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

Ning Nan looked down at his white robe with disgust... This kind of bloodstain is going to be a real pain to wash off. Xiao Chun also took poison, and he doesn't know what the ingredients are or if it's corrosive... This robe is probably ruined.

He sighed softly, flicked the blade in the back of his hand, and flicked the blood off the snow-white blade onto the shallow water. He handed it back to the imperial guard, habitually saying "thank you." The guard was a little taken aback, pausing for a moment before bowing his head, accepting the blade with both hands, and said, somewhat flattered, "Young Master Ning, you flatter me..."

At this moment, Sanzhuang, who had lost almost a whole size from hunger, came running over, tumbling and crawling, calling out "Big Brother!"

San Zhuang's face was excited, but somewhat yellowish, his voice was hoarse, and his lips were extremely dry.

After overturning the carriage, his arms were already exhausted and he couldn't lift them anymore; they were limp and broken.

Ning Nan smiled, patted San Zhuang on the shoulder, and said it was good that he was alright. Niu Man was in good health; he would recover after a few meals.

San Zhuang took a leather water bag handed to him by a member of the Imperial Guard and gulped down several mouthfuls of water!

Ning Nan was worried that the guy would choke to death while wolfing down his food, so he took the steamed buns that the Imperial Guard was about to hand over, tore them into thin strips, and then handed them to San Zhuang. He also casually asked Niu Man what Xiao Chun and the others had done to him these past few days.

"Hiccup... They were asking about gunpowder... We were going to say we didn't know... We were prepared to say that the gunpowder was given to us by the Embroidered Uniform Guard if they fired... But they didn't fire..." San Zhuang shook his head, gulped down several mouthfuls of water, and felt incredibly refreshed in his mouth, heart, and stomach, and his spirits improved a lot.

Right now, I can only chew on the small strips of steamed bread that my older brother tore off; I can't stuff them in big mouthfuls, so it's not very enjoyable to eat like this.

"You think they'll believe you just because you say it?" Ning Nan frowned.

San Zhuang found this strange as well. He chewed on a biscuit and burped as he said, "Judging from Xiao Chun's appearance, he probably doesn't believe it. But last night, an old man came and touched his head, and he was immediately stunned..." San Zhuang patted his forehead and said that after waking up, Xiao Chun never asked about gunpowder again.

"An old man?" Ning Nan narrowed his eyes, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the black-robed old man in the distance... At this moment, Qin Yuanyao had already rushed over.

San Zhuang shook his head, coughed, and his dry throat eased considerably: "It wasn't this old man. That old codger was also wearing a black robe, and he was much taller than this one. I couldn't see his face, but his hands were old and very rough..."

This is a bit like the tricks used in child abduction... Ning Nan smacked his lips.

He can give all these clues to Qin Yuanyao later; the rest is none of his business.

San Zhuang asked how things were in the village.

Ning Nan's eyes darkened, but he quickly perked up and said that the village was fine. Although several able-bodied men had been lost, the women and children had been saved.

Women, children, and the elderly all stayed on the boat. My mother, Cuicui, and Old Man Han were all there, as was Miss Zhu.

Just in case, he had specifically dragged Li Yanting back from Hangezhuang and kept him on the boat. That guy has good luck; with him backing him up, there shouldn't be any major problems.

However, in the battle at the back mountain, besides the dead, many young men were also injured, but fortunately none were in life-threatening danger. Er Lai also woke up, though he was weakened, but young people recover quickly, and he should be fully recovered in ten to fifteen days.

After saying this, Ning Nan asked a member of the Imperial Guard to escort the three men back to Li Family Village, and even took out a few taels of silver.

The Imperial Guard dared not accept it, so Ning Nan laughed and said, "Now that this matter is settled, my Imperial Sword will naturally be taken back by Master Zhu. I am now a commoner... I'll have to trouble you for help, brother."

The Imperial Guard nodded repeatedly in fear, saying that if it weren't for Young Master Ning's help, the Imperial Guard would have lost countless spies to wipe out Black Tiger Mountain. The other party then readily agreed to the matter.

Once the sound of the Imperial Guards and the three strong men's horses had faded into the distance, Ning Nan slowly exhaled.

Big Black was waiting for him under a tree ahead, leading his horse.

Next, I'll say goodbye to Commander Qin, and then take Dahei to Dingjiang County overnight to thank Governor Gu and complete my task. Hmm, I might have to write some documents, but it shouldn't be too much... Then I can return to Lijia Village in peace and wait for the household registration to be processed.

As the lake breeze blew by, Ning Nan's once boiling blood slowly cooled down.

Qin Yuanyao seems to have preliminarily confirmed the identity of the man in black robes. She is ordering people to lift the carriage up, re-hitch the horses, and intend to use the carriage to take the old man in black robes, whose calf was shot with an arrow, back to his home.

There are probably about ten survivors among those guards... all of them are witnesses.

The female commander walked towards him with a worried look on her face. While Ning Nan was gloating, he raised his palm in advance to stop her from speaking, and repeated the same words he had just said, putting on an air of indifference.

Qin Yuanyao said speechlessly, "I know... I won't tell you who that old man is..."

"Slippery as an eel..." the female commander thought to herself.

But upon closer reflection... from June 11th to June 22nd, the other party only spent a little over ten days to swiftly and decisively wipe out Black Tiger Mountain and actually uncover the real culprit behind the attack on Prince Xin... such ability truly made her feel somewhat inferior.

But the real culprit... The female commander silently bit her lip, her expression becoming complicated again.

Let alone the other party, even she herself, if she had a choice, would not want to get involved in this matter at all.

"You have made great contributions this time. Even if we don't count your contribution in annihilating Xiao Chun's bandits and Black Tiger Mountain, just designing that detachable catapult and that gunpowder is enough for the court to specially recruit you into the Ministry of Works as a master craftsman," said the female commander.

"Oh, and spikes too..." She quickly added, "I forgot something...it seems like I forgot quite a few..."

Ning Nan smiled noncommittally: "I've poured out all my skills for the bandit suppression this time... I'll pass on the title of Master Craftsman; I'm not worthy of it, and I have nothing new to offer."

Even the greatest craftsman is still just a craftsman. A single word from a civil or military official can cost even the most skilled craftsman his head.

He decided to skip it and stick to the proper path of taking the imperial examinations... He had already presented the improvement methods for the catapult and gunpowder this time. The gun was still a matchlock gun, which the Shenji Battalion already had, so the other side didn't pay much attention to it, believing that the main advantage was the gunpowder.

So they still held onto the blast furnace, the traditional steelmaking process, the pulley system, and the half-finished flintlock musket.

The purpose of keeping this secret is not to prevent Nanliang from becoming stronger, but rather because some things are obvious at a glance, and Nanliang's secrecy is really not commendable.

Ning Nan dared not think about it. Once the Northern Dynasty secretly learned all these things, and the Northern Dynasty's cannons stopped exploding, then the two strongholds of Miao Miao in the north of the Southern Liang would probably be destroyed in an instant, and the strongholds would no longer be the natural barrier of the Northern Dynasty... Then, the rolling hooves of horses marched south.

The civil officials of the Southern Liang Dynasty were always dreaming that the Hu people would be corrupted by the dazzling world of the Central Plains, saying that the fortunes of the Hu people would not last a hundred years and that the Northern Dynasties would soon disappear like the Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties.

But a few years ago, he accidentally learned from Han Laoguai that the reign title of the Northern Dynasties was "Yongzheng"... He was stunned for a long time that day.

From then on, he not only stopped having that dream, but also became extremely cautious.

Among the emperors of the Northern Dynasties, even Kangxi was not necessarily as powerful as the fourth prince... Ning Nan sighed inwardly, feeling that the young emperor of Southern Liang was really going to have a tough time against the middle-aged fourth prince.

"Technology diffusion is inevitable, and it can't be swept away in a short time... so it's better for the weak to fight each other." He thought with a somewhat conflicted expression.

These complaints, such as the lack of a secrecy system in Southern Liang and the cunning emperors of Northern Dynasties, were somewhat taboo and I hadn't told anyone else. I only mentioned them to Cuicui a few times while cooking, and Cuicui would just hum in response, saying something like, "I'll think of a way."

Tch... Think of a way... This woman was mocking him: "What's the use of telling me all this? Do you think I have any other ideas?"... What a sarcastic remark.

But Ning Nan didn't care. This woman named Cui Cui seemed genuinely going to marry him. If he couldn't even tell her, he might really go crazy... Eh? ... Ning Nan's eyes changed, and his thoughts suddenly shifted.

The wedding is almost here, shouldn't we get some gold jewelry made...? After all, we've got a bit of money to spare this time...

Just as Ning Nan was lost in thought, in the hazy, dark Yunze Lake, the shadow that had come from the darkness had already reached the shore.

I originally thought it was just a rather large merchant ship.

But it wasn't until she saw the flag on the ship that Qin Yuanyao realized something seemed unusual.

"Fan!"

General Fan Shiwei's warship.

On the warship, footsteps echoed, and torches blazed in an orderly fashion, coiling around the ship like a fire dragon.

With a thud, the warship dropped anchor.

After a few splashes, a long wooden ladder was thrown off the boat.

The fire dragon began to disembark.