Chapter Forty-Three: Setting a Trap for Fourth Brother

Song Yutang smiled knowingly, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense:

"Who else could it be? It's the daughter of Vice Minister Wang of the Ministry of War! You two are childhood sweethearts!"

"What a pity, they like wielding swords and spears, which is the type you dislike the most, Third Brother. You, on the other hand, prefer those who are gentle and delicate, like those who sing of the wind and moon..."

"But I heard that Miss Wang still has feelings for you, Third Brother... hehehe..."

He was clearly unaware of Ying'er's existence, and only made a habitual joke with his brother, winking and making faces, before sauntering into the mansion.

Wang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War?

Song Yiqiu's heart stirred.

She remembered that this Vice Minister Wang seemed to be one of her grandmother Shen Zhaohua's former subordinates!

Perhaps... we can find out some stories about our grandmother from him or his daughter?

She immediately changed her mind and called to her third brother, who was also about to leave:

"Third Brother, wait a minute."

Third Brother turned around impatiently:

"What now?"

Song Yiqiu said directly:

"Take me with you to the poetry gathering at the winding stream in three days."

Third Brother looked at her with disdain, as if he had heard a joke.

"Take you with me? What are you going there for? You can't even read properly, can you? You can write poetry? Don't embarrass me!"

Song Yiqiu spoke calmly:

“I have my reasons for going. Don’t worry about whether I can write poetry or not, Third Brother. Just take me in. In exchange…”

"Take me there, and I'll try to find a way to lift Ying'er's ban, and even let her live in the manor. What do you think?"

The temptation was too great for Song Haochu, and he agreed almost without hesitation:

"Deal! But don't regret it later, that place isn't for a boor like you."

After saying that, as if afraid that Song Yiqiu would change her mind, she quickly slipped away.

Bai Mei asked, puzzled:

"Miss, what are you going to do in that sour place? They'll just laugh at you again!"

Qingzhu also expressed her concern:

"Yes, Miss. The Second Miss and the others are definitely here too. They will surely try to humiliate you."

Song Yiqiu's vision is far-reaching:

“That Vice Minister Wang is a former subordinate of my grandmother. His daughter might know something we don’t. It’s worth a visit.”

She glanced at the two people who were worried about her, and suddenly smiled.

"Besides, don't I still have you guys? With three mouths, can't we at least give them a piece of our mind?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Mei immediately rubbed her hands together, her fighting spirit soaring:

"Yes! Miss is right! Tonight I'll go find those most foul-mouthed gossips on East Street and learn from them, give them a good training session! I guarantee I'll be able to verbally spar them until they can't even see the way they want to go!"

Song Yiqiu was amused by her, but then she remembered something else, and her eyes became sly:

"Oh right, I almost forgot about my good fourth brother. How could my 'great undertaking' be complete without such an important figure as him?"

She beckoned with her finger, and Bai Mei immediately moved closer.

Song Yiqiu whispered some instructions in her ear.

As Bai Mei listened, her eyes grew brighter and brighter, and finally she couldn't help but give two thumbs up, excitedly lowering her voice:

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Miss, just you wait and see! I've got this covered!"

The next day, Bai Mei hid behind the artificial hill, her eyes fixed on the path.

Sure enough, not long after, the fourth young master, Song Yutang, strolled over looking utterly bored.

Bai Mei immediately whistled a short whistle.

As soon as the signal was given, the two servants who had been positioned nearby immediately raised their voices and began chatting casually, making sure that Song Yutang could hear them:

"Have you heard? Dousheng Manor has had a few rare guests these past two days!"

"Oh? What's your background?"

"They say he's a very wealthy merchant from the south, in the silk business, with an astonishingly large fortune! But he has a terrible temper and is extremely arrogant!"

"It's not unusual for wealthy businessmen to go to casinos."

"What's strange is the way these guys play. They like to play fast and with high stakes, but their luck is incredibly bad. They're practically money-spending machines. People in the village are saying privately that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make some easy money!"

"Tsk, what a pity. How can servants like us in this manor freely leave the manor to go to places like that..."

Song Yutang's ears perked up instantly!

My heart immediately started itching.

But having frequented casinos for many years, he wasn't entirely naive; he still harbored some suspicions.

Just then, Bai Mei seized the opportunity and rushed out from behind the artificial hill in a panic, as if she wasn't looking where she was going, and bumped solidly into Song Yutang.

"Ouch!"

Song Yutang was knocked off balance and immediately flew into a rage.

"Where did this blind, stupid girl come from! Don't you have eyes? You've run me over and killed me!"

Bai Mei immediately put on a terrified expression and bowed repeatedly in apology:

"Fourth Young Master, spare me! Fourth Young Master, spare me! I didn't mean it! I deserve to die!"

In her flustered apology, a metal weight with a special pattern accidentally fell out of her sleeve pocket.

Song Yutang glanced at the scene and his eyes instantly lit up.

Having been in the casino business for so many years, he recognized at a glance that those were VIP chips used only in high-end gambling games at Dou Sheng Zhuang.

That kind of gambling game has an extremely high barrier to entry. He had longed to participate for a long time but was not qualified to enter at all. How could this little girl have such a thing?

He suppressed his doubts, bent down to pick up the weights, and questioned:

"Where did you get this advantage? Do you think you can even get into the high-level games at Doushengzhuang?"

Bai Mei's acting came to life, her eyes darting around, stammering, and finally, as if she couldn't resist being pressed, she reluctantly whispered:

"Yes, a few days ago when I went out to shop, I was lucky... I ran into some wealthy merchants from the south. They... they needed a maid to help them make a good impression, so they insisted on taking me inside..."

"This servant never expected that those gentlemen, who seemed so shrewd, would have such terrible luck at gambling. They were also very concerned about their reputation, and even when they lost quickly, they wanted to gamble big... This servant blindly placed a few bets and actually... actually won quite a bit, and even had the good fortune to witness this kind of high-level betting..."

As she spoke, a regretful expression appeared on her face:

"It's a pity, I didn't have enough capital. Otherwise, I could have won more while they were still here... I hope I can have another chance to leave the manor next time."

These words perfectly matched the servant's casual conversation earlier.

Song Yutang's doubts vanished instantly, replaced by an intense, restless longing.

He immediately adopted a gentle expression, leaned closer to Bai Mei, and whispered:

"Hey, that Bai Mei next to Song Yiqiu, right? Next time you can leave the manor... could you take me with you? I'll back you up!"

Bai Mei immediately shook her head vigorously, her face filled with fear:

"No, no! Fourth Young Master! If my eldest young lady finds out that I took you to a place like that, I'll be beaten to death!"

Song Yutang patted his chest and guaranteed:

"What are you afraid of! I'll take responsibility for anything that happens. Song Yiqiu wouldn't dare to do anything to me. You just need to introduce me to her, and you'll get your share of the benefits!"