Just as they had expected, the story about Miss Jun and Lu Yunqi had been distorted.

"There are people from the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Hospital." Fang Jinxiu said.

"They are so mean, they just play tricks on men and women." Chen Qi said angrily, "They can't compare with those who act uprightly, but they do these things. If Miss Jun was a man, would they dare to do this?"

This world is always harsher on women.

"What's so strange about this? Aren't they just this kind of people?" Fang Jinxiu said, "Stop asking such boring questions."

She looked at Miss Jun.

"So how did the talk go?"

Miss Jun shook her head.

"Not very good." She did not hide it.

It won't work this time? Fang Jinxiu looked gloomy. Lu Yunqi was very different from the petty official in Yangcheng County.

"It doesn't matter. Since we are all talking about it, let's just continue." Miss Jun said with a smile, "Who is afraid of who? I can't do anything to him, and he can't do anything to me."

According to the imperial decree, Lu Yunqi cannot do anything too extreme, such as robbing people.

But if this continues, my reputation will be ruined.

"Reputation?" Miss Jun smiled. "I don't rely on my reputation to cure diseases and save lives."

That’s true, Chen Qi smiled.

"You should get some rest soon," he said. "I'll go tell Shopkeeper Liu so he won't worry about you."

No matter how tired or dangerous the situation is, Miss Jun always keeps exercising, sleeping well and eating well.

After night fell, the Jiuling Hall fell into silence.

The lights in Deshengchang's inner courtyard stayed on until dawn in the east.

Chen Qi drank the strong tea in front of him in one gulp.

"My family should have received the letter, right?" he said, his voice a little hoarse from staying up late or drinking too much tea.

Shopkeeper Liu had a similar expression as him, a little tired, but the tiredness was not because of this incident, but because of staying up late.

"We changed people and horses all the way without stopping. We have arrived in three days." He said, and then smiled bitterly. "In fact, what can we do if the young master knows? I gave money to my family if they asked for it. I also gave the imperial edict. I gave everything I could."

Chen Qi touched his nose.

"It can still be given to others." His eyes lit up and he said, "If Miss Lu gets married, how can he still pester her?"

Shopkeeper Liu looked at him with a half-smile.

"You mean the young master?" he asked.

"Yes, Miss Jun gave herself to the Young Master in the past for him, and now the Young Master can give himself to her in return." Chen Qi said.

Shopkeeper Liu laughed and then sighed.

"First of all, the marriage between the young master and Miss Jun has already happened once, and everyone knows it was a fake marriage." He pointed his finger and said, "If it happens once, there will be a second one. This time it happens at a critical moment, no one will believe it, and the Jinyiwei will certainly not believe it."

Chen Qi frowned and was about to say something, but Shopkeeper Liu extended another finger.

"Besides, even if the young lady and the young master get married, so what?" he said, "Lu Yunqi has other wives in his outer house."

Chen Qi touched his nose.

"It is always more outrageous to be entangled with an unmarried lady than to be entangled with another man's wife," he said.

Shopkeeper Liu stroked the table and smiled.

"It's not like the Royal Guard hasn't done things that angered the public before," he said. "What can we do about the public anger?"

Chen Qi picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea.

"I understand what you mean." He said, looking at Shopkeeper Liu, "No matter what, even with the imperial edict in hand, the Fang family is just a merchant. No matter how angry they are or how much they protest, it means nothing to the powerful Lu Yunqi."

Shopkeeper Liu also poured a cup of tea.

"Isn't that a cruel fact?" he said.

Chen Qi smiled. He was tired after sitting all night and slumped in the chair.

"What's cruel about it? Since it's the truth, it's not cruel," he said. "Big people have their own cruelty, and small people have their own ways. So let it be. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Yeah, there's nothing to be afraid of." Shopkeeper Liu also kicked off his shoes and sat cross-legged on a chair, "I just feel that Miss Jun has had a hard time."

"What is easy? Living a life of idleness and waiting for death is not easy at all." Chen Qi said, "When I was living a life of idleness and waiting for death, I was still bullied and had to humble myself."

"But to be honest, I haven't had this kind of life for many years." Shopkeeper Liu knocked on the table and said, "It's really fucking exciting."

The two of them burst into laughter and yawned at the same time. Just as they were about to take a break, they were startled by the sound of firecrackers outside the door.

"What's wrong?" Chen Qi sat up straight, "Could he be trying to kidnap someone?"

Shopkeeper Liu listened for a moment. The sound of firecrackers seemed to be getting closer and farther away, and he suddenly realized something.

"The new number one scholar has been chosen," he clapped his hands and said, "The palace examination is over."

The imperial examination held every three years is a big event. Before Chen Qi came to the capital, he had thought about returning in March to watch the parade of the number one scholar and visit the royal gardens. If he was lucky, he might even see the emperor. However, a series of things happened before and after the New Year so busy that he had long forgotten about the number one scholar.

Now after listening to what Shopkeeper Liu said, I lost all sleepiness and became more energetic.

"Who won the first place in the imperial examination?" he said, "Let's go and have a look."

…

The streets were crowded with people. Compared with the Ministry of Rites examination, the Palace Examination did not cause any disqualification, so everyone who came to see the list was smiling. Firecrackers were heard from time to time in the streets, and some people even gave out prizes in the street, causing crowds of people to flock to the streets. Fortunately, the government soldiers maintained order and prevented chaos.

Chen Qi and Shopkeeper Liu, looking tired, squeezed their way through the crowd of strong men. When they stood in front of the list of successful candidates, they saw the name of the number one scholar at a glance.

Both of them were a little stunned, feeling that the name was familiar yet unfamiliar.

Peaceful.

Who is Ning Chang?

"The tenth son of the Liuning family in the north of Yangcheng, Shanxi, is named Chang, and his courtesy name is Yunzhao." said the shopkeeper Liu.

Ning Yunzhao.

Chen Qi then reacted: Ning Chang, Ning Yunzhao, Ning Shigongzi.

"Ning's family has another No. 1 scholar." He said.

With this number one scholar, the Ning family will prosper for another generation.

As the top scholar, Ning Yunzhao directly entered the ranks of Beijing officials, obtaining a status that many people, even many officials and Jinshi, could not obtain in their lifetime.

This is the scholar, the highest class of people in the world and the most respected origin among officials.

If she was the wife of such a man, Lu Yunqi would definitely not be able to offend her, right?

An idea suddenly occurred to Chen Qi.

But then he laughed again, a little sadly.

It is not easy to become the wife of such a man, otherwise Miss Jun would not be where she is today.

There was a world of difference between them before, but now there is no connection at all.

Chen Qi was a little uninterested and pulled on the sleeve of shopkeeper Liu.

"Let's go, let's go, we've seen it, let's do our own thing," he said.

At this time, Miss Jun also walked out of Jiuling Hall.

Although she did not stay at Prince Huai's Mansion yesterday, she was still a little worried about it, so she decided to go and take a look.

The noise in the street attracted her to look over.

"The results are out," said the driver, "the top scorer was announced last night."

The top scholar.

Miss Jun looked toward the street.

"Who is it?" Fang Jinxiu asked.

"Bei Liu Ning Chang, Ning Yan's nephew." The clerk said with a beaming smile, and then thought of something else, "Miss Jun, she is from your Yangcheng."

Fang Jinxiu raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said, "so that's his name. It's really ugly."

Miss Jun smiled.

"Zhao, it's a gift. Rub off the sharp edges of the tool, but keep the spirit." She said, and the other party smiled beautifully, "Prepare another gift."