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

…………

Two men in black, one on each side, grabbed a figure dressed in a white python robe and scaled the western wall of the Southern Kingdom's embassy. As they landed, the three of them happened to encounter a group of armored soldiers.

The expressions of the twenty-odd armored soldiers changed drastically. They drew their swords and roared, "Don't move!"

Fortunately, a group of servants in black armor with white trim emerged from the white python robe, shouting "Catch them!" and pretending to be their own people from the North, and charged forward, catching the group off guard.

Two men in black seized the opportunity to pull the white man in a python robe into the alley, but several men in black jackets immediately appeared and drew their knives to block their way.

A man named Li Sanzhuang charged forward, brandishing a golden mace, and fought his way through them.

Xu Xiyin, dressed in a white python robe and impersonating Prince Jing of the Southern Dynasty, gave a low shout:

"This way!"

He disappeared into Bafu Hutong with two men in black.

The alley is lined with blue bricks.

The three worked together, with one person on the bottom and Xu Xiyin stepping on the other's back, leaping into the air and landing in a house.

Another man in black did the same thing, climbing up the wall and pulling the other man in black, who was bending over, over the wall as well.

As Xu Xiyin took off her clothes, she whispered, "Change your clothes!"

Both responded simultaneously, "Yes!"

The three of them took off their white python robes and black clothes, revealing a thick linen shirt underneath.

Xu Xiyin placed the white python robe into the cloth bag she carried with her.

He looked up, glanced at the moon in the sky, determined his direction, and whispered:

"This way!"

Shouts and footsteps rose from outside as firefighters from nearby areas arrived, carrying buckets of water and fire extinguishers, making a thumping sound as they passed through the alley.

The three men waited for the right moment and then climbed over the wall of the house.

When they reached the end of Bafu Hutong, Xu Xiyin knocked on the door of a house.

A voice came from inside the door.

After Xu Xiyin responded, the door quietly opened.

The three of them crouched low and filed in.

When they came out again, the three had changed their clothes and become members of the fire brigade in Bafu Hutong, carrying buckets of water to the embassy to put out the fire.

They passed by countless armored soldiers and cavalrymen along the way.

While fighting the fire, Xu Xiyin threw the cloth bag containing the white python robe into the fire to burn it.

Thick smoke billowed, blackening her face and causing her to cough. She carried buckets of water back and forth. A soldier, seeing she was a woman, demanded, "Where are you from? Where is your husband?"

Xu Xiyin replied, "It's my turn in Bafu Hutong. My husband died, and there's no man in the family to serve, so I came by myself."

The soldier nodded, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Go to the east. The fire is smaller there. Just make sure the fire doesn't spread to the inn on the east side."

Xu Xiyin said, "Thank you, sir."

He picked up the buckets and went.

We made our way to the east side of the embassy with a series of thumping and banging sounds.

Xu Xiyin continued to work alongside the laborers who had been conscripted to fight the fire, both preventing the fire and fetching water from the well to put it out.

Seeing that she was a woman, the crowd treated her with great care. Her eyes were stinging from the smoke, and she was drenched in sweat. When she told them her husband had died, they handed her a pancake and, on behalf of this young widow who looked no more than twenty, cursed a few times, "Damn God!"

Xu Xiyin wiped the black marks and sweat from her face: "Thank you, Uncle and Aunt."

Running back and forth in Dongjiang Rice Lane carrying buckets of water, after getting to know a few people, he saw an official in a scarlet robe emerge from the Siamese embassy, ​​shouting something like, "I want to see your emperor!" as he searched for the Northern Dynasty's representative in the area.

The man in the black jacket said, "Please wait a moment, Lord Jia. The Minister of Rites is on his way."

Xu Xiyin tripped and fell, rolling several times on the ground, crying out:

"That damned, short-lived bastard! He abandoned me!"

One of the soldiers was furious and shouted, "What are you yelling about?! How do you walk?! Are you blind?!"

Seemingly upon hearing the word "short-lived ghost," the official in crimson robes abruptly turned his head in the street. Upon seeing this scene, he immediately stepped forward and angrily berated the soldiers:

"Why would you scold a woman who is desperately trying to put out a fire for our Southern Dynasty embassy?!"

Before long, Jia Shi'an, the deputy envoy of the Liang delegation, ordered the people of the Siamese embassy to quickly carry the injured woman into the Siamese embassy and to quickly invite a doctor to come and treat her.

After some time had passed.

"Summon a doctor!" Jia Shi'an roared at the official in charge of the area as he emerged from the Siamese embassy. "Bring me all the doctors in the city! Have them bring me all the burn medicine their pharmacies have!"

While cursing, Jia Shi'an directed the people from the Siamese embassy to carry some of the burned laborers, soldiers, and fire brigade members into the Siamese embassy.

…………

I sat in the Yonghe Temple for about fifteen minutes, drinking tea and eating some snacks. I paced back and forth from time to time, and I seemed a little impatient. When I reached the door, I wanted to go out and ask something, but I quickly came back.

Around midnight.

Dressed in all black, Mu Shu entered the hall with a joyful expression, both smiling and sighing. He clasped his hands in greeting and said:

"Brother, the Emperor has agreed!"

Mu Shu's eyes shone as she grasped Ning Nan's hand and shook it vigorously a few times.

"I'll have to trouble you tonight, brother! I'm so grateful for your ingenious plan, which not only brought back Prince Jing but also captured Han Qing alive!"

Ning Nan felt a sense of relief, but his expression remained serious as he said:

"Brother, rest assured! Your emperor's magnanimity is unparalleled in the world, demonstrating his great talent and strategic vision; he is truly a wise ruler!"

Ning Nan stepped back, bowed deeply, and respectfully greeted the outside, saying:

"On behalf of our Southern Kingdom delegation, I, Ning, express our sincere gratitude to our allies!"

After Ning Nan stood up, Mu Shu glanced at him and said:

"Brother Ning, would you like to obtain a talisman and a warrant to leave the city?"

Ning Nan quickly refused, saying seriously, "Of course not! Since Han Qing invited me to meet at Liuye Zhai on Chaoyang Gate Inner Street in the inner city, he must be in the inner city! He has just placed people in Liuye Zhai, and he will only show up when I arrive."

After speaking, Ning Nan paused for a moment:

"Brother, you only need to send three hundred cavalrymen to my command. Combined with my own men, that's a force of over three hundred. As soon as I arrive at Willow Leaf Studio, I'll lure Han Qing out. Then we can surround him, and I'm sure Han Qing won't be able to escape!"

…………

A small pharmacy on Qipan Street was opened to the public because it had burn medicine.

The doctor in charge, Dr. Shen, was lazy and sleepy. After receiving the temporary waist token from the soldier and being given the curfew order, he carried his medicine box and went out.

Riding a little donkey, clattering along, when the donkey arrived at Dongjiang Rice Lane, it saw the fire raging everywhere and cried out in fright.

Fortunately, Doctor Shen was skilled in horsemanship, which prevented him from falling off the donkey.

Following the soldiers' instructions, Doctor Shen carried his medicine chest into the Siamese embassy to treat and apply medicine to some of the burnt and slashed laborers and soldiers who were crying out for their parents.

There were no doctors from all over the city inside, but there were still about ten doctors and servants.

The officials, dressed in scarlet robes, were shouting orders and giving instructions to this person and that person.

Doctor Shen was displeased, but as soon as he went in, the other party gave him a twenty-tael silver ingot. The gleaming silver, like a snowflake, calmed his anger.

Doctor Shen was rather thin and short. After treating several laborers, the official in the scarlet robe ordered him to go into a side room to treat the patients inside.

Doctor Shen snorted a few times but didn't refute. He slowly got up, massaged his legs a couple of times, acted a bit pretentious, and then slowly carried his medicine box inside.

As soon as I entered, I heard a hoarse voice inside ask, "The password for tonight."

Doctor Shen stared wide-eyed and said, "Changbai Mountain...hasn't it already been checked outside?"

The voice said irritably, "Not the first half of the sentence."...

Half an hour later, Doctor Shen emerged from the Siamese embassy, ​​carrying his medicine box and hunched over, seemingly suffering from back pain. His hands and face were covered in soot.

"stop!"

Just as he stepped out of the Siamese embassy, ​​a guard in a black jacket called out to him.