Shen Miao looked at him. Shen Qiu was still saying, “The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Sister, don’t stop me. Even if I have to risk my life, I won’t let them off easy.”
“Brother.” Shen Miao sighed. “I’ve already said that you can find any evidence. Since Prince Yu is involved, the royal family will protect him. If you stand out, you’ll be standing against the royal family. Do you want our parents to get into trouble because of me?”
Shen Qiu was stunned. Shen Miao’s words were rational. He knew that Shen Miao was right. Back then, there were girls among the noble families who had been humiliated by Prince Yu. Some of those families were more famous than the Shen family, but in the end, they had to make compromises. Prince Yu was backed by the highest power in Ming Qi. Challenging him was like hitting a rock with an egg. However, he still felt very indignant. He asked, “We can’t just let it go like that, can we?”
“Brother, play a game of chess with me,” Shen Miao said.
“Are you still in the mood to play chess?” Shen Qiu scratched his head. “Besides, since when did you like to play chess?”
Shen Miao did not answer him. She set up the chessboard and picked up the black piece. She handed the white pieces to Shen Qiu and said, “This is your soldier and this is my soldier. Let’s pretend this chess board is the world and see who can get it. How about that?”
Shen Qiu had always been passionate about the battlefield. Hearing that, he became interested and said, “Okay.” He was also skillful in chess because chess and war had many things in common.
Unlike Shen Qiu who placed his pieces decisively, Shen Miao played slowly. It was not that her movements were slow, but they were very gentle like she was in no hurry. No matter how pushy Shen Qiu’s style of playing was, Shen Miao could always remain collected. She maintained her rhythm and played the black chess piece slowly. Although it looked like she was at a disadvantage, she still had a lot of black chess pieces in her hand. Occasionally, when Shen Qiu was about to eat her black chess piece, she would cunningly escape.
After the time it took to burn an incense stick, none of the white pieces and black pieces on the table were captured. No one managed to take advantage of the other party. However, it could be clearly seen that Shen Qiu’s white pieces had always been the one taking the initiative. The black pieces had been forced into a corner by the white pieces. If this continued, Shen Qiu would be able to capture Shen Miao’s white pieces one by one.
Shen Qiu said, “Sister, you have a good way of escaping, but are you going to continue escaping for the whole day? I’m going to attack.”
“That’s good.” Shen Miao smiled. “I plan to do that too.” Before she could finish her sentence, the black chess piece in her hand suddenly landed in a tricky position. Shen Qiu frowned. In that position, the entire situation seemed to have changed.
He was surprised. Previously, he had the upper hand, but now, it seemed like he was caught in a trap. He was trapped by Shen Miao and couldn’t do anything.
Next, Shen Miao changed her style of only attacking and not defending. Her attacks were sharp and fierce, and she captured Shen Qiu’s white stones in big handfuls. In less than 15 minutes, there was only one white piece left.
“I lost.” Shen Qiu smiled bitterly and looked at Shen Miao in surprise. “Sister, when did your chess skills improve so much?”
With the chessboard as the battlefield, Shen Qiu would be made a laughing stock if word got out that a general like him was defeated by his sister. However, he was also very surprised. What Shen Miao displayed was not her understanding of the chess game, but her understanding of the overall situation. From the style of defending to the style of attacking, she did it calmly. Perhaps she had always been confident in this game and knew exactly what to do.
