Ren Yijun was stunned for a moment before letting out a light snort. "You little girl just got lucky, that's all." With that, he moved a piece following Han Yunqian's previous strategy and glanced sideways at Ren Yaoqi. "What will you do next?"
Ren Yaoqi wrinkled her nose at him, picked another piece from the chess pot, and placed it gently on the board.
Ren Yijun frowned and made another move.
Back and forth they went, with Ren Yijun following Han Yunqian's earlier moves while Ren Yaoqi countered each one. In the end, she miraculously turned around Ren Shimin's earlier losing position.
By the final move, Ren Yijun's side had lost by three pieces.
"How is this possible?" Ren Yijun stared at Ren Yaoqi in disbelief.
Ren Shimin, however, burst into hearty laughter, his face beaming with pride. "Yao Yao has avenged your father!"
"Hmph! Again!" Ren Yijun set up another game—the first match between Ren Shimin and Han Yunqian.
This time, he didn't underestimate his opponent. He even adjusted his strategy based on Ren Yaoqi's moves, occasionally pausing to think carefully. Ren Yaoqi, on the other hand, played extremely quickly, often placing her piece as soon as Ren Yijun made his move, as if she had memorized every possible variation of the game.
This round, Ren Yijun lost by two pieces.
Even Ren Shimin, who had been watching the spectacle, began to take it seriously.
Ren Yijun glanced at Ren Yaoqi and silently set up the game he had played against Han Yunqian earlier. This time, he took Han Yunqian's role, while Ren Yaoqi followed his own previous moves.
In the warm pavilion, both men were fully absorbed, and Ren Yaoqi rested her chin on her hand as she placed her pieces, not uttering a word.
Time passed minute by minute as Ren Yijun replayed every game he had played that day. Astonishingly, however many pieces he had lost to Han Yunqian earlier, Ren Yaoqi now won by exactly the same margin—neither more nor less.
At first, it was fine, but as the games progressed, Ren Yijun's expression grew darker. By the time the final game concluded, he suddenly lost his temper, slammed the table, and glared at Ren Yaoqi. "What do you mean by this?"
Ren Shimin also sensed something amiss and frowned disapprovingly at Ren Yaoqi. "Yao Yao, your father never realized you had such talent for chess. But perhaps I forgot to teach you this—the most important thing in chess is character. Character in chess reflects character in life. No matter what, respecting your opponent is the least you should do. If you can't manage even that, no matter how skilled you are, people will look down on you. Since you could have won more gracefully, why did you deliberately mock your third brother?"
Ren Yaoqi looked at them in surprise, then turned to Ren Shimin with a hurt expression. "Father, wasn't I just replaying the game with Third Brother? I thought I was supposed to follow Young Master Han's moves. I... I wasn't trying to make fun of Third Brother..."
Seeing Ren Yaoqi on the verge of tears, Ren Shimin quickly said, "Yao Yao, your father isn't scolding you. I'm just worried..."
"Wait, you mean you were following Yunqian's moves?" Ren Yijun interrupted Ren Shimin in astonishment.
Ren Shimin was also taken aback. "Is that how Yunqian played?"
Ren Yaoqi nodded firmly, looking innocent. "Yes, didn't you notice that Young Master Han always won by just a little? Never more than five pieces. I saw how happily you both lost and thought this was the latest fashionable way to play."Ren Yijun's face turned ashen. "How is that possible!"
Seeing his disbelief, Ren Yaoqi moved several pieces on the board, gesturing as she explained, "Look, when you reached this point, he could have done this... and cleanly defeated you."
On the board, Ren Yijun's position took a sharp turn for the worse, no longer the evenly matched stalemate from before.
"But he deliberately didn't do it," Ren Yaoqi glanced sympathetically at Ren Yijun. "Young Master Han might have been kind-hearted, afraid you'd lose too embarrassingly. After all, our two families will continue to interact, so he left you some face."
Seeing that Ren Yijun still refused to believe he had been toying with him despite his best efforts, Ren Yaoqi shook her head and meticulously reconstructed the earlier game. However, as it progressed, the playing style changed drastically, each move costing Ren Yijun half his territory.
By the end, Ren Yijun's face could only be described as black as a pot.
Ren Shimin watched the game unfold in stunned silence, finally letting out a soft sigh and patting Ren Yaoqi's head. "Alright, Yao Yao, don't provoke your third brother anymore. He hates it most when people disrespect their opponents during a game of chess."
"Hmph!" Ren Yijun snorted coldly, turning his head away, thoroughly angered.
Ren Yaoqi remarked casually, "Father once said you can tell a person's character from their chess style. Young Master Han's skills are exceptional, yet he prefers to hide his true strength. Even when he could win decisively, he holds back. It feels somewhat too... calculating."
Ren Shimin fell into thoughtful silence upon hearing this.
Ren Yaoqi slowly picked up the chess pieces from the board, placing them one by one back into the fine white porcelain jars.
"At first, I found him quite congenial and thought we could become friends in the future. But now, seeing this kind of temperament, it's truly off-putting!" Ren Yijun said coldly. His own temperament was peculiar, often shifting like flipping a page, and his expression had now returned to its usual gloom.
Ren Shimin sighed. "No one in this world is perfect; those who possess both talent and virtue are exceedingly rare. Young Master Han comes from a merchant family, and he is the only male heir of his generation in the Han Family. From what he said, aside from studying at the academy in Yunyang City, he spends his time traveling with his elders. It's only natural he'd pick up some of the cautious traits of a merchant." Speaking of which, the Ren Family was also a merchant family, yet Ren Shimin had always held some disdain for merchants.
This analysis seemed reasonable, Ren Yaoqi thought cheerfully as she placed the lid on the chess jar.
She didn't particularly care about the saying "chess style reflects character," nor was she concerned whether Young Master Han had intentionally let them win or if his skills were genuinely on par with Ren Shimin and Ren Yijun.
She simply didn't want the two men before her to have too favorable an impression of Han Yunqian—so favorable that they'd be determined to bring him into the family as a son-in-law or brother-in-law.
Although she didn't know whether the Han Family had played a role in the Ren Family's downfall in her previous life, keeping her distance from the Han Family was the safest course of action.
She felt no remorse for secretly disparaging a man's character in this way. A man who betrayed a marriage pact, regardless of his reasons, was someone she despised.If a man breaks off an engagement, he can still marry his fair lady. But a woman's life is ruined because of it. In her previous life, Ren Yaohua's tragedy was caused by both the Han Family and the Ren Family.
Two days after this incident, the Han Family sent an invitation asking Ren Shimin and Ren Yijun to visit the Han residence. At the time, Ren Shimin was busy mounting a painting and politely declined. Ren Yijun simply claimed illness and didn't even meet the messenger.
After that, the Han Family extended two more invitations, but neither Ren Shimin nor Ren Yijun went. However, Fifth Master Ren Shimiao and Eldest Young Master Ren Yiyan did visit once.
Soon, the year was drawing to a close. This winter was particularly cold, so people avoided going out whenever possible, and social engagements during the winter months decreased significantly. The Han Family did not send any more invitations.
Ren Yaoyu's house arrest was finally lifted, though she could no longer return to Old Madam Ren's courtyard. From then on, she and Ren Yaoying became sworn enemies. Surprisingly, her attitude toward Ren Yaohua, whom she had previously regarded as a rival, softened considerably.
Another change was that Ren Yijun, the eccentric third young master of the Ren Family who had always been distant from all his siblings, suddenly became amiable toward Fifth Miss. He would often brave the wind and snow, leaning on his cane, to visit Purple Magnolia Courtyard and play chess with Fifth Miss Ren Yaoqi. This left everyone in the Ren Family utterly bewildered and suspicious, except for Third Master, who remained unfazed and calm as ever.
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