The First Lackey Under The Empress

A Good Match!

Inside the gray and black courtyard of the charity house, Zhao Du'an's heart skipped a beat. At that moment, the muscles beneath his cotton coat tensed, giving rise to an instinctive sense of vigilance.

He suspected he had been exposed!

The princess's sudden mention of him, her undisguised praise and criticism, and her reference to a good match for Zhenbao, indeed felt like she was "pointing" at him.

It made Zhao Du'an suspect that she had seen through his disguise.

But after catching a glimpse of Princess Wenzhu's natural expression, her sincere and unmocking eyes, he immediately realized that he was overthinking things.

What followed was an unspeakable sense of weirdness, and he twitched the corner of his mouth: "Your Highness is joking..."

The noblewoman, highly respected in the Western Regions, raised a smile on her slightly rough but uniquely charming face:

"Is Master Lin perhaps frightened? If you truly have such intentions, this aunt can act as an introducer on your behalf."

This thought was a spur-of-the-moment idea.

If she could promote and support an upright new male favorite to replace that Zhao Du'an, it might be a clever way to eliminate the treacherous minister without harming the relationship between her niece and herself.

Even from a purely self-interested perspective, if this Lin Ke could rise to power, she could also earn a favor.

It would be beneficial to further consolidate the Western Regions' relationship with the Empress's regime.

Zhao Du'an was familiar with similar operations in history. For example, in Wu Zetian's later years, when she was lonely, her daughters would often send male favorites to their mother as a way of ingratiating themselves.

Especially Wu Zetian's daughter, Princess Taiping, was the most diligent. It is said that many of the handsome men presented to Wu Zetian had been "personally tested" by Princess Taiping first.

Only those that the daughter felt were good would be offered to the mother.

It's simply eye-watering...

But it was indeed a powerful means of strengthening the mother-daughter relationship.

Zhao Du'an was quick-witted and understood immediately. He secretly grimaced, feeling a sense of darkness before his eyes, and couldn't help but look forward to the other party's reaction after learning his true identity...

Well... provided that this aunt doesn't also think about "testing" him for her niece first... yikes...

Shaking his head to banish the messy thoughts, Zhao Du'an looked righteous and awe-inspiring:

"Your Highness, please don't mention it again. Her Majesty is so noble, and Envoy Zhao is also a dragon among men. The two of them are a match made in heaven. Your Highness must have heard many slanders against Envoy Zhao from somewhere."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Princess Wenzhu's eyes, and she asked curiously:

"Oh? Is that so? But I have heard many curses, especially from many Buddhists in the city, who particularly dislike this person."

These words were deliberately naive and ignorant, a probe.

Zhao Du'an said sternly:

"Although I am of humble status, I also know what is great good and what is small kindness.

Envoy Zhao is planning for the new policies and recently went to the south to preside over the opening of the market... This is beneficial to the country and the people, and that is great good.

What does it matter that I help a few orphans? As for those believers who are angered by the 'ban on Buddhism' and slander Envoy Zhao, they are just temporarily deceived."

Princess Wenzhu smiled and said nothing.

She was not surprised by Lin Ke's reaction.

After all, with the reputation of that "King Yama Zhao," who would dare to openly slander him?

This Lin Ke claims to be from a humble background, and even if he has some connections, he certainly wouldn't dare to provoke or offend that Zhao Du'an.

Therefore, such a statement is only human nature.

However, even a talent like the young man before her fears that "King Yama Zhao" to this extent, which shows how powerful and deeply rooted the treacherous minister's power is, and how deeply ingrained his brutality is in people's hearts.

As for her sudden comparison between the two and her disparagement of Zhao Du'an, it was also a deliberate move:

As long as this Lin Ke doesn't react in time and shows a tendency to accept her statement, it would mean "giving her a handle."

It would be equivalent to giving her a weakness to hold against him.

Such verbal traps were not malicious, but rather, because she admired the talent before her and had the intention of recruiting him, she devised a way to further bind him to her.

Unfortunately, Lin Ke's answer was watertight.

Phew... I managed to muddle through. I was almost deceived by her previous "Saintly Mother" appearance and lowered my guard... Zhao Du'an sighed inwardly, seeing the noblewoman's slightly disappointed expression.

Finally, he had a preliminary impression of this princess who had returned from a distant marriage.

When he first saw the information, seeing a lonely woman who had married far away and was able to help her husband gain a foothold in the situation, Zhao Du'an had imagined a powerful female monarch figure.

But after interacting with her, he felt that she was more like a "Saintly Mother" brand.

Now, after her unintentional little tricks and ambushes in her words, Zhao Du'an also roughly sketched out the image of this Western Regions Saintly Mother in his mind:

She has some scheming skills, but she is not a strong person. Instead, she is good at forming alliances and binding together relationships. She is a key figure jointly promoted by the Buddhist ancestral court and the Great Yu Dynasty to consolidate "Sino-Western Regions friendship."

The "people-friendly" and "Saintly Mother" image she displays to the outside world is not a disguise, but it does have utilitarian components.

And in the brief conversation, she tried to introduce him as a male favorite in order to bring the Western Regions and the Empress closer together, while also achieving the goal of striking at Zhao Du'an... a double-edged sword, with agile thinking.

Not surprising.

The Western Regions is ultimately different from the Great Yu Dynasty. If the Wenzhu Princess before her is the "Regent" on the surface,

Then the Buddhist "Dharma King" and the five monastic orders are the "Supreme Emperors" of the Western Regions.

As long as the Dharma King remains high above, Princess Wenzhu can only ever be an affiliated "Saintly Woman" of the Buddhist sect, unable to control true power.

In the small courtyard.

The two fell into a brief silence.

But they had different thoughts in their hearts.

One wanted to recruit and win over.

The other was trying to understand and make friends.

Meanwhile, the Western Regions warriors surrounding the stone table, and Shen Juan and his two companions, who had returned from their errands and reunited with their colleagues, were all waiting in silence.

At this moment, the one-legged old院长(Dean) carried a teapot and walked over laboriously, shouting in a loud voice:

"Look at my memory, two benefactors have come, but they haven't had a sip of hot water..."

Zhao Du'an took the opportunity to get up and bid farewell with a smile: "No need to entertain us, we'll take our leave now."

The院长(Dean) also knew that the charity house was poor and unable to entertain guests, so he respectfully saw a group of people out.

Zhao Du'an looked at the sky. There was still some time before noon, and he invited:

"Your Highness hasn't returned to the capital for a long time. If you have time, how about I treat you to lunch?"

Princess Wenzhu glanced at him and shook her head with a smile.

Zhao Du'an was stunned.

He only heard the Western Regions noblewoman's moist lips, exhaling a string of white mist in the winter sun. She rubbed her hands and said softly:

"Master Lin has taught me a lot today, so I should treat you. But before that, I was originally planning to go to Huangting Lane. If Master Lin is interested, you can come along and join in the fun."

Huangting Lane?

The lane in the capital known for its gathering of chess players?

"What's so lively there?" Zhao Du'an asked curiously.

Princess Wenzhu's face was a little dazzlingly white in the sunlight reflected by the white snow. Her red lips curled up slightly:

"There is."

...

...

Huangting Lane.

Located a few streets away from the charity house, on the edge of the eastern city and the main city center of the capital.

It is a place where围棋(Go) enthusiasts in the capital gather all year round. The street where Huangting Lane is located is home to several well-known棋社(Go clubs) in the capital.

Seven out of ten围棋圣手(Go sages) of all dynasties have emerged from here, making it a well-known holy land for chess players throughout the Great Yu Dynasty.

The lane is long and old, and there is a plum tree at the entrance of the lane that is said to be a hundred years old. Because it is adjacent to many棋社(Go clubs), it is the most concentrated place for chess stalls in the capital.

Whether in the cold winter or hot summer, it is always bustling with activity.

Those who set up stalls and play chess here include both folk experts and disciples from several large棋社(Go clubs). Even围棋国手(Go grandmasters) who are respected as "棋待诏(Chess Attendants)" in the palace occasionally appear here.

When Zhao Du'an and Wenzhu arrived outside the lane by carriage, they saw that the snow at the entrance of the lane had been cleared early, and they could hear the noise in the lane from afar.

"It is said that the reason why this humble lane is named 'Huangting' is because a house deep in the lane is the former residence of a chess sage of the previous dynasty, hence the name."

Princess Wenzhu got off her horse and walked to his side, her eyes full of nostalgia:

"When I was in the palace, I once studied under the棋待诏(Chess Attendant) Wang Jixin, and the first game of chess I learned was the Huangting棋谱(Go score)."

Zhao Du'an couldn't hide his surprise: "Does Your Highness like to play chess?"

The one who answered him was the tall female warrior with her hair braided loosely.

However, unlike before in the charity house, the several Western Regions guards, led by the female warrior, took out winter cotton cloaks from the carriage, wore hoods, and wrapped themselves up completely.

Especially their faces, which were wrapped in scarves.

With this attire, they could not be distinguished as people from the Western Regions. As long as they didn't speak, outsiders would only think they were Yu country people wearing thicker clothes.

It was clearly to keep a low profile and avoid being surrounded by onlookers.

"围棋(Go) is very popular in the Western Regions. Hundreds of years ago, General Zhang of the Yu country边军(border army) introduced围棋(Go) to the Western Regions, and it became popular from then on. There are no fewer棋手(Go players) than in your Yu country," the female warrior said in somewhat broken Mandarin.

That's right... There are few entertainment options in the Western Regions, and playing chess is indeed a low-cost game to relieve boredom... Zhao Du'an nodded.

Princess Wenzhu asked in return: "Master Lin is not familiar with this place?"

Zhao Du'an nodded honestly: "I usually play chess, but this is my first time coming here."

He had indeed never been here before. The former owner of his body used to be a soldier and didn't like围棋(Go) at all, only roughly knowing the rules.

Later, when he became a纨绔(playboy), he had even less interest in coming to such a boring place.

After Zhao Du'an transmigrated, he did play a lot of games, but mostly to relieve boredom occasionally, or casually make a move in social situations.

For example, when he went to the imperial garden of the palace and saw Yuan Li playing chess with the Empress...

At that time, he saw the level of围棋(Go) in this world.

How should I put it… His chess skills aren't bad, but many of his tactics and ideas are very "outdated."

In his previous life, Zhao Du'an learned Go for a while to please his superiors, but his level was quite average. However, during his studies, he was attracted by some stories in the chess world and abstract streamers… He read a lot of materials.

Among them, he inevitably watched people explain the famous games of many Go masters in history, like watching a lively show without fully understanding it.

Therefore, although his chess skills were not good, his vision was quite remarkable.

After transmigrating, with his vision cultivated by the chess records and famous games of past masters, he naturally found the Go of the Great Yu Dynasty to be dull and backward.

Many well-known tactics and fixed patterns from later generations have not appeared at all.

Naturally, he couldn't generate much interest. Especially after he advanced to the "Divine Chapter" realm, his five senses were greatly enhanced.

His memory, agility, and calculation power had already surpassed ordinary people by a large margin, his chess skills soared accordingly, and coupled with his vision, he became even less interested in this thing.

Why would he be bored enough to come to this Huangting Lane to play guidance chess with a bunch of chickens?

Listening to music in brothels… Bah, isn't it better to work hard for the country?

However, these words fell into Princess Wenzhu's ears, and she only thought that this Young Master Lin was not good at Go.

"Let's go, let's go in and take a look."

Princess Wenzhu pursed her red lips and invited.

Zhao Du'an stroked his disguised chin, revealing an interested expression.

…

…

The arrival of the noble lady and the young master did not attract much attention.

Because today, all the Go players in Huangting Lane were attracted by a certain outsider who was also visiting for the first time.

When Zhao Du'an stepped into the alley, he found the stone slab ground, which had been swept clean of snow, was empty.

The chess stalls that used to stretch from one end of the alley to the other were all empty.

A small paper stool, the vertical and horizontal lines on the wooden chessboard, and the black and white chess pieces were all hastily discarded in the winter air.

Almost everyone was gathered around a chess stall deep in the alley.

Zhao Du'an and his party walked past the century-old winter plum tree and arrived at the outer layer of the crowd, which was surrounded three layers deep.

Without him ordering.

Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan, as well as the female warrior and other Western Region people, forcibly carved out a passage with brute force.

"Who is it!"

"Don't push!"

Inevitably, it attracted bursts of scolding.

But those chess players wearing thick cotton robes and crowding around with their necks craned, immediately silenced and swallowed their curses when they caught sight of Zhao Du'an and Wenzhu walking hand in hand.

Although they didn't recognize them, they knew from their bearing alone that they must be a lady and a young master with status.

How dare they provoke them?

The closer Zhao Du'an got, the clearer the subtle sounds of chess pieces "pa pa" falling and hitting the chessboard became from the gaps in the crowd.

When he separated the crowd at the front, he finally saw the scene in the crowd.

It turned out that two chess players were playing against each other. The chessboard was densely packed with black and white pieces, and more than half of the game had passed.

One of them was a gaunt middle-aged man.

The other one was actually a young novice monk!

About ten years old, with a childish face, wearing a red monk's robe, his appearance had the typical three-dimensional features of a Western Region person, but his demeanor was similar to that of a Yu country person.

Next to the young monk was a large bamboo box. His legs were together, sitting on a small stool, his back straight.

His expression was focused.

"Pa ta."

Dan Che picked up a black piece, placed it somewhere on the chessboard, and then said calmly:

"You lost."

The gaunt middle-aged chess player's face was slightly pale, and fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

Hua—

The surrounding crowd erupted in another round of clamor, and someone shouted:

"Dragon is killed! The big dragon is killed!"

Everyone's face showed a shocked expression.

Dan Che?

Zhao Du'an's pupils suddenly narrowed, and in his mind, the information and portrait of the Western Region envoy member appeared.

He recognized this young monk he had never met before, who was the personal disciple of the Western Region envoy leader, "Holy Monk."

Why would this sensitive Western Region monk appear here?

Is this the excitement you brought me to see?

Zhao Du'an turned his head and looked at Princess Wenzhu's profile.

Princess Wenzhu had already started asking a chess player in the crowd about the situation. The latter, seeing that it was a beautiful woman with an extraordinary temperament, blushed and eagerly explained the process.

It turned out that just as dawn broke today, this little monk came to Huangting Lane alone, carrying a bamboo box on his back.

He occupied a small stall, set up a chessboard, and carefully erected a wooden sign that said "Challenge" on the ground. If you win him, you can get ten taels of silver.

Soon, this little monk, whose appearance was obviously not from Yu Country, attracted attention. Some chess players curiously went over and played against him.

As a result, all who came were defeated, and in the fifth game, after Dan Che, the little monk, defeated a chess player from a Kyoto chess hall with a good reputation in the middle game, he finally caused a sensation in Huangting Lane.

Some people began to invite masters from the chess hall to come out and play against him, vowing to "kill the temper of this foreign monk!", "Teach him to know what is called the immensity of heaven and earth!"

But the identity of the chess players who came to participate in the battle became higher and higher, but the record became more and more miserable.

Defeat!

Miserable defeat!

Even more miserable defeat!

The young monk seemed to have never been strenuous. No matter what kind of opponent he faced, he would break down the opponent in the middle game.

He didn't make any bold statements, but a young man from a foreign land repeatedly defeating Kyoto chess players was a great humiliation in itself.

So, not long ago, the dean of the Kyoto Chess Academy finally took action himself, who was this middle-aged man in front of him.

However, the latter, who was placed with high hopes, was still unable to hold on in the middle game.

"Your Highness… Madam, this is?" Zhao Du'an leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

Princess Wenzhu said calmly:

"I also only knew about Dan Che's arrival here on the way back to Beijing this time. He has been learning chess in the Red Top Temple in the Western Regions for many years, and once said that he wanted to one day come to the capital of Yu Country to ask the chess masters for advice."

"However, I heard from the people of the ancestral court of Buddhism that they believe that this young man's chess skills are already enough to sweep through the capital."

Sweep through the capital?

Zhao Du'an quickly understood the hidden meaning of these words.

The Western Region envoy entered the city and issued a challenge to debate scriptures with the Shenlong Temple in order to promote the reputation of the ancestral court. Then, this seemingly inconspicuous little monk was to promote the fame of the Western Region Buddhism in chess.

The purpose of everything was to highlight the sense of existence in order to seek to use the Shenlong Temple as a springboard to infiltrate the influence of the Western Region Buddhism into the territory of the Great Yu Dynasty.

And if this young man really swept through all the Yu Country chess players, there was no doubt that this would become the best cheering before the "Buddhist scripture debate."

"Dean…"

At this time, the expressions of several chess players from the chess academy next to him changed drastically. Someone looked up at the sky and suddenly said loudly:

"It's almost noon, seal the chess!"

The others woke up one after another and echoed: "Seal the chess!"

Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows, knowing that these people were going to use lunchtime as an excuse to "pause in the middle of the game" to buy time for the dean of the chess academy.

The longest game of chess in the Great Yu Dynasty lasted a full three and a half months. It was because of repeated "sealing the chess" in the middle. The weaker side, seeing that the situation was not good, would start a pause, go home to find people to brainstorm and conceive a method to break the game.

The little monk Dan Che blinked, opened the bamboo box next to him, took out a lunch box from it, handed it over, and said:

"The meal is here."

Everyone's shouts stopped.

Dan Che then unhurriedly took out portions of boxed lunches, water bags, urinals, and even bedding, candles, pens and ink from the box… He said with a smile:

"I know that you also have the habit of delaying time with long thinking and fighting against your opponents, so I brought enough preparations to spend the night here."

Everyone was silent again.

Dan Che calmly took out a writing brush, wetted it on his tongue, handed it over, and said:

"If you still want to seal the chess, you should follow the rules and 'seal the move'. The paper and pen are here."

The so-called sealing the move means that whoever wants to leave for a break in the middle must record the next move to be made on paper.

He blocked it in all directions. He was really well prepared.

Everyone fell silent.

The gaunt middle-aged man seemed to have been slapped a few times by these words. He slumped and abandoned the pieces, stood up, shook his head, and said bitterly:

"I lost."

Huangting Lane was silent.

Dan Che put his hands together, got up and nodded slightly, and said seriously:

"Your calculation is not bad, but it is not as good as mine."

The gaunt middle-aged man was speechless for a while, not knowing whether this was praise or irony, he could only silently turn around and walk out of the crowd.

Dan Che smiled and looked around at everyone: "Is there anyone else who dares to challenge me?"

Suddenly, his gaze paused, and his eyes stayed on Princess Wenzhu's face, who had appeared at some unknown time. The latter shook her head slightly, and Dan Che understood and did not call out the princess's name.

Then, he looked at Zhao Du'an with some curiosity, wondering who this person was.

There was a silence in the crowd. The chess players were slightly lost. Who else could come on stage?

Suddenly, a calm and confident voice came from the back of the crowd:

"I'll come and learn the methods of the Western Region foreign monk."

Shua—

Everyone turned their heads and looked back.

Zhao Du'an also looked over, only to see a young man wearing robes similar to those of the Hanlin, walking calmly at the end of a narrow passage opened to both sides.

"Chess Waiting-for-Edict! Chen Jiuyan!"

"National player Chen is here!"

—

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