Chapter 16: My Husband Truly Has No Shortage of Money

“Miss, something terrible has happened!”

Jinchui rushed anxiously into the room, startling Yun Zhaozhao, who was busy bookkeeping. Her hand trembled, and she snapped irritably, “I’m perfectly fine.”

“The Ruyi Gambling House has reported us to the authorities, claiming we stole their money. Now there are wanted posters of the two of us plastered all over the city.”

“What the—? They can really play dirty like that?”

Yun Zhaozhao was stunned.

“Miss, at a time like this, you still have the nerve to joke?”

“Relax. If the sky falls, there’s always someone taller to hold it up,” Yun Zhaozhao said calmly. “But since Ruyi House is so eager to pick a fight, I’ll just play along and give them a good lesson!”

Jinchui’s interest peaked immediately. “How do we play?”

“By proving the charges they’ve fabricated are true!”

Xiaodao listened in fear.

“Miss, you absolutely cannot do that. They must have set a trap. If you fall into it, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

“Them?” Yun Zhaozhao sneered. “If they want to catch me, they’ll have to wait until next lifetime!”

“But Miss, we didn’t disguise ourselves much yesterday. Didn’t you say the young master might recognize you? And you used the red whip…”

“What’s there to fear? As long as we’re not caught red-handed, we’ll never admit to it.”

After all, there was no video surveillance in this era.

“As for the whip, Jinchui, dye it back to black.”

“Understood, Miss.”

Jinchui loved weapons, and since she had been the one to dye the whip red originally, restoring it to black wouldn’t be difficult.

“Xiaodao, come on, let’s go out for a walk.”

Yun Zhaozhao was decisive.

Soon, the two arrived near Ruyi House—to scope things out.

Sure enough, wanted posters of her and Jinchui dressed as men were plastered everywhere.

But those portraits were really... abstract.

Unless she dressed exactly as she did yesterday, no one would likely recognize her even if she stood right in front of them.

Tsk, no wonder there are so many wrongful convictions in ancient times.

“Miss, something feels off. Ruyi House is just a gambling den; it can’t wield such power. I suspect there’s someone influential behind it.”

Xiaodao analyzed calmly.

Yun Zhaozhao gave her an approving look.

“Exactly. If we want to move against Ruyi House, we first need to find out who’s really pulling the strings.”

“In that case, maybe we should head back and plan carefully.”

Xiaodao suggested, “As long as you and Jinchui don’t show up dressed like yesterday, in a year or so, this will blow over quietly.”

Yun Zhaozhao replied, “The matter might blow over, but the anger in my heart never will.”

Soon, the two reached Ruyi House’s entrance and found it blocked by a crowd three layers deep, bustling with excitement.

“Miss, I’ll go inquire. Please wait here.”

“All right, be quick.”

Before long, Xiaodao returned, her expression hard to read.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ruyi House claims the interior was severely damaged by bandits and needs three days to repair. They’re operating outside because a new gambling event opened today, and many are placing bets.”

“What kind of gambling is so popular?”

Yun Zhaozhao asked curiously.

“It’s a bet on when you and the young master will consummate your marriage.”

“What?!”

It turned out the bet was orchestrated by Kong Wenjun, aiming to humiliate Sheng Xingye.

Who knew people in the capital were so fascinated by the private affairs of noble families that they all jumped on the bandwagon to bet.

Yun Zhaozhao couldn’t tell if she was crazy or if the entire capital had gone mad.

In the end, she took out ten thousand taels of silver and handed it to Xiaodao. “Go see which odds pay out quickly and heavily, and bet on that.”

Anyway, when it came to this, she was in charge.

The two circled around Ruyi House’s vicinity, and Yun Zhaozhao had already mapped out several escape routes and the optimal path in her mind.

As for the interior, besides the second floor, she had a clear understanding of the layout of the first floor and basement.

She only wasn’t sure if there were any secret rooms.

By typical novel logic, businesses dealing with shady dealings often had secret chambers.

These were used to store money and ledgers, facilitate meetings with the true masters behind the scenes, or even serve as escape routes.

But that would require personal exploration.

“Later, you go to the General’s Mansion and ask Chuchu if she knows who owns Ruyi House and who backs them.”

Unfortunately, Yun Zhaozhao’s hopes were dashed.

The General’s Mansion was shallow-rooted in the capital and had no ties to brothels or gambling dens, so they knew very little.

All they knew was that the apparent owner of Ruyi House was just the head of a small family.

Yun Zhaozhao thought it over and realized her connections in the capital were almost nonexistent. Aside from Chuchu, she had no one to ask.

How unfortunate!

Oh, right—Sheng Xingye!

“Achoo!”

Sheng Xingye, who was currently demanding compensation at the Grand Tutor’s residence, sneezed suddenly but it did not affect his performance.

“Uncle, do you feel even a bit of guilt?

If it weren’t for my fifth cousin ‘suddenly’ breaking off the engagement to marry someone else, I wouldn’t have been given this arranged marriage and become the laughingstock of the entire capital.

He still couldn’t understand why his fifth cousin insisted on canceling the engagement in the first place.

Though she had given birth to a daughter less than seven months after marriage, it seemed to be…”

“Silence!”

Liang Wenxiu snapped with a dark face.

“Uncle, ten thousand taels, all settled.”

“I’ll take the loss for the sake of family face.”

“You—you scoundrel, to act tough against your own uncle! I’ll be sure to talk to your mother about how she’s been raising you!”

“Fine, then she can teach you a lesson too, about how to raise children like my fifth cousin’s…”

“You!”

Having successfully wrangled ten thousand taels from Liang Wenxiu, Sheng Xingye felt more at ease and walked back to his study more lightly.

“So happy—did you find money, husband?”

Yun Zhaozhao’s sudden voice startled him; he instinctively raised a hand to cover his chest but stopped just in time.

“What are you doing here?”

Yun Zhaozhao beckoned him with a finger. “Want to make some money?”

“No.”

Sheng Xingye replied flatly.

Yun Zhaozhao narrowed her eyes, stood, and walked toward him slowly. “Looks like you really aren’t short on money.”

“Yun Zhaozhao, you crazy woman, what are you planning now?”

Sheng Xingye backed away cautiously, shouting fiercely, “Don’t push your luck—I’m not someone to be trifled with!”

“Why so worked up, husband?”

Yun Zhaozhao lightly rested her hand on his shoulder, flashing a charming smile. “I just want to make a deal with you.”

Sheng Xingye’s ears flushed red.

He brushed off her hand and grumbled, “If you want to talk, just talk—don’t get handsy.”

Yun Zhaozhao rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue further. “Five hundred taels for a piece of information: who truly owns Ruyi House and who supports them.”

Sheng Xingye’s eyes flickered, and he raised the price.

“One thousand taels!”

“Deal!”

Yun Zhaozhao agreed readily.

But that smile made Sheng Xingye a little uneasy.