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

…………

dark.

cramped.

Dull.

The air gradually became murky.

Ning Nan grabbed the crossbar on top of the sedan chair with both hands, pulled upwards with force, first pulled his feet up, and then placed them on the sloping trapezoidal board in front.

Chen San closed the trapezoidal base plate, and Ning Nan leaned his back against it.

With support, as you relax your mind and body, this is the environment you experience.

After a while.

In the darkness, footsteps and noise could be heard outside. A moment later, it felt as if the back of the sedan chair was being pushed, and it was being lifted up. The sedan chair bearers had arrived.

As the sedan chair continued forward, winding through the alleys, he gradually became dizzy and nauseous, his stomach churning.

The sedan chair finally came to a stop.

Not long after.

With a soft cough, someone got into the sedan chair.

The cough sounded somewhat old, but since both Nian Xialing and his son were quite old, he couldn't tell who had sat down.

"I owe this person a really big favor," Ning Nan thought to himself.

A pretty figure in a green mandarin jacket and a melon-shaped hat popped into my mind.

His eyes dimmed slightly, and his breathing became somewhat erratic.

He closed his eyes, calmed himself, and adjusted his breathing.

After the old man sat down, the sedan chair was lifted up again after a short while.

A series of chanting, mournful music, knocking, and shouting gradually rose up, and he knew that Consort Nian's golden coffin was about to be moved.

Ning Nan felt a little heavy-hearted.

Up and down, swaying and rocking.

If you were sitting in a sedan chair, the swaying would actually be minimal.

Unfortunately, he was lying on the roof of the sedan chair with his legs curled up, and his back was beginning to stiffen.

When Ortai ordered a search at the city gate, Ning Nan tensed up.

It was at this moment that he realized that the person sitting in his sedan chair was the princess's maternal grandfather, the old man named Nian Xialing.

Nian Xiyao questioned Ortai outside, but Ortai was clearly not someone who could be easily intimidated.

Ning Nan's expression turned slightly serious.

At that very moment, to his surprise, the elderly man stepped out of the sedan chair. Ning Nan overheard a few words and couldn't help but cheer for the elderly man.

The other party's words, "Do not damage the funerary objects," successfully diverted Ortai's attention entirely to the funerary objects, making the inspection of the sedan chair somewhat routine.

The sedan chair swayed again.

We left the city.

Even in such a confined space, Ning Nan could feel a slight breeze blowing in through the cracks. He covered his mouth, resisting the urge to exhale.

The sounds of chanting, firecrackers, and funeral music came one after another, and the smells of gunpowder, grass, and even some donkey and horse dung all seeped in through the cracks in the wooden planks.

In the sweltering heat, sweat gradually trickled down his forehead and dripped into his eyes.

Nian Xialing, who was below the base, coughed softly from time to time.

Ning Nan didn't know how much time had passed; it might have been half an hour, or it might have been an hour.

In short, it was at the moment when his back was already soaked with sweat.

Everyone started to feel a little dizzy.

At this time.

A frail voice suddenly rang out from inside the swaying sedan chair:

"What...what is your relationship with my granddaughter?"

"Huh?" Ning Nan was taken aback.

The weariness and drowsiness in my mind, as well as the stiffness in my back, all seemed to vanish at this moment. My expression became somewhat blank, and I was unsure who the other person was talking to.

After a few breaths, the old man below said in a somewhat helpless tone:

"Young man above, I am speaking to you."

Ning Nan's face was pale and covered in sweat. He spoke tentatively, his voice hoarse, in a low voice:

"This junior... greets the elder. I hope the elder will forgive me for any trouble I have caused today."

Nian Xialing neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying, "Please answer this old man's question."

The empty official road, the booming of cannons, and the increasingly loud and noisy sounds drowned out the two people's voices inside the small sedan chair.

Ning Nan thought for a moment and said, "I am a good friend of the Seventeenth Princess. I am very grateful for her help this time."

Nian Xialing scoffed, "Is the Princess Consort of Prince Duan your elder sister?"

Ning Nan recalled the woman with a disability who brought him food every day and eventually saw him off out of the city. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded and said:

"It is indeed my elder sister."

"The princess said that Burbuza is willing to marry you, but you are not?"

Ning Nan's expression froze. He remembered that the princess's wife had mentioned proposing marriage; could it be that this woman had actually asked the princess in person?

Ning Nan's head suddenly started to ache.

After a few breaths, he hurriedly said:

"That was just my elder sister's conjecture, a complete fabrication. I am already married, and the Seventeenth Princess has absolutely no romantic feelings for me..."

Nian Xialing interrupted, "What if she does?"

"..."

...The space within the trapezoidal structure suddenly became completely silent.

After a while, not hearing a reply, Nian Xialing calmly said:

"It would be best if you didn't have that intention. If you did... then I would really hand you over to Ortai."

In a dark environment.

Ning Nan slowly exhaled, tacitly agreeing with the other party not to discuss the matter further, and only said:

"I am grateful for your help in escaping this time, sir. If I ever need anything in the future..."

"No need for later," Nian Xialing slowly shook her head, "I have a request now."

"Huh?" Ning Nan's expression froze, his lips parted slightly, and the hot air he exhaled was blocked by the wooden board, making the environment even more stuffy.

Nian Xialing's expression turned somewhat sorrowful. He sighed and said:

"My son... Gengyao... is arrogant and domineering. Relying on his power, he has always been at odds with the court officials. The emperor has repeatedly admonished him, but he has not changed his ways. Instead, he has become even more wicked, constantly submitting memorials to the court to recommend his colleagues and subordinates for official positions. The emperor and the court officials have reached their limit of tolerance."

"Even when the Emperor summoned him to send his sons back to the capital, he dragged his feet. A year later, the Emperor finally sent his sons back to his side under the pretext that he needed them to come to the capital to serve the old man. The Emperor repeatedly asked me to discipline this unfilial son."

"But I am old, and my title was earned by him. I have repeatedly written to discipline him, but he remains arrogant and dismissive, believing that the Emperor still trusts him. Since ascending the throne, the Emperor has always adhered to the principle of transforming the master into the sovereign and the family into the country. He forbids his subjects from referring to themselves as slaves, except for him..."

Nian Xialing gave a bitter smile: "The Emperor once issued an edict reprimanding him, questioning why he didn't refer to himself as 'a servant'..."

Ning Nan wiped the sweat from his brow, sighed inwardly, and after listening to the other person's words, sincerely replied:

"What does the old man mean?"

Nian Xialing calmly said, "If one day in the future Nian Gengyao commits a grave mistake, I hope that you will do your best to help me... to save his life, for the sake of my help today..."

"Of course," the old man's eyes became complicated and filled with hidden pain, "it's just that he should live in anonymity, find a place to live on his own, and absolutely not be allowed to defect to the Southern Dynasty and bring disaster to my Nian family..."

Ning Nan's eyes narrowed, and he roughly understood what the old man was saying. The old man wanted to save his son, who would eventually die at the hands of the emperor, but he was also afraid that if his son defected to the Southern Dynasty, he would harm the Nian family in Beijing.

He wiped the sweat from his eyes and solemnly promised:

"My lord... please rest assured..."

A sliver of pale light peeked in through the crack.

The sun had risen directly overhead.

……

……

The sun climbed to its zenith.

The golden sun warmed the entire city of Nanjing.

Having successfully survived the winter, the orange cat lay on the wall, baring its sharp teeth, yawning widely, and licking its fur.

Wearing a bright red dragon-patterned round-necked robe and embroidered shoes, Zhu Cuiwei concealed the weariness in her eyes as she walked out of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace and stopped on the steps.

She looked up.

The sun, as bright as an orange, hung in the sky.

The golden light shone on her fair and radiant cheeks.

The Empress of the Great Liang Dynasty pursed her lips.

She raised her delicate hand.

It blocked the sunlight.