The Weiqi Match

Xiao Jin led Lin Wei away from the palace's stifling halls to a hidden garden. Water splashed in a stone fountain, sunlight dappling through leaves. "A place to breathe," Xiao Jin said, a touch of weariness in his usually smooth voice.

On a table carved with dragons, a board lay empty, squares awaiting black and white stones. "Do you know weiqi?" Xiao Jin asked, and in his eyes wasn't scorn for ignorance, but a scholar's eagerness to share his knowledge.

Lin Wei knew war, not games. He listened as Xiao Jin explained encircling, capturing, the way simple rules held endless possibilities. As the first stones clicked into place, he was surprised. It wasn't unlike the empire's map, each piece a claim of territory.

Xiao Jin expected an easy win against Lin Wei. Instead, Lin Wei learned fast. He didn't merely attack, but built traps, turned Xiao Jin's strength against him. Like the echo of his own strategies against hidden foes...

"Impressive for a first game," Xiao Jin murmured, surprise in his voice. "Most here think in terms of court ranks, not empty space." Between moves, words flowed easier: frustrations with rigid ministers, a hunger for policy that helped the people, not just lined noble pockets.

Lin Wei listened, a file opening in his mind alongside the one marked 'Xiao Jin - Potential Ally'. They weren't friends, yet, but a seed of respect was planted. Was this all an act, another player in the grand game? Or could this fire be harnessed, used to scorch the corruption Lin Wei sought to destroy?

The match was closer than Xiao Jin expected. Too close. With a final stone placed, Lin Wei had carved out victory. For a moment, the court and its dangers fell away. It was simply two men, the board between them.

"You hide your skill well," Xiao Jin said, amusement finally replacing his surprise. "We must play again." The invitation hung in the air, more than a game. It was a bridge being built, a chance for Lin Wei to subtly shape the man's thinking.

He accepted, knowing each match was a move in a greater contest. As dusk painted the garden gold, Lin Wei walked back alone, the click of weiqi stones echoing in his head. Victory was sweet, but sweeter still was a potential ally within the enemy camp.

Then, a crumpled note was slipped into his hand. Lan Xin's scrawl, a single sentence that snapped him back to the war: The Iron Circles move tonight – a target larger than expected.

Xiao Jin, the garden, the game... it all faded. War called him back. But in that calm space, a new strategy had begun to take shape, and a potential pawn had taken a bold step closer to becoming a queen.