Jiang Yanyi was busy picking up the black pieces from the chessboard and casually asked, “What should we change the stakes to?”

As she lifted her head to look into Feng Shuo’s unfathomable gaze, she seemed to realize something.

Her face turned red, and she immediately said, “We agreed that until I agree to you, you can’t take advantage of me!”

A breeze blew in through the half-open window, and Feng Shuo covered his mouth and coughed lightly a few times, asking her, “When did this prince take advantage of you?”

Hearing him cough, Jiang Yanyi hurriedly got up to close the window. “When did you open the window? The doctor said you need to avoid the wind…”

Seeing her flustered, a smile spread across Feng Shuo’s deep eyes. “Are you so concerned about this prince?”

“I’m not concerned; I’m just afraid you’ll have a short life!” Jiang Yanyi replied irritably.

After closing the window, she returned to the mat and sat down again. “The stakes can be adjusted, but we can’t use any strange bets.”

Feng Shuo’s gaze stayed fixed on Jiang Yanyi, like a famished wolf assessing the best way to take a bite of the piece of meat it had finally obtained. “What do you mean by strange bets? Does silver count?”

Jiang Yanyi choked on her words, muttering, “Silver certainly doesn’t count.”

Feng Shuo teased, “I thought you would say that winning silver from you is taking advantage of you.”

Jiang Yanyi: “…”

This person was doing it on purpose! She wanted to slam him with a pot lid!

She continued to pick up the pieces. “How much should we bet per game?”

Feng Shuo casually replied, “Let’s keep it small: ten taels of silver per game.”

Jiang Yanyi’s hand trembled while picking up the pieces.

Ten taels of silver was considered a small bet?

Her hot pot restaurant was thriving, but she only earned about ten taels a day.

She complained, “Isn’t this ‘Why not eat meat porridge’?”

Feng Shuo raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you’re great at the game? If you win money from this prince, what’s ‘Why not eat meat porridge’ about?”

Jiang Yanyi thought for a moment; it seemed to make sense.

However, she felt a strange unease and said, “We’re just playing around; we don’t promote such high-stakes gambling.”

Feng Shuo’s slanted eyes narrowed at her. “Then how much silver per game do you suggest?”

Jiang Yanyi extended a slender, pale finger.

Feng Shuo frowned and lifted his teacup to moisten his throat. “Fine, one tael then.”

Jiang Yanyi smiled, polite yet distinct. “I meant one wen.”

Feng Shuo was about to drink when he choked on his tea and began coughing. “Did you fall into a money pit? This stake is almost like having none; what kind of excitement is that?”

Jiang Yanyi felt a bit guilty, but her reasoning gave her courage. “I’m just afraid you’ll lose too badly!”

Feng Shuo was encountering someone who dared to openly provoke him for the first time.

He wiped the water from his lips with the back of his hand. “This prince isn’t afraid of losing.”

His good looks made the action quite alluring.

But Jiang Yanyi felt a chill from his wild gaze, and she became a bit timid.

Seeing that he seemed not to have a handkerchief, she offered her own, as if trying to negotiate. “How about this: if you win a game, I’ll owe you a meal. If I win a game, you’ll agree to one small thing from me, something that doesn’t go against the law or morals.”

Feng Shuo took the handkerchief she offered and dabbed at his mouth. “Why can’t I ask you for something if I win?”

The handkerchief had a faint fragrance of camellia, pleasant and refreshing.

After using it, Feng Shuo tucked it into his sleeve.

“I wouldn’t take advantage of you; I haven’t even thought about what to ask if you lose yet.”

As soon as Jiang Yanyi finished speaking, she saw him tuck the handkerchief away, and her face turned crimson. “That’s my handkerchief!”

Feng Shuo supported his head with one hand, playing with a white jade chess piece. “Now it’s this prince’s.”

Jiang Yanyi: “…”

When it came to shamelessness, she couldn’t compare to this person.

Fine, she had more than one handkerchief anyway.

After tidying up the chessboard, Jiang Yanyi said, “Then we’ll set the stakes…”

“Who said it was settled?” Feng Shuo raised his narrow phoenix eyes slightly. “The way you see it, this wager is clearly unfavorable to me.”

Jiang Yanyi replied, “… Then how do you want to settle it? We agreed that we wouldn’t make strange bets or take advantage of each other!”

Feng Shuo said, “If I win, you have to agree to one thing for me. That’s what’s fair.”

Jiang Yanyi hesitated for a moment, and Feng Shuo added mysteriously, “Didn’t you say your skills are impressive?”

Jiang Yanyi: “…”

Although she knew this was a provocation, she still replied, “Fine!”

If she didn’t let him experience a thorough beating, he wouldn’t understand that there’s a saying in this world: “There are always people better than you!”

Jiang Yanyi placed the black piece on the board first. “In Go, there are no strict rules; you can place a piece anywhere on the board. As long as five pieces of the same color are connected, you win.”

In the first game, Feng Shuo was inexperienced and quickly lost.

Jiang Yanyi finally felt a sense of achievement, smiling as she said, “Your Highness is indeed talented; you’re quite good among beginners.”

Feng Shuo looked at her smug expression and simply replied, “I’ve learned something.”

As the second game began, Jiang Yanyi pondered whether she should ease up a bit to spare his pride.

However, after a few moves, she found herself blocked and fell silent.

Feng Shuo calmly spoke, “One thing.”

Jiang Yanyi felt deeply humiliated; she stared at the board for a long time, wishing she could burn two holes into it with her gaze.

How could she have lost? How could she lose?

She rolled up her sleeves and said, “I was careless that time; let’s play again!”

Feng Shuo’s gaze lingered for a moment on her fair, jade-like arms before he quickly turned his eyes away, sipping his tea nonchalantly.

Moments later, the outcome of the game was determined, and he said quietly, “Two things.”

“Let’s play again!”

“Three things.”

“Let’s play again!”

…

“One hundred and one things.”

Jiang Yanyi deflated, silently placing her pieces down. “I’m not playing anymore.”

She rested her chin on the board, looking utterly defeated. Her neatly styled hair from the morning was now tousled and messy.

Feng Shuo said, “You don’t have to deliberately let me win.”

Jiang Yanyi: “…”

He was definitely doing it on purpose!

Feng Shuo looked at her leisurely and said, “I owe you one thing, and you owe me one hundred and one things. You can go ahead and tell me what you want me to do.”

Jiang Yanyi’s eyes rolled around as she got up from the board and said, “I want all those one hundred and one things I owe you to be null and void.”

Feng Shuo smirked, but the smile was eerily sinister. “Are you dreaming?”

---

After returning from the Feng residence to her shop, Jiang Yanyi’s sighs never ceased.

She sat at the counter looking at the accounts. Qiuying had brought over a small stool to sit beside her, wiping dishes with a clean cloth while asking, “Why has Huahua been sighing continuously?”

“Ah,” Jiang Yanyi said, feeling utterly defeated as she flipped a page in her account book. “I owe someone a mountain of debt.”

Qiuying’s eyes widened. “Do you owe a lot of silver?”

Jiang Yanyi held her brush, speechless and staring at the sky. “It’s harder to repay than just owing silver.”

Feng Shuo had said that the one thing he owed her could only offset one of the things she owed him. Jiang Yanyi thought, since she still owed him a hundred things after offsetting it, she might as well not offset it at all.

The first thing Feng Shuo had her do was massage his shoulders for half an hour. He looked thin, but his shoulders were as hard as rocks. Her hands were almost worn out!