Chapter 33
Chapter 33 – Bet
Hua Qiyue had found out from Qiuyun that her opponent would be Ouyang Liuer. What a coincidence indeed.
Hua Qiyue was not bothered at all by that discovery. Lv Xin and Youshui, on the other hand, were secretly worrying themselves to death about Hua Qiyue’s chances.
That night, Hua Qiyue did not enter that mysterious realm to practice. She decided she needed a good rest.
The following morning, Lv Xin had painstakingly tested Hua Qiyue’s breakfast with a silver needle for any kind of poison before allowing Hua Qiyue to consume her meal.
By chance, Hua Qiyue caught a glimpse of Qiuyun and saw that the latter’s hands were trembling slightly. It was as if something had rattled her. Hua Qiyue glanced at the dishes and soups in a laid-back manner. Shrewdly, she took a small sip of the chicken soup that had been prepared using Long Red and ginseng.
After breakfast, Hua Qiyue brought Lv Xin and Qiuyun with her to the tournament.
The arena had been set up in the north side of the capital. That part of the capital had always been vacant. Usually, most events would be held there during the festive seasons.
Hua Qiyue stood beneath the arena. Beside her, Qiuyun glanced at her anxiously. “First Miss, what would you like to eat something? I can go buy them for you.”
Qiuyun had asked her very politely.
Hua Qiyue raised her brows. “There’s no need for that. Go buy me a knife instead. A short one.”
Qiuyun left in a hurry after receiving her orders.
“Young Miss,” Lv Xin spoke to Hua Qiyue in a low voice after Qiuyun had left, “Qiuyun seemed a little bit on edge today. It’s like something’s bothering her.”
Hua Qiyue laughed humorlessly. “It’s not going to be a problem. Long Red could counter any form of poison. We’ve all drank the Long Red soup, so there’s no need to fear.”
Lv Xin was taken aback. It seemed to her that the young miss had seen through everything from the start. “But why didn’t she reveal anything?” Lv Xin thought.
Qiuyun returned with a dagger, which she respectfully placed into Hua Qiyue’s palm. Beside them, daughters from other families had begun laughing. All of them were looking at Hua Qiyue with derision and disdain in their eyes.
“Look, isn’t that Hua Qiyue?”
“Haha. The world’s greatest thrash.”
“Heard she’s worthless. Can’t even get her Qi flowing. Yet she’s here for the tournament!”
“That’s so strange. She has a death wish. Definitely has a death wish! She even bought a knife… tsk, tsk. She could buy a long sword for all we know and still end up losing!”
While the ladies were laughing and smiling, Hua Qiyue nodded at them courteously. “Ladies, do you really think I’ll lose?”
As she asked the question, Hua Qiyue wore an expression of pure, unaffected innocence, as if she was clueless about everything in the world.
“Of course. What, you think you can win with that trash-like ability of yours? Give me a break.” Ouyang Liuer laughed spitefully.
Hua Qiyue pressed her lips together. The scorn and ridicule were now flying in from all directions.
There was an elevated platform not too far away, where the princes and princesses sat. The occupants of the platform were clearly annoyed at the racket that was going on opposite them. They all had frowns of displeasure on their faces.
Yun Shimo sat in the front row of the platform. This was the first time he had seen Hua Qiyue outdoors. She was dressed in white today. Altogether, she resembled a bright, full moon. She was conspicuous among all the other ladies. One would recognize her at first glance.
The other ladies were dressed flamboyantly. Their plan was to attract the attention of the princes and be married to a husband of high social rank.
Yun Shimo frowned in displeasure when he noticed Hua Qiyue’s poise and composure. Beside him, Huangfu Xuan laughed derisively and mocked. “Can’t believe that nymphomaniac is here again. I bet she’s here for you!”
In truth, Hua Qiyue had not even spared anyone on the platform a single glance.
“Oh, yes. Trash like you should just go home. The Ji family won’t mind even if you flee before the battle starts.”
“That’s right. That’s totally Hua Qiyue’s style!”
“Courting death for no reason at all. I’ve really never seen anyone so foolish!” The women’s voices rang out continuously. Lv Xin’s face was flushed with shades of crimson. She wanted to step up to defend Hua Qiyue, but Hua Qiyue held her back.
“Don’t. I have ways to deal with them!” Hua Qiyue smiled harmlessly. Beside them, Qiuyun laughed contemptuously in order to maintain her pretense. “Young Miss, they are treating you with too much disrespect. In any case, you are still a daughter of the Hua’s Mansion. Why is it that every time someone from Hua’s Mansion is treated this way?”
On the surface, Qiuyun’s words sounded like an expression of grievance on behalf of Hua Qiyue. But in reality, all it did was to fan the flames. Those words had angered Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue maintained her smile of composure and stood up. “So does everyone here think I’ll lose?” Hua Qiyue asked aloud.
Derisive laughter burst forth in waves.
Opposite them, Yun Shimo had heard Hua Qiyue too. His frown deepened. “What the heck is this woman playing at?” he thought.
“Yes!”
“You’ll definitely lose!”
“You’ll lose in a way that will destroy all of Hua’s Mansion’s reputation!”
Nearby, Hua Mengshi and Second Madame sneered at Hua Qiyue, who looked naive on the surface. Joy and pleasure coursed through their hearts.
Today would be the day of Hua Qiyue’s death!
Now all the precious Long Red in the yard would go to them. They would be having the valuable tonic every day!
“Very well. Since everyone thinks I’ll lose, then why don’t we make a bet? If I lose, I’ll pay a hundred tales of silver to anyone who bet against me. But if I win, you’ll all pay me the same amount!” Hua Qiyue spoke loudly, her eyes seemed to be radiating folly.
More laughter and sarcastic remarks ensued.
When they saw Hua Qiyue’s money-grubbing behavior, all the daughters present thought it was true that old habits died hard. Before, Hua Qiyue was weak and boneless. Now she was a money grubber. “Tsk, tsk. It seems like Master Xuanji has miscalculated,” they thought.
“Very well. I’ll bet!”
Someone had shouted her assent immediately!
“I’ll bet too!”
“I’ll have a part in this too!”
Hua Qiyue blinked her eyes and looked around her innocently. “Words don’t count. I want it on paper. Whoever wishes to bet should write a note!”
At her words, the crowd became even more gleeful!
What they had all been fearing was that when she lost, Hua Qiyue would deny having made any form of the bet if there was no recorded evidence. They instructed their servants to bring them the paper, ink, and writing brush. They each wrote a note of attestation before handing it over to Hua Qiyue and her maidservant, Lv Xin.
Lv Xin’s face had gone pale in fright.
Even though the silvers had been pouring in like water ever since the First Miss took possession of the divine medicine, but heavens… these were all bets! Once they lost the bet, based on these notes… how could Hua’s Mansion afford to pay such huge sums?
It did not take long for Lv Xin to receive a huge pile of notes. “Qiuyun, take these back to the mansion and pass them to Butler Wang!” Hua Qiyue ordered casually.
As she gave out the order, Hua Qiyue’s lips took the form of a confident smile, which was eye-catching!
Lv Xin was already having a headache. “Oh my God! If these notes were passed to Butler Wang, then there’s really no turning back.”
Qiuyun took the notes obediently. After Qiuyun left, Lv Xin received a few more notes, though this time the handwriting on the notes was stylish and fancy.
“Prince Nan… Good Heavens, it’s Prince Nan’s note!”
Lv Xin screamed when she saw the name and date inscribed on the note. Hua Qiyue was highly amused by everything. She never thought that Prince Nan would place his bet.
Hua Qiyue gave the note a sweeping glance. Prince Nan had bet on her to win!
Hua Qiyue immediately looked towards the platform. Prince Nan sat there in a perfectly straight posture. Their gazes met. There was a twinkle in Hua Qiyue’s eyes, whereas Prince Nan’s were as cold as ice. Hua Qiyue paused in wonder. “I really don’t get what these men are thinking at all,” she thought.
Prince Nan had made it clear that he disliked her. He had even said that he would never want to see her again after Tianci was healed. But now he was betting on her to win?
Huangfu Xuan had sent over a note too, which contained a bet against her.
“Tsk, tsk… Looks like this bet had even drawn the interest of the royals,” Hua Qiyue thought. Because the Ji family was a house of divine medicine, the Emperor himself would attend the platform tournament this time. There were royal guards stationed all over the area in fear of anything that might harm the Emperor. Since Prince Nan had joined the betting pool, the rest of the royals were unwilling to be left behind. Soon, all the other royals placed their bets as well.
The number of princesses who were secretly in love with Prince Nan was not less. At the same time, the number of princes who bore malice towards Prince Nan was not less too.
Lv Xin retrieved yet another small stack of notes. Every single one of them was from princes and princesses. These items were hard to come by even with gold!
Other than Yun Shimo, the rest of the royals had wagered against her.
The royals never cared much about money.
But for these people to even take Hua Qiyue seriously, was it not because of the bet that Prince Nan had placed?
The tournament began. The first round was not the match between Hua Qiyue and Ouyang Liuer. Their match would be held in the tenth round.
The first round involved a Qi Art contest between two men. Both contestants were from prominent tribes. One was the beloved son of a magistrate whereas the other was the illegitimate son of a minister.
In tournaments like this, legitimacy of heir did not matter. After all, the tournament was a test of one’s skills and abilities. In good families, all sons, both legitimate and illegitimate, would receive the same level of nurturing.
In Tianyuan Continent, everyone’s emphasis was on the Qi Arts. Only one who had mastered the Qi Arts could gain everyone’s respect and thus secure a bright future.
To the rich and wealthy, the principles of pride and dignity applied to illegitimate sons too. If their illegitimate sons were inferior to those from another family in terms of Qi Arts mastery, it would still bring them shame and ridicule.
Hua Qiyue slowly sipped her tea, her eyes following the two contestants closely.
Both men were Qi Artists of the Oracle Profound stage. In just a short amount of time, they were matching each others’ movements relentlessly. As a result, their bodies were constantly in close proximity, as if they did not want to be separated from each other. It was impossible to discern the details of their techniques.
The Qi Arts emphasized the control of one’s spiritual energy. The idea was to gather sufficient spiritual energy on one’s palm before striking down one’s opponent. How the strike was to be delivered was entirely up to the user, which was why the Qi Arts did not usually have a fixed form.
However, certain tribes and families had fixed a series of techniques to be learned by their members. They thought learning the Qi Arts this way would be more stable and would preserve tradition.
After a short while, a loud bang was heard. One of the contestants was thrown into the air by one punch. He kept flying until he smashed into the railings that circled the arena. The wooden railings crumbled at the impact.
The man somehow ended up at Hua Qiyue’s feet. She lowered her gaze and saw fresh blood spilling from the man’s mouth. His entire body was convulsing. It seemed like he had been seriously injured.
Someone from the crowd hurried over and carried the injured man down. First aid was administered immediately.
Battle arenas would always involve death and injuries. Only the stronger ones could remain standing on the arena with smiles and swagger.
On the platform directly opposite of Hua Qiyue, Yun Shimo was casually shaking his handheld fan. He had a strange quirk—he would never bring a maidservant when he was out. Either he went alone, or he would bring a male servant with him.
Huangfu Xuan, who was sitting beside him, kept grumbling. “Brother Yun, I don’t understand why you’re like this. It’s impossible for that nymphomaniac to win. Why are you still betting on her victory?”
Yun Shimo smiled calmly. “We’ll see about that.”
Hua Qiyue was by no means as inept as those rumors had made her out to be. Last time, she had struck him to the ground, claiming it was an accident. But even now, he failed to comprehend just how her spiritual energy would just vanish without a trace.
Huangfu Xuan sneered before glancing at the calm and composed Hua Qiyue. She sat there quietly, ignoring the looks that the crowd was giving her as if they were as invisible as air.
The princesses behind Yun Shimo could not help but stare adoringly at Yun Shimo’s back.