The Slender Waist-Chapter 676 - 489 Joy upon Joy

At the farewell, he was distant and indifferent, then halfway he sneaked up upon me. Had he not started speaking, Feng Yun may have thought she was dreaming...

Pei Jue was not the sort to indulge in such lover’s affections.

She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny, sizing up Pei Jue from head to toe before asking with certainty, "Has something happened?"

Pei Jue grunted affirmatively.

Feng Yun sighed with relief.

"What troubles Your Majesty so deeply?"

Pei Jue bowed his head, slowly grasping the hand she placed on his knee and holding it in his palm, before suddenly lifting the corner of his lips.

"Missing Lady Yun."

Feng Yun’s hand trembled.

Her entire body stiffened.

This was too out of character for Pei Jue.

Suddenly suspecting something untoward, she conjectured with unease, "Has something happened to Ayuan? You don’t need to hide it from me. Tell me everything, don’t play tricks and scare me."

With a sigh, Pei Jue squeezed her hand tighter, gently stroked her hair, and looked down at her.

"Worried about Lady Yun traveling alone, I came to see you off. Is that so hard to understand?"

Feng Yun nodded, "Very hard."

Pei Jue: ...

The two of them locked eyes.

Pei Jue hesitated, "It’s my fault that I’ve left such a poor impression on you in the past."

Feng Yun raised her eyebrows, "You only realize this now?"

Pei Jue’s Adam’s apple bobbed, gazing at the wary eyes of his wife with a mix of laughter and sighs.

"Lady Yun sure has a way with words."

That retort was too obviously sarcastic.

Feng Yun curved her lips into a slight smile, blatant indifference on her face.

"However, Your Majesty’s timing is perfect. It gets boring on the road, and Xiaoman doesn’t know how to play chess. You will accompany me."

Mentioning chess made Pei Jue feel uneasy.

In Bingzhou, he had schemed to win against Feng Yun once, a victory that had also secured their marriage.

She wouldn’t still be holding a grudge, would she?

Pei Jue: "My skills in chess are modest, I dare not embarrass myself."

Feng Yun stared at him, smiling coldly.

"During our time in Bingzhou, Your Majesty managed to win against me. Have you forgotten so soon?"

Indeed, old grudges were harbored in her heart, not a single fraction forgotten.

Pei Jue took her hand, pulling her a little closer and spoke in a softened voice:

"How could I forget? That chessboard was our matchmaker. I loathe that I couldn’t bring it back to our residence to offer it incense thrice a day."

Huh?

Feng Yun cast a teasing look at the man before her, and involuntarily pulled back the curtain to glance outside.

"There are no strange signs in the heavens today, so how come Your Majesty has changed beyond recognition?"

Pei Jue cleared his throat lightly, "Let’s play chess."

Playing chess was the only way to shut her mouth.

If she didn’t win back that game from Bingzhou, she’d likely bear a grudge against him for the rest of her life.

Feng Yun hadn’t played chess in a long time.

That day at the Liushui Pavilion, though her match against Cui Zhi had started mid-game, he was hardly a match for her. Especially as Pei Jue’s true skill in chess was unknown to her, she didn’t dare underestimate him.

Setting up the board, she intentionally probed its depth.

"Don’t feign weakness on purpose. I, Feng Yun, can take a loss. There’s no need for Your Majesty to be lenient."

Pei Jue’s lips tightened slightly, "No leniency."

Feng Yun eyed him and added after a moment’s thought, "This time, I will not take you lightly. Your Majesty needs to be more careful..."

Pei Jue: "I will give it my all."

Feng Yun: "How many games?"

Pei Jue: "The usual rule."

Feng Yun: "Fine, one game to decide it all."

Pei Jue: "You first."

Feng Yun smiled magnanimously, spreading her hands, "Your Majesty, after you."

Her magnanimous offer to have him go first clearly indicated her extreme confidence in her chess skills.

Without declining, Pei Jue sat upright, picking up a black piece, his gaze burning into the chessboard as he made his moves with extreme caution.

Feng Yun arched her eyebrows with a shallow smile on her face, yet inside she was wound tight, not underestimating him in the slightest.

The carriage rolled along leisurely.

The silent battle within was like two armies clashing on a battlefield of signal fires—

Neither of them spoke.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Feng Yun’s brows knitted, her expression becoming more and more somber.

Pei Jue’s moves were unpredictable, as he calculated every step, steady and solid. Each move was like a general positioning his troops, tricky and ruthless, nimble and sharp, as if the game were a meticulously crafted battle, slowly luring Feng Yun deeper into the fray...

Beads of perspiration formed on Feng Yun’s forehead.

As expected, the unexpected was about to happen.

Even with heightened vigilance and full effort in the game, she was on the verge of losing to Pei Jue.

Chess is not just a test of wisdom and strategy.

It also tests one’s patience...

With defeat imminent, Feng Yun rallied her spirits to respond calmly, time after time using deceptive tactics to try and turn the tide.

But faced with Pei Jue’s defense, firm as a wall of bronze and iron, she found not even a sliver of weakness...

"So the General has hidden depths after all."

Feng Yun glanced at him and huffed, feigning a mix of shyness and anger.

"In our previous life in Andu, I used chess to stall you, refusing your bed, merely playing the fool. Back then, the General didn’t want me to share your bed either, so you deliberately lost."

Pei Jue: ...

He looked at the chessboard, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Lady Yun still has a chance."

What chance could there be?

The impending loss was clearly outlined.

Feng Yun hummed, "I admit defeat."

Pei Jue glanced at her, "You’ve lost the chance to attend the bedchamber."

As his voice fell, he placed the final piece.

With his hand withdrawing from the chessboard, Feng Yun’s eyes shifted to the game, her face changing color.

Only to see on the board, the black and white pieces interwoven together, forming the character for "joy."

He said, "Last time in Bingzhou, I had intended to lure out this winning play against you. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my wish."

To avoid stumbling and losing his beloved wife, although he didn’t arrange the "joy" character, he still made swift moves, not daring to give Feng Yun a chance to turn the tables.

"This time, thanks to Lady Yun’s full effort, although it took some work and the character is a bit deformed and not very neat, it finally looks somewhat presentable. Next time, it should look even better."

Feng Yun narrowed her eyes, "You’re thinking there will be a next time?"

Pei Jue looked at her, his face the picture of sincerity.

"When I’m old and retire to the countryside, spending the rest of my days, what else can I do if not play chess?"

Feng Yun let out a dry laugh twice.

Admitting defeat, yet not entirely convinced.

"Why doesn’t the king just say, did you intentionally let me win in our past life?"

Pei Jue: "I did not."

Feng Yun looked at his sincerely straightforward face, and a sneaky smile slipped from the corner of her mouth.

"Hmph. I believe you’re bluffing!"

Pei Jue: "If you don’t believe me, you should at least believe Puyang Jiu..."

Feng Yun was utterly baffled, "What does he have to do with this?"

Pei Jue: "Stricken with a serious illness, had I not lost the game, how could I have endured even a moment’s delay?"

Feng Yun raised an eyebrow, "Then why did your chess skills improve so much?"

Pei Jue didn’t speak.

Just gazing at her indifferently.

Feng Yun speculated, "Did you specifically seek a teacher to practice?"

Pei Jue hesitated for a moment, "After you followed Xiao Cheng in our last life, I was seriously injured; I spent well over a year recuperating."

During those long days, he passed time by playing chess.

Not only did he study chess strategies, but he also specifically analyzed Feng Yun’s style of play, reviewing every game they had ever played...

Feng Yun was momentarily stunned, vaguely recalling the arrow that had shot her in the chest at Shiguan Dock.

Turns out, Pei Jue had spent a year and a half nursing his injuries.

"Then what? What did you plan to do with your improved chess skills?"

Pei Jue: "To find you."

He lifted his slender hand, tapping the chessboard.

"To place the character for ’joy’ before you."

"And then?"

"To snatch you back. To have you attend the bedchamber."

Feng Yun felt a stir in her heart but remained silent.

After all, few in this world could speak of carnal desires with the straight-laced seriousness of Pei Jue, as if it were a matter of state importance.

She paused, her gaze slowly sweeping across Pei Jue’s stern face, and she smiled faintly, "What if I refuse?"

"You lose at chess and still refuse? That would be acting shamelessly."

Feng Yun was amused by his serious demeanor, glancing over with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"The king really doesn’t understand me. I am precisely a shameless person."

Pei Jue huffed loudly.

Looking at her, his lips suddenly curved, and he could not help but laugh.

Feng Yun was astonished.

In both past life and this, she had never seen Pei Jue laugh from the bottom of his heart, so relaxed, so affable, so tender and gentle...

"The king is laughing? You can really laugh?"

Pei Jue hummed wordlessly, "I am human."

"I know that," Feng Yun responded nonchalantly, and thinking of something, she burst out laughing again. The more she laughed, the less she could stop, her entire body leaned forward, her cheeks twitching, shoulders shaking, even paining her chest, yet unable to cease.

Pei Jue quickly cleared the chessboard away, his palm smoothing down her back.

"What’s so funny?"

"It’s just too funny." Feng Yun seemed to have triggered some mechanism, her cheeks glowing as she laughed, burying herself into Pei Jue’s embrace, giggling as she playfully struck him.

"Why are you so hilarious?"

Pei Jue: ...

He wrapped his arms around Feng Yun tightly, restraining her hands, then lowered his head to kiss her face.

Feng Yun pursed her lips tightly, yet when she tried to push him away, she ended up giggling involuntarily, her eyes curving into crescents.

Pei Jue sealed her lips with a few fierce kisses before steadying his breath next to her lips, whispering low, "Still laughing? Let’s see how I punish you..."

Feng Yun looked up, unable to stop her laughter.

"How will you punish me?"

Pei Jue kissed the corner of her eye, "I won the game."

Feng Yun pouted, quite dissatisfied, half seriously asking, "Why didn’t you just... let me win quietly? Without me noticing?"

Pei Jue laughed helplessly, looking down at her, gently pinching her cheek, his gaze filled with deep meaning.

"Given Lady Yun’s temperament, there’s only profit for me if I win."

Feng Yun was skeptical, "What do you mean by that, my lord?"

Pei Jue let out a heavy sigh, lowering his head, cradling her face, and tenderly lingering with a soft kiss.

"Only if I win every time, the game of this life will never end."

Laughter echoed out.

Outside the carriage, Xiaoman’s cheeks were flushed with excitement and sweetness.

Because she was shooed out by the king, it was inconvenient to sit on the carriage shaft with Ge Guang, who was driving, and Huanhuan’s carriage was filled with luggage.

Thus, she was only too happy to sit atop Zuo Zhong’s horse.

Riding together, this was something she had long anticipated...

Ever since she saw the king and his consort ride together, she had been dreaming...

Today her dream came true, hearing the consort’s laughter, she also wrapped her arms around Zuo Zhong’s waist, leaned against his back, and laughed sweetly.

Zuo Zhong’s large frame tensed slightly.

So many people were watching on the road, right?

He glanced back but ultimately did not stop her.