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

Ning Nan jumped off the white horse, took off his phoenix-winged helmet, and removed his armor, handing it to a member of the Imperial Guard to wash it with hot water.

He then instructed Erlaizi and Sanzhuang to lead Chen San and his thirty men to the end of the delegation.

Xu Xiyin made preparations and boiled hot water, which was just in time for everyone to wash away the blood and grime from their bodies.

Ning Nan was a little disheveled, with a few stray hairs still falling across her forehead.

He led Qian Sijin to the front of the delegation.

With a whoosh, the fifty-odd cavalrymen that Zheng Xiao and Tong Shun had brought back, who were resting in their tents, quickly got up and saluted him when they saw him coming.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

His voice was powerful and resonant!

This drew the attention of the laborers, fifty infantrymen, and the thirty cavalrymen who stayed behind with Zhang Yaojie.

Ning Nan was also taken aback.

Looking at Zheng Xiao and Tong Shun at the front of the group, their faces lit up with joy and their eyes were filled with excitement.

Ning Nan smiled and raised his hand, saying, "Please rise, everyone."

By his orders, no one is to divulge a single word about what happened last night; they should only say that the Grand Prince Consort gave the order.

Therefore, when the delegation's officials questioned Zheng Xiao and Tong Shun, the two of them forced themselves to say, "The Grand Prince Consort will return shortly," and "The Grand Prince Consort has ordered that we are not allowed to speak out of turn, otherwise we will be implicated."

Ning Nan was worried that if they were asked to lie, the lies wouldn't be able to cover up.

So they were told to neither tell the truth nor lie, and simply not to tell anything at all.

This is the safest approach.

The punishment of those implicated is also true.

If anyone leaks this information, all of Yi Wu's contributions will be nullified.

In addition, the Grand Prince Consort's command last night was excellent, and the Crescent Moon Bow he gave them was a divine weapon, so everyone remained silent.

"Prestige is earned through winning battles."

Looking into the eyes of these people, Ning Nan couldn't help but think of this sentence again.

Compared to Zheng Xiao and Tong Shun, Zhang Yaojie's smile when he saw him was somewhat forced, and he even felt a little resentful.

In terms of rank, he was their superior, but when he ordered them to tell him the truth, they remained silent, causing him to lose face in front of so many adults.

Zhang Yaojie bowed his head and said, "Gentlemen, please wait for the Grand Prince Consort ahead."

Ning Nan smiled and nodded.

When he appeared before the officials, covered in blood,

The officials of the Southern Dynasty breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The officials of the Northern Dynasty did indeed show a hint of regret in their eyes.

Seeing that the man was unharmed, Jia Shi'an's expression relaxed: "It's good that Vice Envoy Ning is safe and sound."

That's all.

He looked at the Left Vice Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs of the Northern Dynasty and said:

"Ambassador, please wait for us for another half an hour. We can depart in half an hour."

Duanliang frowned as he looked at the other person who had returned safely, still covered in blood.

"May I ask, Vice Envoy Ning, did you indeed go to hunt down the mountain bandits?"

Ning Nan looked at the other person with a puzzled expression.

Knowing that Ning Nan did not know the other person, Jia Shi'an quickly introduced them.

Ning Nan then smiled and greeted him, saying, "It is good that the ambassador has heard that we did indeed go and kill a few petty thieves. However, they were too fierce. Ning and his men fought with them for half the night and barely managed to kill a few. After they escaped, we returned."

Duanliang looked him up and down.

Recalling the horrific scene of those two cavalry units returning empty-handed, with no spoils or heads, only a few corpses and some wounded soldiers, a cold laugh involuntarily escaped his lips:

"It's still uncertain who escaped!"

Immediately afterwards, Duanliang took his leave.

The officials of the Southern Dynasty looked around, unsure of what to do.

Several officials in scarlet robes from the Ningnan Dynasty smiled and said, "Vice Envoy Jia, Lord Wu, Lord Zhao, and Lord Jiang, please stay. I have something to tell you."

These four were all officials in scarlet robes, and they were also the core civil officials on this mission.

Upon hearing this, the other officials in green and blue robes knew that this person was trying to drive them away.

Censor Cai Tong flicked his sleeves and said, "Vice Envoy Ning, then we will not linger any longer!"

Having said that, he was the first to step out of the tent.

His departure brought some relief to the other officials, while others were quite dissatisfied. Nevertheless, they all stepped out of the tent together.

After they left the camp, Qian Sijin brought in a black cloth bag, handed it to Ning Nan, and stood guard outside the camp to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.

Jia Shi'an, who was seated at the head of the table, frowned.

Right Vice Censor-in-Chief Wu Yuanlei exchanged glances with Zhao and Jiang, their eyes flashing with doubt.

A strong smell of lime filled the tent.

Ning Nan placed the black cloth bag in his hand on the table.

As soon as the cloth bag was opened.

A head with a shaved head, much larger than that of an average person, appeared before everyone's eyes!

The four officials in scarlet robes all turned their heads, and several gasps were heard inside the tent.

Wu Yuanlei frowned and asked, "Vice Envoy Ning, what is this?"

This time it wasn't a complete failure; they killed a Tartar and came to them to claim credit.

The official surnamed Zhao, dressed in scarlet robes, seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but forced a smile and said, "Vice Envoy Ning has rendered meritorious service in killing the traitors, and we will certainly request credit from His Majesty."

The official surnamed Jiang sighed, "Vice Envoy Ning, you've been too risky! Although you've killed a Tartar, a man of great wealth shouldn't risk his life to fight such bandits."

Wu Yuanlei stroked his beard and said, "Indeed, to be frank, the Grand Prince Consort has many grudges with the Prince Yi's mansion. Hongfeng and Hongjiao both wish they could get rid of the Grand Prince Consort. In my opinion, as long as the Grand Prince Consort stays within the delegation, the Prince Yi's mansion may not be able to do anything to him!"

Calling him "Grand Prince Consort" instead of "Deputy Envoy Ning" shows that they are speaking frankly with him.

Jia Shi'an, the deputy envoy of the mission, remained silent, but what Wu Yuanlei said was exactly what he wanted to say.

"Gentlemen," Ning Nan said, shaking his head and interrupting them.

Ning Nan solemnly addressed the crowd:

"Hongfeng has woken up. He and Hongjiao summoned a general and thirty cavalrymen from Pingnan Camp."

These people are all important officials of the Great Liang Dynasty. He needs to let them know some things so that they can work together to deal with the situation.

Otherwise, if something happens and the people in the delegation disagree with him, things will become very difficult.

These people were in sync with him; with them keeping the delegation in check, the entire delegation would move forward and retreat in unison, as if their own limbs were being guided.

Jia Shi'an nodded: "The bandits from last night were those thirty riders."

Ning Nan had already informed Jia Shi'an of this news through the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In fact, as the deputy envoy of the mission, Jia Shi'an had special channels provided by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He knew before that thirty riders from the Bordered White Banner of Pingnan Camp had been transferred away by Prince Yi's Mansion, but at that time he did not know the leader of this cavalry regiment.

It was only last night, after the Grand Prince Consort told him, that he learned the leader of this cavalry was actually Amurtu! The deputy commander of the Plain White Banner!

This gave him a chill!

I almost died trying to dissuade the prince consort from leading troops out to find the other side.

Wu Yuanlei and the other two were not surprised that the bandits were actually Manchu soldiers, and they all nodded calmly.

Ning Nan continued, "In addition, Hong Feng and Hong Jiao also transferred one hundred Green Standard Army soldiers from Pingnan Camp."

Upon hearing this, their pupils constricted sharply!

Not only the three of them, but Jia Shi'an also changed color upon hearing the news.

Thirty horsemen? One hundred Green Standard Army soldiers?

Wu Yuanlei's heart skipped a beat: "What are they planning to do?"

Ning Nan said, "What they want to do is no longer important."