Chapter 1983
Not a Noble Consort 4
Upon learning that her older sister was going to formulate an infertility drug for men, Liu Tong gave her a thumbs up.
Although the emperor was his cousin and the empress dowager was his aunt, he sided with his older sister.
After more than a month of research, the two finally developed a drug to prevent pregnancy.
In fact, it only took ten days to create the infertility drug, and the next twenty days were spent researching the antidote.
At least give people a chance to regret it.
The Empress Dowager summoned Liu Qingya to the palace again.
She couldn't wait for Liu Qingya to enter the palace as a concubine, after all, the emperor was no longer a child.
But Liu's father firmly refused.
Mr. Liu stated that he would not allow his daughter to become a concubine.
Since the emperor doesn't want Liu Qingya to be emperor, then don't let the Liu family's daughters enter the palace.
Helpless, the Empress Dowager could only approach the Emperor and ask him to make Liu Qingya Empress.
But the emperor firmly disagreed, and even thought it would be better if Liu Qingya did not enter the palace, so that if Liu Qingya gave birth to a child, the empress dowager and Liu Huai would fully support that child to ascend to the throne.
And so, the situation remained deadlocked.
The emperor was in a bad mood, so he changed into casual clothes and went out of the palace with his personal eunuch Liang Yun to clear his mind.
The emperor had practiced martial arts since childhood and was quite skilled, comparable to a top-tier martial arts master.
Liang Yun's martial arts skills were superior to the emperor's, after all, he was responsible for protecting the emperor.
The two of them can leave the palace without worrying about safety.
The two walked around the streets and noticed a group of people running in one direction, which piqued their curiosity.
Liang Yun grabbed one of them and asked, "Why are you running that way?"
Passerby: "I heard someone is challenging Qingyun Pavilion."
Qingyun Pavilion is very famous in the capital. It was built by the sister of the previous emperor and was originally a refined place for scholars to exchange ideas.
As they chatted, the group started competing.
The person who wins first place in the five competitions of Go, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and music will become the head of the five pavilions of Qingyun Pavilion, receive 10% of the revenue of Qingyun Pavilion, and also gain fame.
This made many people flock to the position of Pavilion Master.
Anyone who claims to be capable can challenge the Pavilion Master, and the Pavilion Master cannot refuse.
Therefore, the turnover rate of pavilion leaders is very fast.
Sometimes, several pavilion masters can change within a year.
However, there are also those who are exceptionally high-ranking and remain firmly in the position of Pavilion Master for ten or twenty years without anyone successfully challenging them and pulling them down from their positions.
Currently, the five current leaders of Qingyun Pavilion have been leaders for several years, with the youngest having served for six years.
People in the capital are all betting on when these five pavilion masters will be brought down.
Now that they know someone is challenging Qingyun Pavilion, everyone is incredibly excited and rushes off to watch the spectacle.
Emperor Dongfang Zeng was also very curious and excited, and immediately took Liang Yun to Qingyun Pavilion.
Upon arriving at Qingyun Pavilion, the emperor produced a token and was invited inside by the gatekeeper, who then arranged a good seat for him on the second floor.
The emperor turned his head and looked around, and found that the second floor was already full of people. They were all people who had heard the news and came to see the excitement. They were all important figures, otherwise they would not be allowed to enter Qingyun Pavilion.
He also saw the four Liu siblings to his right, some distance apart.
Therefore, the Liu family members only bowed to him and did not come over.
The emperor felt somewhat uncomfortable.
In the past, Liu Qingya would cling to him whenever she saw him, which annoyed him to no end.
But seeing him so cold now made him feel very uncomfortable.
He suppressed his slight annoyance, stopped looking at the Liu family, and turned his gaze to the hall below.
The Liu family members also ignored the emperor and turned their attention to the hall.
Besides the five pavilion masters of Qingyun Pavilion and the servants of Qingyun Pavilion, there were only two young men in the hall.
One was tall with handsome features. The other was petite with delicate features.
Although the petite woman had somehow made her skin dark and yellow, concealing most of her radiance, Liu Qiu, Liu Qingyu, and Liu Qingya still recognized that she was a woman disguised as a man.
Liu Qingya: "The disguise is too crude."
Liu Qingyu nodded: "She didn't even cover her throat. Anyone who pays close attention can tell that she's a woman."
Unlike them, when they travel the world disguised as men, they were so careful to conceal all their feminine features.
The two introduced themselves: one was named Gong Fan, and the other was named Mu Ying.
Liu Qingya: "Gong Fan? Could he be related to Gong Yi?"
Liu Qingyu carefully examined Gong Fan's features and said, "There is a slight resemblance."
Liu Heng: "I wonder how Gong Yi is doing. He said he had to go home to handle some family matters. I don't know if it went smoothly or not."
All four of them knew that the family matters Gong Yi mentioned were probably related to him being chased and killed.
The family is so power-hungry that they're even capable of murder. I wonder what kind of den of dragons and tigers the Gong family is.
Liu Tong spoke up: "It's starting."
Liu Qingyu and the other two immediately stopped talking and focused on watching the match.
Logically, one person should challenge one pavilion, but these two people actually want to challenge all five pavilions.
This greatly angered the Fifth Pavilion Master.
The challenge begins.
The first game was a game of chess.
Gong Fan was the one who exited the station.
Gong Fan and the owner of the Chess Pavilion sat on opposite sides of the table, playing chess.
Next to them hung a very large white cloth, with horizontal and vertical lines forming a huge chessboard.
Two servants stood in front of the white cloth and placed the velvet chess pieces on it according to the moves made by the two players.
In this way, everyone present can clearly see the direction of the game between the two players.
The chess master's chess skills are beyond question, and Gong Fan's chess skills are also extraordinary.
The two were truly evenly matched, locked in a tense game that lasted all day without a clear winner.
In the end, Qingyun Pavilion sealed the chess game, to continue tomorrow.
Dongfang Zeng watched with great interest and reluctantly returned to the palace.
The four members of the Liu family also returned to the Liu residence.
The next day, they rushed to Qingyun Pavilion early in the morning and found that they were not the first to arrive; many people had already come and were waiting for the game to continue.
Fortunately, Qingyun Pavilion provided breakfast, so everyone was able to avoid going hungry.
Dongfang Zeng could only leave the palace after he finished processing the memorials, so when he arrived at Qingyun Pavilion, the chess game was already in its final stages.
The master of Qingyun Pavilion defeated Gong Fan by a single move.
Gong Fan did not appear discouraged despite his loss; his composed attitude won everyone's favor.
In fact, the fact that he lost to the Chess Pavilion Master by only one move is enough to show how skilled he is at chess.
Although he lost the match, his reputation spread.
Of course, it's a good reputation.
Gong Fan clasped his hands in a fist and said, "In the art of chess, I have lost. But I am not very skilled and would like to challenge the Pavilion Master of the Book Pavilion."
The Pavilion Master of the Book Pavilion stood up and stepped forward: "I accept your challenge."
He had been immersed in magic for decades and couldn't believe he would lose to a junior.
The servant brought over the exact same writing implements.
The two of them began to write.
The head of the calligraphy studio completed the work in one swift stroke, and the servant hung it up, winning a chorus of applause. (End of Chapter)