Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I was frequently out and about, and Yanleqi grew a bit suspicious. Although he didn’t think I could do anything, he still arranged for someone to keep watch outside my tent. Bored, I had Caiwei make me a chessboard, found some stones, colored them, and played against myself to pass the time.

Yanleqi might have noticed I suddenly settled down, grew curious, and actually took the time to come to my tent.

Without looking up, I said softly, “Chief Yan, make yourself at home. I have nothing to offer.”

“Are you… playing chess?”

“What, Chief Yan has studied it?”

“I once knew someone from the Central Plains, so I learned a bit. It’s all useless anyway.”

He looked down on it verbally, but his body honestly sat down on the other side.

“You can play chess alone?” he asked.

You certainly can, but…

“Then how about Chief Yan play a game with me?”

He didn’t stand on ceremony and directly started playing. He obviously wasn’t proficient at chess, and soon lost to me. Frowning, unwilling to accept defeat, “Again.”

Three games in a row, he lost utterly.

I laughed, “A game of chess is like deploying troops in formation. Does Chief Yan still think women from the Central Plains are useless?”

He sneered, “Deploying troops? Don’t forget that you are the defeated ones!”

“Yes, yes, I can only barely beat you in such trivial matters.”

Still refusing to admit defeat, he started another game.

“I still don’t know your name.” His tone was no longer contemptuous, but rather serious.

I curved my lips, “My surname is Gu, Gu Yanran.”

He looked at me, somewhat puzzled, “You seem to laugh a lot. Coming here, you aren’t afraid at all.”

“You don’t allow laughing? Or does your Khan prefer sad faces?”

“That’s not what I meant. All along you’ve been too calm, not crying, not making a fuss, not afraid. Or… are you plotting something?”

“How could I plot, with that frail maidservant of mine? We women of the Zhou Dynasty are gentle as water, well-educated and well-mannered, naturally not as rowdy as steppe girls.”

He wanted to say more, but I interrupted.

“You lost again.”

A flash of frustration crossed his eyes.

I comforted him with a hint of mockery, “Don’t be discouraged, you lasted much longer this time. Keep up the good work.”

Annoyed, he scrambled the chessboard.

I hastily said, “That’s four games already, I’m not playing anymore.”

I have a habit of rubbing the chess pieces when playing; these stones are rough and hurt, my fingertips were already chafed and raw.

Perhaps because he lost too many games, he felt embarrassed to stay longer, and threw me a line: “You won. Next time, I will definitely beat you.”

Yanleqi was right. I had only been idle for two days when the Old Khan summoned me again.

I had long grown numb, forcing myself to shut off all my senses. The people of the Nine Cities were still suffering bitterly. Compared to them, my pain was nothing.

Closing my eyes, I seemed to dream back to the past, when I was not yet the Empress, just a young lady of the Gu Family, when Pei Yu was still by my side.

Xiao Jince and Pei Yu were racing horses in the countryside, neither willing to admit defeat. I climbed a tree, sat on a branch, and gazed into the distance at the two riding farther away, watching to see who would reach the finish line first. Su Wan’er sat quietly on the grass under the tree, eating snacks and flipping through her medical book.

Pei Yu rode back, came under the tree, and reached out his hand to help me down. I jumped down and threw myself into his arms, hearing him say softly, “Let’s go home.”

Home.

My home and Pei Yu’s home were both in Great Zhou.