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

"Physical evidence?"

The man in the blue official robe narrowed his eyes and pointed to a wooden tray held by a constable. On the tray lay Li Erlai's pig-slaughtering knife.

The county magistrate said coldly,

"Scholar from both the North and South, when you came to the county magistrate's mortuary to examine the body that night, you also saw this murder weapon. Do you dare say that this knife didn't belong to Li Erlai from your village?"

So many people in Lijia Village can testify, yet you still want to use a murder weapon that wasn't Li Erlai's to overturn the case?

Ning Nan glanced at the dagger, then looked down at Er Lai and asked, "Er Lai, is that knife yours?"

Li Erlai, who had been silent all along, nodded and said, "Yes."

call……

A chorus of sighs and gasps filled the hall and among the people present… They finally admitted it…

The expressions and tones of the crowd conveyed regret, heartache, and a sense of relief.

The expressions of Li Yi and his relatives were filled with grief... Why? Why? Although they knew that Li Erlai had killed the village head, they really didn't know why this scoundrel Li Erlai would kill the village head.

Lin Tao smiled and raised his hand, saying, "Alright, the culprit has confessed..."

"Wait a minute," Ning Nan interrupted calmly.

The people in the hall were stunned. The murderer had already confessed, so what else did you want to do?

Ning Nan said slowly, "County Commandant Lin, it's true that this knife belonged to Li Erlai, and I also think so... but—"

He then changed the subject,

"How can you be so sure it was Li Erlai who killed him?"

Lin Tao narrowed his eyes and said, "Back then, on that day, so many of us saw Li Erlai standing in front of Li Baoxin's body with this knife, blood flowing from it. If he didn't kill him, who did? What? Are you, the talented scholar from the North and South, relying on your reputation, trying to sophistry in court? Trying to use your eloquence to overturn an ironclad case?"

Lin Tao's tone was icy, and he snorted.

"You talented scholar from both the North and South, if it weren't for your reputation for talent, I could have given you twenty lashes for that sophistry you just uttered!"

Ning Nan laughed and said, "County Commandant Lin, are you sure that the people you saw that night were killed by Li Erlai?"

"good."

"Are you sure Li Erlai used this knife to kill the person?"

"Of course," Lin Tao said calmly.

"That night, Li Erlai used this knife to stab Li Baoxin in the chest and kill him?" Ning Nan pointed to the sharp knife.

Lin Tao looked at him with disdain.

Ning Nan's smile faded, and he calmly said, "Since County Magistrate Lin is so certain of this, then may I ask... have you examined the knife wounds on the corpse?"

"Hmph, it's none of your business to interfere in court proceedings..." Lin Tao said matter-of-factly, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly paused.

The coroner's autopsy report did indeed include a small line stating that the internal structure of the knife wound on Li Baoxin's chest did not quite match the murder weapon, which was slightly larger than the wound.

But since Li Erlai had already confessed, he didn't find anything unusual. He assumed that Li Erlai, who had been slaughtering pigs for many years, was much more adept at killing people with a sharp knife than the average person. He thought that by finding the right angle to make the cut, he could easily create such a wound.

The coroner and the head constable both agreed with his guess.

"What do you mean, talented scholar from both the North and South?" Lin Tao said coldly.

Ning Nan lowered his eyelids and sighed, "Bring Li Baoxin's body up...call the coroner."

……

……

Night falls.

The crescent moon, like a hook, poured down its watery radiance.

The Ning family mansion on Taoshui Lane was brightly lit.

Inside the spacious and bright Ning family study.

Marquis Jingbei, Ning Changling, with his graying beard and hair, sat at the head of the table, quietly watching the three heads of the Ning family in the capital below.

"Guang Tiao," Marquis Jingbei said calmly, "is this the real reason you invited me to your residence today?"

At dawn, he ordered Ning Fu to deliver the invitation to the Ning family in the capital.

He invited the Ning family to the Marquis's residence to witness the ceremony the next day. He wanted to include Ning Nan's name in the Bei Ning family genealogy and requested His Majesty to appoint Ning Nan as the heir apparent of the Jingbei Marquis's residence, so that Ning Nan could inherit the title after his death.

in the afternoon.

Xue Yan, the chief advisor of the Ning family in the capital, came to the door and said that he had heard that the Marquis had found his grand-nephew and that the Northern Ning had a successor. The Ning family in the capital was overjoyed and invited the Marquis to the mansion for a chat. On the one hand, they wanted to discuss the grand ceremony the next day. On the other hand, the old lady of the Ning family was getting old and missed the Marquis, so she wanted to see him.

When he crossed the river in Beining, it was Ning Guangtiao's parents who took him in. Now his mother is getting old and is in her eighties. She says she misses him, so he really has to come... Yes, that is indeed a reason he has to come.

As evening approached, after he arrived, they did discuss many things. Later, Ning Guangtiao asked with a smile, "Where did the Marquis find his grand-nephew?"

Ning Changling replied with a smile that it was actually not far from Nanjing, just to the west in Lijia Village.

Ning Guangtiao then put on a very regretful expression and said that it was truly a case of being blind to one's own shortcomings; we had searched for so many years back then, yet we still couldn't find it.

Ning Changling then laughed and said, "It's not Guangtiao's fault. My younger brother died twenty years ago. It was just a coincidence that the servants saw his memorial tablet."

"It's such a great pity that Brother Changping passed away so young." Ning Guangtiao poured a cup of tea for Marquis Jingbei with emotion and advised him to take care of his health.

"Thank you for your trouble, Guangtiao."

I had dinner at the Ning family's house and then met with the old lady.

The old lady was already confused and did not recognize Ning Changling. Her eyes were also almost blind. She lay on the bed, making incoherent noises. Ning Changling looked at her gently and patted the old lady's withered hand.

"These past few days, I've kept hearing my mother calling Changling's name at night. I thought that my mother's illness would get better after Changling came," Ning Guangtiao said with self-reproach. "I didn't expect that Changling would make a wasted trip."

Ning Changling shook his head and said, "It wasn't a wasted trip... I should have come and met them."

Ning Guangtiao paused for a moment, then said solemnly, "My two brothers and I have an important matter to discuss with you, Lord Marquis. May we ask you to move to the study and dismiss everyone else?"

Ning Changling smiled and said, "Of course."

He only took Ningfu and four guards with him, and left them all in the outer courtyard.

Alone, with his body hunched over, he followed Ning Guangtiao and the other two into the study.

Ning Guangtiao had a heart-to-heart talk with him. The two talked about the past, sometimes in low voices and sometimes in high voices. Finally, Ning Guangtiao said with emotion, "Back then, the person I admired the most was Brother Changling."

Ning Changling smiled and said, "Your talent is excellent. You should actually be in officialdom. Zhiyuan has done a great job in this regard. He passed the county-level examination early on, and then passed the provincial-level examination last year. If he passes the imperial examination this year, he can enter the court as an official."

Ning Guangtiao laughed and said, "It's all thanks to Brother Changling's excellent teaching."

immediately.

Ning Guangtiao smiled and said:

"Brother Changling, since Zhiyuan is so good, why are you unwilling to appoint him as heir apparent? Why do you want to hand over the title to a so-called grand-nephew of unknown origin?"

These words were spoken.

Ning Guangxian and Ning Guangshao, who were originally sitting with him, stood up, walked to the door, turned around, and stood facing the Marquis of Jingbei.

Ning Guangxian remained expressionless.

Ning Guangshao let out a cold laugh.

"Guangtiao," Ning Changling said calmly, "could this be the real reason you invited me to your residence today?"

Ning Guangtiao sighed, stood up, and said softly, "Brother Changling, if you hadn't taken Zhiyuan as your godson back then, Guangtiao wouldn't have done so many wrong things."

Ning Changling felt a sharp pain in his lungs, slammed his fist on the table, and uttered a chilling voice.

"You know it's wrong?!"

"So you did find out..." Ning Guangtiao was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said in a calm tone, "There's no point in saying more. Don't worry, Brother Changling, I will take good care of Beizhi after Zhiyuan inherits the title."

"Heh," Ning Changling smirked, "I'd like to see if you dare kill me today, or if you dare imprison me. Let's see if the Ning family of the capital dares to rebel."

Ning Guangchao calmly replied, "Neither."

Immediately, a tall man shrouded in a black robe emerged from behind the screen in the study.

"Since Your Excellency clearly knows some things, you are still willing to attend this meeting. This naturally means that you still have some affection for the Ning family and are grateful for the kindness they showed you back then. For this, Guangtiao is extremely grateful. Your Excellency's loyalty and righteousness are truly admirable..."

"Secondly, it is also because the Marquis has something to rely on. After all, he is a dignified hereditary marquis, deeply trusted by His Majesty... He knows that we dare not lay a hand on you, and can only kneel before Bei Yue to beg for his forgiveness, just as we did back then..."

Ning Guangtiao quietly looked at the old man sitting in the chair.

"But this time... this time is different... Brother Changling..."

He sighed deeply.

"We will have the Marquis personally issue an order stating that Ning Nan's identity as a nephew of the Marquis's family is fabricated, and have the Marquis send Ning Fu to take his head. We will also have the Marquis personally declare that the title will be passed on to Zhiyuan and request His Majesty to bestow the title..."

"What did you just say?"

Ning Changling's expression froze, seemingly not listening to Ning Guangtiao's next words at all.

"Beiyue? What's wrong with Beiyue?"

……

……

Meanwhile, in the deep darkness of night, Ning Nan, having just finished a court trial, arrived at Taoshui Street carrying a severed head.