Phoenix's Requiem

Chapter 239: Entering the Palace

After lunch, Yun Ruoyan suggested playing go in order to give Yun Moxiao and Li Luo a chance to interact more with each other. Li Mo had tasked Li Luo with taking care of Yun Ruoyan, so she acceded to the request and set up a go board in a side room. She had wanted for Li Luo and Yun Moxiao to play together, but Li Luo refused.

Not wanting to force the matter, Yun Ruoyan had to play with Yun Moxiao herself. However, as she played, she would often glance at Li Luo. Although Li Luo made no comment, she would often frown when Yun Ruoyan placed a piece in a poor position. From some testing, she concluded that Li Luo was quite knowledgeable about go, and she seemed to be quite a good player as well.

The worst possible feeling for an accomplished player was to watch an inferior player make mistake after mistake.

“Argh!” Yun Ruoyan deliberately misplaced a piece, then made a vexed expression. “Brother, don’t count that move! Let me undo my action.” Yun Ruoyan shamelessly took back her piece, and Yun Moxiao nodded with a smile. However, she then proceeded to spend the next few minutes seemingly deliberating her move.

“Sister Li Luo, what do you think my next move should be?” Yun Ruoyan asked, and Li Luo couldn’t resist answering.

“Try there.” Li Luo pointed at a certain spot. After breaking past this barrier, Li Luo was fully drawn into the game. After Yun Ruoyan’s repeated questioning, she finally gave in and ended up taking Yun Ruoyan’s spot.

Yun Moxiao was highly accomplished at go, but Li Luo wasn’t much worse. The two of them clashed again and again on the go board, neither willing to relent.

In the end, Yun Moxiao barely won.

“I’ve lost,” Li Luo sighed.

Yun Ruoyan glared at Yun Moxiao. You should’ve gone easy on her! Don’t win the battle but lose the war!

Yun Moxiao ignored Yun Ruoyan’s glare and smiled at Li Luo. “Miss Li Luo, since it’s still early, would you like to play another round?”

Contrary to Yun Ruoyan’s expectations, Li Luo agreed quickly. They quickly engaged in another round of abstract warfare, and were both so engrossed in the game that Yun Ruoyan had become nothing but a bystander.

By the time the second round was over, it was evening.

“Young Master Yun, you’re truly skilled at go. I’m not your opponent.” Li Luo lost once more.

“Sister Li Luo, you’re already very impressive,” Yun Ruoyan began. “My brother learned go from General Huang, and it’s really quite incredible that you held on for so long.”

Yun Ruoyan glared at her brother once more: she had never seen him behave so ungentlemanly before! No wonder their romance hadn’t progressed one bit!

Yun Ruoyan wasn’t particularly fond of go, and she had only made an effort to get better in order to please Pei Ziao. Although she was reasonably good, she ultimately didn’t care much for the game. As a result, she felt as though it was more important to lose a round to make her opponent happier than to win at any cost.

However, as serious players, Yun Moxiao and Li Luo both treated the game differently. Playing seriously was a sign of respect for one’s opponent, and Li Luo would likely not have agreed to a second round otherwise.

In contrast to Yun Moxiao’s offense-based approach, Li Luo’s playstyle was more moderate and restrained, but with a sharp edge. She had only lost because of her relative lack of experience.

“Miss Li Luo, from whom did you learn go?” Yun Moxiao asked.

“His Highness occasionally plays a few matches with others, and I’ve picked up a little of the intricacies from watching him play,” Li Luo responded.

“I’ve never seen Li Mo play go!” Yun Ruoyan appeared very excited at the thought. “I’ll have to challenge him one of these days.”

“Would you like to play now, Yan’er?” As soon as she spoke, Li Mo’s voice responded from the hall. Amidst everyone’s gazes, Li Mo walked into the side chamber.

“Li Mo, you came back early!” Before he left in the morning, he’d told her that he might have to stay until midnight, but he had returned by evening.

“Your Highness.” Li Luo got up from her seat and bowed.

“Slaughtering King.” Yun Moxiao also stood and bowed.

Li Mo waved a hand in acknowledgement, then turned to Yun Ruoyan.

“Great timing! We’re playing go, and my brother’s amazing at the game. Would you like to have a round with him?”

Yun Moxiao also turned to Li Mo, his gaze expectant and hopeful. Go was a mirror into one’s temperament and personality, and Yun Moxiao did want to play a game with his prospective brother-in-law.

Li Mo glanced at Yun Moxiao. “That’s fine, but not today. Yan’er, I’m here to bring you to the palace.”

“Me? Why?”

“Your father, Official Yun, is also present.”

Since Yun Lan was also in the palace, then he surely knew that Li Mo had returned to his manor to fetch her. In that case, Yun Ruoyan had no choice but to go.

Li Mo turned to Yun Moxiao again. “There are quite a few other scions from the various noble families around. Do you want to come?”

Having been in the army for much of his childhood, Yun Moxiao hadn’t had the opportunity to socialize with other nobles. Now that he was back from the army, however, it was important for him to be developing connections by attending such gatherings. Indeed, Yun Lan had forced Yun Moxiao to attend quite a number of banquets with him.

“If Father didn’t ask me to attend, he must have his reasons as to why, so I don’t think I’ll go. Farewell, Your Highness.”

Li Mo nodded. “Li Luo, see Young Master Yun out.”

As Li Luo did so, Li Mo left with Yun Ruoyan on his sword.

“Why are you suddenly bringing me to the palace?”

“The Farsighted King took in a child who was set on becoming my disciple, and I mentioned that I already had one.”

The Farsighted King then expressed his interest in meeting Yun Ruoyan. Li Mo wanted to decline, but Yun Lan accepted on his behalf. After mulling it over for a moment, Li Mo decided that introducing Yun Ruoyan as his disciple wasn’t a bad idea, and he had come to fetch her himself.

The winter chill made it uncomfortable to host gatherings outdoors, so the banquet was held in a chamber specifically designated for such gatherings. The imperial guards all recognized Li Mo’s blade aura, and he was able to fly into the palace and land in front of the chamber without any problem.

Yun Ruoyan followed Li Mo into the chamber. As they entered, all eyes landed on them. They walked to the front of the chamber and bowed down to Li Xiu, who was sitting on his dragon throne. Then, Yun Ruoyan turned to Yun Lan, sitting at the officials’ table, and bowed to him as well.

“Yan’er, you may rise.” Yun Lan smiled unusually affectionately at his second daughter.

Yun Lan was well-known for hiding his intentions behind a superficial smile. At home, his face was stern and cold, and his smiles were so rare that Yun Ruoyan had hardly remembered seeing any. Outside, however, he was all smiles.

This was something that Yun Ruoyan had long since gotten used to.

When Yun Ruoyan turned and revealed the fake birthmark on her cheek, however, Yun Lan’s face soured.

“Why didn’t you put on a gauze patch?” he hissed, lowering his voice.

Yun Ruoyan had refrained from applying a gauze patch on her face at Kongming Academy, intentionally trying to show off her ugly disfiguration. Not only would doing so scare away those insincere students who only wanted to get close to her for their own benefit, it was also a gesture of defiance.

In her previous life, her ugly appearance had been a leading factor in her dire fate. This time, she wanted to maintain the same appearance but still forge a different outcome for herself solely based on her own actions.

Neither Lin Zainan nor Yun Moxiao were particularly shocked by Yun Ruoyan’s appearance, because what they cared about was Yun Ruoyan herself. On the other hand, what Yun Lan valued most were the benefits that she could bring the Yun family.

Yun Ruoyan ignored Yun Lan, pretending that she didn’t hear his question. Yun Lan was about to criticize her once more when an unfamiliar voice asked from ahead, “Brother, is this your newest disciple, the Yun family’s second daughter, Yun Ruoyan?”

Yun Ruoyan turned to the source of the voice to see a man seated to the left of the dragon throne, a middle-aged man with a short, trimmed beard. This must be the Farsighted King, Li Sheng… Judging from his appearance alone, he really does look like a wise king.

After all, he had successfully tricked tens of thousands of civilians, as well as the emperor himself.

“This is indeed she,” Yun Lan stood up and replied.

“She truly has a remarkable appearance.” The other officials, who found themselves at a loss trying to describe Yun Ruoyan’s ugly appearance in a flattering manner, hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Li Xiu, who had previously seen Yun Ruoyan’s frightening birthmark, wasn’t as shocked as the other officials. He smiled at Li Mo, murmuring, “I’d intended on betrothing the two of you to each other, but you ended up as master and disciple instead…”

Both Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan smiled upon hearing the emperor’s words.

“Yan’er, come over here.” Li Mo sat down opposite Li Sheng and motioned for Yun Ruoyan to sit beside him. As she did so, she suddenly felt two piercing gazes fixed on her. When she stared back, she met the eyes of a youth who wasn’t much older than she was. He was dressed in red brocade, and sat stiffly by Li Sheng’s side.

Yun Ruoyan held the youth’s gaze for a few breaths. His piercing gaze turned into one of interest, but Yun Ruoyan turned away in disinterest.

The youth suddenly stood up and called out loudly, “You’re the Slaughtering King’s disciple?”

“Yes. What of it?”

Arching his eyebrows, the youth exclaimed, “I want to challenge you! Dare you accept?”

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