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

"gamble?"

Yan Yuqing's face suddenly furrowed, and she exclaimed in surprise.

Wang Bing, around forty years old, had a delicate, almost effeminate appearance and a wrinkle-free face, though some fine lines had appeared at the corners of his eyes. He exclaimed in surprise, "Gambling?"

Zhu Cuiwei said, her voice trembling with suppressed anger:

"Why is he still gambling? Is his hand alright? Qian Sijin, hurry and persuade him to get into the carriage. I'll wait for him there, apply the medicine, and go home!"

The scout knew that His Majesty was also in the carriage, but dared not address him or say anything more, and quickly said:

"My lord, the injury to my son-in-law's hand has been greatly relieved after washing it with warm water, but there is still some swelling. The doctor is applying medicine to him now... There is an imperial physician... Physician Zheng... Physician Zheng's son is taking the imperial examination this year and is nearby. We have already invited Physician Zheng to go there..."

Hearing that the imperial physician had already gone, Zhu Cuiwei's bulging veins finally calmed down a bit.

However, she was still a little flustered. She took out a white silk scarf from her bosom, tied it around her face, covered her mouth and nose, and decided to go and see for herself now to take him home.

At this moment, Wang Bing, somewhat concerned, continued his previous question: "Is the son-in-law gambling with a prince from the Northern Dynasty?"

Yan Yuqing asked, "What kind of bet? Rolling dice?"

A few strands of white hair fluttered across Yan Yuqing's forehead. She felt a mixture of admiration and helplessness towards this audacious young man.

She shoved other people's heads straight into scalding hot wine, even going so far as to put her own hands in... She was shocked when she heard the scout's report and clicked her tongue in disbelief for a long time.

Even with her resilient character, she herself wouldn't dare to do it.

If this ruthlessness came from a seasoned battlefield fighter, she could understand it to some extent.

But the fact that such a ruthless and decisive act of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" came from the hands of a top scholar whose talent was renowned throughout the capital left her utterly astonished and incredulous.

One of Yan Yuqing's trusted confidants, a spy, lowered his brows, a strange expression appearing on his face:

"It's not something like rolling dice..."

The scout said:

"The son-in-law is gambling...gambling on wine with that Northern Dynasty prince!"

Wang Bing's cheeks sunken slightly, and he frowned, saying, "A drinking contest? A contest of drinking capacity?"

The scout denied it, saying, "It wasn't a drinking contest, but rather... but rather..."

The scout also found this extremely novel; he had never seen anything like it before.

"Instead, it's a bet...we'll pour each other a cup of wine...and see if the other dares to drink it within ten breaths..."

Yan Yuqing asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you mean? What's there to be afraid of?"

She paused as she spoke.

Suddenly, memories of what happened before flashed through my mind.

Previously, when Lu Jing made things difficult for Yang Gu, he asked Yang Gu to drink a cup of hot wine within ten breaths.

Yan Yuqing paused, the wrinkles on her face creased.

Wang Bing's expression froze for a moment, and he exclaimed in surprise, "They're competing to drink hot wine?" The middle-aged eunuch's tone was somewhat distorted.

Zhu Cuiwei's heart suddenly tightened, and a chill ran through her body!

"What does the son-in-law want to do? Is he going to gamble his life with the Tartars?!"

The scout said strangely, "It sounds like... but not entirely..."

Yan Yuqing angrily retorted, "Stop stammering!"

The scout trembled, gasping for breath. Although he couldn't understand why his son-in-law would propose such a strange bet, he still told the truth:

"My aunt and uncle said they wanted to give that Northern Dynasty prince a chance to take revenge that very night, and asked him if he wanted it..."

"Then the Northern Beile said, 'What? Brother Ning intends to stick his head out for me to chop off?'"

The young master pointed to the stove on the table and said, "Brother Lu's method of making things difficult for people tonight is quite novel. It has given me an idea. I happen to be short of money lately... Hmm... Seventh Young Master, would you dare to make a bet with me... who has the greater courage?"

The scout recalled for a moment, paused, and then continued:

Then, the son-in-law smiled and explained the rules of the betting game to the other party.

"It is said that after the two people go to the counter, they will warm a cup of wine for each other. It can be hot wine or warm wine."

"This slightly warm wine is made by scooping half a cup of hot wine and mixing it with some cold wine."

"Then place the wine on a perforated wooden rack over boiling water to cover the heat. It's winter now, and steam will rise from both sides. In ten breaths, the wine won't get too hot."

It can be hot wine or warm wine?

Wang Bing and Yan Yuqing frowned immediately. After thinking for a moment, they realized that drinking scalding hot wine would almost certainly result in death, while drinking warm wine would be fine.

"The son-in-law said that during the gambling game, no one can touch the wine bowl with their hand or test the temperature of the wine. The hand must be more than a foot away from the wine cup... Hmm... However... the son-in-law said... one can use something like a gold needle more than a foot long to test for poison. But once you touch the wine bowl, you either have to drink it all or lose a thousand taels of silver to the other party."

"If you do not touch the wine bowl within ten breaths and dare not drink, but your side does drink, you will still lose a thousand taels of silver to the other party."

"Well... well... the young master poured wine for the Northern Dynasty Prince, and the Northern Dynasty Prince was certain that the wine was too hot and refused to drink it, but the young master drank it, which means it wasn't too hot. So the young master won... well... also... whoever wins this round gets to decide who pours the wine in the next round... and who drinks it..."

Upon hearing this novel bet, Yan Yuqing looked somewhat taken aback.

Wang Bing also raised his eyebrows, secretly trying to figure out his son-in-law's intentions.

Unlike the other two, Zhu Cuiwei's tense nerves finally relaxed a little when she heard that she could "lose a thousand taels of silver".

She felt a chill run down her spine whenever she recalled Yan Yuqing's account of the tragic fate of Yang Gu and Lu Jing.

He was about to disregard everything and rush straight into Heming Tower to drag the young doctor home and forbid him from gambling with his life so easily.

Upon hearing this, I realized that although the young doctor was gambling, at least he had left himself an escape route, and the chill down my spine finally eased a bit.

"Hmm!" After pondering for only a moment, the chief eunuch Wang Bing, who was in charge of the assassination, suddenly looked surprised and exclaimed, "So that's how it is!"

Zhu Cuiwei was taken aback and turned to look over.

A complex expression appeared on Wang Bing's face.

Wang Bing met the gaze of His Majesty above him and solemnly said, "Your Majesty, this servant understands... Ah... Sigh..."

The middle-aged eunuch's tone shifted between joy and sigh as he said, "Young master's actions are intended to challenge that Northern Dynasty prince... truly wise and courageous!"

Yan Yuqing, who was opposite him, was also taken aback for a moment, and then nodded silently.

With her intelligence, after deducing in her mind, she naturally guessed the intentions of the two sons-in-law.

However… she was still a step behind Wang Bing, who was twenty years younger than her… The acting commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, now in her sixties, couldn't help but feel a little self-deprecating… Was she getting old?

Inside the carriage.

"Great wisdom and courage?" Zhu Cuiwei asked in confusion.

"Indeed." Wang Bing let out a deep breath. "A cup of wine may be scalding hot or lukewarm. When the son-in-law pours the wine for the other party, he is betting on their kindness, their wisdom, and their courage!"

Zhu Cuiwei frowned: "Benevolence? Wisdom and courage?"

"Exactly."

Yan Yuqing also understood some of the key points, and took over the conversation, saying:

"If I were the son-in-law, I would always pour warm wine and say to the other party, 'This is warm wine.' If the other party doesn't drink it, the son-in-law would drink it all in one gulp, and then the son-in-law would win. This would also teach the Tartars the principle of 'benevolence and trustworthiness.'"

"If the other party drinks it, they will know that their son-in-law is a sincere and trustworthy person."

Zhu Cuiwei frowned, puzzled, and asked, "What about when the Tartars poured him wine?"

Wang Bing and Yan Yuqing exchanged a smile and said, "Your Majesty, this is extremely easy... The son-in-law... The son-in-law has always chosen not to drink."

Zhu Cuiwei frowned slightly.

Yan Yuqing glanced at the somewhat puzzled Emperor and explained gently:

"The son-in-law is not short of money. The Tartars may not be kind either. They always pour warm wine. If the son-in-law refuses to drink hot wine, the Tartars will have to pay a thousand taels of silver."

"Furthermore, the son-in-law keeps warming the wine, so if the Tartar doesn't believe him, he'll lose another thousand taels of silver to the son-in-law. In the first few rounds, the two will naturally have wins and losses, but after a few more rounds, the Tartar will realize that if he wants to win—"

Zhu Cuiwei realized what was happening and nodded, saying, "Then he must pour warm wine every time..."

Wang Bing and Yan Yuqing exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with satisfaction and admiration.

On the one hand, they admired the son-in-law's painstaking efforts, and on the other hand, they admired His Majesty's quick reaction, which was almost no less than that of the two of them. They both comforted him, saying:

"That's exactly right! Once the Tartars understand this, this gamble will be over..."

Wang Bing took a soft breath, his eyes lit up, and he praised:

"Young master, you want to use this gambling game to teach the Tartars the principle of honesty, kindness, and not to bully others too much. You are truly a genius. At such a young age, you already have the demeanor of a great scholar. You truly deserve to be the top scholar of Southern Zhili."

Yan Yuqing's eyes darkened, and he couldn't help but nod.

From the strange rules of this betting game, it's clear that neither she nor Wang Bing are ordinary people. With just a little deduction, they can naturally deduce the only solution to remain invincible: that is, to maintain their integrity and uprightness, and over time, they will naturally remain invincible.

After the Tartars realize what's happening, the son-in-law will lose a few rounds and lose some money. But the son-in-law isn't short of money, so it's no big deal.

Using the same method the Tartars used to humiliate Yang Gu, to teach them a lesson about how to be a person... this must be the purpose of the son-in-law's design of this gambling game.

Aside from this, they really couldn't think of any other reason why the son-in-law, with his intelligence and strategic acumen, would propose such a 'gamble of courage'.

If you simply want to gamble, why not just roll dice? Why bother with such a complicated betting agreement?

Teaching people to be kind and benevolent? ...At this moment, Zhu Cuiwei frowned slightly.

Yan Yuqing and Wang Bing were both quick-witted people, and she was quite impressed that they were able to deduce the young doctor's intentions so quickly by relying on the rules.

However, I still find it a little strange that the young doctor would want to teach that Tartar the principles of benevolence.

She pursed her lips and said:

"In any case, there will be wins and losses in the early stages. If the son-in-law doesn't have enough money, he will lose outright."

Both Yan and Wang were taken aback.

Yan Yuqing immediately ordered a scout to check on the current situation of the two men's gambling game. He told the scout that if the young master lost a few rounds, someone should be sent to secretly give him some silver so as not to waste his good intentions. The scout obeyed and left.

A short while later.

The scout came running back in a flash.

Through the carriage curtain.

Yan Yuqing asked gently, "How is it? How many games has the young master lost? How many games has he won? How much silver needs to be sent?"

The scout's voice lit up with joy: "Lord Yan, no need, no need! The son-in-law has won!..."

"Oh?" Yan Yuqing and Wang Bing both looked delighted and said, "That's good..."

"Young master has won eight games in a row! He's won eight thousand taels from the Tartars!" the scout shouted in a low voice.