Chapter Ninety-Two: The Test Game
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Yu Hualiang choked slightly and said, “Very good, very good.”
“Speak,” the Emperor said. Yu Hualiang never expected the Emperor to be so inquisitive, like a gossiping old woman digging for every detail.
How was Yu Hualiang to respond? Had they already slept together? Or did they eat and live together? After some thought, he said, “I... as a commoner, met Seventh Prince at the Yu family’s painting gathering. It seemed destined by heaven; the two of us got along rather well...”
As he spoke, memories fluttered back, as if he was truly transported to that day. Seventh Prince had quietly sat there watching him. He had smiled at him like a fool, unexpectedly, Seventh Prince had smiled back.
“Later, I followed Seventh Prince to the battlefield, but I accidentally fell off a cliff and got lost. It was only then that he found me again.”
The Emperor listened with great interest, then smiled and asked, “And what do you think of Seventh Prince?”
Yu Hualiang lowered his head modestly and said, “Your Majesty knows... this commoner is a ‘broken sleeve’—I do indeed like Seventh Prince.”
Upon hearing this, the Emperor looked at Yu Hualiang with newfound respect. Being a ‘broken sleeve’ was a disgrace; most would avoid the topic, yet Yu Hualiang confronted it head-on.
Such frankness showed courage and character, which gave the Emperor a sense of danger, prompting him to become cautious.
Yu Hualiang was unsure if being so straightforward was wise, but judging the Emperor’s expression, he felt an ominous unease.
The Emperor glanced at Lin Tang, who understood and quietly left. Then the Emperor turned back to Yu Hualiang with a warm smile, “Yu the painter, do you play chess?”
This? Yu Hualiang thought. If he said no, and Lin Tang brought the board, it would be a disgrace to the Emperor. But if he refused to show respect to the Emperor... the consequences would be unthinkable.
He said, “Seventh Prince taught me a little... but I am still terrible.”
“Hahaha, Seventh Prince personally taught you? Then let me experience his style of playing.”
The Emperor’s laughter carried a hint of intrigue. Yu Hualiang’s heart raced; he knew one must lose when playing the Emperor, and he had just mentioned Seventh Prince. But with Yu Hualiang’s skills, winning was impossible anyway.
The Emperor took the black pieces; Yu Hualiang took white. The Emperor made the first move. Yu Hualiang carelessly placed his piece near the edge. The Emperor laughed, “Yu the painter, don’t you think? One wrong move and you lose the entire game.”
Yu Hualiang looked at the knowing smile on the Emperor’s face and felt there was more beneath his words. He cautiously replied, “This commoner thinks it’s just one piece... it doesn’t determine victory or defeat yet.”
The Emperor nodded. They continued playing. The white pieces were soon surrounded by black, but unexpectedly, a flaw appeared at the edge. Without thinking, Yu Hualiang placed his piece there.
Immediately, regret crept in. Someone as cautious as the Emperor wouldn’t have such an obvious flaw unless he was testing him. The heaviness of falling into a trap made Yu Hualiang’s breathing labored.
The Emperor smirked darkly, holding the black piece and inspecting the board, “Yu the painter, that was a clever move. But it might cut off your escape route. Aren’t you worried?”
Yu Hualiang broke out in a cold sweat, “This commoner just guessed randomly, not thinking so deeply.”
The Emperor sneered coldly and quietly placed a piece. Yu Hualiang examined the board. He had to let the Emperor win. From then on, he played cautiously and carefully. The Emperor could tell he was serious.
Yet on the board, Yu Hualiang was in a winning position. The Emperor looked at the board, his mind flashing back to a similar scene playing chess with Minister Meng.
When their military advisor first played chess, he also studied carefully how to lose to the Emperor. Yu Hualiang’s determined and cold expression reminded the Emperor somewhat of Minister Meng.
Yu Hualiang wiped sweat from his palm. He played some irrelevant moves, guessing the Emperor wouldn’t want him to struggle too much and would let him win.
Then the Emperor laughed, “A narrow victory over Yu Hualiang. It seems Seventh Prince taught you well?”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy. If you hadn’t gone easy on this commoner, I would have lost long ago,” Yu Hualiang flattered.
The Emperor said, “You know, only De Han dares to play such chess with me.”
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Yu Hualiang panicked, thinking the Emperor blamed him. He hurriedly knelt. The Emperor continued, “You have De Han’s talent and De Han’s breadth of mind. Sooner or later, you will succeed.”
Yu Hualiang breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you... Your Majesty for your praise.”
“However,” the Emperor paused, causing Yu Hualiang to break out in a cold sweat, a chill crawling down his spine like a serpent.
“Why do you insist on helping Seventh Prince... plotting rebellion with him?”
Yu Hualiang’s mind went blank; his heart nearly stopped before racing again. He hurriedly kowtowed, “Absolutely not, please, Your Majesty, clear up the misunderstanding!”
The Emperor’s voice rang in his head with dark resentment, “Are you accusing me of wrongly suspecting you?”
Yu Hualiang forced himself to calm down, “Your Majesty, this commoner only thinks... Seventh Prince is wholeheartedly loyal to the country. Someone must be spreading rumors to divide you and Seventh Prince!”
The Emperor scrutinized him for a moment, surprised he said such things. “Oh? Explain... why are these rumors?”
Yu Hualiang’s mind raced. Seventh Prince attended court during the day, returning late at night. They slept together almost every night, but in the second half of the night, he disappeared. Now it seemed... he really was plotting rebellion.
He swallowed nervously and said slowly, “Seventh Prince attends court by day, as Your Majesty can see.”
The Emperor nodded. Yu Hualiang continued, “At night... he sleeps with this commoner.”
The Emperor laughed, seeing Yu Hualiang’s blush, and found it quite pleasing, “Oh, so that is the case.”
Yu Hualiang said, “Yes.”
“Then I have been worrying unnecessarily. Rise, Yu the painter.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Yu Hualiang breathed freely and slowly stood up and sat back down.
The Emperor resumed his friendly demeanor and said, “I heard Yu the painter’s skill is unparalleled. How about painting a portrait for me?”
Yu Hualiang knelt in thanks, “To paint for Your Majesty is this commoner’s great honor.”
The Emperor seemed quite fond of Yu Hualiang, the master of flattery. He cheerfully asked Lin Tang to bring brush and ink.
After sketching just one outline, the Emperor grew drowsy. Yu Hualiang understood and said, “Your Majesty, you need not wait any longer. I have already memorized your likeness; the painting will be finished by tomorrow.”
The Emperor joked, “Yu the painter, perhaps you have a photographic memory?”
Yu Hualiang bowed slightly, indicating yes. The Emperor naturally did not want to stay up and said, “Very well, Yu the painter, I will await your painting tomorrow.”
“Please rest assured, Your Majesty.”
After walking some distance, the Emperor’s expression darkened. He whispered to Lin Tang, “Tang’er, remember to keep a close watch on him.”
Lin Tang nodded, though in truth, he quite liked Yu Hualiang—not only because Yu Hualiang had once saved his life, but more so because he saw Yu Hualiang was not afraid of him.
Others kept their distance, but Yu Hualiang seemed completely unafraid.
After seeing them walk away, Yu Hualiang clumsily got up. When they spoke of Seventh Prince’s rebellion, his heart nearly leapt out, and now his legs still felt weak.
He gathered his painting papers, intending to find his way back slowly. But after a long time, he realized he was probably lost. The palace was vast, and night was quickly falling.
Growing anxious, he wandered through the woods in circles. Lin Tang finally could no longer bear it, silently flying down and coldly staring at Yu Hualiang as though he were an idiot.
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Yu Hualiang looked bewildered, thinking, after all this time... had Lin Tang really been following him? No... it was more like surveillance.
Lin Tang said coldly, “Come.”
Saying this, he turned and walked away. Yu Hualiang knew this was him leading the way and cheerfully followed, “Thank you, Guard Lin.”
Lin Tang said nothing. Yu Hualiang walked on by himself, then awkwardly said, “Guard Lin, how old are you? You look younger than me! Haha.”
Yu Hualiang forced a laugh and quietly trailed behind. Soon, Lin Tang led him back to his residence, but stopped at a distance and did not follow further.
Yu Hualiang bade him farewell and happily bounced back. The day had felt like a brush with death—so thrilling that even the hateful face of Lian Sheng seemed oddly familiar.
Lian Sheng scowled and scolded him again, though out of consideration for the Yu family painting association and Yu Hualiang’s nonexistent dignity, he summoned him to a room to speak privately.
But his voice was loud and was overheard. For Yu Hualiang, surviving was a blessing; Lian Sheng’s lecture sounded like heavenly music.
Seeing Yu Hualiang’s indifferent, smiling face, Lian Sheng felt the lecture was pointless and grumbled, letting him go.
Entering the room, Yu Hualiang saw Han Wu still hurriedly working on a painting, his posture unchanged despite the passing time.
Hearing Yu Hualiang enter, Han Wu smiled, “What happened? How did you offend that painting official? He’s never been so harsh with anyone else.”
Yu Hualiang placed his papers on the table and sighed, “He’s only this fierce with me.”
“I heard you and your senior brother don’t get along well?” Han Wu gossiped.
Honestly, Yu Hualiang was surprised Han Wu was the gossiping type. He laughed, “You don’t know? Fighting is affection, scolding is love.”
Han Wu suddenly stopped his work and looked at him, “Are you a ‘broken sleeve’?”
Yu Hualiang honestly nodded. Han Wu asked again, “Do you like the painting official?”
Yu Hualiang realized their relationship was misunderstood and hurriedly explained, “The ‘like’ I mean isn’t the same as yours! Lian Sheng’s a straight man—you can’t spread rumors.”
Han Xin chuckled and turned back to his work. Perhaps lonely for too long, he started a new topic, “So? Where did you spend the whole day?”
His near-death experience was being discussed so lightly, Yu Hualiang felt a bit bitter and sighed, “Don’t mention it. I was taken away by the princess right after going out.”
“Princess?” Han Wu exclaimed, “You’re so lucky to meet the princess? What does she look like?”
Yu Hualiang nodded seriously, “Not bad.”
“Heh, probably only you would say she’s just ‘not bad’.”
Yu Hualiang wondered if he couldn’t be honest. He smiled, “If you saw her, you’d probably like her too.”
Han Wu paused, then sadly said, “I won’t fall for anyone else anymore.”