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As the leaf cards were played for the third round, the smile on Guarjia's face gradually disappeared, and Majia also had to concentrate on watching the cards on the table.
Seeing that Lanqin's bag on the table was accumulating more and more gold melon seeds, Madam Yin felt not only jealousy but also a touch of admiration: it was truly remarkable that she had managed to win almost all the gold melon seeds from Guarjia and Magia, despite their obvious attacks. It was said that she had even invented a deck of cards, and it was with that deck that she gained the Fourth Prince's favor.
Thinking of this, Yin's jealousy and resentment surged again. It was Niu's interference that had caused her to go from being favored by the Fourth Prince to becoming an object of ridicule for Wu and others. Looking at the face of Zhang, who was clearly inferior to her but lived a much more carefree and unrestrained life, Yin's eyes shone with a coldness even more chilling than the ice cubes placed in the corner of the room.
Lanqin was looking at her hand, the best she'd gotten all day, and was trying to figure out how to win all the gold melon seeds from Guarjia and Magia when she suddenly realized, instinctively, that a cold gaze was fixed on her. She looked up in the direction of that gaze and saw Yin looking down at something.
Who was looking at me just now?
Lanqin glanced at Lady Guarjia, then at Lady Magia; both were busy assessing their cards and seemed too preoccupied to cast the same piercing glances that had made Lanqin feel like she was sitting on pins and needles. But Lady Yin, with her gentle and refined appearance, how could she possibly cast such a cold, venomous look? And there was that same look she'd received when she first arrived at the Third Prince's residence!
“Sister Niu, I didn’t expect you to play the card game so well. I’m afraid I’ll have to give you all the golden melon seeds in my bag today.” When Ma Jia saw Lan Qin suddenly glance at her a few times, she looked up from the cards and looked at her.
"Sister Ma, you flatter me. I was just lucky." Although Lanqin spoke modestly, she still looked quite proud.
Okay, I just love playing cards. Even though your card games aren't very exciting, I'm still a card fanatic, so I'm just showing off a little!
Looking at Lanqin's smiling face, Guarjia felt extremely resentful. She had disliked her during the selection process, and it seemed she would never dislike her again.
“Sister Niu is naturally different from ordinary people. It seems that I will have to give away my golden melon seeds as well,” Guarjia said with a forced smile.
"Hmph, wasn't it you who suggested fighting!" Lanqin thought to herself, but said aloud, "It's just luck. Maybe this anger will soon be directed at the other sisters."
Just then, Song Shi, Wu Shi, and Gao Shi and Liu Shi from the Third Prince's residence walked in from the doorway.
"Hey, how's the fight going over there? We're all exhausted from fighting over there, let's take a break." Madam Gao walked over with her people, who all stood behind the group to watch.
“Our sister Niu won all the prizes here. Look, both my sister Ma Jia and I have ended up in her bag,” Guarjia said with a half-smile.
“You are no match for her. Our Lady Niu is famous for her love of playing cards. She even invented her own game. That’s why our master dotes on her so much.” Madam Wu stood behind Madam Yin, holding a handful of melon seeds, cracking them open as she spoke.
Lanqin glanced at it and immediately retorted, "Sister Wu's words are quite surprising. I've heard that Sister Wu is also very good at playing cards. Why doesn't Fourth Master show her any special favor because of your excellent card skills?"
These words are practically a slap in the face to Wu Zetian. First, you yourself aren't very good at playing cards, yet the Fourth Prince didn't favor you because of your good hand. Second, even if you were a better player, the Fourth Prince still wouldn't favor you. It's clear you're destined to be unfavored!
Sure enough, Madam Wu glared fiercely at Lanqin, her lips almost parting to speak, but she swallowed the words back.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Madam Gao quickly stepped in to smooth things over, pulling Madam Yin aside and laughing, "Sister Yin is so enviable. I heard you got pregnant not long after you entered the manor."
Gao hoped to draw everyone's attention to Yin, and sure enough, everyone wisely stopped talking about what they had just said.
At this moment, Chunmei, the maid of the Third Prince's wife, came to deliver a message, inviting all the princesses to have lunch in the main room. After lunch, they could rest as they pleased, and then go to Xiaoyin Terrace in the back to watch a play at 1-3 pm.
"Alright, let's stop here, ladies." Lanqin spread her cards on the table. Anyway, Wu Shi had ruined her fun playing cards, and besides, she couldn't really embarrass Guarjia and Majia by winning all their melon seeds.
So Lanqin decided to give up this good hand, and to avoid being discovered, she deliberately turned the cards face down on the table.
Guarjia was already furious about losing, and when she heard Lanqin say this, she thought that Lanqin's hand was too bad and she was deliberately using the opportunity of the Third Prince's wife serving food to quit. She was not willing to give up and immediately said, "Sister Niu, you won and don't want to play anymore. You should at least finish the hand you have."
When Ma Jia heard what Lan Qin said, she was already done talking, but after hearing what Guarjia said, she became noncommittal.
Lanqin had intended to return the gold melon seeds she had won to them, but upon hearing this, it seemed as if she had truly become someone who knew when to quit while she was ahead. Feeling indignant, she said, "Do you really want to finish this hand of cards?"
Guarjia said unwillingly, "Yes, there's no reason to only take half."
"Okay, let's continue. Just don't regret it, sister." Lanqin picked up the cards one by one from the table.
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