Sheng Jiangli really couldn't force a smile at this moment.
Perhaps because he knew what he had eaten, he already felt something in his stomach ahead of time. It always seemed to ache faintly.
Sheng Jiangli bit the inside of his cheek and forced a smile. "I'm just a rough soldier. How would I know how to play chess... Your Highness might as well find someone else to accompany you!"
He made a gesture to leave, but unexpectedly, Song Yinghuai blocked his way. His tall figure stood in front of Sheng Jiangli, confronting him. With a smile on his lips, he said,
"General Sheng is being modest. I've heard that you're the most learned general on the border, both civil and military. You're also excellent at chess. General Sheng refuses to play with me. Is it because you're not giving me face, or are you afraid of me?"
Was this like having a knife to his throat, where he had to play whether he wanted to or not?
But Sheng Jiangli was a man who didn't play by the rules. "I'm afraid of Your Highness. Is that okay?"
He still tried to leave, but Song Yinghuai just let out a soft sneer. Without making a move, he just gave an order,
"Caiyu, keep the guest!"
Caiyu responded. When she spoke, her voice was charming but brooked no refusal. "General Sheng, His Highness has ordered this servant to keep you. If I can't, I'll be punished."
Sheng Jiangli: …
He suddenly turned around. He pressed his tongue hard against his cheek to suppress the discomfort in his stomach. Then he smiled and said,
"I've always been gentle with beautiful women. There's no need for a beauty to be punished because of me. It's just playing chess... Let's play!"
The Buddhist chants were serene, and the tree shadows danced.
Two figures, one in purple and the other in blue, sat in front of the stone table in the pavilion.
The chess pieces were scattered on the purple bamboo chessboard like stars. The pure black and the spotless white reflected the broken shadows of the tiles and glazed tiles.
Caiyu brewed a pot of Biluochun tea and then quietly stood to one side.
There seemed to be some discordant noise outside the pavilion. Song Yinghuai frowned and asked Han Fen, who was standing outside the pavilion,
"What's going on outside?"
Han Fen stopped a passing servant and asked a few questions. Then he stepped forward and replied, "It's the cousin girl. She's leaving for Jiaodong today to prepare for the draft to enter the palace. She wants to see Your Highness and is kneeling and making a ruckus at the gate."
Caiyu was stunned.
She knew that Jiang Jinyue had been given to Eunuch Huang. She thought that Song Yinghuai had just taken revenge for her like this, and she had accepted it.
After all, from what Xiangye had heard from Han Fen and vividly told Caiyu about the eunuch's methods,
That night, Jiang Jinyue's virginity was broken with a jade dildo. Her innocence... was gone, but she had never experienced real love between a man and a woman.
This was really... hard to describe.
However, she didn't expect that Jiang Jinyue would actually be sent into the palace. That was almost a death sentence.
What would be the fate of a draft girl without her virginity entering the palace?
Caiyu didn't expect that Song Yinghuai would eliminate this threat for her once and for all. From then on, Jiang Jinyue would never be a threat to her again.
He was so good to her, but she had still been thinking about sending him to Miaoyi and Yunling to break his vows...
Suddenly, Caiyu felt as if an invisible rope was tightening around her throat. She wanted to struggle, but the feeling of suffocation was strong and terrifying.
Song Yinghuai's cold and emotionless voice sounded. "Tell the guards to drive her out. She's disturbing my game of chess with General Sheng. Let them give themselves three strokes of the cane."
Han Fen quickly agreed.
At this moment, Sheng Jiangli had no intention of praising Song Yinghuai for his hospitality.
The urge was coming.
He frowned slightly, and a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. His stomach was churning. He was relying on his internal strength to suppress it.
The fingers holding the black chess piece were trembling slightly.
He coughed lightly and forced a smile. "… The cousin girl is crying so pitifully. I can't bear it... How about I go out and comfort her..."
Song Yinghuai looked up at the sweat on his forehead and let out a soft sneer. The look in his eyes was thought-provoking.
Whether he was going to comfort someone or go to the toilet, everyone knew it well.
Sheng Jiangli always sneaked into the Lianyin Pavilion. If he didn't teach him a lesson today, he would really treat the Lianyin Pavilion as his own home and come and go as he pleased.
"The game is almost over, General Sheng. Please." Song Yinghuai didn't give in at all and didn't mention letting Sheng Jiangli leave.
Sheng Jiangli gritted his teeth. The veins on his forehead and the back of his hands bulged. The black chess piece he was holding hovered in the air for a long time and didn't fall.
This Prince of Yan and this girl were really going to make him make a fool of himself!
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Sheng Jiangli's lips. Suddenly, he slapped the black chess piece onto the chessboard!
The sound wasn't loud, but when he moved his hand away, the black chess piece was firmly embedded in the purple bamboo chessboard.
The next second, spider-web-like cracks spread from that black chess piece, ruining the whole game of chess.
After using his internal strength, Sheng Jiangli's body was tense. The veins on his neck stood out, and his body was covered in sweat. He suddenly stood up and said,
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I was a bit too excited and ruined the chessboard. I can't play today. I'll send you a new chessboard another day. Farewell!"
This time, he didn't wait for Song Yinghuai to say anything else. He disappeared in an instant and ran out of sight!
When Song Yinghuai looked up, he saw Caiyu's shoulders shaking. She was laughing so hard that she was choking.
He raised his eyebrows slightly. The annoyance of dealing with Eunuch Huang in the past few days seemed to disappear with Caiyu's bright smile. His mood quietly improved.
Even the unpleasantness caused by Sheng Jiangli's repeated sneaking into the Lianyin Pavilion was dispelled.
He coughed lightly and tapped on the stone table with his finger. "Stop laughing. Don't you know to prepare something to eat?"
Caiyu's smile stopped abruptly. She blinked her eyes. After a fierce struggle in her heart, she said,
"Your Highness, are you still going to accompany Lord Huang today?"
Song Yinghuai raised his eyebrows slightly. "There's no need to accompany him anymore."
The imperial edict... he had already obtained it.
Jiang Jinyue had left.
Eunuch Huang should die.
Song Yinghuai's eyes darkened.
Thinking about it, he seemed to have neglected this girl these days.
He had to deal with Eunuch Huang, and he had also assigned two annoying girls for Caiyu to arrange.
Maybe this girl was feeling uncomfortable.
Thinking of this, there were stars twinkling in Song Yinghuai's deep eyes. It seemed to contain some strange emotion that would make one's heart skip a beat when they saw it.
Song Yinghuai opened his mouth. "Caiyu, I..."
"Your Highness." Caiyu was immersed in her chaotic thoughts and didn't notice Song Yinghuai's gaze at all. She blurted out, "Since we have some free time today, how about going to the Listening-to-the-Waves Courtyard? Miaoyi and Yunling have choreographed many fascinating songs and dances. Your Highness might as well go and listen?"
"What?" Song Yinghuai was stunned. He couldn't believe his ears.
What did she want him to do?
Go to Miaoyi and Yunling's place to listen to songs and dances?
As soon as the words fell, Caiyu felt the air pressure around her suddenly drop.
Alas!
She had touched his Buddhist precepts again, right?
But since the words had already been said, Caiyu could only bite the bullet and continue.
"Didn't Your Highness order this servant to arrange things well for the two girls?"
"This servant has heard that the two girls are good at singing and dancing. On the day they first entered the mansion, this servant heard that Your Highness enjoyed their songs and dances at their temporary residence for half the night. This servant thought that Your Highness must like them."
"So this servant discussed with the two girls in the past few days and asked them to come up with a few very wonderful pieces. They've been waiting for Your Highness to visit again."
Caiyu carefully looked at Song Yinghuai and tentatively asked, "Your Highness... Since you've already seen the two girls' dances that day, you probably won't mind enjoying them one more time..."
"Or, does Your Highness want some fruit wine to add to the fun?"
With each word Caiyu said, the air in this small space grew colder.
Song Yinghuai tightened his thin lips and silently clenched his fingertips. A chilling anger appeared on his face. His eyes were like the winter night sky, as cold as ice, stabbing straight at Caiyu!
Very good.
This girl really knew how to make good use of things.
He had just wanted to use the two girls to make this girl jealous so that she would stop getting too close to Sheng Jiangli all day long. He never thought that the one who would get angry would be himself.
He thought that after so long, this girl had already given up on the idea of making him break his vows.
Unexpectedly, she had given up on seducing him herself, but she was bold enough to use others to seduce him!
Caiyu stood in front of him, feeling the invisible pressure coming. She mustered up her courage and spoke again,
"Your Highness... Are you still going?"
Before the words were out of her mouth, Song Yinghuai let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeves away!
Caiyu quickly followed. "Your Highness, where are you going?"
Song Yinghuai's cold voice came from the wind,
"As you wish, to the Listening-to-the-Waves Courtyard!"