Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Cheating at Gambling Old Madame Song, hearing the word "dividing the family" from inside the room, flew into a rage. "Give him ten more strokes of the board! How dare he say such treasonous words!" Old Madame Song was most taboo about children mentioning dividing the family. She was still alive and well—how could the family be divided? Adding ten more strokes wasn't enough to vent her anger. Old Madame Song then instructed Cui Lingrong to send him only vegetarian meals, no meat dishes allowed, before storming off in a huff. Once Old Madame left, the Third Branch couple also departed. Only Cui Lingrong and the exhausted Song Shulan remained in the room. Song Shulan furrowed his brow tightly. "I had thought my second brother would come to his senses and we could support each other. Who would have thought he'd do something like this?" "Second Master is indeed foolish. A leopard can't change its spots. At his age, it's too difficult for him to become sensible and ambitious. Marquis, you'd be better off focusing your attention on your two sons—the future of the marquis mansion depends on them." Cui Lingrong said. "Yes, at least Xuan-ge studies well. Otherwise, I'd truly be ashamed before our ancestors." Song Shulan would have no more children, so he could only hope the ones he had would amount to something. "I hope Zhuqing gives birth to a son too, to be a companion for Xuan-ge and Jin-ge." Speaking of the child in Zhuqing's womb, Cui Lingrong felt the timing was about right. However, this matter couldn't be brought up by her—it would seem too deliberate. Seeing Song Shulan's worried expression, Cui Lingrong offered a few words of comfort before leaving with Nanny Qiu. Song Shucheng was beaten thirty strokes. When he woke up, he found himself again in the cold, gloomy ancestral hall. He felt no remorse, only hatred for his bad luck at gambling. If he had won the money, would his eldest brother and the others be treating him like this? His buttocks ached terribly. Song Shucheng called out several times, but no one came to bring him tea. He lay prostrate on the ground, looking at the ancestral tablets, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Eldest Brother merely got lucky being born the legitimate eldest son. Just you wait—one day I'll divide the family and live on my own. Then no one will stop me from living freely and carefree!" Song Shucheng had genuinely developed the intention to divide the family, but Old Madame wouldn't agree. He needed to think of a way out—otherwise, with no money in hand and no authority over the household, how could he get by? Meanwhile, Madame Jiang stood at the door, originally planning to go in. After hearing Song Shucheng's resentful words, she withdrew her hand from the door. "Steward Lin, with Second Master like this, what will I do in the future?" On Song Shucheng, Madame Jiang saw not a trace of remorse. Before, when she had no children, all her attention was on getting Song Shucheng to give her a child. As for everything else, she had no mind to pay attention. Now that she had a child, Madame Jiang couldn't help but think about herself and her child. "Second Master not being ambitious is one thing, but he's also gambling with others. Owing so much money at once means the Second Branch will be scraping by for a long time. If he doesn't change his ways and keeps gambling, he'll eventually squander the family fortune." "That can't be. After what happened this time, Second Master will surely learn his lesson." Steward Lin said. "You just heard him—does he look like he regrets anything?" Madame Jiang sighed. "When it comes down to it, of the three masters in the marquis mansion, I've only now realized I married the worst one. Third Master may lack ability, but at least he's devoted to Madam Li and doesn't stir up trouble. The Marquis is the most ambitious. Only Second Master has no skills at all—he only knows how to eat, drink, and enjoy himself." Steward Lin didn't feel comfortable speaking ill of Second Master, so she thought for a moment and said, "Second Madam really should think more for herself. Why not learn from the Eldest Madam?" "Eldest Sister-in-law?" "Yes." Madame Jiang fell into thought. "Indeed, Eldest Sister-in-law is a clever woman. Today, she didn't show herself at first because she knew that once she appeared, Old Madame and the Marquis would force her to pay. Only after we'd all contributed did she come in to wrap things up and make the final decision. That woman—she was born a woman by luck. If she'd been born a man, none of the men in this marquis mansion could match her." In the past, Madame Jiang had suffered no small number of losses at Cui Lingrong's hands. Back then, she couldn't see it clearly, thinking Cui Lingrong only won because she held the position of legitimate eldest daughter-in-law. Now she realized it was all Cui Lingrong's own capability. Steward Lin also praised, "Especially the current Eldest Madam—she's not as easygoing as before, but her methods are formidable. You must guard your assets well. As long as you have money in hand, no matter what Second Master does, you and your child can get by." "But how do I guard them?" Madame Jiang's dowry had all been registered openly—there was nothing Song Shucheng didn't know about. The Second Branch's money was also fixed in amount. Madame Jiang was troubled. "Why not go to the Eldest Madam and ask her to think of a solution for you?" Steward Lin suggested. "The Eldest Madam's cloth shop business is thriving. We could invest in it too." "I don't think Eldest Sister-in-law would agree. Let me think about it." From this moment on, Song Shucheng was no longer the person Madame Jiang valued most. She had to pave a path for herself and her child, rather than rely on a man who didn't love her. While Madame Jiang returned to the Second Branch, Manager Zhu also returned to the gambling house. Looking at the silver notes and land deeds collected, the attendant beside him complained, "The mighty Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion can't even come up with over twenty thousand taels of silver, and Old Madame had to use land deeds to make up the difference. Manager, would you say this Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion has reached the end of its rope?" "That's not necessarily true. The eldest madam is quite clever—she refused to come forward at first, which suggests that stewardess is no pushover." Shopkeeper Zhu picked up several banknotes, the more he looked at them, the more familiar they seemed. When he recognized them as banknotes that had passed through his own hands, a knowing look crept into his eyes. "Take a look at these banknotes, everyone. Don't they look familiar?" Every banknote that left the gambling house bore a secret mark, and among the banknotes retrieved from the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, several bore their gambling house's mark. "Shopkeeper, could it be that someone from the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion has invested in our operation?" Shopkeeper Zhu nodded meaningfully. Previously, when the gambling house was short on funds, someone had gone out to find investors. But since it was done through intermediaries, he didn't know who the investors were. That was normal. People from prominent families wanted to earn this kind of money but feared being discovered, so they invested through intermediaries. The young servant added, "How interesting. Their Second Master comes to gamble and runs up debts, yet someone from their family is one of our bosses. Too bad we don't know which one—otherwise, we'd definitely latch onto that connection and have them look after our gambling house." Shopkeeper Zhu shared the same sentiment. Running a gambling house wasn't easy—you had to grease palms on both sides of the law. His establishment had investments from several wealthy families. If they could get a hold over the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, it would be a good thing for both the gambling house and Shopkeeper Zhu. "When we run into Second Master Song next time, have the boys treat him well and see if we can pry some information out of him." Shopkeeper Zhu, being in this line of work, had his own methods for handling people. And gamblers had a certain psychology—they would never quit until they'd hit rock bottom. Shopkeeper Zhu tucked the money away and walked into the gambling hall, gazing at the bustling crowd—all of it gleaming silver—and wore a satisfied smile. But then he spotted an unfamiliar face. A waiter hurried over and whispered, "Shopkeeper, that one's already won fifteen hundred taels." Shopkeeper Zhu squinted in that direction. It was a young gentleman with an exceptionally handsome face. Rarely did anyone win that much money, especially a newcomer. He walked over to him. Cui Zeyu seemed to sense his approach and glanced up briefly. After the dealer shook the dice, he placed five hundred taels on "big." The dealer frowned slightly and was about to make a subtle move with his little finger when Cui Zeyu suddenly drew a dagger and pointed it at the back of his hand. "Make one wrong move, and I'll make sure you never work in this trade again," Cui Zeyu said menacingly. Just as the dealer was at a loss, he spotted the shopkeeper approaching and quickly called for help. "Shopkeeper Zhu, you've finally come." If he hadn't, the dealer feared he'd have his hand chopped off for cheating. Shopkeeper Zhu could tell at a glance that this young man was an expert. He had the dice opened directly, and sure enough, it came up "big." Cui Zeyu took his winnings with satisfaction. "I'm done playing. No fun—I keep winning. At this rate, your gambling house will be cleaned out!" "Young master, please hold on. How about I play a few rounds with you?" Shopkeeper Zhu asked. Cui Zeyu said he'd come another time. "I have matters to attend to today. Next time, I'll come and win even more." Shopkeeper Zhu didn't stop him but had someone follow him instead. However, within a few streets, Cui Zeyu shook off his tail. Cui Zeyu returned to the Duke of Dingguo's residence with the money. He had discovered that a group of officials were colluding with the gambling house, which was why he'd gone there specifically. Fortunately, during his years of traveling for business, he'd befriended many wandering practitioners and learned the tricks of cheating at gambling. Today he had already caught the gambling house's attention. Next time he went, the shopkeeper would surely receive him personally.