Chapter 18: Dice Games and Another Gift

Xiao Dan was quick-witted; she replied:

“Third Young Master, look at this maid’s attire—she’s the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Duke household.”

Xu Zaijing saw clearly: just moments ago, the little boy had been playing dice and tossing arrows with Gu Tingye, utterly defeated, and the jade amulet was now Gu Tingye’s trophy.

In his memory, this Duke household never appeared in the television drama, but it was mentioned once in the original novel:

Sheng Hong and Sheng Wei had both once studied as guest students in this Duke household’s family school.

But the family school was rife with scandal, and they left early.

Moreover, none of the Duke’s several branches had produced any worthy heirs.

There were even rumors of the patriarch demanding his son’s maidservants’ trinkets.

Many households in the capital had heard these tales.

Given how the Duke’s descendants behaved, only those desperate to climb the social ladder would seek marriage with them.

Families of equal standing would never ally with them.

Soon, a sharp-featured middle-aged noblewoman stepped out.

Xiao Dan whispered beside Xu Zaijing: “This is Gu Da Niangzi of the Duke’s first branch; the little boy is also from the first branch.”

After Xiao Dan’s introduction, the middle-aged noblewoman arrived at the dice-and-tossing booth.

She looked down at Gu Tingye and whispered: “So you’re from a merchant family—you know only deceit and trickery. Give back my family’s jade amulet, or I’ll have you beaten.”

Gu Tingye’s face flushed red; he glared at the noblewoman like a young bull and shouted:

“I won this fairly in the tossing game—I didn’t cheat!”

“You did cheat! You’re so good at tossing arrows, yet you played dice with me—you tricked me!” cried the boy beside the noblewoman.

“A gambler accepts his loss!” Gu Tingye shouted.

“Pah, you cheated!” the boy yelled, glancing around at the other children who had lost.

Some of the children who had lost, seeing adult backing, rushed to the Duke household’s side to shout support; others upheld fair play, but Gu Tingye had won too many items, too brutally,

so few stood with him—only a few older boys from the Yingguo Gong household.

Instantly, Gu Tingye shifted from victor to accused.

The children gathered around him, clamoring—some demanding their belongings back, others shouting for him to play again.

Gu Tingye was never one to swallow insults, and in the Ningyuan Marquis household, Gu Hou had truly trained this healthy, bull-like second son.

This made Gu Tingye stronger than most noble children who never trained in martial arts.

A few shoves sent several children stumbling back, but they were too many—he was soon surrounded.

Someone cried out in pain—no one knew who had been struck.

In the chaos, the maidservants hurried off to report to their mistresses.

Amid the turmoil, the Duke’s first-branch lady cast a glance at Gu Tingye’s spoils, then nudged her own boy.

The boy was clever—he slipped through the crowd, crawled on all fours, and gathered up his sister’s jade amulet, snatching a few valuable pendants along the way.

At that moment, noblewomen from various households arrived to check on their children.

Just moments ago, Gu Tingye had dominated the tossing game; now he was the little cheat who tricked them all.

The commotion drew laughter and murmurs from the scholars’ sons in the pavilion nearby, with plenty of mocking remarks drifting over.

Xu Zaijing watched it all; as Gu Tingye was surrounded, he was about to move—when a hand pressed him down.

Bai Shi’s voice came:

“Good child.”

Princess Pingning arrived in the courtyard, supported by her lady-in-waiting.

The Yingguo Gong’s lady, seeing her son below, snapped: “What disgrace! Get them separated—now!”

The maids and servants rushed in, and soon the children were pulled apart.

Gu Tingye’s hair was disheveled, his face bruised, but his expression showed no surrender—he panted like a young bull.

Several boys had bloody noses and red eyes—no one knew who had struck them.

Bai Shi had no face here; among them were several duchesses and noblewomen with imperial titles.

A merchant-born lady like her had no voice—she could only pull Gu Tingye into her arms.

She whispered softly: “Ye’er, does it hurt?”

Gu Tingye remained stubbornly silent, tears and snot streaming down his face—but he made no sound.

“They’re unfair! I won it fair and square!”

Gu Tingye wept.

The Yingguo Gong’s lady gave Bai Shi no courtesy, but her gaze toward the Duke’s first-branch lady was equally hostile.

The servants and maids were questioned, and the truth came out.

Some scolded their children for breaking rules; others subtly insulted Bai Shi’s merchant origins.

The Duke’s boy who started it all had slipped into the crowd—right in front of Xu Zaijing—and pretended nothing was wrong, watching the center, his hand clenched behind his back with several valuable jade amulets.

Xu Zaijing glanced at his mother behind him—his mother watched Bai Shi in the courtyard, her face filled with worry.

At that moment, Wang Da Niangzi of the Kang clan was speaking to a noblewoman beside her:

“Playing such high-stakes games at such a young age—grown up, he’ll be no good.”

Her words silenced the crowd; the Duke household shot her a venomous look.

Other noble families looked uneasy too, but this Wang Da Niangzi’s father was a revered civil official who died in office and was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple—they dared not offend her.

The scene fell into an awkward silence.

Xu Zaijing seized the moment and kicked the Duke boy squarely in the buttocks.

The little brat stumbled forward, fell flat, not badly hurt but screaming in pain.

The valuable items spilled from his grasp—he had no time to retrieve them.

“Oh no! Waaah~~~~”

“That’s my son’s jade pendant! How did it end up in this boy’s hand?” Wang Da Niangzi of the Kang clan shrieked.

Instantly, Gu Da Niangzi of the Duke household turned pale, then flushed red—she glanced at the second-branch girl, then at the crying boy on the ground, and slapped the girl hard on the shoulder.

“Your brother’s crying—why don’t you go help him?”

Seeing this, Gu Tingye in Bai Shi’s arms broke into a grin.

Sun Shi turned to look at her son, pressed a handkerchief to her mouth to hide her smile.

At that moment, Princess Pingning stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said:

“I’ve been remiss in my duties—please all move to the theater. Today’s performance is ‘Riches and Everlasting Spring,’ by the renowned southern opera troupe Qingchun Troupe.”

Princess Pingning offered a graceful exit; the guests naturally dropped the matter, laughing and chatting as if nothing had happened.

When most had left for the theater, Princess Pingning glanced at her lady-in-waiting.

After all guests departed,

the lady-in-waiting had already ordered the household servants to drag out the maids on duty that day—no one knew if they’d be beaten or sold outright.

Soon, the southern opera troupe began their lilting, mournful singing.

By the hour of Shen, guests from the Qiguo Gong household began to depart.

The weather was cold; Princess Pingning could not stand at the gate—her sister-in-law saw them off instead.

At this gathering, noblewomen and officials’ wives exchanged plenty of capital gossip over meals and music.

Such as which marquis household had taken another concubine, which heir was lazy, which daughter lacked upbringing.

Which imperial consort had gained favor, which noblewoman’s family had lowly origins,

which duchess was expecting another child at her age—on and on.

No one knew if they themselves were the subject of someone else’s gossip.

In the Xu family’s carriage, Sun Shi stared at the exquisite wooden box in Xiao Zhu’s hands—inside was a small golden horse, gifted by Princess Pingning,

a single, solid gold-cast miniature horse.

Sun Shi murmured to herself: “Jing’er, the gifts these ladies gave you are far more valuable than what we gave out.”

Xu Zaijing glanced at his mother and smiled.

Indeed—Bai Shi had given jade weapons, jade writing brushes and inkstones, even her own gold-and-jade Fu-Shou bracelet; Princess Pingning had given jade amulets and this golden horse.

Not long ago, Wu Da Niangzi had also given Sun Shi a gold collar, claiming it was for Xu Zaijing.

(End of Chapter)