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

"What are you doing?" Ning Nan asked, frowning.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Li Yanting didn't even lift his eyelids, his eyes fixed on the chessboard on the desk.

"I have diligently carried out all the tasks assigned by my master, and I feel perfectly justified in taking his money," he said calmly.

"I won't pick a fight with you," Ning Nan said with a smile. This bookworm was so petty; he always felt that Ning Nan would deliberately find fault with him and then deduct five taels of silver from his monthly salary.

Ning Nan glanced at the board again. The white pieces were nearing the endgame, and the black group should have already been captured. He also noticed that his opponent was holding a black piece.

He laughed and said, "Hasn't White already won? Where else would you place your piece?"

Li Yanting finally raised his eyelids and glanced at him, then sneered, "The master can play chess?"

Ning Nan clapped his hands and said, "You couldn't beat me in Li Family Village."

"That's Xiangqi! This is Go!" The bookworm exclaimed, his face flushed. When he was twelve, he lost a game of Xiangqi at Mr. Han's house, losing for an entire afternoon. After that, he never touched Xiangqi pieces again and harbored a deep resentment towards the red and black pieces.

The opponent could see through the board at a glance, which meant he definitely knew how to play Go. That was quite rare, as he had only gradually learned it when he was studying in Hangezhuang.

Ning Nan said, "They're all the same... I just learned it."

"The boss is impressive," Li Yanting said sarcastically.

He'd been in a really bad mood lately, feeling like a firecracker ready to explode at any moment. A pang of regret struck him, and he sighed, "What do you need?"

"About my cousin, well, your fiancée."

Li Yanting's face immediately turned bright red, but after he stammered a few times, his face turned pale again.

"I……"

"You should call off the engagement," Ning Nan said.

Li Yanting suddenly looked up.

Ning Nan's gaze was complicated. He sighed and said, "To be honest, a young lady from an official's family has taken a liking to you... You know, I've met several influential people, and one of them secretly told me about it. I haven't told them yet that you're already engaged. I've been thinking about it, and you're a talented person, a promising scholar from Li Family Village. You'll pass the imperial examination sooner or later, and maybe even become a Jinshi..."

Li Yanting straightened his chest slightly, and his expression became serious.

"My cousin doesn't know many characters, so she's definitely not suitable for you."

"A wife who has shared hardship should not be abandoned," Li Yanting said solemnly.

"I know," Ning Nan nodded and smiled. "It's not that you look down on her, it's just that you have a bright future ahead of you and have been regarded as a promising student in the village since you were a child. She feels insecure and has always felt inferior and uncomfortable... Well... Of course, the engagement is called off, but there is one thing you must promise me."

"What is it?"

"If my cousin encounters any difficulties after you pass the imperial examination or become a scholar, you must help her out of consideration for our fellow townsmen. Only then will my aunt and I allow you to annul the engagement."

Li Yanting stared intently at Ning Nan, and after a long silence, he sighed and said, "Brother Ning, thank you."

Ning Nan's expression also changed from relaxed to somewhat complicated.

"I can agree to let your cousin annul the engagement, but I'll need to do you a favor, Brother Ning."

Ning Nan's expression immediately became even more complicated.

He said he hoped the "scholar would take the initiative to break off the engagement," while the other party said "your cousin broke off the engagement." It's likely that the other party knew that what he just said was merely a pretext to save face for him.

Ning Nan solemnly replied, "Yes, please speak."

Li Yanting slowly exhaled and then stated his request.

After listening, Ning Nan's eyelids twitched, and she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Not bad." Li Yanting nodded solemnly.

Ning Nan thought about it and decided it wasn't a big deal, so he agreed.

In this way, the matter is half accomplished.

Before leaving, he glanced at the opponent's chessboard one last time, pointed to a spot, and said, "Play to the fourth or fifth position; you can live if you play here."

Li Yanting was taken aback.

Once he finished his personal affairs and returned to his confident pursuit of chess, the bookworm regained some of his arrogance.

Following the opponent's move, place a black stone at the "fourth and fifth" position.

But then he picked up a white piece, sneered, and said, "You move to the fourth or fifth position? So what if I move to the sixth or third position? It's still a dead end!"

He placed a white stone at position 63.

Ning Nan calmly replied, "Enter 82."

Li Yanting was taken aback, narrowed his eyes, then picked up a black stone and placed it in the "enter 82" position, making a "Huh" sound.

A moment later, he picked up the white pieces again.

"Go to July 1st."

"Heiwuji."

"Nine in the third place"

"Go to the seventh and fifth."

……

After seven moves,

Li Yanting was speechless.

Ning Nan clapped his hands and said, "At least he survived, breaking his endgame strategy." He didn't know who the bookish seed was playing chess with.

However, having only just begun to grasp the basics, I couldn't resist the urge to show off my skills. And since this game was quite good, I helped him break down a few moves. Fortunately, judging from his expression, I at least didn't make a fool of myself.

Seeing that the darling of Lijia Village was deep in thought, Ning Nan said "Let's go" and strode off towards Willow Leaf Lane.

Inside the study.

"Hmm...this laurel chess game...this laurel chess game..."

Li Yanting frowned, muttering to himself as he reviewed the seven moves he had just made, his expression filled with disbelief.

This game of chess was played the day before yesterday, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and was an endgame between the headmaster of Bailu Academy and Emperor Wenzong of the Northern Dynasties.

Although it was an unfinished game, Emperor Wenzong of the Northern Dynasty was already in the process of finishing the game. After thinking for a long time that night, Gongsun Shanchang also resigned and conceded defeat.

However, the headmaster always felt that there seemed to be a solution to this game.

He then posted a notice at the academy, making the game public and inviting top chess players from all over the world to solve it.

Anyone who can break this deadlock.

The headmaster would grant the other party's request to the best of his ability, even if it meant giving up all of Gongsun Yuliu's wealth.

Because the game was played during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is also known as the Laurel Chess Game.

Li Yanting exclaimed in surprise, took a breath, reviewed the moves, and then exclaimed in surprise again, taking another breath.

He reviewed the seven steps that the two of them had just broken down over and over again.

a long time.

"when!"

He put the black pieces in his hand into the chess box.

He didn't know how the headmaster and Emperor Wenzong of the Northern Dynasty would respond to each other's moves, but his own moves truly represented the pinnacle of his chess skills.

After a long moment of stunned silence, Li Yanting's expression gradually hardened. Finally, he took a deep breath, stood up, and hurriedly left the house.

……

……

When Ning Nan came to the Liuye Lane private school, the thin mist on the street had just dissipated, and the street was bathed in golden light.

As he entered, he saw a classmate. The classmate was taken aback upon seeing him, then exclaimed with delight, "Brother Changxiao?"

"What? Brother Changxiao! This is Brother Gaoxiao!" The classmate next to him immediately interrupted, but his face was also full of surprise.

What's wrong?

Ning Nan frowned, completely bewildered. Before he could ask, his classmates rushed in, shouting, "Brother Gao Xiao is here!" "Brother Chang Xiao is here!"

Ning Nan's eyebrows furrowed even more, looking all messy. What did that mean?

The sound was quickly suppressed.

Mr. Huang has arrived at the school, and everyone quickly quieted down.

After bowing, the old-fashioned Mr. Huang from Ningnan Dynasty walked quickly to his seat at the back of the classroom, under the inexplicably excited gazes of his twenty or thirty classmates.

As soon as he sat down, he placed the cloth bag on the table and breathed a sigh of relief, before even taking out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Chu the Fatty leaned over quietly and said, "When will the moon be full again...?"

Ning Nan stopped what he was doing, and the hairs on his body stood on end.