3: Chapter 3 Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage? Don't Underestimate a Young Girl's Poverty!

"I..."

"Young girl, do you want to become stronger?"

"Let me think about it again..."

"Young girl, do you want to become stronger?"

Before Zhuge Jinyu could answer, Su Chen couldn't help but answer his own question.

"This can be considered my 'three visits to the cottage'."

The girl was stunned. Su Chen's train of thought was on a completely different wavelength than hers, and she didn't know how to respond.

"I'll just ask you one thing."

Su Chen dropped his previous playful tone and spoke seriously.

"Do you want to be like your sister, marrying an Old Emperor who is over thirty years older than her, and be trapped in the deep palace for the rest of your life?"

"Do you want to see the Da Qian you take pride in, and the Zhuge Clan, slowly be eroded and defeated, eventually turning into ruins?"

"I..."

The girl showed a hint of hesitation.

Su Chen wasn't idle; he observed this future 'Prime Minister Zhuge' through the mirror.

The girl had white hair and wore a cyan-green palace dress. Her blue eyes flickered with nervousness.

Her pretty face flushed a bit more under Su Chen's pressure. Combined with her features, which were as exquisite as a fine-line painting, Su Chen couldn't help but steal several glances.

He had seen beautiful people before, but never someone so naturally stunning.

Thinking of this, his gaze drifted to some places it shouldn't have.

Although the girl was still young and wore a chest binder, her infinite potential for development was still apparent.

If she truly grew up, she probably wouldn't be any less impressive than Jiang Luoli.

They say the Prime Minister has a broad mind, but you didn't tell me it was this broad!

"Hesitation means you don't want to."

Su Chen spoke with certainty; as someone with decision-making difficulties, he understood this feeling all too well.

"I... I really don't want to."

"If you really are one of those experts like the white-haired old grandfathers in storybooks and are willing to teach me, then I do have confidence in myself."

Zhuge Jinyu's voice was very small. Even though she was affirming herself, she sounded very insecure.

"I am two years younger than my older brother, but my cultivation has already reached the Late Golden Core stage. Moreover, in the family's strategy competitions, I've always been able to hold my own against him."

"It's just that I know he is the one to take over in the future, so I usually hold back a little, letting him win every time by a narrow margin..."

But at this point, Zhuge Jinyu's expression turned to one of disappointment, and her tone shifted.

"But my family all say that after I caused the death of my birth mother, I then caused the death of my brother. They say I'm a natural jinx who will bring misfortune to those around me... I'm afraid..."

Hearing this, Su Chen felt a warmth in his heart, but soon he was secretly delighted.

When it comes to bad luck, could anyone really be unluckier than him?

"Speaking of bad luck, I really need to have a proper talk with you."

"I'm currently a male ghost. Do you know how I died?"

Seeing that he had piqued Zhuge Jinyu's curiosity, Su Chen continued to speak eloquently.

"While I was cooking at home, the stove exploded. I was blown outside and then run over by a carriage."

Fearing that Zhuge Jinyu wouldn't understand, Su Chen even gave his unlucky experience an ancient-style makeover.

"As for things like both parents dying, suffering from a serious illness, or a younger sister having a malignant disease... compared to my miserable death, none of those count as true suffering in the world."

"Tell me, would someone as unlucky as me be affected by your insignificant little bit of 'bad luck'?"

Zhuge Jinyu's furrowed brows relaxed. She seemed to feel sorry for Su Chen and reached out her jade-like hand to stroke the surface of the mirror.

However, what was a bit awkward was that the mirror and Su Chen inside it shared the same senses.

And the place Zhuge Jinyu was stroking was... a bit unfortunate.

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't touch it! If you touch the mirror, I'll feel... uncomfortable!"

Su Chen pressed down on a certain large, strange object of his while signaling Zhuge Jinyu to stop.

He wasn't sure if the layer of mist on the mirror provided enough privacy.

If Zhuge Jinyu were to see his..., his image as an ethereal, transcendent expert would be ruined.

"But, Teacher, tomorrow my stepmother is going to find someone to marry me off. What should I do?"

"Even with your assistance, once I'm actually married off, I'm afraid it will be too late..."

Su Chen glanced at Murong Yue and the other members of the Zhuge Family, who were joyfully preparing for the Wang family's visit tomorrow.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Don't worry. I, your teacher, will pass on a 'Flame Mantra' to you."

"If you believe in me, in a moment you will do this and that, and then such and such..."

...

The family meeting soon drew to a close.

Zhuge Yuan lacked interest throughout; his expression was unreadable.

Murong Yue, on the other hand, was all smiles, as if she had finally gotten rid of a heavy burden.

Just as she was about to announce the end of the meeting,

Zhuge Jinyu actually walked out from the corner and stood in the center of the hall.

Facing the family elders head-on for the first time, her legs were still trembling slightly.

At this moment, Zhuge Jinyu remembered what Su Chen had told her.

"Your biggest problem right now is that you lack confidence!"

"The cultivation world values strength above all else. If you truly have enough ability, then even if you are a woman, they will choose to shut up!"

"You clearly have abilities no worse than your brother's, but for the sake of so-called 'family reputation', you have always chosen to give way to him."

"If he were still alive, that might have been feasible."

"But now that he has passed away, why do you still choose to endure?"

"Just show your value and your ability. Those who don't submit to you will naturally do so, and those who are dissatisfied with you will naturally suck up to you!"

"Why should you hand over the opportunities and status that belong to you?"

...

Zhuge Jinyu no longer hesitated. She stepped forward quickly and bowed slightly to her father and stepmother.

"Thirty years of drinking winter melon, thirty years of drinking watermelon..."

Huh? Did Su Chen tell her it was "Thirty years in Hebei, thirty years in Henan"?

Whatever, it all sounds like a hard life anyway.

"Don't look down on a young... girl's poverty."

"I, Zhuge Jinyu, request to annul the engagement!"

After saying all this, Zhuge Jinyu ignored the looks from her clansmen—a third of whom saw her as a fool, a third with pity, and a third with ridicule—and brought out the full set of theories Su Chen had taught her.

"...Although it is called an alliance through marriage in name, it is actually just using me as a political bargaining chip to buy a temporary respite for Da Qian."

"Does His Majesty really know about this?"

The whole room went silent.

Only Murong Yue was seething with rage.

"You little brat, you killed my son and now you dare to..."

Just as her palm was about to land on Zhuge Jinyu's face, Zhuge Yuan caught her hand.

"Calm down."

"Xiao Yu, you also said that in the cultivation world, the strong are respected. My Zhuge Family is naturally the same."

"You should know the traditions of our Zhuge Family, right?"

Zhuge Jinyu swallowed hard.

She naturally knew.

"The Three Arts Competition. Win it, and then we'll talk. Otherwise, there's nothing to discuss."

The Three Arts Competition was a unique ritual of the Zhuge Family.

When a major clan with a different surname visited the Zhuge Family,

the young talents of the entire Zhuge Clan could compete with the other party in military strategy, cultivation, and divination.

If someone from the Zhuge Family could defeat the other party's talent, the Clan Head would unconditionally grant that family member one request.

In a cultivation family, the Clan Head's word was law after all.

Since the Clan Head had spoken, the other clansmen didn't make things too difficult for Zhuge Jinyu on the surface and dispersed one after another.

Zhuge Yuan sighed.

"Xiao Yu, I know I haven't given you much time to prepare, and this competition will be a challenge for you."

"But as a prestigious family, our Zhuge Family cannot easily break a promise."

"Think it over carefully and grasp this opportunity, which might be the only one in your life."

After thanking her father, Zhuge Jinyu stumbled back to her bedroom alone.

...

"Teacher, I won't lose to that Wang Teng, will I?"

"That Wang Teng is considered a peerless genius. His cultivation is a level higher than mine, and in a place like the Wang Family of Great Wei, he probably has some knowledge of strategy as well."

"I only have some confidence in divination."

"Teacher, what should I do?"

...

"How many times have you asked me? I already told you, I have the 'Flame Mantra' here!"

Facing the girl's repetitive questions, Su Chen had a bit of a headache.

With a flash of white light, three items appeared in Zhuge Jinyu's hands.

A copy of 'Collected Commentaries on the Various Masters', a coin, and a feather fan with three gradient layers of white, gray, and black.

Of course, these were all given to Su Chen by the system.

To facilitate Su Chen's "investments," the system had poured everything related to investing into his mind.

This made him sigh with emotion that memory pills were truly great; he suggested they be widely promoted during finals week at Blue Star schools.

Zhuge Jinyu took the three items and held them in her arms.

She was especially fond of the feather fan.

"These are the magic treasures I've bestowed upon you to defeat the enemy; make sure you don't lose them."

Su Chen said leisurely.

"This book contains various strategies from great thinkers of different eras. If you can learn them, I dare say no one in this world will be your match in terms of strategy."

"This feather fan is made of Vermilion Bird feathers. It can convert your ordinary spiritual energy attacks into flame attacks, greatly increasing their power!"

"As for this last coin... remember to toss it before you do anything."

"For example, if the coin lands heads up, do it; if it lands tails down, don't. If the result of the toss is heads up, then definitely don't do it!"

Just kidding.

This coin had been blessed by Su Chen himself.

With Su Chen's level of bad luck, this was much more reliable than any mysterious divination!

"With these three items, I guarantee you'll beat that guy named Wang until he doesn't know which way is up!"

"Thank you, Teacher! I will definitely work hard tomorrow and not let you down!"

"But... I have one more request."

Speaking of this, the genius girl actually became a bit bashful.

"Teacher... there is a lot of mist on this mirror you live in. I tried to wipe it, but I could only wipe off a part of it."

"I want to see Teacher's face..."

Su Chen was also a bit helpless.

This was a setting of the system.

Even if Zhuge Jinyu wiped the mirror every day, the mist on it would only decrease a little.

It would take ten years to completely dissipate before she could see his face clearly.

At that moment, Su Chen could only give a perfunctory answer.

"I am definitely the number one handsome man in the world!"

"You just need to wipe this mirror every day, and the mist will slowly decrease. By the time you finish your apprenticeship, you should be able to see me!"

"Is that so..."

Zhuge Jinyu took the mirror and held it even tighter.

Inside the mirror, Su Chen had already begun to think carefully. If his plan failed tomorrow, should he use his own power to add a few more layers of insurance for Zhuge Jinyu?

He didn't notice that something was a bit off with Zhuge Jinyu outside the mirror.

She inexplicably hugged the mirror tightly, like a fish that had found water, and smiled happily.

"Teacher... I have a teacher now too."

"As expected, Teacher is just so amazing!"