My Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

Qi Yu chuckled and said, "I'll try my best to give my father-in-law a grandson as a birthday gift next year!"

Su Yue blushed slightly, glared at Qi Yu fiercely, and said angrily, "Get lost! Two out of every three sentences you say are inappropriate!"

……

The next morning, Qi Yu brought Su Yue to the yamen and asked the registrar for leave.

When the old man heard that Qi Yu was going to celebrate his father-in-law's birthday, he readily granted Qi Yu leave.

As they walked out of the yamen, holding Su Yue's hand, they happened to see Du Feng returning from arresting people, and they were slightly taken aback.

Because what they arrested was actually a woman, and she was quite good-looking.

"Officer Du, she is..."

Du Feng glanced at the woman and said, "She is Zhou Dahu's wife. She is the one who suffocated Zhou Dahu. In her yard, we found a buried fragment of a wine jug, which was indeed sleeping potion."

Qi Yu raised an eyebrow. Kill her own husband! What grudge could they possibly have?!

"What happened? Why did she kill her own husband?" Qi Yu asked.

Du Feng glanced at the woman, a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

"Zhou Dahu was a martial artist and needed a lot of money to practice. So Zhou Dahu used his wife as a tool to make money. She couldn't take it anymore, so she killed Zhou Dahu."

Upon hearing this, Su Yue and Qi Yu both looked at the woman with sympathy.

Zhou Dahu's death seems justified!

Regardless of whether she was innocent or not, she ultimately killed her husband, which violated the law.

"Then why did Liu Si take the blame for him?" Qi Yu asked.

Du Feng did not answer; the woman answered instead.

"Because he likes me, we've been childhood sweethearts!"

Qi Yu looked at the woman and said, "So you took advantage of her affection to make him take the blame for you?"

The woman shook her head and said, "After I killed that beast, I originally planned to turn myself in at the yamen, but Xiao Si just happened to come looking for me."

Qi Yu understood and stopped asking questions, but felt some sympathy for Liu Si.

There are sycophants everywhere, but Liu Si's sycophancy is on a higher level—it's someone else's wife.

The woman was taken into the yamen, but Du Feng did not go in; instead, he looked at Su Yue.

"Is this your sister-in-law?"

Qi Yu smiled, tightened his grip on Su Yue's hand, and said with a smile, "That's right! This is my wife!"

Su Yue nodded to Du Feng as a greeting.

Du Feng nodded, then looked at Qi Yu and asked, "Where are you going?"

Qi Yu said, "It's my father-in-law's fiftieth birthday, so I took a few days off. I'm here today to choose a gift!"

Du Feng nodded, then asked, "The imperial decree won't be issued until the day after tomorrow. Do you still have money to buy a wedding gift for your father-in-law?"

Qi Yu smiled and said, "That should be enough!"

He would never mention that he had a thousand taels of gold.

Du Feng patted himself down and found five taels of loose silver, which he then stuffed into Qi Yu's hand.

“Brother, I didn’t bring much, just five taels of silver. Take it and buy a nice gift so you don’t lose face.”

Qi Yu stared blankly at Du Feng for a moment, then realized what he meant and said, "Officer Du, you..."

Du Feng patted Qi Yu on the shoulder and said, "This time I'm indebted to you. From now on, you're my brother. Take this money and buy yourself a nice gift. Don't refuse."

After saying that, Du Feng gave Qi Yu no chance to react and turned to walk into the yamen.

Qi Yu looked at the five taels of silver in his hand with a strange expression.

"You're quite popular!" Su Yue said.

Qi Yu shrugged and said, "I don't know, it's inexplicable!"

"Speaking of which, what does your father-in-law like?" Qi Yu asked.

“He likes playing chess and calligraphy and painting, so if you’re going to give him a gift, a chessboard would be fine!” Su Yue said.

Qi Yu nodded, "A chessboard is also an option."

……

Qi Yu's legs were practically giving out from running all the way to the only shop in Jiangzhou City that sold chessboards, bringing Su Yue with him.

Chessboards aren't rare, but finding a slightly more upscale one is a bit difficult.

Qi Yu was not satisfied with the chessboard that the boss brought out.

"Boss, I'm going to give this to my father-in-law. Do you have a chessboard that's a bit more impressive, the kind that looks impressive?" Qi Yu asked.

The shop owner was taken aback, then stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't have any here, but I know where I can get them, provided you have the ability to do so!"

------------

Chapter Nine: The Ingenious Chessboard

Do we have the ability to win?

Qi Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean? You can't buy it with money?"

The shop owner smiled and shook his head, saying, "Do you know Lord Li Chun?"

"I know, what's wrong?" Qi Yu asked, puzzled.

Li Chun was the former Minister of Rites. After resigning, he returned to his hometown, Jiangzhou, and now lives in Jiangzhou City.

He was a well-known figure in Jiangzhou City with a high reputation. Even the county magistrate had to treat him with the utmost respect and show him the deference of a disciple.

"Today, Lord Li is hosting a banquet to welcome all the young scholars of Jiangzhou City, wishing them all success in the autumn imperial examinations," the shop owner said.

Qi Yu was taken aback. The autumn examination!

The autumn imperial examinations are held in August, but it's June now, almost July.

If his academic title had not been revoked, he should have been able to participate in the autumn examination and the provincial examination.

If all goes well, he can pass the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations). In this Jiangzhou city, that would be considered half a county magistrate!

But it's no use talking about these things now; they're all just fleeting thoughts.

"What does my request for the chessboard have to do with Lord Li's banquet?" Qi Yu asked in surprise.

"Hehe, sir, you may not know this, but Lord Li has a chessboard called the Precious Chessboard. There will be a chess tournament at today's banquet, and the Precious Chessboard will be the prize for anyone who can beat Lord Li," the shop owner said.

Qi Yu was speechless. "Playing chess!"

To be honest, Qi Yu didn't want to go, but thinking of his father-in-law's old face, he sighed helplessly.

"My lady, let's go to the Li residence!" Qi Yu said.

Su Yue smiled as she looked at Qi Yu, because Qi Yu was now full of confidence.

The mere mention of going to the Li residence revealed Qi Yu's confidence.

"Sir, the guests invited by Lord Li are all scholars from the surrounding villages. You won't be able to get in!" the shopkeeper reminded him.

Qi Yu smiled and said, "I have a brilliant plan!"

Without saying anything more, he took Su Yue's hand and headed towards the Li residence.

……

Upon arriving at the Li residence, Qi Yu saw many scholars who had come to attend the banquet; they were preparing for the provincial examinations in August.

"Husband, I'll wait for you here!" Su Yue suddenly stopped and said.

As a woman, it was indeed inappropriate for her to accompany Qi Yu inside.

Qi Yu thought for a moment and nodded. In this era, men were superior to women, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Qi Yu turned around, then lightly kissed Su Yue's forehead and said, "My wife, rest for a moment. I'll take care of them in a few punches and kicks and then come out."

Su Yue's cheeks flushed slightly as she nodded.

Qi Yu smiled and walked towards the main gate of the Li residence.

Su Yue smiled as she watched Qi Yu's retreating figure, then turned and walked into an alley.

When Qi Yu arrived at the gate of the Li residence, two servants bowed to him, and Qi Yu returned the bow.

"May I ask your name, young master?" a servant asked.

"Qi Yu!" Qi Yu said with a slight smile.

The two servants looked at each other, seemingly having never heard of such a scholar in the surrounding area!

"Oh? Isn't this Brother Qi Yu? Your academic achievements have been revoked, yet you still have the nerve to attend the autumn examination banquet that Lord Li has prepared for us scholars?"

As the two servants were puzzled, a slightly mocking voice came from behind Qi Yu.

Qi Yu turned around, looked at the person who had come in, and raised an eyebrow.

Believe it or not, we do know each other, but our relationship isn't very good.

"From afar it looks like a dog, but up close it's actually the great scholar Ning Xuan! My apologies, I heard you've become the live-in son-in-law of Master Li?" Qi Yu laughed.

It looks like a dog from a distance?!

A live-in son-in-law?!

Ning Xuan's playful expression immediately froze, turning ugly.

Qi Yu looked at Ning Xuan with a smile. It was just pointing out his shortcomings; it was just a matter of reciprocity!

“Although I became a son-in-law, I am still better off than you. You have lost your academic achievements and are now just a commoner, while I am a scholar. In the future, I will surely pass the imperial examination and be listed on the golden list,” Ning Xuan said.

In this Great Yun Dynasty, the imperial examination system was also implemented, with candidates climbing the ranks step by step from Tongsheng (a student who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) to Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), Juren (a scholar who passed the highest level of the imperial examinations), Jinshi (a scholar who passed the highest level of the imperial examinations), and Zhuangyuan (a scholar who passed the highest level of the imperial examinations).

Qi Yu was a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, but because his elder brother "pleaded for the people," he was punished along with others and stripped of his academic title.

The examinations for those who passed the county-level exams to become Jinshi (highest-ranking scholars) were held in the county, hence they were also called the provincial-level exams, which were held every three years.

Qi Yu sneered and said, "Heh, you're the only son in your family. Your parents had a hard time raising you and sending you to school. They couldn't bear to let you do any heavy work, all in the hope that you would pass the imperial examination and bring honor to your ancestors."