Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 143 Forks in the Road

In a corner of the marketplace, Xin Yi distributed her earnings to several storytellers.

"Don't say what you shouldn't say, understand?"

"Don't worry, sir. The rules of the underworld can't be broken!"

After the storytellers received their tips and left with bows and scrapes, Xin Yi's cold face showed doubt. Why did the head of the family pass on so many versions of the story about Third Sister?

"Achoo~" Shen Qing rubbed his nose. A lot of people have been thinking about him lately, huh?

Shen Yunxi is right. Everyone else is following the rules, so why should you be the one to go against the grain and be different?

To challenge conventions, one must be exceptionally unique.

Of course, another important reason is that Shen Qing wants to patch up his past impulsive and careless behavior and eliminate potential future problems.

If a person's image is set too high, it is easy for it to collapse if there is even a slight blemish. When truth and falsehood are intertwined, falsehood and truth are intertwined. He mixed his dark history into it in advance, so that even if someone wants to make a fuss about it in the future, the public, whose threshold has been raised, will not care about the trivial revelations. They might even say, "That's all."

"Young lady, Lady Wan has come to pay a visit."

"Wan'er is here?" Shen Qing, who was studying modern cold weapons in the training ground, put down his axe and halberd, and dusted off his hands. "Just bring her here."

"Cousin~"

Faced with Li Wan rushing towards him like a swallow returning to its nest, Shen Qing was a little confused as she was embraced. What was going on?

Fifteen minutes later, Shen Qing looked at Li Wan, who was getting angrier and angrier and had made herself cry, and was speechless for a moment. She silently handed her a silk handkerchief.

Li Wan naturally took the towel to wipe away her tears, and sobbed as she accused, "I don't know which heartless and despicable person is trying to smear my cousin like this, I must find him and tear him to pieces!"

Shen Qing felt embarrassed and silently apologized to Shen Shi on Li Wan's behalf, saying that children speak without thinking.

"Don't worry, cousin. If it's inconvenient for my uncle to intervene, I'll go back and talk to my father. I'll definitely get justice for you and vent your anger!"

"There's...there's really no need for that..."

"There's no need for formalities between us." Li Wan gritted her teeth, recalling the other versions of rumors she'd heard from her maid, Zisu, on the way here. What kind of chivalrous woman was this? Chivalrous women have always been from the brothel; what kind of reputation was that for a girl from a family like theirs?

Seeing Li Wan's indignant expression, Shen Qing twitched her lips. Life is truly full of unpredictable changes.

"Wan'er, calm down..."

“Cousin, you have no idea what they’re saying outside. They’re saying you are…” Li Wan couldn’t bring herself to use the vulgar words, so she quickly changed the subject and picked the most outrageous one, “a superhuman woman with the strength to tear people apart with her bare hands!”

"Actually, there's some truth to the rumors."

"And you..." Li Wan paused, scrutinizing Shen Qing's expression, and cautiously asked, "Did you really elope with Jing Chuan?"

"That's not it."

Li Wan breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, that's good..."

"It is true that a woman disguised herself as a man to infiltrate the delegation and rescued a damsel in distress in Yu Kingdom."

After saying that, Shen Qing drew an arrow from the quiver, spun around, and flung it out.

"pat-"

The wooden rake, a hundred paces away, shattered into pieces. Shen Qing clapped his hands, raised an eyebrow at the astonished Wen Ying, and said, "See? I told you the bow wouldn't work."

Looking at Li Wan again, her red eyes were wide open, and she stood there woodenly.

Barehanded... barehanded!

"Wan'er?" Shen Qing waved her hand in front of Li Wan. Was the child terrified?

"Uh~" Li Wan hiccuped as the aftereffects of her crying came over her.

"Wan'er, are you alright?" Shen Qing was worried; this girl's mental fortitude was a bit weak.

"Huh?" Li Wan reacted immediately, then changed her expression and waved her fist to show her stance, "Cousin, you are a woman who is just as capable as any man, truly a remarkable woman of our time!"

"..." Sister, your flexible bottom line is truly touching.

To put Li Wan at ease, Shen Qing picked out some things she could tell her and gave her a heads-up. Looking at Li Wan's clear yet bewildered eyes, Shen Qing knew that something was beyond her comprehension, so she quickly changed the subject and reached out to stroke Li Wan's hair.

"This tourmaline hairpin is really...unique." It exudes a strong sense of straight male aesthetics.

"Really?" Li Wan lowered her head shyly, unable to suppress the smile on her lips. "It was a gift from Jin Yu."

Ha~ He knew it. Modern men can't distinguish jewelry styles just like men in later generations can't distinguish lipstick shades. But Shen Qing is different. He's a playboy who can remember the preferences of a whole table of mahjong girlfriends. He's obviously different from Li Wan's usual taste. The only reason he can wear such an ugly tourmaline hairpin is because love makes people blind.

With just a few words, he had once again charmed Li Wan into forgetting his original purpose, and she happily headed home.

As she reached the gate, Li Wan suddenly stopped and looked back. Her cousin was standing there with a smile, but she felt inexplicably melancholy. Her cousin was about to embark on a completely different path from hers. Would they still be able to grow flowers and play with fish together in the future?

Watching Li Wan's departing figure, Shen Qing's smile faded, and her gaze became deep and unsettling.

"Young lady, Lady Wan treats you with utmost sincerity."

Shen Qing sighed. Li Wan was the youngest daughter of the Li family head. With older brothers and sisters supporting her, she grew up in a pampered environment and was raised to be innocent and naive.

Sukhoi is the same; he doesn't need to establish a family line and can live a comfortable life as a wealthy idler. In this respect, the two are indeed a good match, having grown up together and sharing affection. If the world is at peace, these two second-generation rich can indeed live a happy life.

But Shen Qing knew that the current peace was only superficial, so he was dissatisfied with his cousin-in-law Su He, believing that a pampered young man like him couldn't withstand the storms.

Shen Qing took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and had another goal to strive for: at least to keep the war out of Xuandu and ensure that Li Wan would never have to experience the test of humanity.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing looked towards the palace and thought, "Father, it's your turn to perform."