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

Master Li got into the first carriage, and his concubine with bound feet also got into the carriage. A dozen or so mule carts followed behind.

Accompanying Master Li to Sushui County were his second son, youngest son, several nephews and their families, and the three guards. The group, in a grand procession, headed south.

Grandpa Li only told the village head, Li Baoxin, about this matter. The news was kept under wraps until Grandpa Li left, after which Li Baoxin would tell the people of Lijia Village.

Ning Nan glanced at the gate of the house, a double black lacquered gate, nearly nine feet high. He looked down and saw... Hmm, the two stone lions at the gate, each as tall as a person, hadn't been moved; they were still there to ward off evil spirits.

"Brother, what's going on?" Er Laizi asked, frowning in confusion... Master Li... why does it seem like Master Li has moved?

As he spoke, he lowered his hand from his waist, where a butcher's knife was hidden under his clothes.

Ning Nan looked at the towering gate again; the plaque on the gate had also been removed.

"Li Erlai!" Ning Nan suddenly shouted loudly, his face stern.

"Here!" Erlaizi replied seriously as if by reflex.

Ning Nan put his hands behind his back with satisfaction and said seriously, "From today onwards, you are the steward of the Ning family in Lijia Village, um... the head steward!" Steward is not domineering enough, head steward is domineering!

Er Lai was instantly stunned. What? The head steward?

Ning Nan pursed his lips, smiled at Er Lai and San Zhuang, and explained the situation.

Upon hearing this, the two of them immediately jumped up!

"Big brother! You're a great-grandfather now?!" Sanzhuang exclaimed in surprise!

The head steward… Er Laizi stared at his elder brother, stunned for a long while, his face suddenly turning red. “Brother, you mean…”

Ning Nan nodded and hummed in agreement. "From now on, you will be responsible for collecting rent from my family's two hundred acres of land. After collecting the rent, you will also be responsible for paying taxes to the imperial court... Besides that..."

"I'll give you a manual with a composting technique... Go find three tenant farmers to test it out first. Tell them you'll reduce their rent by one-third, but require them to follow my detailed farming plan. You'll be in charge of supervising..."

Ning Nan pursed his lips... Now that the two hundred acres of land were all his, some things from before could now be put into action.

But a small favor can breed resentment; even promoting new technologies that are good for them might end up pleasing neither side.

For example, some people may verbally agree but actually disregard the plan and follow their own ideas instead of the plan. When production is reduced, they blame the plan for the problem. Such situations are not uncommon.

His current goal is the imperial examination, so he can't personally oversee that aspect.

We need to find someone to push this matter forward. This person can't be too bad, nor too good. The main thing is that they have to be able to keep people in check... Er Lai is just such a suitable person.

This kid is ruthless and looks fierce, but he can actually discern who he's dealing with. When it comes to important matters, Er Lai has his own set of methods. He's not worried that Er Lai will act violently towards the people of Li Family Village.

Er Lai, beaming, didn't even think through what his elder brother was saying before patting his chest and saying, "Don't worry, elder brother, leave everything to me, the head steward!"

"besides,"

Ning Nan's gaze turned indifferent, and his voice lowered, "I will give you two hundred taels of silver a year. I need you to support about ten servants here, who will sign life-long contracts with the Ning family. Their ages can be young or old, but those who cannot sign life-long contracts will not be accepted... I will give you a training method later..."

"Servants...ten..." Li Erlai's eyes sharpened, his face turning even redder, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Brother, are ten enough?"

Ning Nan shook his head: "We can't afford to raise more... Let's start with ten. You don't need to do anything, just get started training..."

This was also to be on the safe side. If bandits attacked, a dozen or so men with knives would be a formidable force. If they had bows, then bandits of less than fifty men would not return alive.

With these ten people, if the Northern Court were to move south in the future, there would be manpower to cover their retreat to the south... This "their own" naturally includes the family of the old man.

San Zhuang watched with envy and said resentfully, "Big brother... what about me...?" ...What about me?

Ning Nan laughed and said, "You—"

San Zhuang's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with hope.

Ning Nan patted San Zhuang on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Come in with me and help us move things!"

He then flicked his sleeves and strode into the mansion.

San Zhuang's eyes widened in shock, his shoulders slumped, and he followed his elder brother's footsteps as if he had lost his parents... "Er Lai can be the head steward, and I can be the junior steward!"

A moment later, he came out with his head drooping, holding the mahogany box that Master Li had mentioned in his hands, and followed Ning Nan out with Er Lai.

After Ning Nan gave an all-clear signal, Da Hei, who had been hiding in the woods, slowly retreated and returned to the blacksmith's shop.

Li Xing was invited by Ning Nan to have dinner at the Ning family's house.

"sister in law!"

"sister in law!"

"sister in law!"

Upon seeing Cuicui, the three of them immediately shouted "Sister-in-law!" in unison.

Cui Cui's wife hummed in agreement, then said, "I'm going to cook," before leisurely heading to the kitchen with her chin held high. However, before leaving, she secretly pinched Ning Nan.

Ning Nan endured the pain, instructed Li Xing to pour tea, and then told San Zhuang to put the mahogany box somewhere before following Cui Cui's wife to the kitchen... He still did the work, but the credit naturally went to her.

"So, you plan to leave Erlai and Xingge in Lijia Village, and take Sanzhuang to Nanjing... As for Dahei, you've already had Shangguan Xiu recommend him to the Ministry of Works?" Cui Cui asked, raising her eyes slightly as she sipped her tea.

Clang!

Ning Nan chopped meat on the cutting board and nodded: "My great-uncle gave us such a large fortune... We can't let him down, we have to protect it. But without passing the imperial examination and becoming an official, we definitely can't protect it... I'll definitely have to focus on preparing for the exam these next few months."

Cui Cui put down her teacup, handed over the washed cabbage, and pursed her lips slightly.

Not long after dinner.

Then it became completely dark.

In the past, the two of them were actually busy with their own things. Ning Nan would write and draw at the table in the main room, while Cuicui would read books by lamplight in his room. The two of them would often go to sleep very late.

But ever since their wedding night, for the next few days, as soon as it got dark...

The two would then tacitly enter the room together, and by the time Ning Nan closed the door, Cuicui's feet were already tucked onto the bed.

On the first day, the two would pretend to read, one in bed and the other at the desk. After a cup of tea was finished, Ning Nan would yawn and deliberately say loudly, "I'm so tired, I don't want to add more lamp oil." At this point, Cui Cui would coldly say, "Then go to sleep early..." followed by a long, muffled groan in the room.

By the next day, most of the shyness had faded, and they were truly entering the blissful days of newlyweds. As soon as it got dark, the two of them tacitly went into their room one after the other, no longer needing to rely on reading to pass the time.

By the third day... the newly made bed was already creaking.

"I'll reinforce it tomorrow... It definitely won't collapse tonight," Ning Nan assured him, panting heavily.

……

The next day.

Qin Yuanyao sent someone to say that the house in Nanjing had been repaired and they could move there at any time.

That person also told Cuicui some news, a major event that had recently occurred in Nanjing. The Northern Dynasty princess, who was originally to marry the Emperor, wanted to postpone the wedding due to illness. As a result, the Emperor was furious and directly ordered the Court of State Ceremonial to annul the engagement, saying that marriage was not a child's play! How could she be allowed to act so recklessly?!

Then the Northern Dynasty became afraid. The ambassador rushed into the capital that very night, saying that the marriage would proceed as scheduled, but His Majesty was already furious and determined to annul the engagement.

After three days of this stalemate, the ambassador from the Northern Dynasty, seeing that his repeated requests had been ignored, knew that His Majesty was determined and could only kowtow three times in the Imperial Study before reluctantly agreeing to annul the engagement.

"Hmph! Our dynasty has finally gotten its revenge! Your Majesty is mighty!" Everyone in Nanjing is saying this now.

Cui Cui's wife nodded slightly.

Then he glanced at Ning Nan, and after a long while, said inexplicably, "If my brother were in good health... he would never lose to you... he would be ten times stronger than you."

"Ten thousand times stronger, okay?" Ning Nan said irritably.

I don't understand why this woman suddenly started talking about her brother-in-law.

That was on this day.

Miss Zhu invited Ning Nan to her home.

"I'm leaving..."

In the main room of the Reading Seed's house, Zhu Qingmian's eyes were misty with tears, and her beautiful face looked like a pear blossom in the rain as she weakly glanced at Ning Nandao.

Ning Nan asked in surprise, "Your memory has returned?"

She pouted and said, "More or less... at least I remembered who my father is... he came to pick me up..."