As soon as these words came out, a trace of joy flashed across the emperor's eyes. He asked two chess players to play against Xiao Ling with the intention of giving her a warning, but she appeared on her own and killed the two chess players with only a small pawn. He was desperate and had to use Jiang Yanwei, but lost another game. If Huan Xuan had not won back a game, this battle would have been a miserable defeat.
They managed to save face with great difficulty, but trouble arose again. If they could defeat Xiao Ling, it would be fine. But if they were defeated, where would the face of the court and the royal family be
He showed no sign of anger, and said to his three sons, "Today I invited you all to enjoy the snow and plum blossoms, but you are only watching chess. Mr. Xiao must be tired after watching several games of chess."
Xiao Ling smiled and said, "Well, I have long heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is an excellent chess player. Today I see that his reputation is well-deserved. I was just thinking of asking for advice."
After saying this, he bowed to Huan Xuan and said, "Please give me your guidance, Your Highness."
Huan Xuan returned the greeting expressionlessly: "I am worthy of the honor. I hope General Xiao will give me some advice."
As the two exchanged questions, Xiao Ling accepted the challenge. The emperor had no choice but to stroke his beard and pretend to be excited: "Then I and the ministers will wait and see."
Huan Xuan gave up the seat at the east end and said, "General Xiao, please take a seat."
Sui Sui's eyes moved slightly, twinkling like the morning stars, a little brighter than before: "Your Highness is in a high position, so you should play white first."
Huan Xuan frowned: "General Xiao has come from afar, he is a distinguished guest, he should speak plainly."
Sui Sui knew that he was unwilling to let her give in to him, and the smile in her eyes deepened: "Then I will just refuse it."
The two men sat opposite each other, bowed to each other, and the game began.
The outcome of this chess game was of great importance, and everyone stared at the chessboard with bated breath. For a moment, the pavilion was silent, with only the Xiang curtains and brocade curtains fluttering in the wind, and the crisp "pa pa" sounds of chess pieces falling.
The two of them played chess as a daily pastime in the Shanchi Courtyard. Although Sui Sui pretended to be a beginner at that time, they played against each other frequently and were very familiar with each other's layout ideas. Both sides made moves without pause, and in a moment they formed a leaning and covering position on top. The two sides were in a similar situation, and the chess pieces were solid and beautiful.
This opening move was exactly the one that the two of them often used when they played chess. Huan Xuan raised his eyes inadvertently and saw Xiao Ling also looking at him with a hint of smile in his eyes.
Huan Xuan frowned, turned away, picked up a chess piece and slammed it onto the chessboard.
Sui Sui smiled and said, "Your Highness is really beautiful now."
This sounded familiar, as if she had said it before. Huan Xuan looked down at his own face involuntarily, then quickly looked back, his ears slightly burning.
Sui Sui curled his lips and said, "I am saying that Your Highness played this chess very beautifully, with a sense of propriety and appropriateness in advance and retreat."
His figure was naturally beautiful, with bones faintly visible on his fair back, like a glacier buried under the snow. Whether he was holding chess pieces or holding a knife, it was pleasing to the eye.
Huan Xuan's cheeks felt like they were about to burn, but his expression became even colder and more arrogant: "General Xiao, you are too kind."
Sui Sui smiled lightly and placed a piece lightly, which turned out to be a cage with nothingness, locking the black chess piece in one go.
Huan Xuan stabbed him without showing weakness, and Sui Sui stuck to him calmly. Huan Xuan attacked again, and Xiao Ling hurriedly resolved it.
The situation has changed subtly.
The black pieces attacked fiercely all the way, but the white pieces defended with ease, using the black pieces' force to counter the black pieces, taking advantage of the momentum to move firmly, and entangled the black pieces from time to time, as if teasing the black pieces.
Huan Xuan pursued and attacked relentlessly. Although his attack was fierce, he became more and more weak. Suddenly he realized that he was confused and hurriedly added a piece in the corner.
Sui Sui stroked his chin, smiled softly, and said, "Thanks to your Highness for this exchange, I have also strengthened this corner for you."
After a pause, he half-jokingly said, "Your Highness, you are aiding the enemy."
Of course Huan Xuan had long realized that he had made a bad move, but he could not take it back since he had made his move.
It would have been fine if he had just made a wrong move, but this woman was so hateful that she had to speak it out and ridicule him.
Huan Xuan was annoyed and said, "Thank you for your advice, General Xiao. I will definitely keep it in mind."
Sui Sui flew down and blocked the black chess piece's way out. He raised his eyelids and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for giving up the corner to me."
Huan Xuan sneered and said, "My little prince said that General Xiao only likes to talk when watching chess. I think General Xiao talks even more when playing chess."
How did he know before that this woman would talk so much
Sui Sui did not take it as an offense: "When a chess player meets a good match, it is like a general meeting a talented person. I was so happy that I didn't realize I was talking nonsense. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zheng glanced at her secretly, only to see a mischievous smile in her bright eyes.
Whenever he played chess with her, she always looked indifferent and hardly spoke a word, only occasionally giving him some pointers. He had never seen her so enthusiastic, with joy evident in her eyes and eyebrows.
His head looked like it had been stabbed.
Huan Xuan said: "General Xiao has shown me great respect. I can only hope to be as good as you."
Sui Sui said: "Your Highness is too modest."
Huan Xuan said: "General Xiao is a man of great foresight and has a keen eye for the future. I admire him very much."
The two of them kept silent about this, but Sui Sui remained calm and said, "Your Highness, thank you for the compliment."
After a pause, he suddenly said, "Your Highness seems to have said very little."
Huan Xuan's eyes twitched, and he frowned and stopped talking.
Their conversation did not delay their moves. Both of them were quick-witted and calculating, and they made moves one after another, and soon reached the middle of the game.
Sui Sui also put away the smile in his eyes and stopped teasing him. Suddenly he turned from defense to offense and fought against the black chess piece without giving up an inch of ground.
Most of the people present knew how to play chess. It was hard for someone as mediocre as the eldest princess to see anything, but an expert like Jiang Yanchangwei was terrified. The chess situation was changing rapidly like wind and clouds, and the sound of the black and white chess pieces fighting was like the thunder of war drums and the clanging of swords.
Both of them were young and famous generals. They had no chance to compete with each other on the battlefield, but on this small chessboard, they fought with a momentum that was as loud as drums and gongs and as fierce as the wind and dust covering the sun.
Jiang Yanwei sighed to his apprentice in a low voice: "My master once said, 'Although chess is a minor art, it is actually related to military tactics.' I am fortunate to have seen the game today, and now I understand the reason."
Ruan Yuewei had tried her best to please the Queen, so she knew a lot about chess. She could see that the two were far superior to her in terms of chess skills - chess at this level was a test of talent. Even if she stayed up all night and memorized all the chess manuals in the world, she would not be able to defeat them.
Thinking back to the time when Huan Xuan had studied this art in order to play chess with him, but now it had become a tool for him to flirt with others, he felt a sour and bitter feeling in his mouth, and he wished he could tear up those chess manuals.
The battle was in full swing. Sui Sui picked up a white piece and was about to drop it, but he suddenly turned his wrist and made a slow move, giving the black player a chance to turn the situation around.
Huan Xuan looked at the flaw she had deliberately revealed, raised his eyebrows and said, "General Xiao, you are too polite."
Sui Sui didn't mean to give in intentionally, it was just that their chess skills were equally good and he lost his composure at the beginning of the game, allowing her to take the upper hand. She felt that she had some advantage, so she deliberately revealed a flaw to him. Unexpectedly, he not only didn't appreciate it, but got annoyed instead.
She curled her lips helplessly and said, "I will use courtesy first and then force." After saying that, she stayed and continued to fight with him.
Huan Xuan seemed to be angered by her action just now, and began to attack recklessly, unwilling to retreat even a step or lose a piece. There was no way he would look ahead or behind, or attack left and right.
If you rush to win, you will naturally end up in failure.
Sui Sui was in tears and laughed at the same time. He had let him go for the sake of fairness, but he didn't expect to stir up a hornet's nest and ended up winning by attacking the hearts and minds.
The fierce battle came to an end, the white pieces were in danger, the big dragon was safely connected, the black pieces had no way to attack, and the game reached its final stage.
White's victory is certain.
Huan Xuan glanced at Sui Sui and said, "General Xiao's strategy is well-deserved."
Sui Sui said: "Your Highness is not much behind."
After the endgame, the chess pieces are filled in several places as usual, and White wins by four and a half pieces.
Sui Sui bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for giving way to me."
The emperor showed a bit of annoyance in his eyes: "General Xiao's chess skills are superb, and he is unworthy of the title of national champion. Do you know which famous teacher General Xiao learned from?"
Sui Sui bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I am so kind. I learned a little from my father before. I was lucky enough to win against His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. Maybe it was because I worked hard on the score in the past few years."
Huan Xuan's face suddenly darkened.
Sui Sui seemed unaware, looked at him and said, "Your Highness's chess skills are not inferior to mine, but your mind is distracted by other things and you can't concentrate on one game. I will win by force."
Others who heard this thought that Xiao Ling was just being polite, but Huan Xuan knew that she had something else in mind, and his face turned darker than the bottom of a pot. He would rather admit that he was more skilled than her than admit that he lost his mind and was confused when he saw her.
He raised his chin and said, "General Xiao is too modest. I was distracted and my chess skills are not good enough. I am very convinced of my defeat."
The emperor noticed that the atmosphere between the two was a little strange, so he stroked his beard and said, "There is a long way to go, and there will be opportunities for us to play chess."
After that, he asked people to clear the chess game and ordered the musicians to play the sheng and xiao. Everyone sat in the pavilion for a while. The emperor felt a little tired, so he went to his bedroom to rest first. Several older ministers also said goodbye and left the mansion. The remaining group of young people went to the woods in twos and threes to appreciate the plum blossoms.