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

In the pitch-black night, Lijia Village was quiet everywhere except for the Ning family courtyard in the north, which was still brightly lit. Widow Ning stood in the courtyard with her hands on her hips, excitedly directing Sanzhuang and his children to arrange all the things Ning Nan had bought.

Sanzhuang ran panting as he arranged the dozen or so square tables and benches he had bought, one upright and one upside down, along the edges of each other... The tables and benches were all brand new, smelling of wood, and had been coated with tung oil, but some still had splinters. His elder brother made him wear a pair of cloth gloves. His elder brother said that these tables and benches could still be used when he and Erlai got married... Sanzhuang chuckled as he ran.

Li Xing and Li Jiujin, along with several other children, carefully carried the Daughter's Red wine jars one by one to the kitchen. To prevent them from being accidentally broken, Yang Qiniang watched from the side, laying down some soft straw as she carried each jar over.

San Zhuang's sister happily pasted bright red "囍" (double happiness) paper-cuts on the doors and windows, while San Zhuang's mother watched carefully and directed her daughter to calibrate the positions.

Ningnan hasn't been able to sleep in her own room for the past few days and has had to sleep in the main room. This room is the new house, and Fourth Grandma personally made up the new bed and a brand new mosquito net in it. She is the oldest person in the village, almost eighty years old, and her health is incredibly good. She can still fetch water every morning. It is believed that the new house will receive some of her good fortune after her hands have been put into it.

Erlaizi was building bricks outside the kitchen. The head chef who cooked the village banquet said that at least three stoves were needed, so he planned to build three more, making a total of four stoves including the one inside the kitchen. His injury hadn't fully healed, and Aunt Ning wanted him to rest, but he refused. So Aunt Ning called a kind-hearted middle-aged man named Ning Fu to help him. It was said that this Uncle Fu was a relative of her elder brother's family.

Dahei carried an oil lamp and walked around the Ning family's house. In his right hand, he held a hammer and tapped and repaired some loose fences. He also looked at the exterior of several houses. The bricks were still quite solid. He then built a ladder to the roof and took a look. He noticed that many tiles were chipped. He made a note of this and planned to replace the tiles with new ones for his elder brother's house the next day.

Ning Nan stood beside his mother, his brow furrowed as he held a red gift list... This was sent by the Ning family's patriarch... Thirty sheep, twenty bolts of silk, four carts of fruits and vegetables, and thirty jars of aged wine... This was exactly the same wine he had bought, but fortunately, there was no shortage of wine... There was also three hundred taels of silver as an emergency fund.

In addition, the uncle also sent a large red sedan chair, a white horse from the Western Regions for the wedding procession... along with two maids, four sedan chair bearers, and a groom... all of these people were provided by the uncle without him having to pay for them... Ning Nan was immediately speechless.

The messenger sent by the uncle also said that the master had prepared a grand wedding gift, which he would personally deliver on the day the bride married into the family…

Ning Nan slowly exhaled and glanced at his mother, whose face was glowing. No wonder his mother was acting so imposingly today, having taken over the command of his wedding.

"Let us take a look at these gifts from your great-uncle today, and they'll be delivered to our door tomorrow!" The old woman said, tilting her chin and glancing sideways at her son.

Ning Nan nodded, but then frowned and said, "Uncle sent so many people over, but our house is so small, where will these maids and grooms live?"

The old woman's expression froze, her eyes glazed over, and she looked back at the few rooms in her own courtyard. After a moment of contemplation, she frowned and mumbled, "Let's stay at another house for now, and we'll talk about it after the wedding."

Hmm...we might need to build a few more houses...the woman nodded quietly, thinking she would discuss it with her daughter-in-law, Cuicui, later.

For her, enjoying herself was no longer important; it was just that she couldn't refuse her uncle's kind offer. Moreover, her uncle wanted to hold a ceremony at the Ning family to write her and her son Ning Nan's names into the family genealogy... This was the most important thing she cared about besides her son's wedding.

The son's name was written into the family genealogy, and the incense offerings of the father-in-law and Beiwang were continued.

Rather than saying that her uncle was being kind to them, it would be more accurate to say that he was making up for what he owed to her father-in-law and Beiwang. Years ago, her uncle took her young parents-in-law and Beiwang across the river, but they got separated along the way. Her uncle regretted it and searched for many years, but he could not find them. He never expected that when they met again, her parents-in-law had already turned to dust... Ning Chenshi, whose real name was Chen Junwei, felt a slight pang of sadness... In this way, she could not refuse, otherwise the old man would truly have regrets for the rest of his life.

Ning Nan wasn't actually that worried, and simply said "Oh." Qin Yuanyao said that Master Zhu's house would be ready in a few days; the purchase had already been made. It was a house left behind by a retired official, and they were sending people to repair it. At worst, they could just move to Nanjing with their people.

Early the next morning.

He took Erlai to Hangezhuang.

Er Lai often accompanied his father, Han Donghu, to Hangezhuang to slaughter pigs. He knew many butchers. Since Uncle Bogong had sent so many sheep, Uncle Donghu alone couldn't manage. So he went to invite a few butchers to Lijia Village. With Er Lai there, the prices were fair.

He also hired an opera troupe from the village and selected the repertoire. He needed it urgently, so the troupe quoted a high price, but he didn't really care.

With my uncle sending so many gifts and my mother overseeing things at home, there's not much left to prepare.

After returning to the village, the young woman who had worked at the silk shop in Hangezhuang brought over her new wedding dress. The bride's wedding dress had already been sent to Seventh Sister's house... She couldn't see Cuicui's wife for the next few days, but with Seventh Sister and the other aunts around, nothing would go wrong.

He tried on the clothes, and they fit him quite well, but his heart was pounding wildly.

The custom-made clothes were already on the more expensive side, and when the young lady paid the bill, she took a few pieces of silver and immediately beamed, saying, "Wow... that sister who married Brother Ning is truly blessed!"

Actually, you should call her sister... "Come and drink the wedding wine!" Ning Nan, dressed in the groom's clothes, laughed heartily.

In the afternoon, Ningnan and her mother went door-to-door distributing wedding invitations and candies, bringing lots of osmanthus candy, winter melon candy, and tangerine candy.

I originally thought that because of my bad reputation, people rarely treated me well, and I was afraid that not many people would come to my wedding.

But to my surprise, almost every house I visited welcomed me with a smile and invited me and my mother in for tea.

An elderly woman with silver hair would often pull Ning Nan aside to chat, saying things like, "Oh my! Ning'er has finally grown up... I've been so worried for so many years... I was afraid he'd end up in jail... Ning's wife is so lucky..." Ning Nan would feel very awkward, and some of the elderly women would even tear up and say, "You've finally made it through."

When leaving, wealthier families might even give half a hen for the mother to take with her, saying it would bring good luck, and that Sister Ning shouldn't refuse.

Some families would take a few eggs, politely offering a smile. If they were truly destitute, they would go to their own garden and pick a few bunches of vegetables. The eldest uncle actually gave a lot of vegetables, all of excellent quality and appearance, but my mother would always accept them with a smile, saying, "The vegetables in the village are the sweetest!" The other party would laugh heartily, and the patched clothes would often burst open with laughter at this moment.

The sky gradually darkened.

The next day was June 27th. Ning Nan woke up at dawn, looking out the window at the few points of light, feeling worried, but he didn't know what he was worried about. After getting up, he ran all the way to Yaoshan Mountain, and stood on the top of the mountain watching the morning mist for a long time.

The sheep that Uncle sent were all kept at Erlai's house. When we returned from Yaoshan, Uncle Donghu and the butchers were already slaughtering the sheep, but not many. Most of them would have to be slaughtered tomorrow. Today, my mother distributed a lot of sheep blood and offal such as sheep liver to the villagers.

In the afternoon, Ning Nan went to Han Laoguai's house to play chess. Han Laoguai was very proud of himself and said that the wedding gift he received was a piece of calligraphy written by Han Laoguai himself... Well, it was worthless, but full of good intentions. Ning Nan reluctantly thanked him.

Distracted, I won little in the game today; after a few rounds, I only managed to win about thirty copper coins from the old monster.

As he was leaving, Old Man Han suddenly said, "Look, you've gotten married and registered your household, and you're planning to take the imperial examinations... You'll also be associating and traveling with your peers in the future. I think it's time for you to take a courtesy name."

Huh? Ning Nan's eyes lit up. This reminded him that he really needed to have a courtesy name, otherwise it would be difficult for others to address him. After all, in ancient times, calling someone by their full name was almost equivalent to insulting them.

His courtesy name was usually given by his teacher. Since he didn't have a teacher, Han Laoguai was considered half a teacher to him, so Ning Nan unceremoniously handed the task over to him.

Old Han said seriously, "Don't worry, I have studied for so many years, and I will think about it carefully in the next few days and give you a very good courtesy name so as not to tarnish your reputation."

Ning Nan nodded in satisfaction and, with a wave of his hand, returned all thirty or so copper coins he had won to the stingy old monster.