Li Jin's words immediately relaxed Yingniang, and she placed her piece on the chessboard.
Duoduo promptly played a piece. Just as Yingniang picked up her piece and was about to place it where she wanted, she heard Xiao Yi's voice from behind.
"Count two spaces to the right."
Yingniang looked at her father in surprise. Li Jin smiled and nodded at her.
"You are on my team. You will place your piece wherever I tell you to."
"If you question it, you can go join their team!"
Xiao Yi's words were ice-cold. Tears instantly welled up in Yingniang's eyes.
"Father, you made older sister cry!" Duoduo hurriedly reached out her little hand to wipe Yingniang's tears.
"Prince of Pingyang, the bet we just made was me and the Princess against you and Yingniang."
"If you drive Yingniang away, that means you forfeit!"
Li Jin felt very displeased seeing his daughter reduced to tears by a single sentence from Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi pursed his lips. He pointed to a black dot on the chessboard. "Play here!"
Seeing that both her father and Duoduo were looking at her encouragingly, Yingniang wiped her tears with the back of her hand and placed the piece where Xiao Yi had pointed.
Duoduo looked at the chessboard. She did not understand why her father wanted Yingniang to play a piece so far away.
Duoduo thought for a moment and carefully placed her piece.
Seeing this, Yingniang picked up a white piece and looked at Xiao Yi.
"Play it next to the previous piece," Xiao Yi's tone remained ice-cold.
Next to it?
Where?
Left or right?
Top or bottom?
For a moment, Yingniang felt like her head was going to start smoking.
She cautiously hovered the piece toward the right side.
Behind her, Xiao Yi made no sound, so Yingniang emboldened herself and placed the piece down.
Duoduo cheerfully placed her piece down.
Yingniang picked up a piece, wanting to continue placing it in the same area.
"Duoduo already has three pieces in a row. If you don't block her, you lose," Xiao Yi suddenly spoke up.
Only then did Yingniang notice Duoduo's pieces. She hurriedly used her piece to block Duoduo's path.
Seeing this, Duoduo quickly filled in a piece on the other end. As Yingniang held a piece to block her again, Xiao Yi spoke up once more.
"If you place a piece on the right, you will have four in a row and win first."
Hearing this, Yingniang looked at the board and saw that it was indeed true.
She quickly placed her piece among the pieces on the right.
"Oh! We won!"
Yingniang was overjoyed, her little face glowing.
Seeing Yingniang win, Duoduo was also very happy.
She clapped her hands. "Older sister is amazing!"
Yingniang looked embarrassed. "It's all because your father is incredible!"
Li Jin looked at Xiao Yi, who still kept a straight face but had a hint of smugness in his eyes, and rejoiced inwardly.
He signaled to Duoduo, "Duoduo, keep playing. Didn't we say we were competing to see who wins the most times?"
"It will be a long time before this chessboard is filled!"
"Who knows, we might even turn defeat into victory later!"
Duoduo nodded vigorously. "Teacher, what you say makes sense!"
Xiao Yi sneered. "Yingniang, keep playing."
At this moment, Yingniang's admiration for Xiao Yi was overflowing.
So, upon hearing Xiao Yi say this, she immediately picked up a piece.
"Okay!"
The two children played back and forth, with Xiao Yi occasionally reminding Yingniang where to place her pieces.
In the blink of an eye, Yingniang had won over a dozen times in a row, while Duoduo hadn't won even once.
Duoduo grew anxious.
"Teacher, please help! We are on the same team!"
Li Jin smiled and leaned in. "Alright, it's two against one bullying Duoduo. Watch your teacher help you beat them to a pulp!"
Xiao Yi scoffed. "You overestimate yourself!"
Li Jin rubbed his hands together. "Bring it on, who's afraid of who?"
After saying that, Li Jin had Duoduo place her piece in an empty spot.
"Wow, Teacher, we have five pieces here, we won once!"
Duoduo suddenly realized that she had actually won!
"That's right. Just now, because you lost so many times, you were desperate to win."
"But, precisely because you wanted to win too much, you forgot to calm down and look at the overall situation."
"When two armies face off, the commander must not panic. Once you panic, you easily get led around by the enemy."
Li Jin seized the opportunity to teach Duoduo some of Sun Tzu's Art of War while guiding her chess moves.
Opposite them, Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow upon hearing what Li Jin was teaching Duoduo.
So, Li Jin asking him to play chess was actually a way to give Duoduo a lesson.
He had actually been schemed against by Li Jin!
When Xiao Yi realized this, he immediately dropped his previous careless attitude.
He put down the chess manual in his hand, began to seriously study the state of the board, and earnestly guided Yingniang's moves.
As Yingniang won more and more times, her confidence also grew.
Several times, she was able to spot opportunities to place pieces herself.
Xiao Yi was skilled at setting up the board, while Li Jin excelled at dismantling strategies and blocking.
So, when the game finally ended, Yingniang had a narrow victory over Duoduo.
Yingniang's eyes sparkled, and she excitedly turned to look at Xiao Yi.
"You are so amazing!"
The corners of Xiao Yi's lips curled up. "It's just child's play, nothing to be proud of."
Even though she lost, Duoduo was also very happy. She clapped her little hands.
"Older sister is amazing, and Father is amazing too!"
Li Jin put on a bitter face. "Duoduo, the two of us lost, and you're still happy?"
Duoduo giggled and nodded. "Of course, because the ones who won are my father and older sister!"
Xiao Yi originally wanted to see Li Jin's bitter face, but instead, he caught a flash of amusement in Li Jin's eyes.
Xiao Yi frowned and thought for a moment, immediately understanding the reason.
He had been schemed against by Li Jin again!
By leading Yingniang to defeat Duoduo, didn't it indirectly prove that Duoduo was inferior to Yingniang?
If he didn't win, then it would mean he was inferior to Li Jin!
What a brilliant calculation!
Li Jin smiled and smoothed things over. "Duoduo, you are right!"
"It doesn't matter who wins, it's just a game after all!"
Hearing Li Jin's words, Xiao Yi cast a cold glance at him and picked up his chess manual.
"Teacher, older sister, Father, let's keep playing!"
Duoduo had an unyielding spirit in her bones and wanted to continue.
"Princess, we need to resume our lessons now. The game is over for the time being."
Li Jin didn't dare to keep pulling the tiger's whiskers; he had seen the look in Xiao Yi's eyes just now.
Xiao Yi was very smart and had definitely guessed his intentions.
Upon hearing about lessons, Duoduo's attention immediately shifted.
Because she had won the chess game, Yingniang was no longer resistant to having lessons either.
In this way, Li Jin combined education with entertainment, explaining profound concepts in simple terms, and slowly taught the intended material.
By mid-afternoon, the convoy slowly entered a city.
"Your Highness, if we go any further, there will be no place to stay."
"Your subordinate has already sent people ahead to make arrangements at the relay station." Yunxiao reported from outside the carriage.
"Mm."
Xiao Yi put down the chess manual in his hand.
Both Duoduo and Yingniang became excited.
After staying in the carriage all day, they could finally stop and rest.
Because Xiao Yi was present, Duoduo didn't dare lean against the window to look out. She could only steal glances at the scenery outside from time to time.
