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

Such things have happened before.

Tong Jia grew up by Nalan's side from a young age. Naturally, she also lost at chess. Although she was young, she was a young eagle of the grassland who knew shame and then became brave.

After losing a game, they will hone their wings and claws, and then pounce on their opponent, catching them off guard.

Da Chun smiled politely, raised a cup of wine to Prince Qi to express his gratitude, and then turned to Lady Jia, saying with a smile:

"I have long heard that the Marquis of Zhenguo is obsessed with chess. A while ago, he invited Master Huizhen, the chess fanatic of our dynasty, to his residence for a chat, and they played chess for half a month. Today, I see that your family is indeed extraordinary. Your fourth son's moves were bold and unrestrained, and he defeated Tongjia to a draw in one fell swoop. Truly remarkable! Dachun toasts your husband."

Madam Jia smiled faintly, picked up the exquisite little golden goblet, and said calmly:

"You flatter me, Your Excellency. When Zhao'er was young, my husband often played chess with him. Father and son were evenly matched in chess skills and both loved the game... It is possible that when Master Huizhen played chess with my husband at our residence for many days, Zhao'er, who was by his side, secretly learned a move or two."

Da Chun laughed heartily: "You're too kind, Madam."

The wine glass was put down.

When Da Chun saw that Tong Jia had made a brilliant move, his eyes lit up and he began to discuss the move, saying that if Tong Jia made three more moves, he would probably be able to devour the horse that had crossed the river for the Fourth Prince Zhao.

Qi Wang, Qin Xi, and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites smiled slightly and echoed each other, while also saying that Shangguan Zhao's carriage was lying in ambush nearby, and that the prodigy of their dynasty might not necessarily succeed.

After a while, the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

Previously, the Southern Dynasty suffered a series of crushing defeats, with Wu Yanchou losing seven games in a row, which was terrifying to watch, yet there was nothing that could be done.

While drinking alone, one must force a smile, otherwise one risks being accused of being jealous of talent, as if the Southern Dynasty were intolerant of others.

After the two fought to a standstill, the tense atmosphere in the Southern Dynasty suddenly eased.

Shangguan Zhao, a mere illegitimate son, was unassuming and unassuming, yet he managed to achieve a draw after taking the field, which gave everyone a sense of pride and satisfaction.

The two men, Zhongyun Liu Zhi and Zanshan Xu Longdao, who were seated at the end of the table, exchanged a glance and both relaxed at the same time.

Previously, Wu Tanhua, whom the Crown Prince had placed high hopes on, not only lost completely but also lost quickly, losing a game in less than 15 minutes.

In the following rounds, he became increasingly flustered, lost his footing, and lost faster and faster, much to the disappointment of the court officials.

If he can win four rounds, or even three, he can be invited to the Third Courtyard and receive a cup of imperial wine as a reward from Prince Xin.

After losing all ten games, Liu Zhi was worried that he would lose his composure in front of the emperor, so he arranged for him to go to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion poetry gathering as a way to clear his mind.

Liu Zhi said softly, "Xu Zanshan, judging from the current situation, Tong Jia seems to be getting stronger as the game progresses. He was evenly matched with Shangguan Zhao before, but this time his style has changed drastically, and his skill seems to be slightly superior to Shangguan Zhao's. If we let him play a few more games, I'm afraid Shangguan Zhao will inevitably fall behind!"

"Indeed," Xu Longdao nodded solemnly, "It's almost 11 PM."

He nodded towards Nalan Ruo and Gongsun Yuliu, who were playing chess in front of him.

"Mr. Nalan and Master Gongsun are also nearing the end of their match, and the winner is about to be decided. After this round, Your Highness, please summon Shangguan Zhao and Tong Jia to come in and offer them a cup of imperial wine... This elephant game competition has been going on since this afternoon..."

Xu Longdao's eyes gleamed with excitement as he said, "Then we can say we've each got our own specialty!"

Liu Zhi smiled and nodded.

The Northern Dynasties' attempt to use the Manchus' expertise in Han studies to overpower the Southern Dynasties is unlikely to be so easy!

"It's a pity," Xu Long sighed, his eyes becoming somewhat complicated, "Although the Xiaoxiang Pavilion poetry gathering is lively, I'm afraid it won't produce any good poems."

"Ah, Xu Zanshan, your writing is a masterpiece born of nature, a stroke of genius."

Liu Zhi smiled and comforted his friend.

"We need not be too harsh on these talented scholars. Moreover, Nalan Wenzong did not compose any new poems for this Mid-Autumn Festival. Instead, he asked Ning Jiexiao of the Northern Dynasty to write down last year's Mid-Autumn Festival poem as a calligraphy piece and present it to Prince Xin as a congratulatory gift."

"Ning Jiexiao is known as the foremost recluse in Jiangbei, but his true age is unknown; he might even be older than Grand Scholar Liu. Moreover, he is also a Han Chinese, so let him lose."

This calligraphy is now hanging in Xiaoxiang Pavilion for everyone to appreciate.

Ning Jiexiao truly deserves his reputation as a master of Jiangbei calligraphy. His Wei stele style is upright, vigorous and powerful, making it a truly famous work.

Furthermore, the content contains terms from Nalan Wenzong.

The post bears both Nalan's and Ning Jiexiao's red seals, complementing each other perfectly, and both are likely to be passed down through generations.

Xu Long felt a pang of regret, but he nodded in acquiescence. Given the current situation, there was no need to ask for anything more.

As for the Nineteen Paths of the Horizontal and Vertical, although the game is not yet over, everyone can see that Master Gongsun is slightly inferior to Nalan Ruo. Master Gongsun has also tried his best.

Nalan's chess skills are terrifying; even He Weng was defeated early on. The fact that the headmaster's chess skills have improved to such an extent has greatly surprised the officials of Jiangnan.

Liu Zhi's eyes were solemn. He spread out a sheet of paper with both hands, picked up a brush and wrote some tiny characters, then ordered a young eunuch to hand it to Prince Xin. After a moment, Prince Xin replied with a note: "Approved."

……

Unlike the various praises given to Tong Jia's moves during the game, Nalan Ruo glanced at the chessboard of the Xiangqi game a few times after making her move, and her brows furrowed slightly.

Tong Jia's chess style is usually characterized by stability as the main approach and agility as a secondary approach. He plays a strategy of first making himself invincible, and then waiting for the opponent to become vulnerable.

In the current game, Tong Jia's playing style has become a fierce and desperate approach, giving him the strange feeling that he is fighting Ning Baixuan.

Snapped!

After making her move, Gongsun Yuliu slightly raised her eyelids.

"What's wrong?" Gongsun Yuliu asked. "Brother Nalan, do you feel that defeating Gongsun is within reach, so you're distracted and want to let Gongsun off the hook?"

Nalan smiled, her mind drawn back to the present, and said with a smile, "You're overthinking it, Headmaster. Nalan has always been giving it her all."

He picked up a cup of wine poured by a young eunuch and apologized, saying, "It was Nalan's fault for being distracted; I will punish myself with this cup."

Then he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Finished drinking.

Nalan Ruo's brows furrowed slightly.

He glanced discreetly at the golden wine cup beside him... Hmm, something's strange.

The wine cup is decorated with a taotie pattern. Previously, the same wine cup contained Autumn Dew White, but now... he tasted it carefully... how did it turn into Golden Plate Dew?

He called himself a master of poetry, wine, and chess. When it came to wine, he didn't mean he could drink a lot, but rather that he was proud of having tasted all the famous wines in the world.

Saying that you can tell the taste of a wine just by smelling its aroma is an exaggeration. If you can't taste the flavor and vintage after taking a small sip, then you might as well resign your reputation.

At banquets of this scale, different patterned wine cups represent different types of wine.

How could the prestigious Prince Xin's Mansion make such a mistake as not knowing about wine? Different types of wine were placed in wine cups with the same pattern?

Such a thought flashed through his mind, but it was a trivial matter, so he didn't pay much attention to it. With the final battle approaching, the right thing to do was to defeat the amazing master in front of him.

The soft moonlight, reflecting off the lamplight, bathed the space.

The servant boy moved back and forth, constantly shifting the chess pieces on the board.

Both players were highly skilled, and they unleashed their hidden talents. The red and black pieces fought back and forth, placing and capturing pieces extremely quickly, making each game much shorter than the previous one.

After Shangguan Zhao won the first two rounds, the expressions of the Northern Dynasty players visibly turned sour.

Nilon's eyelids twitched slightly, and Dachun also narrowed his eyes slightly. Even when the chief envoy of the Rakshasa delegation invited him to drink, he was somewhat absent-minded.

Fortunately, Tong Jia won the next three games in a row.

Da Chun and Ni Long exchanged a glance, their expressions relaxing slightly.

In the next two games, the two players won one and lost one. In the eighth game, Shangguan Zhao won another game, bringing the score to four wins and four losses.

Nilon's eyes darkened slightly, and he spoke to Dachun in a barely audible voice.