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

"Ning Jiexiao!!"

At the entrance of Sihai Tower, the Fourth Prince, dressed in a blue striped mandarin jacket, stood up straight, head held high, and exclaimed in surprise.

…………

Inside the Sihai Building

The dozen or so tables of diners in the lobby were mostly eating steaming hot pot, their chopsticks covered with bright red mutton.

Seeing so many gentlemen rush in, everyone turned pale with fright, their chopsticks slipped from their hands and clattered onto the table.

He hurriedly stood up, the stool crooked and tilted, and knelt down to kowtow, shouting, "This servant greets all the lords."

They were afraid that these guys were after them.

Some diners, being of high status and well-informed, would quickly put down the birdcages they were carrying and shout, "This servant greets Your Highness," before running over to kowtow.

Some diners got up slowly, but seeing that the gentlemen ignored them, they simply strode up to the second floor.

They felt a sudden jolt, pulled their hats down to cover their faces, and slowly sat down, saving themselves from having to kowtow.

The shopkeeper had long since turned pale and stood frozen in place.

The thighs of several shop assistants were also trembling.

Fortunately, these gentlemen were led directly to the second floor by a servant in a black jacket, and the others only had to follow him, trembling.

A row of golden python robes, blue python robes, dark blue python robes, and white python robes were displayed in front.

Behind them were the bondservants in their mandarin jackets and the learned scholars.

The group split into two groups.

The Eighth Prince, with a yellow sash around his waist, led his men up the stairs on the right.

The short, stout Prince Hongping, wearing a red sash, led his men up the stairs on the left.

On both sides, the royal princes, like colorful young pythons, coiled and climbed the stairs.

They all pounced on the private room named "Yalan Reef".

Fu Hui rolled up his sleeves, his eyes gleaming, and took the lead.

About half an hour ago, Feng Ge'er received a letter saying that he had to go out for a while.

Although Fu Hui was only twelve years old, she immediately became suspicious.

He tugged at Feng Ge'er's sleeve and asked him a question. Feng Ge'er told him the truth, saying, "Ning Baixuan didn't dare to come to Du Lou. He invited me to another building for a gathering and wanted to apologize to me."

Fu Hui was both happy and angry. She was happy because Ning Baixuan was afraid of their Jiexiao, but she was angry because this dog servant didn't come.

How are they supposed to kill him then?!

Fu Hui immediately asked Feng Ge'er, "Where is this dog servant?"

Feng Ge'er, however, offered a better idea:

"Eighth Prince, in my opinion, we might as well not attack Ning Baixuan for now, and let me deal with him first."

Fu Hui immediately frowned, and almost blurted out the word "bad".

Hongfeng quickly advised him:

"Of course I'm not afraid of him, I'd love to kill him. But look, Eighth Prince, Ning Baixuan is the deputy envoy of the delegation. If he comes to apologize to me, and we just kill him, even if we're morally justified, the Emperor will lose face."

"There are so many ignorant people in the world. They don't know how despicable this Southern Dynasty lackey Ning Baixuan is. They spread rumors and gossip, making it seem like we are petty."

Fu Hui frowned: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Hongfeng offered a solution: "In my opinion, let me meet with him first. If he sends me a gift to apologize, I will accept it."

"This servant also asked him to submit a memorial to the Emperor, saying that the matter was over. This servant also submitted a memorial, saying that the matter was over."

"Once this matter is over, our magnanimity will be evident. Then, when we asked him to write poetry again, he refused, which means he looked down on us, not to mention that his talent was overshadowed by Ning Jiexiao."

"Most importantly, we've already forgiven him, yet he still looks down on us. It's only right that the Eighth Prince teaches him a lesson."

"He was just a weak and frail southern barbarian. The Eighth Prince killed him with a single punch. So you can't blame the Eighth Prince."

After thinking for a while, Fu Hui's eyes lit up and she agreed with Feng Ge'er's idea.

They waited at Dulou for almost half an hour until Feng Ge'er's servant said that the matter was settled.

And that's why they came right away without stopping?

The floor of the second floor of Sihailou was making a "bang bang bang" sound.

The door to "Yalan Reef" opened.

Fu Hui and the others saw Feng Ge'er, and then they saw a young man with an unshaved head standing next to Feng Ge'er.

Who else could this be but Ning Baixuan?

"Kill him!"

Fu Hui blushed, rolled up her sleeves to reveal her two thin forearms, and excitedly called out.

The others were also excited and were about to speak when a familiar voice came from the first floor of Sihai Tower.

"Ning Jiexiao!!"

"Um?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Fu Hui paused, turned her head, and looked down.

It was none other than the fourth brother, wearing a blue striped mandarin jacket!

"Ning Jiexiao?"

Fu Hui was taken aback.

"Is Ning Jiexiao here?"

He looked in the direction his fourth brother was waving... and all he could see were Feng Ge'er and that damned lackey Ning Baixuan!

"Ning Jiexiao..." Fu Hui peeked out, frowned, "Where is he?"

…………

White clouds roll across the horizon.

Forbidden City.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation.

As March approaches, the charcoal fire inside the hall continues to burn brighter rather than cool down.

Emperor Yongzheng wore a thick black padded jacket over his dragon robe and a melon-shaped hat with fur trim, leaning against the dragon throne which was covered with a blanket.

He was flipping through five or six memorials in his hand.

All of them were secret reports.

Ortai, wearing a plume on his head and a round-necked, dark blue-black Northern Dynasty official robe, stood respectfully with his hands at his sides in the hall. A lifelike crane was embroidered on his chest badge, indicating his status as a first-rank official.

The emperor, leaning back on the dragon throne, frowned, then relaxed, and then frowned again.

Finally, he handed over the few memorials he had flipped through countless times, and smiled broadly.

The eunuch standing beside him bowed and took the jade, then helped the emperor place it on the imperial table covered with a yellow cloth.

"I really underestimated Ning Nan Ning Baixuan."

"Break through Black Tiger Mountain, publish the South City Daily, and open White Jade Workshop."

"Furthermore, at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet hosted by that girl, Ning Baixuan actually dared to take up a gun and engage in a Western-style duel with Dongzhu."

"He fought two against one and still won. So that's where Danzhu died. Ha!"

The emperor smiled and said, "I suppose that girl must have taken a liking to Ning Baixuan at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Our Hongfeng's defeat was not unjust."

He was somewhat surprised to learn that this person was the top scholar in the Southern Dynasty, and even the Grand Scholar in the Southern Dynasty.

However, he has always been unconventional in his selection of talent, so he doesn't care too much about it.

The imperial examination system was indeed a way to select talent; for example, Nian Gengyao and Ortai, who are currently in office, were both selected through the imperial examination. Nian Gengyao was even a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy.

However, Li Wei and Tian Wenjing, who had no connection with the imperial examinations, were not necessarily that bad.

Even Ortai was just a mere Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations).

Among his fellow graduates, whether they were Jinshi, third-class graduates, or top scholars, was there anyone who could compare to Ortai?

Therefore, when the emperor on the dragon throne learned that the young man from the Southern Dynasty was a top scholar, he was dismissive of him.

Especially considering that the other party was clearly well-versed in classical Chinese literature, yet dared to beat his nephew in the Golden Hall without any regard for the bigger picture, this incident further demonstrates that he was spoiled and arrogant, and was not worth mentioning.

It was only his courage to go on a diplomatic mission that made him think twice about him.

However, he believed that the other party was still just acting recklessly.

The first time this young man was taken seriously was because of a secret memorial sent to the capital by Li Wei via express courier.