Reincarnation to the Past

Chapter 81

Lì's POV

"Hahaha..." Feng Mian laughed awkwardly. "We were just joking, Yǔ-er... You don't expect your sister to do such a thing, do you??".

I clenched my fist in anger—now that they lost, they were trying to retreat while making Yǔ out to be a sister who couldn't take a joke and wanted to humiliate her sister.

"How heartless is the younger sister to even think of making her sibling do such shameful things?"

"I know... Isn't it obvious that the bet was just a simple joke??? How could she take it so seriously???"

"What an arrogant girl! Even after everything she's done, she still thinks that just because she won the bet, she's above others. She must have cheated!!"

"Isn't Li Lien the prodigy disciple of the Veiled Dragonic Pavilion??? How could she dare to get her to bear such humiliation?"

I struggled to keep myself from rolling my eyes at the snarky remarks and whispers. Had it been the other way around, they would have made it seem as though it was okay for me to court her. Anything to get on Li Lien's good side. Not only was she the beloved daughter of Prime Minister Li, but Li Lien was also the favored disciple of the Veiled Dragonic Pavilion, an all-girls sect well known for their difficult recruitment process and strict rules.

"Well, if Sister can't keep her promises, she doesn't have to-" Yǔ muttered in a wronged tone. She wasn't going to let her off, was she?? A look of relief washed across Li Lien's face, only to instantly disappear as Yǔ continued after a gap of a few seconds, a smirk dancing across her lips. "I'm sure sister Ying Yue and sister Feng Mian are willing to bear the punishment on their friend's behalf; after all, they were the ones who suggested the bet in the first place and forced sister Lien to take part. However, in that case, they will also have to get on all fours, oink like pigs, kowtow, accept me as their master, and then crawl out of here on all fours! And we can forget about sister Lien dishonoring herself." She finished with a shrug as she eyed Jiang Ying Yue and Feng Mian challengingly.

The two girls in question instantly turned pale and looked towards Lien, desperate for support, only to be met with a cold, hard glare. They clenched their fists, knowing they had no way out, and through gritted teeth, they dropped to their knees, oinked, kowtowed three times, and crawled the whole distance between where we stood and the entrance of the tent. Seeing the tears falling down their faces, I would have felt sorry, but I knew these types of girls better; had they won, they wouldn't have given Yǔ an out. I only regret Li Lien getting off scot-free!

"WOW, sister Lien!!! You have such a sincere friend, willing to shame themselves for you. If it were me, I'd never let my friend endure such shame alone."  Yǔ-er exclaimed innocently, feigning shock. She's a wonderful actress; I thought to myself, impressed. Li Lien, who had by now clearly come to herself, just stared at Yǔ in horror. Just as Yǔ had pointed out, she had cast aside her friendship to save herself without considering Ying Yue at all. She turned around without saying a word and rushed out of the tent.

Before I could comment, Yǔ turned around and made a beeline to the man who had purchased her stone. He had walked away immediately after making the purchase and was concentrating on a particular rock, quite uninterested in what had happened. Like a serious businessman, he wasn't interested in anything that wouldn't be an investment for him. Rumor has it that, other than his business, the only thing he shows interest in is his family.

I followed after, curious as to what she wanted from him. "I wouldn't buy that if I were you, mister." She voiced out in a sing-song voice, adorably tilting her head and grinning. Mr. Nan turned around and gave a curious smile. He seemed pretty soft towards her, which I guess is because Yǔ-er was around the age of his daughter.

"And why is that, little miss???" he inquired, clearly not believing her.

"It doesn't contain what you're looking for... I could show you those that contain what you want." came her somewhat vague response, accompanied by a confident smirk.

"And what makes you so sure you can pick the right ones??? Seeing that two out of what you picked were empty??" he retorted in disbelief. I guess to him, Yǔ-er was just lucky, but I knew better by now. Yǔ-er smirked, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "What if I already knew that???"

"Why would you... unless..." he started taken aback before realizing what she was hinting. She had purposely picked those two to make her sister's loss more impactful. "That's impossible... Even if you already knew that two of them were empty and one had a vast amount of qi, how could you be so sure that someone would buy it???"

"You looked rich." She said simply with a shrug. I had to struggle to keep laughing at how she spoke and the agape look on Mr. Nan's face.

"You mean you were targeting me from the start??? How did you even know the kind of qi that I wanted??? Or that I was rich, for that matter??? You've never met me before!"

"Although you are wearing such discreet clothing, a proper look can tell that they are made using the finest of fabrics, so I was pretty sure that you were rich, and as for the qi matter, I noticed you at the carving station when I was picking my rocks. Although you picked about ten rocks of different qis, you only kept three and sold off the rest at rather cheap prices, I might add. So I figured you were interested in that particular qi." she explained with a shrug.

Mr. Nan (surprised at her observation): And how do I know that you're not bluffing???

Yǔ (smirking): Then how about a bet???

Mr. Nan (curiously): A bet???

Yǔ (confidently): If I were to pick even a single stone that doesn't contain your desired qi, then I would pay you thirty times the amount you paid for the stone.

Mr. Nan (smiling, surprised): And where would you even get that money???

Yǔ entwined her hand in mine and rested her face on my upper arm (she couldn't reach my shoulder). "My hubby will pay, of course!" she said with an obvious tone. I had to keep from snorting at the way she had said it. She seemed pretty comfortable with the idea of owning my wallet, though if she asked, I'd most probably pay for it. Huh, maybe she does own my wallet.

Bai Zou's face was contorted in surprise at her outright audacity. Mr. Nan looked at me for confirmation, to which I just shrugged with a smile before shifting back to Yǔ with an amused smile. "And what do you want if you win???" he asked curiously, to which she responded with an innocent smile. "Well, I heard that you are a pretty powerful and successful man, so if I do pick them out correctly, you will owe me three favors and your indefinite support." I stared at her in surprise. To think that she had it all planned right from the moment the bet had been made. Most of her bad reputation would be cleared just by getting a mere acknowledgment from this man. Although he had no true powers, he was known to be a very smart man, well respected and trusted by the prominent families. If he said that an apple was a vegetable, no one would openly rebut him just to not get on his bad side. It was pretty clear what the result of the bet was. Yǔ won like it was nothing and easily received a promise to owe three favors from Mr. Nan. Seeing her potential, he seemed more than happy to support her. After he left, we paid for the rocks, and I escorted Yǔ home. I'd have liked to spend more time with her, but it had sadly gotten pretty late by then.