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

"With such a cavalry force following us, we dared not go directly to Shuijing Township. We led them around in circles. Fortunately, we were unarmored and our horses were lightly burdened, so we were able to run faster than them. Later, Li Erlai got anxious and led his servants to cover the view, so he sent Qian Baihu and me to Shuijing Township to meet the leader first."

"But when we arrived at Shuijing Township, the Third Prince's troops had already arrived. Chang Rui's men were in a bloodthirsty frenzy. The Third Prince, not knowing what had happened, ordered his men to sound the horns to stop the fighting, and led his men around the battlefield, arriving at Shuijing Township before us..."

Ning Nan frowned and wrote on the paper:

"How are Erlai and the others?"

Zhen Susu took the pen: "The servants were constantly hit by the three-barreled guns, and only a little over thirty of them died. Li Erlai became furious and ordered the thirty servants to split into three teams."

"The twenty or so cavalrymen behind them also split up and pursued them separately. Li Erlai put all the best fighters, including Li Sanzhuang, in his own squad. When only eight cavalrymen were left chasing them and the three-eyed muskets had run out of ammunition, he led ten men in a flanking maneuver and charged back at the eight cavalrymen... Li Sanzhuang killed three of them by himself, Zhang Shuijing killed two, and the other cavalrymen were also killed, but only five of Li Erlai's men survived..."

"Li Erlai and his men stripped the armor off eight cavalrymen, took their horses, and chased after them with almost four horses for each man, thus relieving the encirclement on both sides."

"Li Erlai is fine, Li Sanzhuang was stabbed twice... Nearly twenty people died... There are still twenty servants left... Qian Baihu sneaked back to Beijing in the early morning to inquire about the whereabouts of the leader... I met up with Erlai and the others, and took them outside the city. They are now recuperating at one of my sect's strongholds... Medicine, food, and horse fodder have all been prepared..."

Ning Nan looked at the words Zhen Susu had written and remained silent for a moment.

Then, suppressing her sadness, she smiled with relief and wrote:

"A merciful general cannot command an army. Concentrating superior forces to fight a decisive battle first is the right approach. Er Lai did a good job... Please tell him this for me."

Zhen Susu let out a breath and nodded her chin.

She thought Li Erlai and his men were doomed, and she even bit her teeth until they bled. She didn't know how to explain it to the leader, but the leader was in imminent danger, and they still had to protect him as he traveled thousands of miles south. She had no choice but to fight her way through. She just never expected that the group of servants trained by the leader would be so brave! They actually managed to fight their way through!

However… she pursed her lips… to personally send people to their deaths. Such a decision was not easy to make.

That's why the cult leader said, "Help me tell him." He probably hoped Li Erlai would take it easy.

Ning Nan interlaced his fingers, narrowed his eyes, and felt a little relieved... Fortunately, he killed Ah Lin, so he could barely avenge himself ahead of schedule.

Su Su and her group are fine.

Now… Ning Nan’s eyes darkened slightly… only Xu Xiyin, Prince Jing and their group are left.

"Master," Zhen Susu wrote, "I, along with Commander Qian and several Imperial Guards, entered the capital and sought refuge with the Seventeenth Princess."

Her face fell: "The defenses outside are extremely tight, and we don't know how to get you out yet."

Ning Nan shook his head: "No rush. Don't throw your life away in vain."

To think that one could escape from here while being confined is nothing short of a pipe dream.

So… Ning Nan’s eyes flickered… at least the matter of being confined needs to be resolved first.

And... tell Cuicui's wife... that she is still alive.

He thought for a moment and wrote on the paper: "You have other things to do now."

…………

The opera performances lasted all night long.

You can also leave.

However, there is a curfew at night, or they are high-ranking officials and nobles who have a token exempt from the curfew.

For example, the Seventeenth Princess, and her group of maids and eunuchs.

Either the Prince's Mansion should send someone to deliver it.

The residence also arranged private rooms for the guests to rest.

Lu Chong stood up abruptly, his face flushed from drinking, and waved his hands and shook his head repeatedly, saying:

"No, no... I wouldn't dare trouble your esteemed family to escort me!"

He bowed and smiled, "I'm used to hardship, so please arrange a woodshed for me, sir."

The steward laughed and said, "It's not that we should be so disrespectful to the Manchu people from our hometown."

In the end, they arranged a servant's room for him, but it was a large communal room where he slept with seven or eight other idle Manchus who wanted to share in the good fortune of the Prince's mansion.

The so-called idle bannermen were bannermen without titles, official positions, or military quotas. They could not earn a living from the "iron pole crops" and had to find their own way to make a living.

I stayed at the Prince Duan's residence for one night.

The next morning, he saw a group of imperial guards wearing yellow jackets and red feathers on their heads walk out of the inner courtyard.

At the same time, the same group of guards entered through a side door and walked into a courtyard inside.

Lu Chong glanced at it and clicked his tongue, saying, "How impressive."

The idle Manchu men who came out from the side were also full of envy, but they spread their hands with their noses up and said:

"This is ironclad farmland. No matter how loyal or capable you are, without a good father, we won't be able to afford it."

"That's true. My son also curses at his father like that at home."

"Hey!" The Manchu man raised an eyebrow.

Lu Chong, jokingly, laughed and said, "My back aches from sleeping so much last night, how about I find you a bright and airy place to catch up on some sleep today, brother?"

"light and spacious?"

"light and spacious!"

"Let's go!" The Manchu man chuckled. "My surname is Niohuru, and yours is Ningguta. You're doing me a favor by treating me to a meal!"

"That's right." Lu Chong pretended to bow and chuckled.

……

……

Through a wandering Manchu man surnamed Niu Kulu, I met a few people and sold furs and ginseng. I spent a few days hanging out on Wangfu Street.

Every day at dawn, Lu Chong would come to the Prince Duan's residence to talk to a steward he knew and give him gifts, thanking him for doing him a favor by getting the residence to buy a few ginseng roots from him.

Seeing that he was getting the hang of things and was always coming to the Prince's mansion diligently every day, the steward also gave him more pointers.

"Staying in Beijing for even one more day will incur expenses. I know you want to finish your filial duties as soon as possible and return to Ningguta."

"That's right. The money spent on a night at an inn feels like blood. We're happy to spend it on us Manchus, but what's the point of spending it on Han Chinese who run inns? We're all relying on you to point us in the right direction."

The steward smiled and gave him several name cards, instructing him to find the stewards of several mansions on Wangfu Street and to give them the appropriate amount of silver.

Those in charge would smooth things over with the people around the masters and mistresses of each household, and then the household would buy his old ginseng.

The selling price was several times higher than outside, and even if they were extorted and forced to accept bribes, it was still 30% more than selling it at a pharmacy outside. Lu Chong thanked them profusely and went to do his business with the visiting card.

He tapped his fingers on each of the name cards.

"The rotation times are at 5 AM, late afternoon, and midnight."

He was unaware of the curfew in the early hours of the morning. This was something the doorman at Prince Duan's residence complained about while they were drinking together that night: "They're all terrifying. I was a little slow in opening the door, and I got kicked."

Lu Chong smiled bitterly, "If we wanted this job, we wouldn't even get a chance to take that kick. Your 'iron rice bowl' is something many Manchus envy."

This was the doorman's proudest achievement, so he puffed out his chest again, leisurely took a sip of wine, and said, "Time to go guard the door." Lu Chong took out some silver from his pocket and slapped it on the table: "Brother, don't take out your money."

Lu Chong was always very particular and would only agree with what was said, never asking sensitive questions such as "Who is locked up in there?"

Besides that, there was something else that concerned him quite a bit.

That is……

The seventeenth princess of the Northern Dynasty would bring people to the Prince Duan's mansion almost every day.

The old spy pulled a handful of peanuts from his pocket, narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the princess's carriage enter the palace.

As far as he knew, the Seventeenth Princess... had traveled north from Nanjing with the Southern Dynasty's delegation...

He sprinkled mud in the alley the carriage had passed through, and the ruts carried the mud in, with some withered grass sticking to the mud. He picked it up with his fingers and examined it. This grass was from the stable in the front yard, which meant the carriage had stopped in the front yard. It was impossible to sneak into the inner yard by lying under the carriage.

Whew, the old spy let out a breath, not regretting it at all. He took a bite of a peanut, and pop! His teeth were getting old, and the sound of biting into a peanut wasn't as crisp as when he was young. He chewed slowly.

…………

March 7th.

After noon.

A reddish-brown carriage entered the Prince Duan's residence.

Not long after.

About thirty guards escorted the carriage out.

Ning Nan, now recovered from his injuries, sat in the carriage and let out a satisfied burp.

For lunch, we had ginseng stewed chicken again. Xixue said that the ginseng was bought from a Manchu person from Liaodong by her "sister".

"It's incredibly nutritious! If Xixue were to take a sip, she'd probably get a nosebleed!"

Ning Nan gave the maid three bowls of wine, and the maid's face did indeed turn rosy, but she didn't bleed from her nose at all. The maid, who spoke in an exaggerated manner, wiped her mouth.

The carriage headed to the Forbidden City.

Emperor Yongzheng wants to see him today.