Scarred Hearts — A Girls' Love Tale - Chapter 13

“Once you’ve taken care of everything, come back right away,” Luo Qinghan said as she bent down to straighten the cuffs of Yan Shuangfei’s pants. “I’ve already prepared your new clothes. Save them for Christmas. Your old shirts—I’ve had the maids press them. Don’t move. I’ll help you put them on.”

Yan Shuangfei stayed completely still. Her injuries had made it so she couldn’t even dress herself anymore.

“What about underwear?” Luo Qinghan said, frowning. “I don’t think we have your size.” She turned to the wardrobe and rummaged around for a while before finally pulling out a flimsy piece of fabric. “This is all I could find. Do you want to make do with it?”

Yan Shuangfei carefully picked up the palm-sized item between her thumb and forefinger, looking conflicted. “Maybe not. I still have gauze wrapped around my left chest. It wouldn’t be comfortable to wear.”

Luo Qinghan paused, head lowered in thought for a moment. “Alright. But it’s cold outside, so you need to wear more layers. Especially now—you can’t catch a chill.”

She helped Yan Shuangfei into a fleece-lined coat. Though Yan Shuangfei hated dressing so bulky in winter, she obediently put it on under Luo Qinghan’s firm gaze.

“Don’t kick the blanket off at night. No one’s going to tuck you back in,” Luo Qinghan nagged as she helped her.

“Mm.” Yan Shuangfei gave half-hearted responses. The bl00d loss—both from her upper and lower body—had drained her complexion. Her lips were as pale as her skin. Luo Qinghan, bewitched by this sickly beauty, leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

“Do you want to wear a scarf?” Luo Qinghan asked, holding up a black knit one.

Yan Shuangfei shook her head. She hated scarves. Having something wrapped around her neck made her feel suffocated, like she was being strangled.

Luo Qinghan picked up a comb and gently brushed Yan Shuangfei’s long hair, which now reached her waist. Yan Shuangfei had started growing it out at age ten—the same year they were separated.

“There. All done.” Luo Qinghan stepped back, satisfied with her work, and waved for Yan Shuangfei to head out.

“I knew it. The moment I saw you all neatly dressed, I figured you’d been with her again. You haven’t come back to the main house these past few days,” Yan Huaiyuan said. He leaned on a cane, but walked without any sign of instability. He turned to the bookshelf and pulled out a box of chess pieces. Glancing at Yan Shuangfei’s arm, which was still in a sling, he asked, “How’s the injury?”

“Almost healed.”

“Then come play a game of chess with me,” Yan Huaiyuan said, waving her over. “And tell your grandfather what you plan to do next.”

“Sure.” Yan Shuangfei didn’t hesitate and sat across from him. “Chinese chess? Grandpa, you haven’t beaten me since I turned seventeen.”

Yan Huaiyuan’s old face turned red for once. He was notoriously bad at chess. He used to rely on his age to bully her, and they’d win about half the time each. But after she turned seventeen, her playing style completely changed—sharp and ruthless. Since then, he hadn’t won a single game.

“How about a quick round first?” Yan Shuangfei asked.

Yan Huaiyuan decisively placed a timer by the board and took the red pieces to go first.

“I’ve heard about what happened with Yan Qi. But one person’s word isn’t enough. If you kill him without proof, it’ll cause unrest among the collateral branches. So, what’s your plan?” he asked during a lull in the game.

Yan Shuangfei frowned, eyeing the moves.

“Yan Qi has big ambitions. He holds quite a bit of influence among the collateral branches. He won’t be easy to deal with.”

Black moved the knight forward.

Red advanced the chariot.

“There are a lot of people in the collateral line, and many are untrustworthy. Yan Qi is just the most arrogant among them,” Yan Shuangfei said calmly, pushing her cannon to the red baseline.

“They’re bold because they think the main line is weak—because I’m young, easy to push around, and no match for them.” Her attacks were aggressive. She moved a knight into the palace, forcing Yan Huaiyuan to defend with only half his guard up.

“So, since they all think that way, I might as well make an example of one of them. If I give Yan Qi a legitimate reason to die, I’ll have a legitimate reason to kill him.”

“Check.”

She moved her king forward, shifted the chariot sideways—and check again.

Victory sealed.

Yan Huaiyuan was not pleased. He lost in under fifty moves—clean and precise, no wasted steps.

“Another round,” he grumbled, resetting the board while mimicking her earlier moves by starting with a cannon to the center.

Yan Shuangfei smiled faintly and used the classic “Immortal’s Guide” opening.

“I’ll keep asking then. You’ve thought about the internal threats—what about the external ones?” Yan Huaiyuan pressed.

“The four major families have deep roots and complicated ties. You can’t just take them out like that. They’re a force that can shake the Yan family’s authority,” Yan Shuangfei replied slowly, playing with a defensive strategy—raising her guards and patrolling the river with her chariot.

“If we can’t eliminate them all at once, then we’ll take our time. Chip away at the smaller parts. Eat away at them bit by bit.” Her chariot slowly swept away all of Yan Huaiyuan’s pawns.

“Go on,” Yan Huaiyuan urged, clearly hooked. He couldn’t help but admire her cold, decisive style—no less ruthless than he had been in his youth.

“The Chang family sides with the Luo family. The Shen family is close with the Han family. The four families are already tangled with each other. The Luo family has deep roots and a long history, but the upheaval eleven years ago seriously weakened them. Though they’ve recovered somewhat, they lost precious time. The Han family took advantage of that and has started to surpass them.”

Though she spoke smoothly, Yan Huaiyuan noticed her voice subtly trembled when she mentioned the Luo family—something she quickly covered up.

This child is good at everything—except matters of the heart. She’s too attached… it’s not worth it, he thought with a sigh.

“Even the most tangled roots can be cleared with time. In the end, we’ll strike the heart.” Yan Shuangfei capitalized on a mistake in Yan Huaiyuan’s calculation—her knight checked, then sacrificed a cannon for a chariot, gaining the upper hand.

She pushed forward, picking off more and more of his pieces.

“Yan Shuangfei!” Yan Huaiyuan finally shouted, watching his guards fall one by one. “Are you trying to wipe out my entire army?”

“Exactly.” Yan Shuangfei grinned mischievously and kept attacking relentlessly.

Yan Huaiyuan’s face darkened. His pride was hurt. Yan Shuangfei’s knights danced into his territory. He stopped struggling, turned off the timer, and admitted defeat.

She was completely out of line—disrespectful, defiant, a bully! Yan Huaiyuan was thoroughly annoyed.

Still, he swallowed the urge to scold her and looked down at the board.

Her strategy was undeniably brilliant. Step by step, each move carefully calculated with no wasted effort.

As he stared at the checkmate position, Yan Huaiyuan fell silent for a while. Then he looked up and asked seriously, “If one day you had a chance like this to defeat the four major families—would you ‘checkmate’ Luo Qinghan too? In other words, would you give up such a good opportunity for her?”

Yan Shuangfei froze, silent.

Because the answer was already in her heart.

I am a foolish ruler—through and through, Yan Shuangfei repeated silently to herself.