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

"Ning Jiexiao?"

Ning Nan frowned. This name was quite interesting, much more imposing than his own.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, since the Northern Tartars had sent him a copy of Wei stele calligraphy.

The poem "Qing Yu An" that he used as a pretext to present to Buddha is also in the Wei stele style, and he even shamelessly put his own name on it.

When Lady Jia takes a look at the two calligraphy scrolls, she will inevitably find out which one is better.

Ning Nan gritted his teeth slightly and took a breath... Damn it, although the handwriting might be a bit bad, the poem is definitely not going to lose! ... In this way, no matter how bad the handwriting is, the sentiment has been conveyed.

Ning Nan remained expressionless, nodded, and smiled as he thanked the Fourth Young Master and the other renowned figures for their guidance.

Then, led by the Fourth Young Master Shangguan Zhao and several servants, the group ascended the twelve white stone steps, intending to enter the Marquis's residence.

The gate of the Marquis's mansion is two zhang deep. Looking up, the courtyard walls and roof are covered with green glazed tiles, and the roof ridge is decorated with mythical beasts. The plaque above the gate is dignified and grand with gold lettering on a black background, bearing the four large characters "Zhenguo Houfu" (Residence of the Marquis of Zhenguo), with vigorous and powerful strokes.

The gate was over ten feet high, made of vermilion lacquer and red wood, with several rows of golden door studs. According to etiquette, a marquis's mansion usually had sixty-four door studs, but the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion was of a rank equivalent to a prince, so the gate had a full eighty-one door studs.

Stepping over the threshold of the Marquis's mansion, which is nearly nine inches high, one is immediately greeted by a clear and open interior.

Although Ning Nan stayed at the Marquis's residence for a few days last time, he stayed in the Princes' Courtyard in the west courtyard of the Marquis's residence, mainly in Xiu Xiu's courtyard. Now he has arrived at the main courtyard of the Marquis's residence.

The fourth young master bowed slightly and led the way, smiling as he said, "This is the front courtyard of the Marquis's residence. My father plays chess with the chess fanatic in the Mu Dong Pavilion in the back courtyard, and most of the guests are there as well."

Then she added that her mother, Lady Jia, along with her seventh brother, several sisters, and ladies and young ladies from various households, held a small poetry gathering at Huanyue Pavilion in the west courtyard, and invited several great scholars and talented men to attend... If her uncles and Ning brothers were willing to go, her mother would surely be overjoyed.

Shangguan Zhao cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "My father was a military officer, and my mother is free-spirited. There are many things that are not in accordance with etiquette. If there is any neglect, please forgive me, esteemed guest."

Liu Zhenxi and the others immediately waved their hands, saying it was no problem.

Immediately, several renowned figures looked at Ning Nan, who hurriedly said that he really wouldn't participate in the poetry gathering; he would go watch the chess game instead.

Liu Zhenxi stroked his beard and chuckled, "If young friend Ning is willing to go to Huanyue Pavilion, then this poetry gathering might be somewhat interesting. If young friend Ning doesn't go, then we'll have to go to Mudong Pavilion and see if the petty-minded chess master Wu Siwei can put down the arrogance of that Northern Dynasty chess fanatic!"

Several renowned figures, including He Weng, immediately smiled and nodded.

Shangguan Zhao looked at Ning Nan a few more times with some surprise, his pupils slightly contracting.

He didn't have much knowledge of poetry and literature, but judging from the attitudes of these literary figures, especially Liu Gong, towards this person, his seventh brother's friend must be quite extraordinary.

The Marquis's mansion occupies a very large area; such a residence is no longer a house but rather a garden.

With its flowers, trees, artificial hills, and ponds, Ning Nan felt as if he had passed through one courtyard and then arrived at another seemingly similar courtyard, as if he had entered a maze.

After exchanging greetings with several other groups of guests, it took a full quarter of an hour to finally arrive at the Mu Dong Pavilion in the backyard.

Mu Dong Pavilion is a two-story building that occupies a large area.

Servants carrying tea and fruit were going in and out of the door, and it was quite noisy inside. From the noise, you could tell that they were saying things like, "How can we get down here?"

Liu Zhenxi and his group had a wide circle of friends. When they entered, Ning Nan deliberately lagged behind them by a few steps. As many people greeted him with terms like "Master Liu" and "Old Man He," Ning Nan and Qin Yuanyao slipped away to a corner on the other side... They knew his temperament and wouldn't blame him.

Qin Yuanyao sat down expressionlessly.

Ning Nan also sat down and asked if Commander Qin would like to participate in the poetry gathering.

Qin Yuanyao squinted at him.

Ning Nan chuckled: "So, Commander Qin enjoys watching chess?"

"I don't like any of them," the female commander said coldly.

Shangguan Xiu was staying with his mother today and didn't come over. Qian Sijin and the others were afraid of making things awkward, so they stayed outside the Marquis's residence. But she had no choice; she had been ordered by Prince Xin to protect the scholar, so she had to come in.

A servant began serving tea, fruits, and snacks to the table in the corner.

Ning Nan tapped his teacup, looking at the large chessboard standing in front of him on this floor.

Both the chess pieces and the chessboard are exquisitely crafted, resembling ivory. They likely contain magnets to allow the pieces to adhere to the vertical board. The Chu River and Han Border mark the chessboard, with one piece red and the other black.

Dozens of people were sitting on this floor. Liu Gong and a few others had just gone to the second floor, where the people who were actually playing chess were also on the second floor.

Once the player upstairs makes a move, a servant will pass it down and call out, "Red, cannon to the fifth rank." Then, two stewards will move the pieces on the large chessboard.

The guests of the Marquis's mansion on this floor looked at the large chessboard, some praising it as wonderful, others cursing the cunning villains!

Judging from the cheers, the red team must be on their side. It's just unclear whether it's the Marquis of Zhenguo himself or that chess master surnamed Wu.

Black Fang is that chess fanatic from the Northern Dynasty.

A moment later, seeing the red cannon pull off the black car, someone exclaimed, "Wu Siwei's move was brilliant!"

Ning Nan took a sip of tea and realized that Hong Fang was the Ministry of Revenue official surnamed Wu.

What's even more interesting is that the side I was sitting on was the right side of the entrance. The language used on this side was mostly vulgar and rude, with quite a few people cursing the women of the Northern Dynasty. Their clothes were also quite luxurious, but inappropriate. Some had their sleeves rolled up to their elbows, some had their knots tied incorrectly, and some had fruit and tea stains on their clothes.

The people on the other side, however, were mostly dressed as scholars or wealthy landowners, and their language was quite refined, such as saying, "Wu Guo's move is magnificent."

Even when the red pieces were captured by the black pieces, the people on the left would only use hindsight insults like "Wu Siwei was really out of his mind with that move" or "I told you so..." while those on the right would directly curse Wu Siwei's mother.

Several bearded men watched for a while, then cursed and ran up, shouting something like, "Damn it! I'm coming!" They were then cursed back by the people above. Qin Yuanyao listened to the voices and said that the one cursing was the Marquis of Zhenguo, so Ning Nan nodded.

"The people on the left are mostly civil officials, and the people on the right are mostly military officers," he guessed to himself.

The game didn't last long. In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the red side was checkmated by the black side with a rook and a knight, and the first floor immediately erupted in curses, "What kind of chess master is this?"

Then, a servant came down and loudly announced that in the next game, Master Liu would play against the chess fanatic from the Northern Dynasty.

The civil official on the left was immediately excited and stood up to cheer, while the military officials grumbled and drank in silence, saying that even Old Man Liu was probably no match for this chess fanatic.

In this game, the red side started off with unstoppable momentum, capturing a rook, a knight, and a cannon from the black side in quick succession. However, before the cheers from the crowd could even subside, the situation suddenly reversed after a few moves. In just about ten moves, the red side was checkmated by the black side.

Another sigh echoed from the first floor...

This duel lasted for several rounds. Old Master He, Old Master Chen, a Hanlin scholar, a retired Ministry of War official, and several well-known military officers all tried, but all were defeated.

Finally, it was Wu Qisheng's turn to play again, but this game was very strange. After Wu Qisheng made his move this time, he did not fall behind in the fierce battle. The game lasted for a long time, and Wu Qisheng finally won the game against the chess fanatic by one move!

At this moment, whether on the first or second floor, whether civil or military officials, a thunderous cheer erupted!

"Well done, Wu Siwei!" many civil officials exclaimed, raising their arms in celebration!

Ning Nan stared at the large chessboard in front of him and peeled an orange with a smile.

Qin Yuanyao frowned and asked him why Wu Yanchou lost the first game but suddenly won again.

Ning Nan popped a segment of orange into his mouth and laughed, "That cunning old man surnamed Wu, in the first game, when he was about to use the cannon to capture the horse, if he hadn't captured the horse but instead moved to the third rank, he would have had a chance to win, but he deliberately didn't do that... He deliberately let the opponent win a game, then observed so many games, figured out the opponent's strategy, and then stepped in to decide the outcome in one game."