Chapter 144: A Disagreement in Conversation

"Miss Zhuang, my mistress has already made the matter of that day perfectly clear. Do not push your luck too far." Fangrong could no longer stand by and spoke out in a sharp reprimand.

Ancient people held oaths in high regard, believing in karmic retribution, and would not swear casually. Zhuang Manru’s demand was far too presumptuous.

"If you have nothing to hide, why do you dare not swear an oath?" Ignoring Fangrong, Zhuang Manru stared fixedly at Anyi, her tone aggressive.

"If taking an oath can bring you peace of mind, I can swear one." Anyi had no aversion to taking oaths, but she was somewhat annoyed by Zhuang Manru's unreasonable behavior. If Zhuang Manru adored Qing Xi and wished to marry him, she could easily have her family hint as much to Princess Lanyi; if the Princess was agreeable, she would naturally dispatch matchmakers to the Zhuang household to bring about a good match. Was there any need to resort to such petty methods to eliminate a so-called romantic rival?

"Mistress, please don't!" Fangrong cried out in distress.

Anyi set down her teacup and said with a solemn expression, "I, Anyi, hereby swear an oath: I do not like Qing Xi. I do not like him now, nor will I like him in the future, nor have I ever thought of marrying him. From now on, whenever and wherever I catch sight of him, I shall give him a wide berth, avoiding any encounter or conversation with him. If I should ever break this vow, let me be destroyed by heaven and earth and die a wretched death!"

"Mistress!" Fangrong turned pale with fright. This was a vicious curse of an oath! What would happen if retribution ever befell her?

"There is no need to be afraid. As long as I do not break my oath, retribution will not find me." Anyi calmly consoled Fangrong.

Zhuang Manru was slightly moved. "Miss An..."

"Is Miss Zhuang satisfied with such an oath?" Anyi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I..."

Anyi narrowed her eyes slightly. "Is Miss Zhuang still unsatisfied with this oath?"

"No, that is not what I meant. I believe you. You shouldn't swear such a vicious oath; it is not a good thing," Zhuang Manru hurriedly defended herself.

Anyi let out a cold scoff. "It was Miss Zhuang who demanded I swear an oath, and now that I have done so, Miss Zhuang puts on this act. Exactly what is it that you want?"

Zhuang Manru was taken aback, clearly not expecting Anyi, who had always appeared gentle and courteous, to lose her temper.

Anyi stood up and said to the Zi family's maidservant, "Please inform your mistress that I thank her for her hospitality, but I have matters to attend to and must take my leave."

With that, Anyi walked toward the door. Fangrong picked up the veil hat, and Xiangqin cradled the hand warmer as they followed closely behind.

"Miss An, wait! Miss An! Miss An!" Zhuang Manru called out anxiously.

Turning a deaf ear, Anyi pulled open the door and strode straight out. She had grown utterly disgusted with Zhuang Manru's character and wished neither to share a room with her nor to spare her another word.

Shortly after Anyi's departure, Zi Wei and the other two returned.

"Where has Miss An gone?" Tang Qinian asked with concern.

"She must have gone to the washroom, I suppose," Zi Wei replied casually.

The Zi family's maidservant glanced at Zhuang Manru and said, "Milady, Miss An did not go to the washroom. She has left."

"Left? Why?" Zi Wei asked.

The maidservant looked at Zhuang Manru again and replied, "Miss An said she had matters to attend to and left first. She also asked me to thank Milady for her hospitality."

Both Tang Qinian and Liang Xiaoyue noticed the maidservant eyeing Zhuang Manru and grew suspicious. Had something unpleasant passed between the two of them?

At that moment, the gongs sounded to announce the start of the opera. Tossing all other thoughts to the wind, Zi Wei leaned over the railing to watch the performance. Zhuang Manru also put on an air of rapt attention.

Unwilling to press with direct questions, Tang Qinian and Liang Xiaoyue sat glumly in their chairs to watch the play.

"Qinian, Lord An is playing go at the Hall of Calligraphy and Ink. Miss An will likely go there to find him. Why don't you go over and ask what the matter is, and if there's anything we can help with?" Liang Xiaoyue offered considerately, creating an opportunity for Tang Qinian.

"I'll go take a look." Her heart having long since strayed from the opera, Tang Qinian readily stood up and walked out the door.

"Qi—" Zhuang Manru started to call out, but swallowed the rest of the word.

Tang Qinian did not hear, but Liang Xiaoyue did. Looking at Zhuang Manru, she asked, "Manru, what were you going to say?"

Shaking her head, Zhuang Manru turned her gaze toward the stage, avoiding Liang Xiaoyue's probing look.

Tang Qinian left the lingering garden and headed straight for the Hall of Calligraphy and Ink.

The Hall of Calligraphy and Ink was divided into a front and rear courtyard. The front courtyard housed nineteen go-playing rooms, each presided over by a chess master. Anyone wishing to play chess here had to win three consecutive games before earning the qualification to enter the rear courtyard and match wits with the Master of the Hall. Whoever defeated the Master would win a grand prize—items that people had long yearned for. Yet, in the five years since the Hall had opened, only three people had ever won a prize from the Master's hands.

This time's prize was an ancient manuscript. A group of officials from the Imperial Academy had come together to play go, and An Kang was among them. Having already won two consecutive games, he was now in the middle of a third match against another expert.

Generally, visitors to the Hall came specifically to play go. Upon paying three taels of silver to the attendant, one would be led into a private go room.

Unaware of the Hall's rules, Anyi had barely stepped through the door when an attendant demanded three taels of silver from her and ushered her into a go room.

"I am not here to play go; I am here to find someone." Seeing the chessboard and stones, Anyi furrowed her brows tightly.

"The silver has been paid and is strictly non-refundable. My lady, please choose your stones," the man said, making a polite gesture of invitation.

"You may keep the silver. I must trouble young master here to lead me to someone." Because of Young Master Gong, Anyi harbored a lingering trauma regarding chess; she would rather lose the money than endure the torture of playing.

"May I ask whom the young lady is looking for?" the attendant inquired.

"A man named An Kang, who came to play go today," Anyi replied.

"Ah, you are looking for Young Master Boning. Please follow this humble one," the attendant said politely.

Following the attendant out, Anyi happened to run into Tang Qinian, who was being led by another attendant to find An Kang.

"Miss An." Seeing Anyi, Tang Qinian beamed with a radiant smile.

Noticing that Tang Qinian was not wearing her veil, Anyi's eyes flickered slightly as she nodded. "Miss Tang."

"Have you found your elder brother yet?" Tang Qinian asked.

"Not yet. This young man was just about to lead me to him," Anyi answered.

"Is something the matter? Do you need me to help—" Tang Qinian paused, then corrected herself, "—do we need help?"

"Nothing is amiss. Let's go together," Anyi said with a smile. It seemed Zhuang Manru had not told them the reason for her departure.

The attendant led the group to the go room where An Kang was playing. Several onlookers had gathered inside, among them Liang Xiaohong.

True gentlemen do not speak while watching a game of chess, and only the crisp clacking of stones hitting the board could be heard in the room. Anyi and Tang Qinian stood quietly to the side to watch.

An Kang placed a stone. After pondering for a full quarter of an hour, his opponent placed his remaining stones back into the bowl, cupped his hands in a gesture of defeat, and conceded.

"Boning, you've won three games in a row! You can go challenge the Hall Master now!" exclaimed the companions who had come with An Kang, the one who had lost in the second round looking particularly delighted.

Anyi looked at Tang Qinian and, seeing her smiling like a blooming flower with affectionate tenderness in her eyes as she gazed at An Kang, couldn't help curving her lips into a smile. "Elder brother, Elder brother."

Hearing the familiar voice, An Kang pushed past the people in front of him. "Sister, why have you come over? Has the opera finished?"

"Not yet, but I lost interest and came to find you instead," Anyi said with a smile.

Spotting Tang Qinian, An Kang smiled and greeted, "Miss Tang."

"This humble maiden greets Young Master An." Tang Qinian's cheeks flushed with a shy, rosy hue as she executed a standard bow of respect.

"Miss Tang, please dispense with the formalities." An Kang made a polite gesture with both hands, his eyes lingering on Tang Qinian as the smile on his face deepened.

Observing the two of them with darting, clever eyes, Anyi thought it might be necessary to look into Tang Qinian's background. If her character proved good, she wouldn't mind gaining an elder sister-in-law.

Refusing to let the pair continue their silent exchange of affection, the companions urged anxiously, "Boning, hurry and find the Hall Master for a match! If that ancient manuscript gets won by someone else, all our efforts will have been in vain."

Led by the attendant, the group headed to the rear courtyard to challenge the Master of the Hall. The rear courtyard was designed as a hidden paradise in its own right, styled after a Jiangnan classical garden with exquisitely shaped rocks standing among old, gnarled pines and winter plum blossoms exhaling their fragrance.

The attendant ushered everyone into the Hall Master's go room. Upon entering, an exotic, rich fragrance filled the air, and the room was as warm as spring. However, someone had arrived earlier and was already playing against the Master.

That person was dressed in black and seated in a wheelchair.

Without even stepping forward, Anyi knew from the silhouette alone that it was Bai Wuming. His opponent sat on the other side of a folding screen.

The attendant invited everyone to sit and watch the game, and maidservants served tea. The etiquette in the rear courtyard was noticeably superior to that of the front.

The match had just begun not long ago, and the players were placing their stones rapidly. Gradually, however, Bai Wuming's contemplative pauses grew longer and longer until he found himself hesitating over his moves.

When the game finally concluded, Bai Wuming lost by three stones. He turned his wheelchair around to face the An siblings. "Young Master An, Miss An."

"Seventh Young Master, it has been a while," An Kang greeted him with a polite cupped-hand salute and a smile.

With An Kang taking the lead, Anyi shrank back and remained quietly in the background.

Unable to read Anyi's expression through her veil, Bai Wuming's eyes dimmed slightly. "Young Master An has also come to play go?"

"Indeed," An Kang smiled.

"Please." Bai Wuming yielded his seat.

An Kang took his seat to play against the Hall Master.

A maidservant brought in a cup of tea for Bai Wuming. As she crossed the threshold, her foot caught on the high wooden sill, causing her to lose her balance. The tray and teacup in her hands flew straight toward Tang Qinian.

Anyi and Fangrong reached out simultaneously. Although Fangrong possessed superior martial arts and stood slightly farther away than Anyi, she intercepted the tray and teacup first, preventing even a single drop of water from spilling.

"Miss Tang, are you alright?" Anyi asked, turning back.

"I'm fine. Thanks to your maid's quick reflexes," Tang Qinian breathed a sigh of relief. Had that cup of hot tea splashed onto her face, she would have been permanently disfigured.

"This servant deserves death! I beg my lady to spare my life," the maidservant blurted out, dropping to her knees to kowtow in terror.

Anyi said nothing, leaving it to Tang Qinian to handle the situation.

Tang Qinian said, "Watch your step when you walk. You may leave."

"Thank you, Milady! Thank you, Milady!" The maidservant kowtowed three times before scrambling backward out of the room.

Because of this minor commotion, both An Kang and the Hall Master had paused their game. Only after the incident was resolved did they resume. The two players started out fast once more, but as the game progressed, the pace slowed, and a fine layer of sweat beaded on An Kang's forehead.

Though Anyi's own chess skills were poor, even she could tell that An Kang was on the verge of losing.

In the end, An Kang was defeated by four stones.

The companions who had accompanied him were deeply disappointed; they had all returned empty-handed.

As everyone stood up to prepare their departure, the Hall Master, who had remained silent behind the folding screen the entire time, suddenly spoke up. "Miss An, please stay."