Pei Jue remained silent behind her for a long while.
Feng Yun turned her head to glance at him.
The man was earnestly twisting his hair, his face unruffled.
The sleeping robe on Feng Yun’s body was quite loose; as he tugged at his hair, from ti to ti, a patch of fair skin was revealed, her beauty veiled yet tempting. Yet, Pei Jue took it in stride.
"If you won’t give it, then don’t, but what sort of hero pouts like that?"
Feng Yun closed her eyes, curbing her smile and pretending to be angry.
Pei Jue paused, put down the cloth to turn her body towards him, his gaze lingering low on her face, "Clarify, what do you want?"
Feng Yun’s mind went blank.
She had asked so indecently, what was there for him not to understand?
"Forget it. It’s a mood killer," she huffed, intending to turn away to grab the comb, but her hand was caught by his. It was forceful and brooked no resistance. Initially, Feng Yun did not understand his intentions until her palm felt that firm object, and only then did she notice that Pei Jue’s heartbeat was fast, his muscle temperature much higher than his cold exterior.
Moreover, he ca after bathing, without his armor on.
Sothing seed to strike Feng Yun’s heart, and she felt a lump in her throat.
"General?"
At Pei Jue’s elbow was a chessboard.
Feng Yun, with nothing better to do, had studied the strategies and played by herself.
Pei Jue, considering it a nuisance, moved it aside and embraced Feng Yun into his arms, pressing her tightly against him as they sat, making her breathing shallow, "Is this the reward Ayun wants?"
Calling her ’Ayun’...
Had beco their silent agreent,
A tender way of waking each other.
Feng Yun felt sowhat awkward. She had intended to tease him. She didn’t know when she developed such a bad habit and didn’t expect to get burned...
But she was not one to be manipulated easily; conceding without actually overpowering him was not as satisfying, so she smirked low, "That’s hardly enough, is it?"
Pei Jue’s eyes were deep, "Not a small appetite."
"That’s right," Feng Yun fluttered her eyes at him lightly, "General, may I have a look?"
No man could remain unmoved upon hearing such words, especially with the seductive Feng Family’s Ayun in his arms.
With the number of tis she edged closer, she wouldn’t be satisfied anymore.
Pei Jue’s Adam’s apple bobbed, "Are you trying to anger Xiao Cheng?"
Feng Yun knew he had misunderstood, thinking her closeness was ant to spite Xiao Cheng. But it wasn’t so; she had lived two lifetis and understood better, no longer blindly adhering to those strict rules, simply lusting after him.
But she didn’t clarify.
She didn’t care.
Her smile remained quite lovely, almost like that of a seductive fairy.
"All I want is not just to anger him. I also want to see the General triumph in battle."
As she spoke, she leaned in closer, her slender fingertips lightly touching her vermilion lips.
"Co on, General, infuriate him."
Pei Jue: ...
"Wasn’t it the General who said it? This is the best way to infuriate him." Her smile was indulgent, obviously keen after having tasted the thrill previously.
But no lady would be like her, so unabashed in seeking a man’s attention, her eyes plainly setting forth a smile that said "General, co quickly serve and infuriate Xiao Cheng."
So bold!
Pei Jue pulled her closer, encircling her waist, pressing against her body, his expression as dark as water.
"I have a plan, would Ji Ke like to hear it?"
Feng Yun blinked, "Please speak, General."
Pei Jue asked, "The Qi Army has not besieged the city for a while, standing off with us for days. In Ji’s view, who has the advantage?"
Feng Yun thought for a mont, "The Qi Army."
Seeing him offer no response, she habitually analyzed on her own.
"Bingzhou is besieged, and the city’s supplies and military equipnt are finite, while the Qi Army has reinforcents from all sides, endlessly streaming in. If this stalemate continues, the Northern Yong Army is naturally at a disadvantage."
"Correct," Pei Jue said, "If you were Xiao Cheng, what would you do?"
Feng Yun could hardly bear his playing with the soft flesh on her waist and wriggled on his body a few tis, forcing his breath to catch before pushing down her wandering thoughts to say seriously:
"Since ancient tis, sieges and fortress assaults have never been easy. The defensive advantage of Bingzhou ans a direct assault would certainly cost Xiao Cheng. His best move would be to lure the Northern Yong Army out to battle."
Pei Jue said, "What if I also want to lure him into attacking?"
Why would he want to lure the enemy to attack?
Feng Yun didn’t fully understand and frowned, "To provoke him?"
Pei Jue shook his head.
Xiao Cheng was not soone who could be easily provoked.
After a mont of contemplation, Feng Yun slowly raised her eyes to find his gaze intently fixed on her, the darkness of his eyes in the night’s shadows, elusive and profound.
"I am eager to hear the details."
Suddenly, Pei Jue picked up a chess piece from the table and placed it at the center of the board.
"Xiao Cheng claims Ji is his wife..."
Feng Yun curled her lips into a smile, "Is the General jealous?"
Pei Jue’s gaze hardened, his long fingers held the piece, his voice cold, "If I were to inform the world that, in three days, I shall have a grand wedding with Ji in Bingzhou. Would Xiao Cheng attack, or continue the siege?"
A light shone in Feng Yun’s eyes.
That truly was a cunning move, a rather an-spirited cunning move.
Xiao Cheng had proclaid her to be his wife, fighting for the sake of his honor...
So if his enemy were to marry his wife before his very eyes with fifty thousand troops simply watching, not attacking, what kind of man would he be, what sort of emperor?
To not battle would be to be the laughingstock of the world.
"A brilliant plan, General." Feng Yun clapped her hands, about to praise him...
But on second thought, she realized sothing was amiss.
The person he’s marrying is her; she’s also the pawn in the ga.
It was supposed to be her using Pei Jue as a pawn, to beco a thorn in the side of Li Zongxun and his daughter, to continue to pressure them and provoke Pei Jue into rebellion, it was her who intended to use Pei Jue to strike at Xiao Cheng...
How did it turn around?
Feng Yun’s face darkened, "It’s a good plan, but I don’t want to be a chess piece."
She stretched out her slender and beautiful hand and placed a white piece on the edge of Pei Jue’s black stone.
"I prefer to proceed step by step."
Pei Jue’s gaze was chilling, "What is Ji Ke plotting?"
"Plotting..." Feng Yun looked at his face, cold and unwelcoming to strangers, and really wanted to say she’s plotting him for one night, but thought it too rash. After all, Pei Jue was a person with traditional and conservative bones; she couldn’t scare him too much.
"Plotting for what needs to be plotted."
Pei Jue looked into her eyes, which almost seed sly.
"Is Ji Ke willing to bet on a ga with ?"
Feng Yun was a bit surprised.
"The General is no gambler."
Pei Jue: "Occasionally so."
"What’s the stake?"
"I’ve heard that daughters of prominent families are all well-versed in the Six Arts, especially skilled in chess and the qin."
Feng Yun smiled faintly: "You flatter ; I only know the basics."
Pei Jue said: "Since childhood, I have mingled with the military and only have a rough understanding of literature, ink painting, chess, and music."
"What does the General an?"
"Would Ji Ke be willing to play a ga with ?"
"What are the terms for winning and losing?"
"If I win, Ji Ke will follow my plan. If I lose, we’ll proceed step by step as you wish."
Feng Yun furrowed her brows and scrutinized him.
If it were anyone else making this claim, she would certainly think they were a swindler.
But General Pei was speaking the truth.
As far as she knew, Pei Jue had been training with his father in the camps since he was very young, so while his military strategies were top-notch, he wasn’t skilled in the artistic pursuits of the literati, such as calligraphy, painting, chess, and music.
In her previous life, Feng Yun had played chess with him.
Ironic to think, what they bet on was her... serving the bedchamber.
At that ti, Pei Jue wanted to sleep with her, but she was not willing, and she did not dare to openly resist and offend him, so she proposed a "chess match" as the wager.
She took advantage of General Pei’s pride and deliberately provoked him.
"Whenever the General has played chess with a re woman, that’s when I’ll serve your pillow and quilt."
And so...
General Pei set a humiliating record of ten battles, ten defeats.
He played for an entire month without getting the day Feng Yun would voluntarily co to his bedchamber...
Later, it was because of Daman that her secret letter to Xiao Cheng was given to Pei Jue, enraging him.
Pei Jue, angry at her deception, burned the chessboard in a fit of rage, and then took the beauty to his tent, where good things ensued...
But with her skill in chess, Pei Jue really couldn’t win.
Feng Yun was truly a child prodigy when she was young. Her beauty was just one of her external advantages; aside from not being good at riding and archery, she was incredibly skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she had a photographic mory when it ca to books.
Had it not been for the tragic death of Lu Sanniang that drove her to foolishness, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a plight in her past life...
The past was vivid in her mory.
Feng Yun felt that, had it not been for Daman...
In her last life, she would probably have played chess with Pei Jue for three years and turned him into a good student.
Instead of allowing him to sleep comfortably for three years.
She knitted her brows and fell silent, her thoughts drifting.
Pei Jue placed another stone and asked in a deep voice:
"Life is like a ga of chess, one must simply ask the heavens. What do you think?"
Feng Yun did not intend to agree.
But she was moved by the phrase "simply ask the heavens."
She did not believe herself wise enough to control the affairs of the world. The mysteries of the universe made her feel insignificant, even in this second life; whether to move left or right in the face of the grand sche of things, she often wavered...
So why not ask the heavens?
Feng Yun rembered his terrible chess ga and was slightly disdainful.
"Best out of three gas or one ga decides it all, you choose."
Pei Jue: "One ga."
Feng Yun was startled.
Had it not been for her awareness of Pei Jue’s poor chess skills, she would have suspected this to be a trap he had laid.
A man with such pitiable chess abilities, where did he get the courage to proclaim one ga decides it all?
Feng Yun tested: "Does the General know my ranking in chess skill?"
At that ti, scholars from noble clans enjoyed elegant pursuits, and the popularity of chess was high; the upper echelon all favored playing chess, so there was a comprehensive "chess ranking system" based on skill level, divided into nine ranks.
Pei Jue pondered for a mont, "Ji ranks as the ninth?"
Feng Yun laughed lightly; he didn’t even understand the ranking system.
"Fine, as the General wishes—one ga it is."
Pei Jue: "When shall we start?"
Pei Jue’s lips curled slightly.
"Imdiately."
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