The moonlight fell on Song Heng, insects chirped, grass sang, and the gravel road was long and winding.
When Song Heng reached the gate of Zhuangning Palace, he paused. From a distance, he saw Concubine Liu De standing in the courtyard with her long hair loose and wearing thin clothes. Xiao Ning was standing beside her, lighting up the area with a palace lantern.
Song Heng frowned slightly, then recovered his composure and walked in with quickened pace. Ah Fu followed closely behind him with his head down, holding a lantern.
Before Song Heng could speak, Concubine Liu De apologized, held the windbreaker in both hands, and stood on tiptoe to put it on Song Heng: "Your Majesty, it's cold tonight, don't catch a cold."
Song Heng quickly took the windbreaker and motioned for him to come over, his tone hesitant: "Did I wake you up?"
When Concubine Liu De saw that Song Heng wanted to tie the laces himself, she retreated obediently. She just shook her head and avoided the question: "It's getting late, Your Majesty, please go to bed early. If there is anything missing in the main hall, I will prepare it for Your Majesty."
Song Heng remained silent and didn't respond. His expression was hard to discern in the darkness. Concubine Liu De waited for a moment before bowing and saying, "Then I will return to my room."
Concubine Liu De walked towards the side hall in small steps. She paused on the stairs, as if she was hesitating about something. Finally, she turned around and looked at Song Heng.
Song Heng was looking down, thinking about something. Noticing her gaze, he took the initiative to ask, "Is there anything else Concubine De you want to say to me?"
"I..." Concubine Liu De finally turned around and said, "Your Majesty, do you have time to play a game of hand-to-hand?"
When Mu Chenshuang was not as favored as she is now, Song Heng rarely came to the harem.
Concubine Liu De didn't know what the situation was like for other concubines, but Song Heng usually brought books with him when he came to Zhuangning Palace.
As time went by, seeing that there was still no news about the concubines' offspring, and the concubines' hesitant expressions during tea parties, she estimated that the situations of the concubines in the harem should not be much different.
Although she was still weak at the time, she was well-known for her skills in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Occasionally, Song Heng was willing to play chess with her, which was her advantage.
She could play with Song Heng for a long time, although she would always be at a disadvantage in the later stages. Once this clue was revealed, Song Heng would casually say that it was late and she should rest early, which would be very considerate of her face.
She would understand and agree, ask the servants to clean up the chessboard, then say goodbye to Song Heng and return to the side hall.
But it seems like it’s been almost a year since we last played chess together.
The evening breeze blew gently, and in the darkness you could vaguely see the white petals of the April snow trembling in the wind. Some of the fragile flowers broke away from the branches and fell lightly to the ground.
"Yeah," Song Heng responded, "Can you handle it?"
Concubine De smiled and said, "My health is better now, just as the imperial physician and the empress dowager said. It's just that I haven't played chess for a long time and I miss it."
When Xiao Ning heard Song Heng's agreement, she did not act like an ordinary maid who would rush to make arrangements after hearing the emperor's promise. She was still humble and polite and went to find the chessboard carefully. She moved it to the table in the main hall as before and then lit the lamp that had been extinguished before Song Heng left.
After everything was ready, Ah Fu and Xiao Ning stepped aside. It was still De Fei who played the black pieces and Song Heng who played the white pieces.
Compared to Chenxiang Pavilion, Zhuangning Palace is definitely quieter during the day, but it is precisely because of this daytime quietness that the lush branches and leaves are arranged in an orderly manner, and the April evenings are quite noisy with the chirping of insects and the singing of grass.
But Concubine Liu De and Song Heng seemed to have heard nothing at all, and the only sound in their ears was the crisp sound of chess pieces falling on the board.
The chess pieces were getting denser and denser, and the two players were not playing as fast as at the beginning. When Defei took out a black chess piece from the chess box, she accidentally loosened her fingers, and the black chess piece fell on the table with a crisp "pa ta" sound.
Song Heng looked over when he heard the sound. Concubine Liu De picked up the chess piece with an embarrassed look on her face. "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Your Majesty."
Song Heng said, "It's okay."
In fact, Concubine De did it on purpose because she noticed that the person in front of her seemed to be distracted. Although he was still playing chess with her one by one, the pressing attitude made her suspicious. She raised her eyes quietly and saw that Song Heng was frowning slightly.
This was an expression Song Heng never had when playing chess with her. Although her chess skills were good, they were not good enough to make Song Heng frown and ponder. She was aware of this.
He was distracted.
As expected, after this little episode, Song Heng's expression relaxed, and he was no longer as aggressive as before when making his moves, with a strong desire to win.
"De Fei, two years ago, you were already incredibly talented and famous throughout the capital," Song Heng said, not keeping silent as usual during a chess game. Instead, he suddenly spoke, his tone as relaxed as if chatting with a friend. "At that time, I heard that many talented people in the capital were about to flatten the threshold of Grand Tutor Liu's house."
Defei paused holding the chess piece. An ordinary man might say that this was out of jealousy, but she knew that the person in front of her was definitely not jealous, and that he had other motives.
"Your Majesty, you are joking." Defei just agreed and waited for Song Heng to continue.
Song Heng watched Concubine De make her move and then studied the chessboard intently for a moment: "Why is the black piece moving like this?"
Song Heng had already gained the upper hand before, and this time, Defei's move landed directly in the encirclement of the white pieces. In just a few moves, the white pieces were able to clear out a group of black pieces.
Defei was silent for a moment. Perhaps she knew what Song Heng was asking.
When asked why a lady from a noble family like her, who was obviously pursued by countless young men, was willing to enter the palace, it was understandable that she entered the palace for wealth and glory, but why did she always appear to have no desires after entering the palace?
However, why Song Heng came to ask this question today was something she couldn't figure out for the time being.
Defei also saw the situation on the chessboard clearly, and the white piece was about to be forced into a corner.
She was distracted and made a mistake in making a move, but she did not regret it. She just trembled her eyelashes, but did not regret her move or say anything.
Thinking of Song Heng's words, Concubine De pondered for a moment and then said calmly, "Heizi's situation has already been ruined. All he wants is peace and quiet."
Tutor Liu was a figurehead, and the Liu family did not have much real power. Concubine De wanted to make it clear that what she wanted was just the peace of being protected by the emperor as a concubine.
Song Heng gently stroked the shiny black piece, looked at the chessboard in front of him in silence, and finally placed it in an unimportant position, but it also gave the white piece a chance to catch its breath and escape.
Defei looked at Song Heng in surprise. Song Heng would always say that he wanted to rest early to finish the unfinished chess game, but he had never asked her to do so so blatantly as he did now.
But she did smile in her heart, because Song Heng must have some trust or respect for her.
"I understand." Song Heng said word by word: "Heizi can find peace."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Concubine De's face remained calm, with just a gentle smile.
She couldn't see the whole picture, but this part was enough to make her feel at ease. She could figure out the rest slowly.
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