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

Ning Nan sent Shangguan Xiu out—a rare opportunity, he indulged in being Shangguan in front of Xiu Xiu—by having Xiu Xiu investigate the line at the Northern Dynasty's Sticky Rod Office.

Xiuxiu led her people, and they went to the Northern Dynasty embassy in a very imposing manner.

Qin Yuanyao is actually more reliable than Xiuxiu.

But Xiuxiu said with a determined look in her eyes that the dark-skinned woman was currently investigating a major case that reached the highest levels of society, and she didn't have time to be distracted.

Ning Nan saw the eager gleam in his eyes and entrusted the task to him.

But this matter is complicated and the Sticky Rod Office is not as powerful as Xiao Chun and his bandits. Xiu Xiu wants to make another great contribution and then be on equal footing with Commander Qin, so as to get revenge for being bossed around all the time. Ning Nan thinks the chances are slim.

Big Black also returned to the Ministry of Works' workshop.

Ningnan asked him to go back and investigate the Ministry of Works' gunpowder workshop.

Xu Qing, the old man under Qin Yuanyao, was originally just a centurion, but he made great contributions in solving the Black Tiger Mountain case and has now been promoted to deputy commander, just like Xiuxiu.

According to Qian Sijin, the old man jokingly said that he was still young and beautiful, and was so happy that he held a three-day banquet.

Ningnan sent someone to inform Old Man Xu, instructing him to work with Dahei, one openly and one covertly, to thoroughly investigate the gunpowder workshop.

The people of the Sticky Rod Office sent Wen Liang to kill him.

Before killing him, make him write down the refined formula for gunpowder, but don't insist on it; if you can't get the formula, it doesn't matter if you kill him.

The most reasonable explanation is that the people at the sticky rod station have already obtained the formula.

This makes it highly likely that there is a traitor within the gunpowder workshop.

Technology diffusion is inevitable. But for it to spread in just one month is a damn exaggeration; the Southern Dynasty would have absolutely no first-mover advantage!

Ning Nan felt a throbbing in his temples, and his head began to ache slightly.

Fortunately, he didn't give away the method of blast furnace steelmaking, otherwise it might have harmed the Southern Dynasty instead.

Just like the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, although the War of the Eight Princes was the most important internal cause, the technology of hard metal stirrups was also a significant factor.

The widespread use of stirrups elevated the fighting power of nomadic peoples by several levels. With the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, China was plunged into chaos, the elite fled south, and the Five Barbarian Tribes invaded the north… Ning Nan slowly exhaled from the carriage… China was plunged into chaos…

He planned to take the imperial examination to obtain official rank, and the examination was just around the corner. The current emperor was actually doing a good job, but it was a pity that he was about to abdicate.

Prince Xin had rewarded him with one hundred gold pieces before, and this time he even bestowed upon him a gold medal... Hmm, she's a good person. I feel indebted to her.

If she were tough enough and listened to advice, Nanliang might still have a chance.

But if they don't listen to advice... Ning Nan couldn't help but feel a darkening in his eyes. Since ancient times, only Emperor Taizu of Liang has succeeded in a northern expedition. If the north is not in chaos, the chances of Southern Liang winning are not high.

Prince Xin will remarry, and the court will produce another great prince consort, which is another variable.

If Prince Xin gets carried away by love and follows the example of Empress Wu Zetian in favoring Xue Huaiyi and the Zhang brothers, spoiling that grand prince consort to the skies... then I might have to make plans early, like preparing several boats in the Fujian area with my wife Cui Cui, as a backup plan... Hmm... but thinking about these things now seems a bit far-fetched.

Ning Nan leaned his head back with a self-deprecating laugh... Let's get this over with first, and find the thief who harmed Li Baoxin and himself. Otherwise, forget about the imperial examination, he might even lose his life... He forced himself to close his eyes and began to rest in the carriage.

The night was as dark as a curtain.

Fengxian Street is three miles long. The sound of horses' hooves echoed at the end of the street, galloping from north to south towards the county government office.

The county government office was brightly lit.

A new broom sweeps clean. Lin Tao, the newly appointed county magistrate, was very enthusiastic about his work. Even though it was already past 7 PM, he was still leading some of the county officials and constables around the yamen, buried in their documents, helping him sort out some unsolved cases.

"Are you insulting me?"

Lin Tao suppressed his anger and glared at Ning Nan.

He pointed at Ning Nan, then turned his head sharply to the side, shouting at Qian Sijin who had brandished the gold medal: "Isn't he a suspect in treason against the Northern Dynasty? Why was he allowed to leave the Imperial Guard Commandery? Why was he sent to my Jiangning County to perform an autopsy?! Believe me or not, tonight I will write a memorial impeaching your Commandery! Impeaching Qin Yuanyao! Impeaching Shangguan Yun!"

Thick-necked's words came like a barrage of bullets, striking Qian Sijin's face and turning the junior officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard pale.

That's one of the benefits of showing off.

If Xiuxiu were here, she would definitely have fired back at the thick-necked man, whether she was right or wrong. But Qian Sijin probably wasn't well-educated and was speechless, completely intimidated by the thick-necked man.

Ning Nan sighed inwardly, but sneered on the surface, saying, "County Lieutenant Lin, suspect, suspect, do you even know what a suspect is? A suspect isn't a criminal at all! Does County Lieutenant Lin know why the Grand Tutor went to request a gold medal?!"

He stepped forward and leaned in, angrily saying, "It's because the Grand Tutor thinks that a villain is framing me! And there's a bunch of muddle-headed officials in Daliang who are doing things that hurt their own people and please their enemies, helping the traitors frame me! That's why the Grand Tutor went and asked for a gold token, allowing the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate the case with the token, to shut up those muddle-headed officials... As a suspect, the Embroidered Uniform Guard takes me with them at all times when they investigate the case, so that they can question me... What's the problem? What's the problem?" He asked twice.

Lin Tao's shoulders heaved, his noodles trembled, and he glared, about to explode.

Ning Nan didn't give him a chance to refute, his eyes filled with disdain as he said, "Grand Tutor Gu conquered Black Tiger Mountain in a single day. This time, it was the Grand Tutor who ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest me and investigate this case thoroughly... Black Tiger Mountain has some connections with the Northern Dynasty, and they suffered a setback at Li Family Village before. In their anger, the Northern Dynasty killed Li Baoxin to vent their frustration. So, we're here to investigate the case. What's wrong with that?... County Magistrate Lin, can you guarantee that this possibility is absolutely nonexistent?"

Lin Tao gritted his teeth, his face turning ashen.

"You say you want to impeach him, then go impeach Grand Tutor Gu! ... Say he's a worrier, say he's paranoid!"

Ning Nan took another step closer to him, speaking faster and faster.

"Within the territory of Daliang, under your jurisdiction as County Magistrate Lin, there are only Daliang people killing Daliang people. There are no Northern Dynasty spies killing Li Baoxin... Ha! County Magistrate Lin—" Ning Nan sneered.

"—Are you going to impeach me like this?" Ning Nan, her eyes red, picked up a large hat and loudly slammed it down on him.

This matter involves the Northern Dynasty; a single wrong word could lead to irreversible regret… Lin Tao gritted his teeth, stared at Ning Nan, and whispered a few words, “Fine, fine, fine—”, “What a scoundrel!”

"Fuck you..." Ning Nan cursed inwardly with disdain.

According to the laws of the Great Liang Dynasty, in the event of a murder, the coroner is required to examine the body on the spot. However, as a county magistrate, Lin Tao naturally had the right to do so.

Lin Tao brought Li Baoxin's body back to the county office first, and then had the coroner examine it.

The mortuary, where the county government temporarily stored corpses, was cold and dark. Li Baoxin's body was placed on a platform to the left of the entrance.

The person has been dead for a day.

The body was stiff.

Ning Nan silently looked at Li Baoxin's face, which was pale, thin, and stiff.

It is rare for a person to live to seventy. Li Baoxin is in his sixties, just a little short of turning seventy, and he can compete with Fourth Grandma.

What a pity.

The old man worried about this and that every day, and he worried about them all his life. His biggest worry was his daughter. After his daughter married into the family, she also had a daughter.

He then began to worry about his granddaughter. The old man hoped that his granddaughter could marry a man surnamed Li from the same village. So even though he had a son-in-law who married into the family, he did not let his granddaughter take the surname Li. This made the son-in-law very happy, and he kowtowed to his father-in-law repeatedly.

Before he could even see his granddaughter get married, the old man died... Ning Nan sighed inwardly and let out a breath.

Lifting the burlap sack covering the old man, I examined the wound. It was on his chest, about an inch wide. There was some churning in the wound; the knife had been inserted and then stirred around, indicating a very ruthless attack.

Ning Nan took the autopsy report from the coroner, glanced at it... there wasn't much to see.

Death was caused by a sharp weapon; a foot-long weapon pierced through the heart and lungs. There were no wounds to the neck, nor signs of suffocation. The lips were not purple, indicating no poisoning. There were no signs of struggle or other injuries on the body. The eyes were wide open at the time of death, as if the person died with their eyes open in disbelief.

Ning Nan put down the autopsy report, then picked up the murder weapon that the coroner had brought over with his handkerchief and examined it carefully. He recognized the murder weapon... a sharp knife, a pig-slaughtering knife, Er Lai's.

Lin Tao, with his hands behind his back, said from the side, "The knife belonged to Li Erlai. He usually used this knife to slaughter pigs, but this heartless scoundrel actually used it to kill Li Village Chief!"

Ning Nan didn't speak, his face grim as he put on a pair of rough hemp gloves, turned Li Baoxin's body over, and looked at the old man's back. There was indeed a penetrating wound on his back.

After carefully examining the old man's body.

Ning Nan stood there for a long time, thinking, before finally taking off his burlap gloves and saying, "Let's go see Er Lai."