Chapter 450 The Lonely Emperor
"His Majesty the Emperor and the Marquis have arrived!" Dai Quan came to the side of the retired emperor and whispered.
The Emperor raised his head, then waved towards Jia Cong and said, "You little monkey, you are finally here. Didn't I send someone to tell you to come earlier?"
"Come, it's still early for dinner, play a game of chess with me first!"
The emperor's face was filled with black lines. He, as a son, was so unwelcome. He was not as important as his own son in the eyes of his father?
"Father, let me watch you play chess!" The emperor smiled and moved forward.
However, the Emperor glared at him and said, "You are such a lousy chess player, and you dare to ask me to play chess with you? Go away and don't disturb the fun of me and this little monkey."
Emperor Longxing's face was filled with embarrassment. He glared at Jia Cong fiercely. Jia Cong smiled awkwardly and said, "My chess skills are weak. How about your Majesty come?"
"Come if I tell you to!" said the emperor.
Jia Cong had no choice but to smile at Emperor Longxing and move forward to sit opposite the retired emperor.
"I believe I am no match for the retired emperor, so please let me have a move. I will play black first!" Jia Cong was not polite and directly picked up the black chess box and made the first move.
The emperor smiled and didn't care. He picked up the white chess piece and started making moves.
The grandfather and grandson were playing chess, the mother and daughter were gossiping, and Emperor Longxing was sitting alone, drinking cup after cup of tea with great anger.
Jia Cong wasn't really good at Go, but as the saying goes, "Mastering one thing teaches you to master many." After traveling through time, Jia Cong gained sharp ears and eyes, a photographic memory, and, in later times, a brain that weighed two pounds more than anyone else's. The art of Go hinges on strategy and layout, and even someone incredibly intelligent, with a photographic memory and skilled at deducing layouts, wouldn't be a bad player, even if they only had a passing understanding of the rules.
It is no exaggeration to say that with Jia Cong's current brain power and planning ability, even if he tries to do two things at once, he is enough to deal with top chess masters.
However, since Jia Cong was playing chess with the retired emperor, he naturally couldn't let the old man lose face. Therefore, although he played casually, he also had a plan in place. Although this plan seemed to be for himself at first glance, in fact, if you look back a few dozen steps, it was actually for the retired emperor.
The retired emperor was indeed a top expert with great foresight and strategy, and it was for this reason that Jia Cong put in a lot of effort.
After all, it is not difficult to lose or win, but it is a science to lose without leaving any trace and not let the emperor win too easily.
This game of chess lasted a full hour. When the last piece was placed, the emperor laughed heartily. "Dai Quan, come here and count to see if I won or lost!"
Dai Quan also saw that the emperor was in high spirits, so he stepped forward with a smile and began to count all the black and white chess pieces clearly.
After a while, Dai Quan said happily, "Your Majesty and the Marquis are indeed evenly matched. This time, the Emperor won by a narrow margin, winning by exactly one point!"
"Really?" the retired emperor exclaimed happily. He rarely found a match for his chess skills. Meng Zong and Cao Zhuang were no problem at killing or chopping people , but they were terrible at chess. It was only when the Great Illusionary entered the palace that he could play a few games with him. However, the Great Illusionary's chess skills were slightly inferior, and he could only occasionally beat him.
Now, this little grandson of mine is as good as me?
"How dare I deceive Your Majesty and the Marquis!" Dai Quan said with an apologetic smile.
"Okay, okay, you are much better than you... than the emperor! When you are free in the future, come to the palace and let's have a few games of fun together." The emperor said happily.
They say that old children are like old children, and even the emperor is no exception. Moreover, in front of this little grandson who had been lost for more than ten years and just found, the emperor did not want to put on airs.
He had been emperor for decades and was now in control of the government, so he was tired of putting on airs. Why should he still act so arrogantly in front of his own family?
Emperor Longxing, who had suffered an unexpected disaster, looked even darker. He thought that as a father, he would not be able to look decent in front of his son. Originally, he only had one queen to protect him, but now there was another retired emperor?
Emperor Longxing had almost imagined the dark days ahead for him...
"If this kid wants to rebel against me in the future, I hope my father won't just open the palace gate and tie me up and send me out !" Emperor Longxing suddenly thought of this, but looking at his father and the queen, he helplessly discovered that such a thing is not impossible.
Fortunately, the imperial kitchen had already brought the meal over, and Emperor Longxing’s embarrassment was finally temporarily over.
…
Jia Cong went to the palace for dinner, and Rongguo Mansion was also welcoming guests.
Hearing the maid's report, Grandmother Jia was surprised. "Aren't they all in Shu? I haven't heard any news from them. How come they suddenly returned to the capital?"
"Go, welcome them in!"
Grandmother Jia left the main hall and waited outside the door. After a long while, an old lady with a wealthy face and gorgeous clothes entered the courtyard, surrounded by her mothers-in-law and maids.
Grandmother Jia hurried over to greet her. "When did the elder sister come back? Why didn't you send a message in advance so that we could go and greet her?"
This old lady was no one else but the old concubine of the Prince of Annan's mansion, of the same generation as Lady Jia. Her surname was Cheng, so for the time being, we'll call her Old Lady Cheng.
"You are so old now. How can it be worthy for us to go and welcome you, our old sister?" Old Lady Cheng stepped forward and shook hands with Lady Jia.
Grandmother Jia welcomed Old Lady Cheng into the main hall. The two of them sat on a high couch. Grandmother Jia then sent for the imperial edict from the palace to come and pay their respects. Then the old lady said, "It's because of our age. At our age, how many years can we live? Shu is certainly good, but when you get old, you tend to recall the past and miss us old sisters."
"If I don't come back again, we really don't know if we will have the chance to see each other again."
"So, while I can still walk, I forced my family to send me back. I can stay in the capital for a few days and see our old relatives and friends. When I return, even if I really close my eyes, I will feel at ease."
"I see you're still strong, sister. Why say such depressing things? Besides, although I'm not in Shu, I know your children and grandchildren are all very capable. What else is there to worry about?"
"However, since you are back, you can stay for a few more days at my house. It just so happens that the elder sister of the Zhen family is also staying here. We old ladies can chat and play dominoes for fun."
"Of course it's good!" Old Lady Cheng laughed and said, "I've heard for a long time that your two families are getting married. This is a great joyous event. It's only because my granddaughter lives far away, otherwise she would definitely compete with the girl from the Zhen family for it."
