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

late at night.

The usually bustling Fengxian Street was now pitch black.

The street watchman dragged his feet, banged his clapper, and yawned as he called out things like "It's midnight."

"Brother, where's my older brother?"

Li Erlai, dressed in prison guard's clothes, frowned at another tall prison guard beside him.

The tall jailer, with one hand on the knife at his waist, said in a low voice, "Brother Erlai, don't worry, Brother Ning is waiting for you at the Ning residence."

"Ningfu?" Erlai frowned even more. Although he had never been to Nanjing, he could still recognize the tall imperial city in front of him by the moonlight.

He had just been wondering why, if they were going to leave the city, they weren't heading out of the city, but instead heading towards the imperial city, into the city itself.

"Are we going to my older brother's house now? Or are we leaving the city?" Er Lai slowed his pace a little.

"That's right," the tall jailer nodded. "The situation is tense right now. Young Master Ning said that the two Lai brothers should hide at his house for a few days, and he will send them out of the city once things calm down."

"Send me out of the city? Are you sure you're sending me out of the city? And we're really going to his house now?" Er Lai paused, falling a few steps behind the tall jailer, and said in a slightly deep voice.

The tall jailer was taken aback, then turned around and said, "What? Brother Erlai, you don't even trust Brother Ning?"

Erlai's eyes narrowed, and he began to curl his fingers.

Just now, while he was in death row, two jailers came to bring him a midnight snack, saying it was brought by his sister-in-law.

His sister-in-law did indeed bring him three meals a day, asking the jailer to deliver the food box. The meals were specially prepared at a nearby restaurant, and they were hot and delicious.

So he had no doubts, assuming that tomorrow was the court hearing and his sister-in-law was being served her last meal before her execution.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, one of the jailers raised his hand and knocked another jailer unconscious. He squatted down and told him that he was sent by his elder brother to rescue him, and that he should change into the other jailer's clothes and quickly go out with him.

Erlaizi's face showed signs of struggle.

She felt that if she went with her older brother, she might implicate him and make him a fugitive as well, and also implicate Aunt Ning and her sister-in-law.

But given his brother's character, he certainly wouldn't watch himself be beheaded. He's probably capable of breaking him out of prison or even storming the execution ground.

Thinking this way, he could only curse the bookworm for being unreliable, for not even telling his older brother the clue that he didn't actually bring a knife, while changing into the jailer's clothes.

He planned to tell his older brother the clue in person after he got out, and then go back to prison.

Before leaving, he asked his older brother to take care of his father in his old age. That way, even if the clue didn't lead to anything, his older brother wouldn't do something as foolish as breaking him out of prison... He had finally gotten a household registration and even got married... How could he drag his older brother down with him?

But to his surprise...

The further out you go, the stranger things become.

Li Erlai clenched his fist and stared intently at the tall jailer before him: "My older brother wouldn't do that... he wouldn't bring an escaped convict home... he wouldn't do something so stupid... he wouldn't send me out of the city... he would only leave the city with me..."

Li Fengzi, the village's most bandit-like figure, cursed, "Who the hell are you?"

The tall jailer narrowed his eyes slightly.

He pressed down on the knife at his waist.

Just then.

"Li Erlai!—"

A white figure suddenly darted out from the front, brandishing a stick and yelling at the two men, "How dare you break out of prison!"

The night was too dark; by the moonlight, Er Laizi could barely see clearly. He paused for a moment, then exclaimed, "Damn it, you bookworm... what are you doing here?"

Li Yanting gripped the stick tightly in his hand, his face flushed red as he gritted his teeth and said, "Li Erlai, and you—" He pointed the stick at the tall jailer, "I've already sent someone to inform the patrol soldiers, they'll be here soon! I advise you two to get back to prison immediately, otherwise, when the patrol soldiers arrive, your punishment will be doubled!"

The scholar's teeth chattered and his legs trembled. Although he still believed that Li Erlai had killed his uncle, since Li Erlai had asked him to pass a message to Ning Nan, and considering that they had grown up together, he went around asking where Ning Nan lived. Unfortunately, he couldn't find him, and since curfew was approaching, he rushed back, thinking that Ning Nan would eventually come to the county office again. So he waited outside the county office... But unexpectedly, late at night, he saw Li Erlai change into a jailer's clothes and escape from prison!

Li Yanting looked angry, but inwardly he was groaning.

The Qinhuai River was just ahead, and he was worried that if the two of them tried to escape by water, he wouldn't be able to keep up. He had no other choice but to invoke the tiger skin of the city patrol soldiers and jump out to stop them. In reality, he had no one to send, so he could only rely on shouting loudly and hoping that the city patrol soldiers would hear him.

bass!

The tall jailer drew his sword, glanced at the scholar holding a wooden stick, and smiled... Patrol soldiers, ha, no one will be patrolling this street tonight.

He glanced at Li Erlai, who was clenching his fist, and laughed, "You've got some skills, you bastard."

Li Erlai narrowed his eyes... Was he hiding himself at his elder brother's house to frame his elder brother?

He took a breath and roared, "You bookworm!!! You fucking run first!" His eyes widened, "I'm going back to jail right now! To get beheaded!"

Immediately, he turned and started to run away...

But then, several figures blocked his path from behind.

A dozen or so figures emerged from the two sides behind.

Each of them held a knife, the blades reflecting a cold light in the moonlight.

Erlai's noodles trembled, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Damn it!" He spread his clenched fists, raised his arms, and roared, "Come on!"

The tall jailer sneered, "Knock him unconscious, tie him up, and stuff him into that man's house."

At this point, Li Yanting also realized that something was amiss.

But fists and flesh have already clashed.

Although Li Erlai was ruthless enough to meet the opponent's knife head-on, hoping to at least snatch one, he was hit in the face and body with three punches as he punched the other person.

Soon, Li Erlai was pinned to the ground by this group of people, his hands and feet were tied, and a strip of cloth was tied to his mouth, so he could only let out unwilling roars of "woo woo woo".

The two men with knives walked slowly toward him, their faces expressionless.

The tall jailer shouted, "Leave no survivors!"

Li Yanting turned and ran.

The other party quickly caught up.

It was very dark in the alley.

Thump! The bookworm tripped and fell, his knee hitting the ground painfully. His face contorted in pain, but he quickly got up.

A flash of cold light.

The knife came slashing down. Li Yanting reacted, turned around, and blocked it with his stick. Clang! His arm jolted, and then went numb.

The scholar was sweating profusely and inwardly groaned.

He blocked a knife, grabbed the stick, and stumbled back several steps in front of the thug, his body crashing into the cold wall.

In the darkness, he backed away against the wall until his body was almost touching the edge.

"Heh." The two indifferent men with knives couldn't help but chuckle as they looked at him.

By the moonlight, Li Yanting could clearly see the two smiling faces, and a surge of anger rose within him. "Come on—"

His eyes were bloodshot as he raised the stick, which bore a deep gash from a knife cut into it, and roared, "I'm not afraid of you!"

talking.

He cursed again.

"Damn it!" He swung the stick, which was almost impossible to block the second blow.

This was the first time in his life that he referred to himself as "Laozi" (老子), and also the first time he had ever spoken of "grass" (草).

Just then.

He felt his body lighten... as if someone had lifted him up from behind and pulled him backward.

Ta-da!

He was being pulled from behind, and his feet kicked the ground twice.

My body was pulled from the edge of the wall and turned around the corner.

Li Yanting was already covered in sweat.

Being lifted from behind like this only intensified his despair. His sweat turned chilly, and his heart sank in as well... He was going to die here... The student from Lijia Village turned deathly pale.

At that moment, his body sank, the large hand that had been gripping his clothes loosened, and his feet touched the ground.

Then, something flashed before his eyes.

A figure stepped out from behind him.

Li Yanting's eyes widened in surprise.

The figure was holding a long, narrow object.

And then picked up the long, narrow object.

Behind the object, there was a burst of firelight, and a burnt smell entered Li Yanting's nostrils.

Immediately, two flashes of cold light appeared... and the two men with knives raised their knives and slashed at the man!

"Bang!"

A deafening roar, like a mountain collapsing, resounded in front of Li Yanting. His eyes widened, his body shrank back, and his head buzzed!

Suddenly, a warm liquid splashed into his eyes and onto his face, and a foul stench filled the air... Blood, someone else's blood.

One of the men with the knife had his head split open and his body went limp; the other was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

By the moonlight.

He finally saw the face of the man who had grabbed his collar... the ringleader of Li Family Village... who had gotten incredibly lucky and married a stunningly beautiful woman... a woman whose looks even rivaled his heartless sister's... a scoundrel... a real scoundrel...

"Ning...Nan..." Li Yanting's eyes were somewhat dazed, his ears were still ringing, and he moved his throat, not knowing whether he had made a sound or not.

"ah."

Ning Nan responded.

With a flick of his wrist, he turned the musket upside down after it had fired all its bullets. The barrel was so hot that it even burned his palm.

The other man with the knife finally snapped out of his shock.

"Aaaaaah—you bastard!" He roared at Ning Nan with a twisted face and a ferocious expression.

He suddenly raised his knife and slashed at Ning Nan.

But Ning Nan, gripping the barrel, had already raised the butt of the gun.

Before the blade.

With a swift motion, he slammed the gun butt into the man's face in the darkness.

boom!

The man with the knife suddenly swayed, staggered a few steps, and spat out blood with a "poof," also losing several teeth.

boom!

Ning Nan raised the butt of his rifle again and smashed it hard on the back of the man's head, knocking him to the ground!

Blood seeped from beneath the man, staining the ground black... He must be dead.

Ning Nan glanced at Li Yanting, who was lying on the ground, slowly exhaled, and then looked at the two dead men on the ground with admiration. He shook his head with a sigh and said speechlessly.

"Hey, hey... the main character... you two dare to mess with him... are you two out of your minds?"

……

……

The Imperial Guards cleaned up the mess, capturing many of them, but unfortunately, quite a few also escaped.

After initial questioning...

The Embroidered Uniform Guard judged that they were all from the Northern Dynasty, from the Sticky Pole Office.

Ning Nan lowered his eyes and nodded.

"They're really bold..." he sighed deeply.

Qian Sijin assumed he was talking about how bold the Northern Dynasty was, and immediately declared that the Imperial Guard Command would definitely behead these people and display their heads to the public!

Ning Nan hummed in agreement and nodded silently.

Ning Nan was greatly relieved to learn from Er Lai that Er Lai hadn't actually brought a knife that night... Er Lai had indeed not killed anyone... He breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

He ordered his men to send the two scoundrels back to prison, and left someone to hold the jailer and the county magistrate accountable. By then, the sky was beginning to lighten.

Li Yanting's luck is truly amazing... Ning Nan sighed once again.

Before the bookworm could react, he said, "Do you want to know the truth about your great-uncle's death?"

Although the little bookworm's legs were already trembling with fear, he still mustered up the courage to stand up while holding onto the wall.

Ning Nan said, "If you want to know, when the Heavenly Trial is tomorrow, try to delay it until I return from Lijia Village. Don't give the students time to react." After saying this, he left.

……

As the farmers of Lijia Village had all gone to the fields, the fog in the village began to gradually dissipate.

Ning Nan led his men back to Li Family Village. The group grabbed a few hoes and went out together.

He was going to the back mountain to verify a hypothesis.

At this time,

He encountered an unexpected person on the road.

Ning Nan, carrying a hoe, paused, stunned, and stood there.

Several children carrying cloth bags and chatting and laughing passed by them.

He was clearly a villager, and he was clearly the real chairman behind Lijia Village Primary School.

But when these few dim-witted children passed by, their eyes lit up, and they greeted the person with smiles.

"Wow—" the children bowed angrily to the man and said, "Students greet you, teacher!"