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

Ning Guangshao laughed and said, "The second brother actually said something sensible today."

He crossed his legs and sat down leisurely. Although the little bastard from Li Family Village was just a country bumpkin, he was difficult to kill. If he were simply killed, and that old geezer Li Baoxin caused trouble in the capital again, the Ning family would be in real danger.

This time is different from twenty years ago. Now that old bastard Ning Changling knows about the existence of the little beast, he will definitely be furious and want to investigate once the little beast dies. If Li Baoxin makes a fuss again, the old grievances from twenty years ago will be brought up again, and Ning Changling will be determined to fight to the death.

The old man is old, but as long as he's still alive, he can be quite formidable when he gets angry. He's almost forty, but during the New Year, if the old man just glances at him, he'll be limp for three days. Even on the softest bed, he can't put on any show of power.

But now the one who killed was that little beast... The third master of the Ning family in the capital thought gleefully... Let's see how you, old man, go and save people with such a sanctimonious air.

It's a pity... Ning Guangshao thought regretfully... A year ago, the young emperor arranged for the physician to treat the old man's illness. Since then, the old man's diet has been taken over by the physician's disciple. Otherwise, the old man would have died long ago. Why would there be such a scheme?

But it's pretty much the same now. Once that old man dies, Bei Zhi and her mother... hehehe... Ning Guangshao's lips curled into a smile.

Ning Guangtiao glanced at his third brother and said calmly, "Third brother," he placed his hand on the desk, "don't go to brothels these days. You've done a great service this time... the family needs you later."

"Heh, I guess I should save my energy beforehand..." Ning Guangshao laughed and said, "Okay."

Just then, a rapid knocking sounded at the door.

Ning Guangtiao frowned. After the person entered, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Master, that little beast is out!"

"What did you say?!" the Third Master and the Second Master shouted at the same time.

They're out?!

"How is this possible?" The Third Master stepped forward and roared at the messenger.

"How dare Lin Tao release such a criminal?"

The manager was immediately startled!

Ning Guangtiao, sitting on the inside of the desk, narrowed his eyes, but first glanced at the third brother, tapped the table to stop him, and then looked at the steward, calmly saying, "No rush, speak slowly."

The steward who came in whispered that a little over an hour ago, someone from the yamen sent a letter saying that the man had been taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard... Mr. Xue found this strange, so he took some people to see for himself and even sent someone to follow him. The people from the yamen found out that Ning Nan was a traitor and had been taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard...

"Hey," the second master laughed. "It was supposed to be just an exile, but who knew this little beast would betray us? He'd be dead already!"

The Third Master also laughed, saying that Ning Changling probably wouldn't even dare to acknowledge him now!

Unlike his two younger brothers, Ning Guangtiao remained silent and instructed the steward to go and keep an eye on things, telling him to report back immediately if Mr. Xue had any further information.

He then ordered his two younger brothers to wait for Mr. Xue in the study. The second brother was fine; he instructed the servants to bring fresh tea and pastries.

The third brother, however, looked like he was about to die. He couldn't sit still, he couldn't stand still, he was restless and agitated, looking like he would rather die than be without a woman.

About half an hour later, the steward came to report that Ningnan had returned to the Jiangning County government office.

That's good... but Ning Guangtiao hadn't quite let out a sigh of relief.

The steward whispered, "He wasn't wearing prison clothes, but regular clothes... The Imperial Guards he was with, led by him, even had Prince Xin's gold token... They've already gone to perform an autopsy..."

Ning Guangtiao and the other two immediately raised their eyebrows.

More details were obtained from the steward.

"Shangguan Xiu is abusing his power for personal gain!" Ning Guangshao shouted angrily. "Gu Xichuan gave him a gold medal to investigate that bastard's treason, but he used that to send that bastard back to the county office to investigate a murder!"

Ning Guangtiao's eyes darkened. "Whether or not they are colluding with the enemy is still up in the air... You, go and tell Mr. Xue to come back as soon as possible." The steward obeyed and left.

Sandalwood incense was lit in the room.

The tea was added for the third time.

Mr. Xue has not returned yet.

But then came the third report from the steward, saying that Ning Nan had gone to the prison to interrogate Li Erlai.

The second and third brothers immediately jumped up, shouting, "Has Lin Tao gone mad?! Is this a criminal?! A criminal! A criminal going to perform an autopsy? A criminal going to interrogate another criminal?!"

Ning Guangtiao pressed his palms on the desk tighter and tighter.

The third brother strode forward, grabbed the steward by the collar, and demanded fiercely, "How many men does that little beast have around him?"

"Thirty Imperial Guards."

The hand that was grabbing his collar let go.

The Third Master suddenly waved his hand and cursed, "Damn it!" Thirty Imperial Guards... it would take at least a hundred men to take them down.

The fragrance of sandalwood wafts through the air.

After Ning Guangtiao coughed softly, the study fell silent again.

The atmosphere in Ning's study grew increasingly tense.

When the hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM) arrived, a figure returned from outside, looking travel-worn.

The Ning family's chief advisor, Xue Yan, has returned.

"Old Xue," the second and third brothers called out as they saw Mr. Xue return, "How is the situation?"

Xue Yan smiled and twirled his slightly graying beard: "Second Master, Third Master, don't worry, it's nothing, nothing at all."

"Second brother, third brother," Ning Guangtiao said with a smile, "let Dongchen sit down for a while and have a cup of tea to calm down."

Xue Yan smiled and said, "Thank you, sir," and then leisurely sat down and slowly sipped his tea.

Ning Guangtiao wasn't in a hurry. He knew that Dongchen's actions were meant to reassure the second and third sons.

After a moment, Xue Yan put down his teacup and smiled, "Although things are a bit troublesome, the Ning family will definitely be safe and sound. After interrogating Li Erlai, that person returned to Li Family Village."

Ning Guangtiao leaned back in his chair and said with a self-deprecating tone, "Ha, I'm really lucky... I actually made it out."

Xue Yan smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir, the dust hasn't settled yet... That person has gone back to Lijia Village to look for evidence, but it's all useless. Whether it's Li Erlai, the murderer, the witnesses from Lijia Village, or the Jiangning County government, all the witnesses and evidence point to Li Erlai. It has nothing to do with the Ning family in the capital. The more he investigates, the more he'll believe it's Li Erlai, and he won't be able to turn things around."

"What should we do then?" Ning Guangshao frowned and asked. Li Erlai wasn't important; that little beast's life or death was uncertain.

"Hehe," Xue Yan chuckled, "I've returned so late because I've been discussing what to do with them over there?"

"What did they say?" Second Master Ning Guangxian asked hurriedly.

Xue Yan smiled slightly: "No matter how much he investigates, Li Erlai is definitely the murderer. Since he is definitely the murderer, he will surely be beheaded. Since he will surely be beheaded... then Brother Ning only has one path left... we will send him on his way..."

"That little beast only has one path left to take..." Ning Guangtiao paused for a moment, and after a long while, he looked at Xue Yan with a sigh and said, "Dongchen, you should be surnamed Zhuge."

"Master Dong," Xue Yan said with a wry smile, "please don't make fun of me."

Ning Guangtiao smiled and said, "You've worked hard these past few days, Dongchen."

"I wouldn't dare," Xue Yan solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute. "You treat me like a national hero, and I will naturally repay you with the same respect... To be honest, my proudest achievement in this grand plan is that I kept the Ning family hidden from the very beginning. No matter if it was the government, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or even someone as capable as Gu Xichuan personally intervened, even if they turned the body and the crime scene upside down, they would never implicate the Ning family in the slightest! Even Li Erlai believed that he had killed someone himself!"

……

……

"The Ning family of the capital, the Ning family of the capital... the Ning family of the capital..."

Under the dim light of an oil lamp.

Ning Nan squinted, turning each sheet of paper over and over, muttering to himself, and slowly furrowing his brow.

It was yesterday when I went to the prison to see Erlai.

After meeting the two rascals, he showed the gold medal to the city gate guard and led the Imperial Guards out of the city overnight, rushing back to Li Family Village.

After spending the day visiting Lijia Village with his elder brother, Li Xing now sat to the side, gently rubbing his sore arms.

The papers on the table are all records of today's visits.

The Imperial Guards only knew how to write in the official script, and it was written vertically, which was very cumbersome. So my elder brother didn't use them... he only used himself.

He took almost all the notes from today's visits, using simplified Chinese characters written horizontally, which made it faster to write down, but also more tiring.

"Brother, why don't you go see where Grandpa Baoxin died? And Yaoshan, that place where the county magistrate is stationed, didn't you say you were going to go yesterday? It's been a whole day and you still haven't gone."

Ning Nan squinted as he continued analyzing the visit records in his hand… What kind of person was Li Baoxin? How long have you known him? When was the last time you spoke to him? What do you think about him now that he's dead? Who do you think is most likely to succeed him as village head? Who were his enemies? What are you most dissatisfied with about him? What do you hope the new village head will do better than Li Baoxin? What is your biggest impression of him?… He had visited thirty or forty households today with Li Xing.

Hearing Li Xing's question, Ning Nan replied without looking up, "No need to look. They've prepared all the clues... It's pointless... We need to address the root cause and stop the fire by investigating directly who has a grudge against Li Baoxin."

Even if the other party's goal is to frame him, they would not choose their target randomly. Why choose Li Baoxin instead of anyone else?

This is a village head! A village head is no small figure. The Ministry of Justice has already taken charge of this case, and he will definitely be punished according to the law.

Aren't the murderer afraid that killing the village head will cause too much of a stir and attract the imperial court to conduct a thorough investigation?

If you're talking about enemies, there are plenty of people in the village who have grudges against him. He's beaten up quite a few scoundrels like Li Liang.

With that thought in mind, he simply turned to analyzing why the other party wanted to kill Li Baoxin.

For example, someone might want to frame him, so he spends a lot of money to find someone in the village who happens to have a grudge against Li Baoxin, or Li Baoxin took his family's land years ago and he wants revenge, or the other party wants to become the village head, so he might as well get rid of the old village head.

Once this person is identified, the people behind him will also be identified.

But after visiting and analyzing the villagers today, my mouth was dry and my legs were about to break. Most of the questions I asked the villagers and the answers I got seemed to be useless, just trivial matters.

When asked who Li Baoxin's enemies are, most villagers will just stare straight at themselves... which is both awkward and dangerous.

But one thing surprised him: the answers to the questions were remarkably consistent.

What is your strongest impression of him?

"Hey, that was back then, when Brother Baoxin went to the capital alone to appeal to the emperor!" Most older folks would say this with a proud look in their eyes.

"Who should we sue?" Ning Nan asked.

"The Ning family of the capital..." the old man slapped his thigh, raised his chin, and boasted, "—a great family indeed!"