The Slender Waist-Chapter 216 - 154 Taking advantage of a loophole

Feng Yun readily agreed.

Her heart also sensed something mystical.

Perhaps this was fate.

In her past life, playing chess with Pei Jue was about betting when they would sleep.

In this life, playing chess, it was still about when they would sleep...

No, to be more precise, it was betting on whether to use the "Grand Wedding Scheme".

Feng Yun had long stopped caring about wedding ceremonies; to her, not wanting to marry or valuing it wasn’t a concern, but if it could drive Xiao Cheng mad, she found nothing objectionable about it.

After all, it was just a scheme, and Pei Jue would never take it seriously.

The chessboard was set up, but Pei Jue wasn’t in a hurry to play. Instead, he saw things through by tidying up her half-dry hair.

The lamplight was hazy.

Feng Yun lay on the soft couch, letting Pei Jue comb her hair as she half-closed her eyes to enjoy this boudoir pleasure. The glowing embers illuminated her face, making her appear as languorous as a luxuriant, dewy hibiscus, her cheeks blushing, her eyes misty, about to bloom in front of Pei Jue...

Gentle and sweet words, young and delicate body—it was the ultimate temptation.

Pei Jue’s expression was very well controlled.

If Feng Yun had eyes on the back of her head, she could have seen beneath his deliberately calm exterior the restrained control and the raging desire in those pitch-black eyes, utterly exposed...

"Okay," Pei Jue said, putting aside the comb, his gaze fixed on Feng Yun’s face.

From a top-down angle, his examining gaze was incredibly powerful.

Feng Yun stroked her hair, feeling that playing chess was a waste of time. With such a fine man, she could be doing something else.

"We can start now."

"Oh."

Behind the screen, a stove of charcoal, a soft couch, and the two of them sat opposite each other, with a wooden case and chessboard in the middle, looking very refined.

But to those who understood chess, a glance would reveal that the situation on the board was very unfavorable for the General. The lady’s exquisite chess skills left the General embarrassed and robbed him of his valiant aura.

Pei Jue’s chess moves became more and more cautious, each requiring long contemplation.

"General, it’s your move."

Feng Yun yawned.

Watching the man’s concentrated brow, her posture relaxed and lazy.

She wore a wide-sleeved shirt, a silk belt cinching a slender waist, her plentiful embroidered chest rising and falling with her breaths. Her long skirt hid her jade feet, while the white creaminess from her collarbone to her neck easily distracted...

Seeing that he still hadn’t moved, she urged again.

"The good hours are short, General. Why not surrender earlier?"

Pei Jue didn’t respond, his eyes dark as he stared at the chessboard.

Feng Yun laughed, "General’s skills in commanding troops and arranging formations are clear to all, but your chess game seems to be at a disadvantage, which is quite surprising..."

Pei Jue looked up, "What makes you think that I am at a disadvantage?"

Feng Yun looked at the chessboard, "Observing a game is like observing momentum; the situation has become clear, the strong and the weak are apparent at a glance..."

"Oh?" Pei Jue slowly made another move.

Feng Yun responded with a smile.

It was less that she was playing chess and more that she was admiring beauty.

Pei Jue, devoid of armor and comfortably speaking, had an air about him that, though lacking the aura of an elegant scholar, was a beauty of its own kind...

A fierce tiger sniffing roses—this scene and verse were perfectly fitting.

"How does Xiao Cheng fare in chess?" Pei Jue suddenly asked.

This stumped Feng Yun.

Being the number one scholar of Nanqi, his chess skills were naturally superior.

But saying that might injure General Pei’s pride.

She was half-serious, half-joking, "I haven’t played against him, so it’s hard to say."

Pei Jue didn’t even lift his eyelids, "You’ve heard the songs from outside the city, haven’t you?"

Feng Yun hummed indifferently, her attention not on the chess game but fixed on Pei Jue’s face, trying to find even the slightest hint of emotion on General Pei’s face...

Unfortunately, there was none.

Pei Jue looked at the chessboard, silent in thought.

He was too slow, too cautious, and Feng Yun was getting hungry waiting.

"I’ll have the maids bring up something to eat; General, you wouldn’t mind, would you?"

Pei Jue grunted in affirmation.

So Feng Yun called out beyond the curtain.

Daman and Xiaoman quickly brought over candied fruits and snacks, all brought from Andu by Feng Yun.

Xiaoman kneeled beside to wipe Feng Yun’s hands, and Daman first poured tea for Feng Yun, and then knelt at Pei Jue’s side, ready to refill his water.

As she leaned forward, Pei Jue, who had been engrossed in the chess game, lifted his eyes.

Facing the fragrant breeze, he frowned slightly, "Not necessary."

Daman acknowledged and, with eyes lowered, moved aside.

Feng Yun glanced at her, "You can leave."

Daman complied, her eyes showing a touch of aggrieved redness as she bit her lower lip and stepped out through the curtain.

Xiaoman, less sensitive, did not notice anything amiss and asked in surprise while looking at the chessboard:

"Lady, who is more powerful, you or the General?"

Feng Yun said, "What do you think?"

Xiaoman: "Miss!"

Feng Yun chuckled softly, "You don’t even understand chess..."

Xiaoman’s eyes shone brightly, "But I believe in you, Miss."

Feng Yun looked at Pei Jue’s face with satisfaction. Seeing his forehead tense and his lips tightly closed, she knew he hadn’t underestimated her and had been dealing with her very cautiously all along.

But with the record of ten battles and ten victories from a past life, Feng Yun relaxed greatly, finding the Great General’s guarded demeanor quite pleasing.

She allowed Xiaoman to serve her, slowly eating, her face becoming ever more beautiful, filled with pride and pleasure.

In the blink of an eye, they exchanged moves for dozens of rounds.

Then Feng Yun suddenly realized something was wrong...

Pei Jue was deceiving her!

He very cunningly feigned weakness, using her underestimation, continually holding his forces back, maneuvering around the board, gradually consolidating, and unknowingly captured one of her major pieces...

Feng Yun quickly gathered her spirits. She stopped eating, her eyes sharp, and as she played, sweat began to form on the back of her neck.

"Xiaoman, move the charcoal brazier further away."

Xiaoman couldn’t grasp the situation but obediently moved the brazier. Seeing the Miss’s cheeks flush and her brows lightly furrowed, she also felt a vague sense of tension.

Could she have overpraised the Miss?

Was the Miss unable to defeat the General?

Pei Jue’s gaze fell from Feng Yun’s full forehead and saw the fine sweat beads at the tip of her nose, his lips curving slightly.

"It’s your turn—"

Whenever Feng Yun was nervous, her nose would sweat. Her usually creamy white skin was now a blushing white, delicate and enticing like fine jade...

Pei Jue’s eyes grew hot as he watched her and then he spoke again.

"Would Lady Yun like to concede?"

Feng Yun glanced at him, stopped underestimating him, and put forth her full effort.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

He regained lost ground, marched forth directly, waiting only for the trapped little animal’s final struggles before it would willingly await its fate to be devoured...

Feng Yun made her move, then took it back.

Pei Jue’s eyelid twitched, but he said nothing.

"I’ve lost," Feng Yun declared.

Surrounded on all sides, she had fallen into Pei Jue’s carefully laid trap without noticing, and by the time she realized it, there was nowhere left to flee...

Feng Yun didn’t want to give up, but with her city all but lost, continuing the game would only serve to inflate his arrogance even more.

Pei Gou was clearly just toying with her!

Feng Yun was unconvinced: "Let’s play another round."

Pei Jue: "Who just said that one game would settle everything?"

Feng Yun drew in a sharp breath.

She looked at Pei Jue’s dark, deep eyes and laughed.

"General, have you been setting traps for me since then?"

Pei Jue replied, "Overconfidence and underestimation lead to defeat."

Feng Yun scoffed, "Then does the General dare to play another round?"

Pei Jue casually scattered the pieces, "I dare not."

If it hadn’t been for her underestimation, how could he have won so satisfyingly?

Another round...

Impossible.

Pei Jue, expressionless, stated, "One’s character reflects in the way one plays, and a lady must not break a promise."

Feng Yun stood up with a whoosh, irritated.

She wasn’t concerned about any marriage ploy; she simply couldn’t stand losing to Pei Jue... This subordinate who had lost to her ten times, it made her so angry her hair stood on end.

"Again! I must beat you."

Pei Jue also stood up, casually picked up his cloak, and glanced at her.

"I have military duties to attend to. You should rest early, miss. We’ll wait for Xiao Cheng’s arrival in three days."

"I don’t..." Feng Yun looked at his expression and sensed something was amiss, "Marriage is no trifling matter. General, to deceive me with a game of chess is not the conduct of a gentleman."

"I am no gentleman," Pei Jue replied indifferently, his face revealing no emotion.

"First, I won fair and square. Second, Bingzhou is under siege; whether we can even live to leave Bingzhou City is still uncertain. In the face of life and death, what does a marriage pact matter? Third, I have no intention of marrying you; this was merely a temporary expedient," he said.

The man strode away.

It was rare for him to say so much, and Feng Yun found it reasonable, but losing the game so inexplicably left her in a sour mood. Her face turned white, then green, rage welled up inside her without an outlet, and as she faced defeat, she felt utterly deflated.

Xiaoman pursed her lips and held out her hand.

"Miss, take out your frustration on Xiaoman."

Feng Yun looked down at her hand and, unable to help it, chuckled with resignation, then sat back down.

"I’ve been waiting for just that."

She had nothing to lose.

Wasn’t it all just to fool Xiao Cheng? Let him think what he wants.

After sending Xiaoman away, Feng Yun lay down to rest, but she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, the chessboard from earlier replaying in her mind. She went over the game several times, still convinced that her defeat wasn’t due to Pei Jue’s superior skills but rather his cunning and manipulation, his victory lying in strategy, not in chess expertise.

She refused to admit she was inferior to Pei Jue.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt this was probably the inevitable "asking of the heavens."