This was simply bullying.
She pulled a long face, not even happy looking at the broken silver she had won.
How could one brain possibly win against two?
"I'm not playing anymore," she said as she started to pack her silver, looking like she was ready to grab her things and run.
A set of jewelry might be a drop in the bucket for those four, but it would cost her her life; she could afford to win, but not to lose.
The Crown Prince watched her actions, his mouth twitching. It was rare for Qingwan to be in such high spirits today instead of being depressed, so naturally, he wanted to make her even happier. "For the sake of fairness, how about this: Qingwan and Second Cousin's stakes will be jewelry, which my royal brother and I will provide. First Cousin can continue to use broken silver, but I must join in."
"That works." Cui Yunchu immediately poured her silver back out. "Then let's start quickly."
Cui Yunchu thought that even if she lost all her broken silver, winning a set of jewelry would still be acceptable. Ultimately, she wouldn't lose out.
It wasn't like she wouldn't win even once. Moreover, a single win meant two sets of jewelry, which was much better than racking her brains against Cui Yunfeng.
At least, she would earn it herself.
She seemed to see a pile of gold and jewels waving at her.
Tang Qingwan glanced at Cui Yunchu and shook her head. She truly didn't know the sinister nature of people's hearts.
Over at the chessboard, the game continued. Shen Xiabai had not looked up from start to finish.
A new round of the game began in the pavilion and ended quickly. Cui Yunchu couldn't help but sigh in admiration; the Crown Prince's brain was truly useful.
But she still felt she could do it, attributing her loss to a bad hand this round.
And then...
The broken silver by her hand seemed to grow legs, running madly toward Tang Qingwan. In no time, she was hitting rock bottom, and Cui Yunchu was visibly struggling to keep her composure.
The first to crack, however, was Cui Yunfeng.
Cui Yunchu was losing broken silver, but she was losing the storehouse of Prince An's estate.
Even though Xiao Yi, wealthy and imposing, said it was fine and told her to play freely.
As another round began, Cui Yunfeng looked at Xiao Yi with a bitter face. "Yi-gege~"
Prince An immediately threw down his chess piece and walked toward her.
Shen Xiabai looked at the black pieces scattered everywhere and picked them up one by one with a very stable mood.
But he was startled by Cui Yunchu's loud voice, "No, you guys are bullying people too much."
If Xiao Yi also joined in, what was she even playing for...
"You might as well just dig the silver directly out of my pockets."
Xiao Yi sat down beside Cui Yunfeng, raising his eyebrows slightly. "Didn't we agree just now? What, does the Eldest Miss Cui want to renege on her debt?"
Reneging was better than going bankrupt. Otherwise, at this rate of losing, she would have to leave with her hairpins stripped.
Cui Yunchu was unwilling.
Talking to her about gentlemen and petty people, or accepting defeat gracefully, was completely useless. In the end, Xiao Yi understood her better.
He took his purse from his waist and threw it to Cui Yunchu. "Keep going. Your little bit of broken silver is nothing. I have to win back the jewelry lost to my royal brother for Yunfeng."
"That works." Cui Yunchu weighed the purse in her hand, took out half and stuffed it into her sleeve, leaving the other half on the table. "I only have this much. Once I lose it all, I'm done playing."
Her current miserly appearance was worlds apart from her radiant look when she was winning earlier.
Xiao Yi cast a glance over and couldn't be bothered to respond.
Then, round after round began.
The reality ran contrary to what Cui Yunchu had initially imagined. Let alone winning a single round, many times she didn't even have the chance to open her mouth, only left to pull out ingot after ingot of silver.
Prince An and the Crown Prince fought to a draw.
Everyone won except her. Before long, the silver Xiao Yi had given her was almost completely lost.
The light in Cui Yunchu's eyes vanished, leaving only numbness.
As she handed over the last ingot of silver, less than half an hour had passed. Her voice was already choked with sobs, "I've lost it all."
Prince An and the Crown Prince were clearly still in high spirits.
It made sense; sitting next to their sweethearts, talking and laughing, who wouldn't be in high spirits?
The two men refused to let Cui Yunchu get up, disagreeing to end the game no matter what she said.
Cui Yunchu was being beaten so badly she was about to cry from anger.
They were just bullying her for being all alone.
When she found a husband, she would definitely make them lose everything.
Cui Yunchu comforted herself in her heart.
Just then, the person sitting quietly playing chess not far away suddenly stood up and slowly walked into the pavilion.
Then, a crystal-clear jade pendant was pressed down next to Cui Yunchu's hand. Shen Xiabai's voice was light, "Continue."
He had a tall and slender figure, and a face as flawless as jade. At this moment, in Cui Yunchu's eyes, he looked as handsome as a deity descending from the heavens.
That heart-pounding feeling of being saved—but it only lasted for a moment before Cui Yunchu suppressed it.
The former was human nature; the latter was reason and reality.
Tang Qingwan slowly curled her lips into a smile and instructed the maid beside her, "Bring a stool for Lord Shen."
The stool was placed right next to Cui Yunchu, and Shen Xiabai sat down without a word.
The three men had a very strong aura. Tang Qingwan and Cui Yunfeng probably weren't afraid, after all, they had their sweethearts backing them up, but Cui Yunchu was somewhat timid.
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes, glanced at her, and said, "What you win is yours, what you lose is mine. There's no need to be afraid."
That was great.
In both her lifetimes combined, Cui Yunchu had never found Shen Xiabai so pleasing to the eye.
It should be like this. The Crown Prince and Xiao Yi were truly bullying people too much. The two of them, being the lonely ones, should join forces to let them know the sinister nature of people's hearts.
Cui Yunchu held the cards and followed Shen Xiabai's commands.
The speed at which the three men played their cards was incredible, several times faster than when she, Tang Qingwan, and Cui Yunfeng were playing earlier. It not only dazzled Cui Yunchu's eyes but also scrambled her brain; she simply had no time to think.
The hand of cards Cui Yunchu held was rearranged into a mess by Shen Xiabai; two connected cards could be separated by a whole Milky Way.
When it was time to play a card, it took Cui Yunchu quite a while to find it.
Facts proved that Shen Xiabai's reputation as a genius scholar was by no means undeserved.
Cui Yunchu smiled so hard her mouth was almost crooked.
She leaned close to Shen Xiabai and whispered, "Later, we'll split it equally."
After all, he was doing all the work. A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it through proper means; Cui Yunchu wasn't an unreasonable person either.
Waves of fragrance wafted over. Shen Xiabai's breathing slightly stagnated, and even his brain forgot to think.
"I get seven, you get three."
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes to look at the girl blooming with smiles and gave a slight nod.
"Lord Shen, you've lost this round." The one who spoke was Tang Qingwan.
She had already put down her cards. Shen Xiabai glanced at the table and immediately nodded.
Just now... his mind had wandered.
He didn't even know what cards the other two players had played.
Afterward, Shen Xiabai no longer had his initial invincible momentum. He had wins and losses, though slightly more wins. Cui Yunchu noticed that his mind seemed to be wandering; he was always spacing out.
"What's wrong with you?"
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes to glance at her and frowned. "Stop moving around, and stop talking."
Her moving around was making him feel flustered and distracted.
Cui Yunchu nodded, very much possessing the awareness of serving her financial backer. Without waiting for the maids to act, she personally served tea and handed him fruit.
You must know, what she had won this afternoon was enough for her to save up for several years.
Perhaps influenced by the other two, or perhaps too focused, when Cui Yunchu handed him another piece of fruit, Shen Xiabai didn't take it with his hand. Instead, he bent down, lowered his head, and opened his mouth.
His slightly cool lips touched Cui Yunchu's fingertips. She instantly shuddered, looking at Shen Xiabai with a somewhat dazed expression.
Shen Xiabai seemed completely unaware, his mind fully focused on the cards.
Cui Yunchu simply assumed he had been caught in a momentary trance, subconsciously mimicking the actions of the Crown Prince and Prince An.
She glanced up slightly and breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that no one was paying attention to them.
She remained completely oblivious to the meaningful gaze Tang Qingwan cast her way a moment later.
Nor did she notice the burning red ears of the person beside her, who had only belatedly realized what he had done.
