Chapter 1187: Failure Even in a Rigged Game

With Gan Ning bringing over all his numerous sisters, everyone was finally present.

Wuyuan, mingling among the crowd, felt somewhat awkward. After all, there weren’t that many influential families in the world, and even though the Gan family wasn’t doing particularly well, they still had a six-hundred-year-old legacy. It wasn’t difficult to forge connections when every family had distant cousins, nephews, or uncles.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Chen Xi didn’t say much and had the lottery box brought in. Unlike ordinary raffle boxes, this one had three slots.

"This is a special lottery box. Each hole has different probabilities for winning something good, so you should choose carefully which one you want to draw from. Of course, you can also opt not to draw from it," Chen Xi said with a sly smile. "You can even ask those who drew before you about what they got."

"Moreover, since the balls won’t be put back into the box, the probabilities will change as the draw progresses, so think carefully about how you want to draw. Inside this box are items that could guarantee a lifetime of comfort, as well as things that can help you become independent," Chen Xi continued, grinning like a fox.

As he spoke, Chen Xi observed everyone’s reactions. Some seemed deeply contemplative, while others were more casual, and a few had already started strategizing on how to approach the drawing.

At that moment, four people raised their hands, prompting Chen Xi to sigh inwardly. As expected, clever people with strong family backgrounds always had an advantage.

"What’s the reason behind you four raising your hands?" Chen Xi asked with a smile.

Zhen Mi, Mi Zhen, Wang Yi, and Wuyuan exchanged glances before Wuyuan, the outsider, spoke up. "Lord Chen, I’m not particularly interested in what’s in the lottery. I’m more curious about what you just mentioned, and you did say we don’t have to participate in the lottery itself..."

Chen Xi’s face lit up with a knowing smile. "Alright, what would you like to choose?"

"Honestly, I’d love to say I want to choose you, Lord Chen," Wuyuan responded boldly, without a hint of embarrassment. "After all, a golden mountain is nothing compared to a hand that can turn things into gold."

Chen Xi laughed heartily, and the others couldn’t help but give Wuyuan a thumbs up. She had a point—what good was a mountain of gold compared to a golden touch?

"That’s possible, but I’m not a prize," Chen Xi joked, "so you’ll have to choose something else. Your choice has to make sense to everyone."

"I’d like the text you just mentioned," Wuyuan said with a smile, leaving most people confused, while those who understood revealed expressions of realization, followed by disappointment.

"You’re sure that’s what you want?" Chen Xi asked, still smiling. His inquiry subtly suggested that choosing him might have actually been an option.

"Rather than gamble on luck, it’s better to take a sure thing early on," Wuyuan nodded, and Chen Xi, too, nodded, signaling someone to bring over the Fundamentals of Game Theory for Wuyuan. "Here’s the book. Don’t blame me if you can’t understand it."

"Feel free to come over and copy it anytime," Wuyuan said to Zhen Mi and Mi Zhen after briefly flipping through the text. Zhen Mi and Mi Zhen immediately joined her in reading the book.

"Now, I’ll stop rambling and let’s move on with the lottery, so no one can accuse me of anything later," Chen Xi said to the crowd. "Who wants to go first?"

The atmosphere cooled slightly before Jia Yun stepped forward with a smile. "I’ll go first. Will Yuan Mei come with me?"

Li You’s eldest daughter, with an indifferent shrug, followed Jia Xu’s daughter up to the box. Amidst the clatter of wooden balls, they casually drew one each. Neither of them was particularly stunning in appearance, but they were clearly well-mannered and carried themselves modestly.

Following them, under Gan Ning’s signal, his first group of sisters and nieces also stepped up to draw. Gan Ning, at the very least, had the good sense to understand that keeping the mood lively was beneficial for everyone.

With so many people leading the way, and with some drawing rather exciting prizes from the wooden balls, the atmosphere gradually heated up, and more people enthusiastically joined in.

Wang Yi and Jiang Ying stood watching the other women draw, occasionally glancing at Chen Xi. Wang Yi was confident Chen Xi hadn’t rigged the draw, especially since Liu Chan had drawn a tea set, which was a bit of a letdown. But it did prove that Chen Xi wasn’t cheating.

"Sister, do you want to go together?" Wang Yi suggested to Jiang Ying, both of them having been invited by Fa Zheng just to have some fun during the holiday.

"Alright," Jiang Ying agreed softly, following her lead.

As Jiang Ying and Wang Yi approached, Chen Xi calmly shook the raffle box, silently rotating the compartments inside. Before they arrived, Chen Xi had already ensured that all the balls were in their correct places. Only one compartment remained unchanged, while the quality of the balls in the other two had improved significantly.

However, as the saying goes, even divine intervention can’t control fate. Despite Chen Xi’s subtle rigging, luck wasn’t on their side. When Jiang Ying placed her hand into the compartment with the unchanged balls, Chen Xi could only sigh helplessly. With a two-thirds chance of success, even he couldn’t do anything about it.

Thankfully, Wang Yi and Jiang Ying had come together. Jiang Ying drew from one compartment, while Wang Yi drew from the other. They both opened their balls simultaneously.

"A sword..." Jiang Ying said, reading the description inside her ball. She scratched her head, recognizing that this was one of the more common prizes.

"What about you, Sister?" Jiang Ying turned to Wang Yi, who was also reading the slip from her wooden ball.

"A treasure that will ensure I never want for food or clothing," Wang Yi read aloud, her brow furrowed slightly.

"Wow, you’re really lucky," Chen Xi remarked. "To think you’d pull that."

While Chen Xi had rigged the draw to increase the chances of good prizes, Wang Yi had still managed to pull the ultimate reward.

"Ahem, let me announce that the first major prize has been drawn," Chen Xi said to the crowd. "Whoever draws the ‘Treasure that will ensure you never want for food or clothing’ will move on to the second round. In the second round, every prize is enough to guarantee a lifetime of comfort, but to truly ensure you never want for anything, you’ll need to make it to the second round."

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Wang Yi with envy, while Wang Yi glanced curiously at Chen Xi. "I’ve always thought the only thing that could ensure my livelihood was my intellect. I’m curious to see what else could guarantee a lifetime of comfort."

"It’s just a figure of speech. It lowers the difficulty of ensuring you never go hungry or cold," Chen Xi explained, rolling his eyes. "Even if I gave you the Midas touch, you’d still starve if you didn’t know how to use it, so don’t blame me for that."

Wang Yi nodded and stepped back, soon surrounded by her sisters and cousins, all of them eager to see her prize. With their excitement fueling the mood, the drawing became even more lively.

Thanks to Gan Ning’s large number of sisters, one of them eventually drew a major prize. Then, Chen Xi’s distant cousin also pulled a winning ball. The last grand prize was drawn by Sun Qian’s daughter.

When it came to Xin Xianying’s turn, Chen Xi had tried to rig the game again, but fate was fickle. Xin Xianying drew a small red horse and then traded it with her senior brother Lu Xun for a tea set.

In general, while Chen Xi had meddled with the lottery several times, it didn’t really affect the overall outcome. After all, you could only manipulate probabilities so much.

"There’s still one more second-round slot left. Who hasn’t drawn yet?" Chen Xi asked, realizing that most people had already had their turn. The real opportunity to rig the game had arrived.

"Lady Cai hasn’t drawn yet..." one of Cai Yan’s students answered.

"We haven’t drawn either," Wuyuan raised her hand, pointing to herself and the two others who had been engrossed in reading Game Theory earlier. They hadn’t been in a hurry to participate.

Just as they were speaking, Cai Yan returned from the back garden. Chen Xi hurriedly made a final adjustment, placing the prepared items inside the box. Now, all ten balls in the three compartments were the same. After Cai Yan drew, he could swap them for a different batch. After all, Cai Yan wouldn’t be participating in the second round.

As Chen Xi expected, Zhen Mi and the others all stepped aside respectfully, allowing Cai Yan to go first. Cai Yan didn’t refuse, casually picking a ball and opening it. "A stamp for marking every book."

"Thank you, Lord Chen," Cai Yan said, instantly understanding the significance of the prize. Others might not understand the mechanism behind this Yuanyang Rotating Heart Box, but Cai Yan had read about it in ancient texts.

On the other side, Huang Yueying, standing beside Zhuge Liang, remarked, "Kongming, it seems today’s raffle was organized with Lady Cai and those two in mind. Though there were some minor manipulations earlier, everything was still within reason."

"That’s perfectly understandable," Zhuge Liang replied with a smile. "Though it’s amusing that you ended up drawing a gold mallet, of all things..."

Huang Yueying’s expression darkened immediately, cursing Chen Xi inwardly. Why on earth had he prepared such a prize when today’s event was clearly for the ladies?

Cai Yan’s prize, a personal stamp, seemed unremarkable to most. However, she knew its significance. Going forward, every book in the library that passed through her hands could be stamped with her seal.

Of course, that didn’t mean Cai Yan would stamp every book. She’d likely only stamp a book once, marking it as her work or signifying that the book belonged to her. In essence, Chen Xi was passing the rights to the works of "Old Man Against Time" over to her.

"You’re too kind. Most of this is due to your abilities. I hardly played a part," Chen Xi said calmly.

Cai Yan nodded, saying no more. She understood this wasn’t the right place for further conversation. After bowing slightly, she returned to the Chen family’s inner courtyard. Many noble ladies had studied under her, including Fan Jian and Chen Lan.

At times, Chen Xi wondered whether Cai Yan had read certain banned or highly restricted books. Honestly, if she hadn’t read texts like The Mysterious Lady’s Methods, Heaven’s Forbidden, or Zuo’s Mysteries, Chen Xi himself wouldn’t believe it.

After all, Cai Yan had occasionally let slip remarks that showed she had, at least in theory, mastered these subjects, even if she hadn’t fully experienced them. In hindsight, given that Cai Yan had once been betrothed to Wei Zhongdao, it wasn’t far-fetched to think her father, Cai Yong, might have provided her with such books for self-study.

But then, Chen Xi recalled that Wei Zhongdao had passed away before they could marry, which was indeed unfortunate. The He Dong Wei family, for some reason, hadn’t taken Cai Yan into their home despite the formal betrothal, leaving her in an awkward position. After all, the betrothal had included all the formalities, with the three letters and six rites already exchanged.

"What are you looking at, Zi Chuan?" Zhen Mi asked, slightly displeased that Chen Xi had been staring after Cai Yan.

"I was just thinking about something. By the way, do you two know anything about Heaven’s Forbidden or Zuo’s Mysteries?" Chen Xi teased Zhen Mi and Mi Zhen with a smirk.

Zhen Mi’s face immediately flushed red, and she circled around the table, trying to grab Chen Xi. Mi Zhen, on the other hand, seemed clueless, clearly illustrating the difference between someone who was about to get married and someone who had no immediate prospects. Zhen Mi gave Chen Xi a light kick on the shin once she got close.

"You’re such a scoundrel!" Zhen Mi scolded, her face still flushed.

Mi Zhen, though initially confused, seemed to catch on based on Zhen Mi’s reaction. Her face turned crimson, confirming that she had likely sneaked a peek at similar material. It seemed that the Han Dynasty was more open-minded than later eras in some ways.

"Alright, there are only a few left. Go ahead and draw. After that, I’ll draw on behalf of my daughter," Chen Xi said with a laugh.

While Chen Xi had been teasing, he had managed to set up the raffle box properly. Mi Zhen, her face still flushed, hastily drew a ball without looking and quickly left. Zhen Mi, on the other hand, shot a sideways glance at Chen Xi before drawing her own ball.

"What did you get?" Chen Xi asked, peering over at Zhen Mi as she carefully opened her ball.

"I got into the second round," Zhen Mi said, her face beaming with joy. Chen Xi was dumbfounded. He had mixed things up.

"Quickly, close it up and don’t tell anyone. You don’t need a lifetime of financial security. A mountain of gold isn’t as good as my golden touch. You should swap it with Mi Zhen," Chen Xi urged.

"Huh?" Zhen Mi hesitated, both pleased and confused. "You’re not interested in Sister Mi, are you?" she teased, though she still obediently closed the ball. Meanwhile, congratulations could be heard from Mi Zhen’s side—she had also drawn a prize that promised financial security.

"What do you mean by interested?" Chen Xi rolled his eyes. "The only reason I got involved in the first place was because of how your expression from back then still lingers in my mind. It’s been mostly you blocking me ever since."

"Hmph," Zhen Mi snorted indignantly. "So you’re saying that if Sister Mi had been persistent, she might have had a chance?"

"I’m beginning to think you have a strange way of interpreting things," Chen Xi said, brushing a strand of Zhen Mi’s hair aside. "Mi Zhen might end up calling you ‘Teacher’s Wife’ one day."

Zhen Mi’s hand froze at that, the idea of Mi Zhen—her close friend—serving her tea and calling her "Teacher’s Wife" eliciting a complex mix of emotions.

Glancing over at Mi Zhen, who was slightly older than her, and then at the younger Lu Xun, Zhen Mi smiled broadly. "It does seem like a good match. If Bo Yan is really as capable as you say, ensuring a lifetime of security shouldn’t be a problem."

"But when are you going to marry me?" Zhen Mi quickly changed the subject, looking directly at Chen Xi.

"So eager to take advantage of Sister Mi?" Chen Xi teased. "But you should wait a little longer—at least until you’re fifteen or sixteen."

Chen Xi was no longer insisting on waiting until she was sixteen or seventeen. The timeline had been shortened a bit. Otherwise, if they had to wait three more years, Zhen Mi’s resentment would be too much to bear.

"One more year?" Zhen Mi grumbled, pressing her hands down on the table, clearly unhappy.

"No, two more years..." Chen Xi corrected. After all, when he married Zhen Mi, it would be as his wife, not as a daughter. She needed to be a bit older and more mature mentally.

At that moment, Zhen Mi’s gaze turned into one of deep resentment. Two more years? Chen Zi Chuan, you really dare to say that!

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