Chapter 180 Falling into a Honey Trap

Lu Yunbo was slightly taken aback, not understanding why. Did the madam want him to gamble on the bottle?

Squinting, I carefully examined the vase in front of me. The vase looked to be of average quality, worth at most seven or eight taels of silver on the market. Okay, I'll take another gamble.

Winning would be even better. Even if I lose this round, the odds will only double at most, which is less than twenty taels. I've already won twenty-five taels, so it's not a loss.

In this situation, he absolutely couldn't give the impression that he couldn't afford it. So, pointing to the vase, he said to everyone:

"Okay, let's bet on this bottle this time."

After saying that, he took out another silver ingot and placed it on the table.

When those around him saw that he placed his bet after only glancing at the bottle, they cheered again.

Seeing this, Lord Wen beamed with joy: "Brother, you're on a winning streak tonight. If you win this round, we'll never have to worry about money for drinks again. If you lose, it's alright, it's on me."

He spoke eloquently, but he never actually took out any money.

Lu Yunbo didn't understand what Master Wen meant, but how much could an ordinary broken bottle be worth? He wouldn't have to worry about not having money to drink in the future.

Lu Yunbo picked up the dice, shook them, and threw them down, but this time he lost.

Lu Yunbo shook his head regretfully: This time, we missed.

He remained nonchalant, took out another ten taels of silver, threw it on the table, and turned to Lord Wen, saying:

"Brother Wen, would you like to continue? Since I'm treating today, please feel free to play a few more rounds and have a good time."

"Wait a minute."

But the madam stepped forward, waving her handkerchief, and said, "Sir, please pay for this vase first."

Lu Yunbo didn't quite understand. He had just thrown in ten taels of silver, so how come the madam didn't see it?

The madam covered her mouth with a handkerchief and giggled a few more times before stepping forward, picking up the vase, and turning it upside down on the table.

A sound came from inside the vase, and then the vase was removed, revealing gold and silver hairpins, jade earrings, and all sorts of other jewelry scattered all over the table.

The surrounding guests gradually quieted down. Lu Yunbo's eyes widened, and he pointed at the things on the table, shouting:

"What...what does this mean?"

After the madam finished giggling, she said in a shrill voice:

"Sir, you can't play dumb. Everyone knows the rules of our brothel: when something like a vase is used as a prize, the gamblers must either check it beforehand or start the game without checking, which means they've accepted what's inside."

"I just placed this bottle in front of you, sir, but you refused to inspect it. Now, are you trying to deny it?"

Lu Yunbo was dumbfounded. He looked closely at the pile of jewels that had been dumped on the table and gasped. He had been involved in the world of the wealthy before, and he could tell at a glance that the jewels in front of him were all valuable and expensive, far superior to the prizes from before.

Lu Yunbo sobered up instantly, staring at the glittering jewels on the table, his back almost soaked with cold sweat.

Even if he were slow to realize it, he would eventually understand that he had fallen into a honey trap.

"No, no, what are you talking about? How would I know about these rules? This is my first time visiting your Furong Tower."

"Oh, sir!"

The madam said in a shrill voice, "You mean we deliberately tried to rip you off? We at Furong Tower have always had this rule: if you bet on something and it turns out to be something else, we'll pay you double! Look carefully, these are all real treasures; it won't be cheap without three to five thousand taels of silver!"

The onlookers, seeing this, started to jeer and urged Lu Yunbo to pay the bill.

Most of the guests who could afford to visit a place like Furonglou for leisure and entertainment were either rich or noble, and three to five thousand taels of silver was really not a problem for most of them.

But where would Lu Yunbo get so much silver? The two hundred taels of silver he brought with him have almost all been spent. Now, let alone five thousand taels, he can't even come up with fifty taels.

Suddenly remembering Lord Wen, she hurriedly turned around to look, but Lord Wen, who had just been beside her, had vanished without a trace.

In his haste, Lu Yunbo turned and ran out to look for him.

The madam grabbed his sleeve, her fawning smile vanished, and continued in her shrill voice, "What, sir, are you trying to walk away and renege on your debt? Heh, don't you know there aren't many who dare to renege on their debts at our Furong Tower? Since we're gambling, we have to follow the rules! If you don't settle this debt today, don't even think about leaving the Furong Tower!"

After saying that, the madam gave a look, and immediately more than a dozen thugs rushed over and surrounded Lu Yunbo.

Seeing this, Lu Yunbo became even more panicked. When had he ever faced such a situation? The onlookers around him cheered and jeered, mocking Lu Yunbo's embarrassment while enjoying the show.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lu Yunbo was unable to produce any money and was thus detained by Fangfei Tower. Fangfei Tower then sent someone to ask the Second Master for the money.

The second master and Madam Wei were sitting at home when disaster struck. Faced with a group of fierce-looking thugs from Furong Tower, the two were dumbfounded and couldn't believe their eyes for a long time.

Madam Wei shrieked, "What? My son was drinking and gambling at your Fangfei Pavilion and lost five thousand taels of silver? How is that possible?"

The second master roared, "This is extortion! This is blackmail and kidnapping! I'm going to the yamen to sue you!"

The leader looked at them and sneered, "Gentlemen, go out and ask around. When has our Furong Pavilion ever extorted anyone in the capital? This is an IOU written by your son himself. If you don't believe me, take a look for yourselves."

The two men took the IOU and examined it carefully several times. The second master immediately recognized it as his son's handwriting, but he still refused to believe that their once upright and honest son would owe Furonglou so much money for no reason.

"For no reason? Are you two illiterate or what? The IOU is written very clearly, and I just said it clearly too. Your son, Lu Yunbo, drank and gambled at our Furong Tower and owed five thousand taels of silver. He has no money to pay back, so he sent us to collect it. Give me a straight answer: are you going to pay back the money or not?"

"If you don't want to return it, then we'll follow the rules of our Furong Pavilion: if you don't return the money, we'll leave you with an arm and a leg."

Wei screamed again in fright.

The second master wasn't in much better shape; he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead while muttering to himself:

"What, what should we do? Where are we going to get so much silver!"

"That's your problem. We'll come back to collect the money in three days. If you can't pay by then, don't blame us for being impolite."

The people at Furonglou didn't care about any of that; they left after uttering a harsh remark.

The second master and Madam Wei sat down on the ground, slapping their thighs and wailing.

Five thousand taels! That's enough to kill them!

As soon as those people left, Yue Shi and Lu Yunzhang, who had been hiding in the shadows, hurriedly ran out.