That night, in the courtyard pavilion of the Shen Residence, the spring air held a slight chill.
The wind brushed the bronze bells beneath the eaves, drawing one chime after another, their crystalline notes hovering on the edge of hearing.
Shen Duan sat at the table. He had already finished a pot of wine, and had been holding a black Go stone for a long time, poised above the board without setting it down.
Black and white stones lay scattered across the board, arranged as he had replayed a game alone after returning from court that afternoon.
The white stones were already trapped. One thrust from black would sever their great dragon.
Yet as his fingertip rubbed the stone's smooth edge, his gaze was elsewhere.
"The Crown Prince, heh! This move of Wei Zi's-I never saw it coming..."
"Ah!" Shen Duan set down his stone. Rather than speak, he sighed, then turned to the steward.
"Bring another pot of wine."
The steward said, "My lord, you have already drunk too much. You must not have any more."
At the steward's words, Shen Duan glanced sideways. A deeper sigh rose within him, and he said wistfully,
"Back then, the man who stood where you stand was Dao'an!"
"When Dao'an was here..." Shen Duan lowered his eyes.
"He spent only a year in the Capital, but that year, everything went smoothly for me."
(Xie Lin had spent only a year at the Hanlin Academy before leaving for Suzhou.)
"But, but where is Dao'an now?!"
The steward said, "Xie Lin now resides in Guilin Prefecture."
"Guilin..." Shen Duan murmured, then gave another cold laugh.
"Heh, hahaha!"
"If Dao'an were here, I would at least have someone to talk to.
Why, why is it that now...
I play my moves alone, my heart utterly