Governor Mansion.
Bao Shu and Tan’er went off to ruin the flowers grown by Steward Cen, while Lu Yuan, for once, found a mont of peace and sat in the pavilion reading a book.
Yu Zichuan was perched atop the pavilion roof, tinkering with his large bow.
Lu Yuan turned a page in his book, shifted slightly to the left to avoid a loose brick, then raised his hand to the right, catching a tile mid-air. With a couple of deft movents, he caught three tiles perfectly.
Throughout the entire process, his gaze never left the book in his hand, accurately anticipating all of Yu Zichuan’s ho-wrecking maneuvers.
By the ti he finished reading the last page, Yu Zichuan had completed his demolition job, and Lu Yuan stood up and left the pavilion.
The roof of the pavilion promptly collapsed with a bang.
Lu Yuan arched his brow casually and descended the steps.
"Grand Commander."
Qing Shuang suddenly appeared, pushing aside the flying debris with a single palm. "Yu Zichuan, next ti don’t tear things down like this. Find an empty spot if you must demolish sothing."
Yu Zichuan, now dangling upside down from a tree branch: "Oh."
Lu Yuan twitched the corner of his mouth.
Qing Shuang got straight to the point: "Grand Commander, the troublemaker at Madam’s shop today was Princess Wanping. She demanded that Madam leave the Grand Commander, offering Madam a thousand taels of gold and the title of Commandery Princess. Madam, however, refused."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and murmured in acknowledgnt.
Qing Shuang continued, "Then, Madam made a bet with her, on the Grand Commander as the wager."
Lu Yuan: "..."
At the teahouse, Princess Wanping arrogantly sipped her tea, speaking with exaggerated tones: "What do you want to wager with this Princess? Surely not a fight? Fine, this Princess has many experts under her command, you can choose anyone for a duel."
What a joke!
With Chen Long at her disposal, who could possibly defeat him?
A seasoned gambler would never bet on a guaranteed loss.
Wait, why am I thinking of myself as a seasoned gambler?
With a serious furrow of her brow, ng Qianqian wondered where these chaotic gambling thoughts were coming from.
Clearing them from her mind, ng Qianqian offered Princess Wanping a soft smile: "Princess is soone of great elegance; fighting and brawling tarnishes a royal’s dignity."
Princess Wanping responded lazily, "Music, chess, calligraphy, painting—pick any of them, as you like."
ng Qianqian sighed dramatically, "Who doesn’t know Princess Wanping’s talents surpass many? If it weren’t for the prohibition against won in officialdom, the court would surely reserve a seat for the Princess. Competing in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting with the Princess would be self-humiliating. I’d lose before even placing the bet—Princess, isn’t this a bit unfair?"
Flattery never fails.
Princess Wanping cleared her throat, adjusted the bejeweled hairpin on her bun with one hand, even her voice now softened: "Then tell , what wager do you propose? This Princess will go along with whatever you suggest."
The female official accompanying her hurriedly intervened: "Princess! Do not agree to everything; if by chance—"
ng Qianqian chuckled, "Princess, have no worries. If you find it too difficult, you can always refuse—just pretend we never made a bet today."
Princess Wanping snorted, "Enough with the nonsense."
ng Qianqian stated, "I am part of the Twelve Guards, and the Princess has Twelve Guards as well. Why not take one month to see who can recruit more of the Twelve Guards?"
After the Chu Grand Marshal’s death, the Twelve Guards fractured and scattered, each acting on their own. Recruiting them was easier said than done—not even a shadow of them can be found.
Princess Wanping cast ng Qianqian a suspicious glance: "Isn’t this wager a bit too difficult?"
ng Qianqian spread her hands: "Too simple and it loses aning. I thought about it carefully, and this wager is the fairest for both of us—neither has an advantage over the other."
Indeed, only two of the Twelve Guards had been spotted in the Capital City thus far. Lin Wan’er barely counted as half of one—and Lin Wan’er was Consort Li’s subordinate, with Consort Li being at odds with both of them.
Princess Wanping mused, "If soone dies..."
ng Qianqian replied, "The Token counts too."
Princess Wanping’s eyes flickered. If she could recruit Lin Wan’er, wouldn’t that an victory?
It sounded simple, but was incredibly difficult. Originally, her brother’s imperial throne had been snatched by Consort Li’s son—she hadn’t spared Consort Li any trouble since.
ng Qianqian remarked lightly, "If the Princess doesn’t dare to wager with Little Nine, then let’s just act like I never brought it up today."
Princess Wanping coldly retorted, "When has this Princess ever said she doesn’t dare? A bet it is! This Princess will not shy away from you. If you dare renege a month from now, don’t bla this Princess for being rciless!"
ng Qianqian smiled, "Agreed."
Princess Wanping departed grandly with her entourage, and the governnt officers surrounding the teahouse dispersed as well.
Liu Changsheng exhaled a long breath, though worry crept into his expression. Returning to the room, he said to ng Qianqian: "Boss, are you truly going to wager against Princess Wanping?"
ng Qianqian discerned the aning behind his words: "You don’t think my chances of winning are good?"
Liu Changsheng opened his mouth, hesitating, before admitting, "No, I don’t."
ng Qianqian humd in acknowledgnt: "You’ve seen through ."
Liu Changsheng froze.
He had expected the Boss to say, "Don’t worry, I have a foolproof plan."
Surprisingly, the Boss truly was gambling!
ng Qianqian’s odds were slim indeed. Princess Wanping not only had Chen Long as her trump card, but also the Pri Minister as her fallback. As for ng Qianqian, all she possessed was herself and a missing Ji Li.
If Ji Li didn’t return within the month, she would undoubtedly lose.
Even if Ji Li did return, Chen Long still had a significant chance of recruiting him.
ng Qianqian explained, "I just want to demonstrate to Lu Yuan that a person without weaknesses isn’t necessarily unbeatable. Sotis, winning is losing, and losing is winning."
Her wager was never about victory—her goal was leveraging the Pri Minister’s power to force more appearances from the Twelve Guards.
ng Qianqian rubbed her chin thoughtfully: "The first step is to back Princess Wanping into a corner—so she has no choice but to seek the Pri Minister’s help."
Liu Changsheng prided himself on his intelligence, yet at this mont, he couldn’t comprehend the Boss’s strategy.
Not understanding wasn’t critical—his duty was to trust the Boss and follow her lead.
Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the gates of the Governor Mansion.
Wu Ge’er lifted the curtain for ng Qianqian: "Miss, we’re ho."
ng Qianqian nodded and stepped out of the carriage.
Sitting on the doorsteps waiting for long was Tan’er, who suddenly stood up, clutching a candied haws snack, and ran towards ng Qianqian: "Sister! Big trouble happened!"
"What is it?" ng Qianqian asked.
Tan’er exclaid, "The matter about the wager with Princess Wanping has reached the Grand Commander! You used him as the wager, and he’s very, very angry!"
ng Qianqian’s temple throbbed painfully: "So quickly... found out? Who blabbed?"
Tan’er tilted her head: "Qing Shuang said it."
ng Qianqian facepald. Qing Shuang, must you tell everything? Can we still pleasantly remain as sisters?
The speech she had ticulously prepared along the way was now useless—an enraged Lu Yuan wouldn’t listen to a single word of reasoning!
ng Qianqian murmured, "Should I hide out in Feng Shui Alley for a bit?"
Tan’er sternly said, "You can’t hide! Mom said n get really angry if you don’t cheer them up!"
ng Qianqian asked, "How do I cheer him up?"
Tan’er rolled her eyes skyward, pondering, then declared with vivid emphasis, "Mom also said, inside every man’s heart lives a little child! However, you cheer up Treasure Piggy, that’s how you cheer him up, and it’ll surely work!"
ng Qianqian muttered hesitantly, "You’re sure... the way I cheer up Bao Shu will work?"
Tan’er pouted and nodded decisively: "Yes!"
It was way too much of a stretch for her, but... an angry Grand Commander was no trifling matter—
"...Fine, I’ll give it a try."
ng Qianqian braced herself and headed toward the study.
Just as Tan’er predicted, Lu Yuan was furious beyond asure. The intensity of his anger practically radiated, suffocatingly tangible, as soon as she entered the study.
Truly, she had been too carefree lately—she’d forgotten just how terrifying he could be.
"Little Nine pays her respects to the Grand Commander."
She bowed respectfully.
Lu Yuan ignored her, his fury palpably growing more severe.
This was really going to happen. Tan’er, would your trick even work?
It’s do or die; might as well go for it.
ng Qianqian took a deep breath, approached him, and mustered every ounce of courage she had. Slowly, she reached out and picked Lu Yuan up in her arms.
Sitting herself down in a chair, she placed him on her lap, looking at him with deep affection and said, "Darling, I was wrong!"
A completely flabbergasted Lu Yuan: "...!!"
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