Chapter 28: Is My Wife Worth One Hundred Thousand Taels?

The place outside South Border City, about thirty li to the north, a small grove, the sun shone high.

After traveling for about half a month, Chen Yi He and the three of them finally reached their destination.

This time, Chen Yi He truly felt the vastness, breadth, and sparseness of South Border.

Along the way, they no longer encountered any pursuit by Li Lan or the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, Chen Yi He and Long Wang tried every means to shake off Dongfang Xing, but each attempt failed. Instead, they kept being entangled by Dongfang Xing over the matter of the 100,000-tael tuition.

It was rare to come across a tea pavilion; the three discussed having a cup of tea to rest their legs, then adjust their condition before entering the city.

"Huh..." Long Wang pulled the horse's reins.

Inside the small tea pavilion of about five to six square meters, it was packed with people, about seven or eight of them, huddled together, heads down, buttocks sticking out, squeezing in and out.

"Good! Collected!" came an excited shout.

Everyone straightened up in unison, one groan after another rising and falling.

"Tsk..."

"What the hell..."

"Just a little bit short!"

The scene before him made Dongfang Xing in the wagon curious; he asked Chen Yi He, "What are they doing?"

"Watching them, they're sometimes focused, sometimes frenziedly venting; under this sky, sweat pours down their bodies, and they emit a strong hormonal scent—no need to think, they must be..."

"Gambling!" Long Wang interrupted Chen Yi He's speculation, excitedly.

"What are hormones?" Dongfang Xing was still in a dazed state about 'hormones'...

"Bingo!" Chen Yi He gave Long Wang a thumbs-up; they had thought of the same thing! Like-minded!

As expected, someone in the tea pavilion was placing bets and shouting loudly, "Big! Big! Big!"

"Buy big, buy small, bet and hands off, bet and hands off!"

Long Wang swallowed hard, drooling uncontrollably.

Chen Yi He kept rubbing his palms, then scratching his ears and cheeks; the fire suppressed in his heart for several months seemed to be ignited... At school, he was the Gambling King of the toilet corner, skilled at Flash, Fight the Landlord, Mahjong, Pai Gow, dice—he knew them all inside out.

"Want to get off for a drink?" Chen Yi He tentatively asked Long Wang in front of the carriage.

"A drink?" Long Wang also hesitated, but the desire in his eyes burned like fire, this fire absolutely blazing brighter than Chen Yi He's!

"Then let's have a drink!" The window paper, Long Wang poked half, Chen Yi He poked half, and finally they poked it through.

"It's just tea, why are you acting like this, drenched in sweat?" Dongfang Xing shook his head in confusion.

"Bring a big sack down, your tuition change is here!" Chen Yi He said to Dongfang Xing, then pocketed the banknotes and got off the carriage with Long Wang.

Inside the tea pavilion stood two tables: an Eight Immortals table and a small round table. People gathered around the Eight Immortals table, while the small round table held untouched tea, and the tea kettle bore the four crooked characters "one tael per cup".

"Small." Zhuang Jia opened the betting.

Chen Yi He noticed that Zhuang Jia was a young man about his age, his delicate face coated with heavy powder, a Pixiu larger than his palm hanging at his waist, his body draped in a golden robe, holding a pure gold tea cup, seated steadily in the big chair behind the "Zhuang" character, legs crossed, occupying one side of the Eight Immortals table.

"It's over, over, really boring." Someone was already leaving, apparently having lost all their money.

"Keep shouting 'buy big', buy your mother's head! Now you've lost all your money, still want to go to South Border City?" The burly man accompanying him flew into a rage, grabbed his companion's collar, and dragged him out of the tea pavilion.

Thus, around the octagonal table, only two seats remained empty besides Zhuang Jia, leaving four gamblers.

Zhuang Jia made a gesturing invitation.

Chen Yi He placed the 100,000-tael banknotes on the table as a stake, then faced southeast and made a prayer, crossing his chest and murmuring "Amen". Unrelated to faith, this is a step he always takes when playing cards.

If one insists on calling it faith, then it's the gamblers' faith, right?

"What shall we play?" Zhuang Jia asked the two newcomers with a smile.

"Whatever you like." Chen Yi He extended his hand to Zhuang Jia, asking him to decide.

"Then let's still play dice! Guess big or small."

As the newcomers took their places, the others didn't rush to bet; they wanted to watch and observe, stepping back to the side.

Someone brought a large chair each for Chen Yi He and Long Wang, and poured tea.

The scene instantly became the battleground of Zhuang Jia, Chen Yi He, and Long Wang.

"Buy big, buy small, bet and hands off!" Zhuang Jia shouted.

"Big, 10,000 taels." Chen Yi He threw a stack of banknotes onto the "big" spot.

"Me too, big." Long Wang also threw 10,000 taels onto it; he and Chen Yi He exchanged a glance, extremely confident.

Zhuang Jia gave Chen Yi He and Long Wang each a thumbs-up, "No testing the waters—just one hand and it's 10,000 taels, you two young heroes are so straightforward! Five dice, let's check." Afterwards Zhuang Jia shook the dice cup flamboyantly, his head swaying faster than the cup.

"Pa—" as it was covered, the scene fell silent, everyone's eyes fixed on the dice cup.

"Want to add more?" Zhuang Jia asked provocatively.

"Add, why not? Add another 10,000 taels." Chen Yi He threw another stack of 10,000-tael banknotes onto it.

Long Wang followed suit; altogether there were 40,000 taels on big, the banknotes stacked in a layer.

"Open!" Zhuang Jia shouted loudly and lifted the dice cup.

Five ones, five points, small.

"Hahaha! Taken!" Zhuang Jia swept the banknotes into his arms with a big laugh, "hahaha! hahaha!"

"Again." Chen Yi He remained calm, "Each of us 20,000 taels, bet big."

"Still betting big?"

"Mm."

The four onlookers saw Chen Yi He and Long Wang both betting big, so they all rushed to bet on Zhuang Jia. They shouted wildly at the dice cup, "Small! Small! Small!"

"Six, three, two, two, one—fourteen points, small." Zhuang Jia lifted the dice cup and shouted.

"Collect the money!"

"Made money, made money, broke even! Hahaha!"

Chen Yi He's hundred thousand taels, in the blink of an eye only twenty thousand taels remained; the originally thick stack of silver notes had become much thinner.

"Young hero, your luck is still a bit off." The house laughed as he spoke to Chen Yi He, glancing at the silver left on Chen Yi He's table, he provocatively asked, "Still coming?"

"Twenty thousand taels left, I'm betting big." Chen Yi He firmly pushed the silver notes onto "Big".

"Young hero, think it over—you've already bet big three times in a row, I wouldn't recommend betting, oh..." Not sure if it was out of goodwill, the house reminded Chen Yi He.

"Just bet big." Chen Yi He lowered his head, his face sullen, expression tense, brows furrowed, hands crossed and planted on the table; after just two rounds, he and Long Wang had already lost eighty thousand taels.

His tuition fees have already lost eight-tenths.

"Then that Southern Frontier City, you probably can't go there—no money, Qianzhong Gate won't accept you!" The house lifted the dice cup, without even looking, he laughed and shouted, "Six-six-one-one-one, fifteen points, small."

"Wow!" Again just a bit off, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Chen Yi He suddenly stood up from the chair, slammed both hands on the table, and angrily cursed, "Damn it!"

"Hey hey, you better not be like that, oh—we want to be civilized gamblers, willing to accept loss, hehe." The house leaned back in the big chair, smiling calmly, then he pushed the hundred thousand taels of silver notes across the table: "Everyone, take them—consider it a little gift from your young master!"

Chen Yi He suddenly laughed as well, he sat back down in the big chair and asked the house, "We still have two hundred thousand taels of gems in the carriage—want to play?"

"Two hundred thousand taels?"

"Right. Can you afford to play?"

The house pursed his lips, his subordinates understood his meaning, dragging two medium-sized wooden boxes onto the Eight Immortals table; upon opening them, they were filled with silver notes. He pointed a finger at Chen Yi He's face and coldly said, "Don't say it's just two hundred thousand taels—if you can afford to play, I have two million taels. In my life, I hate being provoked the most!"

"Long Wang, bring the carriage over." Chen Yi He's aura was also fully put on.

"Okay, young master." Long Wang obeyed meekly.

"We'll compare big/small, each with one dice cup, no banker or player distinction—one round decides the winner." Chen Yi He brushed aside the house's finger pointing at him and said.

"Okay."

At this moment, the house's subordinate shouted to his master, "Master, these gems are estimated to be only worth a hundred thousand taels!"

"You're messing with me?" The house's expression changed instantly.

Around the tea pavilion, dozens of black-clad people suddenly appeared, they surrounded the tea pavilion's carriage in a circle, and even hung a gleaming white blade on Chen Yi He's neck.

The small grove instantly fell into a tense and ready-to-burst standoff.

Dongfang Xing sitting in the carriage had no idea what was happening outside, then someone pointed a knife at him; he was about to erupt, but he heard Chen Yi He say, "Long Wang, take off my wife's hat!"

"Wife?!" Everyone was shocked. They didn't know who Chen Yi He was referring to—everyone present was male!

Long Wang reacted, he ran up to Dongfang Xing and took off the black cotton hat he was wearing on his head.

His hair bun came loose, a head of dark, dense long hair poured down like a waterfall, covering both sides of his fair face all the way down to his chest.

His skin was whiter than snow, pitiful to behold!

Dongfang Xing, a tomboy, turned into a real maiden! He—no, she herself was dumbfounded.

Long Wang was dumbfounded.

The house also looked dumbfounded.

Chen Yi He gave a hehe smile and asked the house, "My wife—is she worth a hundred thousand taels?"