My Beloved Has Risen from Death's Embrace novel Chapter 10

Master Johnson, known as the "Sorcerer of the Stone Betting Field," personally selected a gemstone that, when cut, revealed nearly a kilogram of icy emerald jadeite, which caused a round of enthusiastic applause to erupt in the banquet hall.

"Icy emerald jadeite! This is the only stone that can rival the imperial green jadeite!"

"What a dramatic turn of events! I wonder how the judges will decide now!"

"Both stones are top-notch, unveiled on the same day, no wonder there's such fierce competition within the Lockwood Group. Orion and Timothy, in terms of skill and luck, are evenly matched!"

With the contest revealing both imperial green and icy emerald jadeite, Tyson was thrilled, immediately calling for an expert on-site comparison.

After thirty minutes of meticulous examination, the results were announced.

Both stones were nearly equal in all evaluated aspects, but the victory was decided by a mere 5 grams, with Timothy's team's icy emerald jadeite weighing slightly more than Orion's team's imperial green jadeite.

Timothy's team clinched the victory by this slim margin!

The crowd murmured in awe, marveling at the old adage, "In the end, it’s experience that trumps youth." Timothy laughed heartily and clapped his hands as he approached Orion.

"My dear nephew, you let me win today!"

Cedric clenched his fists, feeling irked by Timothy’s boastful demeanor, and he wondered where he had found such a skilled last-minute ally.

Raising an eyebrow, Xanthea found her suspicions confirmed. In her past life, Orion had lost to his uncle at this very gemstone betting event, which led to malicious rumors when they later had a car accident—it was speculated Orion had engineered it to seize control of the company.

This time, she would not let him lose.

"What a day it will be when you work under me."

As Timothy extended his hand towards Orion, a clear female voice cut through the noise, halting their conversation.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned to see Xanthea, who had her arms crossed, looking composed and confident. "Mr. Lockwood, I'm afraid I must disappoint you. My stone hasn’t been cut yet."

Timothy turned, "And you are?"

"I'm part of Orion’s gemstone appraisal team. According to the rules, the best stone selected by our team is used for the evaluation, and mine hasn’t been cut yet. Aren't you jumping to conclusions a bit early?"

Laughter broke out in the hall.

"She’s cutting the stone for Orion’s team? You must be joking!"

"That unremarkable small rock she's holding? It's probably full of concrete inside!"

"The Nightshade family heiress looks like a goddess but seems to lack common sense; how dare she flaunt herself like this at a critical event which concerned the succession of the Lockwood Group. Is this a joke to her?"