Chapter 7 I Became the Goddess's Son-in-Law?! (Part 7)

Jiang Yiqing saw Si Xuansu present the sandalwood hairpin she wore, and Madam Si also presented the blue-and-white porcelain hairpin. She thought to herself that they had both gone to great lengths, and she absolutely couldn't let them lose money. ...

When Jiang Yiqing saw that Si Xuansu was about to present the sandalwood hairpin she was wearing, she quickly took it back and said, "This is a personal item and is not suitable as collateral."

As she spoke, she took out a blue-and-white porcelain hairpin and a gold hair ornament from her spatial storage and handed them to the steward.

Si Xuansu looked at her, her eyes softening. Jiang Yiqing said, "Xuansu, don't be upset."

Si Xuansu smiled, but her eyes grew colder. For some reason, she felt an urge to keep Yi Qing by her side, so that she wouldn't smile at other men.

She found it really jarring to look at.

Fifteen pots of peonies were displayed in front of them, and many guests fell into deep thought. Even experts who knew about peonies found it difficult to distinguish which one was the most valuable, despite the myriad of beautiful and unique peonies.

There are sixteen pots of peonies: six red pots, named "Turning Branch Red", "Deer Fetus Red", "Rouge Tower", "Jade Waist Tower", "Soaring Stacks", and "Auspicious Dew Cicada"; three pots each of purple, yellow, and white flowers, named "Purple Embroidered Carpet", "Imperial Purple Robe", "Blessed Purple", "Forbidden Garden Yellow", "Auspicious Cloud Yellow", "Golden Ball", "Jade Tower", "Brother Liu", and "Jade Covered Bowl"; and one green pot named "Ou Bi".

As expected of a rare flower, the peony's color is quite different from other peonies, and many people are drawn to this pot of peony.

Laymen, thinking that scarcity increases value, bet their treasures on Obi.

The green peony was very beautiful, and Jiang Yiqing lingered in front of Ou Bi for a long time, but only for admiring. As for spiritual energy, this pot of Ou Bi had very little spiritual energy, not much different from the purple daffodils in the General's Mansion.

Jiang Yiqing walked past Ou Bi and looked at the other fourteen pots of flowers. She thought to herself that these peonies were indeed carefully cultivated by the craftsmen sent by the Ningyang Marquis's mansion. None of the ones placed here were ordinary; they could all be turned into pieces.

Jiang Yiqing was overwhelmed by the long string of words: "Fragment of Red Branch, Fragment of Deer Fetus, Fragment of Rouge Pavilion..." However, one pot of flowers stood out from the rest.

"Golden Immortal Auspicious Dew Cicada Fragment x1" It was a pot of pink flowers, with the green heart in the middle shaped like a cicada, hence the name Auspicious Dew Cicada.

Jiang Yiqing asked the system, "Why is this flower called Golden Dew Cicada?"

“Look closely, the petals of this flower have faint golden threads shimmering, making it extremely dazzling. Therefore, it is the Golden Immortal Dew Cicada, the most precious among the Dew Cicadas.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yiqing examined the pink flower closely and indeed saw some golden threads, shimmering with a bright yellow luster, like the wings of a golden crow.

"Besides you, only Si Xuansu can see the golden threads. This is because the two of you have naturally stronger spiritual power, and you at least drank a soup made from the Nine-Star Heavenly Ginseng, which increased your spiritual power a little bit. If you eat more rare and precious herbs and elixirs to replenish your spiritual power, you will soon be able to see the difference. Moreover, even if the fragments of the treasure are buried underground, you can see them from a great distance."

Hearing the system say this, Jiang Yiqing immediately felt her own shortcomings. She thought she should eat more rare and precious herbs in the future, such as this Silver Silk Spirit Tooth. The system said it was very good, but she wondered what effect it would have.

Jiang Yiqing returned to her seat and said to the two of them in a low voice, "That pot of auspicious cicadas is the best."

The two nodded. When the steward of the Marquis's mansion came up to them and asked what they were betting on, all three of them placed their treasures on Ruilu Chan.

After everyone had chosen their preferred peony, the moment of revelation finally arrived.

Jiang Yiqing thought to herself, Jin Xianrui Luchan's strengths are not visible to others, and she wondered if they would be buried in the end? If that were the case, she would have messed things up instead.

However, at this point, we can only trust Lady Ningyang's judgment.

Lady Ningyang said to everyone, "Everyone, I have specially invited Master Yuanyi to announce the results. He is the best at judging the quality of peonies because his eyes can see things that ordinary people cannot."

Jiang Yiqing was startled. "Something that ordinary people can't see?" Could it be that this Master Yuan Yi also has spiritual power?

Jiang Yiqing's idea was quickly proven true. The system said, "This Daoist Yuanyi is not simple. His spiritual power is also very strong."

Jiang Yiqing nodded, watching Yuan Yidao's movements. Sure enough, he stopped in front of the Golden Immortal Dew Cicada and said, "This flower is ranked first among the fifteen flowers."

Upon hearing this, a brief silence fell over the room. Jiang Yiqing then realized that only the three of them had bet on Ruilu Chan. Nowadays, nobles appreciate peonies in bright red and look down on pink flowers, which is why no one bet on them.

Many people found this outcome unacceptable, and after a brief silence, the scene erupted into chaos as everyone demanded an explanation from the Taoist priest.

"Why is this unassuming flower ranked first? I don't agree."

"Yes, I don't agree either. Do you think I've been admiring flowers for so many years that I'm easy to fool?"

These voices were quickly silenced by Madam Hou, who frowned, seemingly displeased: "Please calm down, everyone. Master Yuanyi has his own explanation."

She whispered something to the Taoist priest, who smiled and indicated that he didn't mind.

Jiang Yiqing thought to herself, "The Lady of the Marquis seems to have a lot of respect for this Taoist priest."

Master Yuan Yi said, "What you see is called the Golden Immortal Dew Cicada, but you can't see the golden threads on the flower; only I can see them. The Golden Immortal Dew Cicada is the most sacred of the Dew Cicada varieties. Although other flowers are not ordinary either, they cannot compare to the sacred one."

People stared intently at Ruilu Chan, but couldn't see any golden threads. They suspected the Taoist priest was boasting and making fun of them, but with Lady Hou present, no one raised any objections.

"I've invited everyone here today to admire the peonies, and I'm not one to be stingy. The Golden Immortal Dew Cicada will be given to the person who guessed correctly, and the collected gifts will also be given to the person who guessed correctly." As she spoke, Lady Hou asked the maid beside her which guests had guessed correctly.

"The correct guesses are Madam Si, General Si, and Miss Jiang."

Lady Hou looked at the table and was surprised to find that her family had taken care of all the gifts.

However, she smiled at Madam Si and said, "You're still so lucky. I've always thought so."

Madam Si shook her head and patted Jiang Yiqing's hand, saying, "This is all thanks to my niece."

"Xiangqin, pack everything up and send it all to the General's Mansion," Lady Hou ordered.

Xiangqin nodded.

The flower-viewing banquet ended just like that. The guests arrived in high spirits, but left complaining bitterly. Even those who were smiling on the outside felt a pang of regret in their hearts, as they had all lost a precious item at today's banquet.

Except for the Si family, who returned with a full load of spoils.

"Yiqing, these are all your spoils. You can do whatever you want with them," Madam Si said, holding Jiang Yiqing's hand.

General Si's family is usually quite frugal and doesn't particularly like these glittering jewels. So Jiang Yiqing sold all those treasures in the mall and could save some money to buy other things.

After the meeting, the three walked towards the outside of the mansion. Passing a pavilion, they spotted an annoying person.

Yin Qiang was actually talking to the heir of the Marquis of Ningyang in the pavilion. The two were laughing and chatting, and they seemed to have a good relationship.

Jiang Yiqing was somewhat surprised, but Si Xuansu and Madam Si pretended not to see it, and she also pretended not to see it.

But she hadn't forgotten what happened last time. She wondered if Yin Qiang had given up on his feelings and if he was still eyeing the goddess.

As if to verify her idea, Yin Qiang suddenly called out to them loudly.

"Isn't this Madam Si and Sister Si? When did you arrive? I would have come to greet you if I had known." As she spoke, she walked towards them, and the heir of the Marquis of Ningyang also came over.

How dare he call Goddess Si "sister"? What a shameless guy! Jiang Yiqing was so angry that her face turned green. He was in the Ningyang Marquis's residence, how could he not know that they were coming? Jiang Yiqing guessed that he was deliberately waiting in the pavilion to intercept them.

“Your Highness, is it appropriate for you to speak to me like that? I am not carrying a sword today, otherwise I may tolerate you, but the sword in my hand may not be able to tolerate you,” Si Xuansu said coldly.

"Yes, I forgot that you are already a general of the Central Army, and you got married in such a short time. My father was about to ask the emperor for a decree to grant us a marriage, but he missed it. Otherwise, we would almost be husband and wife. Don't you think so?" Yin Qiang ignored her threat and even intensified his words.

Jiang Yiqing stared intently at Yin Qiang, thinking that at this moment, their feud was completely set in motion, and she was determined to make Yin Qiang repent for what he had said today!

Yin Qiang felt a strange girl's gaze was particularly piercing, and looked at her: "By the way, who is this?"

The two ignored him completely and turned to leave. Jiang Yiqing hurriedly followed, throwing a piece of bad luck powder from her spatial storage onto the ground before leaving.

"Go explode on the spot, you scum." Jiang Yiqing cursed inwardly.

Even after they had walked away, Yin Qiang was still looking at Si Xuansu.

"If you ask me, aren't you being too obsessed with her? After all, she's already married. You should give it a rest," said the heir of the Marquis of Ningyang, frowning.

After all, the other party is from a military family, and who knows what reckless things they might do.

"Hmph, if she dares to resist, I'll make her a widow even if it means she has to enter the Yin family." Yin Qiang chuckled sinisterly.

While the two were talking, they did not notice the strange powder on the ground. When they reached the edge of the pond, Yin Qiang suddenly lost his balance and was thrown into the water.

He bumped his head on the steps leading to the pond, immediately getting a big bump, and then stumbled and fell into the pond, getting completely soaked.

Seeing his miserable state, the servants who were usually oppressed secretly laughed.

Heaven has eyes.

[Author's Note]

The names of peonies were collected from the internet.