Chu Chu’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Mm…”
Overjoyed, Chu Chu wrapped her arms around Xiao Jin Yu’s neck and planted two firm kisses on his slightly pale face. “Wang Ye, you’re so good! So good!”
Xiao Jin Yu’s cheeks flushed faintly pink. He smiled helplessly and stroked her back. “Chu Chu, I have official duties tonight… Stay in your room, don’t wander around, and go to bed early.”
“Wang Ye, you won’t be back tonight?”
Xiao Jin Yu had intended to nod, but seeing her pitiful expression—like a kitten afraid of being abandoned—he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “I’ll be back… but very late. There’s no need to wait for me.”
“I’ll wait for you no matter how late it is!”
“Be good…”
Chu Chu clung tightly to him, clearly unwilling to let him go unless he agreed.
Xiao Jin Yu had no choice but to relent. A bitter smile touched his lips, but warmth spread in his heart. “Alright…”
A quarter of an hour before sunset, Xiao Jin Yu changed into his official robes and headed to the examination hall with Wu Jiang accompanying him.
After hastily finishing her dinner, Chu Chu went to the kitchen to fetch an old hen to prepare soup for Xiao Jin Yu. Just as she placed the clay pot over the fire, a servant rushed in frantically. “It’s chaos… absolute chaos up front!”
The cook snorted dismissively. “Did the chickens fly away or the pigs run off?”
“The candidates… the candidates are rioting!” The servant hadn’t noticed Chu Chu by the small stove and continued shouting, as if delighting in the turmoil. “I don’t know how it happened, but as soon as they handed in their papers, they all found out about the death! They’re demanding to leave, and the soldiers are almost fighting with them! There are thousands of them—even Prince An and Grand Tutor Xue can’t control the situation!”
Another servant waved his hands anxiously. “The Imperial Concubine is here! Watch your words!”
“Huh… what?”
Before the first servant could spot Chu Chu, she had already dashed out of the kitchen.
“You… why can’t you ever keep your mouth shut?”
“How was I supposed to know she…”
Chu Chu sprinted straight to the front courtyard, where chaos indeed reigned. The shouts of the candidates mingled with the scolding of the officers and soldiers. From time to time, Wang Xiaohua’s thunderous roars erupted from the crowd, only to be swallowed by the buzzing hum of thousands.
Amid such disorder, what if someone harmed Wang Ye…?
Just as Chu Chu was about to rush over to find Xiao Jin Yu, Wu Jiang appeared out of nowhere and tapped her on the shoulder from behind.
“Big Brother!” Seeing that Wu Jiang wasn’t with Xiao Jin Yu, Chu Chu grew even more anxious. “Big Brother, where is Wang Ye?”
Wu Jiang raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence, and whispered, “Imperial Concubine, please follow me.”
Chu Chu followed Wu Jiang to an inconspicuous small building at the junction of the front and rear courtyards. They climbed to the third floor, where Xiao Jin Yu was playing chess opposite Xue Rucheng.
A pitch-black jade chess piece was held between Xiao Jin Yu’s pale fingers. His gaze was clear and focused entirely on the board as he calmly placed the piece down.
Chu Chu stood frozen at the doorway, stunned.
Hadn’t that servant said these two were failing to control the situation at the front?
Xue Rucheng picked up a gleaming white mutton fat jade chess piece from the rattan chess box. He rolled it between his fingers for a long while, his deep, unfathomable eyes scanning the board intently. Then, with a flick of his fingers, he sent the piece clattering onto the board with a sharp “snap.” The impact displaced most of the pieces, and several near the edge clattered to the floor, while a few others landed in Xiao Jin Yu’s lap.Xue Rucheng flicked his sleeve and stood up. "The Prince has won. You may handle external matters as you see fit."
"Thank you, Master."
"Remember to collect the chess pieces and send them to my room."
"...Yes."
☆ 96 Braised Pork Knuckle in Rock Sugar (Part 10)
Watching Xue Rucheng leave, Xiao Jinyu picked up the chess pieces that had fallen on him one by one, dropping the black and white pieces into their respective boxes.
Every time he lost a chess game, Xue Rucheng would inevitably scatter the pieces clattering across the floor, then storm off in a huff, leaving Xiao Jinyu to gather them one by one.
Since developing rheumatism that increasingly limited his mobility, Xiao Jinyu had never dared to win against Xue Rucheng in chess.
This time... he had no choice but to win.
Noticing Chu Chu and Wu Jiang standing dumbfounded at the doorway, Xiao Jinyu offered a faint, bitter smile and pointed at the scattered chess pieces on the floor. "I can't reach them... Could you help?"
The two quickly rushed over, hastily helping Xiao Jinyu collect the pieces.
Wu Jiang remembered leaving while Xiao Jinyu was still exchanging poetic verses with Grand Tutor Xue. Though Wu Jiang had trained with weapons since childhood, he was literate enough to recognize they were reciting passionate love poems to each other. Xue Rucheng's lines were particularly explicit, making Xiao Jinyu blush so fiercely he seemed to steam, yet he had to steel himself and respond with even more suggestive and graphic verses.
While climbing the stairs earlier, Wu Jiang had been curiously imagining how Chu Chu would react hearing such poems recited earnestly from Xiao Jinyu's mouth.
But in just the time it took to fetch someone, how had they started playing chess...
Chu Chu sorted the pieces in her hands into the two chess boxes while tidying the messy table, slightly frowning as she looked at Xiao Jinyu, who appeared exhausted as if from a great battle, sweat beading on his forehead. "Your Highness, did you quarrel with Grand Tutor Xue?"
"A minor disagreement..." Xiao Jinyu took a handkerchief from his sleeve, slowly wiping the sweat trickling down his cheeks. "Master insisted I defeat him in painting, poetry, and chess before he would listen to me..." He sighed softly. "Master really went all out this time..."
Chu Chu looked at him with a smile. "You won them all?"
Xiao Jinyu nodded weakly. "A narrow victory..."
Gazing at Xiao Jinyu with admiration, Chu Chu said, "Your Highness, I want to see the poems you wrote!"
Xiao Jinyu flushed bright cherry red instantly. Wu Jiang gritted his teeth, pursed his lips, and silently continued picking up pieces.
"We... recited them orally. They weren't written down."
Chu Chu grabbed Xiao Jinyu's arm and shook it. "Then can I see the paintings you made?"
"Burned... burned..."
Why did Xue Rucheng have to choose such topics, insisting on comparing erotic paintings, and detailed brushwork at that... Thank goodness they had competed in the other two categories first. If Chu Chu had seen those paintings or heard those poems... the consequences would have been unthinkable.
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