Chapter 160 – Looking for Trouble (Part 4)
The waiter chimed in, “There are plenty of fun games here; if you gentlemen are interested, I can tell you all about them.”
“Then go ahead and spill, I’m all ears,” Meng Liang replied, a smirk of delight creeping onto his face.
“Alright then, listen carefully! Single and double dice, flip and flop, card games galore, chicken fights, duck fighting, and quail brawls…” He listed off a dozen games in one breath, sounding like he was calling out a menu.
“Not interested!” Jiang Pengji interrupted, turning to leave.
The waiter was taken aback, his rapid-fire speech halted before he could even try to stop her.
But now that they were at the gambling house, Meng Liang had no intention of letting her walk away without playing!
“Cousin Lan Ting, since we’re already here, why not have a go before you leave? There’s nothing else exciting outside besides those trinkets,” he said with a bright smile, draping an arm around Jiang Pengji’s shoulders, coaxing her back.
Jiang Pengji frowned in annoyance and declared, “Cousin, you said we were just coming to have a look. How did we end up playing? Gambling only leads to trouble; it can’t be good gossip, so you shouldn’t be too curious.”
Meng Liang rolled his eyes internally; she was all talk, just a clueless goody two-shoes who didn’t know how to have fun.
Releasing his arm from her shoulders, he pouted playfully, “Cousin Lan Ting wants to leave, but I don’t want to!”
Meng Liang decided to play the blame game, knowing Jiang Pengji wouldn’t dare leave him, a “delicate lady,” alone in this gambling den.
In the end, Jiang Pengji had no choice but to stay, filling Meng Liang with a sense of accomplishment.
While the waiter wanted to fleece some easy cash, he also had enough sense to wait for these three to reach a conclusion.
Though he appeared earnest, he was already rolling his eyes inside.
What kind of place was a gambling house?
It could make someone filthy rich or leave them completely broke, even leading to selling off children or escorting wives.
Even the God of Wealth could get skinned alive here, let alone three naive kids who had never seen the world.
There’s a saying: the one who just stepped in is the master, while at the gambling table, you’re just a nobody; the one who loses is even less than a grandchild.
The waiter only needed to get these three in here, and naturally, someone would suck them dry.
Meng Liang curious leaned over to one of the tables, “What game are they playing here?”
The gamblers had just wrapped up a round, their emotions running high; the winners were sweating with excitement, while the losers carried glum expressions. Some had lost so badly that they looked utterly defeated, as if they couldn’t bear to continue living.
The waiter explained, “This table is playing big or small, with three dice in a cup. After shaking, you choose to bet big or small.”
The rules were straightforward and brutally simple, even those who had never played could pick it up in a heartbeat.
Jiang Pengji cast a cold glance at the dealer’s cup, which wasn’t covered, revealing three dull-colored dice. She raised an eyebrow and smirked, “Just betting big or small? Isn’t that quite easy?”
The waiter chuckled, “It is indeed simple and easy to profit, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many people playing.”
Many newcomers thought the fifty-fifty odds were too good to pass up, only to find themselves in deep trouble.
Three dice: four to ten is small, eleven to seventeen is big, but if three or eighteen appears, meaning all dice showing one or six, then the dealer sweeps everything, with a one-to-one payout.
Did they dare to play such child’s play in front of her?
“Cousin Lan Ting, what do you choose?”
As the new round of betting was about to begin, the dealer was about to start shaking the dice again.
Jiang Pengji appeared righteous, refusing to join in the fun, but Meng Liang was confident in his charm, showering her with affection, until finally, “successfully” persuading Cousin Lan Ting to make the first move — one betting big, and the other betting small.
Once revealed, the outcome was joyously predictable; Jiang Pengji’s fortune was devoured.
“We’ve played enough, can we leave now?” Jiang Pengji said with an irritated expression.
“What do you mean we’ve played enough? One tael is still one tael! Would Cousin Lan Ting really let his silver fall into someone else’s pockets? If you’re not playing, then I will! Cousin Lan Ting is not short on money. It’s not money that’s hard to come by, but happiness! Let’s just enjoy ourselves and not worry about other things.”
Meng Liang refused to leave, and kept playing two more rounds, winning every time.
Many gamblers egged them on, and though Jiang Pengji seemed indifferent, her heart was starting to stir. Meng Liang immediately fanned the flames, saying, “Standing around is boring; let’s play a little more.”
Jiang Pengji used Meng Liang as an excuse, but deep down, it was more about her own eagerness to play. Meng Liang recognized the truth and smirked.
Compared to Meng Liang’s winning streak, Jiang Pengji was quite unfortunate, losing five times in a row, sending five taels of silver vanishing.
Nong Qin watched anxiously; what kind of people frequented gambling houses?
With money, you’re a master; lose it, and you’re less than a grandchild!
“Don’t worry, I have always had good luck.”
Jiang Pengji toyed with her last piece of broken silver, wearing a mischievous smile.
In this crass game, others’ wins depended on luck; for her, it was merely about her own willingness to win.
Seeing Jiang Pengji getting into the spirit, Meng Liang secretly laughed as he moved to another table with his winnings.
“Young Master, do you want to keep playing?” asked the dealer.
“Of course,” Jiang Pengji casually threw her last piece of broken silver on the table, “Let’s go!”
Fortune turned in her favor; after losing five rounds, Jiang Pengji finally hit a win with a bet on small.
With a one-to-one payout, she now had two pieces of broken silver.
She promptly placed both on small again.
The dealer smiled, “Are you still betting small, Young Master?”
After hitting small eight times in a row, many others wagered on big, but only Jiang Pengji stuck with small.
“Yeah.”
The dealer lifted the cup, revealing one, three, and four; eight points, small.
Now she had four pieces in total.
“This round, I’ll bet it all on big.” Jiang Pengji boldly staked all her silver again.
The dealer unveiled the cup — four, four, five; thirteen points, big.
Now booming with eight pieces, Jiang Pengji declared, “This time I’ll go big again.”
Once the results were in, it counted up to sixteen.
The dealer’s expression stiffened slightly before forcing a smile, “Young Master’s luck is quite impressive.”
Jiang Pengji smirked internally; was that even considered luck?
When she gambled, she scared even herself.
Unbeknownst to her, the underground casinos of the Federation had closed down several times due to her occasional visit scaring off customers.
Her unique status meant that the black-market casinos lost everything without a trace, not daring to take a shot at her.
Everyone knew that whoever attacked her would face her wrath towards the powers behind the casinos — she was just that willful.
