The Emperor Chases His Wife

Chapter XXII

CHAPTER XXII: Who Is Teaching Who To Play Chess?

So many questions crossed her mind and she couldn't make sense of them. Liuyun sensed her panic and he waved his hand. A go board appeared before them and along with two bowls filled with jade pieces. One bowl had white pieces and another bowl had black pieces.

Liuyun was carrying a go board?

The thought of it seemed absurd to Nian but she didn't question it. She knew Liuyun was trying to distract her. It was a lot to take in and with her mind in a mess, there was no way she would process anything else he was going to say.

"Black or white?" Liuyun's devilish eyes looked at Nian carefully. Nian didn't reply to him and simply reached for the bowl of white pieces.

She pulled it in her direction and set it on the side of the board before grabbing the small round piece and setting their up on the board. Liuyun followed her and grabbed the black bowl, setting up his pieces.

Before they could begin, Che game back with a tea pot filled with a delicious smelling tea fragrance and a small wooden chest. He placed the tea pot down before handing the chest to Liuyun.

"This is milk and orange tea from the West Region. The orange leaves used are found on a cliff high in the Omen Valley and not many make the journey to collect such leaves." Che explained proudly to Nian as he upturned another tea cup and poured both Nian and Liuyun a glass.

After filling both their tea cups, he whispered a spell and a small flame grew at his finger tips. He pointed to tea cup and the flame shot at the tea pot. The flame engulfed the tea cup in a soft orange glow and Nian could see light wisps of steam coming from the sprout.

"You're a fire mage?" Nian turned to Che.

Che gave her a playful wink before excusing himself. Even though he left, the flame kept the tea pot glowing. Che had used a spell which allowed the flame to keep flickering and keep the tea warm as long as there was tea in the small tea pot.

"Try it." Liuyun picked up the small saucer and held it out to Nian.

Nian took the saucer and lifted the small tea cup to her lips. The tea was warm and she took a light sip. A burst of flavor exploded on her tongue. There seemed to be three different flavors of orange mixed in with the milk. Everything seemed to be in perfect balance and the tea had an exquisite taste.

"It's good." Nian commented.

An arrogant smile appeared on Liuyun's blood red lips. "This king is the one who invented it. Obviously it will taste good."

Nian didn't hesitate to roll her eyes causing Liuyun to laugh at her reaction. Nevertheless, despite Liuyun's arrogant attitude, Nian took another sip. She couldn't deny that Liuyun had a refined taste.

Putting her cup and saucer down, Nian looked at Liuyun. "I thought you asked Che to bring over more tea for me to taste?"

Liuyun waved a dismissive hand and used his index finger to create a small spell. A light air current grew lifted up the tea cup up to Liuyun's up and he lazily took a sip while motioning to the chest board. "Ladies first."

Nian rolled her eyes again. What a lazy prince?

Since Nian told her to play first, Nian was careful in her opening move and placed her white jade piece lightly on the board. Looking at the white jade chessboard, she knew that it was off the finest quality since it belonged to Prince Li.

It was no doubt expensive.

Liuyun had not played chess in a long time. Che wasn't much of a chess player and as he found joy in playing with high quality weaponry and managing the tea house. Che was quite tactful in running a business since he was the heir of the artillery and Liuyun usually sat back and let him handle things under the pretense of 'ensuring he trained well enough for his future position'.

"Ah." Liuyun seemed to remember something. A curious look appeared in Nian's eyes when Liuyun handed her the wooden chest Che had came in with earlier.

"What's this?"

"Open it and see for yourself."

Nian opened the top of the small chest and peeped inside. A dark red fruit with a sweet fragrance filled up the hollow interior of the chest.

While Nian observed the fruit in the chest, Liuyun made his move. "Those are dates from Xicheng. We had them delivered today. You're the first to try them."

Nian didn't hesitate to pick up one of the fruits and bite into it. It was sweet and a little dry but mostly sweet. She chewed quickly and picked up another one. Liuyun cracked a small smile and turned his attention back to the board.

The two played quietly for a while. Liuyun was absentminded in his moves and his hands were unhurried in their movements. Nian hadn't played go much either but she did know a thing or two. She moved one of her pieces to the corner and grabbed another date from the chest as she waited on Liuyun to make his move.

Liuyun used an air current to move the tea pot to fill his cup again but upon seeing her move, he lost focus lightly and almost spill the hot tea on himself. He was surprised and his devilish grey eyes were full of amusement.

From the beginning, every move Nian made lookedamateur-like, but this move made sense of the placement of all of her otherpieces. He couldn't move his pieces anywhere. She had cornered him in everydirection. This round's winner and loser was already determined.