The teacup banged heavily on the table. Gu Zheyuan's gilded armor scraped against the red coral beads on her wrist. "Miss, do you think the East Factory is the market?" The beads snapped, and the crimson beads rolled into the green smoke of the Boshan furnace.
"I just treat this as a business." Jiang Songyi picked up the beads without changing her expression. "The factory owner withdrew 100,000 taels from Shengfeng Bank the day before yesterday. It seems that it went into the private account of the Yongding Marquis Mansion?" She suddenly tapped the silver note on the back of Gu Zheyuan's hand. "Why not settle the matter?"
Cheers erupted from downstairs in the casino. Sheng Fengmo leaned against the carved railing and looked down. Jiang Baichuan was placing the last deed on the gambling table. He waved his folding fan and chuckled, "If Second Young Master Jiang loses this time, the ancestral home of the Marquisate will have to change its name to Ling."
"Add another fifty thousand." Gu Zheyuan suddenly grabbed Jiang Songyi's wrist, "I want the Ling family to transport three ships of goods."
Jiang Songyi's wrists were pinched so hard that they hurt, but she smiled. "Three boats in exchange for Yue Qingyang spending three full days in the imperial prison was worth it." She pulled out a yellowed boat deed from her purse. "This is the treasure ship the Ling family built this year. Would you like to inspect it?"
The night watchman's call at 11:00 pm cut through the din of the casino. Gu Zheyuan stroked the gilded patterns on the ship's deed and suddenly poured his tea out the window. Amidst screams, three men in black tumbled from the roof, their Jinyiwei tokens clanging against the bluestone slabs.
"I accept this gift, young lady." He shook off Jiang Songyi's wrist, his python-patterned cloak sweeping across the banknotes scattered on the ground. "Remember to bring enough silver to collect the body at the West Market in three days."
Jiang Songyi rubbed her red wrist and glanced downstairs at Jiang Bochuan frantically tearing up the bet agreement. Sheng Fengmo leaned against the beauty's armchair and raised his glass to her, his lips clearly saying, "The show is about to begin."
She stuffed the remaining banknotes into the Boshan incense burner. As the flames swept across the seal of the "Marquis of Yongding Mansion," she heard the sound of iron chains dragging across the alley behind the casino. Yue Qingyang's hoarse curses mingled with the beating of the night watchman's drum, reminiscent of the wails she had heard the night she was locked up in the imperial prison in her previous life.
Jiang Songyi knocked on the brass paperweight and said, "Call the shopkeeper."
The waiter outside responded and left. Soon, the sound of boots clattering on the stairs could be heard. The banker bowed across the beaded curtain and said, "Boss."
"Come in." Jiang Songyi pressed the deed under the inkstone. The shopkeeper stepped forward, holding the account book. The oil lamp cast his shadow on the gilded screen, which twisted into a ball as the candlelight flickered.
"Today's revenue is 53,120 taels." The shopkeeper turned to the page marked with a red pen, "The distinguished guest has been betting seven games in a row in the private room on the second floor." As he spoke, he glanced at the new boss's expression, but all he saw was the slightly pursed lips under the veil.
Jiang Songyi stroked the deed and sighed. No wonder Sheng Fengmo hadn't batted an eyelid when he handed over the casino. Jiang Baichuan, the unlucky loser, lost as much in a single day as the Treasure Pavilion earned in six months. When Xu was teaching her how to read the accounts, she'd said casinos are the best at manipulating people—first they give you a taste of the sweetness, then they bankrupt you.
"Where is the title deed?" She tapped the table with her fingers.
The shopkeeper hurriedly pulled out a silk scroll from his sleeve. The silk was soaked with the scent of wine, and the gilded seal of the Treasure Pavilion was slightly blurred, probably because Jiang Baichuan had knocked over the wine cup when he was placing his bet. "Boss, if the second young master continues to lose..." He swallowed, "the Marquis' Mansion."
"Let him lose." Jiang Songyi suddenly chuckled, his fingertips tracing the wax seal on the title deed. "Arms and legs can also pay off debts." Seeing the shopkeeper's face turn pale, he added, "Send the severed limbs to the Marquis' Mansion and say the casino's new owner is demanding a debt."
The shopkeeper's knees weakened, and he nearly fell to his knees. He had followed Master Shengfeng only to make money, but this new master was actually trying to kill him! He wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled apologetically, "We're doing business, how dare we do that?"
"Then kick him out." Jiang Songyi rolled up the deed and stuffed it into her sleeve. "If the amount exceeds the debt repayment, throw him and his clothes onto the street." When she stood up, the veil brushed against the account book. The ink of 50,000 taels was not dry yet.
The setting sun filtering through the carved window lattices stretched the shopkeeper's shadow far out. He retreated outside, account book in hand, when he heard a whisper from behind the beaded curtain: "Tell Sheng Fengmo that the red plum wine he's been dreaming of can be brewed in the spring."
In a private room on the third floor of the Zhenxiu Pavilion, Jiang Songyi plucked off his beard in front of a bronze mirror. The deed to the property lay flat on the dressing table, its corner pressed against the edge by Xu's beloved gilded makeup box. The mirror reflected the long street outside the window. Jiang Baichuan was being shoved onto the bluestone slabs by casino thugs, his brocade robe stained with mud.
"The second young master still owes 30,000 taels." The leading man kicked Jiang Baichuan, who was trying to get up, and said, "If you don't pay it back within three days, Zhenxiu Pavilion will have to change its name!"
Jiang Songyi, clutching the newly transferred title deed, slipped into the backyard of the garment shop, grabbing a handful of incense ash and sprinkling it on the threshold. A copper bell on the eaves chimed silently, and three dark figures leaped from the restaurant across the street, only to encounter the shopkeeper pouring out a basin of scalding soapnut water.
"Bad luck!" the man in black cursed furiously. Jiang Songyi had already changed into a lilac-colored skirt. The bronze mirror reflected the girl's radiant white earlobes, the red mark still visible where her prosthetic Adam's apple had been placed.
Jiang Qingmo was waiting in the Delicacy Pavilion, almost finishing a plate of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, when he finally saw his cousin coming out of the kitchen. "If you don't come back, I'm going to go to the toilet to get him out!" She fanned herself with her handkerchief, "Second cousin just now..."
A loud bang interrupted her. The carved wooden door of the casino across the street burst open, and Jiang Baichuan stumbled out. His brocade robe was stained with wine, and the gold-thread bamboo embroidery had long since torn into tattered strips. Jiang Yuyao followed out, her skirt lifted, a half-hidden banknote still tucked into her sleeve.
"Let me bet again!" Jiang Baichuan roared, clinging to the door frame, his jade crown tilted to reveal his messy hair. "I also have a villa in the south of the city."
The burly man threw him into the middle of the street like a chicken. The dealer leaned against the doorframe, picking his teeth. "Second Master, even if you pawn your belt, it's no use unless you bring cash."
Jiang Yuyao pretended to support him, but stuffed the silver bills in her sleeve deep into her sleeve: "Don't worry, second brother, ask third sister for some money." Before she finished speaking, she was pushed away by Jiang Baichuan. She staggered and bumped into the stone lion, and looked up to meet Jiang Songyi's cold gaze.
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