29. The Formula for Victory
Seeing the young man again made Yan Chuyue’s heart race.
She recalled their encounter on the floor, her hair falling on his shoulder, his hand on her chest…
Ahhhhh.
As the author, she only wanted to see what the male characters looked like; she hadn’t intended to seek romance in this unreal world.
But… she couldn’t ignore this man who wasn’t part of her original creation. She was intensely curious about him.
What was his name? Who was his master? Was he married? What was his family background? What was his personality like…?
During their brief encounter, she should have at least asked for his name, but a small misunderstanding made her forget the most crucial thing.
Even now, Yan Chuyue regretted her impulsive slap.
However…
She hadn’t expected…
To meet him again here. She wondered if he would recognize her in her current appearance.
“Isn’t that Princess Anyue and the young ladies from the Yan family of Qingyue City?”
Another attendant greeted the four women as they entered.
While Yan Zilan was explaining the rules to Yan Chuyue, Shangguan Yunmi whispered something to the attendant, who relayed the message to Shangguan Qingyun.
Shangguan Qingyun looked impatient but nodded indifferently.
They were probably discussing how to swindle Yan Chuyue out of her jade.
Gong Yiling, while diligently absorbing spiritual energy from the raw stones, kept her attention on Yan Chuyue.
She wondered if Yan Chuyue would play along and then turn the tables, as she did in the book.
“Sister Chuyue, let me tell you,” Yan Zilan began her scheme, speaking earnestly, “This stone gambling shop has other ways to play besides just gambling on stones.”
“Other ways?” Yan Chuyue, still preoccupied with the young man, asked absentmindedly.
“Besides buying and gambling on stones, there’s also a head-to-head gambling method,” Yan Zilan explained. “Each of us chooses a raw stone, and we also randomly pick one for the shop for a blind gamble.”
“After cutting all three open, everyone involved pays ten times the market price difference to the person with the most valuable item.”
“Ten times…” Yan Chuyue blinked, feigning difficulty. “But I don’t have that much money.”
“Don’t worry, two of us will gamble against the shop. We have a higher chance of winning. Even if one of us wins, we wouldn’t ask our sister to pay ten times the market price, right?”
In reality, the stone gambling shop didn’t have such a rule.
Did they think the shop owner was stupid? If four or five people came together and each picked a stone, how unlucky would the shop have to be to end up with the most valuable one?
If everyone cooperated like Yan Zilan suggested, the shop wouldn’t last an afternoon!
However, this clumsy trick was perfect for deceiving the foolish Yan Chuyue.
They had already planned everything.
To ensure Yan Chuyue wouldn’t get lucky, they would replace their chosen stones with high-grade spirit crystals, ensuring they tied with the shop.
High-grade spirit crystals were even more valuable than high-grade spirit stones. Ten times the price difference would make Yan Chuyue cry.
Then, they would offer to accept her jade as payment.
That was the plan.
In the novel, Yan Chuyue deliberately chose a “wild” high-grade spirit crystal to tie the game, and in the next round, she used psychological tactics to trick Yan Zilan into buying a worthless piece of scrap metal for a high price.
Finally, Yan Zilan, enraged, confronted her, only to be blackmailed for hush money.
But Gong Yiling wasn’t satisfied with that outcome.
The shop was also involved in the scheme but didn’t suffer any consequences. She had to make them pay as well.
“The problem is… I don’t know how to choose…”
Yan Chuyue continued to act like a clueless novice, hesitant to participate.
Finally, Yan Zilan whispered in her ear, “Sister Chuyue, if you want to keep your engagement, you need to dress up and buy some beautiful jewelry.”
“With me by your side, you just need to pick a random stone and wait for the money to roll in.”
“Is it really that simple?”
“Don’t you trust your little sister?”
“Hmm…” Yan Chuyue pretended to think for a moment, then finally made up her mind. “Okay then.”
Yan Zilan secretly rejoiced—My dear sister, I’ll make you… cough up that jade!
The drama unfolded before Gong Yiling’s eyes.
Yan Chuyue acted like a complete novice, picking a large stone from the pile.
Yes, the kind specifically used to trick newbies, with less than a 1% chance of containing anything valuable.
With this, the jade was as good as theirs!
The shopkeeper and Yan Zilan, through their underhanded dealings, obtained raw stones containing high-grade spirit crystals, waiting for the moment of truth.
“Are you both sure?” The attendant asked casually. “Once the stone is cut, the outcome cannot be changed.”
Yan Zilan: “Yes, let’s begin.”
Yan Chuyue: “Mmm… I’ll listen to Zilan.”
Yan Zilan’s stone was cut first.
As the blade struck, her confident smile froze.
Not just her, but the attendant, Shangguan Qingyun observing from afar, and even Yan Chuyue were stunned.
The stone… was completely empty.
“How is this possible!?” Yan Zilan glared at the attendant. “Where’s my high-grade spirit crystal? How could there be nothing!?”
“This… even if you ask me, I…”
How could he explain?
He couldn’t reveal their scheme. If there was nothing inside… it could only be attributed to bad luck.
“Sister Zilan, don’t be angry.” Although Yan Chuyue sensed something was wrong, she smiled gently. “My stone will definitely be better than the shop’s. Let’s cut mine open first.”
“You…”
Yan Zilan wanted to drop the act, but she held back.
With Shangguan Yunmi’s connection, even if the First Prince disliked her, he wouldn’t make things difficult for her.
Let this fool pay ten times the price difference.
However… this thought vanished the moment Yan Chuyue’s stone was cut open.
A brilliant purple light, almost bursting forth, with rainbow hues scattering within it, clearly indicated the presence of a high-grade purple crystal.
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