CHAPTER 608: CHAPTER 608 SWEET TROUBLES

The Emperor hadn’t thought much of it at first; after all, he had given her the rattan as a gift to cheer her up. By a fortunate coincidence, it turned out to be woven by her third brother, confirming that her family was still alive and giving her peace of mind. Whoever brought the rattan thus became a person of great merit, and in his eyes, the rattan looked all the more pleasing.

Seeing how much she treasured it, he teased her by asking if she was going to sleep holding it.

Lian Hua thought it was a good idea and her eyes lit up with excitement as she eagerly confirmed with the Emperor if it was really okay, which instantly brought an unhappy glare from him.

He felt a complex surge of emotions, and a sourness spread through him as he wondered when a piece of rattan had become so important, important enough to climb onto the bed they shared.

This was certainly not allowed. It was one thing during the day, but at night, she was entirely his, and he would not allow even a piece of rattan to occupy her mind.

Lian Hua had no choice but to let go of that idea. After all, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thought; holding the rattan was impressive enough during the day.

In the past, Xiao Jizi would patrol the court early in the morning and in the evening to check for anything out of the ordinary.

Ever since she got her new rattan, she had joined the patrols too, marching around the courtyard with a few others, looking here and there, just to wield her rattan and command like a general.

Xiao Linzi scratched his head. He had noticed that pawns were treasures to their master; no other chess piece could compare, for reasons he could not fathom.

Of course, Xiao Linzi had no idea why that was the case, as it’s a long story.

Lately, in the eyes of Lian Hua, the Emperor seemed to have more idle time than a dog, spending most of his shichen in Canglan Court. This was unprecedented, making her feel both sweetly content and somewhat troubled.

The sweet part was being with the Emperor all the time, which delighted her. Doing her own thing and glancing at where the Emperor was made her heart feel both sweet and fulfilled.

The troublesome part was being with the Emperor all the time meant that she had to report to him before doing anything. If he thought it wasn’t good, he wouldn’t allow her to do it.

Alas, the carefree days of doing as she pleased, before she had a household, were gone. She couldn’t do this, couldn’t do that, leaving her incredibly bored amidst her sweet troubles.

The Emperor later realized he should not be so controlling, as it suppressed her nature and made her unhappy.

So, he began searching for a way to strike a balance, to find something they could do together that would shift her attention and keep her happy and calm. And thus, he chose to teach her the game of black and white Go.

However, he did not anticipate that after half a day’s teaching, she would forget everything in no time.

Moreover, she really did not enjoy playing Go, with its mere black and white pieces. She found the patterns monotonous, and the game difficult. She struggled with each game, quickly losing every pawn to the Emperor’s sweeping victories without capturing a single piece of her own. It wasn’t fun at all.

The Emperor had to give up, but then saw her ask if Go was the only type of chess there was. As he explained the various kinds of chess to her, and when it came to Chinese chess, hearing about soldiers and generals, and the Chu River and Han border, Lian Hua became instantly interested and wanted to learn.

So she began to learn with fervor.

The Emperor had someone find a mnemonic for her to memorize. When it came to things she was interested in, Lian Hua learned very quickly and soon mastered the mnemonic, faster than she had ever done before.

However, she had not been learning for long and ended up sticking too closely to the mnemonic, skewed by its last line, "pawns crossing the river are formidable indeed." She wanted to know just how formidable a crossed pawn could be but never quite managed to do so.

The Emperor was mischievous too. After seeing through her intentions, he enjoyed playing with her. Every time he noticed which pawn she wanted to cross the river, he would capture it first, finding her frustrated yet adorably gracious in defeat expression especially delightful.

As for Lian Hua, she felt incredibly anxious. The more she failed to cross the river, the more determined she became to do so, her eagerness growing with each game.

Lian Hua’s chess skills might not be impressive yet, but her sportsmanship was excellent. She accepted her moves without regret and admitted defeat gracefully. She also disliked it when the Emperor let her win, finding it uninteresting. She loved to ponder over the game by herself, and her ability in chess improved rapidly each day. However, her progress just didn’t show when she played against the Emperor, a chess demon in disguise.

The Emperor also enjoyed playing chess with her a great deal. It didn’t require much thought and was very relaxing for him; he could play however he liked and feel completely at ease. Occasionally teasing her and seeing her amusing reactions brought him a lot of pleasure.

Thus, every day presented such a scene: whenever Lian Hua saw the Emperor free, she would eagerly drag him to play chess, showing uncharacteristic enthusiasm.

Each game began with fast moves, but slowed down as it progressed. With every move, she would take a long time to contemplate.

Once she made her move, she would touch the Emperor’s book to signal that it was his turn.

The Emperor, however, never let go of his reading. At such times, he would only slightly shift his book aside, take a cursory glance at the board, and place his piece promptly, then return his gaze to his book, efficiently handling both tasks without effort, easily dismantling Lian Hua’s carefully thought-out positions.

In this back and forth fashion, they played, filling the hall with only Lian Hua’s muttering and the sound of the Emperor flipping book pages.

Sometimes, Nanny Qi would join in the fun, acting as an advisor to Lian Hua, so it would be the two of them against the Emperor alone.

At most, Lian Hua would recruit Xiao Jizi and the others to play the role of her strategic advisors. Four or five of them would take on the Emperor, and the outcome remained largely unchanged, only managing to struggle for a few more rounds under his command.

On that occasion, she had a whim to see if four or five cobblers could stand up to His Majesty. Clearly, they could not!

Despite losing every time, Lian Hua played with great relish and intense enthusiasm.

She knew her own skill level and had never expected to win from the start. She was delighted whenever she could capture one of the Emperor’s pieces; moreover, she kept track of how many rounds she lasted each time, noting it all down in a little booklet, along with the number of pieces she captured, treating it as a personal achievement.

In the beginning, she would struggle for only a few rounds before losing, but as she played more, she became more adept. No longer making straightforward moves, she learned to think several steps ahead and picked up many indirect, crafty tactics like feinting. Gradually, she could struggle for a dozen or twenty rounds.

And besides, even if she couldn’t beat the Emperor, it didn’t necessarily mean she couldn’t beat others. When she called upon her strategic advisors for counsel, she had sussed out their abilities—six of one, half a dozen of the other.

With her grand ambitions all set, she planned to practice more. Then, right under the Emperor’s nose, she would get her pawn across the river, raising her skill level. Eventually, she intended to play against the juniors at Canglan Court, determined to become the number one player there.

In the Side Hall, the group sat around watching the game, with Xiao Linzi and Xiao Qing constantly offering Lian Hua their advice.

For instance, Xiao Qing, after watching for a while, suggested anxiously, "Master, what if this pawn moves closer by one square? If His Majesty dares to take the pawn with his chariot, then your pawn could capture his chariot, right?"

Lian Hua mulled it over and found it feasible, though it would waste a turn.

Then Xiao Linzi proposed, "Master, if you move a chariot over here and a cannon there, you can capture His Majesty’s cannon, and he would be helpless."

"Huh..."