Ch. 621..630

Chapter 621

Lily was still looking around, trying to find those fine stones introduced by the salesperson.

Besides Lily's friends, many onlookers gathered in the area.

They had come to watch the match.

Seeing how quickly Harriet had chosen her raw stone, the onlookers and Lily's friends stifled their laughter.

Presumably, Harriet didn't know a thing about stone gambling, so she simply chose one that caught her eye.

'Does she think that stone gambling is all about luck?' They thought.

Lily was still carefully selecting her stone. Clearly, she knew what she was doing.

Harriet didn't understand stone gambling at all. Yet she insisted on gambling with Lily.

She would probably cry when she saw the results.

The discussion among the people grew louder. Almost everyone was pessimistic about Harriet's victory.

After finally finding the raw stone introduced by the salesperson, Lily confidently walked toward Harriet.

She couldn't help but sneer when she saw the ordinary stone in Harriet's hand.

"Harriet, if you want to admit defeat, just say it. Why choose a raw stone that clearly won't produce anything good? If you beg me, I can give you a chance to change it," she said.

Harriet gave a mysterious smile.

She seemed completely indifferent to everyone's comments and remained composed.

Delbert believed in her ability, so he just silently watched.

"It's still early to draw conclusions. Let's find out!" Harriet sneered.

Lily believed that Harriet was just pretending to be calm.

She snorted and walked to the stone cutter.

Unperturbed, Harriet followed behind her with Delbert.

Soon, Lily's stone produced a gem.

As she had expected, the gem was top-grade and valuable.

With the gem in her hand, Lily proudly walked toward Harriet.

The onlookers looked at Harriet with eager anticipation, expecting to see her make a fool of herself.

Facing their doubtful gazes, Harriet walked over to the stone cutter and produced her stone.

When the stone cutter made the first cut, everyone was stunned.

Surprisingly, it was a top-grade agate.

They hadn't seen such a top-quality agate for more than ten years.

Yet in this trading center, it appeared from within a stone randomly picked by Harriet.

The stone looked so ordinary. By rights, it could produce a low-quality gem at most.

To be able to produce top-grade agate was simply unbelievable.

The stone cutter was astonished. Even his hands were shaking.

 

Chapter 622

For a moment, the stone cutter hesitated to continue cutting the stone.

After a while, he picked up a signal from Lewis and continued his work.

His cutting movements were much more cautious than before.

While the others were shocked, Harriet remained calm.

She smiled at Lily and said, "Miss Lynch, I don't think we'll need an appraisal. Everyone here can tell whose stone is more valuable."

Lily's eyes glinted with malice, and she clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh.

Although she didn't know much about gems, judging by the expressions of those around her, she could guess that Harriet's stone produced a better gem.

Harriet won this bet.

Lily had made all the necessary preparations, and the salesperson had introduced all the raw stones capable of producing precious gems to her.

'Why do I still lose in the end? Why is Harriet so lucky? It can't be!' She thought.

She wondered why the salesperson hadn't introduced the stone selected by Harriet to her earlier.

If there were top-quality gems inside that stone, the salesperson should have introduced them to her.

It must be a trap.

Otherwise, Harriet wouldn't have found such a good stone.

Lily believed that Harriet didn't know a thing about stone gambling.

Apart from cheating, Harriet would never be able to find that stone.

The salesperson and Harriet were wicked enough to deceive her. They deserved to die.

Fuming with rage, Lily pointed at Harriet and shouted, "Harriet, you have no scruples to win against me. It's shameful to cheat in front of so many people."

Harriet laughed in response.

Lily had the nerve to say that.

Did she forget that she had come to gamble in this area because the salesperson told her that the raw stones there could produce precious gems?

Lily really had no sense of shame.

She was supposed to be a fair lady, but she coveted Delbert and stopped at nothing.

That was not decent at all.

Harriet planned to make Lily face the music, but Lewis suddenly walked up to Lily and warned her. "Miss Lynch, are you suspecting that we helped Ms. Munoz cheat? You'd better be careful with your words."

Lewis had informed those in charge to replace some of the raw stones with those that could produce valuable gems.

He also knew which raw stones could produce gems.

But unexpectedly, the stone chosen by Harriet produced a top-quality gem that hadn't been seen in over a decade.

He was astonished because the stone selected by Harriet was not among the ones arranged by his men.

In other words, Harriet had eyes for the best stones.

 

Chapter 623

Lily's heart tightened, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

She suddenly remembered that this Gem Trading Center was the largest and oldest in Imperium.

Its owner was said to be of high rank.

In comparison, she was just the daughter of a fallen family. She couldn't afford to offend the people in the trading center.

If the owner of the trading center was annoyed, only her family could save her.

But Liam had stopped caring about her.

Lily quickly explained, "That's not what I mean. I mean, Harriet and that salesperson are colluding.

"This Gem Trading Center is the oldest and most reputable in Imperium. How could you possibly cheat with your customers?"

Lily thought she had explained perfectly, but Lewis became angrier.

He stared at Lily with coldness and disdain. "Here, every one of our employees has gone through strict screening, and each employee's employment application is reviewed by our boss.

"Since you're not questioning our qualifications, are you questioning our boss's judgment?"

Lewis turned to look at Harriet and spoke sincerely. "Ms. Munoz, please rest assured. We will not let any of our customers' reputations be damaged. We will clear your name!"

Lily got even more anxious. She couldn't possibly doubt the owner of this trading center.

She had made it so clear, but why was Lewis trying to escalate it?

He was making a fuss.

Presumably, he was also colluding with Harriet.

Otherwise, why would he speak up for her?

Harriet's nonchalant look annoyed Lily, but she needed to explain herself first.

For now, she had to swallow her pride.

Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Ms. Munoz, are you selling this rare emerald? I'm willing to pay 500,000 dollars for it."

The speaker was a sleek man in his early forties.

Lily raised her eyebrows, but she had no intention of selling it.

500,000 dollars was a lot for an ordinary emerald, but her emerald was not ordinary.

The emerald in her hand was translucent and pure.

500,000 dollars was not enough for such a top-grade emerald.

Presumably, the man made such a low offer because he saw her as a layman.

Chapter 624

Just as Harriet was about to refuse, another person stepped forward.

"Your offer is too low! Are you trying to take advantage of this lady's ignorance? Ms. Munoz, I'm willing to buy this gem for five million dollars. If you're willing to see, we can negotiate the price," he said.

The venue then descended into chaos.

The people started to make bids, each offering a higher price than the previous one.

They acted as if they were in an auction house.

The only difference was the absence of an auctioneer. It was noisier there, and the prices went up faster.

In just a short while, the price had soared to 90 million dollars.

In the venue, the subordinates of many important figures started calling their bosses to inform them about the extraordinary gem that had appeared there.

Everyone had only one thought in mind. To get the gem!

They didn't care if Harriet had cheated or about her bet with Lily.

All they knew was that the gem they desired was in Harriet's hands. As long as their offers were good enough, they would get it.

To them, it was not just a gem.

It represented reputation and prestige.

It symbolized power and wealth.

Even though Harriet had mentally prepared herself beforehand, her eyes couldn't help but shimmer slightly.

She had anticipated that this extraordinary gem would arouse people's interest, but she hadn't expected so many people to start bidding, with the price even reaching 90 million dollars.

She had just chosen a random stone.

Yet the gem it produced was worth so much.

She had no idea what kind of gem the worst stone, in Lily's opinion, would produce.

But it looked like the stone would produce a much more valuable gem than the emerald.

Lily felt suffocated.

Harriet had cheated, but these people were vying with each other to buy her gem.

The one in Lily's hand, however, was ignored.

If the salesperson had introduced that stone to her, she would have been the winner.

If she won, she wouldn't have to endure Harriet's and Lewis's humiliation.

Lily's face twisted with jealousy, and she slammed the table next to her.

The place quieted down, and she said, "Harriet obtained this gem through cheating. Don't you think it's dirty?"

Harriet handed the gem to Delbert and looked at Lily.

If Lily hadn't been so confrontational, she wouldn't have bothered to expose the fact that Lily had been introduced to all the raw stones in the venue by the salesperson, knowing which ones could produce precious gems.

But since Lily insisted on crossing the bottom line, she would show no mercy.

 

Chapter 625

Harriet sneered and calmly looked at Lily. "You accuse me of cheating, but have you even checked if you are clean or not? When I first came to this area, a salesperson was standing next to you, right?"

Lily didn't understand what Harriet meant. She subconsciously nodded.

Realizing it afterward, she stepped back with a wary look. "So what?"

Harriet smirked and slowly approached Lily. "If so, whether I cheated or not has nothing to do with you. Did that salesperson introduce to you all the raw stones in this area that can produce precious gems?"

Her voice grew colder, and Lily's heart tightened.

But there was no time for her to think about why Harriet knew about this matter.

She pretended to be calm and snorted. "Are you suspecting me of cheating? Clearly, you are the one cheating, yet you suspect me. How ridiculous!"

Harriet unhurriedly glanced at the salesperson.

Lily was alarmed.

Before she could even threaten the salesperson not to disclose what happened just now, the salesperson took a few steps forward.

Facing the crowd, the salesperson confessed, "Ms. Munoz is right. When Miss Lynch wanted to buy raw stones before, I introduced all the raw stones in this area to her."

The onlookers, who were originally focused on the exquisite gem, showed expressions of sudden realization.

According to their previous understanding of Lily, she had no knowledge of gambling on stones and gems at all.

Originally, they thought Lily was secretly dabbling in this field and considered her a low-key player.

In fact, Lily knew nothing.

The truly low-key player was Harriet, who had kept appearing in the news recently.

Many people started to reverse their rankings of Lily and Harriet.

The Lynch family was just a declining noble family. How could they compare to Harriet, the rising star of Imperium?

Besides, Lily was arrogant and spoiled. Without the support of her family, she was nothing.

In contrast, Harriet was confident and capable.

After becoming the general manager of Levi's company, she closed many deals and found herself a capable assistant. Darryl was quite a promising young man.

If there was a chance, they must make friends with Harriet.

If they could please her, they might get the gem at a lower price.

As for how to please Harriet...

Many people couldn't help but turn their gaze toward Lily.

Chapter 626

It seemed that Harriet and Lily held old grudges against each other and now they had more.

‘If I could belittle Lily in front of Harriet, making Harriet's enemy lose face, it’ll definitely please Harriet!’

With that thought, the man who was the first to approach Harriet to buy the jewel instantly switched to a look of righteous indignation.

He addressed Lily directly, "Miss Lily, you cheated first, and then falsely accused others, even spouting malicious words. Is this the kind of upbringing befitting a lady of the Lynch family? I never expected such a noble house could raise someone with such malevolent intentions! I wonder if the ancestors of the Lynch family can rest in peace seeing this scene!"

As soon as the man finished speaking, other people around started to voice their criticism of Lily.

In an instant, everyone in the venue looked at Lily with disdain and disgust.

Lily was practically going mad with anger.

She had never faced such universal contempt and public accusation from everyone before!

As the daughter of the Lynch family, Lily had been treated like a princess wherever she went.

She was always the center of attention!

Even in a sea of people, she was the most dazzling.

Any request she made, especially from men, was never refused!

But ever since Harriet arrived at Imperium,

What princess?

What center of attention?

All of it became nothing but a mirage!

Everything she once had was destroyed by Harriet.

Not only had Delbert never given her a second glance, but even her brother, Liam, who had doted on her since childhood, started to speak to her coldly and even stopped her allowance over a trivial matter!

And those friends?

If she didn't reach out to them first, they would even avoid her on the street.

Wasn't Harriet just an orphan with no one to rely on?

She was lucky to have caught the attention of the Bass brothers and become their sister, but essentially she was just an uncultured and unimportant girl from another city.

Lily believed that Harriet could never match up to her.

So why did Harriet take away everything she once had as soon as she arrived at Imperium?

Even the man Lily loved, Harriet refused to give him up and kept causing trouble for her.

Harriet deserved to die!

At this moment, in Lily's eyes, Harriet seemed like an evil demon capable of all wickedness.

Lily had completely forgotten that it was always she who initiated trouble with Harriet.

As for Harriet? She never bothered with Lily.

Now, consumed by rage, Lily's malice seemed almost palpable, and jealousy grew rampantly in her heart.

"Harriet, it was clearly you who cheated, clearly you who were in cahoots with that salesperson! The things that salesperson said must have been rehearsed with you! A woman as malicious as you doesn't deserve to live in this world, let alone have Delbert!"

"Slap!"

A slap resounded.

Everyone's gaze turned to the man who had slapped Lily.

After Delbert retracted his hand, he calmly took out a tissue and wiped where he had touched Lily with a look of disgust.

He never hit women, but this time he couldn't stand it any second longer.

His voice was icy cold with a strong hint of disdain, "Your last sentence, along with this slap, I return them to you exactly as they were!"

 

Chapter 627

The next moment, Delbert looked up at Lily, and a killing intent suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"A malicious woman who doesn't deserve to live is clearly you!"

As Delbert's next words were spoken, Lily's face turned pale with shock and she stumbled backward several steps.

Oh no!

She had forgotten that Delbert was also here when she uttered those words earlier.

And now with his face darkened with anger, he was undoubtedly furious!

Lily was both afraid and anxious at once but seeing Harriet raise an eyebrow and fold her arms with a look of watching a good show.

Her face flushed with anger and she glared viciously at Harriet.

If Delbert's impression of her worsened because of this drama, could Harriet bear the responsibility?

She would never be done with Harriet!

But no matter how much Lily wanted to settle scores with Harriet, Delbert was by her side now.

She could forget settling scores. Delbert wouldn't even let her touch Harriet!

Lily glanced at Harriet who seemed to enjoy the drama then turned her head towards Delbert with a dark expression.

Gritting her teeth, she turned around to leave dejectedly.

But just as Lily turned around and was about to walk forward, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder.

Lily instinctively turned back and saw that it was Harriet behind her.

"Harriet, what are you doing?"

Lily raised her hand to swat away Harriet's hand!

As Lily's hand was about to touch her own, Harriet simply stepped back lightly and easily dodged Lily's hand, a mischievous and wicked smile curving her lips as she stepped back.

Lily's sudden turn and attempt to hit Harriet's hand had been forceful, and her balance was surely off.

When Harriet dodged, Lily immediately lost her balance, and the consequences were likely...

Only a "thump" was heard.

Lily's footing faltered, and she fell straight to the ground.

Her body was slightly bruised at the elbows.

But her face took the worst of it.

Lily had fallen face-first.

Her nose was bleeding from the knock, and her face was bruised with patches of blue and purple, looking painfully sore.

Seeing Lily in such a state, Harriet, who had anticipated that, stepped forward with a clever smile.

"I was simply kindly reminding Miss Lily not to forget about our bet before leaving, to remember to kneel and apologize to me. But I didn't expect you to be so committed to your promise. Before I could even speak, you had already knelt down.

"And then, you even performed such an earnest kowtow, truly living up to the noble name of the Lynch family with your honesty and integrity!"

Lily, already somewhat angry from the fall, was now absolutely furious after hearing Harriet's words!

She slowly got up from the ground, propping herself up with her hands.

Her disheveled appearance was far from that of a lady of wealth. If one ignored her attire, mistaking her for a beggar wouldn't be too far-fetched.

Just as Lily steadied herself and was about to pounce on Harriet, she roared nearly madly, "Harriet, you've gone too far! I won’t let this go!"

Harriet simply moved slightly to the right, easily dodging Lily's attack.

Seeing Lily's frantic state, Harriet feigned innocence with a shrug, her voice tinged with a hint of grievance,

"Miss Lily, that's not fair. Where have I gone too far? It was you who wanted to bet on stones, and you who cheated and got caught.

"I was just kindly reminding you that you hadn't fulfilled our bet. Now you're trying to hit me. How can you say I've gone too far?"

Lily, driven to madness by her fall, didn't care who was actually at fault.

 

Chapter 628

There was only one thought in her mind: revenge against Harriet, to make Harriet as embarrassed as she was.

After missing her target, Lily steadied herself and lunged at Harriet again with renewed vigor.

"Harriet, I'll make sure to quell your arrogance today!"

As Harriet was about to dodge again, Delbert, quick as lightning, extended his arm and pressed Lily down to the ground, signaling Lewis and the employees of the gems trading center to restrain her.

Delbert looked at Lily with disdain, his brows slightly furrowed.

The worry in his eyes seemed to be for his clothes that might get dirty from touching Lily.

He had a thing about cleanliness. Especially towards fools like Lily, it was more pronounced.

This cleanliness obsession only disappeared when he dealt with Harriet.

Delbert looked up at Lily with disdain and scoffed coldly without any mercy,

"Is this the daughter of the Lynch family in Imperium? What an eye-opener! The esteemed daughter of the Lynch family acting like a madwoman in public, causing a scene and attempting to throw herself at others?"

Hearing Delbert's words brought back the last shreds of rationality to Lily.

When she noticed the contemptuous looks from the crowd around her, she wished she could just disappear.

What had she done just now?

How could she have lost her senses and recklessly lunged at Harriet?

It must be Harriet's fault. It had nothing to do with her!

If it hadn't been for Harriet provoking her on purpose, how could she possibly have lost her mind?

It was all Harriet's fault!

At this moment, Lily's resentment towards Harriet even surpassed that towards Harriet's eight brothers.

After all, it was suspected that when Harriet's eight brothers came to Imperium, they did something unknown to their parents that led to their deaths and the downfall of their family.

That was why she hated Harriet's eight brothers so much.

The Lynch family were supposed to be the emperors of Imperium, nobility of the highest order.

And her status in all of Imperium was second to none.

Calling her the princess of Imperium wouldn't be an exaggeration.

But now, even Harriet, that lowlife dared to defy her!

Harriet and her eight brothers were all harbingers of disaster!

Ever since they came to Imperium, her parents died one after another...

Since Harriet came to Imperium, her reputation was ruined, and misfortune followed!

Thinking that, Lily glared furiously at Harriet. Her look could kill!

Just as Lily was about to demand justice from Harriet, she heard Harriet say slowly, "Now that you’ve regained your composure. Miss Lily, it's time to fulfill our previous bet and kneel down to apologize, isn't it?"

The bet?

Lily was taken aback.

After a brief moment of shock, she remembered the bet they had made.

She had vowed that if she won, Harriet would immediately kneel and apologize.

Likewise, if Harriet won, she would kneel and apologize to Harriet.

She had been confident, with the help of a shopping guide and knowledge of all the stones in the venue that could produce precious jewel, she would win.

But she never imagined Harriet would extract a top-quality jewel from an ordinary stone, which completely overshadowed her own superior jewel.

She had thought that it would be Harriet kneeling and apologizing, that she couldn’t possibly lose.

But fate had other plans...

Chapter 629

Lily looked around, taking in the circle of onlookers.

When she saw that everyone was watching with a look of anticipation for the drama, and not a single person intended to speak up for her, her heart sank.

Noticing Lily, the main party involved, looking at them, a hint of disdain flashed in the eyes of the surrounding crowd.

"What are you looking at us for, Miss Lily? Surely you don't want to kneel and apologize to Miss Harriet, do you? After all, it was you who proposed the bet. Tsk tsk, you can't afford to lose, right?"

"Losing isn’t an option for the lady of the Lynch family, is it? I think Miss Lily believes that Miss Harriet actually cheated and is still deluded into thinking she did nothing wrong. How shameless she is!"

Listening to the sarcastic comments from the crowd, Lily felt like crying.

She bit her lower lip tightly, her hands clenched into fists, looking pitiful enough to evoke sympathy.

But no one present felt any compassion for her.

Lily was about to make another excuse to clear her name.

But Delbert seemed to see right through Lily's thoughts.

His icy gaze, with a hint of threat, slowly shifted towards Lily.

When Delbert saw that Lily still hadn't knelt to apologize to Harriet, his cold voice came from not too far away.

"Kneel and apologize or die, Lily, you choose!"

Delbert's deep, beautiful eyes seemed to tell Lily that he wouldn’t show mercy because of her brother's past friendship with him if she didn’t apologize to Harriet.

Remembering her brother's mention of Delbert's ruthless reputation in the business world, Lily was scared out of her wits.

Delbert's overpowering presence kept assaulting her, almost suffocating her.

Unable to bear the pressure, Lily decisively knelt down and through gritted teeth eked out a few words.

"I'm sorry, Miss Harriet. I was wrong."

But even though she had knelt down to apologize, she was still very unwilling.

Delbert, this noble and proud man, why would he fall for Harriet?

And to be so infatuated with Harriet.

Just because Harriet wanted her to kneel and apologize, Delbert threatened her with her life over his friendship with her brother, Liam, just to make her kneel!

Such a noble and proud man like Delbert...

Only she could possess him, and only she was worthy of him!

She was determined to take Delbert back from Harriet's hands!

And she was determined to get revenge on Harriet!

Wait a second...

Lily suddenly seemed to remember something, a sinister and gloomy look flashing in her eyes.

With her head bowed low, no one saw the expression on her face, nor did anyone notice the slight curl of her lips.

That smile from Lily was profound, filled with malice and venom.

As long as she could succeed in this matter.

Harriet would never have a chance to turn things around!

But before she could accomplish this task, she needed to contact a few more people.

After apologizing and seeing that no one paid her any attention, Lily quickly stood up and left the gems trading center with her head down.

No one tried to stop her.

Everyone looked at her as if they were watching a joke.

This drama was like a minor interlude, something that could help them get closer to Harriet.

The real business was still getting their hands on that piece of jewel.

Chapter 630

Every person present had an eagerness in their eyes, almost unanimously asking, "Miss Harriet, who do you plan to sell this piece of jewel to?"

The price of that exquisite piece of jewel had now escalated beyond 9 million and reached over 10 million in the never-ending bidding war, with an upward trend still visible.

The truth was that 10 million dollars were almost equivalent to the annual income of many company bosses.

And here was Harriet, a young girl who had earned it in less than an hour.

Even they were envious of Harriet's luck!

They weren’t at all worried that Harriet wouldn't be able to sell this exquisite piece of jewel!

With a fortune of 10 million close at hand, who wouldn't take it?

But the next second, Harriet's response shocked everyone present.

Harriet nonchalantly took the jewel from Delbert's hand, her lips parting slightly to utter a few words that instantly drove everyone into a frenzy, "Sorry, I'm not selling this jewel!"

Not selling?

What was all their earlier eager bidding for?

What did their earlier actions mean when they humiliated Lily and offended the Lynch family just to please Harriet?

They were complete clowns!

Seeing the crowd's collapse around her, Harriet spread her hands with a helpless look on her face.

She didn’t say she would sell the jewel.

She wasn't short on money. Not to mention that her eight brothers would transfer money to her bank account from time to time, casually adding up to millions, making her wealth surpass that of most of the big bosses in Imperium.

Moreover, she was planning to keep this piece of jewel as a gift for her eight brothers.

But seeing the pitiful state of the crowd around her, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them.

She sighed helplessly and continued, "I have another use for this jewel stone. After this period is over, I’ll come here again. By then, the jewel I get may possibly be sold to others."

Upon hearing Harriet's words, the onlookers slightly reined in their disappointed expressions.

Although they were internally falling apart, they still expressed understanding for Harriet's decision to keep the exceptional piece of jewel.

After all, Harriet was the beloved sister of the eight tycoons of Imperium.

After getting such a piece of exceptional jewel, she would surely take it back to report to her brothers, using it to strengthen her own influence and carve out a share of the Bass family's assets.

These assets were far more valuable than mere numbers in a bank account.

If Harriet could hear the thoughts of those present, she would probably die laughing.

To carve out more assets?

To strengthen her influence?

She didn’t know when the family of her eight brothers became such a den of intrigue?

The imagination of these onlookers was simply too wild!

Seeing that the crowd had no intention of pestering her, Harriet breathed a sigh of relief.

After giving a few instructions to Lewis, she once again entered the stones area, ready to pick out a few more rough stones.

After cutting them open, she planned to take them along with the piece of jewel she already had.

The crowd, which had been ready to disperse, paused their departure upon seeing Harriet head towards the stones area and stayed to watch.

They were curious whether Harriet's ability to produce exceptional jewel was due to sheer luck or solid skill.

But it wasn't long before the onlookers were stunned again!