Legend of Zhen Huan: Zhen Huan is reborn

084 A promise is worth a thousand gold

(Hall of Mental Cultivation)

On this day, Zhen Huan obeyed the imperial edict and entered the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. A look of surprise flashed across her face, and then she returned to her usual gentleness and dignity.

She saw Yinzhen and Prince Guo were immersed in a chess game that seemed extremely complicated. Both of them had their brows slightly furrowed, and they were obviously stuck in a stalemate.

Huanbi followed closely behind Zhen Huan, also looking at this unusual scene curiously.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, and I greet Prince Guo." After paying her respects, Zhen Huan asked with a smile, "Your Majesty urgently summoned me here, but I don't know why. I have the honor of witnessing the game between Your Majesty and Prince Guo."

Yinzhen looked up, a hint of smile flashed in his eyes. He pointed at the chessboard in front of him and said, "The game between Prince Guo and I has been very exhausting. Now it has become a deadlock, with no clear winner, and even making another move seems redundant. I suddenly remembered that you can play chess, so I thought maybe you can figure out some tricks."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Huan smiled modestly and said, "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. With my limited chess skills, how dare I show off in front of you and Prince Guo? However, since Your Majesty is so kind to me, I will dare to give it a try and see if I can bring a glimmer of hope to this game."

Prince Guo was standing aside, his eyes inadvertently sweeping over Huanbi. Although there were ripples in his heart, his face remained expressionless.

He spoke gently, with a hint of encouragement in his voice: "Empress Xi, you are too modest. Since my brother has brought you here as a reinforcement, he naturally has high expectations for your chess skills. I hope Empress Xi will be generous with her advice so that our game of chess can have a happy ending."

Zhen Huan walked slowly to the chessboard with light lotus steps. She carefully examined each chess piece on the board, secretly calculating in her mind.

Huanbi stood aside, her eyes sometimes falling on the chessboard, sometimes looking at Prince Guo, with mixed feelings in her heart.

The hall was silent with only the flickering candlelight illuminating the focused and solemn faces of the three people.

Zhen Huan picked up Yinzhen's chess piece, gently stroking the cold jade with her fingertips, and searched the chessboard carefully, trying to find a possible way to break the deadlock.

However, the more she thought about it, the more she felt the complexity and subtlety of this game of chess, as if every move held a hidden meaning, and the slightest mistake would result in a complete loss.

Finally, she shook her head gently, put the chess piece back in its place, and sighed, "It's really difficult. I'm afraid that with this move, I will hurt myself before hurting the enemy." Although her voice was light, it revealed her deep insight into and helplessness about the chess game.

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen nodded slightly, with a hint of appreciation and sympathy flashing in his eyes. "That's exactly why it's difficult."

Zhen Huan's brows were furrowed, and her eyes were shining with wisdom. She was well aware of the difficulty and subtlety of this game of chess.

As she pondered deeply, she gradually felt the exhilaration of having met a worthy opponent in chess, but at the same time she was also keenly aware that in this seemingly flawless chess game, Prince Guo might not be completely flawless.

She carefully examined every detail on the chessboard and finally caught a subtle flaw.

However, just as she was hesitating whether to point out this flaw, she unexpectedly found that Prince Guo's finger gently fell on the position she discovered.

His movements seemed casual and his eyes seemed to just pass by inadvertently, but Zhen Huan read a profound meaning from it - it was a silent denial, as if telling her that this so-called "flaw" was not as simple as she thought.

Zhen Huan suddenly understood. She realized that in this game of chess, winning or losing had already gone beyond the chess pieces themselves, and was more about the contest of human hearts and wisdom.

When playing chess with the emperor, she must not be too proud if she wins, nor can she lose her composure if she loses. She must always stay sober and cautious.

As for the flaw that she wanted to point out, since even Yinzhen hadn't noticed it, there was no need for her to say more.

Zhen Huan smiled slightly, and that smile showed both her understanding of the subtle changes in the chess game and her clever resolution of the current situation.

She glanced at Huanbi lightly, her eyes conveying a message that could be understood without words.

Huanbi understood what he meant and immediately took the tea from the table beside her, walked lightly to Yinzhen, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, please have some tea."

Yinzhen stretched out his hand to take it, but unexpectedly Huanbi tilted her hand, and the tea instantly spilled onto the chessboard, making a "splash" sound.

Huanbi panicked and wiped it with her hands, trying to save the situation, but the tea had already scattered the chess pieces on the board all over the place, completely disrupting the game.

Seeing this, Zhen Huan's heart tightened, and she hurriedly asked with concern: "Is the emperor burned?"

Her voice was full of anxiety and worry, and her eyes were fixed on Yinzhen's hand, fearing that he would be hurt in the slightest.

Yinzhen felt Zhen Huan's concern, and a warm current surged in his heart. He shook his head gently and comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay, it's a pity that this game of chess is gone."

There was a hint of regret in his tone, but it was more of a response to Zhen Huan's concern.

Upon hearing this, Huanbi knelt down hurriedly and apologized in a panic, "I deserve to die. It was my fault that the game got messed up. What should I do? Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't mean to do that."

There was a slight tremor in her voice, and she was obviously very regretful for her mistake.

When Prince Guo saw this, he did not blame Huanbi. Instead, he smiled and said to her, "It is God's will. We can only start over. Thank you, young lady, for breaking the deadlock."

There was a hint of teasing and comfort in his words, which instantly eased the originally tense atmosphere a lot.

After hearing what the Prince of Guo said, Huanbi felt a little relieved, but she still said repeatedly: "Don't say that, my lord. I know I am guilty of a capital crime."

She knew very well that although her mistake was small, it was unforgivable in front of the emperor.

Seeing this, Yinzhen also said, "Since the chess game is in chaos, we have no choice but to play again. Okay, get up."

His tone was calm yet dignified, showing both his tolerance towards Huanbi and his insistence on the rules.

"I would like to thank the emperor for his forgiveness on behalf of Huanbi." She smiled and said to Yinzhen, "But I think that Huanbi should not be punished but rewarded for her mistake." There was a firmness and playfulness in her tone.

Yinzhen was stunned at first, but then he was amused by Zhen Huan's wit and humor. He shook his head and said with a smile: "It's fine if I don't blame you, but why do you want me to reward you? Isn't this just making a fuss over nothing?"

Zhen Huan smiled slightly, with a cunning light in her eyes. She said, "Huanbi's unintentional mistake was able to break the deadlock and give us a chance to start over. This is just as the ancients said, 'Put yourself in a desperate situation and then you can survive'. Now that the situation has been reopened, shouldn't the emperor give Huanbi a little reward as an encouragement?"

Yinzhen smiled and waved his hands, deliberately jokingly saying: "Even if I want to reward you, I can't easily reward you after you said that. Otherwise, it will seem like I deliberately ordered Huanbi to overturn the chessboard."

Zhen Huan heard this and smiled. She responded cleverly, "If the emperor is afraid of gossip, why not do this? The emperor has to get the prince's approval before he can give Huanbi anything. This way, it not only reflects the emperor's grace, but also avoids unnecessary misunderstandings. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"

Prince Guo laughed when he heard this, then nodded and said, "I have no objection. Since Your Majesty has made this suggestion, I will naturally comply."

Seeing this, Yinzhen laughed even more heartily. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say. Tell me, what do you want me to reward Huanbi with?"

Zhen Huan heard this and a gentle smile blossomed on her face. She whispered, "Although I have everything in my palace, every time when the flowers are in full bloom and the moon is full, I always feel uneasy when I see Huanbi alone. Huanbi has been with me for many years and is loyal to me. I only hope that she can have a good home. How about the emperor promise to reward Huanbi with a husband of his choice in the future, so that she can live in harmony with his wife and enjoy a good life? How about that?"

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen turned his gaze to Prince Guo and asked inquiringly, "What do you think?"

Prince Guo's face was filled with joy. He quickly stood up and replied respectfully, "How can I not agree to such a wonderful thing? Miss Huanbi is gentle and virtuous. If she can meet a good man, it would be a match made in heaven."

Yinzhen was quite satisfied when he saw this. He nodded and said, "Okay, then I will promise you that I will find a good family for Huanbi in the future and let her marry in style."

Upon hearing this, Huanbi was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes. She secretly glanced at Prince Guo, only to find that he was also looking at her gently. Their eyes met and then immediately separated, but the tacit understanding and warmth between them were self-evident.

Afterwards, Huanbi looked at Zhen Huan, her eyes full of gratitude and closeness. She knew that all this was fought for by Zhen Huan.

Zhen Huan felt relieved when she saw Huanbi's excitement.

She knew very well that Huanbi had followed her for many years and had always been loyal to her. Now that she could find a good home for her, she could finally put her mind at ease.

She gently patted the back of Huanbi's hand to show comfort and encouragement.