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

Chunyu didn't understand, but subconsciously nodded and ran to the East Warm Pavilion.

They arrived at His Majesty's bedside.

She flipped through them and, sure enough, found a scroll of calligraphy in front of the old man's old clothes.

The young maid, no longer a lowly servant girl from the Ning family, but a highly respected senior palace maid, had her eyes light up and quickly picked up the calligraphy.

This is different from the calligraphy that was just written on precious Xuan paper.

The paper used for this calligraphy... seems to be just very ordinary bamboo paper, quite rough.

But after glancing around, she saw that there were no other calligraphy scrolls on His Majesty's bright yellow bedding and bed, so she still took the calligraphy scroll with her.

Zhu Cuiwei laid out Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy copybook on one side and Chunyu's calligraphy copybook on the other side.

Chunyu, who was literate, glanced at the calligraphy copybook that His Majesty had placed by his bedside, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He exclaimed, "Wow!"

Zhang Qi, who was quietly wiping his sweat beside His Majesty, also glanced at it.

The calligraphy scroll His Majesty brought over was also in the Wei stele style.

and……

Zhang Qi was stunned for a moment.

"How come they look so alike?"

His heart skipped a beat, filled with surprise and doubt.

Moreover, the words written on the calligraphy scroll His Majesty brought...

"Butterfly Yearning for Flowers..." he murmured softly, "I stand leaning against the high tower, the wind is gentle, gazing into the distance, spring sorrow rises darkly on the horizon..."

"Huh?" The chief eunuch, who had studied with the late emperor and the retired emperor, was surprised.

"Amidst the fading sunlight and the misty grass, who can understand the unspoken thoughts of one leaning on the railing... Hmm... Beautiful words..."

Before he could finish reading, a single, crystalline light suddenly flashed.

Zhang Qi glanced over and saw a single tear sliding down His Majesty's thinner face. The head eunuch's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed with concern, "Your Majesty?"

Zhu Cuiwei stared blankly at the two calligraphy samples:

"The same characters...this is the same Wei stele style...this must be the same Wei stele style...this...this...this must be the same Wei stele style..."

From doubt to certainty, and then from certainty back to doubt, her heart pounded like a drum.

After a few breaths, the woman, wavering between confidence and insecurity, raised the back of her hand, wiped away her tears, sniffed, and took a handkerchief from Chunyu, whose eyes had turned worried and fearful, to wipe her own tears.

"Eunuch Zhang,"

The Empress slightly raised her chin and solemnly said:

"Go to the Hanlin Academy and invite Grand Scholar Liu, along with several other calligraphers... also invite Headmaster Gongsun... and also invite Elder He..."

Having said all that...

The Queen sniffed again, then gulped down the remaining black chicken soup.

Put down the bowl.

Wiping his mouth:

"Go quickly!"

"Eh!" Startled by the Empress's sudden burst of appetite and her downing of the black chicken soup in one gulp, Zhang Qi, whose eyes had been glazed over, quickly snapped back to reality and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Eunuch Zhang disappeared outside the Qianqing Palace.

Not long after.

Grand Scholar Liu, accompanied by three renowned calligraphers from the Hanlin Academy, was the first to arrive at the Qianqing Palace.

Then came Gongsun Yuliu, the Minister of Rites.

Next, renowned figures such as He Weng and Chen Lao arrived.

The time gradually changed from Chen Shi (7-9 AM) in the morning to Shen Shi (3-5 PM) in the afternoon.

Under the Empress's persistent and repeated questioning, everyone assured her, "Even if these two pieces of calligraphy weren't written by the same person, they're almost certainly copies of each other's work. How could we not recognize Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy?"

"However, in the past two years, whenever Wei stele calligraphy is used, how can one not copy Ning Jiexiao's style? I have copied it myself."

"That's true."

"I recall that the calligraphy that Hanlin Ning wrote for the Zhenguo Marquis's residence last year was quite similar to Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy, wasn't it? This 'Butterfly Loves Flowers' is also similar, but I don't know who wrote it."

"No, no, no, I remember Ning Hanlin's calligraphy was better than Ning Jiexiao's back then, wasn't it? The one Nilong brought seemed to be a bit more vigorous."

The crowd immediately began to discuss the matter.

This reminded Zhu Cuiwei, so she ordered someone to quickly bring over the poem "Qing Yu An" that the young doctor had given to Madam Jia.

Scholar Liu stroked his beard as he looked at the words and said, "I grow thinner and thinner, yet I have no regrets; for her sake I grow haggard and worn... What beautiful lines, truly beautiful lines..."

Old Crane asked, "I wonder who wrote and who wrote Your Majesty's poem 'Butterfly Loves Flowers'?"

Zhu Cuiwei did not answer any of the questions.

Then Lady Jia arrived with the calligraphy copybook.

The crowd compared and examined the three calligraphy works repeatedly.

"Hehe, Master Chen, it seems you must have misremembered." Someone pointed at the painting "Azure Sea Year After Year." "Look at this 'Azure Sea Year After Year,' isn't it better than 'Green Jade Table' and 'Butterfly Yearning for Flowers'? Of course, there are very few good ones. It was almost written by one person, enough to pass for the real thing."

"No, Chen Gong is not mistaken. At that time, Ning Hanlin's 'Qingyu' was indeed better than Ning Jiexiao's 'Zheng Wengong Stele'."

"Tap tap tap!" Someone slapped their forehead and said knowingly, "Gentlemen, I know now. The copy of the 'Zheng Wengong Stele' that Nilong brought that day was actually an early work by Ning Jiexiao. What Ning Hanlin copied was this 'Bihai Nian Nian' or another new work by Ning Jiexiao. Ning Hanlin's 'Qingyu' was better than the 'Zheng Wengong Stele' that day."

"Well……"

Everyone looked up and suddenly realized... No wonder Ning Hanlin's "Qing Yu An" seemed to lack something compared to "Bi Hai Nian Nian".

Madam Jia rolled her eyes: "I think my nephew's is better than Ning Jiexiao's."

The crowd's faces immediately turned awkward, and they hesitated, remembering that Ning Hanlin was His Majesty's husband, and it was rather inappropriate to say that he was merely copying.

However, although Ning Hanlin was unparalleled in poetry and prose, his reputation as a calligrapher was not as great as Ning Jiexiao's, nor did he have a longer career. Naturally, no one could lie through their teeth.

Moreover, the Empress did not show any displeasure, so everyone was relieved.

The main hall was filled with various noises, but no conclusion had been reached.

Zhu Cuiwei, sitting on the dragon throne, pursed her lips. She already had the answer in her heart, because she knew that the young doctor had never seen Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy before, let alone copied it.

However, the answer she had in mind was so astonishing, so unbelievable, that she herself found it somewhat... hard to believe...

At this moment, a young eunuch came to report.

It is said that, apart from Grand Secretary Liu, the three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, as well as the Ministers of War, Rites, and even the Ministry of Revenue, have jointly drafted a strongly worded letter of state, which needs to be discussed with His Majesty.

"This letter is intended to be sent to Chuzhou City and then to the Northern Dynasty. Firstly, it is to prepare for war; our dynasty will surely drive the tigers and wolves out of our borders."

Zhang Qi bowed and relayed the words of the Grand Secretaries:

"Secondly, we must negotiate with the Northern Dynasty, using Da Chun and others as hostages, to bring the delegation back to our dynasty. After all..."

Zhang Qi secretly glanced at His Majesty:

"This matter involves Prince Jing..."

If the Northern Dynasty were to use the name of King Jing to claim that King Jing had come to the Northern Dynasty to borrow troops, intending to depose the Empress and regain control of the Zhu Liang ancestral temple, in order to command the officials in Jiangnan, and to promise them great benefits.

If we treat the likes of Wu Sangui as we did in the past, then... the Great Liang will be in real trouble...

Righteousness...

Only by firmly grasping the great cause of the nation can we command the Great Liang to unite as one, and ensure that the ministers never surrender to the rebels. Otherwise, the entire Great Liang will be torn apart in an instant and defeated one by one by the rebels.

Grand Scholar Liu was still leading everyone to examine the calligraphy works. Gongsun Yuliu, the Minister of Rites, was also present, but this former headmaster of Bailu Academy was a man of few words. As the teacher who had personally instructed Ning Hanlin, he only shook his head midway through and said:

"Based on my understanding of Bai Xuan, he seems to... disdain copying other people's calligraphy... which is quite strange."

Zhu Cuiwei ordered the Grand Secretary and Luan Zongyuan to enter the hall together.

Scholar Liu and Minister Gongsun were also invited by Zhang Qi to the left side of the hall.

The left side discusses this letter of state and how to negotiate with the Northern Dynasty to bring back the delegation... at least to maintain a moral high ground.

On the right are Lady Jia, who came to see what was going on, and other renowned figures like He Weng, who are here to help her examine the three calligraphy works and see if they can draw a definitive conclusion... whether the two calligraphy works, "Butterfly Loves Flowers" and "Azure Sea Year After Year," were written by the same person...

…………

The sun is westward.

A horse-drawn carriage clattered through the stone city gate.

Inside the carriage.

Yan Yuqing, with her head full of white hair, looked at a young man sitting on her left.

"Your name is Zhang Jingshan?" she asked, frowning her white eyebrows.

"Exactly."

The gates of Nanjing have been closed.

This young man from the Northern Dynasty, who had shaved his head, was hoisted up in a basket.

This person was entrusted by someone to receive a letter sent from Beijing in Henan.

He detoured through Huguang, swam across the river, and traveled thousands of miles to bring a letter written by Lu Chong, the former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to Nanjing.

"To deliver this letter," Zhang Jingshan said calmly, looking at the current commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, "many of us have died. I trouble Commander Yan... to take me to see the former ruler of our country."

"I know,"

Yan Yuqing looked at this northerner and said in a deep voice:

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, we are already on our way to the palace."