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

Zhu Cuiwei narrowed her eyes slightly, leaned back, and slowly moved towards the back of the chair.

This Zheng Qiudao... truly lives up to his reputation as a first-class steward of the Prince Qi's mansion. The point he made was precisely what was causing her and her brother the most headaches.

After Emperor Taizong's Jingnan Campaign, the term "reducing the power of the vassal states" became a taboo in the Liang Dynasty.

The imperial family of the Great Liang was enormous, and the court spent a great deal of money on them every year. The land owned by the various princes was in the millions of acres. These lands were not taxed by the court and were used solely to support the princely palaces.

In contrast, the vassal kings protected the capital, and there were officials appointed as provincial governors in the vassal kings' territories, so there was no fear of the vassal kings rebelling.

If she were to take down the Prince of Qi without sufficient evidence, it would likely arouse the suspicion of the various regional vassal kings, who might mistakenly believe that she intended to weaken their power.

If local authorities repeatedly oppose it, causing turmoil within the Great Liang, the Northern Dynasty will certainly not miss this opportunity.

Under pressure from the Rakshasa Kingdom, the Northern Dynasty will inevitably move south.

Then, using the same old tricks from the early Ming Dynasty, he promised his uncles and regional officials the titles of kings and marquises... If it really comes to this, the people's hearts will be in turmoil, and there may really be a worry about the collapse of the country!

Zhu Cuiwei's expression grew increasingly cold as she looked at the old man kneeling on the ground in front of her, chuckling softly.

This thief is indeed difficult to deal with.

No wonder even Qin Yuanyao felt helpless.

The guards who were arrested along with this man were all retired soldiers and江湖人士 (jianghu figures). They did not know Zheng Qiudao's true identity, but were persuaded to work for him for profit.

Zhu Cuiwei waved her hand in silence.

Qin Yuanyao nodded.

He ordered his men to take Zheng Qiudao away.

He then retrieved the bronze plaque and put it in a cloth bag.

Zhu Cuiwei glanced at it, then looked away and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure this bronze plaque really belongs to the Heavenly Principle Sect?"

This bronze plaque was obtained by the young physician from Xiao Chun and then given to the Grand Tutor.

One side of the bronze plaque has the character "坎" (kǎn).

On the other side are the eight large characters: "Though my body is but grass, I aspire to reach the heavens."

The Grand Tutor handed the task over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, ordering them to investigate the Heavenly Principle Sect.

Qin Yuanyao nodded: "It should be without a doubt. After the Grand Tutor gave the order, we checked the files. It was about ten years ago..."

"The Imperial Guard Commandery arrested the leader of the Heavenly Principles Sect's Li Zi Altar and imprisoned him in the Imperial Prison. We checked the evidence in the storeroom, and the other party also had a bronze plaque, but it was engraved with the character 'Li'."

Qin Yuanyao pursed her lips and continued, "We interrogated this person. When he saw the Kan character plaque, his expression clearly changed. Although he denied it to the death, it was hard to fake his expression at that moment. Based on Yuanyao's deduction, Xiao Chun... must be from the Heavenly Principle Sect."

The female commander bowed and clasped her hands in a respectful gesture, her tone earnest.

Zhu Cuiwei lowered her eyes slightly.

When the attack occurred, it was quite obvious that it was two different groups of people attacking at the same time. One group was aggressive and shouting, while the other group was much more low-key and composed, but their skills were also much sharper and more ruthless.

She was stabbed in the abdomen by Zi Yuan and fell to the ground, immediately losing consciousness, and no further clues were seen.

Zhu Cuiwei frowned, and after a moment, she said to Qin Yuanyao, "Since it's difficult to deal with Zheng Qiudao, then we should urge the Five Armies Commandery."

They need to provide an inspection report on those one hundred suits of Liang armor as soon as possible... and ask them how those one hundred suits of armor ended up in Xiao Chun's hands!

"Yes, ma'am!" Qin Yuanyao nodded immediately.

...

...

Taiping Private School is located in Liuye Lane, Shangyuan County. The environment inside is quiet and the air is filled with the fragrance of ink.

This private school was not well-known among the people because it did not teach children or accept many disciples.

Those who wish to study here must have a letter of recommendation from a friend of the tutor; otherwise, the tutor will not accept them.

"Even with a letter of recommendation, it depends on who recommended him. Yesterday afternoon, someone came to our employer with a letter of recommendation—the Imperial Academy…you know, right? The Imperial Academy! That scholar is from the Imperial Academy!"

A young servant stood in front of Ning Nan with a broom, chin held high, and said, "So what happened? Our master glanced at it, said, 'Oh, it's Zhong Heng,' and then handed the letter to this scholar from the Imperial Academy, saying he wouldn't accept it... Hey!"

The young servant adopted a nonchalant air, leaning on a broom in one hand and holding up two fingers with the other, saying, "Our master only has two words... no acceptance... Heh! With just those two words, the scholar from the Imperial Academy slunk away..."

"When he passed by, we heard this scholar mutter something. Do you know what he said?" the young servant asked, his eyes darting around, as if he were quite serious.

Ning Nan honestly shook his head.

"Hey!" The young servant slapped his thigh, beaming with excitement, "That scholar muttered... What a jerk! He doesn't even give face to the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy!"

"The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy!" The servant's voice suddenly rose, as he exclaimed in surprise, "That's at least a second-rank official! But our master just won't give him any face... What can he do? What can he do?"

The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy is definitely not a second-rank official… Ning Nan muttered to himself, but a sincere smile appeared on his face as he praised, “Your employer is truly remarkable!”

"Absolutely!"

Ning Nan smiled and said, "Young man, I also have a letter of recommendation on me. May I go in and pay my respects to your master?"

The servant shook his head. "That won't do."

Ning Nan's face stiffened.

The servant said, "Our master said that the imperial examination is coming up in a hurry this time. Too many people have come to study these days, and he can't teach them all. He can only recruit one more person at most."

"Uh..." That's amazing?

Ning Nan's pupils contracted. He hadn't expected that Old Man Han hadn't lied to him. It seemed that he had actually introduced him to a pretty good tutor.

Ning Nan frowned and said, "Brother, since your employer is planning to hire another person, why won't you let me in?"

The servant shook his head and said, "This is what our master said. He owes Grand Scholar Liu Zhenxi a favor, and at most he'll take in another student with a letter of recommendation from Grand Scholar Liu. That way, he'll repay the favor."

Old Man Liu actually has that much influence? ... Ning Nan smiled at the servant, "Brother, how do you know I don't have any..." As he spoke, he stuffed his hand into his sleeve... intending to take out some silver to give to the servant, and go in to try his luck, to see if Old Man Han had that much influence.

"That person is me!"

Just then, a loud and confident voice came from behind.

Ning Nan frowned and looked back.

not far away,

A chubby boy dressed in baggy scholar's clothes walked over, raising his arm high and holding up a letter.

Beside the fat man was a handsome and modest scholar... Ning Nan recognized the man and was slightly surprised, not expecting to run into an acquaintance here.

The young servant slammed his broom down, frowning, and said, "Aren't you the one from yesterday...?"

"Not bad," the fat man said, taking a few quick steps, his pitifully small eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Hehe, Zhibao, I'm back again... Yesterday, the teacher wouldn't give me face because of the Imperial Academy Chancellor..."

"Today," he said, flicking the envelope in his hand, his eyes narrowed to slits, leaning back and sticking out his large belly, "he can't possibly refuse to give Grand Secretary Liu face, can he?!"

The servant exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! You actually got it? Is it really a letter of recommendation from Scholar Liu?"

"Not bad!" the fat man said, pointing to his double chin.

He turned his head, looked Ning Nan up and down, and smiled, "Brother, may I ask who wrote this letter of recommendation in your hand? What official rank does he hold?"

Ning Nan said, "My master is just a country scholar, without any rank or grade."

"very good!"

The fat man raised his double chin and said, "Let's go home."

"I'll give you travel expenses."

Hmm...that's quite generous...Ning Nan couldn't help but chuckle.

He ignored the fat man for the moment, turned around, and greeted the humble scholar next to the fat man, saying, "Brother, it's been a long time."

Ning Er, the second young master of the Marquis of Jingbei's mansion, gave a wry smile and quickly returned the greeting, saying, "Brother Ning, it's been a long time."

Immediately, with a helpless expression, he introduced the fat man beside him: "Fei Xiong, don't be rude... This is Brother Xiao Ning... who is Leng Leng Qingqing."