28. A Manly Man’s Pride
“This is all based on the host’s actions.”
The system’s voice remained calm as always.
But Gong Yiling scoffed. “What actions? Are my actions not manly enough?”
“Compressing true essence to the point of resembling a post-orgasmic girl, does the host think this qualifies as manly?” The system’s question was sharp.
Why did it have to bring that up again…
Gong Yiling blurted out, “Is that my fault? Are you sure it’s my fault?”
She was flustered.
So flustered that she spoke the words aloud instead of thinking them.
Qiu Shui, at the door, heard her and asked, “Master, are you alright now?”
“Mmm-hmm… yes.”
“Then Qiu Shui will take her leave.”
“Wait!” Gong Yiling stopped her. “Qiu Shui, come and help this Palace Master, I mean, help Master with her makeup. Master will take you to dinner later.”
“Okay.”
The image of Qiu Shui from earlier, looking very… alluring, was still fresh in her mind. Entering the room, she saw Gong Yiling applying makeup in front of the mirror.
From the reflection, her cheap master seemed even more beautiful, and this feeling intensified when Gong Yiling turned around.
Red lips, skin like congealed fat, eyes like a startled swan.
She knew Gong Yiling was a beauty, having blossomed into a woman capable of captivating countless men.
But… the current Gong Yiling was even more stunning, beyond beautiful, almost otherworldly.
Even Qiu Shui’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing her.
“Master seems to have become even more beautiful.”
As she applied the usual male disguise, Qiu Shui’s words almost made Gong Yiling faint.
She couldn’t accept this compliment!
It reminded her of the dangerous path she seemed to be treading.
“Good Qiu Shui, in the future, can you only use words like ‘cool,’ ‘handsome,’ and ‘regal’ to describe me? Please?”
Qiu Shui was puzzled. “Why…?”
Gong Yiling replied confidently, “Because Master likes to hear them.”
She didn’t want to be beautiful, absolutely not!
This was a manly man’s pride.
…
…
Gong Yiling spent the night in self-denial.
The next day, the owner of the stone gambling shop, the First Prince of the Heartflame Empire, Shangguan Qingyun, arrived early in the morning.
His visit was prompted by a few things.
First, he had planned to attend the auction, but after having his ticket stolen, he was left with nothing to do.
Then, he heard about the rare “talent” who had achieved a ten-loss streak at the stone gambling shop.
How unlucky could someone be to achieve such a feat?
So, he decided to stay in Cloudmist City, hoping to meet this fellow and perhaps have a meal together.
Making friends was never a bad thing.
In the afternoon, just as he was about to give up, a handsome young man entered the shop.
Compared to yesterday, the change in Gong Yiling’s appearance wasn’t something a simple disguise could conceal.
The First Prince was struck by his beauty, a strange feeling stirring within him.
As for Gong Yiling, noticing the man’s lingering gaze, she felt a chill.
This guy… wasn’t he into men?
But his clothes… seemed to be the attire of the Heartflame Empire’s royal family. So, he was the owner of this shop, the First Prince, Shangguan Qingyun.
“Where’s the shopkeeper?”
Gong Yiling deliberately ignored him, turning to the attendant. “Bring me some raw stones.”
“Right away!”
In front of the owner, the attendant was even more enthusiastic.
He had anticipated this customer’s return and prepared a large number of raw stones.
On Shangguan Qingyun’s instructions, this batch contained many valuable items, intended as a gesture of goodwill to befriend the young man.
This displeased Gong Yiling.
Because according to her appraisal, half of these stones contained various ores.
She didn’t want ores!
A small amount was fine, but what use were so many ores to her? She wanted spirit stones!
In a bad mood, Miss Gong didn’t even bother pretending, casually picking a few empty stones and having them cut open.
Shangguan Qingyun watched with a sigh.
A five-loss streak. This luck was truly absurd.
Then, as if in defiance, she picked a few stones containing ores, achieving a five-hit streak after her five-loss streak. She even managed to pick out rare ores worth about four times the price of the raw stones.
Hey.
Her luck with gambling seemed pretty good.
“Do you have any others?”
Miss Gong didn’t seem pleased.
She only wanted spirit stones, nothing else.
“Yes… we do.”
The attendant felt that the young master’s mood was worse than yesterday.
Did this young master have a peculiar preference, becoming unhappy when finding good things and happy when finding nothing?
What kind of logic was that? He had never heard of such a thing.
But…
Just as he was bringing another batch of stones, several people entered the shop.
Three elegantly dressed women and a plainly dressed girl.
The three women were beautiful, but their makeup seemed excessive.
In contrast, the unassuming girl, although ordinary-looking, had a certain sparkle in her eyes.
Gong Yiling immediately recognized the four of them.
They were Yan Zilan, Yan Ziyu, Shangguan Yunmi, and Yan Chuyue.
There was indeed such a scene in the novel.
Yan Zilan wanted to trick Yan Chuyue into handing over her mother’s heirloom, a valuable ancient jade.
So, she brought Yan Chuyue to the stone gambling shop, pretending to help her earn money, but actually planning to collude with the First Prince to scam her.
Of course, Yan Chuyue wasn’t so easily fooled now, with her Divine Physician’s space able to accurately identify the contents of the stones.
In the end, Yan Zilan suffered the consequences, almost losing everything.
After this incident, Yan Zilan never dared to confront Yan Chuyue alone, realizing that her cousin had changed completely and was no longer the helpless pushover she once was.
Oh ho… this was interesting. She could watch the drama unfold.
Leave a Reply