After Tian Jingren left, the Plum Meeting had to continue, but many Cultivation practitioners felt it was a pity that they had missed the opportunity to learn from the grandmasters.
The disciple of Shui Yue Nunnery, Guo Dong, had won first place in the zither tournament. Next was the chess tournament.
In the past Plum Meetings, the chess tournament had received the least attention. It was not because people were not interested in it, but because the outcome was already determined.
Just like the saying, "The winner is always the Water-Moon Nunnery." When it came to chess … the winner was always Tong Yan.
However, the situation was a bit different this year. The chess tournament had attracted more attention.
Of course, nobody doubted that the final winner would be Tong Yan.
He had just defeated the number one chess player in the imperial court, Grand Scholar Guo, in the middle game outside the old plum garden the day before, and then he had defeated a dozen highly achieved chess players in Zhaoge City. His victory was unprecedented.
Yet, many people focused their attention on another person: Jing Jiu.
Jing Jiu had become famous in the Cultivation circle.
It was because he was the personal disciple of the Immortal Jingyang, and he and Zhao Layue were the youngest masters of the second generation in the Aoyama Sect.
Jing Jiu had won first place in the chess tournament at the Four-Seas Banquet.
But he was still ranked very low in the list of the Curtain Rollers. He was not a threat to Tong Yan, and he might not even be able to meet Tong Yan in the chess tournament.
Many people wondered why Tong Yan asked Jing Jiu to watch the chess game and say those words.
Why did Jing Jiu and Grand Scholar Guo stare at the game for a long time after Jing Jiu put down the black Go piece with a hint of cleverness?
Someone had asked Grand Scholar Guo about it, but Grand Scholar Guo only smiled without saying a word.
All these events made people speculate and imagine, and they became more and more interested in the chess tournament.
What pushed the chess tournament to its climax were two recent events.
One of them was that the Emperor would come to the tournament in person.
In the past Plum Meetings, the Emperor would only show up at the last event, the Cultivation tournament. Why did he pay so much attention to the chess tournament this year?
Hearing Zhao Layue's explanation, Jing Jiu shook his head, wondering why the Emperor had so much free time.
…
…
There would always be a break in the endless spring rain.
The morning light shone into the palace. Droplets of water hung on the edge of the green plants outside the window. The light passed through the middle and refracted into many spots of light that fell on the wall.
The Royal Concubine Hu waved her hand disapprovingly, motioning for the palace servant girls not to disturb her.
— — What's the hurry with washing up?
She leaned lazily on the windowsill, smelling the fresh air and looking at the scenery in the garden. She felt very happy, even more beautiful than she was.
Part of her good mood stemmed from the words that Tian Jingren had asked the boy to convey to her in the old plum garden yesterday. The other part stemmed from the wonderful night last night.
Imagining the scene of silk swaying among the white jade under the candlelight, her cheeks reddened and she revealed a bashful expression. She had been in the palace for so many years, but His Majesty still doted on her. She still couldn't let go and felt very shy. Sometimes she was also very puzzled. Why didn't the rumored racial talent appear on her?
Of course, His Majesty's love for her was not only reflected in these aspects.
Last night, the Emperor agreed to take her to watch the chess tournament after she acted like a spoiled child by his pillow. This was the true love.
As a result, the chess tournament of the Plum Meeting would be watched by many people. How embarrassing it would be for that guy named Jing Jiu to be defeated by Tong Yan?
Thinking of that scene, the Royal Concubine Hu laughed contentedly, the tip of her nose wrinkled slightly, looking quite adorable.
She was well aware of the status of the Aoyama Sect in Chaotian.
She had given up the idea of avenging Zhu Gui after Zen Master refused to see her.
Yet, she still wanted to do something for that poor guy, as well as to help her vent her anger.
What she did was to repay the favor, and also to end the cause and effect.
She didn't dare forget what Zen Master had taught her back then.
The morning sunlight grew brighter, and the water droplets fell off the edge of the green leaves. The Royal Concubine had finally gotten up.
The palace was always so boring and desolate during the day.
She pulled back her gaze from the outside of the window unwillingly and looked at the old eunuch waiting by the side, saying, "Bring me the medicine."
She had to take the medicine every morning, the name of which was the Duanli Pill.
The Duanli Pill didn't do any harm to the consumer; on the contrary, it could help to regulate the mind. In addition, it had another function: preventing a woman from getting pregnant.
The Emperor told her to take the Duanli Pill the first day she came to the palace, and since then, she had to take the Duanli Pill every morning, even though the Emperor didn't come to see her the night before.
The Emperor didn't send someone to monitor her taking the medicine, nor did he ask someone to force her to take it, but she didn't dare stop taking it for a day.
In the beginning, she couldn't help but feel sad and even angry, but she had gradually become numb to it, and it had even become a habit of hers. If she forgot to take the medicine when she woke up one day, she would feel uneasy, as if something was wrong. She wouldn't feel at ease until she remembered it and swallowed the medicine.
Yet, she felt depressed and unspeakably irritated whenever she thought of taking the medicine.
She was born a vixen, so she didn't dare hope to have a child with the Emperor. However, the Crown Prince had been looking at her in a more and more strange way in the last two years, including when they were in the plum garden the day before.
Thinking of what Tian Jingren had said, she felt a bit hopeful. What if the Emperor agreed to it? He loved her so much, but … how could she tell him?
As she was thinking of all this, she didn't notice that the old eunuch didn't bring her the clean water and the pills as usual.
"The Emperor had decreed before he left that you shouldn't take the medicine anymore."
The old eunuch said with a mild expression.
Royal Concubine Hu was taken aback, and asked in bewilderment, "What did you say?"
The old eunuch looked at her with an affectionate expression, saying, "Congratulations, Your Highness."
Royal Concubine Hu came back to her senses and covered her mouth with her hands, feeling indescribably shocked.
The Emperor … the Emperor … allowed her to have a child?
What was going on?
Who could change the Emperor's mind?
An indescribable ecstasy rushed into her heart.
The happiness came too suddenly.
She let out a faint sound.
She fainted just like that.
…
…
"I don't like this prince."
Jing Jiu said, "He doesn't have a good sense of propriety and position."
Zhao Layue didn't quite understand what Jing Jiu meant, and felt it strange, saying, "It doesn't seem like something you would care about."
Jing Jiu said, "I don't want to either, but I have no other choice."
Zhao Layue still didn't understand what he meant.
The current emperor had only one prince, and that was the noble-looking young man in embroidered cloth in the plum garden the day before.
Many chancellors and the majority of the populace in the imperial court regarded him as the rightful successor of the dynasty, and they often called him the Crown Prince.
Jing Jiu didn't think so.
In view of the Emperor's Cultivation state, he could have children at any time if he wanted to, but he didn't want to.
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