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

The third day of the Lunar New Year.

The world was clear and bright.

Several more shops opened on the street, and the shop assistants came out to sweep snow and remove frost, exchanging New Year's greetings with smiles.

Peng Liangang arranged for people to gather manpower, prepare weapons and horses, which would take several days.

The same goes for Aunt Xu.

However, Xu Guizi's jar of Gan Jiaohua had already led more than a dozen beggars to beg and gather information along the streets around the Imperial Clan Court.

In the teahouse.

Peng Liangang took a big gulp of wine from the gourd he had brought.

Xu Xiyin's expression remained calm.

Peng Liangang looked at the imposing guards in front of the Imperial Clan Court, his teeth aching, and said:

"I wonder when this empress will finally leave..."

Xu Xiyin took a small sip of tea and said, "Wait."

The Empress's personal guards consisted of three hundred armored soldiers; a direct assault would have been futile.

They must have acted in concert with the Empress after she left, setting fire to the place at night, and arranging for several groups of people to divert any possible reinforcements before they could have a chance to take advantage of the situation.

Therefore, they had to wait for the Empress to leave, and also for a favorable time of day.

In this kind of weather, it's quite difficult to start a fire.

Of course... Xu Xiyin lowered her eyelids, secretly apologizing in her heart. She didn't know how many people in her family would die this time...

Pedestrians came and went downstairs, and by noon, the frozen ground had been completely thawed by the carriages and footprints.

Peng Liangang handed the empty wine gourd to one of his men and ordered him to fetch some more wine.

Xu Xiyin, however, kept drinking light tea.

At that moment, a commotion came from the Imperial Clan Court.

The two paused, exchanged a glance, and their gazes locked in unison.

Peng Liangang is usually loud and boisterous, but when faced with important matters, he becomes remarkably calm.

At this moment, without making a sound, he picked up the teacup and slowly turned his body around.

Xu Xiyin remained calm and composed, exuding an extraordinary and otherworldly aura. The Imperial Clan Court was located diagonally opposite her, so there was no need for her to make any major moves.

She took a sip of tea and then turned her gaze over there.

The gates of the Imperial Clan Court were wide open.

The empress must be heading back to the palace soon.

These past few days have been the first month of the lunar calendar. Apart from the grand court assembly on the first day, the imperial court has not held any court assemblies. The government offices have been closed and are not in operation until the fourth day of the first month.

During the Lantern Festival, the holiday can last for as long as ten days.

The empress has been inside until today, and it's reasonable that she plans to leave the palace and return to the capital. Tomorrow she will be able to hold a court assembly.

In front of the Imperial Clan Court, a large number of eunuchs and palace maids poured out like a tide.

Then, a woman in green stepped out of the Imperial Clan Court.

At this moment, Peng Liangang exclaimed "Eh!" and Xu Xiyin, who was usually calm and composed, widened her eyes slightly and paused in her breath.

Beside the woman in green... a tall man in a moon-colored robe was accompanying her.

Not long after.

The two boarded the red carriage one after the other.

"Hmm... Sister Xu..." Peng Liangang, reeking of alcohol, rubbed his drunken eyes. "Did I see wrong...?"

Xu Xiyin was also taken aback. The imperial carriage, surrounded by hundreds of guards and a group of eunuchs and palace maids, sped away. Judging from the direction it was heading, it was heading straight for the imperial palace.

"Phew..." Xu Xiyin frowned, feeling somewhat incredulous.

After a long pause, she suppressed her doubts and calmed herself down to say:

"Old man...you didn't see wrong..."

The thirty-two-year-old female Taoist priest's eyes became complicated, and her tone became somewhat doubtful:

"That man... um... that's the young master..."

"Hiss!" Peng Liangang took a breath, suddenly turned his head, and met Xu Gu Zi's gaze. His eyes became shocked and strange.

"Why is he out here?!"

At this moment, one of Peng Liangang's men came running up and whispered a few words in his ear.

The old man wearing a felt hat immediately became extremely serious: "Is someone following him?"

The man shook his head and said firmly, "No... The brothers made him wander around the alley for a long time, changing his clothes and attire three times before he came back. He didn't have a tail after him."

"Let him come to see me." Peng Liangang put down his teacup.

Xu Xiyin frowned, but didn't ask any further questions.

At this moment, a man dressed in brown, somewhat thin, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, came up to the second floor and stood in front of them.

"Altar Master!"

Upon seeing Old Man Peng, the man hurried forward and whispered excitedly.

The highly respected leader of this forum, Master Peng, said, "Tiger, enough with the nonsense... What does the young master say...?"

Xu Xiyin's eyes lit up, and she realized that this brown-clad man who looked like a monkey and was named "Tiger" was the one who had directly approached the young master at the Imperial Clan Court.

Tiger nodded hastily, rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a few crumpled silver notes, handed them to Peng Liangang, and whispered:

"Master, this is what the sect leader gave me... three thousand taels of silver."

"Huh?" Peng Liangang looked surprised, his gaze somewhat blank.

Xu Xiyin looked at the silver notes, her usually calm eyes rippled, and she raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

Tiger respectfully said, "Master, the leader said: 'Firstly, I am unworthy of such a title… Secondly, my life is not in danger, so there is no need to save me for now. We are all born of parents, and no one's life is worth less than anyone else's. This is a strategically important place, so please don't waste your life… Brother Tiger, this three thousand taels of silver is a token of my gratitude, so that we brothers can have a feast for the New Year. In a few days, I will send another seven thousand taels of silver directly to the Qiudao Temple in the south of the city…'"

Peng Liangang was taken aback.

Xu Xiyin looked at the silver note, her thoughts suddenly becoming complicated, and she couldn't help but frown.

At this moment, Tiger, with his excellent memory, continued word for word:

"Master, the Sect Leader also said: 'I am ashamed that I have never had the chance to meet your Sect Leader, and that I possess your Sect Leader's token. May I be permitted to meet with your Sect Leader or the Left Protector to return this token? This item is very important, and I dare not entrust it to anyone else. Furthermore, I have a couple of doubts that I need the Sect Leader or the Left Protector to resolve. I would be grateful for your judgment.'"

After listening, the two looked at each other in bewilderment. Looking at the few silver notes in their hands and the words the cult leader had said, they exchanged glances, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.

Peng Liangang took a breath, accepted the wine handed to him by his subordinate, and frowned, staring at Xu Gu Zi with some hesitation:

"What should we do? Should we spend the money or not?"

Xu Xiyin glanced at him and said angrily:

"Lack of ambition?"

Peng Liangang glared and said, "Given to you by the cult leader!"

……

……

"Hmm... Don't touch that 'Tiger Boy'. Just let him work properly in the Imperial Clan Court. Don't promote him or give him important positions."

"Um."

"Regarding the Heavenly Principle Sect... let me talk to their... old leader or left protector... first..."

"Um."

"That Left Protector said last time that I... um... have an 'older sister' in the north... I'm a little concerned about that."

"Hmm... I care about that too."

"Oh...and also, there's no need to fish at the Qiudao Temple in the south of the city anymore...it's not really worth it. Did the Embroidered Uniform Guard send people there?"

"Yes, they've sent them. To catch that Left Protector."

"Let's leave. I suspect it's a fake location."

"Hmm... an orange."

"Give."

Inside the imperial carriage, Master Ning, who had just finished a thorough bath in a side room of the Imperial Clan Court, sat upright and handed his wife a peeled orange.

"Hmm," he frowned, then asked, "Should I pay my respects to your elder brother after we meet later?"

"Remove the word 'you'." She leaned on his shoulder and popped a segment of orange into her mouth.

Ning Nan looked helpless and could only repeat himself, "I'm meeting with my elder brother later..."

Upon hearing this, he naturally understood that he no longer needed to kneel, and so he stopped talking.

The matter was far from being resolved. Although he had been released from there, he was only summoned by the emperor's brother-in-law, who was also the "retired emperor."

Thinking of his sickly brother-in-law, he didn't know why, but his heart would always pound involuntarily.

At this moment, he glanced at the woman beside him leaning on his shoulder, then looked down at her flat stomach.