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

Ning Nan smiled as well... He was curious which scoundrel on Yunhu Lake had come up with such a wicked plan and arranged for such a fool to kill him.

If it were a hired murder, this foolish thief might not have been so dedicated; he might have double-crossed the person, pocketed their money, and then taken their life.

But after changing his story, Zhang Darui probably thought he had an invisible banner of justice planted behind him, and that he had become Song Jiang with good fortune, with strongholds coming to join him... So he took it very seriously.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ning—"

Qian Sijin, with a serious expression, clasped his hands in a fist and said,

"Mr. Ning has served the court, and we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, will never allow him to be put in danger because of this. We will take Zhang Darui and his gang of thieves back to the Imperial Prison and report to Deputy Commander Shangguan and Commander Qin... We will definitely find out who is behind this and give you an explanation!"

Ning Nan smiled and nodded, saying thank you, Brother Qian.

Two Imperial Guards went to chase after the five who had escaped.

Two imperial guards led the dozen or so thieves they had captured back to Nanjing, intending to imprison them in the imperial prison and report the situation.

Therefore, only six Imperial Guards remained to protect Ningnan. Of these six, four were wounded.

There was this little incident.

When we arrived at Lijia Village, it was already late afternoon.

Since he was going to sleep at home that night anyway, he didn't go home to see his mother first, but went directly to Lijiacun Primary School.

That house belonged to Master Li, the richest man in Li Family Village, and it was very large.

Li Xing lives there.

Erlai and the servants he recruited also lived there.

After finishing their business, they went to Li Baoxin's village head office to ask what the problem was with the household registration.

After crossing the stone bridge, he instructed Sanzhuang to take four wounded Imperial Guards to his home for disinfection and bandaging.

Sanzhuang is very familiar with this process, so I can trust him with my work.

Qian Sijin frowned, feeling that this seemed somewhat inappropriate, and said that they could go on their own, and it would be better for the three righteous men to stay with Mr. Ning.

Ning Nan laughed and said, "Brother Qian, don't worry at all. Lijia Village has a baojia system, and everyone is very wary of outsiders. I know the village very well."

Upon hearing this, Qian Sijin pursed his lips, said nothing more, and simply nodded.

Ning Nan also sent away Uncle Ping, who was driving the carriage, and told him to go with San Zhuang to the Ning family for a bowl of tea.

Uncle Ping said hesitantly that he still had to catch the carriage, and that he should just follow the master.

Ning Nan took the horsewhip from Uncle Ping's hand and laughed, "I can also drive a carriage, I just want to experience the thrill of driving one."

Uncle Ping blushed, unsure of what to say, but under Ning Nan's urging, he could only obediently follow San Zhuang.

At this point, he was left with only Qian Sijin and another Imperial Guard named Xu Cheng.

Lijiacun Primary School is located east of Ningjia Courtyard. When Ning Nan and his group arrived outside the white wall of the primary school, they happened to run into Erlai.

"Big brother!"

Erlai's face lit up with joy, and he immediately came forward to greet them.

Ning Nan, however, was too lazy to stand on ceremony with him. He beckoned him over and asked him to call some people to help move the books from the carriage inside.

Erlai turned around and shouted, and immediately three servants came running out.

Upon seeing Ning Nan, one of the servants Ning Nan had met before quickly lowered his head and called out "Young Master." The other two immediately felt their mouths go dry, knowing that their master had returned. They followed suit and quickly lowered their heads and called out "Young Master."

Ning Nan glanced at him and thought that Er Lai was well trained, with a good physique and excellent spirit.

Erlai raised his chin and said that there were three servants in the house who were currently patrolling the fields with their weapons.

"Inspection?" Ning Nan frowned.

Erlai said with a bitter face, "Some tenants said that a few days ago, it seemed that a thief came to the village. One person's house was missing a string of cured meat for no reason, and another person's house was missing a little rice. There were all sorts of things, but not much was missing. However, I still asked them to go and check it out."

"Oh..." Ning Nan nodded without saying anything more.

He did not attend Lijiacun Primary School.

He patted Erlai on the shoulder a few times and laughed, "Alright, I'm leaving now. You can leave my carriage here... Help me feed it some hay later."

Feeling the weight of his elder brother on his shoulder, Er Lai's pupils narrowed slightly. He unconsciously raised his hand and pressed it against his waist. Then, he laughed heartily and said, "Okay, elder brother... I understand. I'll take good care of the carriage."

"Um."

That's all.

Ning Nan nodded, then turned and walked away with his hands behind his back. Qian Sijin and Xu Cheng saw that Ning Nan was not riding in a carriage, so they also stopped riding horses and followed behind him with their horses.

As dusk fell.

After walking for a while, Ning Nan did not go home. Instead, he stood on a ridge in a field, gazing at the endless green scenery while chatting with Qian Sijin about random things.

When asked if they had ever farmed, the two shook their heads. Ning Nan then laughed and said that farming seems simple, but it is actually very difficult. Farmers need to know exactly which month to go to the fields, which month to water the fields every day, when the farming season is slack, and when the farming season is busy. They can't afford to waste a single day.

The two men didn't know why Mr. Ning suddenly had such feelings, but they chatted with him, assuming that Mr. Ning hadn't been back to his hometown for many days and was feeling homesick.

After about fifteen minutes, Ning Nan stretched and said that the two of them didn't need to follow anymore. They should go to Lijiacun Elementary School, where there was plenty of space. They could stay there tonight, and Erlaizi would make the arrangements.

Qian Sijin immediately refused with a solemn expression, saying that he would definitely be waiting outside Mr. Ning's door tonight.

Ning Nan tried to persuade him for a while, but Qian Sijin was resolutely unwilling. Xu Cheng looked troubled, but naturally listened to Qian Sijin.

Ning Nan had no choice but to tell the truth: "Brother Qian, Brother Xu, you two must not tell Commander Qin about this, and you must not tell my wife either."

Qian Sijin was taken aback.

Ning Nan shrugged, sighed, and looked troubled.

But in the end, he gritted his teeth and gave the two men a wry smile, saying, "To be honest, you two brothers, I have a lover in Li Family Village... I came back this time to secretly go see her..."

Qian Sijin's eyes widened immediately.

Immediately, a chill rose from his tailbone and shot straight to the top of his head!

Not long after.

Qian Sijin returned to Lijiacun Primary School in a daze, with Xu Cheng following behind him.

Unlike Qian Sijin's solemn expression, Xu Cheng looked relaxed.

Qian Sijin glanced at Xu Cheng, his eyes immediately filled with envy... Xu Cheng had no idea how long he had wavered between loyalty and righteousness on that short journey from the fields to Lijia Village.

He only learned many of the inside stories recently. After he made a contribution at Black Tiger Mountain and was promoted to a junior officer, Qin Qianhu told him some things when he needed people... But now, he really wished he knew nothing.

With extremely mixed feelings, he had just stepped into Lijiacun Primary School when a servant, his lips trembling, came forward to greet him, "This humble servant greets you two sirs..."

……

……

Ning Nan strolled leisurely through the village under the blue sky, his hands behind his back. When he arrived at the home of the "Reading Seed," he turned and stumbled into a path, entering a bamboo grove.

In the bamboo forest, perhaps because it was getting dark, he blew on a tinderbox, held it up with his left hand, and placed his right hand on the leather bag behind him, inadvertently revealing one end of the gun barrel.

The bamboo grove was very quiet.

There were no insects chirping, only the rustling of his footsteps and the whistling of the evening wind.

He walked out of the bamboo forest. Humming a little tune, he slowly entered the dense forest-like back mountain.

There was a clearing deep in the back of the mountain, and under a tree next to the clearing, there was a wooden box.

After Ning Nan arrived at this spot, he glanced around and then cursed, "Why hasn't that little wench arrived yet!"

He extinguished the fire extinguisher.

He opened the wooden box, took out a cotton quilt, and casually spread it on the ground.

He rubbed his hands together, a smile on his face, looking impatient, and unbuttoned his shirt, spreading it on the quilt.

Finally, he untied the leather pouch containing three muskets from his waist.

He threw it on the ground.

Bang!

The leather bag made a sound as it hit the ground.

"Damn it, why aren't you coming... Don't you know I'm pressed for time and have a heavy mission?" Ning Nan cursed, just about to take off his pants.

"It's alright," a leisurely voice suddenly said behind him, "It's good that your lover is late. If she's not bad looking, this young master will let you enjoy her."

Ning Nan's pupils contracted.

Immediately, a cold, sharp sword was pressed straight against his back.