gauze.

Holding a book in her hands, she read by the oil lamp.

Seemingly hearing a sound he made on the bed, she turned her head and glanced at him.

"woke up?"

Ning Nan gazed at Her Majesty the Empress, who was less than three feet away from him and right next to the bed.

He didn't speak.

He turned over, pulled the blanket up again, and planned to cover his head and continue sleeping.

"Snapped!"

Zhu Cuiwei didn't give him that chance. She slammed the book on the table, stood up, and reached out with her left hand to pull off the blanket covering him.

"call!!"

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind swept over Master Ning, but he gritted his teeth and refused to complain of the cold.

Zhu Cuiwei picked up the cotton-padded coat at the foot of the bed and threw it at him.

"Put it on! Get up!"

She shouted:

"I want to eat!"

Ning Nan angrily retorted, "I'm not eating!"

Zhu Cuiwei said, "Who said I'd give you food? I said I want to eat!"

As she spoke, she pointed with her delicate hand.

There was an eight-treasure brocade box on the ground.

Zhu Cuiwei raised her right hand, which was wrapped in gauze, and waved it in front of him as if to ask for praise, but said in a flat tone:

"I only have one hand, I can't open it."

……

"Click".

After a moment of anger, he put on his cotton-padded coat and opened the Eight Treasures Brocade Box.

They took out the fish soup, stir-fried chrysanthemum greens, and a plate of chicken.

Of course, the food was already cold.

"A pile of rotten vegetables."

He snorted.

"Smash!" He slammed the bowl and chopsticks down in front of the woman.

"Mother made it." Zhu Cuiwei took out another set of bowls and chopsticks from the eight-treasure brocade box with her left hand and placed it in front of him, speaking in a calm voice.

Ning Nan was taken aback, then said angrily, "Don't call my mother 'Mother'."

Zhu Cuiwei sat on the bamboo chair, glanced at him, and said, "Go and tell Mother, and see if she acknowledges you or me."

His words were calm, but his eyes seemed to instantly well up with tears.

Master Ning looked into her eyes, his expression faltering for a moment. After a while, he lowered his head and snorted.

There was only one chair in the room.

The chair now belongs to the lady of the house.

Master Ning could only sit on the bed.

In front of him was a bowl and chopsticks, the bowl containing the cold rice that the woman had just scooped for him with her left hand.

Zhu Cuiwei held her chopsticks in her left hand and ate her meal in a very methodical manner.

"You complained that Mother's cooking wasn't good enough and refused to eat a single bite. I'll tell her that tomorrow."

Master Ning scoffed, "Afraid of you?"

……

Fifteen minutes later.

After he finished eating, he wiped his mouth, tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, and placed them in the brocade box.

Click.

Close the lid.

Then I lay down on the bed.

"I've finished eating," he said to the woman who was quietly reading by the oil lamp. "You may leave now."

Done.

He turned over, facing away from the woman by the oil lamp, and closed his eyes.

"Shh...shh..."

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the sound of turning pages by the oil lamp never stopped, which annoyed him.

Ning Nan opened his eyes, abruptly turned over, and angrily shouted at the woman who was still sitting calmly by the oil lamp reading a book:

Why aren't you leaving yet?

"sand……"

Zhu Cuiwei turned another page of the book, her eyes following the movement of the page, and said calmly:

"The entire Liang Dynasty belongs to me; I can go wherever I want."

"grass!"

Old Master Ning raised an eyebrow, cursed under his breath, and "thump!" lay down angrily again, continuing to turn his back to the woman who was staying in his cell.

His eyes were also glaring angrily at the mottled walls of the cell, which had several cracks.

After a long while, the woman put down her book, dragged her chair on the ground, and her eyes, which were fixed on the earthen wall, trembled.

"Hmph..." he thought to himself, "Finally leaving..." As he relaxed, he sank his head deeper into the pillow.

Suddenly, he heard a clear, cold voice: "Sleep inside."

Master Ning was taken aback.

Seemingly somewhat surprised, he ignored her for a moment.

Zhu Cuiwei frowned slightly, took off her embroidered shoes, and kicked him with a 'thud'.

The person wrapped in the thick quilt then shifted slightly, moving a little further inside.

"Hmph!" She snorted with satisfaction, took off her clothes, lifted the blanket, and slept in the same bed with him.

a whole night.

Ning Nan always kept his back to her and never turned around.

……

……

The crowing of roosters rang out in the distance.

Through the small fence, you could see that the sky was still a dark, oppressive expanse.

Ning Nan, who hadn't slept all night, turned over and looked at his wife.

At this moment, the woman's eyelashes trembled.

The sound of a wooden clapper rang out just in time, signaling the arrival of "Mao Shi" (5-7 AM).

Her habit, ingrained over the past few days, made her open her eyes at this moment.

It was very warm in the bed. Ning Nan looked at her and said sarcastically:

"It's already past dawn, why aren't you going to court?"

Zhu Cuiwei rubbed her eyes groggily, didn't say anything, only let out a soft "hmm".

"Hmm..." She rolled over like a cat, and after waiting all night, she buried her head in the arms of the other person who had finally turned around, murmuring, "Hmm... I'm not going..."

……

The 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Heavy snow fell across the land.

On her second day in prison, she still stayed by his side.