Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As I gazed into those eyes, dark as rippling ink, I finally remembered.

I had seen this man before.

Only back then, he had not yet become Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince.

The Late Crown Prince, along with Master and Madam, had still been alive and well.

The Late Crown Prince Zhao Rang was also My Lady’s betrothed. They had grown up together, childhood sweethearts with a deep bond.

Because of a wish of hers, he took advantage of the Imperial Academy’s expansion to propose establishing a school for women. “It is not only men who must read books; women, too, must read. Through reading, one comes to understand the rise and fall of ages past, and from them takes warning.”

Unexpectedly, his words met with opposition from a host of Imperial Academy students.

Among them, First Prince Zhao Rui was the most vehement. “Men and women should not share a mat after the age of seven. The halls and buildings of our Imperial Academy are barely sufficient as they are. Where would there be room for women?”

And so the Pure Current Faction, led by the Crown Prince, and the Imperial Clan Faction, led by the First Prince, faced off for a long while.

In the end, they decided to settle it with a contest.

By rights, even if the other side was not represented by the Crown Prince himself, the women’s school should have selected someone.

But though My Lady was well read and learned, she was the future Crown Princess. It would not do for her to show her face in public.

So I disguised myself as a young page and went in her place.

That day.

That day, with the spring breeze drifting over everything.

The most famous plum garden in the capital had set out a winding-water banquet, a feast held after the Shangsi purification rites. The man-made channel, about thirty feet long, looked especially fresh and clear in the spring sunlight.

The moment Zhao Rui, seated upstream, saw me, his disgust was plain.

“Why is it a child?”

With my hair combed into two little buns, I bent and bowed to him.

“My Lady sent me here to do battle.”

At that, the imperial clan youths gathered around him burst into laughter.

Amid their laughter, Zhao Rui looked me over, taking in my small stature, then put on an air of virtuous wisdom. “Even a yellow-haired, milk-mouthed child knows loyalty to their master. Little one, have you ever attended school?”

“My Lady raised and taught me. I have never properly gone to school.”

Before I had even finished, the laughter around me grew louder still.

Certain of victory, Zhao Rui smiled faintly and unfastened the jade-studded belt at his waist. “Then for today’s first bout, we shall discuss the defense of a city.”

He used the belt as the city gate and several pebbles as soldiers, then began launching attacks from cunning angles.

I was not the least bit afraid. My answers came smoothly, one after another.

At first, he could still question me from on high. But as I gradually turned the tide and counterattacked, the smile on his face began to falter.

“Who is this lady of yours?”

“My Lady’s surname is Su.”

Not far away, Crown Prince Rang was approaching hand in hand with My Lady. They looked like a pair of immortals carved from jade.

No matter how Zhao Rui tried to hide it, he could not conceal the jealousy and gloom in his eyes. “So it is her…” He shoved the stone board before him aside. “Your lady was born to a military family. No wonder you understand such things!”

“This round shall count as my loss!”

I thought that would be the end of it, but the Imperial Academy students refused to let the matter go. “As the saying goes, a foot may have its shortcomings, and an inch may have its strengths. What does a single contest prove?”

“Exactly!”

“How can Your Highness yield just like that?”

The crowd was arguing fiercely when, all at once, a series of distant, clear moos drifted toward us. A simple wooden carriage slowly rolled into view.

Pulling it was not a horse, but a snow-white divine ox. Its hooves struck the ground, kicking up puffs of sandy mist. Within the carriage, a figure could be glimpsed, with black hair and plain robes, the folds of his clothing white as snow.

Crown Prince Rang immediately went forward to ask after him with warm concern, even offering him support as he stepped down.

Han Mo, courtesy name Daoyi.

He was born into a Pure Current family. His grandfather had once been granted the imperial title of Meritorious Statesman Who Guided Two Reigns. Han Mo had never deigned to notice the dust of the mortal world. He had made his name in youth, and was the youngest Hanlin Academician in history.

Seeing more and more people gathering to watch, I still wanted to argue my case. But then I saw My Lady quietly shake her head at me.

There was no one in this world who could make me lower my head except her.

So I swallowed my anger and agreed to the second round.

A game of chess.