Chapter 34 Utterly Absurd

Chapter 34: Utterly Nonsensical

Everyone around frowned at her, and Yang Luo's face instantly flushed crimson.

How could she have imagined that the one playing chess against the elderly Master Meng Fu was Lady Xi!

The Lady Xi they had been searching for everywhere was actually the "extraordinary talent" everyone was talking about.

Lady Wu and the others stared in disbelief. That woman with the serpent-style bun and wearing a pale blue-green dress—wasn't she her precious daughter-in-law, Lady Xi!

She wore an easy smile, while the old master across from her had a face full of distress, tugging at his long beard in frustration.

Clearly, the old man was truly stumped!

Not only him, but even the Abbot beside him uttered a Buddhist prayer and conceded defeat!

Together, the two of them had been unable to solve her chess puzzle.

Lady Wu muttered, "Impossible, how could it be?"

Yang Luo looked around—everyone was crowded around, gazing at Lady Xi with expressions of amazement, admiration, and even disbelief.

Her fame had spread from the household to the outside world.

If these literati and scholars spread the word, wouldn't Lady Xi gain prominence by stepping on the shoulders of the Abbot and Master Meng Fu?

How could that be permitted?

"Sister-in-law, you abandoned us and came to this Damiao Temple just to steal the spotlight? Did Brother teach you this chess strategy, and you're already using it so quickly?"

Yang Luo stepped forward as if on impulse, asking loudly.

The crowd let out a "Huh?" and all turned to look at them.

Xi Qianyue narrowed her eyes: "Did you eat too much garlic? What a loudmouth you are! Does your brother know how dutiful you are, helping him gain fame?"

Huh? What's going on? Aren't they family? Why are they squabbling in front of outsiders?

Everyone stared at them, but Xi Qianyue was completely unflappable and didn't care at all.

Yang Luo was different—she had grown up in a sheltered life in a grand mansion, rarely appearing before so many people, let alone enduring such humiliation.

Lady Wu trembled with rage—this woman, Lady Xi, was bullying her daughter in front of so many people!

"Lady Xi, Luo'er is still your own sister-in-law, your husband's own sister! Where is your virtue as a woman? Was she wrong? With your abilities, could you possibly have come up with or solved this chess puzzle?"

Lady Wu was used to having her way in the mansion, and now, outside, she openly berated Xi Qianyue. She thought she had put her in her place from a position of moral superiority, but instead, everyone looked at her strangely.

For a moment, her face flushed deep red, and her fingertips began to tremble.

Xi Qianyue looked at the mother-daughter pair with a knowing smirk: "Fine, if you say so, then so be it. In that case, I'll help him gain fame right now, in front of everyone. Anyone proficient in this craft can seek him out for a game and witness his brilliance. I'll announce his name loud and clear—he is..."

Lady Wu panicked, knowing full well that her son was utterly hopeless at chess!

Lady Xi was doing this to ruin her son's reputation and make him the laughingstock of the capital.

"Shut up! How dare you, a mere woman, speak on such matters?"

Lady Wu quickly cut her off, and Yang Luo breathed a sigh of relief. What Xi Qianyue had said almost made her pass out.

If her rash outburst had made her brother a laughingstock, how could he ever forgive her?

Xi Qianyue broke into a smile: "Everyone sees it now—first they say I stole her son's chess strategy, then they say I learned her son's chess skills, and when I offer to help him gain fame, they refuse. Why is that? Naturally, because her son is a peerless master!"

The crowd roared with laughter, laughing so hard that Lady Wu nearly cried.

She never imagined that at her age, she would make such a fool of herself here and suffer such humiliation.

Yang Yao saw that her mother and sister were both nearly driven to collapse by this Lady Xi, and shouted without thinking: "Lady Xi! This is your mother-in-law, and we are your sisters-in-law! You won't even show us respect in public—you're truly shameless!"

Xi Qianyue stood up, and Yang Yao stumbled back two steps, frightened: "What are you going to do? Am I wrong?"

"Who is shameless—I believe everyone can see clearly, and their hearts already know. Today, I merely finished burning incense, saw Master Meng and the Abbot playing chess, and felt inspired. I recalled a chess puzzle I had seen before and wished to discuss it with the two elders.

But you butted in on your own, insisting that this puzzle was thought up by my good-for-nothing husband. Such a bold claim—I'm too embarrassed to boast, but how can you shamelessly claim it as your own?

This difficult puzzle is called 'Seven Stars Gathering.' Countless masters have devoted themselves to studying it, and yet you claim my good-for-nothing husband came up with it. It's absolutely ridiculous!"

Xi Qianyue repeatedly said "my good-for-nothing husband," which infuriated Lady Wu and her daughters so much they were livid, while everyone else roared with laughter.

Meng Fu stood up and bowed with clasped hands toward Xi Qianyue: "So this puzzle is called 'Seven Stars Gathering.' Truly marvelous."

Yang Luo refused to give up and sneered: "Since you're so full of yourself, surely you know how to solve it?"

"Of course I do!"

The Abbot and Meng Fu's eyes lit up, but they were also of two minds.

They had been pondering for an hour already and couldn't even begin to approach it.

They naturally wanted to know the solution, yet they also hoped to solve it themselves.

If, in time, they could crack it with their own hands, what a wonderful feeling that would be.

Xi Qianyue saw through their thoughts and smiled: "Master, Master Meng, how about I give you three days? Three days from now, we'll set up this puzzle again here, and I hope by then, you'll have solved it."

The onlookers couldn't contain themselves: "Solve it now! I'm also obsessed with this art—I've stared and stared but can't find a way in. I'm itching with curiosity."

Meng Fu hastily stopped them: "No, no! Everyone should ponder it for a few days. It can't be solved now."

He then looked at Xi Qianyue: "May I ask your name, young lady? Since we are friends across generations, how about we address each other as brother and sister?"

Xi Qianyue was taken aback and almost laughed out loud. Old Master Meng Fu was truly a chess fanatic, caring about nothing else when it came to chess puzzles.

The crowd erupted again—this young lady, though married, looked only in her teens, and yet she could address Master Meng as brother?

Lady Wu quickly stepped forward: "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I am from the household of the Marquis of Changping, and this is my daughter-in-law, Lady Xi."

Meng Fu frowned: "I wasn't asking you. This woman... utterly nonsensical."

He didn't give her any face at all.

Lady Wu felt she had never been so humiliated as today. She vaguely heard people mocking, "So it's the Marquis of Changping's household," "A household without even a proper facade can still call itself a marquisate," and similar remarks.

Her eyes reddened, and she glared at Xi Qianyue: "Vile woman, are you satisfied now?"

The crowd exploded again, like water droplets hitting a pan of hot oil.

"No wonder the Marquis of Changping's household has fallen—with such a matriarch, tsk tsk."

"She's just using her seniority to bully her daughter-in-law."

"This daughter-in-law must have a hard life in that household."

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