"Good!" King Wu stood up and applauded.

Hana looked at the high platform, and even Xi Shi Niangniang clapped her hands and praised, and the surrounding crowd cheered.

The courtiers shouted to the people, "The king has orders!" The woman Hana, dancing movingly, although not as good as Xi Shi Niangniang, but still has a bounty of fifty! ”

Hana looked at Ji Zheng in the pavilion, only to see Ji Zheng in a stupid daze, staring at her intently, Hana smiled knowingly, turned around and saluted King Wu, and then left the water platform.

Back in the pavilion, everyone was amazed.

He Yu excitedly praised: "Sister Hana is amazing! Dance so well! ”。

Zhang Xun also praised: "Yes! Sister Hana's dancing is simply amazing! No worse than Shih Tzu Niangniang! ”

Ji Zheng looked at Hana embarrassedly and whispered: "Miss Hana's dance is better than Xi Shi Niangniang, better than anyone in the world." ”

Hana smiled happily, then sat down next to Ji Zheng, leaning her head against Ji Zheng.

At this time, the bell rang again in the boxin platform, and the courtiers shouted to everyone: "The king has an edict, the concubine Zheng Dan, the country is fragrant, the ice and snow are smart, and the chess skills are outstanding. ”

After that, I saw several attendants carry out a huge chessboard from behind the high platform, and placed it upright on the water platform, on each intersection of the chessboard has a long nail nailed, and two attendants stand on both sides with long poles, each of them has a stack of round wooden chips, one stack painted black, one pile painted white, and there is a round hole in the center of the wooden chips, which is just right to insert the long nails on the chessboard.

After that, the attendants put a chess table on the side of the giant chessboard, and prepared the chess pieces, seats, etc. one by one.

Gong Hui walked to the water platform and saluted King Wu.

King Wu smiled on the high platform and asked, "Who are the chess players?" ”

Gong Hui Ran replied: "Under Gong Hui Ran." ”

"Public? The widow seems to have an impression, but there is a position? ”

"Ren Gu Su Simin."

"Oh, I remember, it was you who was recommended by the lieutenant of the county to the widow, okay, let the widow see your chess skills, you just have to play, you don't have to have any scruples, you have a big reward if you win!"

After that, Zheng Dan saluted King Wu, and then slowly walked down the high platform and came to Gong Wanran.

Gong Wan didn't dare to raise his head and look at him, but only saluted Zheng Dan deeply.

Zheng Dan motioned for Gong Wan to get up, "Mr. doesn't have to be formal. ”

Gong Wanran raised his head at this time, only to see Zheng Dan dressed in white clothes, dignified and elegant, her complexion was crystal clear, like a pearl halo, beautiful jade and shining, the black silk on her head was coiled, the clouds were ethereal, her eyes were like water, her eyebrows were like ink paintings, her lips were like peach blossoms, elegant and graceful, as if she was a goddess who did not eat fireworks in the world.

The evening breeze blew, Zheng Dan's white clothes rose lightly, as if the snow-covered lake was blown by the cold wind and the mist was ethereal, and under the ice lake, there seemed to be a trace of indescribable melancholy.

"Is the mother black?"

Zheng Dan nodded and said, "Please Mr. Confess." ”。

Gong Wan then walked to Bai Zi's position, and waited for Zheng Dan to kneel before kneeling.

The two sat down, and the public saluted and said, "Niangniang, please." ”

"Please."

Zheng Dan lifted the gauze sleeves, revealing her slender and white wrists, her jade hands were delicate, her ice muscles were boneless, and the red of her nails was like a red flaw on the white jade.

"Kuroko, Tian Yuan." One of the attendants shouted.

Immediately afterwards, the attendant holding the black wood chip on the side picked up a black wood chip with a long pole and landed it on the Tian Yuan of the giant chessboard.

Gong Huang was a little strange, he rarely saw the black ruler fall the first son to Tian Yuan, such a start was really not clever.

"Niangniang has a novel start, and I have never seen it before." Gong Hui suddenly dropped the first white piece, and there were also white giants on the giant chessboard that landed in the corresponding place.

"There are all kinds of things in the world, why not? This first son alone has three hundred and sixty-one methods, and Mr. is not like an unseen person. ”

"Although all things are different, they all have the same principles."

"Why? Please sir tell me about it. ”

"Plants and trees are withered and prosperous for growth, birds and animals migrate for survival, people come and go for fame and fortune, and black and white are for victory."

"Sir, are you saying that my first son fell to Tian Yuan, and it is not beneficial to the chess game?"

"It's not good to win." Gong Hui fell down again, and then raised his head and looked at Zheng Dan.

Zheng Dan smiled, dropped a son, and asked, "What is victory?" ”

"If the rules are different, the winning method is different, if there are numbers, then the one with more places wins, if there are several children, then the one with more living children wins."

After Zheng Dan heard this, he said: "Today's game, the number, not the number of children, only look at the number of bases, not the number of live children, Mr. is not ignorant of the rules, but why do you want to say that the one with more live children wins?" ”

Gong Huang suddenly fell into a son, and said: "Niang Niang fell into Tianyuan, and then asked the reason, where the heart is, not only the chess game, then let's talk about people in the next place." ”

"The gentleman is talking about the world."

"I don't dare, it's just that the mother's chess path is deep, and the vision is not limited to this black and white."

"In that case, according to Mr. See, the way of the world is to care about the earth? Do you care about people? ”

"Though the land is great, there is no one to defend it; Although there are many people, there is no place to rely on. Gong Wan said it suddenly, and dropped a son, first lifting out a few sunspots, occupying a small space.

"Sir, are you saying that location, people and mutual dependence are indispensable?" Zheng Dan said that he also left a son and killed several white sons.

Gong shook his head and smiled, but he was speechless.

Zheng Dan saw that Gong Wanran didn't speak, so she stopped talking, but in her mind, the picture of the people being displaced and the city annihilated when the Yue Kingdom was attacked by the Wu State three years ago vaguely appeared.

After a hundred hands, the plate was scorched, and the large piece of white that Gong Wanran was holding was in crisis and was about to be killed. The public is a two-finger clip, indecisive, and indecisive.

"Why did you hesitate, sir? In the meantime, even the yellow-mouthed child knows how to deal with it. ”

"My child knows, but I don't." After that, the public put the son on the plate.

Zheng Dan also followed closely behind, and after this move, the situation was instantly reversed, and Gong Wanran's army was defeated like a mountain, and it was about to collapse.

Zheng Dan was puzzled, pointed to two of the white sons and asked, "Why didn't Mr. abandon these two sons?" Just now you can solve the dilemma by abandoning these two sons, I don't know why Mr. is pretending to be confused. ”

"If it were a weekday, I would definitely not hesitate to abandon those two sons, but today I played chess with my mother, but these two sons are difficult to give up." Gong Huang suddenly fell again, and then raised his head and looked at Zheng Dan's eyes silently.

Zheng Dan listened, and a shallow wry smile flashed across his beautiful face.

One day three years ago, she and Xi Shi were in the Lai Luo River, but when they returned home, they found that the officers and soldiers had taken away their twelve-year-old brother, and a month later, the younger brother died in battle, and she cried all night holding the new shoes she had just sewn for her brother. Soon, the soldiers of Wu State broke through her homeland, her soldiers were killed in battle, her people went into exile, and her parents starved to death in the withered fields. She and Xi Shi wandered with refugees, it was Fan Li who discovered them, after three years of training, she and Xi Shi not only practiced superb dancing and chess skills, but also transformed from an ignorant girl into a woman with a charming smile and a smile. Finally, they were sent to the state of Wu, sent to the side of the king of Wu, and she will never forget the day she left the country of Yue, she grabbed a handful of soil from the land of the country of Yue and sprinkled it on the boundary stone of the two countries. After that, she went all the way forward, not daring to look back at the broken mountains and rivers behind her.

"Mother, it's your turn."

Zheng Dan came back to her senses, there was already smoke and rain between her eyebrows, she hastily dropped a son, and said: "I know what Mr. means, in fact, Mr. should not hesitate, since these two sons exist on the chessboard, life and death have been put aside, as long as they can win, even if they die, they are willing." ”

"If I abandon the second son, I can indeed exchange the initiative for the board and strive for a strategic advantage, if I do that, I will win most of the game. But Niangniang just asked me, 'What is victory', can you ask Niangniang Niang, what is victory? ”

Zheng Dan shook his head and said softly: "I don't know what Mr. asked, I only know how to win between black and white, and I have never had the opportunity to win what Mr. asked, and I don't dare to ask for extravagance." ”

"The victory of the world lies in the money and grain, in the land, in the community, in the world, but in the victory, but not in this, today look at the realm of Niangniang playing chess, you will know that what Niangniang wants, and in the game is no different."

"I envy Mr., although I yearn for Mr.'s realm, I know that I will never reach it."

Gong Wanran shook his head and said: "It's not the realm, it's just what I'm asking for, it's not fame and fortune." ”

"Why does that gentleman want to be an official in the court?"

Gong Wanran looked up at Zheng Dan, was silent for a moment, and said: "Niangniang doesn't know, if I haven't seen the notice today, then the person who plays chess with Niangniang will be a down-and-out scholar named Jieyin, he was originally a person who read poetry and books and was full of enthusiasm, but now his country is ruined and has no way to live, so he can only beg on the streets, and there is only a dying wife left in his family, and the rest of his family has starved to death." ”

"Sir won him?"

"Exactly."

"If he can win Mr., he will definitely fight to the death with me to win the bounty and save his wife, but if he meets Sir, I am afraid that the two will inevitably starve to death."

"After I won him, I gave him enough money to eat and live for several months, and my brother gave him an errand so that he and his wife would not go hungry again."

"Since what the gentleman wants is not to win the chess game, nor is it to fame and fortune, then why not simply give the opportunity to get a bounty to the down-and-out scholar? Maybe he's been on the rise ever since. ”

"Not to mention that he can't win Niangniang, even if he wins, as a homeless person who hurt the face of the Wang family in public, what will happen to him?"

Zheng Dan was silent, just nodded slightly, "Mr. has saved one person, and there are poor people like him everywhere in the world, how many of those poor people can meet Mr.?" ”

"I can only do my best to suffer in the world."

Zheng Dan was silent for a long time, and said: "Mr. didn't answer me just now, why do you want to enter the court as an official, since what you want is not fame and fortune, why do you want to squeeze into the land of right and wrong." ”

Gong Hui dropped lightly, and a smile appeared on his face, "Niangniang, I have already answered." ”

Zheng Dan raised his head suddenly, staring at Gong Huiran, his handsome face was written with empty sorrow, his deep eyes were filled with vague tenderness, and his beaded lips were full of profound wisdom, the souls of the two instantly blended, and she already understood Gong Huiran's answer.

Just when she wanted to say something, Gong Huiran cast the second son on the side of the plate, and then got up and saluted: "Niangniang's chess skills are superb, and she is convinced, and she admits defeat." ”

Zheng Dan's brows were furrowed, her eyes were full of reluctance, but she could only salute Gong Wanran, her eyes were facing each other, and she didn't need more words, she knew that the person in front of her had already known her mind. She didn't dare to look at the back of Gong Hui suddenly getting up and leaving, but when a deafening cheer sounded around her, her eyes were already moist.

Zheng Dan slowly walked to the high platform, the maid came to help her upstairs, and a maid asked, "Niangniang, why are your eyes red?" ”

"The night breeze is a bit strong."

Back on the high platform, Xi Shi was serving King Wu to drink, seeing Zheng Dan coming, King Wu stood up happily, and grabbed Zheng Dan in his arms, "Concubine Ai is really superb in chess, and the widow is very happy, reward!" 100 pieces of brocade and 300 pieces of gold! ”

Zheng Dan was so sad, but she couldn't show the slightest, she could only show her endless charm like she had trained before, and said shyly: "King, why did you reward my sister with five hundred gold?" ”

"Oops! Ai Concubine, it's a widow who is confused and forgets! Forgot! Reward! Bounty of eight hundred! ”

Xi Shi also hugged King Wu and sprinkled coquettishly, "King, why am I less than my sister?" ”

Gong Wanran returned to the pavilion, Zhang Xun patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother Xiao Ran, it's a pity, in fact, I had a chance to take the initiative, and I almost won." ”

Ji Zheng glanced at Zhang Xun, "Are you stupid?" Can't you see that Brother Gonghui lost on purpose? Dare to win King Wu's favorite concubine on such an occasion? Don't want to die? ”

Zhang Xun smirked: "Hehe, the king won't be so careful." ”

Gong Wanran turned sideways and looked at the high platform, Xi Shi and Zheng Dan were serving King Wu to drink, he raised his wine glass, saluted to the high platform, and then drank it all.

Zhang Xun saw that Gong Wanran was a little sad, and asked, "Brother Xiao Ran, why don't you seem to be happy?" ”

"No, come on, let's have some drinks."

"Okay."

After a while, the joyful atmosphere of the Lotus Lantern Festival reached its peak with the drunkenness of the people. Suddenly, fireworks light up on both sides of the lake, and colorful fireworks bloom in the sky, and the flowers turn into golden waterfalls that pour down from the sky.

The crowd erupted in excited cheers, singing one after another resounded through the clouds, people sang and danced, lit candles one after another, put more lotus lanterns into lakes or rivers, and floated in the water, and the flames danced in the wind, just like the twinkling stars in the Milky Way.

"Let's put the lights on too!" Zhang Xun danced excitedly.

"Good!" Everyone spoke in unison.

So, everyone gathered on the water's edge, put lotus lanterns into the water, and lit the candles on them.

He Yu said to everyone: "Everyone hurry up and make a wish, as long as you make a wish at this time, it will definitely come true!" ”

After saying that, He Yu hurriedly folded his hands in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and said something in his mouth. Then, with a gentle push, Heyu sent the lotus lamp into the water.

The people also learned to make a wish and put the lotus lamp into the water.

After Ji Zheng put the lotus lantern, he turned his head to see Hana silently making a wish with her eyes closed. Ji Zheng's love was even stronger, and he felt that there was no one in the world who could compare with Hana, so he gently took Hana's hand, put it to his ear and said, "Miss Hana, your wish is my wish, and as I said before, I will definitely help you realize it." ”

Hana nodded lightly, leaning on Ji Zheng's arms, I don't know if it was the reflection of the fireworks in the sky, Hana's cheeks were slightly red, and she was extremely beautiful.