Chapter 118: Masterful Hands

"Seriously?"

Before Shen Fu could speak, He Cairen couldn't hold back any longer. She hurried forward, her face flushed with excitement as she looked at Lin An: "Does His Majesty really want us to go over there?"

Lin An didn't notice the existence of He Cairen at first. Only after hearing this did he glance at him.

He forced a smile: "Your Majesty, please send Miss Shen Fu over."

He had met this He Cairen several times before.

Every time this talented Huang He came, he would make some noise. Either he couldn't understand what other people said, or he couldn't read other people's expressions.

The concubines in the harem have all kinds of strange personalities. Lin An has never seen anyone like this before. They are either stupid or lack brains.

“Master Shen, please come in.” Lin An extended his hand and said respectfully to Shen Fu when he turned around.

Chen Fu looked at Lin An's attitude and knew that she had to go this time.

I don’t know what His Majesty is thinking.

The Concubine Shu is already by her side, what else do you want her to do at this time?

Shen Fu muttered inwardly, but remained calm on the surface. She smiled and followed Lin An: “Please lead the way, Eunuch Lin.”

Lin An hurriedly led her forward, Chen Fu followed closely, and He Cairen followed impatiently behind.

The Imperial Garden has beautiful scenery and contains all kinds of rare and exotic plants. Because most of the species are too diverse, basically each type of flower and plant is placed in a separate garden.

His Majesty and Concubine Shu were taking a rest in the peony garden at this time. The pavilion was facing the peony garden, and behind them happened to be all kinds of peonies.

At first glance, I saw His Majesty and Concubine Shu sitting side by side. His Majesty is handsome and elegant, and His Majesty the Concubine is gorgeous and stunning.

The two of them sat together, a perfect match, so beautiful that one could not take their eyes off them.

Shen Fu looked at it for a while, then took a deep breath and walked forward. Compared to the heat outside, it is much cooler inside the pavilion.

The pavilion was surrounded by light smoke curtains, and there was even an ice basin in the corner. As soon as people enter, they feel instantly cool.

"Your Highness, your concubine greets you, and your Highness the Concubine Shu." Chen Fu straightened her body and knelt to salute. He Cairen behind her seemed to have just come back to his senses.

After hearing Chen Fu's movements, she hurriedly followed behind and saluted: "This concubine kowtows to His Majesty, kowtows to His Majesty Shu... kowtows to His Majesty Shufei."

The two of them saluted together, one in front and one behind, standing together was naturally a beautiful sight.

Needless to say, Shen Fu's face was so beautiful that one could not take their eyes away from it, with eyebrows like distant mountains and skin like cream.

He Cairen stood beside her. Although her face was not as delicate and charming as Shen Fu's, she was still a pretty girl from a small family.

Both of them were wearing simple and elegant dresses, and they were so beautiful standing together that it was hard to take your eyes off them.

Xiao Yu glanced at the two of them, and his eyes subconsciously fell on Shen Fu.

He had just noticed the two of them from a distance, and naturally saw Chen Fu standing there with a hesitant look on her face and unwilling to come over.

Xiao Yu lay sideways, picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip: "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shen Fu's legs were numb after squatting for too long. What's more, I walked for such a long time today, and although I tried my best to restrain myself when I stood up, I still swayed slightly.

Xiao Yu was drinking tea with his head down and happened to see it out of the corner of his eye.

Although Shen Fu's movements were small, the hem of her sky-blue skirt still swayed slightly.

Thinking about last night...Chen Fu was kneeling on the table with her knees swollen.

Xiao Yu's throat tightened, he glanced away and coughed, "Please take a seat."

Lin An quickly directed the young eunuch to bring chairs, and Shen Fu and He Cairen just sat down.

His Majesty then asked, "What are you doing in the Imperial Garden on such a hot day?"

He has always known that Chen Fu is delicate and afraid of heat just like him. Isn't it torture for him to come to the Imperial Garden in such hot weather?

What's more, as soon as Xiao Yu closed his eyes, he remembered the envious look on Shen Fu's face when she turned around just now.

For some reason, he always felt uncomfortable seeing her like this, so he sent Lin An to call her over.

The Concubine Shu followed and said, "It's really a coincidence today. The Emperor and I just came to the Imperial Garden for a walk and ran into the two sisters."

"It's so hot, thank you for troubling my two sisters."

Anyone with a brain could hear the hidden meaning behind what Concubine Shu said.

Chen Fu was not happy to come here in the first place, so she naturally wanted to explain after hearing this: "I just came out of Ronghua Palace and was about to return to Hehuan Palace. I thought of Rao Xiaodao and left for the Imperial Garden."

Concubine Shu's temper is one of the worst in the entire harem. Once she gets angry, not even the Emperor can calm her down.

Chen Furen naturally did not want to offend Concubine Shu, so she quickly explained: "I am sorry for disturbing Your Majesty and Concubine Shu, please forgive me."

After she finished speaking, she stood up and knelt down, her attitude even more respectful.

Concubine Shu yawned, glanced lazily at Chen Fu, and then said, "So you took the wrong road?"

The women in the harem have endless means and it is not uncommon for them to find ways to disrupt the Emperor's schedule after knowing a little about His Majesty's whereabouts.

Shufei has seen a lot, so she doesn't care whether it is true or not. It was only when he thought of the look his Majesty gave these two people in the pavilion just now that he felt displeased.

If she had been fine just now, for a moment she had seen doting in the Emperor's eyes.

When Concubine Shu thought of this, she clenched her armored palms.

"Which palace are you from?"

Chen Fu was tired of standing. When she heard this, she raised her head and stood up and replied, "I am Chen Ronghua from the Hehuan Palace."

"I...I am also from the Hehuan Palace." The aura of Concubine Shu was too obvious.

With such a gorgeous and compelling face, even the beauty seems oppressive.

He Cairen didn't even dare to raise her head, and even stammered when she spoke: "I am He Cairen."

"Heh..." Lady Shufei raised her eyes and didn't even look at He Cairen.

Such a cowardly and unpresentable person would not be taken seriously by the Emperor, let alone her.

Naturally, His Majesty would not be interested in such a woman.

Concubine Shu looked at him with disdain and directly ruled out He Cairen. The inquiring gaze was directed towards Shen Fu.

"Chen Ronghua looks very much like your sister." To be honest, Concubine Shu had never taken the newly favored Chen Ronghua seriously before.

After all, there are many beautiful women in the harem, but no one who can compare with her has appeared so far.

Concubine Shu has always been confident about her appearance.

Even though she had heard that His Majesty had been doting on Shen Ronghua recently, and that the unexpected letter was about the position of Ronghua, she had never taken it to heart.

After all, it is just a position of Ronghua. Above it is Jieyushi, and above that are Guipin and Zhaoyi, and then this is the concubine.

His Majesty has always been stingy about promotion, and it is unknown how many years it will take for Shen Ronghua to be promoted to concubine.

Besides…after Shu Fei had seen Shen Fu’s face before, she felt that she was not a threat.

After all, these two sisters look so much alike.

Shen Qingru is not favored in the harem, but she is not out of favor either. It can only be said that she has been tepid and dull for so many years.

Besides, there is already a similar face in the harem, and His Majesty is already tired of seeing it.

Even if Chen Fu's face was more delicate and beautiful, what would it matter?

What's the attraction of similar things to men?

Therefore, even though Concubine Shu had seen Chen Fu's face before, and even knew that His Majesty had gone to the Hehuan Palace, she did not take Chen Fu to heart.

But just now... Empress Shufei thought of the look that flashed across His Majesty's eyes just now.

I don’t know if she was mistaken, or if His Majesty really treats this Shen Ronghua differently.

"This palace and His Majesty are playing chess." Concubine Shu smiled softly and turned to His Majesty: "It just so happens that you two came at the right time. You can just help this palace and His Majesty decide the outcome."

The words of Concubine Shu subtly revealed the intimacy between her and His Majesty.

After all, His Majesty loves playing chess, but there is no one in the entire harem who can be his rival.

The Concubine Shu has studied hard for many years, and now she and His Majesty don't have to give in to each other. For this reason, she has always been secretly proud of it.

Now I am naturally even more proud.

"I am stupid..." Shen Fu was about to refuse when He Cairen behind her couldn't wait to speak.

"Yes." He Cairen's eyes sparkled as she stepped forward and said hastily, "I've heard that His Majesty and His Majesty are great at chess. I've only heard about them but never seen them."

"I only know a little bit about Go. It would be a great honor for me to see His Majesty and His Majesty play Go today."

He Cairen said this beautifully, but her eyes were looking directly at His Majesty without blinking.

She really felt that God was helping her!

He Cairen was slightly excited.

After all, she has been learning chess since she was young. Although her chess skills are not very high, she is definitely much better than the concubines in the harem who learned it halfway.

Today she met His Majesty again, and played chess with him as she was familiar with. With this move today, I will definitely be able to stand out in front of His Majesty.

Now what Concubine Shu said was simply giving her a way out. If she doesn't seize this opportunity, she must be stupid, right?

He Cairen looked like he was about to show off his abilities, and he directly blocked the remaining words from Shen Fu's mouth.

Concubine Shu looked at Chen Fu for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you two sisters."

What Shen Fu just said did not escape her ears. She thought Shen Fu didn't know chess.

After all, chess is something that requires brains, unlike playing the piano or embroidery, where you can fool people by just knowing some basic skills.

The most important thing about playing chess is your wisdom. Girls in the boudoir have limited knowledge. How many girls can compete with His Majesty?

The reason why Concubine Shu has been favored for so many years is certainly not just because of her beauty.

Those who can enjoy favor from His Majesty all year round and be able to handle things with ease and receive constant favor are naturally wise.

After she finished speaking, she said to His Majesty affectionately, "Last time I went back, I studied very hard for a while. Your Majesty, please don't let me do that again later."

As Concubine Shu spoke, the golden peony hairpin on her head swayed gently. Her red lips curled up, making her face even more bright and charming.

Xiao Yu retracted his gaze from the sky-blue skirt, lowered his eyes to glance at Concubine Shu, leaned over and picked up the chess piece from the chess box again: "My beloved concubine, please go first."

Most of the chess pieces on the board had already been played, which showed that His Majesty and Concubine Shu had been playing for a while before they arrived.

Shen Fu stood by and glanced at him, then quietly rolled her eyes.

He Cairen must have something wrong with her brain. I don't know how she was able to enter the palace.

It's so hot today, wouldn't it be nice to go home, lie down comfortably and have some cold drinks? I have to stand here and watch people play chess.

Although it is not hot in this pavilion, it is still uncomfortable after all!

Chen Fu lowered her head and looked at her knees with heartache. Her knees were already red and swollen from kneeling last night, and after being hurt like this today, she was afraid that she would not be able to see them properly when she returned home.

She muttered something about He Cairen, but when no one was paying attention, she quietly lifted her foot and put the gravity on the other side.

Shen Fu looked annoyed, but she kept making small movements.

While Xiao Yu was playing chess, he was actually secretly paying attention to his side. Seeing Chen Fu's impatient look, he coughed lightly and then couldn't help laughing.

"What's wrong?" As soon as Concubine Shu gave birth to a son, she saw the Emperor's face full of smiles.

She looked down at the chessboard in confusion: "But what's wrong with my move?"

Concubine Shu didn’t understand. She didn’t make any mistake. What was His Majesty laughing at just now?

"Not really." Xiao Yu's eyes flashed, and then the black piece in his hand fell.

"Eat!" He Cairen understood what was going on and couldn't help but shout.

He seemed to realize that his movements were too loud.

After He Cairen finished speaking, she lowered her head again in a pretentious manner: "It was I who spoke too much."

People who don’t understand chess don’t understand these things at all. When He Cairen interrupted, it naturally let the Emperor know that he understood chess.

She was thinking a lot in her mind, but she said, "It's just that I couldn't help myself when I saw His Majesty's skillful move."

Concubine Shu was stunned at first, then she looked down and realized that she had fallen into a trap. When His Majesty made this move, the chess situation on the board changed instantly, disrupting all her previous arrangements with just one move.

Indeed...it is indeed wonderful!

In the second half, Concubine Shu lost soon after the game started.

On the chessboard, the black pieces won in the middle game with a clear advantage, while the white pieces were in a terrible state.

No matter how proud Concubine Shu was just now, she now only felt a burning pain on her cheeks.

The other whips on her waist were trembling. If the Emperor had not been there, she would have pulled out the whips in anger.

"My concubine." With so many people watching, she lost so badly.

How could Concubine Shu, who is so proud, bear this? She was still holding the white piece in her hand, and she used so much force that the piece made her hand ache. Then she suddenly put it down and said, "I have something else to do in the palace, so I will not accompany His Majesty to continue to visit the Imperial Garden."

Concubine Shu forced a smile towards His Majesty, and then, without waiting for His Majesty's reaction, she impatiently left with her servants.

It was not until Concubine Shu disappeared with her people that Xiao Yu turned his gaze towards the two of them again.

"My concubine..." He Cairen thought about how she had just shown her face in front of His Majesty, and deliberately imitated the Empress Shufei to retreat in order to advance:

"Then I will go back first."

After He Cairen finished speaking, he knelt down and waited for the emperor to ask him to stay.

But she had just raised her eyes, and her affectionate eyes had not yet turned to look at the Emperor.

But above her head, the emotionless voice of His Majesty said to her, "Lin An, send someone to escort He Cairen away."

How could His Majesty be so unromantic?

He Cairen got up reluctantly, but did not dare to make a noise and followed the young eunuch obediently.

Chen Fu also took the opportunity to salute and tried to slip away.

Just as he turned around, he heard a sneer from behind.

His Majesty raised his eyelids and said lazily: "Take another step and I will break your legs!"