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

Three large boxes were neatly placed on the ground.

Steward Wang bowed and said, "This was sent by the master's brother-in-law yesterday at Chenshi (7-9 AM). He had people watch over it, and no one dared to touch it."

As he spoke, Steward Wang handed over a gift list.

Ning Nan hummed in agreement, took the gift list, and glanced down at it.

The dowry sent by the brother-in-law included a lot of goldware, some silverware and jewelry, as well as ten bolts of fine silk and a box of books.

Ning Nan held the gift list and slowly took a deep breath. Apart from the books, everything else in this dowry was for Cui Cui's wife to rely on.

These days, it's difficult to find a wife for your son, and it's also difficult to marry off your daughter.

If the dowry given to a daughter is too small, the daughter will inevitably be looked down upon by her husband's family and will not be able to stand up straight.

Cui Cui's mother-in-law's parents passed away early, and her brother-in-law's health is also not very good. It is estimated that the medical expenses have been considerable.

Although they also lived on Datong Street, their house was much smaller than their own, and they only had one ugly maid who didn't seem very diligent.

To be able to prepare such a large dowry for his younger sister must have taken many years of hard work to save up for it; it was truly not easy… Ning Nan slowly exhaled, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.

The brother-in-law really dotes on his sister... He handed the gift list to Cui Cui's wife.

Cui Cui's wife, however, was too lazy to accept it. Without even glancing at it, she simply nodded her chin and said, "You can keep it."

Ning Nan was stunned for a moment, then shook the gift list and said helplessly, "Your brother dotes on you. These things are worth a lot of money."

Seeing that Cui Cui's wife was unmoved, he said again, "You haven't returned to your parents' home yet. This place is close to your home. We'll buy some gifts and go back to visit you later."

But Cui Cui's wife didn't respond to his question. She said calmly, "My brother is away doing business and only comes back to the capital once in a long while. He will tell me when he returns."

Hmm... So busy? Ning Nan could only nod helplessly and instruct Steward Wang to send someone to deliver the three large boxes to his room.

His and Cui Cui's main house was on the right side of the main hall, just a short walk through a covered corridor.

Manager Wang said that the master and mistress's bed was newly made, and the bedding was also brand new. Yesterday, the middleman who helped the master buy the house brought craftsmen to the door and specially reinforced the master and mistress's new bed. Please rest assured, master.

Ning Nan's face flushed red... He didn't even know who had helped him buy the house... but they had reinforced his bed? Well done!

The house has many rooms, but most of them are empty.

Steward Wang and the servants lived in the servants' quarters, stables, and watchmen's quarters in the first courtyard.

Two maids and a cook lived in the maids' room on the right side of the third courtyard.

In the middle of the second courtyard, besides the master's main house, there are several rooms for the young master, young lady, guest rooms, and rooms for the master's concubines... But now, Master Ning has neither young master, young lady, nor concubine, so all of them are empty.

San Zhuang stayed in a guest room on the left side of the second courtyard.

The cook in the Ning family was quite old and her cooking skills were so-so. During dinner, Ning Nan and Cuicui frowned as they ate, but when they saw that the cook looked honest and simple, yet there was a hint of expectation in her eyes, they didn't say much and even praised her a few times.

Most of the dishes on the table were given to San Zhuang.

Fortunately, Sanzhuang is not a picky eater and enjoys everything he eats.

In the evening, Ning Nan greeted everyone one by one, gently asking each person their name, place of origin, how many years they had stayed at the mansion, and so on, and gave each person a red envelope.

However, he also used a combination of kindness and severity, deliberately asking some important questions to prevent being fooled by the servants.

For example, when asked about Steward Wang, Ning Nan inquired about the government offices on Datong Street and the noble people residing there.

Steward Wang listed them off as if they were his own treasures, and even reminded Ning Nan that the Prince Xin's Mansion was right next to the Ning residence, which was the future emperor. The master of the house had to strictly manage the servants to avoid offending the imperial family, and so on.

Seeing that he was mature and composed, answered fluently, and knew how to strictly manage his servants, Ning Nan nodded, quite satisfied with him.

Manager Wang was relieved. When they met in the afternoon, he thought that since Master Ning was so young, he might not be very thoughtful. But he didn't expect that the other party would be so upright and calm, and every question he asked was to the point.

When someone asks which important people live on Datong Street, you can point out a certain official. They will then ask whether that official supports the new law or the old law... This is where you hit the nail on the head.

Fortunately, he had previously served as an official in the Ministry of Rites, and had been exposed to various things and communicated with officials in different prefectures. He was naturally unaware of the specific policies, but he could still distinguish whether the other party supported the new or old laws.

Ning Nan listened to Steward Wang's analysis, hummed a few times, and pretended to understand... He hadn't actually thought that much about it; he was just asking casually to make himself look as professional as possible and not to be easily fooled, so as not to be looked down upon by the servants.

There are actually quite a few people in the mansion.

One steward, two maids, one cook, eight servants, one groom, one accountant... fourteen people in total. Their monthly wages, including all the miscellaneous charges, came to around thirty taels of silver. That was within their means.

He identified the people, arranged the study and the main room, counted the dowry sent by his brother-in-law, sent someone to deliver it to the storeroom, and personally watched as the dowry was locked up and the key was put away.

He went to the kitchen again, intending to cook a few dishes and send them over to Cui Cui's wife so they could have a late-night snack together.

In the kitchen, the cook, Xu, looked at him uneasily.

Ning Nan rolled up his sleeves and laughed, "It's not that your food is bad, it's just that my wife is used to my cooking. She can only fall asleep if she eats my cooking every day."

Seeing that Chef Xu still looked uneasy, Ning Nan asked her to help with tasks such as washing and chopping vegetables. Chef Xu was relieved and nodded vigorously, quickly getting to work.

Two maids stood to the side, carrying his food tray.

The maid with a ponytail was named Chunyu, and the maid with two braids was named Qiumu. Both of them were about thirteen or fourteen years old, and at this time, they were about the same age as Chef Xu, with a reserved expression.

"not bad."

After finishing her meal, Cui Cui nodded her chin and put down her chopsticks.

At this moment, Chunyu stepped forward and presented a golden basin and a hot towel.

Ningnan was also full.

Three breaths after putting down her chopsticks, Qiu Mu blushed and started clearing away the dishes.

After the two maids left the main room and closed the door, Ning Nan's shoulders immediately relaxed... Whew... Pretending to be a master is really tiring...

Seeing his somewhat dazed expression, Cui Cui's lips curved into a slight smile.

After a while, she said, "Are you really planning to leave everyone here?"

Ning Nan let out a breath, shook his head and said, "I just looked at everyone and chatted with them. A few of them had a strange look in their eyes, but it's nothing serious. Maybe they were just a little dishonest... About a month. After a month, I'll have Manager Wang fire them."

Seeing that he understood, Cui Cui simply nodded and didn't say anything more.

He turned his head again and glanced at the dim yellow light in the room.

"I need to go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters for roll call tomorrow at dawn," she said calmly.

"Yeah, it's getting late." Ning Nan nodded. "Then you should go to sleep early... I won't bother you tonight, I'll sleep in the room next door..."

Her pink lips pursed, and a pair of cold, dangerous eyes immediately swept towards him.

Ning Nan met his gaze and smiled.

He took a breath, stood up, rubbed his lower back, and then went forward and picked the other person up in his arms.

As always... as soft as cotton.

He lowered his head into his arms.

Forehead to forehead.

He said, panting heavily, "Don't blame me if you're late..."

"I'm riding a horse...it's very close...um..."