Chapter Forty-Four: The Mad Nightingale

"It really won't work, Fourth Young Master. You know my young lady's temper. If she finds out, she'll definitely break my legs."

"Hey, you little rascal..."

Song Yutang gritted his teeth and promised a huge reward:

"Here's the deal! As long as you take me in, I'll give you 30% of the winnings! How about it?"

Bai Mei's face showed an expression of extreme struggle. After a long while, as if she had made a huge decision, she reluctantly nodded:

"...Alright then. But Fourth Young Master, you absolutely must keep this a secret!"

"Don't worry! It will be kept absolutely secret!"

Song Yutang beamed with joy, looking at her as if she were a money tree.

Bai Mei turned around, a sneer of triumph instantly spreading across her face, cursing inwardly:

idiot!

Inside the high-end gambling hall of Doushengzhuang.

With Bai Mei's introduction, Song Yutang stepped in nervously, while Song Yiqiu and Qingzhu disguised themselves as ordinary guests and quietly followed behind to observe.

The wealthy merchants from the south in the hall were actually shills carefully arranged by Zhang Heze at Song Yiqiu's behest.

Upon seeing Song Yutang's familiar纨绔 (playboy/spoiled brat) behavior, they began to mock him:

"Oh, this young master looks unfamiliar. Could he be someone from the low-level bureau downstairs?"

"Tsk tsk, even Dou Sheng Zhuang has become so tasteless these days? This kind of scum can be served at the table?"

"How did this brat get up here? Get down there and roll the dice!"

Bai Mei followed closely behind, entering at just the right moment, and gave them a wink.

The group immediately understood.

"So it's Miss Bai!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Miss Bai has such good luck!"

"We should certainly give face to the people Miss Bai brought."

Then they immediately put on a warm welcome.

Bai Mei stepped forward and respectfully introduced:

"Gentlemen, this is my young master. He has come today to meet you all and hopes you will give him your guidance."

She casually said, "The fat sheep has arrived," and the wealthy businessmen laughed heartily, displaying an air of generosity.

"No problem, no problem! Since he's Miss Bai Mei's young master, he's one of us! Come on, let's play a couple of rounds!"

The game began with the most direct and brutal method: rolling dice to guess whether the dice were high or low.

Song Yutang was initially cautious in placing his bets.

"Place your bet now! Just a small game, starting at one hundred taels!"

Song Yutang's hand trembled. This was a huge bet in his usual gambling place, but seeing the silver notes casually tossed out by the wealthy merchants, he gritted his teeth and followed suit.

After several rounds, the wealthy businessmen indeed had terrible luck with gambling, while Song Yutang, following Bai Mei's hints, placed bets and actually won quite a bit.

A mountain of chips had piled up in front of him, a hundred times more than all his previous wins combined.

"Oh dear, I lost again. My luck is really bad today. No way, let's try again! I'll bet five hundred taels this time!"

Song Yutang's eyes reddened; he was so excited he could hardly contain himself, and without hesitation, he pushed out most of his chips:

"I'll go with it!"

When the dice cup was lifted, the wealthy merchants had once again lost.

Song Yutang, seeing his chips double, grinned so wide his mouth almost reached his ears, overjoyed.

They're really stupid and rich! This money is too easy to win!

Qingzhu, watching from behind the screen, still had some concerns:

"Miss, I don't understand why we're investing so much money in the Fourth Young Master. If he takes his profits and stops now, won't we be left with nothing?"

Song Yiqiu sneered, her eyes revealing indifference:

"Qingzhu, gamblers are called gamblers because they always believe they can turn the tables in the next round and can never truly stop."

"Don't worry, the little bit of bait we've used on Fourth Brother will be repaid a thousand times, a hundred times over in the future. To catch big fish, you have to be willing to use heavy bait."

Qingzhu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite:

"Alright then... Miss, where do we go next?"

Song Yiqiu glanced at the sky:

"It's almost time, let's go take a look at the villa in the west of the city."

Qingzhu hesitated for a moment:

"Are you going to find Miss Ying'er? But... if it's to help the Third Young Master fulfill his promise and lift Miss Ying'er's confinement, shouldn't you also try to persuade the Madam? Besides, Miss Ying'er doesn't seem like a kind person; she framed me like that before..."

Song Yiqiu touched her hair:

“Going directly to Mother? That would be like getting yourself into trouble instead of catching the fox. The reason Mother has her locked up is to prevent her from causing trouble and ruining her plans.”

"What we need to do now is to give Ying'er this 'fire' a boost, let her burn on her own, and it must burn her mother, so that she has no choice but to deal with it, or even... get burned herself."

Qingzhu suddenly realized:

"What about Sister Bai Mei?"

Song Yiqiu:

"Let's go first. Bai Mei is good at light footwork. After she finishes dealing with Fourth Brother's matter, she will catch up with us soon."

...

The master and servant arrived at the villa in the west of the city.

Sure enough, three or four burly old women were guarding the entrance to the courtyard; they were clearly sent by Song Shenshi.

Before I even got close, I could hear a sharp female voice and the sound of porcelain shattering coming from inside the courtyard.

"You blind, stupid servants, how dare you lock me up here! Do you know who I am? Do you know whose god I am carrying? The eldest grandson of the Song family!"

"I am the one who will inherit the Song family business in the future. I am the future Mrs. Song. How dare you stop me? Once I get out of here, I will make you pay!"

The old woman's terrified voice came:

"Miss Ying'er, please calm down! It was Madam's order, and we old servants were just following orders... Please, please don't get angry, lest you harm the little master in your womb..."

"Idiots! A bunch of idiots! Let me out!"

Ying'er's voice became even more shrill, accompanied by another cracking sound, clearly indicating that something had been smashed again.

Song Yiqiu listened quietly outside the door for a while, and feeling that the time was right, she signaled the gatekeeper to open the door, then walked in with a feigned look of concern.

"Sister Ying'er, what's wrong? Why are you so angry? Have the servants neglected you?"

She quickly stepped forward, supported Ying'er who was trembling with anger, and said gently, "Calm down, your health is important, your health is important! Sit down and rest."

Ying'er abruptly shook off her hand, glaring at her with hostility:

"Song Yiqiu? What are you doing here? Did you come to see me make a fool of myself?"

"Hmph! Now you've got what you wanted. I'm locked up in this dilapidated courtyard like a prisoner. Where's Haochu? I haven't seen him in ages. Does he not want me anymore?"

Song Yiqiu sighed, a look of sympathy on her face:

"Sister Ying'er, how could you think of me like that? The person who came to see you at this critical moment, isn't that someone who truly wants you to be well?"

"If you ask me, this is also your fault. You went down the wrong path and were instigated by wicked people, which angered your mother and caused you to suffer like this."

Ying'er looked at her coldly:

"You...you knew all along?"