Chapter 250: She Calculated Even This

A young servant held the melon as the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate strolled leisurely.

As he walked, the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate felt something prick his foot; he shifted it, the prickling stopped, but his instep felt uneasy again. He called the servant to quicken his pace and hurried back to the manor.

"Ho," the younger illegitimate brother ran over: "This melon tastes good."

"Go chill it in cold water," the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate said, sitting on a chair. He took off his shoes and looked, feeling depressed: "I wondered why my foot felt uncomfortable all the way; turns out it got pricked and broken."

The Second Young Master walked over: "How did you manage to prick and break your foot out of nowhere?"

After that, everyone fell silent. The Rong Young Master's Consort had said the Second Aunt was leeching luck, but the Second Aunt herself had no luck; associating with her brought nothing but trouble. They probably overthought it, so everyone tacitly avoided mentioning it.

A white-skinned sweet melon was sliced, and everyone shared it.

They were all growing boys with big appetites.

When lunch was ready and the dishes served, the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate was never stingy; every dish was a hearty main course. The young masters sat down happily to eat, then had melon after the meal.

The Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate liked to peel the melon before eating. Without noticing, he cut his hand—a small wound, but it bled.

The younger illegitimate brother hurriedly applied medicine. After a long pause, the Second Young Master said: "It seems the Rong Young Master's Consort was right; we can't help but believe it. Let's go to the Qin Yan Marquisate. Right now it's just minor illnesses and misfortunes, but who knows what will happen later. Let's get a definite answer and solve it once and for all."

The Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate felt uneasy too; something just felt off. Since childhood, he had been blessed, with everything going smoothly. Not quite everything he wished for came true, but close enough. Ever since his cousin's position was secured and his marriage set in motion, he'd been plagued by all sorts of minor illnesses and misfortunes.

The Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate narrowed his eyes: "Let's go."

In the middle of the day, the brothers rushed to the Qin Yan Marquisate.

Qin Yan was about to take his afternoon nap when he heard several young masters from the An Yuan Marquisate had arrived. He opened his eyes, clear and alert. Well, Qin Bi had guessed it. Qin Yan washed his face and went to the manor's main hall.

Qin Bi coaxed Rong Yang into a nap, then went to the front hall with Qin Xun.

Qin Yan noticed the small wound on the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate's hand, bright red. His eyes flickered; it hadn't been there when they arrived this morning. Qin Lang didn't pay much attention. Qin Bi glanced at it, sat down, and listened as Qin Yan and others exchanged greetings.

"Rong Young Master's Consort, I can give you ten low-grade teleportation arrays. I can also give you two more," the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate said earnestly. "But the condition is, you must convince me. Also, our family will not expel the Second Branch from the clan."

Qin Bi looked at the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate again. Even now, he was still backing down. Qin Bi smiled: "Convincing you isn't hard. Let's talk about your situation."

The Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate sat up straight. The Second Young Master, Lu Xin, took a sip of tea, intending to see if this Rong Young Master's Consort truly had the skills. If not, there was no need to spend ten teleportation arrays.

Qin Yan also drank tea, exchanging a glance with Qin Tang beside him. He just didn't know how Qin Bi would pull this off.

Most diviners rely on bluffing. Even if they have real skills, it's not much; bluffing is the main thing. Besides, with someone like Qin Bi and Qin Lang, who are only half-skilled, bluffing is the only way.

Qin Bi didn't start with any mysterious posturing. Instead, she looked at the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate's hand: "You cut yourself while peeling the melon, right?"

The wound was obvious, a small injury. The Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate looked down at his hand and nodded. The Second Young Master, Lu Xin, was surprised; his eyes were sharp, observing details closely. How could she tell it was from peeling?

"Your foot wasn't pricked, was it?" Qin Bi asked again.

The Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate's pupils contracted. The younger illegitimate brother froze, then turned to look at his elder brother. Brother, how could she calculate even that? The boy's eyes widened slightly, then he quickly composed his expression. This wasn't anything special.

Qin Yan and Qin Tang exchanged glances, observing the expressions of the Lu family young masters. They could guess something. Qin Lang pondered internally: Did she guess right or not? If she hadn't, Lu Xin would have spoken up long ago.

"Come, let me tell you about your Second Aunt," Qin Bi said, placing her elbow on the table. "During the recent small engagement ceremony, your Second Aunt treated you brothers to a meal, right? She served leftovers."

The Second Young Master, Lu Xin, stayed silent. Anyone who cared to ask would know about this.

Leftover dishes from a banquet; it's fine for family to eat them once. Stingy families usually invite clan members to eat leftovers to save money, and insiders don't complain.

"You've only eaten at your Second Aunt's house twice since you were a child," Qin Bi said, looking at the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate.

The Lu family young masters looked surprised. Qin Bi continued: "The first time, you were young. Your Second Uncle wanted you to eat. Your Second Aunt's maternal relatives were there too. They stewed a chicken. In your bowl, there was only one chicken neck and one chicken frame. You didn't get full."

The Second Young Master and others looked at the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate. Was that what happened?

The Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate was stunned: "How do you know?"

"Ho," Qin Yan's heart skipped a beat. So she guessed it right.

Qin Lang opened his mouth, utterly shocked.

Jiang Shi and Lin Shi arrived and listened carefully, piecing the story together. They hadn't heard the beginning and didn't know the situation, but judging by the expressions of the An Yuan Marquisate young masters, had they missed something?

Qin Bi didn't answer the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate. She moved on to the next meal: "The second meal was when your Second Aunt broke her arm last time. You gave her a lot of silver. When she returned from the medicine shop, she treated you juniors to a meal of crabs. Not enough to eat, half a bowl of rice per person. You even gave half of yours to your younger brother. The stewed chicken had gone bad, so no one dared eat it. So, you didn't get full that time either. The chicken, fish, and meat were all gifts from visitors. Not only was the chicken given to you bad, but her ribs were bad too. She stewed them for the sisters-in-law, but they wouldn't eat them, so she threw them away."

Jiang Shi signaled Qin Bi with her eyes. Bluffing people, there's no need to be so detailed. What if it doesn't match up?!

But the Young Master of the An Yuan Marquisate suddenly stood up, excited: "How do you know everything? That's exactly what happened! I didn't get full at either meal, and both times I ate chicken. Not a single good piece of meat was given to me."

Everyone in the hall froze. So detailed and still perfectly accurate?!

"And more," Qin Bi said, not surprised at all. "When your Second Aunt ran the general store, she often sent spoiled items to your Marquisate and the Third Branch. She'd send them, and you'd throw them away immediately after."

Everyone in the Qin Yan Marquisate suddenly looked at the An Yuan Marquisate young masters. The young masters were stunned. It was true. The Second Aunt would send spoiled goods as gifts. The Marquisate and the Third Branch were annoyed but too polite to say anything, so they secretly threw the items away later.

Who would go around talking about this? Even the Rong Young Master's Consort calculated it correctly.

"Yes," the Second Young Master, Lu Xin, was convinced: "You even calculated this?????"

"What's so special about this?" Qin Bi said. "I'm telling you this to show you that all of this is a scheme to leech your luck and fortune. Unknowingly, you didn't feel it. They gave you spoiled things, and you still treated them to a lavish meal. Even if you threw away what they gave you, they still achieved their goal."