Chapter 134 A Novice Who Loves to Play
Zhao Lü heard Shen Yulou tell him to leave, and he thought, how could that be? He had just found some fun, how could he just let it go?
But he couldn't lower his princely dignity to beg to play, so his eyes darted around, and a plan came to mind.
He cleared his throat, putting on an air of "This Prince is very generous."
"Ahem... Mr. Shen, is it? The new teacher sent by Imperial Father?
Logically speaking, a teacher is to be respected, and this Prince should show you some filial piety, so this meal today, it's on this Prince! Don't be shy!"
After speaking, he squeezed into the circle grandly and sat down naturally.
Shen Yulou saw through his little scheme and chuckled inwardly.
The Prince cared about his reputation, so Shen Yulou didn't expose him.
He clapped his hands and said to the girls, "Alright, that's enough for today. You may leave first."
The girls gracefully withdrew, and instantly only four grown men remained in the private room.
Zhao Lü was dumbfounded. What was the point of playing if everyone left?
He smacked his lips, still wanting more, and leaned towards Shen Yulou: "Mr. Shen, don't let them leave. Are there any new tricks? Let's have a few more rounds!"
"I'm tired today. Let's do it another day."
Shen Yulou stretched, looking completely unenthusiastic.
Seeing this, Zhao Lü stopped pretending and laid his cards on the table.
"Alright, stop beating around the bush with me. Tell me, what exactly does Imperial Father want you to teach this Prince? Let me make it clear first, that classical literature stuff gives this Prince a headache just listening to it."
"If you also want this Prince to study, you might as well give up now. This Prince would rather become a monk than study."
Shen Yulou leaned lazily back in his chair, a hint of world-weary wisdom in his eyes.
"Teach? Why teach?"
"Your Highness, to speak from the heart, I particularly admire you.
In life, it's all about eating and drinking. What's the point of struggling to death?
In the end, it's nothing but a handful of dust.
Like Your Highness, you eat when you should eat, drink when you should drink, and don't take anything to heart. That's truly living wisely, seeing through it all!
If it weren't for the Emperor's decree, giving me this lousy task, I wouldn't bother.
Life, ah, one should just lie flat!"
This fresh "lying flat" theory stunned Zhao Lü.
He had lived so many years, and everyone around him either urged him to improve or called him useless. This was the first time he heard someone praise him like this!
It was simply... a kindred spirit!
"Well said!"
Zhao Lü slapped his thigh, instantly feeling an immense closeness to Shen Yulou, "Someone! Bring the best 'Drunken Life, Dreamy Death'! This Prince will drink to his heart's content with Mr. Shen today, no, Brother Shen!"
The wine was brought quickly.
Shen Yulou filled both their cups, raised his own, but then suddenly changed the subject.
"However,"
He took a sip of wine and said slowly, "Your Highness, your 'lying flat' is fine, but your level of playing... is just too damn bad. It's an embarrassment to our imperial family. Don't say you're a student of mine when you go out in the future; I still have some face to save."
Zhao Lü almost spat out a mouthful of wine, stubbornly sticking out his neck, "Nonsense! When it comes to eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, if this Prince says he's second in the entire imperial city, who dares to claim first?
Just last time, to give my beloved general, 'General Ever-Victorious,' a grand funeral, I spent three thousand taels of silver and invited all the monks and Daoists in the imperial city to pray for its soul! This kind of generosity, this kind of spectacle, who else has it?"
The corners of the mouths of his attendants twitched. The Eighth Prince's beloved general was a cricket.
Holding a funeral for a cricket, spending three thousand taels of silver, and calling it a grand funeral, was simply the biggest joke in the world.
He brought this up, still beaming with self-satisfaction.
Shen Yulou was speechless.
This wasn't just a dandy.
This was an idiot!
Were all ancient rich second-generations this idiotic?
"That paper-passing game just now, do you know how to play it?"
Shen Yulou's single sentence choked him up.
Zhao Lü's face immediately flushed red, and he retorted stubbornly.
"That... that was because this Prince disdained playing it!"
He saw Shen Yulou's "you're just bluffing" expression and became anxious, "You teach this Prince some new tricks! Then this Prince will know how to play!"
Shen Yulou smiled slightly, picked up the dice on the table, and shook them: "Does Your Highness know how to play this?"
"Who doesn't know this? It's just comparing sizes!"
Shen Yulou shook his head, called a few girls to come back in, and handed each of them a dice cup.
"Let's play something more advanced, Your Highness, just watch carefully."
He briefly explained the rules, "Each person gets five dice, shake them and hide them. Then take turns calling. For example, if I call 'three fives,' it means I guess that among all the dice on the table combined, there are at least three dice showing a five.
The next player either doesn't believe it and reveals my dice, or they have to call a larger number, like 'three sixes' or 'four ones.'
Whoever guesses wrong drinks."
This new way of playing was quickly understood by Zhao Lü.
Shen Yulou and the girls immediately started playing.
"Four sixes!"
"Five ones!"
"I open!"
"Drink!"
Shouts echoed through the private room, and the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
Shen Yulou played with ease, making the girls giggle uncontrollably, and Zhao Lü watched from the side, eyes wide, filled with utmost admiration.
"Mr. Shen! This Prince wants to be your disciple!" Zhao Lü exclaimed excitedly.
"I am already your teacher."
"No! This Prince won't learn those useless classics and histories. This Prince wants to learn how you play!"
"Heh."
Shen Yulou smiled, "If you don't learn classics and histories, I'm afraid you won't even understand how to play."
"Nonsense! Which of the classics and histories teaches how to play? This Prince can play well without studying."
"Since that's the case, let's play a new game. If Your Highness can beat me, then I'll teach you whatever you want to learn in the future."
Shen Yulou had the madam bring a pile of bamboo slips and ink, and with a few quick strokes, he soon created a simple deck of cards.
Zhao Lü clicked his tongue in wonder: "What is this?"
"This game is called 'Art of War Cards,' also known as three kingdoms kill."
Upon hearing the words "Art of War," Zhao Lü's face fell. That was what he disliked the most.
Seeing his cowardly expression, Shen Yulou added fuel to the fire: "Eight people play together. The loser drinks and has to take off a piece of clothing. If a girl loses, she also takes off a piece."
Zhao Lü's eyes instantly lit up, like a hungry wolf.
"Play! This is good!"
This way of playing was novel!
Although he could pay the girls to take off their clothes, and they would.
But how could that compare to winning a game and having the girls willingly take off their clothes as a consequence of their bet?
Shen Yulou briefly introduced the rules: what a Lord, Loyal Minister, rebel, and spy were. Everyone was confused, but thinking of the exciting penalty, they all found it extremely interesting.
As a result, after a few rounds, Zhao Lü was completely dumbfounded.
When he was a rebel, he hadn't even touched the Lord's sleeve before being cut down by the Loyal Minister's flurry of blades.
When he was a spy, he barely managed to survive to the end, only to be struck dead by lightning.
The most infuriating was being the Lord, accidentally killing a Loyal Minister, which immediately resulted in divine retribution, and he had to discard all his cards.
After a few rounds, Zhao Lü had lost so much that he was left with only his underwear, shivering in the cool breeze.
"I'm not playing anymore! Damn it!"
He slammed the cards onto the table, shouting in exasperation.
"What kind of crappy game is this! One moment it's military strategy, the next it's history. This Prince doesn't understand any of it. It's too unfair!"
Shen Yulou said leisurely.
"If you're bad, practice more."
"If you're bad but still love to play, who are you going to blame?"