I attained immortality in the real world.

Chapter 13 asks if it's approved.
One qian, sixty-eight wen.

Chen Jing counted the copper coins, casually tossed them aside, and with a flick of his sleeve, pocketed the coins and a dime of silver together.

He secretly learned Li Banxian's "Hidden Universe in the Sleeve," but unfortunately, he lacked the skill. His movements were not as fluid and graceful as Li Banxian's, and his actions were not easily discernible.

Instead of immediately focusing on the passersby, he looked in the direction the plump woman had left: "They found us in less than half a day, which is faster than I expected."

Even if you're right when reading someone's fortune, you'll only become famous among your extended family.

If you want to make a name for yourself, you have to read the fortunes of famous people. You can't reach emperors and generals, so you can only pick and choose from among the nobles.

However, although Zhu Zicheng is a small city, it is not far from the capital of Tai Sui Kingdom, and the wealthy and powerful tend to keep a low profile.

If we're talking about who's the most famous, everyone in the city has heard his name. He was only five years old when he wrote "Ode to the Goose," and was known as Zhu Kui, the reincarnation of the God of Literature.

If you give yourself a good reading, it's called setting goals; if you give yourself a bad reading, it's called giving up. In any case, it has nothing to do with your level of physiognomy.

Chen Jing had no choice but to settle for second best and set his sights on a group of纨绔 (playboys) in the east of the city.

The young man was dashing and spirited, with plenty of money and free time. He was good at fighting injustice and had a story to tell, so he naturally had a certain degree of fame in Zhu Zicheng.

"........."

The plump aunt no longer agonized over the issue of windfall gains. Satisfied, she left the fortune-telling stall, walked through a small alley, turned into a lane, and arrived at a secluded open space.

Before long, three young men in brocade robes arrived at the scene. They were none other than the notorious playboys of Zhu Zicheng.

The plump aunt bowed respectfully to Xu You, who was dressed in a simple white robe and looked elegant, and said, "Second Young Master, although that young gentleman is young, his physiognomy is extremely accurate, unlike those who swindle and deceive in the past."

Xu You was not surprised. If a fortune teller couldn't even fool a simple-minded woman, he shouldn't even think about making a living by fortune telling. He asked directly, "How much money did you give him?"

The plump aunt paused and said, "There are sixty-eight copper coins in the purse, and a dime of silver given by the young master."

One qian and sixty-eight wen was definitely not the limit of the other party's deception, but rather that Aunt Pang only had one qian and sixty-eight wen on her.

Xu You revealed a cold smile: "Very good! I didn't expect to find such a formidable character. Not only did he take all the money I prepared for your fortune telling, but he also made you spend all your savings. I'd like to hear how accurate this fortune telling is."

Aunt Pang didn't realize that Xu You was being sarcastic.

Like meeting a friendly neighbor, they excitedly recounted the entire process of the fortune telling.

Chen Jing's comments contained not a single obscure character that was difficult to understand. Even an uneducated country bumpkin could vividly recount the entire process.

Xu You listened patiently until the end, then continued to press, "It shouldn't just be about appraising the face. If that's all you've said, you'll at most give him the copper coins in your purse."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Pang became somewhat hesitant, but then she remembered that her husband had told her to stay away from people who were trying to make her money through illegal means.

He gritted his teeth and confessed, "I even had my fortune told. A few days ago, the manor put me in charge of purchasing. Steward Wang told me to buy from a fixed place, which would not only save me trouble but also give me half a tael of extra money every month. However, I didn't agree. The young fortune teller also said that I was born in the Year of the Ox and would never have the luck to make money from unexpected sources in my life, just like an ox eating..."

Xu You waved his hand: "I understand. Go back to your residence first, and don't tell anyone about taking kickbacks."

Before leaving, Aunt Pang, fearing Xu You might mistake the fortune teller for a fraud, added, "Second Young Master, the fortune teller has already deduced that I'm being manipulated by someone; he's a capable man. Please, don't provoke him." "…………"

Wait until people leave.

The three looked at each other, the situation was a little different from what they had expected.

In the past, fortune tellers' predictions were often ambiguous. For example, when predicting offspring, they might say, "Your destiny is to have three sons, one of whom is hanging in a tree," thus allowing for interpretations of one to four children.
But Chen Jing's explanations of physiognomy and fortune telling were always clear and easy to understand, as if he was afraid that others would not understand or misunderstand his meaning.

Wang Qi, the one of the three who was on the heavier side, couldn't help but click his tongue and say, "Could we have run into the real deal? The predictions about a life of toil and a servant are spot on."

Xu You sneered disdainfully: "Calluses on her hands, plump but not bloated, strong and powerful, who can't see that she's destined for a life of toil? There are many mansions in the east of the city, so naturally there are many servants. Even if you were to guess randomly, there's a 50% chance you'd be right, let alone if Auntie Fatty's clothes and figure are unusual."

Zhou Qing, the most handsome man, ruthlessly mocked, "I told you to read more books, otherwise the whole of Zhu Zicheng will be full of real people."

Xu You pondered for a moment and said with certainty, "Even the current imperial advisor only uses physiognomy to deduce fate and offer guidance. There is absolutely no such thing as fortune telling. But this guy is extremely good at reading people's expressions and is indeed a very clever swindler."

"A cow-like face, with a fleshy nose, wide-set eyes, and a long face in the middle of the face, don't you think it really looks like a cow?"

"Can't the same appearance be described as a horse's appearance? And a horse won't get fat without night grass. If you don't take this windfall, you'll suffer the consequences. Believe it or not, he can find features on your face and combine them to make you look like a pig, and he can say all sorts of things, whether it's praise or criticism."

"How did you determine that he has no luck in windfall gains?"

"Stupid. Any windfall that falls into the hands of a stupid person is almost certainly a trap. The fact that my family allowed her to do the purchasing means that we already had some suspicions!"

"Then how did he figure out that he was acting on someone's orders?"

“It was my oversight. If you were going to the market to buy things and you were thinking about your master’s affairs, wouldn’t you have gone to have your fortune told first? Besides, she even glanced in the direction where I was hiding.”

"........."

Wang Qi moved his lips twice, fully aware of the gap in intelligence.

His family were wealthy merchants who started out in the cloth business. Although they successfully transitioned from business to officialdom, their family background was still lacking. Compared with scions of prominent families, the gap was noticeable in every aspect.

Zhou Qing revealed a sinister smile and said to Xu You, "It's easy to make him miscalculate. As long as your family doesn't lay a hand on Steward Wang, then Aunt Pang will have missed out on windfall gains, not that she has no such thing as windfall luck."

Xu You rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Am I crazy? Or are you crazy? How could you come up with such a terrible idea? This is bound to come true sooner or later. Do you think my family can live off parasites forever?"

Zhou Qing seemed to have anticipated the rebuttal, so he compromised and said, "If you fire Aunt Xu, it will contradict the prophecy of a peaceful life."

Xu You naturally understood the rhetoric of seeking the highest and getting the middle, and seeking the middle and getting the lowest. He shook his head and said, "I'll fire a servant who will treat himself like an ox, work diligently and conscientiously, and have no ulterior motives. Do I have a grudge against my family's property?"

"We can have fun, and we don't care if we lose a lot of money for it, but we can't tolerate anything that harms the interests of the family, not even the slightest bit. We can't open that door."

Wang Qi couldn't help but laugh and said, "That settles it! No matter the reason, just tell me whether their calculations were accurate or not."

Xu You: "…………"

(End of this chapter)