"The person that just left was my personal guard Yi Chen." Ge Mengshu said as she withdrew her hands from Si Ning's hold to carefully push her teacup to the side to create space for the board game she carried and placed carefully on the table to prevent the stones from shifting from its positions.
"From Xilie?" Si Ning asked, the name does not sound familiar and he also does not think the guard would be part of the Si Household and his mother spoke in the past tense which means he was not her guard anymore.
Si Ning also pushed his teacup aside like he was creating more space for the board game when his true intention was not to mistakenly drink the bitter tea.
"My father took him in when I was just a child and he had been my guard as early as I can remember." Ge Mengshu explained as she placed her hands on the edge of the game board.
"Is he coming back?" Si Ning asked pushing the teacup further away. He could still taste the bitterness left by the tea and he could not afford to mistakenly drink it again.
Si Ning watched his mother placed the pouch that contained the stone pieces of the game on the table. For her to place the game back on the table means she was ready to be open with Si Ning and knowing that made Si Ning's lips curled up in a smile.
"No." Ge Mengshu replied as she propped her head up on an elbow, she squinted and peered at the game board, her index finger tapping on her cheek.
Si Ning wondered what she was trying to see and he leaned forward folding his arms and also stared at the game board. "The game is unfinished." He stated the obvious.
"Hmm." Ge Mengshu sighed not showing any sign of confirming Si Ning's statement. She placed her finger on a white stone piece then moved it a step forward.
Si Ning was confused. "Mother, do you want me to continue playing with you?" He asked wondering if his mother expected him to play. He had played Go a few times and he was always motivated when a stake was on the game and he was only able to win a few times.
Seeing that his mother's full attention was on the game and she moved another white stone piece forward. Right then Si Ning knew she doesn't want to continue playing but why. Then it clicked that his mother was probably trying to see a message and this made Si Ning tilt his head and assuming he was in his mother's sitting position. After narrowing and widening his eyes a few times, the closest words it looked like the stones formed was 'Head.'
Head? What does this mean?
Ge Mengshu took a deep breath before packing all the stones at once and started pouring them into the pouch. "It is a message." She told him.
Si Ning already knew that but he had no time to give himself a mental award for figuring it out because he was confused why her guard would go through stress to leave a message for her on the game board when they were in the same room. It was going to be odd for them to just play the game without talking.
Or didn't they talk?
Si Ning wanted to ask why he left a message but he had to ask the most important questions first. "Mother, can I ask why did he came to Xiu?" First, he had to know the reason why someone from Xilie came to Xiu to see his mother then escaped through the window.
"Hmm, you are asking the wrong questions A-Ning." Ge Mengshu told him as she removed the game board from the table.
"No mother, I think I am asking the right questions, asking Mother why he came to Xiu will lead you to tell me about the message on the game board." Si Ning knew that would be killing two birds with one stone.
Ge Mengshu laughed lightly. "A-Ning don't you think being the Minister of Justice would have suit you better." She stated.
"....." Si Ning raised an eyebrow.
He does not want any Official post, being a General was troublesome enough that it kept messing with his head because he had to be perfect and a single mistake was not allowed which always lead him to overthink before acting and he had no time to enjoy himself and worst he had no time to walk leisurely around the capital and flirt with some beauty. Being the Minister of Justice would be more trouble and a nightmare since the person in the position had to deal with a lot of prisoners and even must apply some torture on them directly or indirectly.
"Little Ning is smart like his father." Ge Mengshu commented more like a whisper.
Si Yunsheng died when Si Ning was twelve years old and all Si Ning remembered was him acting spoilt and not taking note of what his father was capable of but he could agree his father was truly smart because when his father does his homework he always gets a perfect score and when his teacher tells him to write the solution to the assignment on the board, Si Ning would have crammed it and he never missed a step when writing on the board and he does the same for exams, cramming formulas and passing his exams even though he gambles and plays a lot but acing his exams was one of the reasons he was able to gain an admission abroad.
"No, he is way smarter." Si Ning admitted reaching for his tea and almost took a sip but stopped when his mother placed a hand on his cup.
"The tea is too strong." Ge Mengshu told him. "You need to rest that's why you shouldn't drink it because it can deprive you of sleep."
Strong or not, Si Ning wanted to jump up in joy for evading drinking the tea when his mother stopped him. Happy that he didn't drink it a second time made him quickly placed it on the floor.
"Mother, will you tell me about Yi Chen?" Si Ning asked.
Ge Menhshu took a deep breath then sighed as she leaned back. "Then I should start from the beginning, from how I met your father." She said before folding her hands on her lap and directed her gaze up like she was reminiscing the past.