Princess of Le'an County?

Everyone was taken aback by Consort Shu's words.

Yes, I heard that His Majesty invited the Princess of Le'an County and the Su family to the banquet for the Emperor's birthday this year. With all this commotion, I almost forgot about it.

However, they had no idea what the Lady of Le'an County looked like.

Thinking of this, everyone craned their necks to scan the various banquet tables, while some who had heard the news had already turned their attention to the table of the women of Prince Gong's mansion.

Upon seeing this, they all gasped in surprise.

The girl was dressed in a lake-blue brocade dress. Her small face had features that looked like they had been sculpted, especially her almond-shaped eyes, which were clear and bright, without a trace of impurity.

His entire being exudes a powerful spiritual aura.

She was in no way inferior to the women of Prince Gong's mansion when sitting next to them.

After staring for a while, everyone came to their senses. But being good-looking doesn't mean one is good at music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

These days, the stories of the Lady of Le'an County offering sweet potatoes, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and the construction of the Grand Canal have already spread throughout the land of Yu the Great. But she is, after all, a country girl. How could she have the opportunity to learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?

Not to mention this bizarre chess game imbued with illusions.

Isn't Consort Shu deliberately trying to harm people?

Of course, they only dared to mutter these words to themselves. Consort Shu was currently favored, and even the Empress would not confront her directly. They didn't know what Princess Le'an had done to provoke her!

The Su family was also deeply troubled. Jun Qingcheng harbored ill intentions, and now this imperial concubine, whom they had never met before, was stirring up trouble.

Su Hua rose with composure and looked toward the imperial concubines' seats. "Your Highness is too kind. Tangshan Prefecture is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. Le'an was just lucky to win a prize at the Hundred Flowers Banquet."

Consort Shu smiled and joked, "Is Le'an being modest, or is she afraid of this game of chess and unwilling to share His Majesty's burdens?"

Everyone present was shrewd; once these words were spoken, how could those who had previously harbored doubts not understand Consort Shu's intentions?

Not attempting to solve the game would be cowardly and show a lack of loyalty to His Majesty.

If you try to solve the puzzle, you'll most likely just make a fool of yourself again...

On his throne, the Emperor gazed at the lake-blue figure below him with gentle eyes. “Le’an, Consort Shu is used to joking with the younger generation. You don’t need to take it to heart.”

If you are interested, you can play a game of this fantasy chess.

If you don't like it, that's fine too.

Upon hearing this, Consort Shu's smile faltered for a moment, and she remained silent for a while.

The junior officials were astonished. The Emperor was too doting on the Princess of Le'an. With just a few words, he deflected the subtle attack thrown at him by Consort Shu and saved face for the Princess of Le'an.

Su Hua couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Old fox!"

When the imperial edict was issued earlier, the emperor sent Eunuch Gao and the Jinwu Guard to Qingshui County to keep an eye on her for a long time, so they should be familiar with what happened at the Hundred Flowers Banquet.

As for this Soul-Severing Poison, others may not know who needs it, but the Emperor must know it perfectly well. Zichen's Three Insects and Three Flowers Poison is missing this one ingredient, so how could she possibly hide behind it?

At the same time, by describing solving this illusion chess game as "playing around," Jun Qingcheng's previous embarrassment was merely a matter of amusement, thus instantly saving face for Da Yu in front of the envoys.

In the men's section, Yu Qi had already stretched his neck into a swan-like shape, glancing at the chessboard one moment and then at Su Hua the next. "Uncle, do you think Princess Le'an can solve this Illusionary Chess game?"

Faced with this person who was like an ant on a hot pan, Xiao Jinhan simply shook his head.

Yu Qi was completely confused. "Uncle, is your shaking your head because it can't be resolved, or...?"

The man's lips moved slightly. "I don't know."

"This..." Yu Qi's handsome lips twitched upon hearing these straightforward words. "Then what do we do now?"

I don't know what got into the Western Rong Queen. Of all the competitions, why did she have to choose to solve this ridiculous illusion chess game?

It is said that those who are good at chess are good at strategy, but the Yu family is full of terrible chess players.

And all of this was inherited from his grandfather.

Ever since the Queen of the Western Rong set up the illusion chess game, my grandfather's old face has been wrinkled into silver curls.

On the contrary, the person in question, with his calm and collected demeanor, made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Xiao Jinhan's gaze remained unchanged, and he simply said in a low voice, "Wait."

"Wait? Wait for what?" Yu Qi didn't react for a moment.

Following his gaze, one could see Su Hua bowing to the throne with her hands clasped together, saying, "Your Majesty, Le'an is willing to play a game, so as to experience the mysteries of the Western Rong Illusionary Chess."

These words surprised all the guests.

Since the Emperor has already given his word, this matter should be let bygones be bygones. But Princess Le'an still eagerly went to get involved. Isn't she just asking to lose face again?

The Yu family also had mixed feelings; they hoped to break the illusion, but they were also worried that the illusion would harm Su Hua.

Jun Qingcheng, whose face had been pale the whole time, finally had a ripple in her eyes as she watched the person slowly walk toward the chessboard.

Ha! Always looking for the limelight, truly befitting his monstrous nature!

Once Su Hua is dragged to the point of losing her mind by Huan Qi, the jokes she made earlier will be somewhat forgotten.

The emperor waved his wide sleeves and smiled warmly, "Princess Le'an, please feel free to play. Whether you solve this illusionary chess game or not, I will reward you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Su Hua nodded.

He then stopped in front of the chessboard, smiling as he looked at the Queen of Xirong. "I heard the King of Xirong say that he saw this chess game by chance. I wonder where he saw it from?"

The Queen of the Western Rong gazed at Su Hua for a long time, her peach blossom ornament on her right eye socket gleaming. "It comes from our Western Rong's ancient books."

“No wonder…” Su Hua nodded noncommittally, glancing up at the chessboard. “Xirong is truly a land of abundant resources and treasures. Not only are the people beautiful, but the chess is beautiful too.”

The Queen of Xirong smiled and said, "If Princess Le'an likes it, she can visit Xirong in the future."

Su Hua chuckled, "Of course, I'll definitely go if I have the chance."

Inside the main hall, hundreds of people who had already covered their eyes couldn't help but peek open one eye a crack as they listened to the back-and-forth conversation.

Weren't we supposed to be solving a puzzle game? How did we end up talking about it?

And...they seemed to be having a good time chatting?!

The thought had barely formed when the lake-blue figure suddenly moved. She was incredibly fast, like a gust of wind, swiftly sweeping across the four corners of the chessboard.

All that remained was the thud of chess pieces falling.

Immediately afterwards, a loud cracking sound!

The chessboard, forged from refined iron, immediately twisted, and the white pieces, each the size of a silver ingot, instantly turned into dust.

Everyone was so shocked that their mouths dropped open.

Asking her to solve the chess game without letting her cause trouble is a bit too much for the Princess of Le'an!

Jun Qingcheng and Consort Shu curled their lips into cold smiles, about to speak—

A voice filled with excitement resounded throughout the hall, "It's solved! It's solved!! It's really solved!!!"

Princess Le'an, from now on when you come to Xirong, I, Wen Huzheng, will take care of everything for you, from food and clothing to lodging and transportation..."