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

While Qian Sijin was still in a daze, a beautiful figure in pink quickly stepped forward.

A fragrant breeze swept over Ning Nan.

A head of black hair and a sandalwood hairpin holding it up caught Master Ning's eye.

With a whoosh, in a very short time, the wooden hairpin trembled slightly, and her left thigh was raised high above her head, standing straight.

Thud! A whip kick.

The embroidered shoe drew a powerful arc in the air.

Suddenly, he kicked away the dirty locust tree that the beggar was holding up!

The beggar, who already only had one leg, immediately spun around, his cane falling to the right, causing his body to turn to the right.

The surrounding Imperial Guards were taken aback and shouted in a Jiangnan accent:

"You bastard!"

The guard closest to Ning Nan glared angrily and kicked out suddenly. Bang! The one-legged beggar's stomach caved in.

The disheveled beggar could no longer stand. With a cry of "Ouch!", he fell to the ground with a thud, clutching his stomach and convulsing, his face contorted in agony.

Everyone else was sweating profusely and rushed forward to protect Ning Nan.

Zhen Susu, who had kicked away the cane, stood in front of Ning Nan and slightly frowned her delicate eyebrows.

When she kicked that cane just now, the cane clearly pulled back with force, and her foot didn't hurt. That's rather strange.

The beggar lay on the ground yelling. He was already filthy, and after being kicked, it seemed as if he had excreted his feces and urine, making the place smell even worse.

Passersby turned to look.

"Someone's being hit! Someone's being hit!"

"Stop them! Report to the authorities!"

"Pay up! Pay up! Beggar Xu is going to die!"

In an instant, the seven or eight beggars who were sitting under the eaves rushed forward, blocking Ning Nan and the others, shouting loudly, their faces showing a mixture of excitement and pride.

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes. A staged accident?

He stepped into the stirrups, mounted his horse, and ignored them.

The Imperial Guards were utterly bewildered. They drew their swords and shouted in broken Northern Mandarin, "Don't come any closer!"

At this moment, the beggar lying on the ground bared his teeth and cried out twice.

"You bastard... that southern dog stole my young master's lover from Lijia Village... Your Honor... Your Honor... my young master chopped off my leg... my leg... you bastard..."

It's all jumbled up and a mess.

Other beggars, some with bowls, others with bamboo sticks, banged on the ground incessantly, shouting, "Report to the authorities!", "Pay up!", "Don't leave!"

Ning Nan, who had originally intended to leave, suddenly dismounted, his face cold.

Qian Sijin and a group of Imperial Guards stood in front of him.

Clang! The scolded Master Ning drew a knife from a Jinyiwei guard beside him.

With a knife in one hand and the other behind his back, he walked towards the group of beggars, whose cries immediately fell silent.

Ning Nan continued walking, his murderous aura palpable. Several beggars were forced to retreat, backing up behind the fallen beggar Xu.

Xu the beggar was still cursing and shouting on the ground when a cold glint appeared in the sunlight, and the blade was hanging in front of him.

A foot wearing thick soap shoes stepped on his face.

"What did you just call me?" Master Ning asked coldly, looking down at him.

Xu, the beggar, was being trampled on on the ground. He was speaking unclearly, making "woo woo woo" noises, and trying to pry the soap shoe off his face with both hands.

But the young master from the south, dressed in a moon-colored robe, exerted tremendous force.

The beggar's head rubbed against the ground. He hadn't had a proper meal in a long time, and was so thin that he was skin and bones. His limbs were limp and couldn't be bent. His only remaining foot thrashed weakly on the ground.

"Pooh!"

Ning Nan spat disdainfully, moved his foot aside, took out a wad of silver from his pocket, and threw it at the beggar.

The beggar's mouth was bleeding from being stepped on, but when he saw the gleaming silver, he frantically thrashed about on the ground, grabbed the silver, and bit it.

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes and said:

"If there is a next time, I will make you beggars suffer more from living than from being dead."

That's all.

He handed the knife back to the Imperial Guard, glanced at Qian Sijin, and quickly looked away.

He immediately mounted his horse and led the group away.

Behind them, a group of beggars pounced on them. Xu, the beggar on the ground, hid the silver in his pocket and shouted:

"Everyone gets a share! Everyone gets a share! Don't fight over it, you bastards! I said everyone gets a share!"

The sun is westward.

Master Ning held the reins in his hand, remaining silent the entire way.

Head north from Qipan Street to Daqing Gate.

Turn east and enter Chang'an Avenue.

Horses were not allowed to gallop within the capital, so they rode slowly, holding their reins. After traveling only about a mile, the Court of Colonial Affairs appeared on their left.

An official from the Southern Dynasty delegation remained at the scene. Ning Nan handed over the memorial he was to submit to the emperor and then turned to leave.

As they walked out of the Court of Colonial Affairs, Qian Sijin and he exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

Holding the reins of the large white horse, Ning Nan said calmly:

"Let's go back to the embassy."

They traveled at a leisurely pace, with Ning Nan taking his time as Zhen Fox introduced him to various snacks in Beijing.

He also bought several gifts to thank Su Su, the girl who saved him.

Zhen Susu took a small bite of the crispy fried dough ring, pointed to a thriving old shop with her finger, and said sweetly:

"Young master, that restaurant's fried liver, lamb tripe, and fermented mung bean juice are the best in Beijing. If you come all the way to Beijing and don't try them, you'll have wasted your trip."

She narrowed her large, round, almond-shaped eyes and said in a very natural tone.

Ning Nan said, "Okay, I'll have fried liver and lamb tripe."

"Fermented mung bean juice is the store's signature dish."

"It's all yours."

The fox-like woman, two years older than Master Ning, gritted her teeth and said resentfully:

"Then let's eat together next time. If Young Master doesn't drink soy milk with me, I won't have much of an appetite."

Old Master Ning twitched the corner of his mouth.

Back in Dongjiang Rice Lane, he led his horse to the Southern Embassy, ​​tossed the reins to the groom, and then led a group of people to Qingfeng Xiaozhu.

Step into the flower hall.

Susu the fox ran off to make tea.

Xu Xiyin flicked her whisk, strode forward, and said worriedly:

"Young master, that beggar?"

Ning Nan frowned slightly: "What's wrong?"

Xu Xiyin glanced at him and said sincerely, "This subordinate feels... that beggar seems to be..."

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she subconsciously felt something was off.

Ning Nan shook his head and said, "What's this? A staged accident? It's nothing. It's just a little money."

When he sat down, Zhen Susu had already brought over the tea.

Ning Nan sent Xu Xiyin to invite Chen San, saying he had something to discuss with him.

He then sent Zhen Susu to draw a map of the capital for him, following his instructions to use a ruler and a simple compass, strictly adhering to the scale.

When only he and Qian Sijin remained in the flower hall, Qian Sijin nodded.

Ning Nan bent down and took out a strip of cloth from the inside of his soap shoe on the outside of his calf.

"Li Family Village... lover..."

Long ago, when he returned to Li Family Village with Qian Sijin, Xu Cheng, and a group of Imperial Guards, they were targeted.

He used excuses like "I'm going to see my lover" to get Qian Sijin and the others away, hoping to lure the man out.

The mere mention of those two words sent a storm of emotions through Ning Nan's heart.

The other party remained silent and did not reveal their identity. Ning Nan did not understand their intentions, but naturally cooperated with them.

Although Xu Xiyin and Zhen Susu seem to have submitted to the government, they are also very loyal.

But their loyalty was always to the "leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect," not to Ning Nan himself.

Ning Nan couldn't let things go wrong, since the beggar had taken such a dangerous risk and used such a secretive method to deliver the message.

He unfolded the short, rough strip of cloth, on which was written only one line of text, or more precisely, only three simple words written in blood.