Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity

Chapter 1141 - 977: Not Long for This World

Liao Wu smiled faintly, "The Commandery Princess’s chess skills haven’t improved much over the years. What harm if this poor monk lets you win?"This indulgent attitude still made Qin Yingyuan a bit unaccustomed.

The Third Prince, once so high-spirited and capricious, after becoming a monk, had somehow become so tolerant.

Could it be that the daily recitation of scriptures really can dissolve the malice in one’s heart?

The two set up the chessboard, and Qin Yingyuan picked up a white piece and placed it without much hesitation.

Seeing where Qin Yingyuan placed her piece, Liao Wu couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head—it indeed landed there again.

Her lack of progress over the years wasn’t because Qin Yingyuan was stupid; it was because she simply wasn’t earnest.

Every time Qin Yingyuan played chess, her first move was always here. He had previously advised her that starting there would make the following moves very difficult, but unfortunately, she still insisted on having her own way.

"Third Uncle, do you know why I still place it there?" Qin Yingyuan’s voice echoed in the spacious meditation room, incense smoke swirling around, making Liao Wu’s vision blur and preventing him from seeing clearly.

"Perhaps it relates to the Commandery Princess’s nature? Even after hitting a wall, she doesn’t turn back. Such unyielding character is indeed rare."

As Liao Wu spoke, he couldn’t help but admire the Commandery Princess’s tenacity.

Every chess game, the same beginning. But the Commandery Princess insists on placing it there, does she still hope to turn the game around with such a move?

The possibility is negligible!

"I don’t think losing is a big deal. On the contrary, if I persist with this move and eventually beat you, that’s a real victory. That shows I’m progressing, while you, are regressing!"

Qin Yingyuan smiled slyly and spoke ambiguously to Liao Wu, making him shudder involuntarily.

He paused his hand holding the black piece, looked at Qin Yingyuan thoughtfully for a moment, then shook his head.

"What you said sounds very reasonable at first glance. However, this poor monk thinks this is just the Commandery Princess finding an excuse for her own persistence. Indeed, chess is a duel. As long as you can win, why insist on using a strategy that’s bound to lose?"

Liao Wu sighed and then placed another piece.

"Ha ha! Third Uncle, you just said you’re a monk. How can a monk be so combative? Even I have put aside winning and losing, yet Third Uncle is still persistent with it? Life is short, it’s more important to follow one’s heart."

Qin Yingyuan covered her mouth and laughed, while her eyes pierced sharply at Liao Wu, as if trying to penetrate deep into his heart.

Liao Wu felt his throat dry up, and the black piece in his hand dropped onto the chessboard, disrupting a well-posed game.

The black pieces, originally coiled like a dragon on the chessboard, were now disrupted by this sudden piece, dispersing the hard-won formation.

The two of them stared at each other for a long while, and then Liao Wu laughed.

"It seems this poor monk was attached to appearances. It appears that this poor monk’s cultivation is still lacking. Listening to the Commandery Princess today has cleared up a section of scripture interpretation that troubled this poor monk for a long time."

Liao Wu stood up and bowed to Princess Rong Jia, seemingly filled with many emotions.

Qin Yingyuan also stood up and returned the gesture, then added, "If you have something in your heart, go do it. Until the last step, who can say they’ve lost?"

Qin Yingyuan smiled broadly and pointed to the chessboard, "Third Uncle, look! Where did you place your piece?"

Liao Wu followed Qin Yingyuan’s finger to see the once orderly set of pieces on the chessboard disrupted by the piece he just placed.

"Though you made a mistake earlier, some things can’t start over again; we have to finish this game. My stance remains, until the end, you can’t determine a win or loss, does Third Uncle agree this time?"

Liao Wu looked deeply at Qin Yingyuan before sitting back down, "It turns out the Commandery Princess has her own understanding of everything. How laughable that this poor monk still wished to instruct the Commandery Princess. The Commandery Princess has a mind comparable to any man’s."

Nanny Chang waited outside in the freezing cold, feeling unbearably cold.

She looked at the crisscrossing and overlapping eaves, feeling a bit vexed. She didn’t know when the Commandery Princess would come out and hoped nothing unusual happened.

Before, the Commandery Princess didn’t seem that close with the Third Prince, so why had their relationship become more intimate in the past two years?

The Commandery Princess visited Bao En Temple almost every month, either discussing scriptures with the Third Prince or playing chess with him. Sometimes she even visited twice a month, as if she had endless topics with the Third Prince.

Little Wisdom stood outside the meditation room, laughing internally as he saw Nanny Chang stamping her feet to keep warm.

The door to the meditation room was open, to avoid suspicion.

Looking through the doorway, he could see his master and the Commandery Princess playing chess, chatting and making moves, quite at ease.

"Hong has progressed so much. The other day I quizzed him on his lessons and was nearly stumped by him." Qin Yingyuan mentioned as she placed a piece.

Hong was Liao Wu’s legitimate third son, just seven years old this year. From a young age, he was intelligent and deeply cherished by Liao Wu.

Before Liao Wu entered the monastery, he had been very strict with Hong’s upbringing. He had devoted much attention to Hong.

Who would have thought such changes would occur when Hong was only five? Now two years have passed, it is already mid-winter, and soon it will be another year.

Qin Yingyuan’s words stirred Liao Wu’s memories of his family, the serious and stern yet meticulously caring main wife; the sweet and considerate concubine, and the five sensible and clever children.

Seeing Liao Wu lost in his thoughts, Qin Yingyuan slightly smiled.

"Unfortunately, Hong can only stay inside the mansion, not allowed to step out. He can only see a patch of sky from inside, suppressing his childish nature. Hong is so mature, it makes one feel distressed."

Two years ago, the Third Prince’s entire family was confined to the Imperial Clan Court. Later, when the Third Prince became a monk, within six months, his family was moved out and placed under house arrest in the Third Prince Mansion by the Imperial Clan Court.

The Emperor personally ordered that the Third Prince’s immediate family and wives were not to step outside the mansion’s gates.

Liao Wu’s heart couldn’t help but stir, and his hand holding the chess piece began to tremble slightly.

He seemed to recall past events, and also seemed to miss his family, slowly placing the piece back in the chess box.

Looking at the scattered black pieces on the chessboard, he let out a bitter laugh, his mind was in disarray, turning the entire game into chaos.

The black pieces had long since lost, but he hadn’t realized it, nor did the Commandery Princess mention it.

"The Commandery Princess really won. I didn’t expect that this time you finally got the result you wanted. You’re right; you can’t determine win or loss until the end. But the Commandery Princess should also understand, your victory this time had a lot to do with luck."

Liao Wu began to clean up the board, putting the black and white pieces back into the box.

"So what? Just like you said earlier, as long as you win, does it matter how you win? Sometimes luck is also a kind of strength."

Qin Yingyuan stood up and slowly walked over to Liao Wu, suddenly bending down and whispering in his ear, "Third Uncle, do you know? It’s said that the Crown Prince uncle is not long for this world!"

Liao Wu paused his hand organizing the pieces, shocked, he looked at Qin Yingyuan.