Chapter 502: Chapter 502: Although We Lost, There’s No Sha_1 Chapter 502: Chapter 502: Although We Lost, There’s No Sha_1 At the dinner table, ng Lanqing and ng Zhuqing also toasted Xiao Changyi. Though Xiao Changyi had not spoken to them during the al, he drank the toasts, showing great face.
ng Lanqing and ng Zhuqing were quite pleased in their hearts.
They hadn’t truly experienced the New Year’s celebration in a long ti, having joined the army at fourteen. At nineteen, on the battlefield, they had heard their father’s dying command to serve their grandfather as slaves. Now they were twenty-five, and it had been eleven years since they had properly celebrated the New Year. Whenever New Year’s ca, it was just the two brothers casually having a al together, with nothing prepared, so naturally, they felt none of the festive spirit.
Once the New Year’s Eve dinner was finished, the four of them gathered around the stove to keep the vigil of the New Year’s Eve.
Peeled lon seeds, walnuts, red dates, and such were placed to one side for anyone to take as they wished, and there was also tea available.
An Jing and Xiao Changyi had brought back a set of Go from the palace, which was perfect for passing the ti.
“Do you know how to play?” An Jing asked ng Zhuqing and ng Lanqing.
ng Zhuqing smiled sowhat embarrassingly and said, “I am not very skilled at it, but my brother is very proficient.”
An Jing imdiately looked at ng Lanqing with excitent, “You’re very proficient at this? Then you should play a ga with my husband. He has never had a worthy opponent and always lets win. It’s quite embarrassing for .”
ng Lanqing had no choice but to tough it out and play. However, he had already planned to give his dear brother a good thrashing when they got back tomorrow! His dear brother must have had too much to drink to be so talkative! Otherwise, how could he fail to see that their master wanted to play Go with his wife, and not him?
To express his respect for his master, ng Lanqing naturally wouldn’t go easy on him and had to bring out his true skill against Xiao Changyi, the master.
As the experts dueled, the two spectators—An Jing and ng Zhuqing—watched with great interest. The board gradually filled up with pieces, and they could only see each move being played without being able to tell who would win or lose. It was indeed thrilling.
Just when An Jing and ng Zhuqing thought it would be a draw, Xiao Changyi made a move that instantly breached ng Lanqing’s defenses, costing ng Lanqing many pieces. ng Lanqing was greatly alard and tried to salvage the situation, but in the end, he still lost.
Despite losing, it wasn’t shaful.
Once ng Lanqing confird his defeat and saw no way to recover, he respectfully said, “Master’s Go skills are superb, I am inferior.”
“You’re not bad either,” Xiao Changyi rarely voiced his praise. He had played many gas of Go, but this was the first ti he had needed to be fully concentrated to play.
ng Lanqing humbly replied, “Master flatters too much.”
“It’s not flattery, your Go skills are truly good,” An Jing also praised him. Then, she looked at Xiao Changyi with a beaming smile, “Husband, do you want to play another ga with him?”
Before Xiao Changyi could speak, ng Lanqing interjected, “Perhaps the lady should play a ga with the master. I am already fatigued after one ga and cannot endure another.”
An Jing, considering that the ga between Xiao Changyi and ng Lanqing had indeed lasted quite a while and was ntally exhausting, decided not to insist. Instead of imdiately starting another ga with Xiao Changyi, she took a handful of walnut kernels and placed them in Xiao Changyi’s hand.
“Husband, eat these,” An Jing rembered that walnuts were good for the brain, and even though she felt her husband didn’t need it, eating so wouldn’t hurt.
Xiao Changyi only ate two walnut kernels, then gradually handed the rest to An Jing’s lips, letting her eat them.
ng Lanqing and ng Zhuqing had grown accustod to Xiao Changyi and An Jing’s occasional displays of intimacy, but still respectfully averted their gaze, refraining from observing the couple’s affectionate behaviors.
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