Xiao Jingchen’s lips curved into a sudden smile.
It was low, soft, and warm. He looked out the window toward the direction Wen Shuyu had taken in the Plum Garden, his gaze full of tender indulgence.
The true “victory” of that chess game had already been decided the moment she left her seat.
Behind him were Mo Yu, still stunned, and a few eunuchs and maids.
Wait… who in the capital said the princess was a useless fool? Mo Yu thought. Which fool could draw a match with His Highness the Crown Prince? And she even predicted it would be a draw—she must be hiding real strength.
And who said she was relentless in a bad way? There was a tiny note tucked in the chess piece—chasing someone with a clever mind like that doesn’t count as desperate!
The Crown Prince had completely spoiled her.
Mo Yu studied carefully. The princess excelled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; even her dance was flawless. It seemed there was nothing she didn’t know—he had a premonition that she would soon shine in cultivation as well.
Everyone in the capital had said she was a weakling. But now, Mo Yu felt she was like a pearl buried in dust; when the dust was finally blown away, she would astonish the entire city.
After returning to the Plum Garden, Wen Shuyu dismissed Fu Ling, and Xiao Liu emerged from her mind.
Its eyes practically shone. “Master, you played just like before—your skill is still peerless, unmatched across the Three Realms. You must have let Xiao Jingchen win just now.”
“You used to say: The world is the board, all things are pieces. Life and death compete; following the laws of the universe, the fittest survive. Victory is not by strength, but by knowing the terrain.”
“I’ve memorized it all,” Xiao Liu added proudly.
Wen Shuyu blinked. “Xiao Liu, why did you have to make ‘the world is the board, all things are pieces’ so complicated? I could barely understand it myself.”
Xiao Liu: “…”
It hadn’t understood either—it had just memorized the lines. Turns out the saying was actually quite simple.
It tilted its little head. “Master, what are you going to do next? Do you have some grand plan?”
Wen Shuyu glanced at the sky outside. “Soon, I’ll call Xiao Jingchen to have dinner together.”
Xiao Liu, expecting some world-shaking scheme: …Just dinner?
As night deepened, the moon hung like a polished mirror in the sky, its flowing light spilling across the Eastern Palace. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves, one drifting lightly through the window.
At the dining table:
Wen Shuyu coughed softly, swallowed a Gu Yuan pill, and then took a bite of food, her eyes flicking toward Xiao Jingchen, who ate leisurely beside her.
When Xiao Jingchen looked up, a radiant smile bloomed across her face. “Delicious, Prince Brother? I had the kitchen prepare it according to your preferences.”
Xiao Jingchen nodded with a soft “Mm.”
He watched her smile, his chopsticks pausing as he quietly asked, “Do you need me to help with something?”
“No, I just thought of you working hard on state affairs and wanted to prepare something tasty,” Wen Shuyu replied.
As she spoke, she picked up a piece of roasted lamb with her chopsticks and placed it in Xiao Jingchen’s bowl. “Eat more, Prince Brother.”
She sipped her tea, then lifted the cup—with her red lipstick leaving a faint mark—and offered it to Xiao Jingchen, her gaze innocent and pure.
“This tea cleanses the palate. I brewed it myself. If you don’t mind, Prince Brother, please try it.”
The cup hovered in the air; her hand held it steadily, waiting for him to take it.
The eunuchs and maids lowered their heads, reducing their presence.
The princess had served the Crown Prince food with her own chopsticks and even offered him her tea cup—almost like a kiss. If this got out, the implications would be scandalous.
If he accepted it, it would imply they could be this close; if he refused, it would publicly slight the princess.
It was… a dilemma.
The chief eunuch was nervous on behalf of the Crown Prince, unsure what to do, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Xiao Jingchen’s ink-dark eyes fixed on the lip print on the cup. He lifted his eyelids, his gaze cutting through the crowd, resting calmly on Wen Shuyu for a long moment.
The air seemed to pause.
Unaware, Wen Shuyu’s lips curved in a smile. “Go ahead, Prince Brother, it’s really good.”
Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she brought the cup close to his lips, almost touching. “Shall I feed you?”
Xiao Jingchen’s hand rose.
Everyone expected him to push it away—how could the prince drink? How absurd!
But suddenly, Xiao Jingchen grasped her slender arm, drawing the cup toward his lips. Wen Shuyu’s body tilted along with him.
He lowered his head, aligning perfectly with the lip-marked cup, and slowly took a sip, never breaking eye contact.
When he released the cup, the lip print had already faded.
Wen Shuyu froze.
Then came Xiao Jingchen’s calm, gentle voice, his fingertip brushing over his lips as if savoring the taste, slow and deliberate:
“Tastes… quite good…”