“Sir, everything you’ve said is completely wrong. I’m a ladyboy. Where would I get a wife or children? These scratches on my face are from a fight with one of my sisters. That wretch tried to steal my man, so I gave her a piece of my mind and destroyed her ancestral shrine!”

With hands on his hips, Chen struck a pose, suddenly exuding an inexplicable allure.

Wang Laoshi opened his mouth, then closed it again.

This was truly an eye-opening experience!

“You… You all must be in cahoots! I wasn’t wrong—you’re just trying to set us up so we can’t get the gold bars!” Mucai’s lips trembled, his face turning ashen, looking as though he’d swallowed poison.

Wilson frowned. “Mr. Mucai, please watch your words. Mr. Chen, could you show them your photo?”

“Oh, you want to see my photos? But I don’t look very good in them!” Chen stomped his feet bashfully before pulling a few laminated photos from his pocket.

The photos were black-and-white and clearly dated, but it was evident that the person in a bunny-girl outfit in the images was none other than Chen.

For a moment, the room fell silent.

No one had expected the organizers to go this far, even inviting a ladyboy.

Zhikong and Qingmingzi breathed quiet sighs of relief, thankful they hadn’t been the first to try. Otherwise, they would’ve humiliated themselves terribly.

Everyone else also realized that earning money here wouldn’t be easy.

Scanning the remaining participants, they grew increasingly anxious. The poorly dressed might not be poor, the extravagantly dressed might not be wealthy, men might not be men, and women might not be women.

As the tests continued, the once-arrogant “masters” now looked like wilted eggplants.

Though Wilson said little, his disappointment was evident.

“Since no one has passed the test, let’s end things here for today,” Wilson announced.

Before Wang Laoshi could speak, Mucai exploded with rage. “You’re clearly not sincere! Not all of us specialize in fortune-telling. Some of us are skilled in curse-breaking and exorcism!”

“That’s right! We weren’t told this was about fortune-telling. We were invited to deal with a curse!”

Zhikong and the others joined the protest.

Clearly, the sight of the gold bars had tempted them, making them unwilling to miss out on such a lucrative opportunity.

“I’ll bet no one here could accurately discern these people’s true identities!” Mucai declared, emboldened by the crowd’s support, pointing a finger at Wilson.

“Speak for yourself. Just because you’re inept doesn’t mean I am,” Gu Xicao interjected.

Mucai sneered at her. “And who are you, little girl? Go home and cook! You’ve no place here.”

The others burst into laughter.

Ignoring him, Gu Xicao stood up and walked over to Chen.

“Chen Shuang, 39 years old. You broke up with your same-sex partner earlier this year and currently have a complicated love life. Years ago, you were disowned by your family for cross-dressing and were kicked out of the house,” she said calmly.

Chen, who had been amused by the earlier commotion, was now stunned into silence.

Gu Xicao bypassed him directly and approached the next person—a neatly dressed elderly woman with snow-white hair. “Liang Ermei, you’ve experienced two marriages in your life, both husbands passing away early. You were left with a daughter, but she passed away during childbirth. Your son-in-law, being heartless, abandoned your granddaughter to you. You’ve supported her by doing laundry and cooking for others.”

The elderly woman showed a look of surprise but quickly nodded calmly. “That’s correct. Right now, I’m helping Miss Eliza with some laundry work.”

Everyone was astonished again.

Gu Xicao moved on to the third, fourth, and fifth people. Not a single one of her statements was inaccurate, and she didn’t falter once.

Finally, she stopped in front of the last person—a pale-skinned woman with dark circles under her eyes, wearing a faded dress that had clearly been washed many times. Gu Xicao smiled faintly. “Miss Eliza, do you need me to say it now?”

The grip on Eliza’s skirt loosened as she slowly lifted her head. Beneath her thick lashes were silver-green eyes, shimmering like a forest lake after a storm, reflecting light with a gentle ripple.

“What? She’s Miss Eliza?”

Everyone was stunned, staring at Eliza in disbelief.

Eliza was incredibly thin, with pale skin that seemed almost like plaster. Earlier, with her hunched posture, some had assumed she was merely a maid from a poor family.

But as she straightened her back and stood naturally, her presence alone revealed her distinctive bearing.

Eliza looked at Gu Xicao and said, “You’ve impressed me. I didn’t expect you to be so different from these frauds.”

Mucai and the others turned red with embarrassment.

In the reception room, John and Zhao Pingsheng were sipping tea, both visibly distracted as they awaited news from the main hall.

John added milk and sugar to his tea, speaking nonchalantly with confidence. “Jack, I think you should stop waiting. Do you really think that young girl you brought here can outperform the masters I painstakingly invited from all over the world?”

Zhao Pingsheng, anxious, responded impatiently, “You never know. I’ve met countless masters, but none as extraordinary as Master Gu.”

“Extraordinary? You’ve been conned by a little girl,” John mocked, leaning back on the sofa and sipping his tea with a smirk.

The reception room door opened, and Wilson walked in, nodding to both men. “Gentlemen, the results are in.”

“What’s the outcome? Who passed the test?” John hastily put down his teacup and stood up, eager for answers.

Wilson turned to Zhao Pingsheng and said, “Miss Gu passed the test.”

Joy immediately lit up Zhao Pingsheng’s face. Clenching his right fist and hitting it against his left palm, he exclaimed, “I knew it! Master Gu would never let me down!”

John’s face darkened with displeasure. “What about the others?”

Wilson shook his head. “I’m afraid no one else passed Miss Eliza’s test. We’ve already given them the gold bars, and they’ve left. Miss Eliza has invited Master Gu upstairs.”

“No, something’s wrong here. This doesn’t add up—I must go and accompany Eliza!”

Biting his lip and furrowing his thick brows, John brusquely pushed past Wilson and headed toward the upstairs study.

Zhao Pingsheng quickly helped steady Wilson. “Are you alright? John was too much just now.”

“It’s fine, Mr. Zhao. Why don’t you come upstairs with me as well?” Wilson adjusted his clothing and resumed his composed demeanor.

Zhao Pingsheng hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright, Eliza might need support right now.”

Inside the study.

Gu Xicao and Eliza had just sat down when John barged in, pushing the door open. “Eliza, don’t be foolish. Don’t trust outsiders so easily!”

“John,” Eliza frowned, her lips pressed tightly together, her displeasure evident. “This is the study. You should knock before entering.”

“Knocking is for outsiders. I’m your cousin—why would I care about such formalities?”

John leaned on the table with both hands, raising his voice intentionally as Zhao Pingsheng and Wilson entered. “If Uncle were still alive, we might already be married by now.”

Anger flickered in Eliza’s eyes. “Shut your mouth! Do you still think this is the 18th century? Even if my father were alive, he’d never approve of you!”

John’s expression alternated between pale and livid.

Wilson calmly interjected, “Mr. John, if you continue to disrupt things, I’ll have no choice but to ask you to leave.”

John glared at Wilson fiercely but ultimately relented, sitting heavily in a chair. “Fine, I won’t speak further. But as Eliza’s only remaining relative, I refuse to leave. On the other hand, why is Jack here? He’s just an outsider!”

Eliza glanced at Zhao Pingsheng, her gaze softening. “Jack is my dear friend. Is there a problem with me inviting him here? Besides, he was the one who introduced Master Gu to me.”

“Humph. Master Gu,” John scoffed. “Eliza, let me tell you something—you should be cautious. Back when Uncle was alive, he invited all kinds of masters and priests from the U.S. and Europe, but none of them could save him. He still died young.”

Sighing dramatically, John added, “Just like everyone else says in England, the Xiboro family is cursed. This curse will bring your family to ruin!”

“Shut up!”

Eliza’s sudden outburst caused her to cough violently, the sound so harsh it seemed to tear her chest apart. Her pale face flushed with a sickly redness.

Wang Laoshi was startled, while Zhao Pingsheng hurried to pour water for her. Wilson retrieved medicine and handed it to Eliza.

After a while, she finally calmed down.

Her golden hair, damp with sweat, clung to her face. She looked weak, but her gaze grew resolute. “No matter what others say, I refuse to believe in some so-called curse. My grandfather may not have been a good man, but he wasn’t so sinful as to deserve a curse that would doom our family.”

Wilson shot a cold glare at John. The reflection in his glasses glinted sharply. “Mr. John, if you continue spouting nonsense, I will have to ask you to leave.”

Though unwilling, John remained silent under Wilson’s warning gaze.

Eliza turned to Gu Xicao. “I invited you here not to investigate a curse but to see if someone has targeted my family. My grandfather had five sons and six daughters, but in the end, only my father survived. My parents had three children, but the first two didn’t survive. Then my father passed, followed by my mother. Now, I’m the only one left.”

She leaned back into the dark green chair, her face a mixture of pain and confusion. “Our family’s assets total billions of pounds, yet I have no relatives left. If you can uncover the truth, I’ll pay you whatever amount you desire.”

Billions of pounds?

Wang Laoshi silently counted on his fingers, realizing he didn’t have enough to keep track.

No wonder they handed out gold bars like candy. With Eliza’s wealth, even spending a million a day wouldn’t put a dent in her fortune!