The moment the casino curtains opened, the stench of sweat and rusty copper coins assaulted his face. Jiang Baichuan's waist pouch trembled slightly—it contained the amulet Jiang Songyi had just slipped into his pocket. He glanced back and saw his sister gazing up at a carved window on the second floor of the casino, the sunlight casting a shadow under her eyelashes.
"Buy now and leave now!" The sound of the dealer shaking the dice startled the sparrows from under the eaves. Jiang Baichuan's hands broke into a cold sweat as he touched the banknotes. Master Ling suddenly leaned close to his ear and said, "I heard that the Crown Prince has been going to the Delicacy Pavilion quite often lately?"
Jiang Baichuan's hand trembled, and the banknotes fluttered onto the gambling table. The moment the dice cup was opened, Jiang Songyi was standing in the second-floor corridor, gazing at the carriage in front of the Treasure Pavilion across the way. The dragon pattern embroidered in gold thread on the black curtains was identical to the jade belt buckle the Crown Prince often wore.
"Open! Three, four, five, big!" Amidst the dealer's cheers, the banknotes piled up in front of Jiang Baichuan. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he suddenly caught sight of Jiang Yuyao whispering in a corner with a scarred man. A faint tattoo of the word "Shengfeng" peeked out from his sleeve.
Jiang Qingmo suddenly tugged at Jiang Songyi's sleeve. "Look, cousin!" She pointed to the back door of the casino, where two servants were carrying a sack deeper into the alley. Through the cracks in the sack peeked a streak of gold thread, the same kind found on Jiang Baichuan's purse.
Jiang Songyi reached for the jade pendant at her waist, and the cracks suddenly felt hot—it always felt that way when the prince was near. She turned to leave, but was bumped into a dark embrace. The prince's scent of agarwood mixed with the sweet, cloying aroma of ice powder startled her and made her take a step back.
“Master.”
"Come to watch the fun?" The prince held a dice between his fingers. The "Shengfeng" emblem was engraved on its ivory face. "Or come to catch an adulterer?"
The casino suddenly fell silent, the dice cup in the dealer's hand clacking to the ground. The draft blew the banknotes in front of Jiang Baichuan, making them flutter like the paper money scattered at the Jiang Mansion ancestral hall that year. Young Master Ling slumped in his armchair, trembling as he gazed at the sword at the crown prince's waist. The oriental pearl embedded in the hilt was the same one he had just crushed under his feet.
Jiang Baichuan froze as he crossed the threshold of the casino. Three girls in flowing silk dresses were leaning against the dice table, smiling at him, like three magnolias blooming in a quagmire.
"Why did you follow me in?" He rubbed his teeth anxiously. "This room is full of uncouth men."
Jiang Yuyao came over, holding up the hem of her skirt, and her lilac shawl swept across the melon seed shells on the ground. "Didn't Second Brother always say that I'm lucky when I'm around? Last time in Yihong Courtyard."
"Stop!" Jiang Baichuan hurriedly covered her mouth, cold sweat running down the back of his neck. If the old man knew that he had taken his sister to a brothel, he would probably be hung in the ancestral hall and whipped.
Jiang Qingmo leaned against a red-lacquered pillar and sneered, "Second cousin, are you worried that we'll see you lose everything but your underwear?" He kicked the empty wine jar at his feet with the tip of his embroidered shoes inlaid with oriental pearls. "I heard you were at Zuixianlou last month."
"Your fiancé hired three courtesans in Wanhua Tower last month!" Jiang Baichuan fought back with his neck stiff, and the jade pendant on his waist jingled against the dice cup.
While the young master of the Ling family tried to smooth things over, Jiang Songyi stared at the gambling table in a trance. A few pieces of silver scattered across the mahogany table reflected the dim light of the glass lamp. In his previous life, it was at this gambling table that Jiang Baichuan lost his fortune at Zhenxiu Pavilion, leading to the Marquis's mansion being splattered with gossip by creditors.
"Buy now!" Jiang Baichuan placed two ingots of silver as the dealer called out. When the dice cup was opened, the whole room erupted in an uproar.
"Second Young Master, you're in great luck today!" Young Master Ling patted Jiang Baichuan on the shoulder and laughed. Jiang Yuyao stared at the pile of silver ingots, her almond eyes sparkling with tears: "Second Brother, this is the kingfisher hairpin I liked last time."
Jiang Baichuan pulled out a banknote and tossed it over, glancing at Jiang Songyi with his peach blossom eyes. "Do you want it?" His fingertips tapped lightly on the mahogany table. "It's enough for you to buy ten boxes of Luozidai."
"Thank you, second brother." Jiang Songyi accepted the banknote with a smile. Jiang Qingmo rolled his eyes: "You are the only one who treasures a copper coin stained with sweat."
The casino was thick with the odor of alcohol and sweat. Jiang Baichuan untied his fox fur coat and tossed it to his attendant. His white jade ring clattered against the dice cup. By the time he won the third round, even the guests in the private rooms on the second floor were peeked out.
"Bet big again!" He threw out the deed from the Treasure Pavilion, his eyes tinged with rouge. Jiang Yuyao's hand trembled as she clutched the banknote: "Second brother will definitely make a comeback."
Jiang Songyi suddenly dragged Jiang Qingmo out. As they walked through the smoky lobby, they heard hysterical shouts behind them: "Impossible! There must be something fishy with this dice!"
"Did you predict that he would lose?" Jiang Qingmo turned around and saw Jiang Baichuan grabbing the dealer's collar, and the golden crown was tilted.
"Zhenxiu Pavilion is making a fortune every day, and many people are jealous." Jiang Songyi touched the banknotes in his purse, "Instead of giving them to outsiders, why not use them to make porridge for the victims?"
When they parted in front of the Treasure Pavilion, Jiang Qingmo suddenly grabbed her sleeve and asked, "Why are you buying men's clothes?" He looked at the bag in her arms suspiciously and asked, "Are you going to...?"
"I'm cleaning up after my second brother." Jiang Songyi got into the carriage and told the driver to go around to the West Market. The owner of the clothing store recognized the Marquis's token and hurriedly held out a pair of dark blue arrow sleeves. "We just got some Suzhou embroidery yesterday. Would you like to try it, young master?"
At three quarters past midnight, a drizzle began to fall in the alley behind the casino. Jiang Baichuan slumped on the bluestone slab, watching his creditor stuff the deed to the Zhenxiu Pavilion into his arms. Jiang Yuyao had vanished, leaving only an empty purse by the stinking ditch.
"Second Young Master Jiang still owes three thousand taels." Scarface stepped on his palm, "Should I chop off your fingers or write an IOU?"
“I’ll pay for him.”
The clear voice startled everyone. A young man in blue stood at the entrance of the alley, holding an oil-paper umbrella. The jade pendant on his waist was engraved with the Ling family emblem. Scarface spat, "The young master of Lingji Bank?"
"Here's five thousand taels." Jiang Songyi tossed out the banknote, "including principal and interest. Please return the deed to the Treasure House."
As Jiang Baichuan struggled to look up, he caught sight of the moon-shaped pendant dangling from the boy's earlobe. Raindrops brushed the edge of the umbrella, casting a faint gray hue on the powdered face. He suddenly remembered how, as a child, he was punished by his father to kneel in the ancestral hall. His third sister had similarly climbed over the wall, carrying a food box, her skirt stained with night dew.
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