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

"Master Xu has brought the three Chen brothers, and they are now waiting in the flower hall." Qian Sijin's voice was like a taut string.

Even with his long experience of life and death, he felt his blood trembling tonight.

Even though there was no wind, the commander of the Imperial Guards felt a chill run down his spine.

"Call him over," the son-in-law said from inside.

Qian Sijin quickly replied, "Yes."

Chen San was still disguised as a laborer, wearing an old, dark blue shirt and a tattered jacket over it.

The shoes were cloth shoes, and there was a hole on the outside of the left shoe.

"Your subordinate greets the Master!"

Chen San clasped his hands in a salute.

Several oil lamps were lit inside, making the room brightly lit.

Ning Nan's expression remained calm: "Will your esteemed sect's former leader be able to see me tonight?"

Chen San paused, then said shyly:

"Master, I can only guarantee that you will be able to see the old master at the Fragrant Mountain Gathering on March 15th. The old master is elusive; he is the one who comes to us, while we find it very difficult to find him."

Ning Nan remained noncommittal and did not dwell on the matter, simply saying calmly, "I am leaving the city tonight and returning south."

Chen San was taken aback; the sudden news shocked him, the leader of the Northern Qiantian Altar.

"Master... March 15th is the sect's grand assembly, at which time the old master will formally pass on his position, and the new master will be..."

Ning Nan shook his head with a sigh, interrupting, "It's too late."

Ning Nan's gaze darkened slightly as he looked at the other person:

"The alliance between the North and South is a sham; the Emperor wants to kill me. The Emperor lured the delegation to the capital only to detain them there, using me and Prince Jing to threaten the Southern Dynasty into providing provisions to support the Northern Dynasty in retaking Aigun, and to watch the Northern Dynasty fight the Rakshasa. We cannot take advantage of their misfortune."

Chen San's short scar twitched, his expression turning solemn as he denied, "Master! That's absolutely impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible?" Ning Nan sneered.

Chen San's voice became slightly urgent as he said:

"Reporting to the Master, according to our intelligence, the alliance between the North and the South is indeed real. The Emperor of the Northern Dynasty truly intends to ally with the Southern Dynasty, first the North and then the South. We will deal with the Rakshasa first, and then head south."

Ning Nan picked up a piece of folded paper from the table, held it between two fingers, and said:

"This is a pledge of allegiance sent to our dynasty by an official of the fifth rank or above from the Ministry of Rites of the Northern Dynasty. He has already sent his wife and children to Jiangnan."

He sneered:

"Are you saying that your Heavenly Principle Sect is so powerful that the information you provide is more accurate than that of a civil official of the fifth rank or above?"

Chen San paused, and after a few breaths, he gritted his teeth, solemnly clasped his hands, and said:

"Master, please rest assured. Our intelligence sources are far more accurate than those of a mere fifth-rank official! But please forgive me for not saying more; you will understand everything at the Fragrant Mountain Conference!"

Ning Nan gave the other person a few deep looks, while Chen San met his gaze fearlessly.

"Enough with the nonsense."

Ning Nan casually stuffed the fake pledge of allegiance, which was tucked between his fingers, into his pocket and said,

"In the face of matters of life and death, I cannot listen to your side of the story. Prince Jing has a special status, and the Northern Dynasty will not kill him. Killing other envoys would be useless and would only give the Northern Dynasty a reputation for indiscriminate killing, ruining the Tartar emperor's important task of appeasing the south."

"But I am different. I have already offended Prince Yi to death, and I have not yet formally married the Empress of Great Liang. The Tartar Emperor's killing of me to establish his authority is both justified and enough to intimidate the Southern Dynasty."

"My head is already on the chopping block. Do you really want me to stay until the fifteenth of March?"

Ning Nan waved his hand sarcastically and said, "Let's go, don't say any more."

Chen San froze, glanced at Ning Nan's expression, and immediately became anxious, saying:

"Master, please rest assured. I guarantee with my life that your safety in Beijing is absolutely guaranteed! You have no need to worry."

Ning Nan frowned, said nothing more, somewhat listless, and only said:

"Go and call Xu Xiyin and Zhen Susu over."

Chen San wanted to persuade him further, but seeing Ning Nan's cold gaze, he knew that the sect leader no longer trusted him or the entire Heavenly Principle Sect to the extreme, so he dared not speak further, and only clasped his hands and said:

"Yes, Master!"

…………

Xu Xiyin, dressed in a thick Taoist robe and still holding a whisk in her hand, stood in the middle of the three.

Chen San is on the left.

Zhen Susu, dressed in a peach-colored dress and draped in a black fur cloak, with an extremely slender waist and stunning beauty, stood on the right.

Xu Xiyin frowned slightly. Zhen Susu gently rubbed her wrist, which ached from drawing on the ground, and pouted slightly to show her grievance.

Chen San lowered his head and remained silent.

Ning Nan scribbled on the paper without looking up, and said:

"Brother Chen, please take Master Xu and Miss Susu away and make proper arrangements for them."

Chen San looked dejected.

Xu and Zhen's expressions froze. Zhen Susu, who was rubbing her right wrist, stopped using her left hand.

"Why?" Zhen Susu exclaimed.

Ning Nan lowered his head and wrote: "I'm leaving the city soon to return south, so it won't be convenient for me to take you with me."

He offered a few casual words of explanation, saying that he had received a secret report that after meeting the emperor the next day, Yongzheng would rebuke him in court, then confine him to his quarters and forbid him from leaving, and later kill him. He had no choice but to leave tonight.

Zhen Susu's heart sank suddenly, her two pink lips parted and closed, and she subconsciously cried out:

"I'll go with you."

Ning Nan remained silent and did not respond, her hand still writing on the rice paper.

Xu Xiyin asked earnestly, "Does the leader still not trust us?"

Ning Nan put down his pen, looked up, and scanned the three people:

Why do you all recognize me as your leader?

Chen San said solemnly, "The leader is the person appointed by the former leader, and is the rightful leader of our sect!"

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes, staring at Chen San, and asked, "What if your sect's former leader is replaced by a new one?"

Chen San's expression froze, and he was immediately stunned.

Ning Nan said, "What if your sect's former leader, or your sect's left and right protectors, order you to kill me?"

The three of them froze instantly.

At this moment, Zhen Susu, on the far right, gracefully bowed, her voice clear and earnest:

"Master, just as I said in Cangzhou, I have pledged my life to you. I would gladly face any danger, even death."

"In my heart, ever since Cangzhou, I have only recognized you as the leader. If you are unwilling to be the leader..."

The woman said solemnly, "I am also willing to leave the sect and follow the sect leader to the ends of the earth!"

Chen San frowned, his lips parted slightly, but before he could speak, he heard the sect's leader in Beijing speak again.

"If the Master insists that I cut out my heart and liver to prove this oath, I am willing to be Bi Gan!"

Zhen Susu looked serious and touched the ground with her head.

Ning Nan glanced at Zhen Susu kneeling on the ground, his eyes shifting several times before narrowing slightly.

At this moment, the female Taoist priest Xu Xiyin sighed and looked at Ning Nan, saying:

"May I ask the Master a question?"

Ning Nan said, "Please ask, Daoist Master."

Xu Xiyin took half a step forward, her voice calm:

"If, in the future, a poor person requests the penicillin produced by the Master in Nanjing, would the Master be willing to give it to them?"

"Of course I'm willing."

"Ten people?"

"willing."

"What about a hundred people?"

"willing."

"Then... what about ten thousand people?" the female Taoist priest asked.

Ning Nan tapped the Xuan paper on the table with his brush, calmly looking at the female Taoist priest and saying:

"It has nothing to do with whether or not someone is the leader of your sect. It has nothing to do with whether or not someone is an official of the Great Liang Dynasty."

"Just as Cai Lun invented papermaking, within ten years, I will surely make the method of producing penicillin known throughout the world."

"So what if there are millions?"