Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

The two head maids both changed color, but Xie Jue remained unfazed.

Qing Shuang subconsciously looked at her young master, her eyes full of inquiry, and a hint of "Young master, what do you think of this..."

Xie Jue continued calmly, "Bring me that set of smooth, warm jade."

Upon hearing the words "smooth and delicate skin," a hint of surprise flashed across Qing Shuang's eyes. She glanced at Jiang Sese, then lowered her gaze and respectfully replied, "Yes, young master."

A short while later, Qing Shuang returned carefully carrying a sandalwood chess box inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

The box itself was already quite exquisite.

Qing Shuang gently placed the chess box on the stone table, her movements as light as if she were holding a fragile treasure.

The moment the lid was opened, a warm, luminous glow seemed to flow out.

This set of chess pieces is not the usual black and white.

The white jade is polished from mutton fat jade, which is delicate, warm and smooth, and flows with a soft warm light under the sunlight, like the first snow.

The black jade is made of dark jade, with a deep and restrained color and a warm feel to the touch.

Each chess piece was round and full, with an astonishingly uniform size and no flaws.

The chessboard is carved from a single piece of warm jade, with crisscrossing lines inlaid with extremely fine gold wire. The entire chessboard is warm and delicate, with natural and smooth textures, and is polished to a mirror-like shine.

Unfortunately, Jiang Sese was unaware of the value of this set of chess pieces.

Xie Jue casually picked up a warm, white jade chess piece. The touch of his fingertips on the jade made his fingers appear even more slender and strong, with distinct knuckles.

Xie Jue said calmly, "It's alright. I'll teach you."

Jiang Sese nodded and didn't dare to say that she didn't want to learn.

This is the God of Literature in the hearts of scholars and students all over the world. Countless people want to ask him to teach them. Jiang Sese felt that if she dared to say that she did not want to learn, she would probably be spat on for being ungrateful.

Not to mention she had something to ask of him.

I'll learn it then, just to please this big shot.

Xie Jue was very patient with Jiang Sese.

Xie Jue's slender fingers gently traced across the smooth jade chessboard as he said, "This is a chessboard with nineteen lines in each direction and three hundred and sixty-one intersections."

"These are the chess pieces. Black goes first, then white. Place the pieces on the intersections. Surround the territory and capture the pieces."

"Use your own pieces to surround empty space, or to encircle the opponent's pieces, so that they have no liberties."

Xie Jue picked up a black jade chess piece and placed it on an intersection in the center of the chessboard. "The empty points adjacent to this piece on all sides are its liberties. It has four liberties."

Then, a white piece is placed right next to the black piece, "blocking one of its liberties, but still retaining three liberties."

Place another piece to block the other breath, "two breaths".

Until the fourth white jade piece fell, it completely surrounded the lone black jade chess piece, leaving no empty space on any side.

Xie Jue gently picked up the black piece that had been surrounded and trapped, his movements elegant and composed: "Surrounded by four pieces, it's dead. This piece is gone, take it away."

Jiang Sese originally had a perfunctory attitude, just hoping that this torment would end soon.

However, Xie Jue's explanation was far too simple and easy to understand.

Jiang Sese's furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and her expression became much more relaxed.

"Give it a try." Xie Jue pushed the chess box containing Mozi to her, indicating that she should play black and make the first move.

Jiang Sese hesitated for a moment, then carefully placed a black piece on a spot near the star position.

Under the eaves, Qing Shuang and Shu Tong stood respectfully with their hands at their sides, eyes downcast and eyes focused on their inner thoughts.

Shu Tong couldn't help but let her gaze drift to the two figures in the courtyard. The two of them were really good-looking, like a golden couple, but unfortunately their statuses were worlds apart.

Shu Tong glanced at Qing Shuang, nudged her gently with her elbow, and said, "Young Master has been teaching for almost half an hour now, hasn't he?"

"Judging from Miss Biao's chess moves, she's clearly still a novice. How can you, young master, have such patience?"

Qing Shuang's gaze also fell on the courtyard, watching Xie Jue's slender fingers pick up a piece of white jade, but he didn't put it down immediately, as if he was waiting for Jiang Sese to figure it out.

Qing Shuang withdrew her gaze and nodded: "Yes, you're being so patient it's almost unbecoming of a young master."

"The last time I saw you play chess with someone like this was when the Fourth Miss turned eight. The Fourth Miss was quick-tempered and couldn't beat the Second Young Master. She got so angry that she threw the chess pieces all over the ground and cried that she would never play chess again."

Qing Shuang said, "Later, the young master personally played with her for quite a while. The game lasted almost an hour before the fourth young lady finally stopped crying and managed to win a corner."

Shu Tong recalled Xie Jue's proper younger sister, and compared her to Jiang Sese, whose status in the courtyard was awkward, and felt even more bewildered: "If that's the case, how does the young master treat Miss Jiang...?"

He was even more patient than when he was treating the Fourth Sister.

Qing Shuang shook her head and said only, "Young master is quite unusual today. Perhaps you feel sorry for Miss Biao, who is living under someone else's roof."

Shu Tong disagreed.

The eldest son is not like the second and third sons, who are known for their tenderness and pity for women.

But this unprecedented patience and the precious chess set that she rarely showed to others still left the two of them somewhat puzzled when it came to Jiang Sese.

Qing Shuang thought for a while and said, "Never mind, how can we presume to know about the eldest young master's affairs? We just need to serve him carefully."

Shu Tong nodded in agreement.

Not far away, Xie Jue placed his piece, seemingly randomly, yet subtly echoing the previous move.

Xie Jue was not in a hurry to attack at first, instead giving Jiang Sese a chance.

Jiang Sese gradually relaxed her restraint, resting her chin on her hand and began to think seriously, imitating Xie Jue's thinking, clumsily making arrangements, trying to enclose a small area.

Xie Jue waited patiently.

When Jiang Sese finally managed to capture a dead piece that Xie Jue had deliberately left behind, a small sense of accomplishment welled up within her.

The black and white patterns on the chessboard even had a touch of fun.

Xie Jue asked, "Shall we play another round?"

"Okay!" Jiang Sese replied subconsciously.

In the following rounds, Xie Jue clearly started to hold back.

Xie Jue let Jiang Sese go first, even giving up several obvious advantages and deliberately giving her several pieces, making her black pieces look like they were aggressively occupying a large area.

Jiang Sese couldn't help but feel overjoyed; surely she could win this time?

But no matter how much of an advantage she seemed to have in the early stages, Xie Jue always managed to deliver a thunderous blow in the middle and later stages of the game.

His seemingly scattered white pieces, with a light touch at a crucial point and a cut, are like the finishing touch on a painting, instantly revitalizing the entire game.

The territory that Jiang Sese had painstakingly enclosed was either cut off or cleverly hollowed out.

The few pieces he had eaten earlier were more like bait he had casually thrown out.

Jiang Sese watched as Xie Jue seemingly casually placed a white piece on her vital spot, causing her large group of black stones to be wiped out in the blink of an eye and about to be captured. She was so angry that she almost vomited blood.

There's a kind of game where you're up 20-0, finally managing to get 20 kills and thinking victory is in your grasp, only to have the opponent sneak up on your base.

Xie Jue gazed calmly at the chessboard, his eyes unmoved. Before the warm, white jade chess piece had even been placed between his fingers, the outcome was already clear in his mind.

Xie Jue calmly placed the white piece back into the chess box, ending the game.

Looking at her utterly defeated black pieces on the chessboard, Jiang Sese felt a deep sense of powerlessness and frustration well up inside her.

The difference between people is bigger than that between dogs. She couldn't win even after giving away so many points. She's really useless.

Standing a few steps away, Qing Shuang and Shu Tong exchanged a knowing glance.

Shu Tong couldn't help but whisper to Qing Shuang, "Young Master isn't playing chess, he's clearly..."

Qing Shuang gently shook her head to signal her to be quiet, but her eyes also held the same sentiment: the young master was clearly just playing with the young lady.

However, the eldest son always kept his thoughts hidden, and no one could figure out what he was thinking.

Seeing that Xie Jue had no intention of continuing the game, Qing Shuang and Shu Tong came forward and quickly put away the chess pieces, which Qing Shuang then took back to the study.

After several games of chess, Xie Jue finally asked leisurely, "Does Cousin Jiang want me to help you turn down this marriage?"