Chapter 4 fourth quarter

Time: at noon, quarter to two (according to today's timing, it should be twelve thirty at noon). Location: Wuming Villa, inside the Purple Bamboo Garden. The chessboard is carved from a single piece of high-quality torreya wood, and the chess pieces are polished from seabed sand and ice. The chess game is almost over. The third son was sitting cross-legged on a futon, staring at the chessboard in front of him, biting his right index finger tightly, and the white piece in his left hand could not be dropped for a long time.Opposite him, sat an old man in a gray robe, with white beard and hair, ruddy complexion and brilliant eyes.

The old man said: "The third son is very patient. I'm afraid it will take three sticks of incense for this long test." The third son said: "Half a stick of incense is not here yet. The master is so impatient, I think he can't wait to drink the newly picked Longjing." The old man laughed and said: "Sure enough, the young master saw through the old man at a glance. It is fake that the old man played chess with the young master, but it is true that he came to ask for a cup of good tea. Now that Qingming is approaching, it is the best time to taste new tea. Everyone knows that There are only 18 tea trees in the world that can be called authentic West Lake Longjing tea, and there are only three of them in the unnamed villa of the son. Everyone knows that making Longjing tea requires tigers to run away, but they don’t know the seven teas in the unnamed villa. Liquan, the water quality is better than Hupao Spring. Although the imperial tea in the palace is good, it is still not as good as the Longjing in Wuming Villa."

The old man's surname is Lu, and his first name is Fengxian. It was the imperial edict of the emperor today, and the name Fengxian was bestowed by the emperor.Because of his invincible chess skills, the emperor allowed him to "bongrao the world first", which means that no matter who wants to play chess with him, he must be spared at least once, and the word "bongxian" comes from this. The third son smiled and said: "Grandmaster is very powerful in chess, but if he has other distractions and doesn't focus on chess, he might lose to me." Master Lu laughed until he burst into tears, and said: "I will lose to the young master? Excuse me, if I want to lose the old man to the young master, unless the black head is white, the horse has horns, it is possible to ride a buffalo on foot, or a sparrow to fly a tiger. "

The third son said: "Don't be arrogant with your tongue, the chessboard is the real chapter." Master Lu looked ahead, with a joyful expression on his face. He was gearing up, but he couldn't sit still. He said, "It smells so good, it smells so good. The newly fried Longjing must be Miss Ning." The third son didn't talk to each other, and a chess piece fell heavily.Master Lu glanced at the chessboard, and immediately responded with a move without thinking. "Is the young master also affectionate?" "Young Master is not affectionate. There are thousands of women in the world, but Young Master only loves one person."

"Which one?" "Ning Xin'er, Miss Ning." "What does Miss Ning look like?" "Why do you need to talk too much about a woman who can make the three young masters fall in love with each other?" Ning Xin'er walked over slowly carrying the tea set, and it was the two cranes who were playing catch just now that opened the way for her.The crane first flew to the chess table, put down the sandalwood tea table and samovar between its claws, then flew back to Ning Xin'er, flying around her happily. Ning Xin'er came to the two of them, briskly lit the fire, put on the stove, poured water, and made tea.Every move is indescribably elegant and decent.As soon as boiling water is poured into the teacup, the aroma of tea overflows immediately, which lifts people's spirits.

Ning Xin'er glanced at the chessboard with a look of surprise on her face, and said, "Young master, are you still willing to continue playing this chess? You don't have a single piece of chess in the whole game. Push the scales early and admit defeat, so as not to waste Master's time." The third son blushed and said: "I don't want to admit defeat, I will continue." Master Lu brushed his beard triumphantly, and said: "Miss Ning, don't worry. Young Master likes to bring shame on himself, so you just let him continue playing. It's not every day that you come across a stinky chess basket like Young Master. It's strange to say , Among the old man's opponents, the young master's chess skills are the weakest and the worst. But the old man is the happiest when he wins the young master." After speaking, he leaned back, with a contemptuous smile on the corner of his mouth, closed his eyes and rested , this must-win game is really not worth worrying about.

Ning Xin'er said: "Cao Xiaosan, you are not afraid of being ashamed. If you play with me, I will give up four pieces, and you dare to play with Master Lu, who is the best chess player in the world. Shame! Shame! Shame!" , Use your hands to shave the third son's face.Some of her behavior is quite naughty, even a little childish, not suitable for her age.But these behaviors were natural, out of nature, out of an innocent heart that had not faded with the passage of time.She has both sides of the mirror at the same time - the transparency of the front and the firmness of the back.

The third young master was not angry, nor did he push Ning Xin'er's hand away, he just whispered: "I have an appointment with the master, as long as I can live a piece of chess, no matter how big or small, I will win." When Ning Xin'er heard the words, she looked disapproving, and said: "A man of seven feet tall, but so lacking in ambition and shame. A villain." The third young master ignored her, but quietly gave Da Fei a look. Da Fei held his head high, expressing his disdain.The third young master sighed softly, and gave Xiao Fei another look, Xiao Fei shook his head, the third young master raised his palm towards it, as if wanting to hit him, but Xiao Fei couldn't help it, so he had to follow the third young master's wish.It flapped its wings, flicked towards the board, and then looked like a child who has done something wrong.Backed away far away, stuck his head in the feathers, and remained motionless.

Because of Xiao Fei's swipe, the layout of the chessboard changed drastically, and the positions of the chess pieces were upside down. Obviously, there was no way to continue. The third son shrugged and said: "Master, it seems that there is only one round to restart. If I had known, I wouldn't let these two guys watch the fun, they like to make trouble, Da Fei, Xiao Fei, go away." Xiao Fei flew away as if fleeing, Da Fei glanced at the third young master contemptuously, apparently disapproving of his character, picked up his wings, and stomped away. Master Lu stroked his beard, smiled triumphantly because he caught the third son, and said: "Third son, you play this kind of self-deception again, knowing that you will be exposed by the old man every time, but you still enjoy it. You and I are both familiar with the progress of the chess game, and it is up to Mr. Lao to restore the chess game to its original state."

The third son didn't change his face, his heart didn't jump, and he restored the chess game one by one. Ning Xin'er sneered at the side: "Cao Xiaosan, I just wanted to play tricks, and I've lost all my face. If I were you, I would have been headbutted to death." The third young master was not in a hurry to play chess, and he was not willing to hit him to death.He looked up at Changtian, as if he was about to sneeze, but he didn't really sneeze, he just looked dull, and he didn't know if he was taking the long exam or sleepwalking.Since Master Lu had Longjing tea to drink, he no longer urged the third son to settle down quickly.The two cranes walked back slowly, and Zhuo stood on both sides of the chess table, like two elegant and fair warriors, guarding the progress of the chess game.Ning Xin'er sat on the left side of the third young master, resting her chin on her hands, looked up at the third young master carefully, thinking to herself: Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday, I don't know if he still remembers it, judging by his appearance, it must be early Just forget.

At the same time, at the same place, under the cover of the silence of the mountains, in different ways, it disappeared on three different people...