Ashes to Crown

Chapter 87: Chapter 47: Onlooker

The Little Wangchun Garden Literary Meeting had become the talk of the Capital City. In taverns and teahouses, people discussed it daily—who won these past few days, and who lost to that young girl of the Chu Family.

The literary collections from Ximo Pavilion were sold everywhere. Many people flipped through them in their leisure time to comment on the matches recorded inside.

At first, everyone just laughed.

Because the matches were far from brilliant. To scholars, they looked like the work of a stumbling toddler.

This was hardly surprising. For a young girl of only thirteen or fourteen, reading, writing, and the four arts were for entertainment and self-cultivation. How could she compare to men who relied on their studies to make a living?

But after a few days, the matches in the collections could no longer be skimmed over. One had to read them carefully. Although the girl still lost after they finished reading, people’s laughter was not as hearty.

Some even stopped laughing altogether.

”This young lady, not only has her spirit not been worn down by her losses, but she is actually learning and growing,” an older man remarked with a sigh.

This young lady started winning more and more. Her essays, her calligraphy, her Go skills—they seemed to take a leap forward every three days.

The literary collections laid it all out, clear as day.

Although the girl was arrogant and brazen, which people disliked, her eagerness and ability to learn were admirable. This combination of traits in one person also made for a better lesson for the children and grandchildren in their own families.

So, the Chu Garden collections, which had originally circulated in taverns and teahouses, also found their way into the deep courtyards of noble estates. The sons dedicated to their studies, the young ladies who never left their boudoirs, and the young wives serving their in-laws all began to read them, sparking even more debate.

”She is eager to learn, yes, but someone eager to learn should not be ashamed to ask questions. Instead, she chooses to be provocative.”

”You’re wrong. She wasn’t the one being provocative; others came looking for trouble first. I think when someone comes looking for trouble, you *should* be provocative.”

”Her scholarship isn’t even as good as mine. She won’t become a master just because of a few competitions. Why does Grandfather want me to learn from her?”

”She’s just showing off and being competitive, stirring up trouble for so many people. She’ll only end up disliked by everyone.”

But one day, a newly delivered collection made those who were flipping through it pause.

”Come look,” the girl called to her sisters. ”There’s a new name here.”

The girls gathered around and indeed saw a new name.

”Zhou Jiang,” the girls read aloud. ”I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere. Is she a young lady from the Zhou family?”

There were many families in the Capital City; not everyone knew everyone else.

”She must be a Miss Zhou,” their sister-in-law said, walking over to look. She pointed at the game record. ”The Zhou family are masters of Go. To win twenty matches in a row without a single loss, she must be from the Zhou family.”

Her expression held a hint of surprise.

”But in the Zhou family, it’s always the men who are masters of Go. I’ve never heard of one of the girls being so skilled. To think she’s this incredible.”

The girls all crowded around, shocked and curious. Although they didn’t often socialize with Miss Zhou, they had seen her a few times in the capital. She had always seemed plain and unremarkable, and they had never heard that she was skilled at Go.

....

....

At the Zhou family estate, a middle-aged man with a short beard walked in, hiding his face with his sleeve. He called out to the old man feeding birds under the veranda, ”Grandmaster.”

The old man glanced at him, but the middle-aged man kept his face hidden behind his sleeve.

”I was incompetent. I lost,” he said, his voice thick with shame. ”I have brought you shame, Teacher.”

The old man glared at him. ”Look at you, so pathetic!”

More people, over half of them young men, surged in, shouting, ”Grandfather.”

”Ah Jiang has gone too far.” ”How could she do this?” ”She’s going to bring disaster upon the Zhou family.”

The commotion made the birds on the veranda shrink back in their cages. The old man raised a hand and rapped it against a pillar. ”Quiet! All of you, quiet! Bring Ah Jiang here.”

In the inner quarters, upon hearing the summons, Zhou Jiang, who was sitting amongst the old madam and her sisters, stood up.

She hadn’t returned to Chu Garden since that day, nor had she mentioned the incident to her family upon her return, but she knew it couldn’t be kept secret.

At the time, Chu Zhao had said that all the matches from Chu Garden would be transcribed and compiled into a collection. ”Of course, Miss Zhou, if it’s inconvenient for you, I can have them leave yours out.”

’Even if they leave it out, so many people at Chu Garden saw it. It can’t be hidden.’ Zhou Jiang shook her head. ”Since I’ve done it, I’m not afraid of people knowing. Please do as you see fit, Miss Chu.”

Besides, she had her maids and attendants with her. After she had done something like that outside, her maids would certainly not dare to hide it from the family.

Sure enough, her family found out the very night she returned home. Her parents were furious and confined her. Three days later, when the collection went on sale, her name spread.

Her parents no longer dared to handle the matter themselves and sent her to the old madam to discuss how to deal with her. Before they could come to a decision, the Grandmaster, who usually cared for nothing but his Go studies, had sent for her.

”Ah Jiang, you’ve really angered your grandfather this time,” her grandmother said helplessly.

Zhou Jiang knew. It was her grandfather who had first taught her Go, and it was also her grandfather who had forbidden her from playing it again. She bowed to everyone and turned to leave.

Her sisters watched her go with complicated feelings. ”Ah Jiang, how did she become like this?” ”It’s all because that Chu Zhao corrupted her.” ”Poor thing. She’ll be sent out of the Capital City to the countryside, won’t she?”

....

....

When Zhou Jiang arrived, Grandmaster Zhou was reading the literary collection. A crowd of young men stood on the veranda—some were her brothers and cousins, others were Grandmaster Zhou’s disciples.

”I told you back then not to devote yourself to Go. It seems you didn’t listen,” Grandmaster Zhou said.

Zhou Jiang lowered her head and assented. ”I never put it down. I studied Go on my own and played against myself.”

Grandmaster Zhou slammed the collection down on the table. ”I knew it! You taught yourself, and learned with such a narrow perspective!”

Seeing Grandmaster Zhou’s anger, the young men all around followed suit, their eyes flashing with indignation. Zhou Jiang lowered her head and bit her lip.

”—Look at this move of yours, how terribly you played it!”

Huh? The indignant young men froze. Zhou Jiang looked up as well.

”Which one?” Zhou Jiang strode over to stand beside her grandfather and look at the game record in the collection. ”That’s impossible. I won this match.”

Grandmaster Zhou grew even angrier. ”Still not convinced? So what if you won? Look at how you played this game—so sloppy and indecisive. You won this time because your opponent was weak, not because you were skilled.”

As he spoke, he pointed to a spot on the game record.

”What if your opponent had made this move instead?”

Zhou Jiang looked down at the game diagram. At the touch of the Grandmaster’s finger, the entire state of the game shifted instantly. She frowned in thought for a moment before finally conceding, ”Then I wouldn’t have been able to win.”

Grandmaster Zhou snorted. ”At your young age, don’t get conceited.”

Zhou Jiang lowered her head and assented, tears inexplicably falling from her eyes.

She hadn’t shed a single tear these past few days, despite her family’s harsh criticism. But now, at this moment, the Grandmaster’s words made her unable to hold back any longer.

Was it because she was being scolded? No, it was because—

”Why did you go out to play Go against someone back then?” Grandmaster Zhou glanced at her, not asking why she was crying, but simply questioning her, ”Are you good friends with that Chu Zhao? Were you standing up for her?”

Zhou Jiang shook her head. ”No, I’m not good friends with Chu Zhao. We’ve barely spoken.”

A faint, unreadable smile touched Grandmaster Zhou’s lips. ”Then were you trying to show off? Did you want to display your skills in front of everyone?”

Zhou Jiang shook her head again. ”I don’t care about that. If I really wanted to show off, I would have started at home.” She glanced at the men standing on the veranda.

The men were annoyed by her glance. ’What does she mean by that?!’

Grandmaster Zhou laughed. ”Then why was it?”

Zhou Jiang said, ”That man was speaking so arrogantly, constantly calling her a ’little lady.’ He said a ’little lady’ wins a few matches and suddenly thinks she’s better than everyone. I couldn’t stand to watch such behavior. Hadn’t he just beaten a ’little lady’ himself? How could he be so conceited? There is always someone better, and learning has no end. If you say Chu Zhao is arrogant, wasn’t he just as arrogant?”

Grandmaster Zhou laughed heartily. ”Using your Go skill to put someone in their place... weren’t you afraid you’d lose?”

Zhou Jiang said, ”If I lost, I lost. It would just mean I have to study harder in the future.”

Grandmaster Zhou nodded. ”Good. Daring to lose and daring to win. You are worthy of being my granddaughter.” After speaking, he raised a hand. ”Go on. Let your grandfather see just how many you can win in a row before you finally lose.”

The reason she had cried earlier was because Grandmaster Zhou’s words had made her feel that her grandfather wasn’t blaming her. That feeling, it turned out, was real. And not only that, her grandfather was even telling her to continue—

Zhou Jiang looked at her grandfather, then rushed forward and threw her arms around his neck—it was the first time she had hugged him since he had forbidden her from studying Go.

”Grandfather, just you watch,” she declared, then hiked up her skirt and ran off cheerfully.

Grandmaster Zhou coughed a few times. ”This little girl is too strong. She nearly strangled me.”

Everyone else on the veranda was dumbfounded. They swarmed around him. ”Grandfather, what are you doing?” ”Grandfather, if you let Ah Jiang go to Chu Garden and cause trouble with that Chu Zhao, aren’t you afraid of angering the Third Prince?”

”What trouble!” Grandmaster Zhou slammed the table to quiet them. ”The Zhou family has always excelled at Go. My granddaughter is just playing a few games. How is that supposed to anger the Third Prince? When it comes to Go, what does rank matter? Back in the day, when I played against Your Majesty, I never once let him win, and Your Majesty didn’t chop off my head!”

With that, he stood up, had a maid take down the birdcage, and swaggered off.

The remaining group stared at each other in dismay, their gazes then converging on the middle-aged man with the short beard.

”Brother Ah Zhe, it looks like you won’t be Grandfather’s head disciple after all.”