Chapter 212: Obstruction

Hearing the door open, Old Chi did not look up, only said with some anxiety, "Your chess skills are excellent. Come quickly and help me see how to win this game."

Mo Junyan walked forward at a leisurely pace, scanned the board for a moment, picked up a black stone, and gently placed it down.

In an instant, the situation on the board shifted dramatically. The black stones, which had clearly been in utter rout just now, miraculously turned the tide.

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Truly brilliant." Old Chi stroked his beard and said with a smile, "To be honest, this one move had troubled me for a long time. I thought I was going to lose here, never expecting to find a way out of the dead end. Not bad, not bad." After saying "not bad" several times in a row, Old Chi slowly raised his head. His gaze fell upon Mo Junyan, the smile on his face slightly fading as he said in a low voice, "After many years apart, I never expected His Highness Prince Li to have grown this well." His eyes swept over Mo Junyan's legs, and he gave a faint chuckle, "I thought you would come to see me in a wheelchair."

"Greetings, sir." The ever-arrogant Prince Li unexpectedly performed a proper formal bow of apprenticeship. If word got out, likely no one would believe it.

"This old man is now but an ordinary commoner. I cannot bear the title of 'sir' from His Highness Prince Li."

"I have received your instruction since I was young, and my mother also addressed you as an elder. You naturally deserve to be called 'sir.'"

At the mention of his mother, Chi Zhongshan could not help feeling regretful. He sighed and said in a low voice, "I watched your mother grow up. Though she was born a daughter, she was inferior to no man in this world. It is just a pity that, in the end, her feet were bound by love, locked away in the deep palace. All her talents came to naught. In the end, she was held back by your imperial father."

Hearing this, Mo Junyan lowered his eyes, a trace of helplessness flashing through his gaze.

Old Chi's words seemed to be about his mother, but in reality, they were meant to awaken him to the truth, and also to declare his own stance—he did not approve of his relationship with Chi Nan Yi.

Seeing him remain silent, Chi Zhongshan could not help feeling anxious.

This brat was exceedingly shrewd. He had clearly caught the underlying meaning, yet was still playing dumb despite understanding perfectly.

"You and Yi'er..." Chi Zhongshan gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "What exactly is going on?"

Seeing him ask, Mo Junyan did not intend to hide it. After all, entering and leaving Chi Nan Yi's courtyard in the dead of night would inevitably arouse suspicion no matter how he explained it.

In truth, even if Old Chi had not confronted him today, Mo Junyan would have brought the matter into the open.

"I am fond of her."

"Nonsense!"

Sure enough, the moment his words fell, Old Chi slammed the table hard and warned sternly, "You absolutely must not set your sights on Yi'er. Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"What do you think? Look at how much older you are than her! It is simply an old ox grazing on tender grass! My Yi'er has just come of age, and what about you? Furthermore, that imperial palace is a man-eating cage that doesn't even spit out the bones. I will absolutely never agree to her marrying into it. Just give up on this idea!"

Chi Zhongshan's reaction was within Mo Junyan's expectations.

Chi Nan Yi had only just returned to the Chi Family. As the Chi Family's beloved darling, the old master certainly would not want her to enter the palace.

After all, given the Chi Family's prestige, even without entering the palace, Chi Nan Yi's choice of husband would not be a poor one.

"I am serious."

"I know you are serious, and precisely because you are serious, I forbid it all the more!" Chi Zhongshan's gaze locked tightly onto Mo Junyan, his eyes sharp as blades. "You are Prince Li, holding heavy military power, your renown illustrious. You are the son the Emperor relies upon and trusts the most, but so what? You still have to disguise yourself. What you face is the treacherous and turbulent court strife, the struggle for imperial power. Do not claim you have never coveted that supreme position. You are caught in the vortex—even if you do not wish to sink, it is beyond your control. The imperial palace is an abyss where every step is fraught with peril. You cannot even protect yourself, so what will you use to protect Yi'er? How can you give her a lifetime of peace?" Chi Zhongshan's eyes narrowed slightly, both fists clenched tight. "How did your mother die? Are you not clear on that? With her as a cautionary tale, why do you remain so obstinate? I will absolutely never let Yi'er enter the palace, much less allow her to follow in your mother's footsteps."

Hearing this, Mo Junyan clenched his fists tight, his knuckles turning slightly white.

Seeing him like this, Chi Zhongshan could not help but sigh and lower his voice. "It is not that I am heartless. I taught both you and your mother. In my heart, you are like a junior of my own family. But no matter who it is, in my heart, none of them amounts to even a ten-thousandth of Yi'er. I only want her to live well and not be dragged into your struggles." Chi Zhongshan looked at the chessboard before him. "Life is like chess, and people are like chess pieces. With every step taken, the path ahead changes. I do not know what step Yi'er will reach, but she will absolutely never end up at your side."

Mo Junyan had not uttered a single word throughout. Chi Zhongshan could not help frowning. "I have been talking here for ages and my mouth is dry. Did you understand me or not?"

"I understand." Mo Junyan nodded, then suddenly laughed out loud. "In the past, when you were teaching me, you always said I was the most intelligent person you had ever met. You have spoken so lucidly, so naturally I understand. But... this time, I do not intend to follow your advice."

"What do you mean?"

Mo Junyan raised his head, the smile vanishing from his face, his eyes filled with resolve.

"I am fond of her, and every word is from the heart. Since you know the perils of the imperial palace, then you should understand how rare true sincerity is within the imperial family. I treat her with true devotion, regarding her as a precious treasure. In this life, I will certainly protect her completely, will not trap her in the deep palace, and will not let her suffer the slightest grievance. The empire, imperial power, status—none of these, to me, are as important as her lifetime of peace." Chi Zhongshan never expected him to speak with such earnest sincerity.

But even so, it still could not change his decision.

"Even so, it is still not allowed." Chi Zhongshan shook his head. "The human heart is fickle. The sincerity of this moment may be real, but as time passes, the most difficult thing to endure is the human heart."

Hearing this, Mo Junyan raised his hand and said word by word, "I, Mo Junyan, swear by my mother's name: if I violate what I have said today, if I fail her, let me suffer eternal damnation, destroyed by heaven and earth." He looked at Chi Zhongshan. "If I say this, are you willing to believe me?"

Chi Zhongshan never expected that Mo Junyan would go to such lengths.

Just then, a Dark Guard's low voice came from outside the door, "Miss, why have you come?"

"Step aside."

"Miss, the old master said..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish speaking, Chi Nan Yi kicked him aside.

"So noisy. When I tell you to open the door, just open it. Where does all this nonsense come from?"

The Dark Guard rubbed his leg and sheepishly opened the door.

Chi Zhongshan's heart sank. Why would this little ancestor come here?

Entering the study, Chi Nan Yi looked at the familiar figure before her, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. Looking again at her grandfather, she unexpectedly felt the guilty conscience of someone caught in a secret early romance.

"Grandfather..."