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

Ning Nan stuffed a few large slices of mutton into his stomach as a base, and then went from table to table toasting.

He was still relatively conscious when he saw that Madam Jia and the Marquis of Zhenguo had come in person, and he immediately smiled and thanked them... This was something he really hadn't expected. He had thought that it would be a great honor for them to send a steward... Xiuxiu really has a lot of influence, no wonder she is the eldest son of the Marquis's family!

The arrival of Grand Tutor Gu and Grand Tutor Wang surprised him even more, as he had thought that after Black Tiger Mountain, they would not have much interaction, given their exceptionally high status.

So he offered several toasts.

Uncle Bo held a high position in the Ning family and was also at this table.

The old man was considerate of me, smiling and telling me to drink less... but with my mother beside me, I could only drink a full cup as a sign of respect.

My aunt Ning Beizhi came over today too.

The last time they met, she addressed him as "Brother Ning," but this time, her face was flushed, and she immediately called him "Nephew!"

He gave a wry smile, but after his mother pinched him hard, he had no choice but to reluctantly call out "Auntie"...

"Hey—" Aunt Ning Beizhi replied with a smile and a drawn-out tone... She even slipped a red envelope into her hand and whispered... "There's a thousand taels of silver in there, don't let your mother and wife know..." In an instant, the smiling person became herself, and she hurriedly and sincerely said, "Hey... Nephew thanks Aunt."

After toasting this table, my mother dragged me to toast the table of elders from Lijia Village, including Li Baoxin.

Li Baoxin, holding his wine glass, was a little drunk. His old eyes were cloudy, and he said with some emotion, "Ning Niangzi, Ningwa got married... and you found Brother Changping's family... double happiness... I'm so happy, it wasn't easy, it wasn't easy..." The old woman choked up and said, "Oh... thank you, Uncle Baoxin... found them, found them..." The old woman also raised her wine glass and toasted Li Baoxin.

This table was the most troublesome. Li Baoxin was alright, but there were a few old drunkards at this table who were giving him a hard time, muttering things like, "Ningwa, Ningwa, we've watched you grow up. It wasn't easy for you to get a wife. Drink, drink..."

He kept repeating the same old spiel and boasting, and his stomach was churning from the alcohol. His face was stiff from smiling, but the old drunkards still pulled him along, saying, "One more drink..." Dahei laughed and took the cup, grabbing the arms of these sixty- and seventy-year-old drunkards, and said with a smile, "Come, Sixth Grandfather, Seventh Uncle... please sit down, please sit down. This is some freshly warmed Daughter's Red wine..."

Next, they went to the table of Yang Qiniang and the other aunties. Although this table was full of women, they were quite boisterous and drank quite a bit...

He went from table to table offering toasts, and by the time he reached the table with the magistrate of Dingjiang County and the three officers from the garrison, he was already quite drunk and unconsciously murmured, "Thank you, thank you, Magistrate, for coming..."

But the magistrate's eyes darted around the main room with suspicion. He lowered his voice and said a few words, which Ning Nan couldn't hear. He cried out "Ah ah" a few times and leaned his ear closer. When the magistrate saw him like this, he had no choice but to give up and instead laughed loudly, "Congratulations, my dear brother, on your marriage..." He should have called him "nephew," but he decisively changed it to "brother."

Then, at Shangguan Xiu and Qin Yuanyao's table, under Qin Yuanyao's glare, Shangguan Xiu and the other Imperial Guards, who were originally ready to fight, could only give up in frustration, muttering under their breath... Ning Nan passed the test with just a small sip of his drink...

After toasting the guests in the courtyard.

They then went to toast the guests outside the courtyard, continuing all the way down the long slope.

Then you have to go upstairs again to toast the chefs who cooked today...

The opera troupe had set up a stage downstairs, so my mother ordered someone to set off a few strings of firecrackers. Ningnan then had to go down to toast the opera troupe members...

After toasting each table, the next step was to spend time talking with some of the elderly people.

During this time, Ning Nan was both tired and drunk, and his eyelids were drooping so badly that he fell asleep sitting up.

When I opened my eyes again, the opera troupe below was already performing, a play called "Qing Liang Yuan," which received a good round of applause.

But the elderly people around him were still talking, saying things like how hard the Ning family had worked back then, and his mother was wiping away tears... Ning Nan glanced over and noticed that his great-uncle was sitting not far away, his back to the table, his body hunched over...

The sun continued to set in the west.

The golden light first turned a warm yellow at some point, and then turned a bluish-green when the Ning family's dinner began.

My mother went all out, saying we'd have mutton for dinner, and there were an unusually large number of guests that night. Luckily, she was considerate of her son, and the dinner changed from toasting to serving tea...

Several more hours passed.

My exhaustion lasted until dinner was over and the opera troupe left.

By this time, the night was already extremely dark.

Under Qin Yuanyao's watchful gaze, even Shangguan Xiu dared not mention the wedding night pranks, but he said sullenly, "How can a wedding not include pranks... She, she, Your Highness... won't blame us..." However, after Madam Jia arrived, he didn't even dare to complain anymore...

The guests gradually took their leave.

Big Black and his men cleaned up the mess.

Ning Nan sat and dozed off for a while. When he opened his eyes again, his mother was patting him awake... and shoving him into the bridal chamber...

The noise and chaos came to an abrupt halt at that moment.

Ning Nan's body stiffened in an instant.

The room was dimly lit and had a yellowish hue.

He turned his head and saw the bride sitting properly on the new bed.

His breathing quickened suddenly, his face, already flushed from the alcohol, turned even redder, his eyes became somewhat dazed, and his mouth felt inexplicably dry.

He staggered a few steps to the table, sat down, opened a jade cup, shook his head, picked up the teapot, and poured himself some tea.

The gurgling sound of tea being poured had just filled the room.

"Lift the veil!" A dry, hoarse voice rang out from beside the bed.

Ning Nan then remembered that Cui Cui's wife had been sitting there all day without drinking water or eating anything.

"Ooh ooh ooh..." He quickly stood up, holding onto the table, shook his head, and staggered to the bedside.

The delicate scent of perfume wafted into his nostrils, and Cui Cui, her face covered by a red veil, was right before him.

A wooden ruyi-shaped ornament used to lift the veil was placed next to Cui Cui's wife.

Ning Nan paused for a few breaths, patted his face, then leaned his upper body against his wife's side, picked up the ruyi scale, and said, "I'll lift it, okay?" He straightened up.

"Hmm..." Cui Cui's wife nodded.

Ning Nan swallowed hard.

Pick up one end of the ruyi scale and slowly let the other end probe under the red veil.

After a whole day of serving drinks, my arms felt a bit sore and weak.

Cui Cui sat upright, her thighs together, her fair hands slightly clenched into fists, resting on her straight thighs.

Ning Nan took a long breath and then slowly exhaled.

Then suddenly, he flipped it over!

After not seeing her for several days, Cui Cui's wife appeared before him with her head held high.

Her face was even whiter and clearer than usual, her eyes were still bright and lively, and her hair, which had been hanging down, was now tied up.

Ning Nan's breath caught in her throat.

"Would you like some water?" he asked after a moment.

"Um."

Ning Nan then handed over the water he had just poured, which Cuicui drank in one gulp, with a few water droplets still clinging to the corner of her lips.

She then handed the cup to him.

Ning Nan put the cup back on the table. On the table, which was covered with a red cloth, there were also eight treasure boxes containing red dates, peanuts, longans, lotus seeds, and other items, symbolizing the wish for many children.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry." Cui Cui's wife seemed a little dazed at this moment, and slowly said, "At dinner, Seventh Sister secretly came in and stuffed a pancake into my mouth."

"Oh, oh." Ning Nan nodded.

Silence fell over the room.

He was slightly hunched over.

I stood by the bed for a long time.

The two remained silent, neither of them speaking.

At one point, Ning Nan coughed softly, then slowly sat down on the edge of the bed... sitting next to Cui Cui's mother.

As soon as he sat down, the bed collapsed.

Cui Cui's body immediately tilted slightly towards him...

"Hmm..." Ning Nan waited for a while, and after realizing that his wife didn't chase him away, he stammered, head down, "Then...we...will...have...our...wedding...bed..."

The sound was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

The lights inside the room flickered dimly...

A few drops of cold, pale moonlight streamed in through the window...

The sound of insects chirping came from outside the window.

The evening breeze, following the sound, tapped against the paper window, sounding urgent and urging...

"Um……"

She pursed her pink lips, lowered her head, and responded with a soft "yes".