Chi Xiaochi set the tone without moving, “What makes you think so?”

Yan Yuanzhao slightly straightened up: “Never mind what Master Six thinks, Master Six wants to know what you think.”

Chi Xiaochi does not say a word.

”In your generation, you are the only one in the Toki family who stands out. Your two cousins, one a Confucian student, the other of mediocre qualifications compared to you, are barely.” Yan Yuanzhao said, “If you’re interested in that boy, just play around with him, don’t take it seriously.”

At this point, Yan Yuanzhao realized that something was wrong and took it upon himself to press the board.

Chi Xiaochi was so preoccupied with sorting out the characters that he only gave him a faint look.

Yan Yuanzhao said cautiously, “If I had said that in the past, you would have turned the table with me. Why have you changed your mind today?”

Chi Xiaochi said lightly, “I’m going to win this game, so what’s the point of turning over the table.”

Yan Yuanzhao was immediately aroused: “You can still win if the Sixth Master gives way?”

Chi Xiaochi : “…… Dare I ask when you have given way?”

Yan Yuanzhao pointed boldly to the spot where he had just landed: “Exactly Fang just now.”

Chi Xiaochi : “……”

Roll out the gram.

The feudal imperial system is out of the Go world.

In just three games, Yan Yuanzhao was slaughtered by Chi Xiaochi.

It was getting late and Yan Yuanzhao was half-invited, half-thrown out of the General’s residence by General Shi on the pretext that “I have to go to bed early, as tomorrow the gentleman has a morning lesson”.

Once in the carriage, Yan Yuanzhao still wouldn’t stop: “See, I made him.”

Qu Ying, however, wanted to say something else: “…… The Sixth Prince.”

Yan Yuanzhao goes to check which incense is burning in the incense burner of today’s carriage: “What is it?”

”Chess is chess, wine is wine.” Qu Ying whispered, ” Qu Ying dares not forget the purpose of your initial friendship with the young general.”

Yan Yuanzhao puts the lotus-petal-shaped bronze cover back in its place, silent.

He opened the curtain with his golden fan and looked out.

In front of him was the plaque of the General’s residence. The lustre of the General’s residence, which has lasted for seven generations, has never faded.

Most of the plaques in the General’s residence are his father’s ink and writing, and were given to him by his own hand.

But from the outside alone, the General’s Palace, with its grey brick walls and unadorned gold and jade, is understated and restrained, standing quietly outside the glorious royal city of Wangcheng.

The Toki family, the fortress and retainer of the Yan family for generations, has been loyal since the beginning, one word for another.

He lowered the curtain and raised his voice, “Let’s go.”

Before Chi Xiaochi had a chance to catch his breath after the location, there was another not-so-subtle problem.

A Ling invited, “Please clean your hands and have your evening meal.”

Tonight the food is not bad. The soup was made from fresh chicken and bamboo shoots, which had been simmered for a long time, with the froth and drippings skimmed off to make the clearest soup.

Chi Xiaochi glanced at the dishes and said, “Give one of each to the gentleman.”

A Ling said as she plied him with food, “It’s been delivered. The gentleman’s spleen and stomach are weak, so he was given less meat that is difficult to be restrained and an extra bird’s nest.”

Chi Xiaochi stares at A Ling’s hand.

A Ling drew hot water, dipped a towel in it, wrung it out and gave it to Chi Xiaochi to wipe his hands: “I will do everything that is on your mind, please don’t worry.”

Chi Xiaochi, having lost his appetite, raised his chopsticks and ate two chopsticks, feeling that it was a bit of a waste, he naturally said, “You haven’t eaten either, have you?”

A Ling smiled, seemingly accustomed to such favours: “Thank you, my lord, for the reward.”

With that, he quickly fetched spare bowls and chopsticks and stood to use the meal.

…… It seems that Shi Tingyun and A Ling are indeed more intimate.

Book is more verbose in comparison.

A Ling, whose first name is Chu Ziling, and A Shu, who is of Bai origin in the south of the country, and Li Yeshu, his Chinese name, clearly come from families who have studied, which shows how much care his father took in choosing his side.

Compared to Li Yeshu, who is possessed by the monk, Chu Ziling is a more intelligent and thoughtful person, with smiling peach blossom eyes and a smile before she speaks.

When Chi Xiaochi’s bowl of wonton soup is almost finished, he adds to it at the right time, his eyes arched in a way that tells you he is not in a bad mood.

Chi Xiaochi asked quite gently, “What are you laughing at?”

A Ling said frankly, “My son’s health has improved, and Ziling’s heart rejoices.”

Chi Xiaochi took the bowl of soup: “Where were you?”

”I am terrified that you are so concerned about Zi Ling.” A Ling laughed, “But please spare Zi Ling, if Zi Ling were around, the Sixth Prince would have taken revenge for the last three sons.”

Chi Xiaochi let out a hint and ordered, “Pack up the master bedroom, from now on, the gongzi master will stay in my room.”

This caused A Ling to freeze, “My lord?”

Chi Xiaochi said with an air of righteousness, “Recently, my father has been sending me letters from time to time to inform me of important matters on the frontier, and I have many things to ask you for advice. Father has instructed me to talk to you more often and to sleep with you on the same couch as you, as a sign of respect.”

”Yes. Ziling will take note of it.” A Ling responded smoothly, “Only Ziling is alone, the tidying up will be slow. After the meal, Ziling will bring in a few people from the outer courtyard to help tidy up.”

”Where’s Shu?”

”Did you perhaps forget to sleep?” A Ling said, “Ah Shu’s youngest sister is working in the family home of Mr. Qi on the outskirts of the city, and you have given Ah Shu permission to go out to visit her on the thirteenth of every month. This is the day of his visit, and he was a few hours late in order to look after your health. Before he left, he was thinking of you and said he would go to a Turkic caravan to buy some spices for you to use.”

Chi Xiaochi did not say a word, but secretly wrote down some key phrases, intending to talk to her husband about them at night.

But by the end of the night, Chi Xiaochi’s righteousness was all but emptied.

As the Master of the House has difficulty moving, the Grand Duke has to attend to his needs, including washing and bathing.

Lou Ying’s body was thin, his skin was bloodless due to the lack of sunlight, his legs were always weak and he needed to be carried to bathe, and the barrel was too confining for him to do so, so the two of them went to the soup pond in the house.

Lou Ying’s face is not a glamorous thing, so she hides it from the public, so Chi Xiaochi has sent her attendants away.

Everyone in the general’s household has been trained to know what to say and what not to say, and the most they can do is belly-laugh.

It is said that this master has been ill for a long time and is afraid of light and cold, so he lives away from people, but he wears a power fence at night.

The body is light enough to carry Lou Ying, clad in a bathrobe, into the water, and then Chi Xiaochi dips into the pool with him, slightly dizzy from the sulphurous heat that pours over him.

He asked Lou Ying, “Is it hot?”

Lou Ying sits at the edge of the pool, gently cleaning the tattooed lines from the corners of her eyes: “It’s fine, my legs don’t feel anything, they’re just a bit tingly.”

Chi Xiaochi took a quiet deep breath and tried to convince herself.

What’s that, a small scene.

When he was younger, he even went to the bathhouse with Lou, and almost suffered dehydration and heatstroke in the steam room to see who could handle the heat better, but Lou noticed that his condition was not right, so he took him out and bought him a cold drink to put on his cheek to help him wake up.

Chi Xiaochi’s heart was softened by the thought, her mouth was filled with the light scent of orange soda, and she was emboldened to approach him and rub his legs and back.

Chi Xiaochi, fearing that he might develop bed sores, lifted his legs up and covered the key points and carefully cleaned the roots of his legs.

His skin is so white that a rubbing turns him red, and Chi Xiaochi is careful not to hurt him, so the result is that rubbing turns into touching.

…… The air is overflowing with a giving gas that no amount of sulphur can suppress.

Lou Ying flexed her body and gritted her teeth before clenching her fist and whispering, “…… Mmm. Okay.”

Chi Xiaochi, thinking she’d done a pretty good job, sidled up to her, “Finished?”

Lou Ying struggled to prop up a leg, blocking part of Chi Xiaochi’s view, “For now, no. I’ll shower on my own for a while, you go and wash up.”

Chi Xiaochi is also a little uncomfortable, rubbing his face, which is red from the heat, and moves to the side, keeping a distance from Lou Ying, so that he can feel more at ease.

After a long moment, Lou Ying’s tense body relaxed slightly, exhaled and turned his face sideways to ask him, “Who do you suspect?”

Chi Xiaochi, in a relaxed mood, teases the water and has fun: “It’s all a problem.”

Yan Yuanheng is too introverted and his mind is not hard to guess, but no one knows what the consequences of his thoughts will be.

Book, of slightly awkward origins, will go out regularly and is worth keeping an eye on.

Lou Ying asked, “Where is A Ling?”

Chi Xiaochi said, “It remains to be seen. He practised martial arts and there are signs of tape on his hands, but nothing else can be seen, except that he did enjoy Shi Tingyun’s favour.”

He paused for a moment:” Yan Yuanzhao ……”

In his view, there was nothing wrong with Yan Yuanzhao per se, but the fact that he was so close to Shi Tingyun that he was like a brother, with no barriers between them, was in itself somewhat bizarre.

Lou Ying moved at this point.

With one hand on the edge, he floats through the water and gets in front of Chi Xiaochi, kneeling precisely between his knees and forcing him straight back.

Chi Xiaochi choked.

But before his heart could beat faster, Lou Ying said, “Yan Yuanzhao.”

He placed his index finger against Chi Xiaochi’s temple.

Qu Ying’s conversation with Yan Yuanzhao in the carriage reached his ears in all its glory.

Lou Ying explained briefly, “I met with him. Put something on him.”

With business on their minds, the two of them bathed and returned to their rooms, during which they talked the whole way and summarised the available information.

Chi Xiaochi carried Lou Ying to the bed and placed him on the inside, covered him with a thick quilt before turning over to the bed, blowing out the two candles and settling down beside him.

It was still a bit chilly at the beginning of spring, so for Lou Ying’s health, a heater was added to the house.

Chi Xiaochi is a little hot, so he only covers his waist and stomach with a single blanket and rests one hand on the back of his head to think.

Lou Ying was close to him, looking into his eyes glowing in the darkness, and said gently, “Hot?”

”It’s not bad.”

”Tell you one thing?”

Chi Xiaochi thought he had found something else: “Go ahead.”

”Actually, my legs aren’t all senseless.” Lou Ying turned sideways and added, “…… where the root of the leg is.”

Chi Xiaochi’s blood rushes to his head.

Lou Ying said, “I’ll be mindful of that if I can look after you in the future.”

As he spoke, a cold hand peeked out from the darkness, gently grabbed Chi Xiaochi’s fingers and squeezed them gently.

”Your palms are sweating.” The voice in his ear carried a smile that made half his face tingle, “Hot?”

Chi Xiaochi didn’t say anything and tucked Lou Ying’s hand under his quilt, tucking it in and then trying to pull it out, but the hand tightened, as if it wouldn’t let him go.

Chi Xiaochi pursed her lips, gritted her teeth and gave him her hand.

Slightly sweaty fingers hooked together in one place.

The bones are hard, the damp palms are soft to squeeze.

Chi Xiaochi closes his eyes and has a dreamy night, perhaps due to his pre-sleep thoughts.

Chi Xiaochi walks alone through a hazy mist of blood, the smell of forced blood in his nostrils.

He staggered through a city, his hands and feet heavily shackled, his nails missing, supposedly plucked raw from his hands, inhaling a breath and spitting out blood that stung his throat with sweetness and astringency.

He knew very well that this was the dream of the original owner, but he could not see anything but the incessant whispering of people, which swept past his ears like the wind.

”Report! The Southern Border Rebellion! General Shi Jinghong has been killed by hemlock!”

”My lord …… general he ……”

”A yellow-mouthed boy, can he lead the North’s army? It’s not as if you can fix an army just because you’ve fought in a war!”

Followed by Shu’s voice: “The Duke has only been in battle! It’s too hard to ask him to lead the entire North House Army …….”

A Ling : “I will be by the Duke’s side, you keep an eye on the house and I will return, with the Duke.”

Next came A Ling’s voice, full of joy: “Congratulations to the Duke on his victory!

After that, there was a long silence.

Step by step he walked aimlessly through the blood and mist, thinking for a moment that he was going to reach the end of his dream until ……

” Shi Tingyun, why do you think the Sixth Master has been friends with you!” He suddenly heard a man hiss, “But it’s because your name is Shi! Your surname is Shi!”

The voice of the wanderer who was playing chess with him today was hoarse with a numbing sense of determination: “…… Do you think I, Yan Yuanzhao, am still your best friend? No! Not from the very beginning!”

The scene shifts and the blood fog lifts as Chi Xiaochi sits in a prison cell, looking down at the shackles on his wrists.

There was a creaking and opening sound from the cell door.

He turned towards the door of the cell, and a fancy dressed gentleman, walking on clouds, slowly walked up to him and knelt down on one knee in front of him.

The thirteenth prince, Yan Yuanheng.

His hair is a little messy at the temples and the corners of his mouth are stained with blood, as if he has just been through a great battle.

Chi Xiaochi did not speak, but simply stared at him levelly, mouthing the words in a controlled manner.

Without a word, Yan Yuanheng held the back of his neck and gave it two soothing presses, before a sharp object was placed against Chi Xiaochi’s throat.

He struck with extreme ruthlessness and speed, slicing his throat with a single blow, and blood instantly spurted out.

The pain from the slash on his neck made Chi Xiaochi bounce out of bed in horror, turn on his side and vomit twice, struggle down to the floor, fling himself at the desk, pull a piece of paper and, with the ink left in his ink stone, recollect the words he had muttered in his dream.

At the end, he dropped his pen and dropped into his chair, taking a sip of cold tea before calming down.

Lou Ying sat up from the bed, “What?”

Chi Xiaochi grabbed the paper, returned to the bed and showed it to Lou Ying.

– “My humble servant does not dare to defile the Emperor’s ten thousand gold bodies.”