Chapter 20 - 2#
“……”
Liu Quan said helplessly, “Fifth Prince, please release this old servant. I will go and announce you immediately.”
Everyone needs psychological consolation, and the emperor was no exception. Seeing that the chess game was becoming increasingly unfavorable, Emperor Shunyuan was beginning to doubt his own existence. Could it really be that the abundance of experts in the Great Qian was inferior to just three so-called geniuses of Nanping?
At that moment, hearing that there was a matter to report—one related to the outcome of the chess games—his heart was suspended high, and he nearly lifted himself off his chair.
“Summon him in.”
As soon as Shen Zhi entered, he saw three chessboards set up in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Games were already half-finished. A young eunuch was removing a note from a pigeon’s leg and placing stones on the board according to the intelligence.
Shen Zhi glanced at the boards, cupped his hands, and bowed his head, his expression full of pain: “Father Emperor, upon seeing today’s chess games, my heart is filled with shock. There is something I can no longer keep silent about!”
Emperor Shunyuan’s brows were tightly furrowed. He leaned forward, urging impatiently: “Speak quickly! What matter concerns victory or defeat?”
He even forgot to reprimand Shen Zhi for omitting the formal kneeling bow.
Shen Zhi secretly glanced at Emperor Shunyuan’s expression, then feigned hesitation: “This matter involves a wide network. I fear Father Emperor may not dare to hear it…”
Emperor Shunyuan was already growing angry: “No matter who it involves, you will tell me!”
Seeing that the emperor’s emotions were sufficiently aroused and his appetite thoroughly whetted, Shen Zhi raised his hand and pointed at the chessboards: “These three games—I have seen identical ones before in the Nanping Imperial Palace!”
“What did you say?” Emperor Shunyuan’s eyes flew wide open in shock.
“I would not dare deceive Father Emperor. Identical games, along with a thick stack of game records. Nanping eunuchs were memorizing them day and night. Back when I was a hostage in Nanping, I stumbled upon them while serving tea and water. They treated me as if I were invisible and muttered, ‘With these game records, we will surely defeat Great Qian and crush their military prestige this time!’ As it concerned Great Qian, I dared not be careless, so I secretly committed them to memory. At first, I noticed nothing unusual—until today’s final matches… I never imagined!”
Shen Zhi’s delivery was dramatic, his voice rising and falling, dragging Emperor Shunyuan’s heart up and down like listening to a thrilling tale.
Eunuch Liu Quan discreetly averted his gaze, studying this Fifth Prince who had returned to court for the first time with such care.
“Identical? Could it be that our Great Qian players are colluding with Nanping? That is absolutely impossible!” Emperor Shunyuan could not believe it.
“Father Emperor, please look.”
Shen Zhi walked to the chessboard, took a stone from the young eunuch’s hand, and immediately placed it.
He had long since memorized the games by heart. He could replay them with his eyes closed. Now, he placed stones as swiftly as flying, as easily as playing a word-filling game.
And he was not playing one game at a time—he was playing all three simultaneously.
Emperor Shunyuan watched, stunned, feeling that Shen Zhi placed stones faster than eating a meal. This could not have been fabricated on the spot.
Just then, carrier pigeons flew in one after another through the window. The young eunuch hurriedly untied the notes and read aloud: “White 71, upper center point; Black 72, lower side point; White 73, lower side connection…”
The more the young eunuch read, the more shocked and terrified he became. If not for his duty, he would rather gouge out his own eyes than learn of this scandal within the court.
Eunuch Liu Quan looked at the chessboard and said softly, “Your Majesty, they match.”
Emperor Shunyuan did not need him to say it. He could see clearly. The intelligence transmitted from the Huiyang Gate matched Shen Zhi’s moves without exception.
Shen Zhi wiped the thin layer of sweat from his hand, clasped his hands behind his back, and stepped aside, leaving the stage to Emperor Shunyuan.
All three games ended in Nanping’s victory. Emperor Shunyuan’s face grew darker and darker, the rage in his chest nearly erupting through his crown.
For any ruler, the deepest hatred is being fooled by his own ministers. Even more so, this time he had not been fooled by just one person.
Meanwhile, Gu Weizhi rode his carriage straight to the East Pavilion on Chess Viewing Street. Inside the East Pavilion, it was already packed to overflowing. Concerns over the reputation of Great Qian’s players had drawn nearly every resident of the capital who knew anything about Go into the various chess houses.
Ever since the Nanping delegation entered the capital with such arrogance, everyone had been suppressing their anger, hoping the Great Qian players would teach them a proper lesson and make them understand the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth.
But now—was it Great Qian who looked like they didn’t know their place?
“Terrible move!” someone shouted.
“Exactly! I could play better than Xie Qian!”
“Even with the advantage of the first move, to play like this—it’s disgraceful!”
“Has Shi Qingjiu been bewitched? Or has he been completely enchanted by those Nanping fiends?”
“Ha! He Lianqiao played even worse than those two. What kind of useless trash fills the Eight Veins these days?”
“Isn’t it just to cultivate their own family power instead of selecting true geniuses! Now look—here’s the bitter fruit!”
“Refund our money!”
“If they lose today, those three should dash their heads against a pillar in atonement!”
……
Gu Weizhi stumbled through the crowd, rushing to the center of the hall: “Everyone! Everyone! I am Gu Weizhi, Prefect of Bozhou. I have come to the capital for the Spring Terrace Go Assembly and am staying temporarily at the Qinghua Travel Lodge!”
Gu Weizhi bowed in a circle as he spoke, holding three sheets of rice paper in his hand, each drawn in ink with complete sequences of a chess game.
“The Nanping players have been on a winning streak, and I was aggrieved on behalf of our nation. I took the pretext of wandering near their rooms—only to discover these three game records! I found them exquisitely crafted, so I committed them to memory. Who would have thought that when I saw today’s matches, they matched the final games at Huiyang Gate move for move! Shocked, I secretly took the records and rushed straight to the East Pavilion! Please, everyone, take a look! Look, I implore you!”
Gu Weizhi shouted until his voice was hoarse, afraid someone might miss his words. Then, abandoning all decorum, he leaped onto a table and held the papers high for all to see.
The owner of the East Pavilion understood the power of spectacle. He immediately ordered the papers hung beside the chessboard so that everyone could compare.
The entire affair proceeded with unusual smoothness. No one stepped forward to stop Gu Weizhi—because deep down, the people of Great Qian were more willing to believe that the Spring Terrace Go Assembly was hiding some trick.
Soon, attendants continuously relayed the latest moves from Huiyang Gate:
“Black 74, upper side hane; White 75, upper side connect…”
“White 78, left side counter-hane; Black 79, left side connect; White 80, center point; Black 81, center connect…”
“Game ends at move 96. Lord Xie Qian, playing black, has 181 points in total. Mu Yi, playing white, has 182 points. With the komi for Black, the final victory goes to White.”
Every move the attendant reported matched Gu Weizhi’s game records without a single discrepancy!
“Identical! Truly identical!”
“Since when did the Spring Terrace Go Assembly start rigging matches?”
“Better ask—how could anyone cooperate with the Nanping players to win this game?”
“There are traitors in the court, colluding with foreign enemies! Where are the patrolling censors? We must report this to the throne!”
“How absurd! How infuriating! If not for Lord Gu exposing Nanping’s scheme, would Great Qian’s reputation have been utterly ruined?”
“Ha! The Eight Veins colluding with Nanping—our Great Qian has already lost all face!”
……
They had lost.
Xie Qian and the others slumped in their chairs, eyes vacant, lost in a long daze.
They had clearly given their all. Yet no matter how they strategized or changed their tactics, their opponents saw through everything instantly—as if the secret techniques of the Xie School were completely transparent to the Nanping players.
Xie Qian felt as though an invisible giant hand was looming over him, trapping him like a cricket in a cage. No matter how he struggled, he could not escape the predetermined trap.
Shi Qingjiu felt the same. Mysteries of the Shi School were thoroughly exposed. All his moves were like jokes in his opponents’ eyes. This feeling of being constrained at every turn was suffocating.
Gong Zhiyuan let out a long sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
The thing he had feared most had come to pass.
The people of the capital had witnessed Great Qian’s defeat with their own eyes. The palace had surely received the news by now. The emperor’s thunderous rage would soon follow. An imperial edict would be sent, ordering them all to appear before the throne and explain themselves.
This would be their final chance. He had to devise a perfect plan to protect everyone.
But in such a dire situation, how could it be easy? Gong Zhiyuan was no deity after all.
The Crown Prince looked toward Gong Zhiyuan in bewilderment, instinctively seeking refuge: “Grand Secretary, this… this…”
Gong Zhiyuan waved his hand wearily: “Your Highness, do not be anxious. Allow me to think a little longer. A little longer.”
Standing among the crowd, Shen Chen’s face was piled with regret and agitation: “How could this be? Our Great Qian is full of experts. I know Xie Qian and Shi Qingjiu’s skill. There must be some trick here. Perhaps they are unwell today?”
He grabbed officials from the Xie and Shi factions, as if desperately seeking some hollow comfort: “Lord Xie! Lord Shi! Speak! Have they caught cold today? Is that why they underperformed?”
The two men hung their heads in shame: “Our families’ juniors are worthless. They have betrayed Your Highness and the people of Great Qian.”
Shen Chen’s eyes reddened, as though deeply struck: “I do not believe it! How could those three defeat the elites of the Eight Veins? Something is wrong! My lords, go and inquire!”
As he lifted his sleeve to wipe his tears, he stole a glance at Xie Langyang, letting his gaze rest on him for a moment.
Xie Langyang caught that look. His heart understood. He could delay no longer.
Why, knowing Shen Chen was ruthless and fickle, did he still choose to support him?
Was it truly because Shen Chen would promote the pure critics, suppress the imperial relatives, and become a wise ruler?
Perhaps he was not as innocent as he imagined himself to be.
He and Shen Chen were brothers-in-law. Though this had been used as leverage against him, fortune and misfortune were intertwined. It was precisely because of this familial tie that he had risen to the post of Grand Secretary, that he had heard Shen Chen’s words: “I place my hopes in you to illuminate the mountains and rivers.”
He yearned to accomplish something. He yearned to fulfill his ambitions. He yearned to leave his name in history as a great minister.
And this dream—only Shen Chen could make it come true.
Xie Langyang stepped forward toward Gong Zhiyuan. Each step felt heavier than a thousand pounds. Every step crushed his conscience a little more.
Finally, he reached Gong Zhiyuan’s side. He knew Wen Zhuo was watching him—watching him walk the same path Wen Zhuo had once walked, swallowing whole all those lofty accusations.
From now on, the death of the Fifth Prince would no longer be Wen Zhuo’s burden. It would be his—Xie Langyang’s. He could no longer righteously accuse Wen Zhuo of being unforgivable. He no longer had the standing to demand that Wen Zhuo cleanse himself of sin.
Head bowed, Xie Langyang lightly touched Gong Zhiyuan’s arm. His throat felt blocked by cotton as he forced out the words: “Master, a word in private.”
Gong Zhiyuan opened his eyes. Seeing it was Xie Langyang, he still mustered patience and followed him to a corner.
“Hengze, what is it?”
It was as if Xie Langyang’s soul had left his body, allowing another shell to speak in his stead. His voice was eerily calm, almost venomous: “Shen Zhi can be framed.”
Gong Zhiyuan’s eyes contracted sharply. In a flash, it was as though he had found a path of escape through layers of confusion.
He was shocked by his son-in-law’s precise grasp of the political situation, his thorough understanding of the emperor’s thoughts, and even more stunned that Xie Langyang could devise such a risky scheme to rescue the Eight Veins in such a short time.
He could not help but re-evaluate this son-in-law. Perhaps all along, he had underestimated Xie Langyang’s strategic mind.
There was no time to dwell. Gong Zhiyuan firmly grasped Xie Langyang’s hand: “Hengze, come see me after this matter is settled.”
He intended to formally pull Xie Langyang into the Crown Prince’s camp. In the future, with Xie Langyang’s counsel, the Crown Prince would surely go further.
Then, Gong Zhiyuan dragged Bu Zhangyi into another corner. Matters had reached this point—only by turning conflict into cooperation and speaking with one voice could they avoid mutual destruction.
Bu Zhangyi listened to Gong Zhiyuan’s plan. His expression shifted several times before he slowly nodded, still carrying some doubt.
Just as they were speaking, the emperor’s oral edict arrived—ordering all officials at Huiyang Gate, along with Xie Qian, Shi Qingjiu, and He Lianqiao, to present themselves at court immediately.
Some officials took carriages, others mounted horses. They rushed frantically toward the Imperial Hall Avenue. On the way, they passed Chess Viewing Street and found it in chaos. The common people were in a fury. Inside the East Pavilion, voices roared like thunder. Faces were red, necks thick with rage, curses unceasing.
Gong Zhiyuan had no time to look closely. He simply thought: losing a game was nothing. The commoners were truly vulgar and unbearable.
He closed the carriage curtain and said impatiently, “Faster.”
The sky remained neither bright nor dark, casting the Imperial Hall Avenue in deep gray. A wind began to rise, swirling up a few peach blossoms that struck the face with surprising sting.
Inside the imperial palace, the atmosphere was suffocatingly solemn.
Imperial guards stood in rows outside the hall, holding sharp blades. Archers with red scarves covering their faces stood guard along the long steps.
Emperor Shunyuan was fully robed. Beneath his beaded crown, his eyes were deep and cold, murderous intent plain to see.
Hidden in Wen Zhuo’s sleeve was a Go stone, warmed by his body heat.
As he approached the hall, he saw the Xie Commissioner of the Transmission’s legs go weak. With a thump, he knelt before the emperor, tears streaming: “The Xie School has failed His Majesty’s great trust. Your servant’s ten thousand deaths are insufficient to atone!”
“But there is one thing your servant must report! In today’s games, the three Nanping players were intimately familiar with our Xie School’s records. Even several secret techniques, they were able to avoid with precision! I strongly suspect someone has secretly leaked our school’s game methods and techniques!”
Bu Zhangyi gave a signal to the Dali Temple’s Shi Yuan. Shi Yuan understood and knelt as well: “Your servant shares this view! When Mu Yi faced Xie Qian, he used techniques from the Shi School. I suspect our Shi School records have also been leaked!”
Seeing the direction the wind was blowing, the He Lian faction also knelt in unison: “Your servants share the same view! I implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!”
Most of the ministers had arrived. The players were already kneeling before the hall, trembling.
Eunuch Liu Quan looked down the Imperial Hall Avenue. Seeing that no one else was coming, he turned back and asked with a smile: “Lord Chancellor, why have you not yet entered the hall?”
Wen Zhuo held the Go stone between two fingers, lightly tapping it against his thigh. Casually, he said: “No rush.”
Eunuch Liu Quan said nothing more. With a reminder of “Watch yourself, my lord, the wind is cold,” he quietly withdrew into the hall.
Gong Zhiyuan slowly raised his head and stepped forward: “Your Majesty, the leaking of the Eight Veins’ game records is truly shocking. But the distance between Nanping and our court is vast. How could they have obtained such secrets?”
Before the truth was even uncovered, he had already determined the nature of the matter.
Seeing Gong Zhiyuan take the lead, Bu Zhangyi also stepped forward: “Your Majesty, none of the Eight Veins disciples participating in the Spring Terrace Go Assembly have ever been to Nanping. They do not know any Nanping people at all. They could not possibly have leaked anything! Your servant dares to ask—why did the Fifth Prince not go to Huiyang Gate to observe the games today?”
In the court, the Eight Veins disciples, each harboring their own agenda, chimed in one after another:
“Indeed—we have not seen the Fifth Prince in days.”
“The Fifth Prince spent ten years in Nanping. He should be the one most familiar with Nanping, shouldn’t he?”
“Could it be… this is too shocking!”
“The Fifth Prince has been back in the capital for over a month. Logically, he had ample opportunity to obtain the Eight Veins’ techniques!”
“He and the Nanping envoys both resided in the same lodge. It was certainly easier for him to contact them.”
“But why would he do this?”
“Perhaps Nanping treated him well? Perhaps he harbors some resentment toward Great Qian? Or perhaps Nanping promised him some benefit… I dare not speculate.”
…
The ministers spoke one after another, practically piecing together Shen Zhi’s motive, method, and opportunity—so logically, so perfectly plausible.
Shen Chen suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, silently waiting for Emperor Shunyuan’s thunderous rage to descend and have Shen Zhi taken to the Dali Temple for severe interrogation.
But a minute passed. Emperor Shunyuan said nothing.
A full quarter of an hour passed. Emperor Shunyuan remained silent.
The old, sinister gaze of the emperor slowly swept across the hundred officials in the court. In his pupils, a layer of cold stillness began to rise.
Shen Chen accidentally met those eyes and felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head. He could not help but shudder violently.
Wen Zhuo lowered his gaze. The light tapping stopped. He loosened his fingers and let the black stone fall from his grasp.
A sharp clink rang out as the black stone hit the marble, then rolled down the smooth steps, clattering all the way to the bottom.
Within seconds, the stone had lost all remaining warmth, swallowed completely by the gloomy sky.
Wen Zhuo stepped into the main hall of the Martial Arts Palace. At that very moment, Emperor Shunyuan’s icy voice rang out: “Arrest every Eight Veins official in the court and send them to the Dali Temple for trial!”
Shen Chen and Xie Langyang’s faces changed color in an instant. They stood there, dumbfounded.