The second floor had no more fighting, but the people who had originally dispersed gradually gathered again. Though there were many people, there was no clamor; instead, it was quieter than before.

Some people were passing by, glanced over, and stopped.

Most people sat at their tables eating their food and drink, but from time to time they would call over shop attendants, asking not what wine or dishes they wanted, but: “How is it progressing?”

The shop attendant enthusiastically answered: “Fifty moves now.”

“Only fifty moves? That’s too slow.” The customer stroked his beard and shook his head. “Seems their chess skills aren’t very good.”

The shop attendant smiled: “It’s the fiftieth move of the third game.”

The customer was surprised: “That fast?” But still shook his head. “Shows their chess skills still aren’t very good.”

The customer beside him was more tolerant, saying with a smile: “One is seventeen or eighteen, the other only thirteen or fourteen. How good can their chess skills be?”

As long as these two competed for victory, it was fine.

He asked the shop attendant: “Who has the upper hand?”

The shop attendant excitedly held up three fingers: “All three games went to Miss Chu.”

……

……

Chu Zhao looked at Chu Ke across from her and asked impatiently: “Do you still want to play?”

Chu Ke across from her was practically plastered against the chess board. Two young men beside him were giving him pointers in low voices, but what of it? Chu Zhao’s victory was already assured. Even with several more people offering guidance, it would be beyond salvation.

Chu Ke raised his hand and threw the chess piece onto the board, lifting his head with an ashen expression.

When did this damned girl learn to play chess? Wasn’t it said she knew nothing? She had actually been hiding her abilities all along.

“What’s there to hide about knowing chess?” Chu Zhao collected the chess pieces, saying blandly, “It’s just to pass the time.”

Looking at that annoying appearance, Chu Ke reached out and pounded on the table several times: “Compete in calligraphy! Chess is just amusement to pass the time. I’ve used all my time on reading.”

Girls with nothing else to do used chess as play. How would scholars have that kind of time? That his chess skills were slightly inferior was understandable.

Chu Zhao smiled: “Fine. I don’t need reading to establish myself and make my living, so calligraphy is also just how I pass time.”

Liang Qiang laughed from the side: “Then let us see what you can do.”

The other young men also chimed in. After one chess game, everyone looked at Chu Zhao differently. Although Chu Ke’s chess skills were indeed terrible, this girl truly had some ability and wasn’t just someone who could only hit people, curse at them, and be fierce and crude.

Seeing the eyes of the young men who originally only flattered him, Chu Ke pounded the table even more irritably: “Then why don’t you hurry up and clear the table!”

The young men laughingly moved the chess board aside and took out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone that the establishment had long since delivered, arranging them properly. Chu Zhao didn’t say much either. She sat up properly, adjusted her sleeve, raised her brush, and began to write.

Looking at the girl’s serene expression, the young men stopped their joking and became even quieter than during the earlier chess match.

……

……

“It’s really quiet.”

Qi Leyun propped her chin on her hand, looking at the corridor pillar across from her. The seats over there were clearly full, yet she couldn’t hear Third Young Master Xie’s laughter and conversation.

Third Young Master Xie was truly a quiet person.

Her gaze couldn’t help but glance downward, her expression somewhat annoyed.

“Why is it so quiet over at Chu Zhao’s side too? Did she leave?”

Although the girls didn’t care about that side anymore, the maids were still keeping track, ready to report on Chu Zhao’s embarrassment at any moment to make their young ladies happy.

Only, they hadn’t received such news yet.

A maid said: “She hasn’t left. Miss Chu Zhao is competing with Young Master Chu Ke in calligraphy now.”

Qi Leyun and the other girls all turned their heads to look at the maid, their expressions surprised and amused.

“What calligraphy skills does Chu Zhao have? She’d be doing well if she could write characters correctly.”

“Didn’t we have her write characters before? Don’t you remember how laughable her writing was?”

“Although Chu Ke is mediocre, how could she compare to him?”

“It would be more appropriate if Chu Tang came to compete with Chu Ke.”

However, someone thought of something else and called the maid to ask: “Didn’t they say chess earlier? Who won?”

Oh right, there was that too. The girls also stared questioningly.

The maid timidly held up three fingers: “Three games. Miss Chu won them all.”

The girls were in an uproar.

“Is Chu Ke’s chess that terrible?”

“How embarrassing.”

“Chu Ke was always mediocre. In the Chu family, only Chu Tang is the most capable.”

“He’s lost all face for the Chu family, losing to Chu Zhao.”

“Hey, aren’t they both from the Chu family?”

The girls chattered noisily. Qi Leyun withdrew half her attention from the corridor pillar where Third Young Master Xie was and instructed the maid: “Go watch. See what kind of nonsense Chu Zhao can write.”

……

……

Even more people gathered around. It wasn’t as quiet as before, and with some maids squeezing through—they couldn’t really understand what they were seeing and kept asking others: “How is the writing?”

The others looked at the girl sitting properly and writing, nodding: “The small regular script is passable. She has studied it carefully.”

Just passable? The maids breathed sighs of relief. Standing on tiptoe, they watched as Chu Zhao finished one sheet and set it aside. The characters on it were neat and elegant. Indeed, nothing special—about the same as what their own young ladies wrote.

“Oh.” Someone nearby suddenly said, “She’s switched to a different calligraphy style.”

The others also noticed and couldn’t help pressing forward. Those in front were displeased at being pushed: “Don’t push!” “You stepped on my foot.”

The scene became slightly chaotic.

Chu Ke couldn’t help but look up. With this look, he realized so many people had come. Looking again at Chu Zhao across from him, she had already finished one sheet and was concentratedly writing the second one—

Calligraphy wasn’t about who wrote faster!

Chu Ke cursed inwardly, gripping his brush and speeding up. More discussion sounded in his ears, and what he heard mentioned was still that girl, that girl.

“This girl’s running script has quite good foundation.”

“This girl is not very old, but her brushwork is vigorous. She’s put in effort too.”

“Oh! This girl has switched calligraphy styles again—it’s cursive script!”

……

……

“I don’t believe it at all—what cursive script could she know!” Qi Leyun jumped to her feet. She glanced at the corridor pillar—the pillar wasn’t going to run away. She withdrew the remaining half of her attention as well and pushed aside the maid. “I’m going to look!”

The girls who had long been unable to contain their curiosity also rose one after another. The group clattered downstairs, their jewels, precious ornaments, brocade, and fine clothing immediately becoming another spectacle.

More gazes looked over, then followed them toward the second floor.

Deng Yi shook his pot—it was already empty. He raised his hand to call a shop attendant. The shop attendants were all watching the second floor, pointing and speaking quietly with smiles. Deng Yi called twice before a shop attendant came over.

“Another pot of wine,” he said, pointing at the empty seat across from him. “Put it all on this person’s tab.”

……

……

Having finished four sheets of paper, Chu Zhao looked at Chu Ke across from her still writing furiously and reminded him: “Brother, calligraphy isn’t about who writes the most.”

Chu Ke raised his head. Somehow his hair had become messy from writing, and with his bruised and swollen face, he looked even more disheveled.

He looked around. The gazes from all around finally fell on him.

“Brother Ke.” A playmate pointed somewhat awkwardly at his paper. “This character—you wrote it wrong.”

That was because he had withdrawn his brush too quickly. Chu Ke angrily slapped his brush on the table and reached out: “Let me see!”

What Chu Zhao had written was no longer on the table but was being passed around and viewed by the people around them.

On the table were only six or seven sheets of paper he had written scattered about. The onlookers had no interest in picking them up to look and only bent down to glance—

How bullying!

Liang Qiang wasn’t so bullying. He snatched a sheet of paper from someone else’s hands and handed it to Chu Ke: “Look, your younger sister is the same as you—both can write cursive script.”

Chu Ke looked at the paper nearly slapped against his face. The bold and flowing characters on it stung his eyes.

The damned girl hadn’t written a single character wrong.