Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Jia Cong glanced at Miaoyu and felt that the other party's plan was neat and impeccable, so he hurriedly grabbed the cart.

After watching him make a few moves, Miaoyu knew that he was a terrible chess player. He probably hadn't even memorized the chess manual. His moves were all unorthodox and full of loopholes. He didn't even know the classic variations of the predecessors, yet he dared to speak so shamelessly.

With a faint smile, I felt relieved and responded casually.

In less than twenty rounds, Jia Cong lost two big pieces in a row, and lost both pieces and power. The girls watching could not help laughing. Even those who were not well versed in this knew that someone was going to be defeated.

"I lost this time, let's try again." Jia Cong was also straightforward. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he admitted defeat readily.

In the second game, he didn't dare to give up the first move again, and hurriedly snatched the red chess piece, calling it a game of first move.

In this game, Jia Cong directly used the central cannon and rapid central soldier layout that became very popular in later generations, hoping to achieve a surprise victory.

Miaoyu responded with the screen horse in a dignified manner, but was shocked to see Jia Cong resolutely break through the middle and lead his troops across the river. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to fight back, exchanging her cannon for a chariot and sending out seven pawns to attack.

The women on the sidelines held their breath in concentration. It was the first time they had seen such a fierce attack and killing layout. Both sides refused to give an inch and were filled with murderous intent. If there was even the slightest flaw, they would be defeated quickly.

Sure enough, Jia Cong's chess skills determined that any sophisticated layout would be rubbish in his hands. He made a big mistake after four or five moves. Not only did he lose the pawn in the vanguard inexplicably, but he was also bombarded by Miaoyu's bottom pawn and was taken away in one wave.

Everyone found it funny to see Jia Cong defeated twice so cleanly and neatly, and they were also amazed at Miaoyu's chess skills.

Baoyu and Daiyu smiled at each other, and finally they understood why Jia Cong could sweep the chess world in Liaodong. Others did not lose in chess skills, but simply did not dare to beat him, a garrison general.

Jia Cong was not very good at chess, but he was quite self-aware. He complained, "Miaoyu, why do you spend so much time on chess when you are a girl? Be careful not to waste your time on playing chess."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Miaoyu said calmly, "I only learned a little when I was young, but I haven't played chess for nearly ten years."

"..." Jia Cong was speechless. Why was there such a big gap between people?

Baoyu said with a smile: "Brother Cong, just surrender. If you continue, it will be like hitting a rock with an egg."

Jia Cong glared at him and said, "Come on, if you have the guts, come and play against her."

Baoyu waved his hands and said, "I don't play chess."

"Tsk, all talk and no practice." Jia Cong arranged the chess pieces again and said tactfully, "No, you learned from a famous teacher, but I am self-taught. You have to let me go three... no, four first."

After saying this, without asking Miaoyu's opinion, he took four steps first.

All the girls laughed at him for being a scoundrel.

Miaoyu raised her hand and said, "It's okay." She then started a game.

After more than twenty rounds, Jia Cong couldn't bear it anymore and shouted angrily: "Come again!"

Miaoyu smiled and said, "Okay." She felt very happy in her heart, as she had finally avenged herself a little bit against Wen Tang.

"You give me a horse in this game, and I'll go first."

Xiangyun couldn't stand it any longer and spat, "How dare you. Do you want to give up the first move when others are giving up the pieces?"

Jia Cong blushed and said, "Why don't I let her have a plate later?"

"You scoundrel." Xiangyun scolded with a smile, "You will lose whether you give in or not."

"This is a tactic." Jia Cong said proudly, but after a dozen rounds, he became worried again.

Miaoyu showed no mercy and easily chopped him down again.

Jia Cong refused to surrender and kept fighting despite repeated defeats. Soon he was defeated seven or eight times in a row and completely lost his temper.

Baochai couldn't bear to see Jia Cong's miserable look, so she hurriedly gave him some advice. Jia Cong grasped at the life-saving straw and readily followed her advice. After more than twenty rounds, relying on Miaoyu's advantage of letting her go first, he finally defeated her.

"Hahaha! I won. Will Miaoyu surrender?" Jia Cong jumped up happily, hugged Baochai and kissed her on the cheek, laughing.

"Oh! You." Baochai covered her face in shame and spat.

All the girls turned their heads away and laughed secretly.

Miaoyu sneered, "You are just repeating what others have said, and you are still feeling proud of it."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "You are a woman, and it is not fair for me to defeat you. I will also send a woman. If you defeat her, it is equivalent to defeating me. If she defeats you, it is equivalent to me defeating you. You are not allowed to deny it."

He had seen that Baochai was very good at chess, so he quickly pulled Baochai to sit down, and while massaging her shoulders, he encouraged her, "Sister Bao, don't be polite. Kill her hard and leave no trace of her."

Baochai rolled her eyes at him, thinking that Jia Cong had lost miserably today, so she smiled at Miaoyu and said, "Let's just play around casually."

Miaoyu nodded and said, "Okay."

Both of them knew that the other was a strong enemy, so they did not dare to take it lightly and focused their attention.

Baochai has never liked competing with others, but today, in order to avenge her husband, she had no choice but to strive to be the first step and show her talents. There was no trace of her usual hiding her stupidity and simplicity.

Miaoyu was indignant that Jia Cong and his wife were of one mind, and they were outnumbered two by one. She was no longer polite and used risky moves, fighting fiercely with Baochai, without any of the compassion and humility of a nun.

Jia Cong was greatly entertained by the show, but he could not understand many of the subtle moves, so he had to ask Daiyu and others for advice.

"How did you offend Miaoyu? Why did you make her so angry?" Daiyu whispered in his ear.

"Hmm? We made friends through chess. I lost many games. How did I offend her?"

Daiyu glanced at him and said, "Don't pretend to be nice to me. Miaoyu is so proud of her noble character. If you don't offend her severely, will she get serious with you?

Look, even Sister Bao didn't give in at all, she sacrificed her pieces to attack and kill, she would rather lose than fight, don't you understand?"

Jia Cong understood it in his heart, but he smiled and said, "It's normal for chess players to try their best to win, but you are just too suspicious." It seems that Chu Chan is the only one in the whole game who can definitely beat her.

Yin smiled and said, "Well, Sister Bao and Miaoyu are evenly matched. Sister Bao, you are tired too, let Sister Chan play two games."

Baochai and she won two games each. Seeing Jia Cong wink, she smiled and said, "Alright."

Miaoyu was angry. You all took turns to fight me. Am I not tired? She suddenly became strong and said nothing.

Chu Chan sat down and said with a smile: "My chess skills are poor, so I will ask Master Miaoyu for advice on two games."

When Miaoyu saw her, she thought of what happened that day and her face suddenly turned red. She felt half a head lower in her heart and was naturally discouraged from taking action.

After a few moves, he discovered that Chu Chan was not clumsy at all and her chess skills were not inferior to Baochai at all. He was immediately defeated and lost three games in a row.

Because he pushed the chessboard, he said angrily, "I won't play anymore. You are using your numbers to bully the few."

Chu Chan took her hand and said with a smile: "It's just for fun, what's the point. Let's go over there and talk." Then she took her away.

Jia Cong laughed loudly and said, "Miaoyu, if you still want to fight, Sister Chan is always here to accompany you. If you can beat her, it will be like beating me."

Shameless! Miaoyu spat.

Baoyu, Daiyu and the others were puzzled as to why Miaoyu was so restrained and behaved so poorly when she met Chu Chan. They were about to ask Jia Cong when they heard Ruyi return home and send someone to invite her.

Jia Cong then came out and returned to his main room.

"Yan'er, what's the matter?"

Ruyi was very happy and said with a smile, "My mother is very happy today and praised you." Jia Cong was stunned and asked, "What did she say about me?"

"My queen mother said that my eldest brother has returned to Beijing safely. You, the Jinyiwei, have worked hard on the journey and have made great contributions." Ruyi said with a smile.

Jia Cong's eyes moved slightly. This was to thank me for not ruining her good thing. By not ruining this kind of thing, I was actually supporting her.

The bottom line of the Queen's giving her a heads-up in advance was that she hoped the Royal Guards would not disrupt her actions, and it would be even better if she could take action.

"You are so polite, mother. Is there anything else you want to say?"

"You also said that military and national affairs are important and should not be taken lightly. Your father has his own wise decision and told you not to act on your own and anger your father. You must know that being too rigid will lead to failure. This time of reflection is a lesson for you." Ruyi said.

Jia Cong nodded slowly. This was the Queen's hint that the Emperor had formed an opinion of him, so he smiled and said, "I know. I don't want to be the first to speak out, but a real man has his own ways and his own ways."

Ruyi agreed with him and said, "That's right. If you just eat the imperial salary and go with the flow, and can't even argue when you see the country losing its sovereignty and being humiliated, what kind of man are you?
If you do that, I'll beat you up. I don't want a cowardly and useless prince consort like that."

Jia Cong hugged her and teased her, "What kind of prince consort does Yan'er want?"

Ruyi's face flushed, and she pushed him away, saying, "Get out of my way, stop arguing with me."

"Oh, Yan'er, you want to play the role of a chaste and heroic woman again today? I, your Majesty, will accompany you to the end." Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Hate it! If you say that again I'll hit you." Ruyi bit her lip and said angrily. Her tone was gentle and there was no intention of hitting anyone at all.

"Hehe, let's fight. Take my shot first." Jia Cong hugged her and rolled onto the bed.

When several palace maidens saw that the two were going to "exchange martial arts" again, they hurried up and shyly served them.

It was not until the sun set that Jia Cong was awakened by a palace maid, who said that Baochai and others had returned and dinner was ready.

"Hurry up and get up!" Ruyi said angrily, "You don't know how to restrain yourself in broad daylight. What a shame!"

Jia Cong was not convinced and muttered: "Why didn't you tell me to restrain myself just now?"

"You still said that!"

The two men quickly changed their clothes and went out to the flower hall to eat. Seeing that all the girls were there, they were inevitably teased.

Ruyi blushed and spat, "It's all this idiot's fault for being so ignorant that he delayed us and made us wait for so long."

The ladies smiled and politely invited the two men to sit down.

Jia Cong said with a smile: "It's quite lively in the garden today, but it's a pity that Yan'er doesn't have time to spare. I think it would be better to set up a banquet in the evening and invite everyone to come and have some fun here. What do you think?"

The girls didn't know that he had other intentions, so they all smiled and said yes.

Suddenly, Cheng Lingsu came over and whispered a few words into Jia Cong's ear.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "You guys play, I'll go out for a while." Then he followed Ling Su back to the study and said, "Let's talk."

"Master, I have a few things to report. First, the envoys from Luosha Kingdom and the Western Regions have arrived in Shenjing and started negotiations with the Ministry of Rites;
Second, the eldest prince returned to the capital safely and reported to the emperor that Prince Nan'an neglected to take precautions and his food supplies were burned by the assassins. The emperor did not comment and only ordered him to study behind closed doors.

Third, after the defeat in the Western Regions, the chieftains of Qinghai took the opportunity to rebel in places such as Ulan Boke, with more than 10,000 rebel soldiers;

Fourth, the chieftains of Hunan and Guangxi led their barbarian soldiers to launch a rebellion, totaling more than 30,000 people, because local officials demanded the collection of taxes.

Jia Cong was overwhelmed by what he heard and asked, "Does Mr. Pang know about this?"

Cheng Lingsu said, "I understand."

Jia Cong said, "Please Mr. Pang make the decision. I am now reflecting on my mistakes behind closed doors and do not want to bother with these nonsense. I will ask the Jinyiwei to report this to the higher-ups so that they can have a headache. Is there any good news?"

"Yes." Cheng Lingsu smiled and said, "He changed his name to Sanada Tetsuya, disguised as a ronin warrior, and had a fight with the chief of the guards of Prince Beijing's mansion in a restaurant. The two of them 'sympathized with each other', and he recommended him to enter the palace and became a retainer."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Alright, tell him to lie low and wait for the right time to strike."

"Yes."

After dinner, Jia Cong chatted with his wives and concubines for a while. Ruyi heard that he and Miaoyu had been beaten in seven or eight rounds of chess, and laughed out loud, "I told you to brag. You can't even beat a girl, and you still have the nerve to say that Liaodong is invincible."

Jia Cong laughed dryly and said, "How could I know Miaoyu was so powerful? I am indeed invincible in Liaodong."

Ruyi laughed and scolded, "Bah, they must know that you have killed many people and are afraid of being retaliated against if they win against you. Who would dare to win against you?"

All the girls smiled and said yes.

Jia Cong smiled helplessly and said, "I have decided. From now on, I will practice chess with Sister Bao and Sister Chan. I will not be a human being if I don't avenge this."

The girls laughed.

At the beginning of the Hai period, Jia Cong ordered Liu Wu'er and others to go and invite people separately.

Soon, all the people who were going to attend the lunch meeting arrived.

The banquet in the Grand Hall resumed, and Jia Cong ordered several square tables to be put together to make it easier for everyone to talk and laugh.

Since everyone had already had dinner, Mr. Tu prepared some exquisite fruit snacks and side dishes, filling the long table.

Jia Cong said with a smile, "Today is the day for Ping'er, Xiuyan, Baoqin and Baoyu to have their children born. The princess was summoned to the palace by the queen this morning, and she came back to ask me to return the feast and invite you to come and have some fun. It's better for family members to eat casually."

Everyone stood up and thanked Ruyi for his hospitality.

Ruyi smiled modestly and asked everyone to sit down.

At one moment, several palace maidens brought in several large pots of hot peach blossom wine and poured them for everyone.

Ruyi smiled and asked what order was issued at noon. Everyone answered quickly, and she smiled again and said, "I don't know those flowery orders. Let's change to something that is appealing to both the refined and the popular."

Baoyu said hurriedly: "Why not play the game of naming flowers? This is the most pleasant and playful one."

Qingwen clapped her hands and laughed, "This is great. I've wanted to play this for a long time."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Then let's go with this one."

Ruyi was confused for a moment, so Baochai hurriedly explained to her, and said with a smile: "Okay, but I don't think we have any flower name cards at home."

Baoyu hurriedly said, "I have it at home. I'll send someone to get it right away." He quickly ordered the little maid to get it.

After a while, the maid brought over a bamboo tube with dozens of sticks in it.

Baoyu smiled and said, "This is the name card. Please have a look, Princess."

Ruyi took a look and found that each stick was painted with colorful flowers and plants, with a verdict written on it, as well as corresponding poems and notes. It was quite interesting and had similar meaning to drawing lots in the temple.

Jia Cong took it and took a look at it. He saw the words "Red apricots on the edge of the sun are planted against the clouds" and "Don't blame the east wind, blame yourself", and suddenly remembered that this flower name sign seemed to be quite exquisite.

In the original book, everyone had their own destiny in drawing what. Now the situation at home is very different from that in the original book, and I feel a little uncomfortable.

Yin said, "These sticks have been drawn countless times, and there is no novelty. I think it would be better to scrape off the words on them and write them again. Wouldn't it be more novel?"

Baoyu clapped his hands and said, "That's right. The above are all old-fashioned sayings that have long been outdated. Let's write new ones."

When the girls saw Jia Cong's proposal, they all agreed. The girls who could read and write each wrote a few pieces of their own. (End of this chapter)