The Great Tang Dynasty: The Celestial Master Descends the Mountain, Starts by Being Deceived into Ma

With the bet made, the game naturally had to be played.

Lu Jinghe slowly put the chess pieces back in their places and asked, "Your Highness should know that your chances of winning are not high, or even nonexistent."

"We haven't even started playing yet, how can you say I can't win!" Gao Yang retorted, holding a chess piece. She was the first to move in this game.

"Since Your Highness is confident of winning, why hasn't you made a move yet? It's just the first move; is it really necessary to think about it for so long?"

"Snapped!"

The chess piece landed with a crisp clinking sound. Gao Yang looked at Lu Jinghe and said with displeasure, "It's your turn, you damned Taoist."

Why are you rushing me? She knows she'll lose and give herself away, but are you in such a hurry? Is it going to kill you to wait a little while?

"No, no, no, that's not right." Lu Jinghe quickly denied it, as those words were unlucky. "What dead Taoist priest? I can live for a very long time."

"Your Highness, it's your turn."

"Let me think about it. Don't rush me, do you hear me?"

"No rush, Your Highness can think about it at your own pace." Lu Jinghe looked up at the sky; it was still early, no need to rush.

He planned to capture all of "Changle's" pieces.

Li Chunfeng is the only one who has ever enjoyed such treatment since he set up his chess stall in Chang'an.

Li Chunfeng lost to Lu Jing and a house.

Since "Changle" was brought over by Li Chunfeng, it should enjoy the same treatment.

Will I lose myself...?

Lu Jinghe smiled inwardly. How annoyed was this princess with Changsun Chong? She wouldn't even marry him, even if it meant giving herself away.

"The princess is so favored; if she doesn't want to marry, why doesn't she talk to His Majesty and the Empress properly?"

"What are you saying? What's there to say?" Gao Yang appeared dissatisfied, but was actually quite guilty.

She was truly favored; her father and mother treated her exceptionally well, second only to the legitimate daughters, Chang Le and Jin Yang.

There wasn't even much difference.

Gao Yang silently apologized to her father and mother a thousand times in her heart, then said with a face full of resentment, "This is how royal women are; arranged marriages are our fate."

"It's good if I meet someone I like, but most of the time I'm a complete stranger, and I may not have even met them before the wedding."

"I'm actually doing alright; at least I've met him before, but I still don't want to get married."

Gao Yang looked resentful, her whole appearance pitiful enough to make any ordinary man feel sorry for her.

Even the little maid next to him was in a bad mood and shed tears.

It can only be said that a girl who grew up in the imperial harem would have good acting skills.

Lu Jinghe could clearly sense that the person in front of him wasn't actually that upset.

More than anything, I was angry, very angry.

Come to think of it, it's normal to get a little angry since they're already prepared to give themselves away.

"Sigh, let's not talk about these unhappy things. I do have a question for the princess."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

Gao Yang replied and then stared at the chessboard for a long time before making her move. She captured Lu Jing's piece and a cannon!

Happy!

She took the piece!

Just then, a gentle breeze blew by, lifting Gao Yang's veil and allowing Lu Jinghe to see her clearly.

Her thin lips curled slightly, and she smiled beautifully.

Seeing Gao Yang make her move, Lu Jinghe finally spoke, saying, "I wonder how the princess will explain herself to His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress after losing to this humble Taoist priest?"

Gao Yang: ...

"It seems the princess hasn't thought about this yet, so let's not think about it for now." Lu Jinghe tapped the table and said, "Let's play chess first, and we can think about it later."

Looking at the disadvantageous situation in the game, Gao Yang said seriously, "Alright, let's start the game."

Lu Jinghe found it amusing to see Gao Yang deep in thought, so he remained silent.

He placed his piece immediately after Gao Yang, leaving no chance to catch his breath.

It's quite interesting; Gao Yang feels immense pressure.

Does this person not need to think at all when playing chess? How can they be so fast!

"Can't you give in to me?" Gao Yang said indignantly.

"Why should I let you win?" Lu Jinghe said calmly. "If it were a normal game of chess, I wouldn't mind letting you win once, but we have a bet."

"Besides, how do you know we can't win?" Lu Jinghe pointed to Gao Yang's horse and then to a spot.

Gao Yang took one look and immediately realized what was going on.

To turn a disadvantage into an advantage here is a move that can be called a divine move!

If the horse lands here, it only needs to jump three times to checkmate!

Gao Yang made a decisive move.

Lu Jinghe's lips curled up slightly, and with a flying elephant, he kicked Gao Yang's last horse away.

"You!" Gao Yang exclaimed angrily, slamming his hand on the table and standing up abruptly, pointing at Lu Jinghe and shouting, "You tricked me!"

Lu Jinghe shrugged and said innocently, "I didn't tell you to take this step now."

"Sigh..." Lu Jinghe feigned regret and sighed with remorse, "If you had set up the cannon first and then moved the horse, the situation would have been much better."

"What a pity, what a real pity."

Lu Jinghe shook his head and gestured, "Please, Your Highness, it's your turn."

That bastard...

Gao Yang gritted his teeth. Couldn't they have just given a proper hint? Why did they have to skip a step?

She realized that if they really played that way, even if they didn't win, they could at least make Lu Jinghe suffer for several moves.

The key issue is that she can't retaliate, because she's in the wrong!

Although Lu Jinghe said he wouldn't give in, he actually did.

This vulnerability is evident from the fact that he also pointed it out to himself.

"Didn't you just say you wouldn't let me?"

"Oh dear, I'm getting soft-hearted," Lu Jinghe said with a smile. "I can't help it, you're going to be my wife soon."

"What?" Gao Yang blushed and quickly retorted, "Who's your wife!"

"You, even if you had eight hundred years, you still couldn't beat me. No matter how I try to make you win, the result will be the same: your chances of winning are zero."

"You know it yourself, don't you?" Lu Jinghe placed his piece, directly checking the enemy.

"I surrender." Gao Yang sighed and gave up resisting.

"You've really given up? Even though you're checkmated, it doesn't mean you have no chance to turn the tide!" Lu Jinghe raised an eyebrow, saying this while already tidying up the chess pieces.

Gao Yang watched silently and said, "Fake surrender. Put the pieces back and we'll continue playing."

"That won't do. A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. You've already admitted defeat," Lu Jinghe said seriously.

"Tsk, fine then." Gao Yang sighed, resignedly saying, "I'm yours now, what do you want?"

Lu Jinghe said in a serious tone, "Why don't you go back to the palace first? It's getting late."

"It's getting late, let's go to your place."

Lu Jinghe: ...

He had a strange feeling that this princess was like a witch, who didn't care about her reputation at all.

Spending the night at his house?

This is not the same as losing to oneself; if those ministers knew, he would probably be impeached to death.

"Come on, let me see where I'll be living from now on."

Gao Yang urged, "We're almost at the final step."

After tonight, she can ask her father, the emperor, to grant her a marriage to Lu Jinghe.

The calamities of fate will cease to exist, and the infamy that will last for eternity will also be gone.

"Alright, I'll go to the palace tomorrow morning so I can discuss our marriage with my father-in-law."

"Okay." Gao Yang nodded and smiled, her eyes crinkling with happiness.

This is almost a done deal.

As long as he doesn't know that I am Gao Yang before we get engaged, it's fine.

Lu Jinghe walked ahead, while Gao Yang followed slowly with her maid.

Soon, they arrived at the residence where Li Chunfeng had lost to Lu Jinghe.

The plaque above the gate bears three large characters in simplified Chinese: Celestial Master's Mansion.