Chapter 134: Playing Mahjong

Hearing Zhu Gaoxi say he wanted to play, the eyes of Ada and the others lit up.

Having lain in the Wounded Soldiers Camp for the past two days without moving, they were absolutely stifled.

If they hadn't been able to talk to each other, they would have gone insane.

Two days was already enough; if it continued any longer, they certainly wouldn't be able to stand it.

Seeing the state they were in, Zhu Gaoxi nodded, then waved his hand and told them to follow him.

Returning to Zhu Gaoxi's large tent, he had people bring in a large table and four stools, then called for someone to bring paper and a brush.

There was nothing much to say; under the gaze of Ada and the others, Zhu Gaoxi began to write and draw.

The group watched from the side, completely bewildered, but fortunately, it didn't take Zhu Gaoxi long this time.

It took about a quarter of an hour to finish drawing everything.

He then called over a soldier, gave a few instructions, and sent him out.

While waiting, Zhu Gaoxi said to them, "The imperial court has been somewhat turbulent lately, and Imperial Grandfather told me to stay safely in the Military Camp. Since we have nothing to do, let's play something new."

Looking at the four pairs of curious, wide eyes, Zhu Gaoxi smiled and said, "The name of this game is Mahjong. I will explain the rules to you now. I have already had them go make the tiles; we'll just make do with the first set for now. Once we have something to play with, we'll make a few fine sets."

After speaking, Zhu Gaoxi began to explain the rules of Mahjong to them.

Being the "national essence" of China, the group found it very interesting as soon as they heard it, and they all thought it was quite fun.

The more they listened, the more addicted they became, and they all grew restless, wishing they could hurry someone up to finish making the tiles.

Zhu Gaoxi smiled at their impatient looks and said, "Since we are playing cards, there naturally must be a stake. You risked your lives to protect this Prince, so I naturally cannot be stingy. I will reward each of you with fifty taels of silver; sit down and play a few rounds with me in a moment."

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoxi took silver banknotes from his robes.

After receiving the banknotes, the men felt a bit embarrassed.

It wasn't that they were embarrassed to accept Zhu Gaoxi's reward; after all, in ancient times, there was no such thing as being embarrassed about that.

As a member of the royal family, they would accept whatever Zhu Gaoxi bestowed upon them; let alone money, even if he ordered them to die, they would have to accept it.

Their embarrassment stemmed from the fact that although this game was invented by Zhu Gaoxi, they already understood the rules, and it would be bad if they happened to beat him.

Seeing them accept the banknotes, Zhu Gaoxi smiled.

Unaware of their thoughts, he continued to speak to himself: "Considering you don't know how to play, for now, the base stake will be one tael of silver. Doubling, not multiplying; a Dragon Sequence adds one fold, a Mixed One-Suit adds one fold, a Pure One-Suit adds two folds, Seven Pairs adds one fold, Luxurious Seven Pairs adds two folds..."

Just as Zhu Gaoxi was explaining the doubling rules, the Mahjong tiles were finally finished.

They were just carved from ordinary wood; there were all kinds of talented people in the Military Camp.

One of them was a former apprentice carpenter, so he was quite familiar with making such things.

The craftsmanship was just a bit rough, so they had polished them slightly.

However, Zhu Gaoxi had already given orders to just use these for now, and to take this time to go into the city and find a specialist to craft a set of golden-thread nanmu Mahjong tiles.

Before Zhu Gaoxi could even finish explaining the rules, Ada and the others impatiently set the Mahjong tiles on the table.

A'er had the most impatient temper and immediately said, "Let's play, let's play! We can talk while we play."

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxi smiled slightly, hoping they would still be this excited after losing money later.

Perhaps because they had been stifled for two days, they were all very eager to play.

But Mahjong is a four-player game, and with five people present, one person would definitely have to watch from the side.

Zhu Gaoxi certainly couldn't step down, so the brothers looked at each other. A Si was the sharpest; without further ado, he sat directly on a stool.

Seeing this, the more honest A-San sighed and automatically withdrew from the competition.

With that, the four players were finally assembled.

Zhu Gaoxi, Ada, A'er, and A Si sat at the table to play, while A-San watched from the side, looking somewhat pitiful.

They drew for positions and rolled the dice; Zhu Gaoxi acted as the host and was the first dealer. Then, as they arranged their tiles, Zhu Gaoxi discarded a West Wind, and the game officially began.

At first, Ada and the others were slow to discard tiles, but after a few rounds, they gradually became familiar with it.

The pace of the game became faster and faster.

They were playing a "big pot" style; besides self-drawn wins where all three parties paid, whoever discarded the winning tile paid, and the same applied to Kongs.

But for some reason, even though they were now proficient, after four or five rounds, they hadn't won a single time; the dealer, Zhu Gaoxi, won every single hand.

A-San, watching from the side, was getting anxious.

"I told you not to discard the Two of Bamboo, but you insisted! They were waiting for that very last Two of Bamboo to win!"

A-San stood behind A Si, looking at him with a sense of frustration that he wouldn't live up to expectations.

A Si was also regretful, but he retorted, "Big Brother discarded the Two of Bamboo just now and His Highness didn't win, so I thought it was safe."

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxi said with a smile, "Can't help it, I just reached a winning hand."

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