Hua Wu Que followed the little eunuch, winding his way through the Forbidden City. Soon, they arrived at a small courtyard filled with the fragrance of flowers. The eunuch looked around cautiously, then pulled Hua Wu Que inside, pushing open the door. Feeling the eunuch’s smooth and delicate hand, Hua Wu Que shuddered and quickly pulled away.
Princess Jianning was delighted that the servant girl she had sent away had not yet returned. Seeing his actions, she was somewhat surprised and looked him up and down, finally asking, "You really don't recognize me?"
Hua Wu Que finally noticed that the person in front of him was not the Wei Xiao Bao he had expected, but a young girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old. She had an oval face, thin lips, bright eyes, and her large eyes were staring at him with amusement.
He felt a pang of helplessness in his heart. The girl was so flat-chested, and she was wearing eunuch's clothing. It was impossible to tell she was a woman in the dim light, leading to this misunderstanding.
Seeing him ignore her, Jianning frowned slightly and said in a clear, melodious voice, "You have a lot of nerve! As a guard, you dare to leave your post and neglect your duty. Aren't you afraid of losing your head!?"
Hua Wu Que was moved by her threat. If she spread this around, his identity would inevitably be exposed. Since they were alone, he might as well kill her and avoid any trouble.
A murderous glint flashed in his eyes, and he was about to make a move, but then he heard the girl laughingly say, "Last time I heard from Huang Gonggong, there are many guards and eunuchs in the palace who often gamble privately. You just said you've been waiting for a long time. Did you have a date with Xiao Chunzi to try your luck?" She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad she hadn't mentioned her Emperor brother. This guard was handsome and hadn’t seen her before. It was quite fun teasing him.
Hearing her innocent words and misunderstanding, Hua Wu Que seized the opportunity. "Ah, I was too impatient. Tell me, how can I ensure this matter doesn't leak out?"
"I've begged them to teach me what gambling is, but they refuse. You must know! Tell me, alright?" She circled around Hua Wu Que, then stopped in front of him, pretending to be fierce. "If you don't agree, I'll shout loudly and call for the guards. They'll chop off your head!"
Hua Wu Que thought to himself that he didn't know where to find Wei Xiao Bao. The Forbidden City was too complex, and he was easily exposed alone. It might be better to entertain this girl for a while and use her as a hiding place. He pretended to be helpless and nodded. "Alright, consider myself unlucky today. Tell me what you want to know, and I'll tell you."
Seeing him agree, Princess Jianning cheered, ran to the inner room, and with effort, hugged a box and threw it on the table. Hua Wu Que looked inside, and there was a complete set of gambling equipment. He wondered where she had collected them.
Seeing his surprised expression, Jianning picked up a deck of playing cards and said proudly, "This is the stuff I use to blackmail them to supply me. Come on, come on! Teach me how to play this first!"
"That won't do! What's gambling without a stake?" Hua Wu Que deliberately teased her.
Jianning was initially angry at his refusal, thinking he was tricking her. She was about to unleash her anger, find someone to tie him up, and give him a good flogging. Then she heard his last words and thought they made sense. She turned and ran back into the inner room, rummaging through the cabinets and finding a delicate jewelry box. She hugged it in her arms and walked out proudly, showing it off. "This was given to me as a reward from Huang, er, Huang Gonggong. Let's use this as the stake. Is that enough?"
Hua Wu Que saw the box gleaming with gold, and the pearl and jade jewelry were clearly no ordinary items. He guessed that this girl’s identity was not as simple as it seemed, and he wanted to probe her. He picked up a phoenix hairpin from the box, then slowly put it back down, sighing. "These are definitely enough, but I usually gamble with the guards, and we always split the winnings when we leave the palace. Now that we're gambling privately, I can't take it out of the palace."
Princess Jianning was furious at his refusal again. She slammed the box on the ground, paced back and forth, and then kicked over a chair. "This won't work, and that won't work! So tell me, what stake will make you willing to teach me!"
Hua Wu Que stared at her, looking her up and down, making her feel a little uneasy. He finally smiled, "That's easy. Let's use our bodies as the stake. Deal?"
Although Princess Jianning was young, she had been taught about men and women by the nannies around her. Hearing his words, she thought he was making some kind of shameful request. She quickly covered her chest and backed away a few steps. "Although you’re good-looking, don’t even think about it!"
Hua Wu Que saw her misunderstanding and shook his head with a smile. "At your young age, you have such filthy thoughts. I meant whoever loses, the other person slaps their hand. Where did your mind go?"
No one dared to joke with her like this. Although Jianning was a little embarrassed, she refused to admit her mistake. She grabbed the playing cards, threw them on the table, and urged Hua Wu Que to start quickly.
PS: The female characters in "The Deer and the Cauldron" are mainly based on Stephen Chow's film version, with Jianning based on Qiu Shuzhen's portrayal.