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

The hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

Dark as ink.

It enveloped the entire Zhenguo Marquis's mansion like a curtain.

At this moment, the central courtyard of the Marquis's mansion was still brightly lit, and all sorts of loud shouts, curses, and yells could be heard from inside.

The Marquis of Zhenguo opened a casino in the central courtyard of his own residence.

Today, the nobles, young masters, and various military officers of all ranks and social standing are drinking and gambling together, regardless of their positions or social status.

Dice, Pai Gow, Mahjong, Chess, Cricket, Wrestling... round after round, everyone's face is flushed, gambling with great enthusiasm. Naturally, the most people are playing dice, shouting "Big!" "Small!" while cursing.

The Marquis's mansion held a gambling session once a year, usually on the Marquis's birthday. The Marquis would take out tens of thousands of taels of silver and a pile of gambling tokens. Everyone would share the tokens equally and go to gamble. No one was allowed to borrow money privately. After gambling until dawn, the tens of thousands of taels of silver would be divided equally according to the number of tokens.

However, apart from today, the military officers under the Marquis's command are strictly forbidden from gambling, and violators will be beheaded... to prevent any officer who loses money from selling intelligence or even surrendering to the Northern Dynasty. Such things are not uncommon in an army full of rogue soldiers.

Marquis Shangguan Xie, with a square face and a short beard, was rolling up his sleeves, chuckling, and rattling his cup while cursing, "Damn it! I'm the dealer! Come on! Place your bets now! No bastards are allowed to renege!"

Just then, a steward rushed over and whispered a few words in the ear of the Marquis of Zhenguo.

Bang!

Shangguan Xie's expression changed. After putting down the gambling cup and letting others take the lead, he hurriedly followed the manager out.

"Master, are you really leaving?!"

Inside the Mu Dong Pavilion, Shangguan Xie stared wide-eyed at the black-clad monk before him... the chess fanatic from the Northern Dynasty.

His fourth son, Shangguan Zhao, stood aside, at a loss for what to do.

Shangguan Xie, unaware of what was going on, glared fiercely at his son.

The black-robed monk said calmly, "Huizhen went south seeking only defeat, but your son clearly has the ability to defeat me. His chess skills far surpass mine, yet he has been reluctant to use his true abilities. Huizhen... has no face to stay any longer."

Shangguan Xie was taken aback. Far surpassing a master?

He glanced suspiciously at his honest and unassuming fourth son. In his household, apart from this fourth son, none of the other advisors and retainers were a match for him. Only his fourth son could fight him to a standstill, but in the end, he was always one step behind.

His chess skills were decent, perfect for keeping the master entertained, which is why he often sent his fourth brother to play chess with the master.

But far surpassing the master… Shangguan Xie forced a smile and said, “Master, you’re not joking, are you? How could Zhao’er possibly be far superior to you?”

The monk in black glanced at him indifferently and explained the reason.

He said that in the afternoon, he played several games of chess with the Fourth Young Master. The Fourth Young Master was inferior to him in every game. In the last game, the two of them played an endgame. It was his turn to make a move, but after thinking hard for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a solution.

The Fourth Young Master had important business to attend to and left first. I also returned to my room, wanting to look through the chess manual to see if there were any clever moves. When I came up with a plan and returned to Mu Dong Pavilion, I saw that the black pieces on the large chessboard had been moved.

"This move is even more brilliant than my previous one... It was this move that turned a hopeless situation into a winning one, and I have won."

Shangguan Xie was completely confused and asked, "Wouldn't it be better if the master won?"

The black-robed monk roared, "May I ask who made this move? Besides the Fourth Young Master, who else could have made this move? This humble monk is not one to be a sore loser. Even today, this humble monk lost five games to your country's Chess Saint Wu... But has this humble monk taken back his moves? Has he been angry?"

Huizhen snorted: "You, Fourth Young Master, have insulted me for a long time. You are clearly far superior to me in chess, but you always make the same move when no one is around, and you always make that same move to ridicule me."

Shangguan Xie immediately scolded Shangguan Zhao with a headache, asking him what happened and demanding he tell the truth.

I really can't beat him... Shangguan Zhao was on the verge of tears. He honestly said that after leaving Mu Dong Pavilion, he had been busy hosting banquets and hadn't come back. How could he have touched the chessboard?

"Could it be someone else who did it? Like Wu Siwei?" Shangguan Xie frowned.

Huizhen shook his head, saying that he had already asked before these people left, and it was none of them. Moreover, if it were Wu Siwei, would he hide it? He would definitely announce it to the world, which would be a step ahead of this poor monk.

A person's character is revealed in their chess skills. Although he was obsessed with chess, he was not ignorant of worldly affairs. After playing chess for a while, he naturally figured out this person's character.

Shangguan Xie immediately berated the fourth brother, demanding to know what had happened. Who was the fool who moved the chessboard and then refused to play chess with the master?!

Shangguan Zhao blushed and denied it repeatedly. Then, he suggested that there were still a few servants guarding Mu Dong Pavilion at the time. He wondered if those servants had been called to other places after he and Brother Ning left.

"Brother Ning?" Shangguan Xie asked, his eyes narrowing.

Seeing that his father was unaware, Shangguan Zhao explained Ning Nan's background: a friend of the seventh brother, a talented poet. Shangguan Xie responded with an "oh"... He hadn't heard the seventh brother mention him much.

The Marquis's residence had a large number of people, and it took the stewards some time to find the few servants from before. One of the servants recalled that the young master who was left in the pavilion at the end did indeed move the chessboard... and moved the chariot to a certain position.

Shangguan Zhao's expression immediately turned to astonishment, his pupils contracting... It was Brother Ning?

The black-robed monk's eyes gleamed: "This is exactly the move!"

Shangguan Xie waved his hand and ordered, "Go, go, go! Go ask Seventh Brother where Ning Nan lives right now, then go and bring Ning Nan back, even if you have to tie him up!"

Not long after.

The steward who had been sent out returned dejectedly.

The seventh brother followed behind them with an arrogant air, then suddenly appeared behind him, revealing Madam Jia.

Madam Jia said with a frosty expression.

"My nephew's wedding is on June 28th. In the next few days, anyone who dares to disturb his good time will be skinned alive by me."

"Hey!—" The Marquis of Zhenguo glared, but upon seeing Madam Jia's gaze, his eyes softened immediately, transforming from a tiger into a cat, and he chuckled awkwardly, "Ha, Madam, please calm down, please calm down..."

...

...

Early the next morning.

Ning Nan rode his horse to the Jiangning County government office, registered in the Yellow Register, and received a household registration certificate. With Qin Yuanyao accompanying him and the written orders from the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Grand Tutor, things went exceptionally smoothly.

Hu Tie put the paper in his bosom and patted it gently. From then on, he officially had the qualifications to take the imperial examination... Ning Nan let out a soft breath.

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), he went to Shangchuntang again, wanting to send a wedding invitation to Doctor Jiang Sixue, but the shop assistant said that Senior Sister Jiang and Doctor Jiang had gone to collect herbs and would probably not be back for another half a month. Half a month would have already passed the wedding date, so Ning Nan could only give up regretfully.

He mounted his horse and went to the market to buy items such as red candles, square tables, silk, red eggs, and auspicious paper-cuts. With a wave of his hand, he also bought twenty jars of fine daughter's red wine, and hired servants to send them all to Li Family Village.

The original plan was to have a meal at Fulai Tavern and then return to Lijia Village with Cuicui after noon.

But we haven't eaten yet.

Cui Cui said that she would take him somewhere around 3 PM.

"Oh..." Ning Nan suddenly remembered this. Before leaving Li Family Village, the other party had mentioned this to him, "Are you going to see your brother?"

"Hmm." Cui Cui nodded and said calmly, "My brother has some things to attend to right now, so he only has time to see you at that time."

"My brother-in-law is quite busy..." Ning Nan nodded, his face slightly pale. Although he was a little nervous, the thought of how he now had a hundred taels of gold in his pocket and how Master Zhu still owed him a house in Nanjing immediately made him feel relieved, and he straightened his back... Hmm... He still has quite a bit of courage.