Ren Yaoqi held a black piece in her hand, about to place it, yet hesitating, tilting her head in contemplation.

Xiao Jingxi was extremely patient and didn’t urge her. When it was Ren Yaoqi’s turn to move, he seemed to quietly sip his tea.

The little goat that had been chased aside by Xiao Jinglin earlier had somehow returned, using its head to gently butt against the edge of the stone table. The two chess players merely glanced at it and let it be.

Ren Yaoqi secretly assessed the current situation. Xiao Jingxi’s chess style was generally quite steady, but at crucial moments, he always produced brilliant moves. Ren Yaoqi’s chess style was somewhat similar to his, though hers was developed through later practice, while Xiao Jingxi possessed exceptional natural talent.

Although it now appeared that the two were evenly matched, Ren Yaoqi feared that if Xiao Jingxi made another unconventional move, she might lose.

“One game to decide the outcome?” Ren Yaoqi asked after placing her black piece.

Xiao Jingxi moved extremely quickly – just as Ren Yaoqi’s black piece was set down, his white piece had already landed on the board.

“What does Fifth Young Miss Ren think?” Xiao Jingxi asked warmly with a smile.

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and nodded: “A quick, decisive battle would be better. If I’m out too long, my mother will worry.”

“Then one game it is,” Xiao Jingxi readily agreed.

Ren Yaoqi glanced at him, and the black piece in her hand suddenly changed direction, landing in a different position.

Xiao Jingxi raised his eyebrows at Ren Yaoqi and placed his white piece.

From then on, Ren Yaoqi seemed like a different person, beginning to attack and seize territory without regard for consequences, only attacking without defending.

Generally speaking, a person’s chess style is largely fixed, which is why people say that one can roughly judge a person’s temperament from their chess style. For players to think one step ahead and see three steps forward, they need to understand their opponent’s general approach to make accurate judgments.

However, Ren Yaoqi’s current chess moves were completely contrary to her nature, displaying the imposing might of a general’s vanguard when armies face each other in battle, causing Xiao Jingxi great surprise.

Nevertheless, he had rarely met worthy opponents in chess. Ren Yaoqi’s performance greatly exceeded his expectations. She appeared to strike randomly here and there without any pattern, but was secretly weaving a net. Looking at the chessboard, Xiao Jingxi’s eyes gained several more degrees of interest, and his moves became sharper.

However, because of Ren Yaoqi’s unconventional play, Xiao Jingxi’s moves were no longer as swift as before.

On the contrary, Ren Yaoqi’s rhythm suddenly quickened, each move appearing as if made without thought.

If facing other opponents, they would likely have had their rhythm disrupted long ago. Only Xiao Jingxi remained unhurried and unrushed, and Ren Yaoqi’s sudden burst of explosive power gave Xiao Jingxi a passionate urge to have a thorough battle with her.

Time passed minute by minute. During this period, Pingguo quietly returned once, saw that Ren Yaoqi was playing chess with Xiao Jingxi, and quietly withdrew again.

The two were locked in fierce combat, their spirits high, when Xiao Jingxi suddenly paused, frowning as he contemplated the current game situation.

Ren Yaoqi calmly lowered her head to drink tea.

After a moment, Xiao Jingxi placed his white piece and looked up at Ren Yaoqi, his expression somewhat ambiguous between smiling and not: “Fifth Young Miss Ren is indeed formidable. So your true intention was not the wine after all?”

Ren Yaoqi sighed lightly – he had discovered it after all.

However, she had arranged this game exquisitely, and even though Xiao Jingxi had now discovered it, it was already too late.

Moments later, Ren Yaoqi held the piece in her hand and asked with a smile: “Is there any need to continue playing?”

Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi with amusement in his eyes: “You never intended to win, yet put on such an aggressive posture.”

He looked down at the chessboard again and nodded: “This ‘ko’ situation is indeed subtly arranged. I’ve never seen such a position before and cannot think of a way to resolve it at the moment. It truly is a draw.”

Seeing Xiao Jingxi acknowledge the draw, Ren Yaoqi breathed a sigh of relief.

In terms of chess skill, she couldn’t match Xiao Jingxi, so she could only resort to clever tricks.

“I once saw this in a damaged chess manual and am merely using it today,” Ren Yaoqi smiled.

“But we already agreed that one game would decide the outcome. What should we do now?” Despite being outmaneuvered by Ren Yaoqi, Xiao Jingxi remained well-mannered and not angry, asking with a smile.

Ren Yaoqi had never wanted to determine any winner or loser with Xiao Jingxi. Zhu Ruomei wasn’t her person – she couldn’t decide his comings and goings, everything depended on himself. And the Han family matter was a thorn in her heart; until the truth came to light, she didn’t want to say anything, because no one would believe her even if she spoke.

Just as Ren Yaoqi was about to speak, Xiao Jinglin returned, carrying an unvarnished wooden tray. On the tray was a Longquan kiln lotus-petal bowl, and when she came closer, Ren Yaoqi smelled a strong medicinal fragrance.

Xiao Jinglin placed the tray directly on the chess board that hadn’t been cleared yet: “Time for medicine.”

Xiao Jingxi looked at the medicine bowl helplessly: “Why are you the one bringing it?”

“Because you won’t drink it when they bring it,” Xiao Jinglin directly picked up the medicine bowl and brought it to Xiao Jingxi’s lips, stating the facts bluntly.

Xiao Jingxi tilted his head slightly to avoid it, and Xiao Jinglin frowned: “How are you still as difficult to serve as when you were little? You fuss and fidget even over taking medicine! Just drink it down in one gulp!”

Xiao Jingxi’s mouth twitched as he looked toward Ren Yaoqi across from them, who was suppressing laughter and turning her head away.

Xiao Jinglin didn’t care that this wasn’t really about wanting or not wanting to drink medicine, but about propriety and impropriety.

Knowing Xiao Jinglin’s stubborn nature, Xiao Jingxi took the medicine bowl and slowly drank it all.

Xiao Jinglin took the empty bowl and placed it back on the tray. Just as she was about to turn around, as if remembering something, she produced a small paper packet from somewhere and placed it on the table: “Pine nut candy.” After saying this, without looking at Xiao Jingxi’s expression, she walked straight away.

Xiao Jingxi looked at the packet of candy before him, speechless.

Looking up to see the curve of Ren Yaoqi’s lips, Xiao Jingxi couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.

Instead, he openly unwrapped the candy packet and offered it to Ren Yaoqi: “Don’t mind her. Jinglin was sent to Jiajing Pass when she was very young and hasn’t returned for many years.”

In Xiao Jinglin’s eyes, Xiao Jingxi remained as he was many years ago, while she, the younger sister, had become the elder. The siblings hadn’t interacted for many years, and Xiao Jinglin had come from Yunyang City to White Dragon Temple wanting to improve her relationship with Xiao Jingxi.

It’s just that she had been in the military for years, rarely interacting with women except for a few close attendants, so she lacked the delicacy typical of women.

Ren Yaoqi found it inappropriate to say anything. She picked up a small piece of pine nut candy and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly.

Xiao Jingxi placed the pine nut candy in front of Ren Yaoqi, but didn’t eat any himself.

However, after Xiao Jinglin’s interruption, Ren Yaoqi suddenly found Xiao Jingxi more approachable.

Of course, Xiao Jingxi had always appeared approachable, gentle, and tolerant. Nevertheless, Ren Yaoqi still felt that Xiao Jingxi was somewhat like flowers in a mirror or the moon’s reflection in water – though beautiful enough to inspire admiration, he always lacked some flesh-and-blood reality.

A breeze brought a faint medicinal fragrance. No wonder that when she had encountered him before, he also carried the scent of medicine.

However, Xiao Jingxi possessed a kind of charm that could make others overlook the fact of his poor health during interactions with him, being captivated only by his elegance.

Ren Yaoqi had almost forgotten that Xiao Jingxi was an invalid, because his aura of control was too strong.

At this moment, there were sounds of movement coming from the back courtyard.

Ren Yaoqi looked up and saw a tall man approaching with a hopping gait.

After blinking and seeing clearly, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but be startled – it was Zhu Ruomei…

Because Zhu Ruomei had broken the tibia of one leg and couldn’t walk normally, he was supporting himself on the tripod frame of a copper basin, using the frame as a substitute for crutches.

Perhaps because he had rushed out, his hair was hastily tied with a rope found somewhere. His face was covered in sweat, yet he “walked” extremely quickly.

Xiao Jingxi also looked in the direction of Ren Yaoqi’s gaze, but after one glance, he looked back and smiled faintly: “Do you not want your leg anymore?” It sounded like teasing words, but it made people afraid to respond.

Following behind Zhu Ruomei were two of Xiao Jingxi’s servants, who seemed to want to stop him but were somehow avoided by him. Despite being injured, his movements were quite agile, showing no clumsiness at all.

Zhu Ruomei quickly “hopped over.” Ren Yaoqi noticed that his head, face, and neck were covered in sweat, and even his clothing was damp around the collar – he must have been extremely uncomfortable.

“Why did you run out instead of properly recuperating?” Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but frown and gently scold.

Although Zhu Ruomei was sweating from pain, he still showed a toothy grin, though it looked somewhat fierce: “It’s just a broken bone – nothing serious. I’ve caused you worry.”

Ren Yaoqi glanced at Xiao Jingxi, who seemed oblivious and was only focused on collecting chess pieces, then sighed softly: “You should still properly heal your injury. I’ll send someone to inform your family that you’re safe.”

“Thank you, Fifth Young Miss,” Zhu Ruomei said. “I’ve caused you trouble.”

Zhu Ruomei apologized sincerely. When he had just heard from the servant called Tongxi that the Fifth Young Miss of the Ren family had come, he knew that Miss Ren must have come because of his situation, so he hurried over, afraid she would be put in a difficult position before Second Young Master Xiao.

Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “I haven’t done anything. The Yuan family has spent considerable effort searching for you.”

After they exchanged pleasantries, seeing Zhu Ruomei’s face somewhat pale, Ren Yaoqi said gently: “I’ll be leaving shortly. You should go back and rest.”

Zhu Ruomei nodded in agreement but didn’t leave. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Fifth Young Miss, Second Young Master Xiao saved me this time. He wants me to stay by his side for ten years, working for him. I…”

So Xiao Jingxi had already spoken with Zhu Ruomei? And Zhu Ruomei didn’t seem unwilling.

Ren Yaoqi glanced at Xiao Jingxi and smiled at Zhu Ruomei: “I said before that you and the Ren family owe each other nothing. Since you’ve gained Second Young Master Xiao’s appreciation, after you recover, serve him wholeheartedly.”