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

This burst of laughter was hearty and cheerful.

Everyone turned to look.

Several elderly men dressed as scholars slowly strolled over. The scholar in the lead had a half-white beard, sharp eyes, and an extraordinary demeanor. Ning Nan recognized him at a glance as Liu Zhenxi, the scholar from the poetry gathering that night.

The others were also familiar faces. One was an old man, stroking his white beard, whose name I think was "Old Crane."

"I have met Scholar Liu, and I have met Elder He..."

Qin Yun and the other students of the Imperial Academy immediately bowed respectfully to these literary luminaries.

Ning Nan followed suit and bowed in the same manner as Qin Yun and the others.

Liu Zhenxi smiled and asked everyone to stand up, saying that it was a young people's argument, and that he, an old man, had interfered, so he asked everyone not to take it to heart.

The scholars' expressions softened slightly, and they breathed a sigh of relief, repeatedly saying, "No, no..." They had thought the Grand Secretary was going to stand up for the poetry gathering's champion and reprimand them, but to their surprise, he did not... The Grand Secretary was, after all, a Grand Secretary, and he knew exactly what true talent and learning were!

Liu Zhenxi glanced at them and sighed inwardly... There is no first place in literature, but there is no second place in martial arts. It is an old problem for scholars to look down on each other. If he were to reprimand them for the sake of this talented Ning, the grudges between the two sides would probably be completely resolved.

Then, he and He Weng and the others smiled at Ning Nan and said that after the North-South Poetry Gathering, they had sent invitations to several poetry gatherings for young friend Ning, but he did not attend any of them, which made them old men lose face!

Old Man He also complained that he, along with the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and several other scholars who had passed the imperial examinations last year, held an elegant poetry gathering. He even wrote in his letter to his friend Ning that he hoped Ning would come over, considering that this old man was getting younger and younger.

He didn't ask for any poems, but only for your kind appraisal. However, on the day of the poetry gathering, the old man waited and waited, but Ning Xiaoyou never showed up... Old Crane spread his hands, revealing a helpless and heartbroken expression.

Ning Nan chuckled awkwardly, clasped his hands in greeting to the several renowned figures from Jiangnan, and said that he had important matters to attend to at home and had been busy with mundane affairs these days, and that he had not intended to neglect them.

Liu Zhenxi knew that this man was humble, always attributing his poetic talent to so-called reclusive scholars in the mountains and fields, and did not seek fame.

If the other party truly sought fame and fortune, wouldn't they have gained fame simply by participating in a poetry gathering these days? Why would they need to curry favor with the powerful and influential?

Wu Siwei is standing up for Qin Baixia, trying to ruin his reputation!

Yoo Jin-hee sighed softly.

Although he didn't know why this young friend Ning was so indifferent to poetry fame, talented people have their own quirks, and he couldn't force him to make a name for himself. He simply laughed with the old man and a few others and told them that Ning didn't participate in other poetry gatherings.

These words, as Wu Siwei said, have indeed led to a consensus in literary and official circles regarding whether Ning Xiaoyou is currying favor with the powerful.

Ning Nan could tell that the old men's seemingly complaining attitude was actually a sign of their good intentions, so his smile became even more sincere, and he thanked them repeatedly.

Wu Yanchou's face turned pale and then red. He stopped provoking and refuting, greeted Liu Zhenxi and the others, and without even looking at Ning Nan, he flicked his sleeves and headed towards the gate of the Marquis's mansion.

At this moment, the people from the Marquis's residence had already noticed this side, and several young masters dressed as young men had come forward to greet them.

Upon seeing that Wu Yanchou had already left, Qin Yun and the others apologized to Liu Zhenxi and the others before following him into the Marquis's residence.

"Although this Chess Saint Wu plays a very good game, he is rather narrow-minded," a veteran quipped with a smile.

A chess master? ... Ning Nan frowned.

Upon seeing the other party's expression, Liu Zhenxi knew that the young man in white was unaware of Wu Siwei's other identity—in the world of chess, apart from the Marquis of Jingbei, Wu Siwei was virtually unmatched.

Ning Nan said "Oh," and then said, "That's amazing?"

Yoo Jin-hee stroked her beard and smiled.

Although the Marquis of Zhenguo held a high position and was truly the most loyal and virtuous man in Daliang, it was a grand ceremony to elevate a concubine to the status of a principal wife, not a birthday celebration. In fact, it was unnecessary for these literary figures, Wu Siwei, or many other civil officials to come in person; sending a gift would have been enough.

However, they still came together this time, mainly because the envoys from the Northern Dynasty brought several important gifts for the Marquis of Zhenguo.

"One of them was the chess fanatic of the Northern Dynasties."

Liu Zhenxi laughed and said, "This chess fanatic is unbeatable in the North. The Northern Dynasty heard that the Marquis of Zhenguo loved chess so much that they sent this man over to play chess with him for a while... As a result, as soon as this man arrived, the Marquis of Zhenguo and his guests took turns playing, but they were defeated one after another. The Marquis's mansion lost for seven consecutive days. In desperation, the Marquis invited Wu Siwei and us over today for the grand ceremony to join in the fun."

"We can't let the Northern Dynasty chess fanatic keep crossing the river and capturing our veteran general!" said one of the elders.

Upon hearing this, the smiles on everyone's faces gradually faded, replaced by a somber expression.

During the Former Liang Dynasty, although chess was one of the mainstream chess games, it was always inferior to the elegant Go.

Until the Southern Liang Dynasty.

Chess has become very popular in both the north and south.

The main reason for this is the river in the middle of the chessboard.

Crossing the river, crossing the river... Northerners want to go south, southerners want to go north.

When Ning Nan played chess with Han Laoguai, Han Laoguai would always start by advancing his pawn on the side.

"If the general doesn't cross the river, the soldiers don't cross the river... I, a flank soldier, will cross the river." Old Han always started the first few games with such boldness... After losing a few games, he would start with a cannon or a horse jump.

However, Old Man Han was a man of good character. When he won, his opponent would give him copper coins; when he lost, his opponent would give him copper coins if he had them. If he didn't have copper coins, Old Man Han would accept his calligraphy and paintings in exchange for copper coins. The price was fair, and his opponent was willing to play with Old Man Han.

After listening for a while, Ning Nan roughly understood.

No wonder this Assistant Minister of Revenue surnamed Wu, on the one hand, dislikes Xun Gui so much, but on the other hand, came to the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion to attend the ceremony. It turns out he came for this chess fanatic.

That's interesting, there's even chess to watch... He smiled.

Liu Zhenxi asked Ning Xiaoyou how good he was at chess, and Ning Nan said that he was a terrible chess player. He Weng laughed and said that if Wu Siwei was about to win, Ning Xiaoyou should make the first move, otherwise Wu Siwei would definitely invite Ning Xiaoyou to play a game... Everyone understood what He Weng was saying and burst into laughter.

At this moment, Shangguan Zhao, the fourth young master of the Shangguan family, came forward and greeted the guests with a smile.

This young master Zhao was dignified in appearance and acted with integrity and composure. When he saw that Ning Nan's invitation was from Shangguan Xiuxiu, he smiled and said that it was from his seventh brother's close friend. "Then he is a brother of my Shangguan family. Please don't stand on ceremony..." Ning Nan was a little surprised. This young master Zhao seemed much more reliable than Xiuxiu.

Qin Yuanyao secretly said that Shangguan Zhao was an illegitimate son of a marquis, and his mother was a female slave from the Northern Dynasty.

Ning Nan immediately understood.

Qin Yuanyao handed her gift to the steward, and Ning Nan also handed it over.

At this moment, Liu Zhenxi took out a small yellow inkstone and said with a smile, "I have heard that your mother is fond of poetry and calligraphy and skilled in painting. This yellow inkstone has been with me for a long time, and I will present it as a gift today."

After Jia was elevated to the position of mistress, she became Shangguan Zhao's legal mother. Shangguan Zhao hurriedly accepted the gift with both hands, repeatedly thanking Grand Scholar Liu. He said with a smile that his mother had been asking if he could have the Grand Scholar write a piece of Wei stele calligraphy for her today. However, since the Grand Scholar had given him a famous inkstone, his mother would surely be even happier.

He Weng and several other renowned scholars immediately laughed and said, "Fourth Young Master, there's nothing to thank us for. Master Liu is a slippery fellow. Do you think he didn't want to write? It's just that when this slippery fellow heard that the Northern Dynasty had sent the Marquis a copy of that person's Wei stele calligraphy, he was so frightened that he dared not pick up his brush."

Liu Zhenxi smiled wryly and said, "Old Crane, please don't make fun of me... If I were ten years younger, I might still have the ambition to compete, but now... Ah, the Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves, and I, an old man, should not strive to be first. I should just preserve my integrity in my later years." Liu Zhenxi sighed with a smile.

But his tone wasn't one of defiance; rather, it sounded more like satisfaction.

Upon hearing "calligraphy," Ning Nan asked curiously, "Which Northern Dynasty? What kind of calligraphy?"

Before the renowned figures could reply...

Shangguan Zhao, as the host, smiled and explained that this was a calligrapher who had only risen to fame in the Northern Dynasty last year.

His calligraphy, particularly the Wei stele style, is vigorous and powerful, creating a magnificent spectacle. He was considered a rare talent in the Northern Dynasties literary world, with about ten of his works circulating each year. Today, each of his characters is worth a fortune.

Unfortunately... this person lives in seclusion in the mountains, and only his calligraphy has been passed down. He has not shown his face in the past year. The booksellers who sell his calligraphy have said with certainty that this young man lives in seclusion in the countryside.

Liu Zhenxi said to Ning Nan with a hint of teasing, "This person's name is quite similar to that of young friend Ning... He also has the surname Ning, and his given name is Jiexiao... his full name is Ning Jiexiao."

Old Crane laughed and said, "Controlling the clouds, or controlling the soaring sky... we don't know, but in any case, this name does have a certain grandeur."