Hello Chang’an

“Whatever is taught in the Imperial College is better than anything else.” The girl’s tone was casual.

"In the Imperial College, there are professors of rituals, music, poetry, calligraphy, painting, chess, riding and archery, etc." Song Xian's eyes seemed to see through the girl's intentions: "Does Mrs. Chang want to compete in calligraphy and painting?"

After all, what this Chang family girl is most famous for is the picture of a tiger in the forest.

Although he hasn't seen it yet, he knows that she has some skills in calligraphy and painting, but if she wants to compare with this, he is not afraid.

After all, a woman's best is different from a man's best.

Song Xian looked calm.

But the girl shook her head.

"It's not better than calligraphy and painting." She actually said: "It's not better than riding and shooting. I'm good at both and have talent. Even if I win, I won't feel guilty."

She looked like she didn't want to use her talent to bully others.

Song Xian was startled and almost sneered.

The people behind him in the poetry club or the literati who came to the poetry meeting all looked at each other in shock. Someone in the crowd sneered instead of Song Xian.

This little girl is not very old, but she is just starting to make a name for herself, and her tone is not young at all!

Could she really think that because she had done a painting and had received a lot of recognition and praise, she could be so contemptuous of Song Juren, who was the most promising person in the coming spring?

But there was no contempt in the girl's eyes.

On the contrary, she seemed to be expressing her respect seriously and trying to make the competition as fair as possible.

In the private room on the second floor, someone was standing in front of the open window lattice, just taking in the scene in the backyard.

In the face of the girl's words, it would be inferior to be sarcastic or hollow at this time, so Song Xian said seriously: "Okay, if that's the case, then it's no better than poetry."

The implication is that poetry is what he is good at, and he cannot bully others—especially a girl.

Chang Sui Ning smiled and nodded: "Okay."

In this situation, both parties showed humility to each other. At first glance, it seemed that they were really polite and courteous.

But the tense feeling between the two parties still existed.

There were also some who were just watching the fun, such as Tan Li, outsiders who came to participate in the poetry meeting, and they started talking in low voices at this time.

"What's the comparison?"

"Ritual music?"

However, the etiquette learned by men and women is different. It is said that it was taught by the Imperial College, but Mrs. Chang never actually entered the Imperial College to learn etiquette, so she was still a bit bullying...

As for playing musical instruments, this is actually a music hall...

While everyone was thinking about it, they saw the girl raising her hand to the stone table aside: "How about playing chess?"

The girl is wearing a thin silk-colored silk skirt, with a tall and upright figure. The silk embroidered crane is slightly moving in the wind when she raises her hands, making her posture more casual and even graceful.

The word demeanor has always been difficult for people to have such an intuitive feeling on a young woman.

Song Xian looked at the stone table.

Although playing chess is more gentlemanly than musical instruments, but unlike many musical instruments, learning chess only requires a book of chess books, a chessboard, and a brain willing to study. His family is not wealthy. In addition to reading since childhood, he has done other things. I almost always play chess, which is one of the few elegant hobbies that can improve your temperament without spending too much.

Later, he got to know more people who were good at chess, and step by step he became a scholar, went to the capital, and entered the Imperial College. He had more mentors and friends around him, and his chess skills gradually improved.

The opponent is a young lady in the capital, so learning chess is compulsory, but in the chess game, superficial skills are just an introduction.

The chessboard is also a world. It tests not only the skills, but also the player's mind, mentality, decision-making and method vision.

Therefore, playing chess can cultivate one's self and is also a form of spiritual practice.

Frankly speaking, he didn't think that such a flamboyant little girl with haircut hair could understand this.

"Does Mrs. Chang really want to play chess with Song?" he asked.

"Well, let's compare it to this." She said, "I'm pretty good at chess."

Someone in the Xunmei Club who knew Song Xian's chess skills sneered.

"Playing pretty well" is not enough to compete with Song Xiandi!

Song Xian no longer had those ups and downs on his face: "In that case, let's play chess."

After the two sides settled on this, Cui Lang urged Yihu: "Go and get the chessboard quickly!"

"Since it's a competition, it's interesting if everyone comes out on top." Chang Sui Ning said.

Song Xian was silently on guard: "What kind of bet does Mrs. Chang want?"

He didn't have anything valuable on him... Could it be that the other party wanted to use this to humiliate him in public?

But I heard the girl say: "Winning or losing will prevail. If I lose, I will never set foot in the Imperial College again, and the Wuer Society will be disbanded."

There was a sudden noise everywhere.

Not only Song Xian and others were surprised by this, Cui Lang and others were also shocked.

"Master, this..." Cui Lang came over and whispered tactfully: "Isn't this too risky?"

Why did Master put both himself and the juju club under pressure? He doesn’t want to lose his family in the Imperial College!

Chang Sui Ning disagreed: "No bets, no pain, no itching, no risks, what's the fun?"

Cui Lang's heart ached when he heard that - of course you can gamble, but gambling on something else will cost your family. Isn't this what a **** and a spendthrift does?

Wow...he suddenly understood how his mother-in-law felt when she looked at him in the past!

"Master..."

He wanted to say more, but he saw the girl glanced at him, as if to say - If you talk more, she will press you down.

Cui Lang wanted to cry but had no tears. He pursed his lips and felt aggrieved.

"Very good. Mrs. Chang is courageous and admirable!" Someone from Xunmei Society expressed their praise.

It may seem like a compliment, but it actually lifts people up and leaves no room for regret.

Song Xian did not comment on this, and only asked Chang Suining: "What if Song loses?"

Although this may be trivial, he at least needs to know the other party's plan.

Chang Suining: "I heard that Song Juren wanted to worship Jijiu as his teacher—"

After a moment of silence, everyone in Xunmei Club changed their expressions.

Is this exposing someone's scars and showing off that he has Qiao Jijiu as his teacher?

It's just based on the original relationship, what's there to show off?

Song Xianwei straightened the corners of his mouth: "What does Mrs. Chang want to say?"

"According to this, Song Juren never really worshiped anyone as his teacher. He had no teacher, right?"

Song Xian looked at her.

Of course, any teacher or scholar or elder who has the kindness to help others can be called a teacher, but there is indeed no one who can seriously serve a cup of apprenticeship tea.

"No, so what?"

"Then Song Juren may have a teacher soon." The girl looked at him and said, "If you lose, how about asking me to be your teacher?"

Song Xian almost laughed.

Sure enough, he is still arrogant and does not know the importance of things, and he only acts to impress others and win people's attention!

"This is obviously trying to amuse Song Xiandi with words..."

"Brother Song, don't pay attention to such ridiculous suggestions."

Amidst the dissatisfied persuasion, Song Xian said: "Then let's make a bet with this."

No matter how ridiculous it is, it won't come true anyway, so the other party can only show off his power verbally.

There's nothing he wouldn't dare to gamble on.

Since he agreed to compete with the other party, there was no reason to shrink back.

He originally disdains competing with a little girl in public, but his dissatisfaction with the other party has just been made clear. He needs to compete with the other party, and he needs to win openly and effortlessly -

Only in this way can his dissatisfaction appear justified and qualified enough to say those words, instead of being shady and seeming to only dare to talk about her, a little girl, behind her back. The chessboard was quickly set up and Song Xian had already sat down.

He didn't mean to bully her. After winning, he would admit that he could not win against her as a woman. He would not really force her to fulfill the bet she just made, whether it was to leave the Imperial Academy or disband the Wuer Society.

He's not an aggressive person.

He just needed to prove that his dissatisfaction was justified. He just needed to dampen her self-righteous air.

He was ready to win, and he was also ready to show the gentlemanly demeanor that a man should have after winning.

So he raised his hand: "Ms. Chang, please go first."

Chang Sui Ning was not polite to him and raised his hand to take the white piece.

The two first placed two seats at opposite corners, and then Chang Sui Ning took the white stone first.

With a soft "click" sound, the chess game is square and the chess pieces are circles. Between the square and the circle, a world is opened by the white stone under the girl's hand.

As the news spread in the concert hall, more and more people came to watch.

"Who is playing chess with whom?"

"That Song Xian and Song Juren...and a girl!"

"How can you compare with the girl?"

"She's not an ordinary girl, she's Mrs. Chang..."

"That Mrs. Chang!"

Prince Rong, who was wearing regular clothes, couldn't help but smile when he heard these voices: "From the words 'that Mrs. Chang', we know that Mrs. Chang has really made a name for herself in the capital in just a few months, and everyone knows about it."

And if you think about it carefully, you will know that such a rapid road to fame is something that few people have been able to achieve throughout the ages.

Could this be a sudden brilliance by chance?

"Come on, let's go take a look too." He picked up the flute on the table and stood up slowly.

He has always liked music and music, and would come here to sit for half a day every ten days.

But I heard about Yale every time, but it was new to meet people playing chess.

As the number of onlookers increased, Song Xian gradually began to feel uneasy.

If everything goes as he expected, the more witnesses the better, but now...

He looked at the chessboard in front of him and the girl sitting quietly opposite him playing chess.

The chess pieces fell one by one, and as the chess surface became increasingly tense and dangerous, almost no one spoke, but there were occasional sighs of surprise.

It was quite quiet all around, and the ginkgo branches and leaves nearby made a soft rustling sound in the wind.

This chess game has become a battlefield.

But Heizi did not gain the upper hand as everyone expected.

The girl was always unhurried, no matter whether the opponent was in a hurry or slow, the time of each move she made was almost the same, as if she didn't need to think too much, and she seemed to be looking at the overall situation at all times.

Song Xian realized that this was also a kind of psychological conflict, so he reminded himself that he must deal with it calmly.

And, we must put away that contempt.

The young man next to the window on the second floor kept his eyes on the girl playing chess.

Her figure was upright but not deliberately. When she raised her hands, she could actually form a formation to build a universe.

He couldn't see clearly the details on the chess board, but from the facial expressions of the people around him, he could tell that she was playing the chess game very well.

"...Is Governor Cui actually listening to what we are saying?"

There were suppressed voices of dissatisfaction in the private room.

There are several middle-aged men sitting in the room, all wearing long robes. One of them is an elder of the Cui clan, and he is the one who invited Cui Jing to come here today.

Cui Jing had changed into his regular clothes and was standing in front of the window. He did not look back and only said: "Cui Jing has made it very clear just now. It is difficult for Cui Jing to obey your words."

"You...you, a descendant of the Cui family, are you really going to become a **** of the Ming Dynasty?"

"After the Ming Dynasty, when they were in power, in order to eradicate dissidents, they killed and demoted them arbitrarily. If things go on like this, the Cui family will also be in danger..."

"Since you hold Xuance's army and military power, you have control over the defense of the capital... If you use military remonstrance to force the Ming Dynasty to return power to the crown prince, you can restore peace and stability to the country and the country!"

Listening to those heartbreaking words, Cui Jing finally said: "The prince is young and has a weak will. If I really rashly advise him, it will only allow someone with ulterior motives to take advantage of the situation. Therefore, I will never agree to this matter."

"The four of us will be able to stabilize the situation then!"

"Your Cui family is still the leader -"

Cui Jing's face showed no emotion at all: "You have been in the capital for a long time, and your eyes are only on the court. You know that the overall situation of the world has changed a lot. The so-called four big families, do they still have the power to calm down the chaos after it was overturned in the past? , you may understand.”

The faces of those people suddenly changed: "That's precisely because of the suppression after Minghou. As long as Minghou is removed, everything will be as before..."

Cui Jing still didn't look back, and his words were cold and forceful: "Besides, the Xuance Army is not owned by Cui Jing, but was created by His Royal Highness, the former Crown Prince. Cui Jing will not be able to agree to any move to shake the stability of the country."

"you…"

Someone stood up and pointed angrily at the young man's back: "It's in vain that you are the eldest grandson of the Cui family... but you have ignored the prosperity and survival of the entire clan!"

Cui Jing was unmoved: "The rise and fall of the gentry cannot be reversed by my own efforts. If you really want to survive, it is not a difficult thing. The unsolvable thing is that you want more than just survival-"

It is the arrogant selfish desire that still wants to be above the imperial power and stand on the top of all things.

And there was no way he could let Xuance Jun become the sword that satisfied his selfish desires.

He will never be a knife.

"There's no need to talk to this guy any more!"

"He keeps thinking about the overall situation of the country, but if this is really the case, how can he be willing to be a hawk after the Ming Dynasty!"

"You can go out of this door and enter the palace, and tell Empress Ming directly what we have said today, so that you can make further contributions!"

"You have never hidden your intentions. If this proposal has not been completed, why should I report it?" The young man standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back said seriously: "If I have the intention to make a contribution, I should pretend to agree to your proposal first, and then rebel at the critical moment." Water makes it impossible for you to retreat—"

"you!"

Several middle-aged men almost fell down with anger.

They would like to thank him for caring and showing mercy!

"You, Ms. Cui, have really raised a good son!"

"Dalang, you...hey!"

The sound of sleeves blowing and the sound of pushing the door to leave were heard one after another.

Watching those people leave, Yuan Xiang couldn't help but sigh: "This is like being a child again. Everyone is so angry that they are like grandchildren..."

Seeing the closed door, he affirmed: "It is indeed a nobleman's manner. He was so angry that he didn't forget to close the door."

With that said, he walked up behind the young man and reminded him: "Grand Governor, everyone has finished leaving. Please go back and sit down."

No more pretending to look out the window.

The young man ignored him.

Hey, isn't the Governor just pretending?

Yuanxiang looked over curiously.

He vaguely heard someone playing chess early in the morning, but there was nothing unusual about playing chess in a place like this.

But...it turns out that the person playing chess is Mrs. Chang?

No wonder the Governor took it so seriously - that was the Governor's only friend playing chess with others. A rough calculation meant that the Governor himself was sitting there playing chess with others!

But why did it suddenly become noisy? Is this the winner?

Thanks to Mr. Le San for the 10,000 reward! Thanks to Shi Gandangdang, Book Friends 20201201144042943, Book Friends 20220406221821315, Fans Opacity, Mu Weichengli and other book friends for their rewards!

Thank you everyone for your monthly votes~

(Good night)