The second floor had no more fighting, but the people who had originally dispersed gradually gathered again. Though there were many people, there was no clamor; instead, it was quieter than before.
Some people were passing by, glanced over, and stopped.
Most people sat at their tables eating their food and drink, but from time to time they would call over shop attendants, asking not what wine or dishes they wanted, but: “How is it progressing?”
The shop attendant enthusiastically answered: “Fifty moves now.”
“Only fifty moves? That’s too slow.” The customer stroked his beard and shook his head. “Seems their chess skills aren’t very good.”
The shop attendant smiled: “It’s the fiftieth move of the third game.”
The customer was surprised: “That fast?” But still shook his head. “Shows their chess skills still aren’t very good.”
The customer beside him was more tolerant, saying with a smile: “One is seventeen or eighteen, the other only thirteen or fourteen. How good can their chess skills be?”
As long as these two competed for victory, it was fine.
He asked the shop attendant: “Who has the upper hand?”
The shop attendant excitedly held up three fingers: “All three games went to Miss Chu.”
……
……
Chu Zhao looked at Chu Ke across from her and asked impatiently: “Do you still want to play?”
Chu Ke across from her was practically plastered against the chess board. Two young men beside him were giving him pointers in low voices, but what of it? Chu Zhao’s victory was already assured. Even with several more people offering guidance, it would be beyond salvation.
Chu Ke raised his hand and threw the chess piece onto the board, lifting his head with an ashen expression.
When did this damned girl learn to play chess? Wasn’t it said she knew nothing? She had actually been hiding her abilities all along.
“What’s there to hide about knowing chess?” Chu Zhao collected the chess pieces, saying blandly, “It’s just to pass the time.”
Looking at that annoying appearance, Chu Ke reached out and pounded on the table several times: “Compete in calligraphy! Chess is just amusement to pass the time. I’ve used all my time on reading.”
Girls with nothing else to do used chess as play. How would scholars have that kind of time? That his chess skills were slightly inferior was understandable.
Chu Zhao smiled: “Fine. I don’t need reading to establish myself and make my living, so calligraphy is also just how I pass time.”
Liang Qiang laughed from the side: “Then let us see what you can do.”
The other young men also chimed in. After one chess game, everyone looked at Chu Zhao differently. Although Chu Ke’s chess skills were indeed terrible, this girl truly had some ability and wasn’t just someone who could only hit people, curse at them, and be fierce and crude.
Seeing the eyes of the young men who originally only flattered him, Chu Ke pounded the table even more irritably: “Then why don’t you hurry up and clear the table!”
The young men laughingly moved the chess board aside and took out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone that the establishment had long since delivered, arranging them properly. Chu Zhao didn’t say much either. She sat up properly, adjusted her sleeve, raised her brush, and began to write.
Looking at the girl’s serene expression, the young men stopped their joking and became even quieter than during the earlier chess match.
……
……
“It’s really quiet.”
Qi Leyun propped her chin on her hand, looking at the corridor pillar across from her. The seats over there were clearly full, yet she couldn’t hear Third Young Master Xie’s laughter and conversation.
Third Young Master Xie was truly a quiet person.
Her gaze couldn’t help but glance downward, her expression somewhat annoyed.
“Why is it so quiet over at Chu Zhao’s side too? Did she leave?”
Although the girls didn’t care about that side anymore, the maids were still keeping track, ready to report on Chu Zhao’s embarrassment at any moment to make their young ladies happy.
Only, they hadn’t received such news yet.
A maid said: “She hasn’t left. Miss Chu Zhao is competing with Young Master Chu Ke in calligraphy now.”
Qi Leyun and the other girls all turned their heads to look at the maid, their expressions surprised and amused.
“What calligraphy skills does Chu Zhao have? She’d be doing well if she could write characters correctly.”
“Didn’t we have her write characters before? Don’t you remember how laughable her writing was?”
“Although Chu Ke is mediocre, how could she compare to him?”
“It would be more appropriate if Chu Tang came to compete with Chu Ke.”
However, someone thought of something else and called the maid to ask: “Didn’t they say chess earlier? Who won?”
Oh right, there was that too. The girls also stared questioningly.
The maid timidly held up three fingers: “Three games. Miss Chu won them all.”
The girls were in an uproar.
“Is Chu Ke’s chess that terrible?”
“How embarrassing.”
“Chu Ke was always mediocre. In the Chu family, only Chu Tang is the most capable.”
“He’s lost all face for the Chu family, losing to Chu Zhao.”
“Hey, aren’t they both from the Chu family?”