12dz Chapter 238 An Extraordinary Poison
Chapter 238 An Extraordinary Poison
"Oh, then sir, please think about it. I have something else to do. I'll come back when I remember."
"No, no, no, I remember now, I remember now!"
The fortune teller couldn't help but feel annoyed. In fact, after these people came to arrest him, he had cast a divination for himself after regaining his senses these past few days. The divination showed that it was related to his foul mouth three years ago.
"Sigh, it's all about cause and effect, karma."
"how to say?"
"Three years ago, I was setting up a stall on the street in Fengzhou when I encountered a local bully demanding money for my stall. Just then, a richly dressed young man passed by and saved my stall. I took one look at him and saw that he had a wealthy and noble appearance, and he also had the aura of a dragon. The aura of a dragon was strong, but his luck was rather bad. It's not that it was just a little bad, but rather that it was exceptionally bad."
Gu Qingwan immediately recognized him as the Third Prince.
"How is it unusually bad?"
"Well... to put it this way, it's like this young master used up all his luck in his reincarnation, and then his luck gradually declined, mainly manifested in the fact that he always fell short in everything he did."
Xiao Jingchen seemed to have something on his mind after hearing this.
Indeed, Consort Yu was only promoted to Imperial Concubine Yu because she gave birth to the Third Prince. Later, the mother and son were suppressed by the Empress in the palace. The Third Prince had nothing outstanding about him. No matter how hard he tried, his elder brother seemed not to see it. Perhaps he saw it but deliberately ignored it.
"Although I am a wandering sorcerer, I do have some real skills and am definitely not a fraud. But for some reason, I told him this the other day. This is something that involves seeing through the secrets of heaven, and it is said that it will bring divine retribution. I thought he wouldn't believe it, and that as long as he didn't believe it, the divine retribution wouldn't be too severe. But he actually believed it."
"and after?"
"Later he asked me if there was any way to change his luck. How could I say such a thing? I was afraid that if I did, I would be struck dead by lightning."
"But you still said it."
“That man is unreasonable. He tied me up and said he would kill me right now if I didn’t tell anyone. He didn’t care about divine retribution or anything like that. I was scared. I’m just an ordinary fortune teller. Even I’m afraid of death.”
"What exactly is the method?" Gu Qingwan pressed.
The fortune teller glanced at Gu Qingwan, his lips moved but he didn't say anything.
Standing to the side, Xiao Jingchen suddenly blurted out, "I also have a million ways to help you escape divine retribution..."
The fortune teller was so frightened that he shuddered.
"Don't be so violent. I'm already like this, what can't I say? I just need to find someone with great luck to be with."
"who is it?"
"I certainly don't know who it is, but I've deduced that it's a woman surnamed Gu."
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingwan had a feeling that she had just expected it. There was something brewing in Xiao Jingchen's dark eyes. If you looked over at that moment, you would definitely be drawn into the vortex in his eyes.
Now that the words have been spoken, the rest will fall into place naturally; there's nothing that can't be said.
"I have deduced that there is a woman surnamed Gu in the capital. She has excellent fortune. When she is at home, she can bring prosperity to her family. After she gets married, she will bring good fortune to her husband."
Surname Gu? There are other families in the capital with the surname Gu, so how did Xiao Yuheng determine that it was Gu Hanjiao?
"There are many people with the surname Gu, so how can we confirm who that person is?"
"What this young lady said is true. There are indeed many people with the surname Gu. However, the person with such good fortune must also have a very good family background. Moreover, her good fortune only came about after she was born. If we keep looking in that direction, it will be much easier to find her."
"anything else?"
"Nothing."
Gu Qingwan stared at the fortune teller for a while, and the fortune teller was also very interested in looking at the girl in front of him.
If we follow the fortune teller's advice and search for a girl surnamed Gu in the capital, someone whose family prospered because of her, then it would be easy to pinpoint the Gu Ziming family.
At that time, Gu Hanjiao was the only girl in the Gu family. Gu Qingwan had only returned this year, so it was only natural that Xiao Yuheng would set his sights on Gu Hanjiao.
However! There's one thing that doesn't match up.
That was her past life. In her past life, Xiao Yuheng tried every means to marry her. According to that logic, she should have been the one with the best luck. It was from that time on that Xiao Yuheng's luck got better and better while her own luck got worse and worse, until her family was destroyed and she died.
Therefore, there must be other reasons behind this.
"Sir, there is something my daughter doesn't understand. Please enlighten her."
"Please speak, young lady."
"So, how exactly does this 'borrowing luck' work? Is it simply a matter of being together?"
The fortune teller calmly smoothed his sleeves and slowly said, "Of course not."
"There are some tricks to borrowing luck. Before marriage, the family consists of close relatives, so luck will naturally affect the relatives around them. As for other people, unless they get married, there is no other way."
"Marriage? Does becoming a concubine count? Or is it mutual affection?"
"Logically speaking, people with strong luck will be blessed to some extent just by getting close to them, but it's only a little bit, and you can't tell. If you really want to borrow someone's luck, you must be a bright and proper wife who has come through the proper marriage ceremony and has been recognized by Heaven."
"Even a private engagement is not allowed?" Gu Qingwan wanted to ask if it was okay since the two of them had already been intimate, but she was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
“I understand what you’re saying, young lady. To be clear, it’s not okay no matter what. Only a formal marriage is acceptable if there is no blood relation between you.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingwan frowned. Xiao Jingchen was displeased to see Gu Qingwan frown, and the air around them instantly seemed to grow colder.
The fortune teller got goosebumps and subconsciously moved away from the two of them. If he could, he would have preferred to stay with the little guard for a while.
Gu Qingwan couldn't understand how Xiao Yuheng, who was engaged to her in her past life and was the one who married her in a proper ceremony, could have successfully borrowed Gu Hanjiao's luck. Or was she overthinking things and this fortune teller in front of her was just a fraud?
Seeing the suspicious look in Gu Qingwan's eyes, the fortune teller began to doubt whether he was a charlatan. Fearing they would leave him there alone again, he quickly started shouting.
"Hey, hey, what kind of look is that? Since I promised to tell you everything, I wouldn't lie to you. That's what I said at the time, but there was indeed a little change later."
"What happened?"
“I was thinking that since I’ve already told him, I might as well tell him everything. I calculated that the woman’s birthday is the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.”
Siqi's heart tightened upon hearing this; wasn't that her young lady's birthday?
A bitter smile appeared on Gu Qingwan's lips. Perhaps this fortune teller really was a fraud. If her luck was so good, how could her mother have left so early, and how could the Ning family have been wiped out back then? She was clearly a jinx.
Xiao Jingchen, standing beside her, pursed his lips and gently took Gu Qingwan's cold hand inside his wide sleeve.
"But for some reason, when I continued to calculate with my fingers, the woman's luck suddenly disappeared. Since it disappeared, I couldn't just say anything. So I didn't tell that young master. He left in a hurry and didn't ask any more questions. I ran away while they weren't paying attention."
That explains it. Three years ago, Gu Qingwan didn't return, and Xiao Yuheng, by some twist of fate, didn't know exactly who she was. So he didn't bother her and instead chose Gu Hanjiao, the only daughter of the Gu family at the time. That's why he was so tolerant of Gu Hanjiao.
Gu Qingwan's first question was answered.
"Thank you sir for clarifying my doubts."
After saying that, she took Xiao Jingchen's hand and left, with Siqi and Xiaoyi following behind.
"Girl!" the fortune teller suddenly called out.
Gu Qingwan stopped and looked back.
"Girl, if God were to grant someone with exceptionally good fortune the privilege of using up all their luck to start over, wouldn't that person cherish it?"
Gu Qingwan was stunned, as if struck by lightning. Xiao Jingchen clearly felt the hand he was holding tremble slightly.
"So-called luck is not only bestowed by God, but also given by those who love her. Everything has a cause and an effect. There is no such thing as a causeless thing in this world, so there is no need to dwell on the past or the people of the past."
At this moment, the fortune teller was like a charlatan, rambling on incomprehensible words, but just because others couldn't understand him didn't mean Gu Qingwan couldn't.
"What are you saying? Are you crazy?" Siqi muttered impatiently.
"Wanwan, do you need..." Xiao Jingchen lowered his head and asked the woman in front of him, pulling her back from her shock.
Gu Qingwan shook her head. She looked at the fortune teller in front of her, noticing his seemingly all-knowing gaze. Gu Qingwan pursed her lips and stared at him for a while, then smiled with relief.
"Thank you, sir. If such a person truly exists, we should cherish them and not let them down. What are your plans for the future, sir?"
"I have no plans, I just don't want to get locked up." The carefree charlatan suddenly returned.
Xiao Jingchen, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke.
"This villa is a gift for you, sir. You can use it as your lodging in the capital. You may use the rest as you see fit."
"No, no, if I take over your house, I'll have to pay back the money later..."
"Sir, there is no need to worry. This house is the result, not the cause."
After saying that, Gu Qingwan left without looking back.
The fortune teller pondered for a while before realizing that the little girl was thanking him for his advice. It turned out that the effect was not the cause. So he accepted it calmly. However, he also had his own principles. He only intended to stay here as a guest and would not become the master of this place.
This time he revealed the secret of heaven again. Alas, I really don't know what the divine punishment will be. The divine punishment from last time hasn't even fallen on my head yet. Oh well, what's done is done.
The guards at the gate had all left, and another group of people came in the afternoon to clean the place, put all the furniture in place, and even placed the land deed on the table.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Jingchen raised his hand and tapped Gu Qingwan's brow.
"The words of charlatans are not to be trusted. You don't need to take them to heart. If you have any concerns, I can send someone to lock him up or kill him."
Gu Qingwan shook her head, pulled down the hand that was tapping her head, and asked, "Your Highness, do you...do you believe me?"
Xiao Jingchen frowned. "Of course I believe you."
“What that person said wasn’t entirely false. At least we’ve found out why Xiao Yuheng insisted on marrying Gu Hanjiao. It’s better to believe it than not. Gu Hanjiao absolutely cannot become the principal wife.”
"As long as you are happy."
"Also, you should have someone keep an eye on Gu Hanjiao. She seems to have something going on, she..."
Gu Qingwan didn't know how to remind Xiao Jingchen, but she still wanted him not to let his guard down around women.
For some reason, Xiao Jingchen suddenly remembered what Yin Ping had wanted to report to him at the fireworks. Since Gu Hanjiao was able to go to that place to make a deal with Yin Ping, she must not be an ordinary woman.
"I understand, don't worry."
"How's the situation at the villa? Have you made any progress?"
"Yes, but not many. Xiao Jia and the others found out that those things were all arranged by people from the Prime Minister's residence."
"It really is Wang Ruyan. She took advantage of my young age and absence from the Prime Minister's residence to seize my mother's dowry. She has plundered a lot of wealth over the years. I never thought she would actually frame the Ning family. How could she have such audacity?" This was something Gu Qingwan couldn't understand at all.
"Her identity is unusual. It seems that she has been bribed and is a spy planted by someone, or she is just a pawn that she herself is unaware of."
"Only she knows the truth, but she's dead, so there's nothing more to be found out."
"We still need to investigate this thoroughly."
"But I don't think it's as it seems on the surface. Wang Ruyan isn't someone who can hide things. My mother was harmed by her back then only because she was simple and kind, which is why she fell for her scheme. Your Highness should have someone investigate again, but how can you investigate when the person is dead?"
"Do you still remember the adulterer I took away back then?"
"I remember, what happened to him?"
“He is from the Southern Frontier and works for the Southern Frontier royal family. There may be Southern Frontier people involved in this, but that person is too stubborn and hasn’t said anything yet.”
Xiao Jingchen felt a pang of regret at this thought, wishing he could kill that person to end it all, but he couldn't kill him yet, as there were still some questions he hadn't asked.
Gu Qingwan thought for a moment, "It's alright. That person knows medicine and can also make poison. We can just use their own methods against them."
"Xiao Jia and the others have tried, but ordinary poisons don't seem to have any effect on him."
Gu Qingwan rarely showed a wicked smile, "Then give him an unusual poison, just give me a few days."