The Stunning Prime Minister

Chapter 20

Although the performance wasn't over yet, it was practically finished; the stories of Mulan and Zhu Yingtai had been told. Therefore, Yu Zhou decided not to continue. The curtain was already broken, and there was no reason to continue.

However, Jing Xieshang and the others looked at Yu Zhou and Yuan Yang with complicated expressions. They had some suspicions about the life-or-death scene just now. But seeing the two of them so calm, their doubts only deepened. Most people would scream in such a situation, but these 12 people didn't utter a sound. Meanwhile, the audience was screaming in terror. This was probably the difference between them and the ordinary students—they remained calm in the face of danger.

I think my prank went too far... so I need to finish quickly. *Sweat* Haha, Yuan Yang took advantage of me again... Sigh...

[Playing chess]

In the end, Yelü won the competition, meaning that the Martial Arts Academy won this match.

"Hua Qianmo, are you sure you're going for this one?" Yu Zhou asked, raising an eyebrow. Hua Qianmo picked up the chess piece, put it down, and put it back. She did this several times.

"Brother Hua, are you sure?" Yu Zhou asked again, smiling as he looked at the chessboard. Hua Qianmo hesitated for a moment, but then firmly said, "I won't change it!" Yu Zhou immediately picked up a chess piece and said, "Checkmate!"

Hua Qianmo stared blankly at the chessboard, looking bewildered. "How is this possible? I clearly saw your horse here." Hua Qianmo complained, looking at the chess piece in Yu Zhou's hand.

"Hua Qianmo, I'm not asking you if you're sure. You can't blame me now. I warned you." Yu Zhou said, putting away the chess pieces.

Hua Qianmo slumped down: "How about we do another one?"

"Hua Qianmo, you lousy chess king, a few more games and it'll be the same," Feng Youhuang said while playing chess with Shen Si.

Yu Zhou, on the other hand, needed to pack up her chess pieces. She had already won all three games and could finish early to return to her dormitory.

But Hua Qianmo kept bothering her because the competition was a two-on-one battle. The winner could leave first, and the loser had to fight the loser again. The last person left had to clean the classroom.

"Yu Zhou, Xuan Yuan, please don't go! I don't want to clean the classroom. Why don't you teach me from the side? Please!" Hua Qianmo clung tightly to Yu Zhou's clothes, whispering in his ear.

Yu Zhou frowned. This was very unfair, but if she was dragged down again, she wouldn't be able to go back, so she could only nod helplessly.

"Yelü Longxu, my opponent is actually Yelü! Yu Zhou, what am I going to do?" Hua Qianmo nervously grabbed Yu Zhou's sleeve. "Hua Qianmo, didn't you beat him before?" Yu Zhou shook her off and said.

"I'm talking about poetry, not chess. Chess tests strategy. He's a master chess player, Yu Zhou, are you confident?" Hua Qianmo said anxiously. "Hua Qianmo, if you don't shut up, I'm leaving," Yu Zhou said, getting impatient with Hua Qianmo's nagging.

Hua Qianmo immediately shut up.

Yelü Longxu sat leisurely by the window, holding a chess piece in his hand, his red robe open, revealing his milky-white chest. The others were already used to this sight.

"I never expected Xuanyuan to become a little follower too." She stroked her cheek with a charming and affectionate expression.

"Yelü, you freak, don't act so cheap." Yu Zhou retorted. Although she was forced to come, she just couldn't stand his more seductive manner than a woman's.

Yelü Longxu's face gradually turned pale. Although he didn't know what "demon" meant, he knew from the following words that it was definitely not a good term. But he still maintained his elegance: "Alright! You play this game for Hua Qianmo. If you lose, you and he will clean all the classrooms in the courtyard. Otherwise, I will clean them."

“No, the outhouse,” Yu Zhou said. Yelü paused slightly and said, “Alright, it’s a deal.”

This delighted Hua Qianmo. Not only did he not have to play chess, but even if he lost, Yu Zhou would accompany him. He had really come out ahead.

Everyone watched them with amusement.

A draw! Everyone watched as the game, which had progressed from morning till afternoon, ended in a draw. Yu Zhou hadn't expected Yelü Longxu's chess skills to be no worse than his own, and even to be so aggressive. One wrong move and Yu Zhou would have been wiped out. Yelü Longxu, on the other hand, hadn't expected Yu Zhou to play so well. He had set a trap for Yu Zhou, and if Yu Zhou hadn't withdrawn in time, he would have definitely lost. To everyone else, the game had resembled a battlefield.

"I never expected you could fight me to this extent." Yelü Longxu gently twirled a strand of hair. A light sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

"Likewise!" Yelü's moves were fierce and ruthless, repeatedly forcing Yu Zhou into a corner. However, his defense was prone to lapses, which Yu Zhou seized to break through.

Yu Zhou chuckled, and just as he was about to place his piece, a sudden itch in his lungs caused him to cough incessantly. The violent coughing made his piece loosen and fall, unfortunately landing in the worst possible spot. Soon after, he heard Yelü Longxu say with a smile, "Checkmate." Yu Zhou's face was flushed from coughing.

"Brother Hua, Brother Yu, please." Yelü Longxu said, pointing to the broom by the door. Hua Qianmo thought Yu Zhou would win, but unexpectedly, Yu Zhou's final cough caused the chess piece to fall to the ground early, which meant that he and Yu Zhou would have to clean the latrine today.

"Yelü Longxu, you took advantage of someone's misfortune! Yu Zhou could have won!" Hua Qianmo shouted.

"The winner is king, the loser is a bandit. He lost no matter what. You're not thinking of breaking the contract, are you?" Yelü Longxu narrowed his eyes, staring at Hua Qianmo. Hua Qianmo was speechless for a moment, but still wanted to continue. However, Yu Zhou stopped her with his words: "I admit defeat. No matter what happened, I lost. I accept my loss. Cough cough cough," Yu Zhou covered his mouth and continued coughing. The all-night rehearsal, coupled with yesterday's fright, had already taken a toll on Yu Zhou's body. After fighting from morning to afternoon, Yu Zhou's energy was almost completely exhausted.

"Yu Zhou, are you alright?" Hua Qianmo asked, watching Yu Zhou's face gradually turn from flushed to pale. Yu Zhou then took out a pill and swallowed it, weakly saying, "I'm fine, it's just an old ailment." This medicine was something her master had instructed her to bring, in case her old illness relapsed.

"Alright, you two. The outhouse is waiting for you!" Yelü Longxu said, pointing at Yu Zhou and Hua Qianmo.

Feng Youhuang said worriedly, "Should I help you?" Hua Qianmo looked at Feng Youhuang suspiciously. He was actually so concerned about them, or perhaps it wasn't them, but Yu Zhou. A sudden pang of unease rose in his heart. He immediately refused, "This is a matter between Yu Zhou and me, so there's no need for Brother Feng to worry about it." As he said this, Hua Qianmo felt a touch of sweetness. This was a matter between him and Yu Zhou, and only the two of them mattered.

Hua Qianmo would normally be overjoyed to hear someone was offering help. But he refused, even he himself found it hard to believe. Yu Zhou, on the other hand, didn't care; sweeping the latrine was nothing. Back in the day, her master had made her run errands to the latrines all the time. (She was often drugged by her master.) It could be said that Tianchi spent most of her time in the latrines. She knew the smell of the latrines intimately. Picking up the broom, she headed towards the latrines.

But she didn't see the thoughtful expressions on the faces of the others. She made them feel threatened.

[Cleaning the outhouse]

Hua Qianmo, holding the wooden bucket, tossed it to Yu Zhou's feet: "Little bean, hurry up!" Yu Zhou suddenly felt that Hua Qianmo was an ingrate. She hadn't been out for long before she started calling for the little bean again; when she was begging her earlier, she'd been calling him "Brother Yu" and "Xuanyuan" repeatedly.

"Hua Qianmo, you're so ungrateful!" Yu Zhou said angrily, his broom poised to throw at him. "Wrong," Hua Qianmo replied with a grin, "I'm usually the one who kicks away the bridge before I've even crossed it." She then symbolically shook her long-unused fan.

“Little bean, I suddenly thought of a couplet. Can you match it?” Hua Qianmo slapped her fan against the door of the outhouse.

Yu Zhou suddenly felt that Hua Qianmo should go to a mental hospital. Someone came to clean, and he actually wanted to compete with her in composing couplets. "Open the door to convenience! Little bean, hurry up and finish this!" Hua Qianmo said excitedly. Yu Zhou helplessly said, "Solve the worries of your rear end. And here's a horizontal inscription for you: A place for all to shit." With that, Yu Zhou strode into the toilet.

Hua Qianmo, however, stood frozen outside the restroom. She exclaimed, "Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! Little bean, you're amazing!" and followed her inside.

Yu Zhou walked in and froze. She could only describe it with one word: "stinky." She had initially thought her extraordinary senses were a good thing, but now it was the most painful thing of all. The stench filled her mouth and nose, making her feel like vomiting. Even Yu Zhou, who was used to the smell of toilets, couldn't stand it. But she knew that the toilets at Tianchi only housed the five of them, while these few toilets had been exposed to the stench of hundreds of people. This smell was unbearable for most people.

Hua Qianmo, who had just rushed in excitedly, was covering her nose with a fan and said in a strange voice, "Little bean, I've thought of another couplet. How about you come up with the matching couplet?" Yu Zhou didn't expect that Hua Qianmo would still remember to compose couplets even at this stage.

“Listen, the excrement falling into the pit shakes the stars in the sky (the stars refer to flies),” Hua Qianmo said, pointing to the object and several flies.

"Hua Qianmo, do you still want to eat today?" Yu Zhou lost his appetite after hearing this. "Little bean, you can't figure it out, can you?" Hua Qianmo said smugly, covering his nose.

"The excrement falling beside the pit reveals a vast landscape. The horizontal inscription reads 'Righteousness of Heaven and Earth.'" Yu Zhou scrubbed vigorously with a broom.