Chapter 122 - 103: Attacked
The system was a mysterious entity that surpassed the advanced technology of her previous life.
And to achieve the effect Jiang Xian wanted, she didn’t even need such advanced technology. It was like playing Go with an old man at the park downstairs, secretly opening an online Go app on her phone, starting a custom match against the computer, and cranking the difficulty up to "Hell" level.
Whatever move the old man made, she’d input it into the game.
Then, she would replicate the AI’s response on the real board, creating the bizarre spectacle of a young woman playing a seventy-year-old man into an existential crisis.
And Jiang Xian was playing three of these games at once.
"Playing against you, Benefactress, is the first time Guanzhen has felt the powerlessness of staring up at a towering mountain. It’s as if with every move I make, you can see dozens, even hundreds of moves ahead." After his initial shock, Abbot Guanzhen gracefully accepted his defeat and laughed heartily. "To have had such a match is more precious than a mountain of gold, and it has brought Guanzhen great satisfaction."
He got crushed, yet he was asking for a second round.
Since it wasn’t an honorable victory anyway, and seeing the abbot was hooked, Jiang Xian promised to play a few more games with him whenever she had time in the next few days to satisfy his craving.
System: "Host, what does this have to do with palace intrigue?"
Jiang Xian: "Of course it does!"
She immediately turned around and presented the Mud Gold Scripture she had won from the match to the Empress Dowager.
The process of creating a Mud Gold Scripture was extremely complex. This particular copy was handwritten by the late Master Guan Yi, and in the eyes of the Yan Chi Ren, it was an object suffused with merit. The Empress Dowager had always admired it, but out of respect for the monastics, she couldn’t bring herself to issue an edict and take what they cherished.
Jiang Xian catered to her preference, making Abbot Guanzhen willingly offer up the Mud Gold Scripture.
This move of "borrowing a scripture to present to the Empress Dowager" won her the Empress Dowager’s favor.
Qiu Yun was indignant. "She just turns around and gives the scripture to the Empress Dowager. She really knows how to curry favor! After she’s done that, what can our Lady possibly gift? We left in such a hurry. We can’t just send the leftover Biluochun tea leaves to the Empress Dowager. That would be too insulting."
But Noble Princess Consort Rong was worried about something else. "The Emperor also loves to play Go. With her skills being so exceptional, won’t she hog all the attention? No, this won’t do. Go get Noble Lady Gu and have her teach me how to play."
Qiu Tang received the order and went to find her.
This time, she was successful.
After hearing the Lady’s request, Jiang Xian was troubled. "But, my Lady, I only know how to play. I don’t know how to teach."
"You’re just unwilling to teach me. You’re afraid I’ll steal your favor."
"It’s not that I’m unwilling, I just don’t know how to teach. If I were unwilling, I’d say so directly." Jiang Xian asked, "But if I did, would you listen?"
"I would not."
Noble Princess Consort Rong’s shapely eyebrows shot up, her cheeks flushing pink with anger.
Seeing that Jiang Xian really couldn’t teach her, she settled for the next best thing. "Then you’ll play against me. I will teach myself."
"Playing Go takes a lot of mental energy..."
The Noble Consort cut in, "You’re not willing to play with me?"
"There has to be some of this involved."
Jiang Xian rubbed the pads of her thumb and forefinger together.
The Noble Consort scoffed, pulling a fine jade thumb ring from her hand and placing it in front of her. "The one thing I don’t lack is silver taels."
’So rich and flashy!’
With gold, silver, and jewels as the prize, Jiang Xian played Go with her for two days.
Jiang Xian wanted this to be a long-term gig and didn’t want to scare off her beautiful, wealthy mark all at once. So she said, "Although I can’t teach, we can proceed gradually. You can choose from four difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Hell."
"You find playing against me so easy?" Noble Princess Consort Rong’s pretty face flushed with anger. "Then let me see just how hard the most difficult level is."
Five minutes later, the Noble Consort was completely devastated.
But for the sake of winning the Emperor’s affection, she quickly rallied. "...Switch to Medium."
’Poor user experience. Requesting a difficulty change.’
Jiang Xian readily agreed. "Alright."
At Medium difficulty, Noble Princess Consort Rong could barely keep up, but still ended up narrowly losing.
After two straight days of playing, she had lost all the jewelry from her ten fingers. Jiang Xian said, "Why don’t we just call it a day? My Lady, everything you’ve given me is jewelry. It’s not convenient for me to melt it down for cash."
"Melt it down for cash? Do you have any idea how exquisite the craftsmanship is? Craftsmanship aside, these are my personal items. If you wear any one of them to the Imperial Household to ask for something, they wouldn’t dare give you any trouble."
Noble Princess Consort Rong said proudly.
Jiang Xian understood. ’They’re VIP membership cards for the Imperial Household.’
Seeing she really didn’t want any more jewelry, Noble Princess Consort Rong changed her tune. "I didn’t bring many silver taels with me on this trip out of the palace. Just put it on my tab for now. When we get back, I’ll exchange it for gold bars for you... Don’t you dare fall asleep! I am determined to win this game today!"
Facing the Lady’s death glare, Jiang Xian ultimately kept the words ’Don’t get so tilted from losing that you refuse to pay up’ to herself.
Jiang Xian: "System, control the difficulty. It’s best to make her feel like she’s about to win, so she’ll think she can definitely win the next game if she just plays a little better."
System: "..."
System: "Host, you are heartless."
The AI, an accomplice to this tyranny, felt a pang of conscience.
Noble Princess Consort Rong got more and more hooked the more she played. By the time she came to her senses, she had almost lost her underbodice.
During these seven days at Jingxin Temple, Noble Princess Consort Rong lost so badly she wanted to become a nun on the spot.
Although she still had the heart to compete for favor, she never wanted to touch a Go board again.
The Empress Dowager even remarked, "I heard that the Noble Consort and Noble Lady Gu have been getting along very harmoniously these past few days. I didn’t believe it at first, but now that I see the thumb ring on Noble Lady Gu’s hand and the hairpin in her hair, I truly believe it. To be willing to part with such treasures... But you, Noble Consort, you’re dressed so plainly for the journey back to the palace today. That’s not like you."
In the Empress Dowager’s eyes, all the jewelry from the Noble Consort that Jiang Xian now wore was a reward for winning her favor.
Noble Princess Consort Rong ground her back teeth. "It’s all thanks to Noble Lady Gu for keeping me company."
Once they returned to the palace, who knew how many silver taels she would have to send to Yizhu Pavilion!
Jiang Xian, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to get back to the palace and count her spoils.
On the journey back to the palace, Jiang Xian was invited into the Noble Consort’s spacious carriage to continue their game. It was a world of difference from the small, cramped carriage she had taken on the way there. "My Lady, didn’t you say you never wanted to touch a Go board again?"
"Shut up. I think I have a chance with this game."
Noble Princess Consort Rong stared at the board with intense concentration.
Jiang Xian was secretly amused and was just about to let her win a game when the carriage suddenly lurched to a halt. The sound of hurried footsteps and the shocked, angry shouts of the carriage bearers and guards came from outside!
"Audacious villains! How dare you attack the Empress Dowager’s carriage!"
"Do you realize this is a heinous crime punishable by the execution of your entire clan? If you stop ten paces away and repent, there may still be a chance for you to live!"
The carriage ahead, which they’d claimed was the Empress Dowager’s, was actually empty.
More than one carriage had been prepared for the Empress Dowager for the return journey. In the event of an attack, it would serve to confuse the enemy and buy time for the real Empress Dowager to escape.
Faced with the threats from the imperial guards, the assailants were unafraid. "We’re here to kill the Dog Emperor’s mother! I hear the Emperor’s most favored concubine is in one of these carriages too. You can all die!"
There were no deafening war cries, only a constant stream of bloodcurdling screams.
Noble Princess Consort Rong, who had been immersed in the Go game, suddenly snapped back to reality and looked around. "Who’s calling for me?"