Chapter 11 The Gamble

Upon hearing that they were going to look back at the book, Zhao Rui and Sun Wei immediately became interested and temporarily let Xiao Jingxuan go.

"Alright! Xiao Er, you said it yourself. I'm counting on you to turn things around today!"

Xiao Jingxuan breathed a sigh of relief and stole a glance at Su Xiaoyu. Although she still looked confused, at least she wasn't looking at him like he was a 'pervert' anymore.

Soon, the three playboys, along with Su Xiaoyu, set off in a flurry of activity towards Qianjintai.

Although it was daytime, the gambling den was bustling with noise, filled with the cheers and sighs of gamblers, and the air was thick with the tension of "winners and losers determining life and death."

As soon as Xiao Jingyu entered, he went straight to the most lively "Big and Small" gambling table, with Zhao Rui and Sun Wei following behind him, looking like two clowns.

"Make way, everyone!" Sun Wei pushed his way through the crowd, slamming his hand on the gambling table and shouting, "My brother here is a gambling expert; he's here to show you all his skills today!"

Xiao Jingxuan, feigning composure, casually adjusted his robes and sat down. He took out ten taels of silver from his purse and slammed it on the table, his gaze sweeping across the room with an air of disdain.

"This time, I'm betting big!"

The dealer shook the dice, and the porcelain bowl spun rapidly on the table.

As soon as the bowl was placed down, it was revealed to be "556".

"Fifteen o'clock!" A cheer immediately erupted from the crowd, and Sun Wei even slammed his fist on the table and shouted:

"I told you so! Xiao Er is bound to win!"

In the next few rounds, Xiao Jingxuan seemed to have figured it out, betting either big or small, and won five rounds in a row, piling up a huge pile of silver in front of him.

"Hahaha! See that? That's real power!" Xiao Jingxuan said smugly, grabbing a piece of silver and waving it in front of Su Xiaoyu. "How about it, little follower? Isn't your young master amazing?"

Su Xiaoyu looked at his meager earnings and felt nothing; she even felt a little amused.

Isn't this just the simplest probability game?

Rolling dice to guess whether it's big or small is purely based on luck.

The second young master is so smug, it's like he's won the whole world.

If it were a game of blackjack or Texas Hold'em, she could use probability theory to calculate it, but this really doesn't require any skill.

Moreover, she just realized that Xiao Jingxuan's victory was purely due to luck.

"Second Young Master is truly remarkable!" she praised with a smile.

Just then, a loud, arrogant laugh came from the entrance of the gambling den: "Yo, isn't this Xiao Er? What? Didn't go to the brothel today, but came to the gambling den to make your presence known?"

Everyone turned around at the sound and saw a young man in a royal blue brocade robe walk in, followed by two servants, with a sinister smile on his face.

This man was Li Mo, the second son of the Minister of War.

This person has been at odds with Xiao Jingxuan since childhood; they are mortal enemies.

He was also treacherous and cunning, and was a well-known villain in the Beijing playboy circle.

Xiao Jingxuan's face darkened upon hearing this. "Li Mo, where I am is none of your business."

That's not how you say it.

Li Mo walked to the gambling table, picked up a die and twirled it between his fingers, his tone provocative, "I heard you've won a few rounds today? Coincidentally, I'm itching for a game too, how about we go for something big? Let's bet on 'odd or even,' one hundred taels per round, how about it?"

One hundred taels?

hiss!

Is this a huge gamble?

The surrounding gamblers instantly fell silent, knowing that these two were mortal enemies, and this was going to be a good show.

Sun Wei tugged at Xiao Jingxuan's sleeve and whispered, "Xiao Er, don't gamble with him! Li Mo's gambling skills are better than yours, and he loves to cheat!"

Xiao Jingxuan was enraged by Li Mo's provocation.

He was just pretending to be a "gambling god" in front of Su Xiaoyu. If he backs down now, wouldn't he lose all face?

He stubbornly declared, "Fine, let's bet! Who's afraid of who!"

Li Mo smiled, sat down in the chair opposite him, gestured for the servant to bring out a large ingot of silver, and lavishly placed it on the gambling table.

"Let's begin!"

Soon, the dealer began to roll the dice.

In the first round, the dice were placed. Li Mo seemingly casually guessed "odd".

Xiao Jingxuan nervously guessed "double".

Opening the pot—four, five, six, fifteen o'clock, even!

We won!

Xiao Jingxuan excitedly clenched his fist and glanced at Li Mo triumphantly.

Li Mo smiled, but there was no hint of amusement in his eyes: "Not bad, Xiao Er, you've got good luck. But one round isn't enough to decide the winner, how about another one? This time we'll bet two hundred taels, how about it?"

Two hundred taels? Xiao Jingxuan's heart skipped a beat.

This was almost half a month's worth of his allowance.

But having just won a round and provoked by Li Mo's challenge, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. He gritted his teeth: "Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"

The dice cup was shaken again and settled. Li Mo gestured for Xiao Jingxuan to guess first.

Xiao Jingxuan hesitated for a moment, then guessed "single".

A barely perceptible sneer appeared on Li Mo's lips as he confidently said, "Then I guess even."

Opening the cup—two, three, three, eight o'clock, even!

Xiao Jingxuan's one hundred taels changed hands instantly, and not only that, he even had to pay an extra one hundred taels!

Zhao Rui and Sun Wei, standing to the side, were so anxious that their mouths were burning.

"Xiao Er, why don't we call it quits? If we keep gambling, we won't be able to pay it back later."

But Li Mo wasn't about to give him a chance to back down. He pulled out another silver ingot and slammed it on the table.

"What? You're scared? Or do you simply not have the money? If you don't have the money, just tell me, I can lend it to you, but I don't know if you have the guts to pay it back."

Xiao Jingxuan was so provoked that his eyes turned red, and he took out another hundred taels and placed them on the table.

"Enough talk! Roll the dice."

Unsurprisingly, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse in the third and fourth games.

No matter whether Xiao Jingxuan guesses odd or even, Li Mo always manages to accurately guess the opposite result.

The silver in front of Xiao Jingxuan shrank rapidly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Zhao Rui and Sun Wei stood by anxiously, but there was nothing they could do.

Su Xiaoyu stared intently at the dealer's hand as he shook the dice and at Li Mo's expression.

She noticed that the dealer made an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible pause each time he shook the dice, and Li Mo's ears would twitch almost imperceptibly the moment the dice cup hit the table.

They're cheating!

Su Xiaoyu understood.

The dealer must have controlled the dice rolls, while Li Mo found out the result by listening to the dice or some kind of code!

Just as Xiao Jingxuan was about to place another bet, he only had one hundred taels left in front of him.

His face was pale, and his hands were trembling.

Just then, Su Xiaoyu pretended to be bumped by the person next to her, let out a soft "Ouch!" and stumbled against the back of Xiao Jingxuan's chair.

Xiao Jingxuan was completely focused on his work when she bumped into him, and he turned around in confusion.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Xiaoyu spoke in a very low voice, her words coming out in a slurred and rapid tone: "Young Master... he... he can hear..."

Although the voice was soft, it sounded like a thunderclap to Xiao Jingxuan, who was under immense mental tension! He looked sharply at Li Mo, and combined with the previous bizarre losing streak, he instantly understood what was going on!

The dice cup landed again. The dealer signaled for bets to be placed.

Li Mo calmly watched Xiao Jingxuan, preparing to reap the final victory.

Xiao Jingxuan took a deep breath. He didn't place a bet immediately, but instead stared intently at Li Mo.

Sure enough, the moment the dealer's hand left the dice cup, Li Mo's right ear twitched extremely slightly!

Now!

Xiao Jingxuan had a sudden inspiration and slammed the last hundred taels onto the "single"!

Li Mo's expression changed slightly, then he sneered, "I guess even!"

Opening the pot—1, 4, 5, 10 o'clock, even!

"Hahaha! Xiao Er, you lost..." Li Mo's laughter stopped abruptly.

Because inside the dice cup were three dice: one, four, and five! Ten points, an even number!

Xiao Jingxuan won?!

Everyone was stunned, including Xiao Jingxuan himself.