Chapter 166: The Strong Wind Rises

Jiang Lan looked toward him and retrieved a night-shining pearl from the container. "This one belongs to me. I only gambled a single night-shining pearl with you. Since it's a draw, I shall simply take it back."

Shen Kai shook his head. "No, leaving aside the last two rounds, you and I had already played fifteen rounds previously. According to the original rules, that amounts to fifteen thousand liang of gold."

Jiang Lan looked at the stack of items Shen Kai was holding. "This is far more than that."

"As for the final two rounds, agreeing to them meant staking everything present. Did you not know that?" Shen Kai asked.

Jiang Lan shook her head. "I truly was unaware of the rules. Otherwise, I would not have mirrored your every throw."

*So I really overthought it all by myself,* Shen Kai mused inwardly.

Shen Kai raised the items in his hands. "No matter what, according to the rules, all of these are yours."

With a soft groan, Jiang Lan accepted the heavy winnings, which nearly crushed her under their weight.

Xue Mingrui walked over as well. "Seventh Young Master Shen."

Shen Kai nodded, offered a brief cupped-hand salute, and departed.

"What is he doing?" Xue Mingfang walked over, helped Jiang Lan take the upper chest, and passed it to Xue Minghao nearby.

Xue Mingfang then took the entire chest of gold from Jiang Lan's hands. He glanced at Xue Mingshi's outstretched hands, sighed, and said, "You are a scholar. Never mind, I'll carry three of them myself."

Xue Minghao felt aggrieved. "Third Brother, I'm studying too. How can you be so partial to Fourth Brother and not think of your younger brother?"

"You? What do you have to say for yourself? Your fourth brother is a quiet bookworm who never utters a word of complaint. Besides, he is your fourth brother, only a few months older than you. I might as well carry it."

As Xue Minghao pouted, his hands suddenly felt light.

"Sixth Cousin, let me take it."

Xue Minghao snatched it back. "Don't be like that. I was just joking with Third Brother. Cousin can handle these things, but you are even more delicate than I am. Besides, you've played for so long today, you must be exhausted. There will be delicious food for the afternoon meal later, and those dishes are by no means inferior to those at Taibai Pavilion. Cousin Lan, you must nourish yourself well."

Jiang Lan nodded. "I certainly need to eat more."

Xue Minghao walked close to Jiang Lan, while Xue Mingshi went to help his third brother.

***

"Cousin Lan, do you really not know how to pitch pots into a canister?" Xue Minghao asked with curiosity.

Jiang Lan nodded. "I've never played before." Then, fearing they might doubt her, she added, "However, I am good at archery."

"Oh~ I see! Still, even among those who excel at archery, none possess your skill, Cousin. You are simply clever and naturally gifted, the kind of person the tutor often describes as understanding at a single glance and mastering at a single try."

Jiang Lan scratched her head. "Actually, it was mostly just good luck. If anyone else had been in my place, I might have failed long ago. Seventh Young Master Shen is quite formidable after all."

Recalling the barbs Shen Kai had thrown at him earlier, Xue Minghao said, "Forget it. Even if he is formidable, I would have been in deep trouble this time if not for your peerless skill and narrow victory. Otherwise, I would have been skinned alive today."

Jiang Lan did not deny it. After walking a few paces, she noticed that Xue Mingrui was nowhere in sight. Bidding farewell to Xue Mingfang and the others walking ahead, she ran off to search for Xue Mingrui.

Before she had gone far, she spotted her second cousin, Xue Mingrui, walking against the strong wind.

"Second Cousin, why are you here?" Noticing the grave expression on Xue Mingrui's face, she asked, "Is something the matter?"

Xue Mingrui glanced around as the wind howled. "Let's go inside to talk."

In the main hall, Xue Mingfang and his brothers deposited their burdens into Xue Mingrui's chambers.

After all, Second Cousin was the one closest to their eldest cousin.

As Jiang Lan and Xue Mingrui stepped inside, the three Xue young masters were sprawled haphazardly across the eastern couch, looking thoroughly exhausted.

Jiang Lan teased, "My good brothers, why didn't you make the servants do it? Be careful not to wear yourselves out—you still have guests to attend to later."

Xue Mingfang raised a hand and retorted, "This is the fruit of our cousin's very first victory! How could we entrust it to others? Rest assured, your brothers can endure!"

Xue Mingshi echoed from the side, "We can endure."

Yet Xue Minghao, who had carried the lightest load, was ironically the most tired. Slumped on the couch, he gazed pitifully at Jiang Lan and Xue Mingrui.

"Second Brother, Cousin Lan, I'm exhausted. How about you two put in a good word with Grandmother later so that today's punishment is just a light warning?"

Jiang Lan was about to nod in agreement when Xue Mingrui reached out to stop her.

"Don't spoil him."

***

Xue Mingrui turned his gaze to Xue Minghao. "As for what happened today, none of us can help you. You must go and confess your wrongdoing to Grandmother, Father, and our uncles yourself. If you had not acted impulsively and accepted the challenge today, Cousin Lan would not have had to step forward to bail you out, nor would any of this have followed. Have you ever considered what would have happened if none of us had stepped up, or if Cousin Lan had lost?"

Xue Minghao lowered his head. "The family would have lost all its prestige."

"Since you know that much, go and admit your mistake yourself after the banquet ends. At most, you will receive a scolding to make you remember the lesson; you won't be made to kneel in the ancestral hall." Sensing Xue Minghao's dejected mood, Xue Mingrui purposely added that final remark.

"Really?" Upon hearing that he would be spared from kneeling in the ancestral hall, Xue Minghao instantly perked up and hurriedly began pouring tea and serving water to his brothers.

Jiang Lan suddenly thought that had she not been present, this fellow would undoubtedly have been the most pampered scion in the entire Xue household.

Xue Mingshi, the honest child of the third branch, liked to follow closely behind Xue Mingfang. Xue Mingfang, much like Jiang Lan's second uncle, was devoted to business and disliked scholarly pursuits.

In contrast, Xue Mingshi of the third branch was passionately fond of reading, his erudition rivaling even the most renowned scions of Minister Li's lineage.

However, Li Huanning was somewhat better, as his conversations were always about books. Xue Mingshi, on the other hand, was truly a man of few words—no, not few words, but exceedingly brief ones. He spoke only in monosyllables; if Xue Mingfang were not there talking, Xue Mingshi would barely utter a peep all day.

According to Second Cousin, Fourth Cousin had been quite lively as a child, but after an incident where he was nearly abducted by human traffickers—and ultimately rescued only after Third Cousin tracked him down, exhausting every ounce of effort to lead him from a dilapidated hut to a grand tavern just to escape by the skin of his teeth—he changed.

Ever since, he had become the way he was now. He was normal enough in every other regard, simply disinclined to speak, and would only converse a bit when Third Cousin was around.

Third Cousin was three years older than Fourth Cousin and had been doting on him since the day Fourth born. The two had been inseparable since childhood, so much so that even the birth of Third Cousin's own younger brother, the Fifth Young Master Xue, could not wedge a space between them.

Instead, their bond had only grown closer over time.

As for the sixth one, Xue Minghao, he belonged squarely to the category of the crying child who gets the milk.

Jiang Lan thanked Xue Minghao for the tea and promptly emptied the remainder of the teapot.

Having quenched her thirst thoroughly, Jiang Lan turned to the visibly preoccupied Xue Mingrui. "Second Cousin, what on earth are you worrying about? Tell us whatever is troubling you, and we can all put our heads together to find a solution."

"Second Brother, are you facing some trouble?" Xue Mingfang propped himself up. Nearby, Xue Mingshi had already straightened his posture respectfully, looking toward Xue Mingrui and Jiang Lan.

Xue Minghao hurried over, rested his chin in his hands, and stared at his second brother. "Surely not! Who on earth dares to provoke you, Second Brother? Just say the word, and all of us brothers, together with Cousin Lan, will go and take them down."