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

Nalan Ruo waved his hand, seemingly amused and exasperated, and said, "I don't know where this dignified Prince got such a money-grubbing attitude from."

"I've already given it to him," he nodded. "I went to find you yesterday, but you weren't there, so I went to find that old servant you took south with. Yesterday I gave him 50,000 taels of silver first, and after receiving Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy, I went to find Old Man He. When I went to find him again in the afternoon, it was deserted."

Han Chang, with a fair complexion, smiled and said, "You don't know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt until you're in charge of the household. I knew that the dignified Emperor Nalan Wenzong wouldn't renege on his debts."

Nalan Ruo said irritably, "I don't know how you manage this household. You've only supported a few servants, and you already seem to be struggling to make ends meet. If you ask me, Brother Han, you should marry a Fujin (principal wife) as soon as possible so she can manage the household for you."

Han Chang laughed and said, "It'll be ready soon."

Seeing that this prince, who was quite different in public and private, was unwilling to talk about the matter of going from the north to the south, Nalan Ruo stopped talking.

It's just a little regrettable. Among the Upper Three Banners, the Bordered Yellow Banner was actually relatively neutral. The Third Prince's mother was from the Bordered Yellow Banner, and her maternal uncle's family held considerable influence within the banner.

If the Bordered Yellow Banner also sides first in the north and then in the south, the court will no longer waver, but will be determined to send troops to fight the Rakshasa in the Outer Khingan Mountains, driving them to the far west like the Xiongnu. Then, with its military might, it can march south and win the Jiangnan region without a fight, thus avoiding a war.

The two walked to a pavilion and sat down together. A gust of autumn wind swept through, and golden leaves detached from the branches, tumbling and swirling in the air. After flying several dozen feet away, they slowly and gracefully landed.

Han Chang looked at the fallen leaves, his eyes suddenly filled with complex emotions, and said, "Nalan Wenzong has quite the methods; he actually managed to see Ning Baixuan."

Nalan Ruo looked somewhat smug: "Actually, it wasn't easy. We have to thank Old Man He for everything." He smiled and said.

He then recounted the whole story, finally admitting that he hadn't changed it to a poem because the elephant opera was inferior to the other party's. He clapped his hands regretfully, saying he shouldn't have made the bet. Han Chang immediately smiled, saying he had also heard that Ning Baixuan's elephant opera was good, but he hadn't expected it to be this good.

Nalan Ruo assumed the other party had also heard it from the chess fanatic, so she chuckled and said, "Although Ning Baixuan probably won't attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, it doesn't matter even if he does. Our dynasty's chess game this time isn't really relying on me..."

The two enjoyed the scenery while chatting idly.

As she spoke, Nalan Ruo glanced again at the calm and composed Third Prince, and a sense of regret welled up in her heart. This Third Prince before her was first-rate in both literary and military arts. It was just a pity about his background.

More than twenty years ago, those damned villains of the Heavenly Principle Sect stormed into the Forbidden City, plotting to assassinate the Emperor who had just ascended the throne. After the assassination attempt failed, the surviving villains abducted the pregnant Consort Yi and escaped from the palace.

Although the court found the frail and near-death Consort Yi in a dilapidated temple three months later, the whereabouts of her newborn son, the Third Prince, remained unknown. It wasn't until the Third Prince was ten years old that the court wiped out a White Lotus Religion stronghold and, as was customary, brought the children from that stronghold back to the palace. After Consort Yi identified the child, the Third Prince was finally found.

Even without recognizing him, the Third Prince's appearance resembled the Emperor by three parts and Consort Yi by seven parts. Consort Yi didn't bother to check the birthmark as usual; upon seeing the Third Prince, she hugged him and cried. When the Emperor arrived upon hearing the news, he too hugged the Third Prince and wept upon seeing him.

Having been living among the common people for so many years, His Majesty, though fond of the Third Prince, would naturally not allow him any possibility of becoming the Crown Prince.

As for the Heavenly Principle Sect bandits, their leader Han Qing was captured and executed by being cut in half at the waist at the Meridian Gate the following day. Chen Kebai, the female Taoist priest Tang Xuanzi, and others who had kidnapped Consort Yi and escaped from the palace were also apprehended by the court three years later. Upon discovering that the Third Prince was not among the crowd, the court executed all the bandits, both major and minor, by being cut in half at the waist. Thus, all the bandits who had stormed the Forbidden City that day were annihilated.

Nalan Ruo let out a slow, regretful sigh. Over the years, the more he interacted with the other person, the more he felt sorry for them.

……

……

The sun began to set in the west, gradually sinking behind the distant mountains.

The bright moon, like a jade plate, hangs in the sky, just a sliver away from reunion.

Every household in the capital has hung up lanterns.

Some of the more extravagant families even set off fireworks today.

With a "bang," fireworks mixed with copper, silver, cinnabar, or realgar exploded in the air, displaying colors of red, green, purple, or blue. Their shapes were also incredibly diverse, ranging from simple designs like gold cups and silver stands, pine and cypress trees, and the twelve zodiac animals, to more complex ones like Chang'e flying to the moon, coins turning into butterflies, and fish transforming into dragons.

After seeing off his brother-in-law and uncle, Ning Nan passed by a small bridge in front of the courtyard. Listening to the firecrackers and watching the fireworks fill the sky, he suddenly remembered a Mid-Autumn Festival when he was a child. Old Han had boasted to him that the "Nan Zhang Jing Tiger Fire" in Hebei could produce more than 120 different patterns of fireworks, including "Zhang Fei Riding the Drum," "Five Horses Defeating Cao Cao," and a frighteningly complex "Bagua Diagram."

Ning Nan had never left the village at the time and thought Han Laoguai was bragging, thinking that there was no such skilled craftsman in this era.

But after spending the Mid-Autumn Festival in Nanjing for the first time this year, I saw it with my own eyes and realized that what Han Laoguai said was indeed true.

When we returned to the flower hall.

The sound of pieces falling was like a beaded curtain falling to the ground; his wife, Cui Cui, was playing chess with Princess Zhu Jiamu.

Cui Cui, the old woman, went first with black, while the young princess went first with white.

He strolled over, glanced at it, and realized that he had just learned to play Go last night and was now in the mood for it.

But after watching for a while, realizing that the two were terrible chess players, he laughed and praised them, "Wow, I never thought I'd become Wang Jixin today."

This is a story. Wang Jixin was a great chess player in the Tang Dynasty. When he went to Sichuan, he stayed overnight in the mountains and overheard a mother and daughter-in-law talking about playing blindfold chess at night. Their moves were exquisite and far superior to his. So he secretly memorized them and from then on, his chess skills improved even further.

These words implied that the two women playing chess were like a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Zhu Jiamu chuckled, but upon seeing the composed expression on Cuiwei's face, her smile vanished, replaced by a stern expression. However… her eyes quickly filled with resentment… What does this have to do with me… I just said one wrong word… Is it really necessary to entrust me with such a big matter! The Grand Prince Consort, the Grand Prince Consort… How was I supposed to know he was the Grand Prince Consort! … She gritted her teeth and cried out in her heart… How was I supposed to know you were Prince Xin! Ugh… Ptooey! Ptooey ptooey ptooey!

Princess Tang smiled sweetly, revealing two small dimples, and said, "Sister Cuiwei, it's getting late, so I'll take my leave now. This game of chess..."

Cui Cui nodded, looked at Ning Nan, and said calmly, "Master Wang, since the princess is going home, come, you can help her continue."

Mr. Ning's words were a compliment to their chess skills. But His Highness Prince Xin directly called him "Grand Master Wang," taking his modesty as sarcasm. Zhu Jiamu was about to laugh, but after glancing at the prince's serene face, her dimples disappeared. Somewhat disregarding her ladylike image, she stood up and quickly left the flower hall.

Upon hearing this, Ning Nan glanced at his wife and, seeing that the young princess had already left, nodded and smiled, "Alright."

As soon as I sat down, I realized that the young princess's strategy was actually quite good. I could tell at a glance which dragon she wanted to be, and I could just follow her lead.

At this time.

Cui Cui's wife said, "Just playing chess isn't enough; we need to add some stakes."

Old Master Ning raised an eyebrow: "What is it?"