Chapter 7: System Lottery

Gu Qing’s shout was intended to draw attention to the main hall, hoping to spark a different conflict to bail her mother, Lady Wei, out of her predicament.

To her dismay, the argument in the main hall was raging so fiercely that no one paid any heed to her words.

Gu Qing’s teeth itched with resentment. Unwilling to give up, she prepared to shout again, but as her gaze flickered, she saw Gu Tang emerging from the room, standing under the western wing corridor and staring at her with cold eyes.

For some unknown reason, the moment her eyes met Gu Tang’s, Gu Qing felt a sudden shiver. The words that had reached the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.

By the time she regained her senses, Gu Qing’s face was flushed red with both shame and anger. Had she actually become afraid of Gu Tang?!

Gu Tang showed her no leniency; she spat on the ground and then slammed the door with a loud "bang."

Gu Qing was so furious her teeth nearly snapped; she raised her foot, intending to march over and settle the score with Gu Tang.

"Are you crazy!" Gu Lian, the second daughter of the first household, hurriedly grabbed her. "What are you going for? Can you beat Siya? Or can you beat Sanlang?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, snapping Gu Qing out of her rage-filled stupor.

Gu Lian continued, "I don't know what's gotten into her lately, but Siya has become vicious and ruthless, possessed of strange, monstrous strength. Not only does she lay hands on people herself, but she’s even trained Sanlang to act like a dog, hitting whoever she points at!

If you go to find her now, Tianbao and I won't help you! Who do you think you can beat? Watch out, or Siya might swing those hooves of hers right at your face! If you end up disfigured, you can kiss your dreams of marrying Scholar Shen goodbye!"

These words shamed Gu Qing so much that she snapped instantly. "What nonsense is that dead girl talking about! What marriage?! When did I ever say I wanted to marry Scholar Shen?! You're the one talking utter rubbish!"

Even after a few curses, she wasn't satisfied; she actually reached out and pinched Gu Lian’s arm several times.

Gu Lian wailed in pain from the pinching but didn't dare to dodge.

Gu Tianbao, standing nearby, grew displeased. He stepped forward and pushed Gu Qing away. "Ungrateful! Second Sister shouldn't have advised you; she should have let you go get a beating!"

"You..." Gu Qing stumbled back two steps from the push, her right hand raised high to strike Gu Tianbao.

Gu Tianbao was not afraid of her. He thrust his face forward, inviting the blow. "Hit me! Hit me! Anyone who won't hit me is a turtle in the river! If you hit me, I'll have Father and Mother beat you to death later!"

Gu Qing trembled with rage, but her raised palm dared not descend. Finally, overcome by fury, she covered her face and ran back to her room to cry.

Having achieved a total victory, Gu Tianbao wanted to gloat and throw a few more harsh words, but Gu Lian hurriedly covered his mouth. "Ancestor! Be careful, she might play dirty behind your back! Haven't you suffered enough from her? Hurry, go to the Village Chief's house to find Father!"

At this moment, only her father could help her mother out of this.

But her father was currently drinking at the Village Chief's house; if he went there to shout, he would surely receive a lecture.

Her younger brother was different. If he went to shout, their father would only follow him back with a chuckle.

"I'm not going!" Gu Tianbao was not easily bossed around. "Every time, Father loves making me recite books in front of people! And I can't even recite those books; I always stumble and make a fool of myself! I'm not going!"

Gu Lian slapped him in frustration. "This time he definitely won't make you recite anything. Just say Second Uncle is acting crazy at home again!"

Gu Tianbao still hesitated.

"If you don't go, when Mother comes out, I'll tell her you didn't save her! Then Mother will surely hold you and cry!" Gu Lian had no choice but to use her trump card.

Gu Tianbao shuddered. He feared nothing more than his mother holding him and crying!

Every time, his mother would lament how difficult her life was, her words implying a lifetime of debt that could never be repaid, pressing down on him until he could hardly breathe!

"Don't you tell her! I'll go!" With a grimace, Gu Tianbao turned and ran out of the courtyard.

In the western wing, Gu Ping'an, who had been peeking through the door crack to watch Gu Qing and her siblings, promptly reported Gu Tianbao's movements to Gu Tang.

"That precious treasure from the first household has gone out; he's definitely going to find Eldest Uncle!"

Gu Tang was carefully washing her hands and asked absentmindedly, "Finding Eldest Uncle? Is he not home again?"

"He's not home; he went to the Village Chief's house for drinks today."

"Drinking again?" Gu Tang's lips curled slightly. "Eldest Uncle gets drowsy as soon as he drinks. When he returns, he'll surely go straight to sleep. Father has been scolding for so long; it's time for him to rest as well."

As she spoke, she pointed outside, instructing Gu Ping'an to guard the courtyard entrance. "Keep watch. When you see Eldest Uncle, shout toward the main hall. Once Father hears it, he'll know what to do."

"Alright!" Gu Ping'an nodded, opened the door, and jogged to the courtyard entrance to stand guard.

As he left, he didn't forget to close the door behind him, acting very conscientiously.

Gu Tang glanced back, feeling quite satisfied; she had trained him well.

After washing her hands, Gu Tang took out a fine silk handkerchief from her system backpack to dry them, then took out a box of face cream she had bought in Beian City and applied it meticulously to her hands.

Once finished, she counted out nine sticks of incense, lit them with a fire striker, and then knelt to bow and make wishes toward the four cardinal directions.

"Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva... please protect this unlucky soul! Being transmigrated to ancient times is already pitiful enough; please grant me good luck and bless my life..."

She rambled on extensively, but her central theme was singular: seeking good luck!

After worshipping the gods and Buddhas, Gu Tang placed the incense in the burner, then summoned the system panel. She tapped the prize wheel three times in quick succession for a triple draw!

【Ding! Sign-in System lottery beginning!】

The multicolored wheel spun rapidly, so fast that Gu Tang couldn't even see the shadow of the arrow.

After spinning at high speed for about ten seconds, the wheel began to slow down.

Soon, a burst of dazzling fireworks exploded on the system panel, and three colored gift boxes jumped out from the fireworks: purple, red, and green.

【Ding! Lottery ended! Congratulations to the Host for drawing one High-level Gift Box, one Mid-level Gift Box, and one Low-level Gift Box.】

Gu Tang covered her mouth and screamed silently—Ahhh! Burning incense and praying to the gods really worked! She was having incredible luck today!

The Sign-in System's lottery allowed for one draw every seven days of signing in, with an extra draw granted for every thirty days completed.

In the month since she had transmigrated, Gu Tang had obtained a total of five draws.

In her first two draws, she had obtained a gray gift box and a green gift box. The grades of these colors were very low, and the items they yielded were quite underwhelming.

The gray box had yielded one thousand copper coins; according to the current exchange rate in Beian City, one thousand copper coins could be exchanged for one tael of silver.

The green box had yielded one point.

Points could be used to buy things in the System Mall.

However, the items in the mall were ridiculously expensive! The lowest price was over a hundred points.

The single point she had drawn was truly useless—it wasn't even as good as the thousand copper coins from the gray box.

Looking at the three gift boxes before her, Gu Tang was filled with anticipation.

The green box didn't count, but the red and purple boxes were Mid-level and High-level; they were bound to contain something rare!

With trembling fingers, Gu Tang first tapped the green gift box.

(End of Chapter)