"Tiger Girl, come on, come on!" Lanqin called out impatiently. But Tiger Girl actually started backing away, completely unlike her initial self, which was really strange.
"Tiger Girl, what's wrong with you? Why are you biting it!" Lanqin was so angry that she wanted to reach in and push Tiger Girl.
A moment later, Xiao You suddenly began flapping its wings and started attacking Hu Niu. Hu Niu was large and not as agile as Xiao You, so she was bitten several times by Xiao You in no time.
Tiger Girl was in so much pain she wanted to collapse and roll on the ground. Dragging her wing, which had been bitten by Xiao You, she began to circle around the enclosure, making mournful cries. The servant who was tending to the crickets came over and said, "Gentlemen, the outcome is decided. Xiao You has won, and Tiger Girl has been defeated. If the fight continues, Tiger Girl might be bitten to death."
Lanqin still couldn't believe it when she heard this. How could Hu Niu, who had clearly been in the lead, suddenly turn the tables?
"Sir, would you like to continue the fight? If any cricket dies, you will have to bear the loss of the cricket," the waiter said.
"Alright, don't really let her die. Take Hu Niu down to recover from her injuries," Lan Qin said immediately. Although she didn't understand how she lost, she still didn't want Hu Niu to continue because of her competitive spirit.
"Then, sir, shall we continue the fight?" the waiter asked as he caught Tiger Girl and Little You and put them into their respective cages.
"Let's stop the betting. Bring out some good food and pastries. Let's look around and see if there's anywhere to place bets," said Fourth Master.
"Alright, then I'll remove the barricades," the servant said.
After they removed all the cricket fighting equipment, Lanqin was still sullenly reclining on the warm couch. Seeing that the little woman's interest had suddenly dropped after the defeat, Fourth Master laughed and said, "What's wrong? Can't take a loss? I won't really take a thousand taels of silver from you."
Lanqin said, "A bet is a bet. I will give you the one thousand taels of silver from my private treasury."
Seeing that she was still sulking, Fourth Master walked over to Lanqin and pulled her up from the warm couch. "Don't be angry, I'll help you win it back."
Lanqin turned her head and asked, "How can you help, Master?"
"Place your bets on the sidelines! If you're lucky, you could win a few thousand taels of silver in a day," Fourth Master said.
“Really!” Lanqin jumped up and exclaimed.
"I didn't expect that Your Highness's concubine is such a little money-grubber. She jumped up immediately at the mention of money to be made," the Fourth Prince said with amusement.
"My lord, you don't know that when these maids who follow me get married, I have to buy them some things. Anyway, they've been with me for so long, I feel it's my duty. So, if there's money to be made, of course I want to save more," Lanqin argued.
"Hmm, that's a fairly good reason. It seems I made the right choice bringing you here today." Fourth Master raised his hand and tapped Lanqin's forehead.
"Then let's go and watch. We won't eat the snacks. I feel uncomfortable seeing that girl flirting with you, sir," Lanqin said.
The Fourth Master smirked and said, "I didn't even give her a second glance, so why are you so angry?"
Lanqin then turned her anger into a smile and said, "Let's go, I can't wait any longer."
As the two stepped out of the inner room, they saw that cricket fighting was in full swing everywhere outside. Lanqin followed Fourth Master around and saw that most of the cricket fighters were men, but there were also women. However, the women all seemed to have one thing in common—frivolousness. They either leaned against the men and fed them from time to time.
"Did you see that? Why didn't that maid serve you just now? Do you understand now?" the Fourth Prince asked.
"I don't know, please enlighten me, sir," Lanqin said.
“The principal wife wouldn’t be brought here. Most of these women are either mistresses who fight crickets or women from brothels. The maid who refuses to serve you probably thinks you are the master’s mistress!” Fourth Master said, touching his nose.
A bead of sweat slid down Lanqin's forehead. But thinking that she wasn't the principal wife, but rather the fourth prince's concubine, she still felt a little uncomfortable.
"Then why was Tiger Girl so fierce at the beginning, but later she was bitten so badly by yours?" Lanqin suddenly felt like she had been led astray.
"That's my discerning eye. Back in the palace, the eunuchs used to use these things to amuse the young masters. I've played with countless crickets of all kinds, and their quality is quite remarkable," said the Fourth Prince.
"Sir, stop beating around the bush and tell me!" Lanqin said, frowning.
“Your one, it’s obviously caught from the kiln. It’s big, all red, clearly a hot and strong breed. These kinds of insects look imposing, but they’re not very tough. The one I chose, on the other hand, is small, all black, and doesn’t make a loud sound. It’s obviously caught from an extremely cold place. After observing it, I found that it’s very patient, waiting until Tiger Girl had used up most of her strength before it made its move.” Fourth Master said as he walked.
"Master, did you already know that my Tiger Girl couldn't beat your Little You?" Lanqin asked, already having already thought about the Fourth Master in her mind.
"Hmm, I could almost tell just from the two crickets that were put in the arena. But I didn't expect Xiao You to come from that kind of place, and she bit Tiger Girl so badly that she had no chance to fight back," Fourth Master said.
"Which place?" Lanqin asked.
"The graveyard—only crickets from this place can win with almost a single move," Fourth Master said.
Lanqin never imagined that there were so many intricacies involved in cricket fighting, which made her even more curious about the insects in the arena.
Fourth Master led Lanqin through several houses and a garden, arriving at another place. There, even more people were fighting crickets. It resembled a large casino, with all sorts of people huddled around tables, scratching their heads and gesturing wildly. Winners clapped and sang, while losers cursed the insects.
Lanqin followed Fourth Master to the second floor, which had been transformed into a large cricket fighting arena. The walls were lined with chairs and benches, with only a large open space in the center containing a large, flat-bottomed, white, round vat. Two glossy crickets were fighting inside.
Fourth Master took Lanqin to a corner and sat down. He then said to Lanqin, "Take a look first, and I'll tell you which side it is later."
Lanqin nodded, then saw a large table in the middle of the room, piled high with silver coins, which must be the betting stakes.
Lanqin looked at the silver coins; they were no small sum. These two tiny insects could gamble away a person's entire fortune, even bankrupt them.
"Go down the one on the left," Fourth Master said after looking at it for a while.
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