Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 41

Chu Chengyun's smile hadn't left his face since entering the town.

He was the third son of the current emperor, with elder brothers above and younger brothers below. Whether by legitimate birth or seniority, it would never be his turn to think much about the throne.

From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever told him he needed to strive for that dragon chair. Chu Chengyun's goal had always been to become a carefree prince living in leisure and freedom.

Though he was clever from a young age and skilled in poetry and literature, he was playful at heart, only hoping that someday his father the emperor would send him to his fief, where he could live freely and at ease.

But things went against his wishes. A few months ago, the emperor's condition worsened, and the imperial physicians were at their wit's end. Though no one said it outright, everyone could see that the current sage's time was approaching, at most within these two years.

Chu Chengyun discovered that his originally gentle and loving imperial brothers had all become aggressive and pressing, while his cute and obedient younger brothers had also started forming cliques in twos and threes.

The original brotherly harmony was overturned overnight. Chu Chengyun had never thought about the throne and was too lazy to fight or compete for it. Unfortunately, he had always had a reputation for virtue in court, especially among the civil officials, with whom more than half were on good terms. As a result, his brothers either wanted to win him over or wanted to eliminate him.

Finally, Chu Chengyun used a method that wasn't particularly clever:

He pretended to have become obsessed with paintings, spending his days collecting famous calligraphy and paintings, occasionally appearing ecstatic with joy or utterly heartbroken while holding a painting.

But as a prince, liking calligraphy and paintings wasn't anything new, and others didn't find it strange.

Chu Chengyun then changed tactics and began his long journey of causing trouble for others.

For this, he burned down the Prime Minister's study, smashed the Minister's Buddhist hall, shouted "Fish is what I desire" while catching all the fish from the thousand-carp pond in the imperial palace and roasting them on skewers to eat in public...

Regardless of whether others saw through his act of feigning madness, in any case, Chu Chengyun was granted the title of Prince Duan by the emperor, given a remote fief, and allowed to leave the capital for travels with no time limit. In other words: "You may not return to the capital without being summoned."

Ostensibly this was sending him away from the capital, but it was actually just getting rid of him, treating him like a troublemaker thrown out where out of sight meant out of mind.

Regarding this, the newly appointed Prince Duan not only didn't feel sad but was delighted. He brought along his princess consort, packed his things, and left the capital that very night with an air of eagerness.

After all, no matter what, he was still a phoenix son and dragon grandson. As long as he could safely reach his fief, he could fulfill his wish of becoming a carefree prince, which could be considered a perfect achievement.

Especially since he had eaten charcoal-grilled golden carp before leaving, the taste was delicious, making it all worthwhile.

However, Chu Chengyun discovered that his brothers hadn't let him go, even occasionally coming to test whether he had truly given up competing for the throne, which greatly annoyed Chu Chengyun.

What's more, some ministers in the capital stubbornly believed he wasn't avoiding the struggle for the throne but was emulating those historically patient princes who endured humiliation and bore heavy burdens, pretending to be mad and foolish while biding his time. They admired him even more, with letters of allegiance arriving one after another. They could hardly wait to elevate Chu Chengyun now so they could claim the merit of being dragon followers.

The more the ministers speculated, the more anxious the other princes became, directly causing Chu Chengyun to suspect whether these people who lived by speculation really had something wrong with them.

Especially after experiencing trials like poisoned tea, assassinations, honey traps, and other difficulties, Chu Chengyun became even more low-key, wishing he could transform into a common citizen and disappear without a trace.

All those brothers and ministers could just get out of his life.

Recently he had been doing well. It had been about a month since anyone had poisoned his food, which finally gave Chu Chengyun the courage to come out and walk around.

This time stopping here wasn't to avoid anyone, but because Chu Chengyun had rescued a talented young man. They enjoyed discussing poetry and literature together, and hearing that the flower lanterns here were exceptional, he decided to come see the excitement.

Unfortunately, he had originally arranged to come with Qi Ming, but Qi Ming had gotten separated from them. According to Ye Ping Rong's report, Qi Ming couldn't find them and went to wait at a wine shop. Chu Chengyun planned to watch the lanterns first, then meet up with his young friend later, so he simply brought his princess consort to stroll around.

Princess Consort Meng was the daughter of the current Prime Minister, originally a refined lady from a great family who was most precious and delicate. However, she was now willing to leave the capital with Chu Chengyun, and her dress was much more low-key.

However, Meng was still a woman who liked beautiful things. When she saw the jade rabbit lantern, she gently asked Chu Chengyun, "Husband, I'd like to go take a look."

Chu Chengyun had also seen the jade rabbit lantern. Hearing Meng's words, he immediately agreed, and the two of them walked hand in hand toward that stall.

Coincidentally, Qi Yun had also bid farewell to Manager Sun and arrived at the stall with Ye Jiao.

The two couples arrived almost simultaneously, but they didn't look at each other and instead all looked at the flower lantern.

Chu Chengyun was the first to speak: "Is this lantern for sale?"

The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache. Hearing this, he answered with a chuckle, "Young master, I don't sell this lantern, but you can rely on luck to see if you can get it."

This was novel. Chu Chengyun's face showed some curiosity: "What kind of luck?"

The stall owner pointed to the box in front of him and said with a smile, "Ten wen can get you one ball from inside. The items behind are divided into different colors. If it's black, you get nothing. If it's another color, you can take something."

Hearing this, Chu Chengyun couldn't help but say, "Isn't this just gambling?"

Ye Jiao was standing not far away, also examining this flower lantern. Hearing something new, she quietly asked Qi Yun, "What is gambling?"

Second Young Master Qi, now a ball of fur, had just finished his conversation with Manager Sun and was standing diagonally behind Ye Jiao. Hearing this, he lowered his head slightly and answered, "It's a game where you throw a handful of copper coins on a table and determine winners and losers by how many times the reverse side appears."

This sounded like a game, but when money was involved, the nature changed.

However, the stall owner obviously wasn't afraid of Chu Chengyun's question and said righteously, "From the first to the third day of the first month every year, you can play this kind of small game. As long as it's not more than 50 wen at once, the court allows it." After saying this, the stall owner smiled and asked Chu Chengyun, "Would you like to try, young master?"

Hearing this was a game involving stakes, Meng tugged on Chu Chengyun's sleeve and said softly, "Perhaps we should forget about it."

But Chu Chengyun was naturally playful and instead became excited, giving him 50 wen in copper coins and saying, "Alright, let me try five times first."

The stall owner cheerfully collected the money and placed the box in front of Chu Chengyun.

Chu Chengyun then reached his hand in, stirred around, and felt for one ball.

Black ball.

Meng quickly comforted him, but Chu Chengyun didn't mind and continued feeling.

Black ball, black ball, black ball...

Ye Jiao watched them for a while, then looked at the jade rabbit lantern again. She wanted it but didn't know how to ask for it.

This person had drawn five times, all black balls. It seemed this game wasn't very easy.

Little Ginseng thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any good solution.

At this time, Ye Ping Rong, who had been following behind Chu Chengyun all along, stepped forward. He didn't disturb Chu Chengyun but slightly spread his arms, seemingly blocking the watching crowd from getting too close.

But just then, Ye Ping Rong's eyes unconsciously swept to the side, and for the first time, his gaze moved away from Chu Chengyun and fixed on the woman wearing a red cloak.

He recognized this cloak. It was the one worn by the woman he had encountered on the street before.

At that time it was just a fleeting glimpse, and he had vaguely felt she resembled his little sister. He had roughly looked at her eyebrows and eyes then but hadn't seen anything else clearly.

But looking carefully now, these eyebrows, this mouth, this appearance clearly belonged to the same person!

Ye Ping Rong's heart jumped as he examined Ye Jiao's hair that was now done up in a married woman's style, thinking to himself: Has my little sister really married? But why is she alone on the street today? Today is the second day of the new year, which should be the day for married daughters to return home. Why isn't Second Brother accompanying her?

Obviously, Brother Ye had completely overlooked the Qi family Second Young Master wrapped up like a fur ball behind Ye Jiao.

He wanted to ask Ye Jiao about it, but since his prince was in high spirits, Ye Ping Rong decided to wait and see.

This entire train of thought showed not at all on Commander Ye's face, which remained indifferent and stern, unmoved as the wind.

At this time, Chu Chengyun asked, "Is that flower lantern your biggest prize?"

The stall owner nodded, "Yes, it is."

Chu Chengyun had already added money several times. Looking at the 20 black balls in front of him, he pulled down his money pouch: "Name your price, I'll buy it."

Meng was startled, then couldn't help but smile, though her hand was stopping Chu Chengyun's.

Her prince wanting to buy a flower lantern for her made her happy, but Meng knew that even if he paid, the stall owner probably wouldn't easily sell the lantern.

That jade rabbit lantern was meant to be the stall owner's method of attracting customers. How could he casually sell it?

If he sold it, what would he use to attract people to play for the next few days?

Sure enough, the stall owner smiled without responding directly, instead changing the subject. When his eyes fell on Ye Jiao, the stall owner proactively said, "This lady also seems to like it. Would you like to try?"

"Me?" Ye Jiao hadn't expected him to ask her and instinctively looked toward Qi Yun.

Qi Yun nodded at her. This kind of small gambling game was like ring tossing, just for entertainment. Playing once was fine.

Since the final result would likely be getting nothing anyway, Qi Yun had already decided that if they really got nothing, it wouldn't matter. There were lantern sellers nearby, and he could just buy his Jiao Niang a lantern.

Ye Jiao then walked over, looking at the box, then at Chu Chengyun's 20 black balls. After hesitating, she said, "I'll try five times."

The stall owner was just trying to change the subject, but now seeing business come to his door, he was naturally pleased. He immediately collected the 50 copper coins with a smile and handed her the box.

Chu Chengyun stepped aside, pulling Meng with him, but didn't pay attention to Ye Jiao. He was just pondering in his mind how much money it would take to make the boss part with the flower lantern.

But just then, he heard the boss's surprised voice: "Yellow ball, one pair of clay figurines."

...Hm?

Chu Chengyun looked at Ye Jiao in surprise, Ye Ping Rong was also slightly stunned, and Qi Yun's eyes also fixed on Ye Jiao.

To be honest, Chu Chengyun's 20 consecutive misses had made Qi Yun certain that this stall owner had probably stuffed hundreds of black balls inside with only a few colored ones mixed in. But now... how did she hit one on the first try?

Ye Jiao placed the yellow ball aside. She didn't like clay figurines, so she didn't look at them much and reached her delicate hand into the box again.

When her hand came back out, she was holding a blue one.

The stall owner's voice already carried bewilderment: "This... blue ball, one ceramic ornament."

Little Ginseng blinked and reached her hand in again.

"Green... green ball, this one, one brush rest..." The stall owner's voice began to stutter. After giving away this item, he picked up the box and shook it, afraid that he had somehow gathered all the colored ones together.

But this time Ye Jiao didn't reach in. Instead, she asked the stall owner in a soft voice, "What color is needed for that flower lantern?"

The stall owner turned to check the paper attached under the flower lantern before answering, "Red."

Ye Jiao nodded, but she didn't find what she had drawn strange. She had asked just to make sure this stall owner wasn't deceiving her, since what color corresponded to what was only his word, which wouldn't do.

For Little Ginseng, when she had eaten dumplings before, she only wanted to eat dumplings, so she didn't care about other things.

This time was the same. She only wanted the flower lantern, so in Ye Jiao's view, other things weren't important.

But she didn't notice that the surroundings had become somewhat quiet.

She reached her hand in and took it back out.

Ye Jiao opened her palm, first secretly looked at it herself, then the stall owner, who had also seen it, sat directly on the ground. Ye Jiao couldn't help but say "Oh" and finally smiled.

In her jade-like palm lay a bright red little ball, resting quietly.