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

"You colluded with the Yunhu Camp, sold weapons to the Northern Dynasty, and even conspired with the manager of the gunpowder workshop to sell the gunpowder formula... You bastards... you really have audacity beyond belief..."

*Slap, slap, slap* Ning Nan slapped his hands as he grabbed the head, cursing as he did so.

"Heh," he sneered, "and you actually dared to ambush me..."

Behind him at this moment.

Several blood-stained figures stood indistinctly.

Ning Fu, the chief retainer of the Marquis's mansion, changed his demeanor at this moment and coldly reported to Ning Changling that he and the Marquis's men had cleaned up all the Ning family's overt and covert sentries in the capital, and asked the Marquis to rest assured.

These earth-shattering words rang in the ears of the Ning family head.

Ning Guangtiao was already speechless with shock when Ning Nan suddenly appeared before him.

What about Zhiyuan?

Where is Mr. Xue?

The question had barely crossed his mind when the other party casually tossed Xue Yan's head into his hands.

Upon seeing what it was, Ning Guangtiao felt a shiver run through his body, as if all the blood in his body had been drained away in an instant, leaving him extremely cold.

"Mr. Xue..."

Ning Guangtiao looked at the familiar face in his arms.

"Dongchen..." His heart felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer, and he cried out hoarsely!

But the other party clearly didn't give him time to mourn his dear friend.

Colluding with Yunhu Camp...

Colluding with the gunpowder factory...

Selling military equipment...

Selling gunpowder formulas...

One accusation after another shot at him like arrows drawn from a powerful bow.

Ning Guangtiao's face turned deathly pale in the blink of an eye, but he still steeled his gaze and calmly said, "You little beast, what did you say?"

In fact, this was the first time he had met this little beast from Lijia Village named Ningnan.

But somehow...

The moment he saw the other person, he knew that this was the little beast who was far beyond their expectations!

That dog-like little beast... actually appeared right in front of him!

Ning Nan said, "You'll find out soon enough... Deputy Commander Shangguan Xiu has already gone to the palace to meet the Emperor, and Kong Xiang, the deputy commander of Yunhu Camp whom you colluded with, has also been taken down. General Fan Shiwei of Yunhu has volunteered to go to the capital. Whether he's clean or not is another matter and still needs to be investigated, but the fact that he volunteered to go to the capital instead of killing the Embroidered Uniform Guard and rebelling shows he has some conscience... Oh... You're probably mainly asking about yourselves... Hmm... Don't doubt it... Guang Tiao, don't have the slightest doubt... You're all doomed."

As if knowing that the other party didn't care about the fate of Yunhu Camp, Ning Nan kindly brought the matter back to the Ning family in the capital.

"I'm not talking about you, you, you—" Ning Nan pointed with his finger, first at Ning Guangtiao, then at the Second Master Ning Guangxian, and finally at Ning Guangshao, who was being held in the hands of the Uncle like a dead dog.

"I'm not talking about the three brothers who killed Uncle Beiyue, my grandparents, my father, and Li Baoxin, and who poisoned Uncle... uh... Marquis Jingbei. I'm talking about the entire Ning family of the capital. You're all doomed. Your entire clan will be exterminated, understand? From your eighty-year-old mothers to your eight-year-old children, you're all finished... completely finished..."

The second master's body went limp like a puddle of mud.

Ning Guangtiao was still standing upright, but the head he was holding fell to the ground with a thud!

Xue Yan's head slammed to the ground with a thud and rolled several times.

The head's eyes were still open, its gaze filled with disbelief and an expression of unresolved death.

Thump, thump, thump, Ning Nan strolled into the study.

"Besides this,"

Ning Nan, with his hands behind his back, said leisurely,

"You colluded with the Northern Dynasty to assassinate me, and the Jinyiwei also reported everything about the prison break... They also reported that Xue Yan colluded with the deputy general of Yunhu Camp, leading twenty skilled soldiers and ten powerful bows to surround and kill me outside."

Ning Nan pulled out another gold token from his robes and flashed it at the other man: "I was ordered by Prince Xin to investigate the traitors of the Northern Dynasty, and I succeeded... but I was ambushed and killed by the traitors... That's about all the information the Embroidered Uniform Guard reported... After all, killing me is a family matter, but killing the person holding the gold token is rebellion... Hmm... rebellion... This is rebellion... Brother Guang Tiao, do you understand? You just rebelled... You not only colluded with the Northern Dynasty, you also rebelled. By all accounts, your entire family should be executed twice... Do you know why your entire family should be executed twice?"

"Because I'm afraid His Majesty is kind-hearted. If you only collude with the enemy, he might still leave you an heir, since there are still a few officials in your family... That would be very bad. If you rebel, your family would really be doomed."

"You little beast...you little beast..." Ning Guangtiao muttered, his face ashen.

Ning Nan laughed and said, "However, Brother Guang Tiao, you don't need to worry about Brother Zhi Yuan. After all, he is the Marquis's adopted son and will not be subjected to slow slicing and beheading along with you."

Ning Guangtiao paused in his murmur, a glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes.

Ning Nan shrugged and said, "Because he's already dead."

The other person's words made Ning Guangtiao freeze on the spot. For a moment, he seemed not to have heard clearly, but a chill suddenly rose from his body. Then, as if in a final burst of energy, a warm current emanated from the back of his head and flowed throughout his body.

What… He moved his mouth, but no sound came out.

Ning Nan pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and said, "Brother Zhiyuan died this afternoon. He hanged himself... He even left me a farewell letter... Here."

Ning Nan's lips curled into a cold smile: "Brother Guangtiao...do you know what Brother Zhiyuan said?...He recounted everything you've done in the letter, including Ning Guangshao's affair and your poisoning of Uncle Beiyue...He even left me evidence, besides this letter, is the arsenic you gave him to poison Marquis Jingbei, which he kept in his own room..."

"Impossible...impossible...impossible..." Ning Guangtiao felt a sudden heat and numbness in the back of his head, his body staggering as he muttered, "He can't be dead...he can't be dead...he still wants to be the Marquis..."

Ning Guangtiao looked at the paper in the other person's hand and wanted to snatch it, but his legs were already weak and powerless. If he took another half step, he would probably collapse like his second brother Guangxian.

Ning Nan paced back and forth to a lamp, then smiled and said, "Brother Guangtiao... I know what Brother Zhiyuan means. He hopes to use his own death and the evidence he provides to exchange for my and the Marquis's forgiveness, so that we will only kill you three brothers and leave an heir for the Ning family in the capital..."

laugh!

Ning Nan lit the letter.

The firelight devoured the letter.

"Ahhhhh—"

An immense surge of courage welled up within Ning Guangtiao, and he lunged forward to snatch the half-burnt letter from Ning Nan's hand!

"ah--"

"ah--"

"ah--"

Ning Guangtiao collapsed to the ground, unconsciously calling out, and suddenly slammed his hand on the letter, trying to extinguish the fire on it... The smell of burning and black ash filled the study.

Ning Guangtiao sat on the ground, pressing the charred half-letter to his chest, crying out in heart-wrenching sobs.

Ningnan Station stands perfectly straight.

"I won't use...the evidence he provided...I won't use a single one...yes, Guangtiao, Guangxian...I'm going to send your whole family to their deaths..."

The young man's voice slowly and gently seeped into the room like a pool of ice water.

……

……

Ning Guangtiao, who looked ten years older overnight, was taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Ning Guangxian was also dragged away. His legs were so weak that he couldn't stand up straight. After the Imperial Guards kicked him a few times, Ning Guangxian remained as if he were dead, his face deathly pale. Only after the Imperial Guards pulled him up did they see that there was already a wet puddle on the ground.

Ning Guangshao, whose throat had been nearly crushed by the old man, was still breathing heavily, his eyes fixed fiercely on Ning Nan.

Ning Nan said, "I have already asked Shangguan Xiu to find a skilled eunuch in the palace to castrate you tonight... You won't die, but you will be subjected to slow slicing in a few days... Be a eunuch for a few days."

Ning Guangshao, who believed he had slept with countless women and would die willingly, finally became incredulous. His face was contorted and flushed, tears streaming down his face. His hands and legs trembled violently, but he was held back by the Imperial Guards and could not pounce on Ning Nan. His body twisted and his legs thrashed as he was taken away by the Imperial Guards.

The black-robed man on the ground had his robe lifted, revealing a young face. His wrist bone was broken, and the young man gritted his teeth, his face covered in sweat.

San Zhuang rushed in, grabbed the young man's hand, and looked him over again.

A moment later, he nodded to Ning Nan and said that this person should be the one who slapped him on the forehead back in Black Tiger Mountain.

Ning Nan nodded and had the person taken away... There might be taboos about the background of this kind of person, so it was better to hand him over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He wouldn't even interrogate him.

At last.

The room reeked of blood and burning.

Only Ning Nan and his uncle Ning Changling, who was sitting there blankly, remained.

Ning Changling placed her hands on her knees.

He stared silently at the empty space before him, saying nothing.

Ning Nan stood there for a while.

He took an envelope from his sleeve and gently placed it in his uncle's hand.

"The letter you just wrote was a copy; this one is Uncle Zhiyuan's original handwriting."

Ning Changling raised his head and stared blankly at his grand-nephew.

Ning Nan said, "A year ago, when Uncle was being treated by Physician, did Physician find arsenic in your food...? Afterwards, you investigated and found that only Uncle Zhiyuan had been in the kitchen at that time?"

Ning Changling paused for a moment, then nodded silently.

That's why he deliberately distanced himself from his son over the past year... hoping that he had only gone astray temporarily and that he could get back on the right path after passing the imperial examinations and becoming an official.

"This was Uncle Zhiyuan's doing. He only poisoned the place that day, hoping that Uncle would find out. It's just a pity... Uncle preferred to let him go."

Ning Changling felt a sharp pain in his heart.

He held his son's suicide note tightly in his hand.

a long time.

"No wonder……"

Ning Changling wiped away her tears and said.

No wonder he didn't get married.

The old man's voice was filled with sorrow... This was only the second time in his life that he had wept so bitterly...

……

……

The next morning.

A creaking carriage drove into the palace with its red walls and golden tiles, and the Marquis of Jingbei, who had not slept all night, entered the palace to meet the emperor.

Afternoon, around 3 PM.

His Majesty's verdict on the Ning family in the capital was then handed down.