My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

"Old man, how have you been lately?"

"How about that? Nothing special? Prepare for the Northern Expedition, prepare to annihilate the Japanese!"

"What a coincidence, me too."

"How are you, Lao Liu?"

"What do you mean, 'so what'? It's just like that, isn't it?"

"..."

Several emperors sat in the room, staring at each other, supposedly chatting but actually engaging in awkward question-and-answer sessions.

Chen Mo came out of the kitchen and paused when he saw this scene.

The atmosphere is a bit awkward.

He thought for a moment, then turned and went into the storage room. When he came out, he was carrying a large tray.

On the tray were several dishes of melon seeds, peanuts, and candy, as well as a pot of steaming hot tea.

"Come on, come on," he said, placing the tray on the table. "Since you're just killing time anyway, have some melon seeds and some tea."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, and he reached out and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds.

"What's this? Can you eat it?"

Chen Mo nodded: "You can eat it, but you have to peel it."

Zhu Yuanzhang picked up one with some skepticism, put it in his mouth, and took a bite—

"Snap!"

Old Zhu's eyes lit up.

"Mmm! It smells good! Much better than the sunflower seeds we have back home!"

Old Zhu quickly grabbed a handful and handed it to Empress Ma, who was standing nearby.

"Hey girl, you should try some!"

Liu Che picked up a pill, cracked it open like Chen Mo, put it in his mouth, and nodded.

"It's really good."

Zhu Di also picked up one, peeled it open, tasted it, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"It tastes better than what I have in the palace. Bring some back for me."

Seeing their expressions, Ying Zheng pondered for a moment, then picked up one as well.

"Hmm, not bad..."

Chen Mo smiled.

He then pulled out a few more items from under the tray—several decks of playing cards.

"Come on, let's play something more interesting."

"Want to play Dou Dizhu again?"

Old Zhu's eyes lit up.

Chen Mo shook his head.

"Let's play Guandan!"

"Guandan?"

The group remained silent for a moment.

"The rules are similar, but you can advance, and there's a straight flush. At that level, hearts can be used as any hand..."

Chen Mo briefly explained the rules.

Zhu Yuanzhang was completely confused, but his eyes shone with an astonishing light.

"Sounds more interesting than Dou Dizhu! Why don't you give it a try?"

The others did not object.

Old Zhu pulled out a deck of cards and skillfully shuffled them.

"We're a family with the fourth brother! How about you two are a family too?"

Zhu Di smiled slightly and nodded to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Liu Che looked at Ying Zheng, who looked back at Liu Che expressionlessly.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then looked away.

A subtle atmosphere permeated the air.

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.

Can these two... just play cards properly?

The game begins.

In the first round, Ying Zheng was the dealer.

He straightened the cards in his hand and played a single card expressionlessly.

Liu Che glanced at it, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

The card Ying Zheng played happened to be the one he had the most of in his hand—he could have played it back and helped Ying Zheng pass the turn.

But he didn't answer.

He played a completely unrelated card, effectively blocking Ying Zheng's path.

Ying Zheng glanced at him.

That glance was as cold as ice in winter.

Liu Che casually picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Hmm, this tea is good!"

Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang exchanged a glance, both seeing a smile in each other's eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang played a card, and together with Zhu Di, they played two rounds.

Ying Zheng played his card again, this time a pair.

Liu Che had a stronger pair of cards, which could completely overwhelm his opponent.

But he didn't press it.

Ying Zheng's expression visibly turned several degrees colder.

Zhu Di played a straight at the opportune moment, and Zhu Yuanzhang followed suit, the two working together seamlessly.

"Hahahaha!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, "We're going to win this round with the fourth prince!"

Ying Zheng remained silent.

He silently looked at the cards in his hand, then silently glanced at Liu Che opposite him.

Those eyes conveyed four large words—

It is not enough to accomplish anything.

Liu Che seemed to sense that gaze and slightly raised his chin.

"First Emperor, why are you staring at me?"

Ying Zheng said calmly, "I'll watch you play cards."

Liu Che: ...

This sounds like a compliment, but why does it feel so unpleasant?

In the second round, Liu Che played his card first because he was at the end of the previous round.

He carefully selected a card and played it.

Ying Zheng had a winning hand, but he didn't take it.

He completely blocked Liu Che's path.

Liu Che's expression changed visibly.

"Emperor Qin Shi Huang," he said in a low voice, "are you playing cards or causing trouble?"

Ying Zheng remained expressionless.

"play cards."

Liu Che took a deep breath.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.

"Hahaha! You two are rivals, why are you sabotaging each other?"

Zhu Di smiled and added, "It's indeed difficult to fight if the opponent doesn't cooperate."

Ying Zheng and Liu Che exchanged a glance, then looked away from each other.

Both of them were thinking the same thing:

Blame him!

In the third round, it was Ying Zheng's turn to finish.

He learned his lesson and stopped expecting Liu Che's cooperation, choosing instead to work independently.

Release them one by one, suppressing them if possible, and pushing them up if possible.

Liu Che watched from the side, his feelings extremely complicated.

Does he want to help?

miss you.

But he had cards in his hand; he just didn't want to play the cards Ying Zheng had.

Ying Zheng played terribly!

This doesn't fit his tactics at all!

Ying Zheng was thinking about the same thing.

Liu Che was simply not worthy of being an opponent!

And so it went, one working alone while the other stood by and watched, occasionally undermining each other.

Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang cooperated perfectly.

Zhu Yuanzhang makes a move, Zhu Di follows; Zhu Di makes a move, Zhu Yuanzhang takes over.

The two fought back and forth, defeating Liu Che and Ying Zheng soundly.

"Two of a kind!" Zhu Yuanzhang threw out a pair.

"Pass." Ying Zheng said expressionlessly.

"Pass." Liu Che didn't accept.

Zhu Di smiled slightly and dropped a bombshell:

"It exploded."

Ying Zheng:  …

Liu Che: ...

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and cracked them open as he spoke.

"We won again! We won again! Fourth brother, aren't we just too awesome?"

Zhu Di smiled modestly.

"They cooperated well with their opponents."

Upon hearing this, both Ying Zheng and Liu Che turned their gazes toward each other.

Ying Zheng: What does he mean?

Liu Che: What does he mean?

The two looked at each other for a moment, then looked away.

In the fourth round, Liu Che could no longer tolerate it.

He looked at Ying Zheng and lowered his voice.

"Emperor Qin Shi Huang, we're rivals after all, can't we cooperate a little?"

Ying Zheng glanced at him:

"Cooperate? Did you cooperate with me just now?"

Liu Che choked for a moment.

"That's...that's because you played terribly!"

Ying Zheng remained expressionless.

"You played well? In the last round, you didn't play a single pair. How was I supposed to respond?"

"That's because I didn't have a suitable couplet!"

"I don't have any either."

The two stared at each other, neither willing to give in.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched with great interest, cracking melon seeds with a satisfying crunch.

"Hey, what are you two arguing about? At the card table, losing is losing!"

Zhu Di added with a smile.

"Yes, harmony brings wealth."

Ying Zheng and Liu Che looked at them at the same time.

Both of them wore smiles that suggested they were "talking without understanding the situation."

Ying Zheng withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.

Liu Che also took a deep breath.

The fifth inning begins.

This time, Ying Zheng decided to cooperate proactively.

He played a card and looked at Liu Che.

Liu Che paused for a moment, then played a card that he could follow.

Ying Zheng nodded slightly.

Liu Che's heart skipped a beat—could it be that he was to cooperate?

Then Ying Zheng played another card, and Liu Che played it again.

After two rounds of cooperation, the two managed to seize the right to play their cards.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "Oh dear, they've teamed up!"

Zhu Di smiled slightly and said, "No rush."

Sure enough, in the third round, Ying Zheng played a card, but Liu Che had an even bigger one in his hand.

But he felt he should save it for later, so he didn't accept it.

Ying Zheng's strategy has been blocked again.

Ying Zheng looked at Liu Che.

That gaze was so cold it could freeze you to death.

Liu Che coughed lightly: "Well... I think we should keep it..."

Ying Zheng remained silent.

He simply put down the cards in his hand and took a sip of tea.

I have done my best. Do as you please.

Liu Che: ...

Zhu Yuanzhang won again.

He grinned so wide his eyes disappeared, and patted Ying Zheng on the shoulder.

"Emperor Qin Shi Huang, it's alright, it's alright. Losing to us isn't shameful!"

Ying Zheng glanced at him expressionlessly.

Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze for a moment.

Zhu Di said leisurely from the side.

"Old man, please say less."

Zhu Yuanzhang said "Oh," withdrew his hand, and continued eating melon seeds.

The sixth inning, the seventh inning, the eighth inning...

Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang advanced triumphantly, winning one battle after another.

Liu Che and Ying Zheng were so defeated that their faces turned black.

But the two were still blaming each other.

Why didn't you take that card just now?

"I'm saving them for when I'm older!"

Liu Che was perfectly justified.

"You hit the big one? Did you hit him?"

"...It's not your turn yet."

Ying Zheng remained silent.

He picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

He had an expression that said, "I'm talking to you, I've lost."

Liu Che took a deep breath and looked at Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang.

The two people were happily sharing the snacks they had won.

Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth was stuffed full, and he spoke indistinctly.

"Fourth brother, this snack is delicious!"

Zhu Di nodded, picked up a piece, and ate it slowly.

Liu Che withdrew his gaze and looked at Ying Zheng again.

Ying Zheng remained expressionless, but a hint of something flickered in his eyes—

He couldn't explain what it was either.

Perhaps it was out of necessity.

Perhaps it's a sense of relief.

Perhaps, just a little bit—

funny?

Liu Che suddenly smiled as well.

The smile was light and faint, with a hint of self-mockery.

"First Emperor," he said, "aren't we being incredibly stupid?"

Ying Zheng glanced at him.

"It's not that I'm stupid, it's that you're stupid. You kept holding back the attack, and in the end, we couldn't get out."

Liu Che was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.

"Fine, I accept it."

He picked up his teacup and raised it towards Ying Zheng.

"Come, let's toast with tea instead of wine. Let's cooperate well in the next round."

Ying Zheng remained silent for a moment.

Then he picked up his teacup and gently touched Liu Che's cup.

They each took a sip.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw this from the side and started shouting.

"Hey! You two finally stopped arguing?"

Zhu Di smiled and nodded:

"Good thing."

Ying Zheng and Liu Che exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

But in those eyes, the hostility had lessened, replaced by something indescribable.

A new game begins.

Ying Zheng played a card and looked at Liu Che.

Liu Che nodded and continued.

The two worked together for two rounds, and then worked together for two more rounds.

They actually won!

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened: "Oh my! You two really cooperated?"

Liu Che smiled slightly, displaying a rare display of humility:

"It was the First Emperor who fought well."

Ying Zheng's face remained expressionless, but a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"You're not bad either."

The two exchanged a glance, then looked away.

But there was a hint of a smile in their eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood to the side, cracking melon seeds and shouting.

"No, no! You two can't coordinate! We're going to lose!"

"At the card table, it's normal to have both wins and losses."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and nodded.

"That's true."

"Come on! Let's play one more round!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a voice came from outside.

"What are you playing? You seem to be having so much fun! How about I join?"