Chapter 251

Yes, didn't they hold the banquet when it was dark?

"Gold and silver are intertwined, and one gains first and then loses. If one knows when to advance and when to retreat, one can gain a small profit."

Yes, look at the chips on the maid's tray, aren't they gold and silver coins? If I had stopped after winning one round, wouldn't I have made a hundred coins?

"The more intense the desire, the more one loses. A profit of one hundred coins can lead to a loss of sixty gold coins."

But after losing, she wanted to win back her losses, which is why she kept losing more and more... Kunti calculated in her mind, feeling her lips go numb.

"Sixty gold coins, it really is sixty gold coins..."

Kunti muttered to himself.

Ingenious calculation, ingenious calculation, truly ingenious calculation!

She was wrong, the astrologer was right!

It was still dark, Kunti was already getting restless and wanted to get up. She waited anxiously.

When the sky brightened and the palace gates opened, Kunti rushed toward West Street at top speed.

Her actions were certainly observed by many people with ulterior motives, but Kunti couldn't care less at the moment.

Because Kunti hadn't come for the previous five or six days, many people had already concluded that the astrology shop was a fraud, but some people were still unwilling to give up and were still waiting.

When they saw Kunti, they rushed up to him and asked, "Was your calculation accurate?"

Kunti had no time to argue with them and immediately strode through the door.

"It seems you have lost sixty gold coins, Queen Kunti."

Hebe smiled and sighed, "What a pity. You could have stopped while you were ahead and paid for the divination."

Before Kunti could even speak, he was already frozen in place.

Yes, I won a hundred coins—and that was the reward the astrologer had calculated for me.

Chapter 309: Teaching by Example.

Kunti paid the money.

She was completely convinced by Hebe.

Hebe was secretly amused when he heard Kunti ask again, "What will be the greatest tribulation that the Yudhishthira will face in the future?"

It's perfectly reasonable for Kunti to ask this question.

Because in her view, Hebe's divination had come true, which in turn meant that Yudhishthira would indeed become king in the future, and she herself would indeed become Empress Dowager!

But then they heard the beaded curtain sway gently, and a suppressed laugh could be heard, "It's gambling too."

This is not the most famous form of gambling recorded in the Mahabharata.

The most famous scene known to the world is probably the wager between Kunti's sons—especially the one between Yudhishthira and Duryodhana.

This gamble was indeed planned by Duryodhana and his uncle Shakuni, with the aim of taking away the territory that the Pandavas had worked so hard to build through gambling.

The problem is that there is absolutely no room for gamblers in the Yudhishthira.

The Dharma is inherently a hollow concept; he has countless reasons to shirk it, yet he dares to gamble on it anyway.

Family, homeland, brothers, wife... everything was put on the gambling table by the Yudhishthira, and then the premeditated Shakuni cheated, allowing Duryodhana to win.

What's even more perplexing is that Yudhishthira even felt he had a very good chance of winning.

In the end, they naturally lost everything.

The Pandavas became slaves;

Their hard-earned land was taken away;

Their wives—the infamous Black Princess— were dragged by their hair into public and stripped of their saris.

This was also a major point of contention when Hebe read the epic in her previous life: the gambling tools were made by the other side, the rules were set by the other side, and even the referee was one of the other side's own people...

Given that both sides were clearly hostile and he had been repeatedly warned of harboring malicious intentions, why did Yudhishthira believe he would win?

Now Hebe probably knows the reason.

No wonder Yudhishthira is a gambler; it turns out that my mother, Kunti, is a gambler too.

In terms of teaching by example.

Everyone, please stand up.

Cappuccino.

The part about losing everything.

After bidding farewell to the bittersweet Kunti, Hebe's astrology shop finally celebrated its grand opening.

Looking at the faces of the beings behind the beaded curtain—some anxious, some sorrowful, some yearning, and some angry— Kama couldn't help but feel somewhat bewildered.

"World Honored One, I do not understand why these people are so eager to know their fate?"

Kama asked.

Hebe snapped her fingers, bringing a temporary silence to the bustling astrology hall. She picked up her teacup and smiled.

"That's what makes humanity so precious."

Hebe took a sip of the slightly bitter tea. "I once knew someone who said that knowing your destiny and taking control of it is what is meant by 'the enlightened are always happy'..."

Kama, even knowing your inevitable death, can you refrain from running away, from self-pity, and instead, with courage and awareness, move towards your ideals until the very end?

Hebe's words carried a heavy weight, causing Kama to fall silent for a moment.

"You see, it's not that easy, is it? As for knowing one's own destiny, knowing all the births, aging, sickness, and death, joys and sorrows in one's life, and then calmly accepting one's destiny, and after a profound enlightenment, peacefully following the arrangements of destiny to live out one's life, that's even more impossible."

"Even so, they still have this desire to improve—that is sublimation."

Hebe smiled slightly, "We are born to pursue brilliance, just as sparks fly upwards."

"So, has the person who told you this achieved 'enlightenment' himself?"

Kama walked to the door, then seemed to remember something and asked.

"It's a pity."

Hebe shrugged. "The person who said that was a jerk who was lenient with himself but strict with others. After he said that, he had no intention of accepting his predetermined fate, so he was beaten to death."

Kama burst out laughing.

As time went on, the news that "a very effective astrology shop has opened on West Street" was spreading rapidly in Elephant City.

Considering Kunti's previous actions, the authorities in Elephant City began to have some concerns.

The first to take action was not Tianshi, but Shakuni, who was skilled at empty talk and was cunning and treacherous.

This cunning relative of the mother-in-law arrived at West Street around two or three in the afternoon.

The scorching sunlight shone down like sharp needles, making people sweat profusely.

Shakuni wiped the sweat from his forehead, stepped over the threshold, and entered this unique astrology shop.

Prior to this, Shakuni had consulted fortune tellers.

Those mysterious sorcerers always squatted in dilapidated thatched huts or sat by the roadside puffing on their tobacco, and the prophecies they uttered were incoherent and dubious.

Such behavior might fool the ignorant, but trying to fool the shrewd Shakuni is a joke.

But when he looked around, all he saw were bookshelves piled with palm-leaf scriptures and counters displaying many antique objects.

Even in broad daylight, candles are lit here.

The candlelight flickered, releasing a calming aroma.

A fine, dense beaded curtain hung down, obscuring the view behind it.

"Please sit, please sit. This is Mr. Shakuni, the prince from afar, the elder brother of Queen Gandhari."

A gentle voice suddenly rang out from behind the beaded curtain, reaching Shakuni's ears and sending a chill down the spine of this exceptionally intelligent man.

"You're absolutely right!"

Shakuni wanted to lift the curtain to see who was speaking behind it.

But just as he was pondering this idea, the voice from behind the curtain sounded again.

"Mr. Shakuni is a smart man and he certainly doesn't like his secrets being known by others."

Hebe placed the teacup on the table. "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. I think Mr. Shakuni understands this principle."

Shakuni, who had already reached out to touch the beaded curtain, was startled and withdrew her hand as if she had touched a red-hot iron.

He sat there, head bowed, hands clasped together. "The magpie doesn't know how dangerous the eagle is, which is why it provokes the bird of prey."

This viperous relative of the mother-in-law chose to back down.

He is not afraid of the Tianshi, because the Tianshi represents a virtuous person, and a virtuous person can be deceived by reason. The Dharma is the greatest weakness of the Tianshi.

He was not afraid of the Pandavas because he concealed himself well. More importantly, he knew their weaknesses.

But Hebe's prophetic abilities truly frightened him.

What if the person sitting behind the beaded curtain is an immortal who has cultivated himself for many years?

This is why Shakuni compares himself to a magpie and Hebe to an eagle.

"A well-fed eagle won't care about a little bird's provocation once, but if the little bird teases it repeatedly..."

"I promise this mischievous magpie will never again offend the eagle's sky!"

Shakuni said righteously and sternly.

"All right."

Hebe smiled noncommittally. "So, what brings you here?"

"My nephew, Duryodhana, is a direct descendant of the Kuru Dynasty. Before the return of the Pandavas, everyone regarded him as the crown prince."

Shakuni paused for a moment, then began to speak, "But when the Pandavas returned, his position was shaken."

Because the true king of this country was Pandita, who went to the forest to practice asceticism.

The blind ruler Dhritarashtra is merely acting as king, and theoretically, the throne of the Kuru Dynasty is still vacant.

"My sister married King Chi. She has suffered so much; the throne rightfully belongs to her son. No one can take it away from her!"

Tianshi, with his handsome beard, said in a low voice, "That old bastard Shakuni can't stop me, and neither can the Pandavas— "

"So I ask you—what is the greatest obstacle on the path Duryodhana becoming king?"

This is what Shakuni wanted Hebe to divine.

He seemed never to have doubted that Duryodhana could become the King of Kuru.

However, the appearance of the Pandavas always made Shakuni uneasy.

"It was a man named Krishna."

"Hebe said."

Krishna?

"Yes, he will become the leader of the Yadu Clan in the future. But for now, he is just a child."

"Oh—child."

Shakuni rubbed his hands together. "Good child... Why does this person want to be our enemy?"

"Maybe it's because of 'justice,' who knows."

"Hebe said."

"'Justice'?"

Shakuni laughed out loud upon hearing this.

He laughed so hard he was doubled over, then suddenly stopped.

Justice? What a ridiculous and despicable word. And what gives you the right to call yourself just?

"Thank you for your divination; this is my reward."