Gloomy skies carried moisture. Outside the inner city and beyond the Meridian Gate, hoofbeats could be heard.
A rabbit with a broken leg limped through the crowd and finally crashed into Li Mo’s leg, exhausted.
Two small hands picked it up. The little rabbit looked up and saw a face wearing cool sunglasses; its white fur stood on end.
“Big Brother Li, Sister Bing, rabbit.”
Jiang Chulong blinked and picked it up.
Ying Bing glanced at it, and the rabbit, which had been struggling, suddenly froze in fear.
“Big Brother Li, let’s help it.”
“Sure, first let’s save half of it. Should we save it raw or stewed?”
“Big Brother Li, it seems to have fainted from fright.”
“So spirited?”
Li Mo took out some medicine, its fragrance so strong that even Xie Xuan was speechless—old Xie wouldn’t have enough money to buy this bottle even if he sold everything except his sword.
At that moment, the crowd parted, and Xie Xuan turned around to see Jiang Yu and his group riding over on horses. The princes and princesses were all dressed in military attire, as if they had just returned from hunting.
“My rabbit?”
As they passed by, the Eighth Prince saw Li Mo treating the rabbit and checked his empty game pouch. Frowning, he then relaxed his expression.
“You’re smart, you can keep the rabbit.”
“What?”
Li Mo lifted his head, a question mark appearing above him.
Who are you?
Just as he was about to use his divine eye to check, Xie Xuan said beside him,
“This is the Eighth Prince. He runs the Thousand Gold Gambling House and the Wind Moon Small Residence in the capital. You lost to him at a ratio of one to eight last time. Didn’t you go to collect your winnings?”
Li Mo had been busy these past two days, thinking only of investments, swordsmanship, or Bing Tuozi’s jade legs.
He had bet for Little Jiang’s confidence, and he really didn’t remember winning those small stakes.
“I forgot.”
“Brother Li, you treat money like dirt, just like me.”
Xie Xuan nodded in agreement.
“How much?” Zhong Zhenyue asked curiously.
“Well, sixteen golden mountains and four thousand xuan crystals,” Xie Xuan said casually, as if he truly treated money like dirt. Zhong Zhenyue was stunned, his eyes beginning to glaze over as he stared at the Eighth Prince.
“Pay up, pay up!”
The Eighth Prince: “?”
“Hello, repay me. Even though it’s not much, I still need it.”
Li Mo stretched out his hand, speaking succinctly.
The dashing Eighth Prince narrowed his eyes. He had thought Li Mo would understand, but now he realized Li Mo was serious.
Why hadn’t he mentioned this in the past two days?
Could it be that he truly didn’t care about the money? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
“Are you short on cash?”
Little Li looked at him with pity.
This was the first time the Fourth Prince had ever been sized up so rudely. His forehead twitched.
“These past two days, you haven’t come, so I’ve already paid my silver to other guests. Tsk, I don’t know what kind of gambler would dare bet at a ratio of one to eight. Now, I, as a royal prince, have no savings left.”
With so many people watching, he couldn’t directly deny the debt.
“If you don’t have money, give something else as collateral.” Although it wasn’t his own money, Zhong Zhenyue already felt heartache.
“The Wind Moon Small Residence would be good,” Xie Xuan suggested after some thought.
The Fourth Prince was furious and sneered, “Although I run the Wind Moon Small Residence, I’ve given several shares to the Crown Prince. Why don’t you find him yourself when you meet on the arena later? Otherwise, wait.”
“Oi, Jiang Yu, are you going to help him avoid repayment?”
Little Li didn’t care about the threats inside.
Jiang Yu: “?”
The previous discussion quieted down. The Fourth Prince’s expression froze. He hadn’t expected Li Mo to demand payment immediately if he had money.
“Give it to him,” Jiang Yu said indifferently.
The Fourth Prince opened his mouth, but the Wind Moon Small Residence was not just a business but also a place where they interacted with high officials. Supporting his elder brother in managing it and maintaining relationships with high-ranking officials was his greatest value to Jiang Yu. If he became useless…
But he swallowed hard, suddenly understanding Jiang Yu’s meaning.
This was in the Imperial Capital.
The Wind Moon Small Residence wasn’t about money, and it couldn’t be taken away. After the Qianlong Conference ended, who could afford to wait?
“Take it, but don’t beg me to take it back later.”
The Fourth Prince took out the deed from his Sumeru Bag. Before he could throw it on the ground, Xie Xuan and Zhong Zhenyue quickly grabbed it from both sides.
“d*mn, does the God Hammer Little Overlord become the biggest brothel owner in the Imperial Capital?”
“Probably just for now…”
“It’s enough for today! Several beauties on the Hundred Rankings are at the Wind Moon Small Residence. When I was young, I had a dream of becoming the biggest brothel owner, doing whatever I wanted behind closed doors.”
“No wonder the God Hammer Little Overlord risked offending the royal family for the Wind Moon Small Residence. Could he be planning this?”
“d*mn, isn’t the Cold Fairy already there? How can he do this? What a j*rk.”
Li Mo heard their words and his lips twitched slightly, “Bing Tuozi, you know my interests and hobbies. I plan to change that place.”
“What do you plan to change it into…”
“Exactly, into a foot massage city!”
In the next incense stick’s worth of time, the royal family’s offspring kept looking over here. As the morning bell sounded, various lights from the Map of Rivers and Mountains descended.
Everything was the same as yesterday, and names drawn by lottery using gold beads were projected onto it.
【Huang Donglai vs. Ning Que】
【Li Mo vs. Zhong Zhenyue】
“It seems whoever wins between Old Huang and Ning Que will have to fight Brother Li,” Zhong Zhenyue said, still not fully recovered from his injuries.
Why did he say this? Because the competition was conducted in groups, and these four were in one group, needing to decide the strongest among them.
“I can’t win against Ning Que. He perfectly counters me because his martial arts are based on music, and he doesn’t need to catch up to me to attack me.”
Huang Donglai shook his head.
“I only use a sword, and dealing with this person should require some effort.”
Li Mo had seen Ning Que’s performance.
Huang Donglai, upon hearing this, touched one of the bottles inside his clothes and fell into deep thought.
“Little Jiang is actually facing Brother Murong.”
Li Mo was smiling, but suddenly his smile disappeared.
Because another pair of contestants from the same group emerged.
【Jiang Yu vs. Qu Songyun】
That meant if Jiang Chulong won against Murong Xiao, her opponent would be Jiang Yu.
