Chapter 483: The Imperial Lottery

This was just like yesterday.

Jiang Qingli was completely numb to it.

At the same time, she realized this couldn’t go on any longer.

Jiang Qingli pulled her hand away from his abs and cleared her throat. "Alright, don’t just stand in the doorway. Come in. I have something I want to talk to you all about anyway."

At her words, Qin Muye shot Baili Jing a vicious glare before entering the room.

Inside the room, Qin Muye stood by the coffee table with his arms crossed. Yi Nuo stood in the shadows behind him, while Ye Linyuan and Yuan Shimo sat at opposite ends of the sofa. Gu Nian sat on the rug by the bed—he had originally wanted to sit on the bed, but Qin Muye had dragged him off, and the two almost came to blows.

Standing in the middle of them, Jiang Qingli felt like she was about to give a presentation.

’This won’t do. I’ve already lost the upper hand.’

Jiang Qingli walked to the sofa and gestured with her hand. Understanding the cue, Ye Linyuan and Yuan Shimo stood up and made way for her.

Jiang Qingli sat down in the middle of the sofa. "Since we’ll be having new members in the family," she announced, "the old schedule is void. I’ve come up with a new way for us to spend time together."

Qin Muye was confused. "We’re just adding Xie Youchen, right? Just give him Saturdays."

Jiang Qingli: "..."

Her suspicious two-second silence was all it took for Qin Muye’s temper to flare. "Who else?! Who seduced you this time?! Did they force you?!"

’Jiang Qingli was a decent, honest female; she never went looking for trouble. It had to be those shameless bed-warmers who seduced her, who coerced and bribed her into taking them on!’

’Those shameless bastards!’

’He was itching to kill those new additions right now!’

"Muye," Baili Jing’s voice grew grave. "Since when is it your place to question the female master’s decision?"

"Baili Jing, you’re the last person who should be talking," Qin Muye snarled, grinding his teeth. "Do you have the gall to mention what you were just doing?"

"I am Xiao Li’s Beast Husband. Winning her affection is my primary duty. Why should I be embarrassed?" Baili Jing replied with a nonchalant smile.

His brazenly confident attitude was enough to make even Qin Muye second-guess himself.

But he didn’t fall for it.

The only reason they were all here today was that they were afraid one of them would try to sneak into Jiang Qingli’s bed tonight, so they were all keeping an eye on each other.

Baili Jing had used the excuse of taking a call to step out, but his real intention was to seduce Jiang Qingli.

He was the one at fault.

Qin Muye ground his teeth. He was just about to take the moral high ground and condemn Baili Jing when Yuan Shimo cut in. "Female master, it doesn’t matter who they are. As long as you like them, it’s fine."

In fact, Yuan Shimo didn’t really want to know who the new additions were.

’If he found out Yuan Shiyao’s name was among them, he might not be able to stop himself from going over and starting a fight with his own younger brother.’

’So it was better not to know.’

’The female master was willing to tell them and offer a solution, which meant she still cared about him... That was better than her having secret lovers on the side.’

A small smile touched Yuan Shimo’s lips.

Qin Muye was so angry he almost fainted. He plopped down next to Jiang Qingli and stopped talking, just staring at her sullenly. "You can at least tell me how many there are, can’t you?"

Jiang Qingli glanced at Yi Nuo, her thoughts drifting to the black cat far away at the Twelve Cities courthouse. "Probably... two more?" she said hesitantly.

"’Probably,’" Ye Linyuan, who had been silent and stony-faced since she entered, scoffed. "How many more are you planning to get, female master?"

His voice was laced with ice when he addressed her as "female master."

His stare was so intense that Jiang Qingli felt a phantom ache in her lower back.

Just then, Qin Muye leaned forward, blocking Ye Linyuan’s view.

He was less concerned about the future and more focused on the present. He furrowed his brow and asked, "Answer me seriously. Besides Yi Nuo, is the other one Que Feiling?"

Jiang Qingli shook her head.

’That’s a relief.’

Qin Muye let out a sigh of relief.

"Sister, what’s this new method?"

Gu Nian had appeared behind Jiang Qingli at some point, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on her shoulder as he asked softly.

The other Beast Husbands usually kept a certain distance from Jiang Qingli when they were all together. This was partly because they weren’t used to public displays of affection, and partly to guard against their rivals making a move.

But Gu Nian never cared about such things. He’d get close whenever he wanted, and with his Space Ability, no one could stop him.

Right now, Gu Nian’s appearance drew most of their animosity, taking the heat off Jiang Qingli.

Jiang Qingli took out her terminal and tapped it twice, causing a screen to materialize in front of her.

On the screen was a container for drawing lots, filled with ten bamboo slips. Below it were the words "Click to Draw."

"This is a little program I wrote this afternoon when I was bored," she explained. "Each slip has one of your names on it. Whoever’s name is drawn gets to be with me. Two of the slips are blank. If I draw a blank one, I get the night off."

’Jiang Qingli thought it was a rather clever idea.’

’It was fair to everyone, no one would be left out, and it even had the thrill of a gacha pull.’

Yi Nuo was unconditionally supportive. "Whatever you say, Miss."

Baili Jing’s expression was full of admiration and affection. "Our girl is always full of new ideas."

Gu Nian’s lips curled into a smile. "It’s like an ancient emperor choosing his concubine for the night. I like it."

Yuan Shimo said, "Alright. I’m fine with that."

Qin Muye clicked his tongue. "Then on the nights I’m not with you, don’t let anyone else seduce you. And you better video call me!"

A humorless smirk touched Ye Linyuan’s lips. "Do as you please."

He hadn’t agreed, but he hadn’t objected either.

Xie Youchen was still laid up downstairs, but he wouldn’t object if he found out. At most, he would just offer a resigned smile.

Jiang Qingli nodded, satisfied. "Then it’s settled!"

She was just about to call it a night when the arms around her tightened slightly. Gu Nian whispered in her ear, "Sister, why don’t we give it a trial run tonight?"

Jiang Qingli glanced around at the others. None of the other Beast Husbands voiced any objection.

She tapped the drawing container on the screen.

Once the draw began, the container on the screen shook wildly before spitting out a single slip.

Jiang Qingli tapped to "pick up" the slip. The two words "Gu Nian" were written on it.

"Yes! I get to be with Sister tonight!" the young man cheered in her ear. "I’m so lucky!"

"Alright, Nian stays tonight. The rest of my loyal subjects can return tomorrow for the drawing," Jiang Qingli announced, waving her hand dismissively, feeling very much like an emperor adjourning the morning court.

"Sister, you can close the app now. I’ll go run your bath," Gu Nian said, getting to his feet.

He moved quickly, and as he passed Baili Jing, Baili Jing’s eyes narrowed.

Just as Jiang Qingli was about to tap the close button, Ye Linyuan suddenly stepped forward and tapped the screen.

Jiang Qingli was startled. "Hey, wait—"

Before she could get the word out, the container on the screen had already spat out another slip.

On it were the words "Gu Nian."

Jiang Qingli: ?

She sensed something was off and tapped the draw button again.

POP.

It spat out yet another slip with "Gu Nian" on it.

Ye Linyuan raised an eyebrow. "What’s this? Did all of your Beast Husbands change their names?"

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’The implication was crystal clear.’

’Gu Nian, that little rascal, had hacked her phone and tampered with the app so he could be the first one to spend the night with her.’

’No wonder he’d been in such a rush to close the app and get everyone else to leave.’

Jiang Qingli immediately laid down the law. "Nian, if you pull something like this again, I’m taking your slip out of the draw entirely."

Gu Nian rubbed his nose guiltily, but still sounded defiant. "Sister, I wasn’t the first one to do it! When I got into the app, the first slip already had Yuan Shimo’s name on it... He even wrote an anti-tampering script! I didn’t have enough time, so I had to change it this way!"