Ashes to Crown

Chapter 86: Chapter 46: Name

Chu Garden suddenly seemed to have become much livelier.

Those entering and those leaving all noticed it.

Of course, Chu Garden had always been bustling, but it was a listless sort of energy. The initial novelty had worn off, and they had already figured out the extent of this girl Chu Zhao’s abilities. She certainly possessed genuine talent, but it wasn’t enough to awe the world.

Awing the world was hardly so easy. Not even one of them could achieve such a feat.

So for a young woman like Chu Zhao to arrogantly challenge the world was simply courting humiliation.

The young woman might win a few times, but she lost most of her matches. They had grown tired of seeing her humiliated. Now, they were just waiting for her to finally break, admit defeat, and put an end to it all.

But at this very moment, a stone had been tossed into the calm waters of Chu Garden, sending ripples spreading out once more.

"What’s going on?" "Did someone lose again?"

People began to ask around. Out of boredom, many had stopped watching the matches, preferring to admire the scenery in Chu Garden instead.

The servants in Chu Garden were very efficient, bringing whatever was needed right away. It was much more comfortable sitting here than going to a restaurant or teahouse.

Hearing the questions, a servant from Chu Garden immediately answered, "A moment ago, Young Master Peng Cheng defeated Miss Chu. Then, another young lady stepped forward to request a lesson in Go from Young Master Peng Cheng."

Huh? Another girl wants to compete?

Everyone was surprised and curious. Those who were about to leave turned back, and those who had just arrived quickened their pace.

The Chu Garden servants reacted quickly. "Hurry and tell Miss Ah Tang! Sales won’t be going down—they’ll be going up!"

When Miss Zhou ran out and shouted those words, Chu Tang, who had been engrossed in her accounting, was startled. She put down her counting rods and stood on the second floor, looking down.

"Has Ah Jiang lost her mind?" she said in surprise.

The servant girls standing by her side were uneasy. This was an unexpected development, and they didn’t know what to do. "Should we pull Miss Ah Jiang away?"

This whole series of matches was aimed at Miss Chu Zhao; she was supposed to bear all the trouble alone.

But if another young lady suddenly jumped in, what would happen to the situation?

Chu Tang looked down, unable to figure it out. This Zhou Jiang was just an ordinary young lady from an Aristocratic Family—obedient and gentle, with at most the little temper tantrums common to all girls. What was this madness?

’Is she standing up for Chu Zhao?’

"Miss Ah Tang, Miss Ah Tang!" A servant came hurrying up the stairs from below to relay the news of the growing crowd.

Chu Tang slammed her hand on the window railing. "Go! Tell Drunken Immortal Tower we’re adjusting our prices for tea and snacks! And Ximo Pavilion, too—we’re raising our prices! From now on, the literary collection won’t just be about Ah Zhao!"

With that, she glanced downstairs again, then looked away and walked back to her desk. She picked up her counting rods, had a servant girl record the numbers, and got back to her work with focused diligence.

’Whether Chu Zhao goes crazy or some other young lady goes crazy, that’s their business. I’m done with it. I’ll just manage my own affairs.’

...

...

The young ladies in the pavilion had all stood up, watching nervously from a distance. They didn’t dare to come closer.

Chu Zhao stood behind Miss Zhou, watching her place her stones one by one.

"So that’s how you’re supposed to play it," she couldn’t help but say. "I made a mistake on that move earlier."

Miss Zhou placed a stone down with a sharp CLACK and snapped, "A spectator should not comment on the game."

’So fierce.’ Chu Zhao just smiled and said no more. Across from them, Young Master Peng Cheng frowned, beads of sweat faintly visible on his forehead under the sunlight. This girl who had just appeared was indeed fierce—her style of play was fierce.

The girl seemed to play without even thinking, launching into killing moves right from the start, pressing him at every turn.

’A woman!’

Young Master Peng Cheng was furious, yet he couldn’t counter her moves. He could only retreat, step by step, until there was nowhere left to run.

He held a stone, unable to place it for a long time. The surrounding crowd was silent, each person deep in thought, but they all ended up shaking their heads.

It wasn’t that Young Master Peng Cheng was a sore loser. He simply forfeited the game, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"Don’t worry, Young Master. This doesn’t count as a loss to me," Chu Zhao called out quickly from behind him. "You can still say that I am not your equal."

How could he have the face to say that! Besides, even if he had beaten Chu Zhao, he had still lost to a woman. What was the difference! Young Master Peng Cheng flicked his sleeve and stormed away.

But this fierce Go player turned out to be just as brazen as Chu Zhao. She stood up, pointed at Young Master Peng Cheng’s retreating back, and shouted.

"You beat one woman and dare to boast so shamelessly, looking down on everyone? Do you really think no woman in the world is your match?"

She was throwing the insults Young Master Peng Cheng had hurled at Chu Zhao right back at him.

How arrogant!

A stir rippled through the surrounding crowd.

The expressions of the young ladies in the pavilions and corridors shifted from shock to confusion.

"Ah Jiang," one of the girls murmured. "I never knew she was so fierce."

You couldn’t tell at all before.

They had all grown up together and knew each other inside and out. Miss Zhou had always been a quiet, well-behaved girl who didn’t say much. Her family was known for its Go masters, so naturally she knew how to play and often played with her friends. But she had her wins and losses. She never showed herself to be a cut above the rest, and she was never so aggressive when she won.

Some were confused by Miss Zhou’s unfamiliar disposition, while others were baffled by her actions.

"Is Ah Jiang helping Chu Zhao?" Qi Leyun asked. "When did she become so close with Chu Zhao?"

Rushing out in a situation like this to teach a lesson to the man who defeated Chu Zhao—wasn’t that standing up for her?

This must be what the books describe as sticking your neck out for a friend, right?

A girl next to her chuckled softly. "You’re overthinking it. That’s not why she’s doing it."

Then why? Qi Leyun looked at her.

The girl said, "For herself."

What good could come from stepping forward at a time like this and provoking public anger? Qi Leyun was even more confused.

The other girl said no more, her gaze turning to Miss Zhou, who had taken Chu Zhao’s place at the competition table.

Miss Zhou was radiating a spirit she had never shown before.

...

...

Chu Zhao looked at the girl who had taken her place and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Miss... what is your esteemed name?"

The thirteen-year-old Chu Zhao might have known this young lady, but the current her had no memory of her at all.

’Is this young lady’s Go skill truly invincible? Why have I never heard her name in my past life?’

Before Ah Jiang could even speak, her grandfather would hold her in his arms and watch Go games.

By the time she learned to talk, she could already play against her grandfather.

At first, it was just a child’s game. But one time, she made a move that left her grandfather pondering for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. After that, he began to see her differently.

She began to study Go seriously with her grandfather. By the time she was ten, there were few in her family who could match her.

"If you were a boy, your grandfather could recommend you for the Hanlin Academy right now," her grandfather once said with a smile.

She asked her grandfather, somewhat confused, "Can’t I, just because I’m a girl?"

Her grandfather roared with laughter, and the rest of the family laughed along.

"Of course a girl can’t," her grandfather said with a mix of helplessness and regret. "A boy learns Go to make a living and establish himself in the world, while a girl learns it only for amusement."

Her mother, however, had a different take.

"A girl can also use Go to secure her place in the world, but that ’place’ and ’world’ is her future husband," her mother said, taking her hand. "Ah Jiang, you must remember: you play Go to please your husband. You can beat him, but you can’t always beat him. Whether you win or lose, your goal is to make your husband happy."

She did as her mother said. She hid her sharp edge, deliberately losing when she played. And just as expected, the people both inside and outside the family who had been unhappy with her after she beat them started to like her again.

But every night, she would sit alone under the lamp and play against herself, a fierce battle filled with both exhilaration and rage.

’I am clearly a master of Go, yet because I am a girl, I have to hide my talent.’

’The affection others showed me was bought with my repeated defeats. What meaning does that kind of affection even have?’

These past few days, she had watched Chu Zhao admit defeat time and time again, only to face the next challenge time and time again. Whether she won or lost, it was all on her own terms. Even if those men hated her, so what? She lost with satisfaction and won with abandon.

’Just a woman, merely a woman—so what!’

’I want to feel that satisfaction just once!’

Zhou Jiang turned back to look at Chu Zhao and said, "Once I’ve beaten all these men, you will know my name."

Chu Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then broke into a smile. "In that case, I wish you success in making your name renowned throughout Chu Garden."

After speaking, she stepped back.

Zhou Jiang’s hands, hidden in her sleeves, were trembling slightly. She took a step forward, looked at the crowd, and asked in a loud voice, "Who else? Who dares to face me in a match!"

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