Chapter 17 The number one scholar’s father is a charlatan who always wins in gambling!
Yu Yan asked if there was anything in her family that was worthy of Li Chengyuan's covetousness, but Si Yuan just smiled and said nothing.
The extensive network of contacts he displayed at Li's mother's birthday party would inevitably attract the attention of old Earl Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan. The father and son would certainly want to know how he won over these connections.
After all, Si Yuan had once demonstrated his fortune-telling skills in front of old Earl Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan.
Although he later changed his mind and kept a low profile when he saw that old Marquis Jingyuan was determined to use his ability to benefit the Li family, he now had so many connections that were envied by the Marquis Jingyuan's family, and it was impossible that old Marquis Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan had no ideas at all.
On the second day, Li Chengyuan brought his eldest son Li Changji to visit.
Si Yuan also went with Xiao Changqing and Yu Yan to greet him: "Brother, you are such a rare guest. You have brought glory to my humble home."
Si Yuan had a big smile on his face, without any hint of sarcasm at all.
Li Chengyuan looked at Si Yuan with an ambiguous look, and said with a smile: "I heard that nephew Changqing wanted a playmate, and you were even willing to invite fourth brother and his children to visit your home. Why don't you welcome eldest brother and his children to visit your home?"
Si Yuan glanced at Li Changji standing next to Li Chengyuan and said with a faint smile: "How could that be? It would be best if Changqing could have more playmates."
He lowered his head and said to Xiao Changqing who was standing at his feet: "Changqing, can you take your brother Changji to your amusement park?"
There is no need to involve children in matters between adults.
Xiao Changqing nodded excitedly. It was the first time for him to bring children of similar age to his amusement park. He was a little expectant and excited.
Xiao Changqing stepped forward and said to Li Changji: "Brother Changji, let me take you out to play."
Before, when Xiao Changqing followed his parents to the Jingyuan Earl's Mansion to attend his grandmother's birthday banquet, he met Li Changji. Li Changji had also been instructed by his father before coming, so he nodded in cooperation and left with Xiao Changqing.
Seeing that Si Yuan and Li Chengyuan seemed to have something to discuss in private, Yu Yan took the initiative to say, "I'm worried about the two children playing alone. I'll go and look after them."
Li Chengyuan smiled and said, "Sorry to bother you, sister-in-law." Of course he knew that Yu Yan's words were an excuse. After all, there were so many servants following the two children, so how could they go out to play alone? Yu Yan deliberately gave him and Si Yuan space to talk alone.
After Yu Yan left, Si Yuan and Li Chengyuan sent the servants away, leaving only the two brothers strolling in the small garden.
Li Chengyuan did not get to the point at first, but just made small talk: "How have you been these years? If you have any difficulties, you can come to Jingyuan Marquis's Mansion to ask me for help at any time..."
Si Yuan didn't take it seriously at all and just said "Oh" coldly.
Li Chengyuan was a little embarrassed and said without thinking: "This garden is a bit small..."
Si Yuan said with a half-smile: "If the house is not big, of course the garden will be small. Big brother, are you going to give me a big house?"
Li Chengyuan shut up. A house that was bigger than the one Si Yuan and his family lived in now would cost a lot of money. Even if he could afford it, it would be as painful as cutting flesh. Of course he couldn't bear to give it up. Wouldn't it be better to keep it for his son?
But he had just said that if he had any difficulties, he would ask him for help. Now he was unwilling to face Si Yuan's request. Li Chengyuan was embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, "Third brother, my father asked me to come here today. My father asked me to ask you, those guests who took the initiative to toast you at my mother's birthday party were all here for you, right? What is your relationship? Why do they think so highly of you?"
Li Chengyuan asked questions continuously, staring at Si Yuan's expression, and suddenly asked: "Did you tell fortunes for them?"
The impression of Li Siyuan as a dandy and incompetent was too deeply rooted in the minds of old Earl Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan. Apart from the miraculous divination ability that Siyuan demonstrated in front of them a few years ago, they really couldn't figure out what those distinguished guests valued in Siyuan to be so polite to him.
Before Si Yuan answered yes or no, Li Chengyuan felt that he had guessed right, and said anxiously: "Are you crazy? With your fortune-telling ability, although you are very accurate in predicting gambling and the blooming time of flowers, you can't predict other things besides these. Even if you can fool them for a while, you can't fool them forever. When they find out that your fortune-telling is only accurate in these two aspects, they will be angry and think that you are fooling them. By then, so many forces will unite to deal with you, and you won't even know how you died!"
Si Yuan said helplessly: "Brother, can you give me a chance to speak?"
Li Chengyuan: "...You tell me."
Si Yuan smiled slightly and said, "I never said that I can tell fortunes. I only said that I always win when I gamble. I only gamble with them to win or lose. I don't tell fortunes."
Just like when Zhao Lin, the third son of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, came to him and asked him to predict whether the eldest son Zhao would be able to go out of Beijing on business smoothly, he just made a bet with Zhao Lin that the eldest son Zhao would be able to escape danger and turn danger into safety. He never said from beginning to end that he could tell fortunes.
Li Chengyuan, who was unaware of the inside story, looked at Si Yuan suspiciously. Could he make so many connections just by making a bet?
Li Chengyuan couldn't help but remind him again: "No matter what, if you don't have the ability, don't cheat people and don't drag down the entire Li family."
Si Yuan said lazily, "I know. Don't worry. I never tell anyone that I can tell fortunes."
Si Yuan originally intended to expose his fortune-telling ability to Old Jingyuan Earl and Li Chengyuan, and he had demonstrated it in front of them all those years ago. Unexpectedly, after he demonstrated his fortune-telling ability by predicting the time when the peony flowers would bloom, Old Jingyuan Earl was overjoyed with his fortune-telling ability, and immediately asked him to predict who the next new emperor would be, how the Li family could place bets to gain the merit of following the dragon, how to make Li Jingyuan's promotion faster and easier, and how to raise Li Chengyuan's title...
Old Lord Jingyuan's requests were so many that Si Yuan felt like a turtle in a wishing well. He realized that although Old Lord Jingyuan loved the original owner's son, it was not much, and what he cared about most was the interests of the entire Li family.
If he really satisfied old Earl Jingyuan's fortune-telling requirements, he would probably become the turtle in the Li family's wishing well.
So Si Yuan quickly changed his words: his divination was precise but not gambling, and he was only accurate in winning every gamble and predicting the blooming of flowers, he was not accurate in other aspects.
Old Earl Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan were extremely disappointed when they heard Si Yuan's change of words. What's the use of this fortune-telling ability if it can only be used for gambling and predicting the time of flowering? Could it be possible that the Jingyuan Marquis' Mansion could rely on his ability to win every time he gambled to sweep all the major casinos?
Si Yuan has been blacklisted by all the major casinos just because he swept through them alone. If the entire Jingyuan Marquis' Mansion did the same, they would probably be targeted by the backers behind the casinos. The Jingyuan Marquis' Mansion cannot afford to offend so many forces.
So old Marquis Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan's changed opinion of Si Yuan quickly turned back to their original stereotype - he was still that incompetent playboy and good-for-nothing who couldn't even learn fortune-telling and only learned useless things.
It was not until the birthday banquet on Li's mother's fiftieth birthday that the number of dignitaries who came to see Si Yuan aroused the suspicion of old Earl Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan.
However, because of their stereotypes about Li Siyuan, they did not think that "Siyuan is actually playing dumb and eating the tiger. He has real skills and is a real boss, so he has won over so many dignitaries."
They were just worried that Si Yuan was using his two useless little skills of winning every time he gambled and predicting what would happen to him to fool those dignitaries. After all, when these two skills were displayed, it would be easy for people to think that Si Yuan's fortune-telling was accurate. It would be easy for him to fool people with this. After all, as Si Yuan's father and brothers, weren't they almost fooled by Si Yuan?
But deceiving people is fake after all, and it will be exposed sooner or later. When the nobles find out that they have been deceived, they will definitely hate their superior Yuan and vent their anger on the Jingyuan Earl's Mansion.
Li Chengyuan was naturally afraid, and immediately confirmed with Si Yuan whether he was lying or not.
What else can Si Zhen Da Lao Yuan say? He could only say that he did not fool Zhao Lin and the others, he had only fooled old Earl Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan before.
But what he said was the truth. After he fooled old Earl Jingyuan and Li Chengyuan, he never told anyone that he could tell fortunes again. He insisted that he just won every time he gambled.
Anyway, when someone asks him to predict their future, he bets on whether it will be bright or dark; when someone asks him to predict their marriage, he bets on where their marriage will be; when someone asks him to predict good or bad luck, he bets on whether it will be good or bad...
He won every time, so naturally, those who bet with him spread the word: "Hey, have you heard? The third son of the Li family who was separated from the Jingyuan Marquis's Mansion is a very good fortune teller... No, he is a very good bettor. If you want to bet on something, go to him and you will lose."
Then, those who were half-believing and half-doubting would come to him for fortune-telling (cross out the not) and bet with the idea of giving it a try. After betting with him and paying the fortune-telling money (cross out the not) as gambling money, they would know from Si Yuan which direction they would win.
As Si Yuan's reputation for always winning at gambling spread, regular customers introduced new customers to him, and gradually his network of contacts naturally became wider and wider.
It was only because Si Yuan specifically hinted to the guests not to reveal his identity to the outside world and that they could only introduce him to acquaintances that his fame did not spread outside the circle.
The Jingyuan Marquis' Mansion had already fallen into decline and was not qualified to enter the circle of the top dignitaries, so they had been unaware of this matter until they saw these distinguished guests at the birthday banquet and took the initiative to toast Si Yuan.
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