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

Ning Nan smiled and let Er Laizi and the others go into the main room first, then asked Li Xing, the youngest, to make tea.

He pointed again, telling Sanzhuang to get a few boxes of snacks and put them on the table so everyone could have a bite to eat. They were all at the age where they could eat the most, so there was no need to hide them in their pockets and be reluctant to eat them... The three of them immediately smiled and quickly slipped over.

The chicken coop and the kitchen were separated by the entire yard. It was made of bamboo, not very big or tall, but very sturdy, and only reached about the height of Cui Cui's eyebrows.

There weren't many chickens inside, just four old hens flapping their wings and clucking defiantly as they looked at the cleaver in Cui Cui's hand.

Ning Nan frowned and slowly walked behind Cuicui.

"You kill me." Cui Cui didn't turn around, but raised the knife directly, her voice cold and clear.

Ning Nan pursed her lips speechlessly, staring at the other person's slender and graceful back, inwardly wondering if the other person had eyes in the back of their head.

A warm palm pressed against the back of the other person's hand, and the knife was taken.

"Kill that one." Cui Cui stretched out her finger and pointed to an old hen that was flapping its wings the most.

When Ning Nan grabbed the hen by the wing and walked to the well, Cuicui had already taken the brown porcelain bowl and placed it on the ground.

Ningnan cut open the chicken's throat, put the blood into a bowl, and asked Cuicui why she was back, saying the play wasn't good.

Cui Cui's oval face was rosy, her black hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, and her eyebrows and eyes looked quite serious.

"Well, it's alright. I heard the afternoon performances are better; the morning ones are just for warming up the voices."

This opera troupe is indeed unprofessional; it might just be a makeshift troupe... Ning Nan thought to himself, criticizing Old Man Xu's arrangements.

"Mother went to Fourth Grandmother's house for dinner. They're playing mahjong together this afternoon," Cui Cui said, picking up the bowl full of chicken blood.

Ning Nan nodded and stuffed the chicken into a wooden bucket filled with hot water.

Cui Cui brought over two stools, and the two of them sat down, one on each stool. While cleaning the chicken's internal organs and plucking its feathers, they chatted casually.

Ning Nan asked her if it was lively over there, and Cuicui said it was so-so, most people were doing farm work, but the stage was well set up and the female lead was very beautiful.

Ning Nan casually said "Oh," and asked how handsome he was. Cuicui said he was a man.

Uh... right, this isn't the future, most opera singers are men, and female actors playing female roles are very rare.

They talked a lot of pointless things, and then they cooked together.

Cui Cui is very interested in cooking, but only in stir-frying. Ning Nan naturally does the chopping and adding firewood.

As the fire blazed fiercely and the iron pot crackled and popped, Ning Nan glanced at Cui Cui's round, slightly curved lips and her hands skillfully tossing the wok. He knew that this seventeen-year-old girl must be feeling a great sense of accomplishment at that moment.

When Cui Cui brought the dishes into the main room, Er Lai Zi was a little reserved. San Zhuang and Li Xing shouted "Sister-in-law!" at the same time, their voices were incredibly loud, as if they were having a contest to see who could shout the loudest... Xing Ge'er naturally lost to San Zhuang, who glanced at him smugly. Er Lai Zi quickly shouted as well, but his voice was much more normal.

Cui Cui pursed her lips, tilted her head as if thinking for a moment, and finally said, "Your eldest brother cooked two pots of rice... um, and a few dishes... He'll have dinner here with us too."

After lunch, the three boys went home. While Ning Nan was washing the dishes, the young woman from the east end of the village who worked in Hangezhuang came to take measurements with a cutting ruler.

"My mother is at Fourth Madam's house. I'd appreciate it if you could go and take her measurements later, young lady," Cui Cui said to the young lady.

The young woman immediately smiled and nodded, saying that it was no problem, as Fourth Grandmother's house was nearby.

"So beautiful..." The young woman blushed and pulled out a ruler to measure Cui Cui's waist.

Such a beautiful woman actually married that devil Ning! He's handsome, but he's too fierce… The young woman smiled knowingly, “Miss Cui Cui, our shop's wedding dresses have quite a few stories to tell.”

"There are top-grade, middle-grade, and simple, common red wedding gowns. The top-grade ones are so beautiful! Thanks to Empress Xiaoci Gao, we can now also wear phoenix coronet and embroidered robes. Hmm, the top-grade ones come with a crown adorned with pearls and jade..."

"The medium-grade one is also quite nice, it's embroidered with phoenixes too... The red wedding dress was also blessed by Guanyin, wishing for many children and great fortune..."

Before Cui Cui could speak, Ning Nan slowly strolled in, wiping his hands with a plain cloth.

"Top-grade." He waved his hand and said with great pride.

Marrying Brother Ning is such a blessing! ... The young lady's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously, smiling, "As for the fine wedding dress, I'll go ask the shopkeeper for a discount. Brother Ning can just give me ten taels of silver... a 30% deposit."

Ning Nan counted out three taels of silver and handed it to the other party, grinning and saying, "Thank you, little sister~" Then she opened her arms, waiting for the other party to take her measurements.

The opera troupe that came to Lijia Village was called Xuanhuang Opera Troupe. The location of the stage was very particular. It was set up on an open space at the foot of Yaoshan Mountain. The stage had a roof, and long benches and some fruits were provided for the audience. The surrounding area was full of trees, so the environment was good, with a refreshing view and coolness.

When Ningnan and Cuicui went to see it, the first performance in the afternoon had just started. An old male actor came out on stage, followed by a female actor. There were quite a few people sitting below, all kinds of people, including old farmers carrying loads, woodcutters with axes at their waists, and some simply dressed farm women, chatting and laughing as they watched the play.

Ning Nan casually picked up an orange, glanced around, and narrowed his eyes slightly... There were indeed more unfamiliar faces.

The two sat down on a bench, at the back, with an elm tree behind them and shade overhead.

The play performed on stage is called "Qing Dingzhu" or "Da Yu Sha Jia".

It tells the story of Ruan Xiao'er, a hero of Liangshan, who retired from the world and changed his name to Xiao En. He fished with his daughter on Taihu Lake, but he owed fishing taxes to the local tyrant Ding Zixie. Unable to live in seclusion, Xiao En was forced by bandits and finally killed the official in anger.

To his great surprise, this opera troupe was not a makeshift operation.

The old man on stage held an oar in one hand and stroked his beard with the other. Sometimes he groaned and sometimes he looked pitiful and miserable. When he was angry, he strutted around with the might of a tiger, wielding the oar and closing in on the enemy inch by inch. He really had some of the imposing aura of the "Standing Tai Sui" of Liangshan... He performed quite well.

The actress playing the lead role was indeed beautiful, wearing a fitted blue fabric dress with evenly applied makeup. Her singing was also quite good; she was lively when fishing and delicate and melodious when she was wronged. Her spoken lines were mostly in a smooth, free-flowing style, which was very pleasant to listen to.

It was those eyebrows and eyes… Ning Nan squinted and looked closely. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that this actress looked somewhat familiar.

At this moment, Cui Cui frowned, lowered her eyes, and after thinking for a moment, said to Ning Nan, "Xiao En is certainly enjoying himself, but he's also not in control of his own destiny. However, the fact remains that he owes fishing taxes... Under these circumstances, what do you think he should do?"

Ning Nan peeled an orange, smiled, and stuffed a segment into her mouth to shut her up: "Let's watch the show, not talk about state affairs."

Another perfunctory response... Cui Cui took a bite of the orange with dissatisfaction in her eyes.

After watching the play, Cuicui clapped her hands and went home first, saying, "I'd rather read some leisure books."

Ning Nan wasn't in a hurry.

I sat there peacefully, glancing around. Farmers and woodcutters usually didn't stay long before getting up and leaving. The place wasn't lively, with people coming and going.

Shortly after the second scene began, a scholar in a blue robe stood up from the front, seemingly satisfied, and slowly walked towards the exit.

Ning Nan glanced at the figure and noticed a faint scar on the scholar's cheek, which was rather strange. He frowned.

In the late afternoon, around 3 PM, a peddler carrying a load came by... Wang Fu, a former scout from Black Tiger Stronghold, later killed Li Liang at his request, as a way of pledging allegiance to him.

Ning Nan smiled warmly, patted the other side of the bench, and waved to him: "This way, sit here."

As soon as he finished speaking, he remembered that Cui Cui had been sitting here.

He subtly moved closer, letting Wang Fu sit on his side.