Chapter 5 Board Game

"You are here." The man didn't seem to be happy. He turned to pick up the boiling kettle, revealing the other part of his face that was hidden from sight. A long sword-shaped scar divided his face from the right side of his brow through the bridge of his nose to his lips. It was a very scary sight to behold.

He served Prince Fei and also refilled his own tea. "You shouldn't be referring to me as master; it's not proper. Sit down and look at this game. Tell me what you observe?" Prince Fei sat down without acknowledging what the old man said, as if this was a normal routine between them. He took a sip of the tea before looking at the board game.

He looked really hard but couldn't see any hidden tactics except that the white stones had surrounded the black stones. However, the more obvious the answer, the more likely it wasn't the answer. After a while, he noticed a black stone from the north part of the board that was outside the encirclement.

"The white stones seem to be winning, having completely encircled the black stones except for this one. But for the black stones to overcome the loss and win would be difficult." The old man nodded his head to acknowledge the fact.

He remained silent, deep in concentration. He picked up his tea and took another sip. After a while, he looked at Prince Fei. "When your father, Prince Tian Le, decided not to act, even after finding out the truth, I couldn't understand. He was only ten years old when he learned the truth. He had just come out of the palace to have his own mansion outside the palace then. The former Empress Dowager was reluctant to part with him, nursing him personally. Maybe that's why he survived."

"When I finally found a way to appear before him and told him everything, for some unknown reason, he never doubted me. He already seemed to know that things weren't as they appeared to be. He was far more intelligent than anyone of his time. He locked himself in for three days. When he finally came out, I thought he would investigate to know the truth, but he didn't."

"He told me then, 'I am the most favored of my Royal grandmother, and even my own Royal uncle treats me well, but he treats me too well. Growing up in the royal palace will make you more mature by your age, but that doesn't mean there are no fools in the palace. If I had been a fool, maybe I would have lived well, but knowing already that my own father was never mentioned or talked about has already come to my notice since I was four years old. The reaction of my nurse then was too suspicious, and the evasion of my Royal grandmother when I asked was more telling.'"

"As he was speaking to me then, I remembered he was playing this game on his table. When he was done, he had this exact setup on the board, and he asked me the exact question I asked you now: 'What do you observe?'"

Prince Fei had never heard this part of the story, but he knew his father was the best strategist he had ever known – a quality he now found in his son. Everything happening now in the court today was set in motion by his father years ago from his study room. He could have lived longer than he did, but he stopped taking his medicine. The only people that knew then was just me and the man in front of me. Even his own death was part of his strategy

The old man sighed, refilled his tea cup and Prince Fei's cup, and took a sip, reminiscing about the former prince. "Before Prince Zichen left for war, he played a game of Go with me, and this was the exact game he played. He told me that when he returns, the black stone will move from defense to attack and gradually win the game by eating up the whole white stones."

He broke off, turned his eyes upward, and said, "Your Majesty, it won't be long now." There was a feeling of melancholy and agony in his voice. His eyes strayed off and landed on Prince Fei. "Your Highness, what's the news from outside?"