Category: The Big Landlord

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 84.1 – Meeting

Chong Ming Year 27, June, Sunny

The summer arrived quietly. It was the second day of the start of the talent selection.

Early in the morning, the city crowds saw a carriage full of beautiful people passing through the streets. Some people were almost blinded by the brightness of such a scene. Every year at this time was always the liveliest time in Jun Zi City. Bright and early, there would be many people crowded and squeezed on the street, rubbing their eyes clean, and waiting to see the beauties.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

All the teahouses and taverns in the capital were packed with people leaning against the windows and doors. They would be in groups of three and five, and from time to time harangued over the spectacle, evaluating which beauty was the best. There would be sounds of echoing sentiments or rebuttals. The discussions were fiery.

Those who didn’t know what was going on might’ve mistaken them for talking about some major event!

However, in this lively atmosphere, one person sat in the corner with his head buried in a jug of alcohol. He had a drunken look, and he didn’t react one bit to the lively topic of the talent selection.

This person was Boss Zhang.

On that day, he lost all the banknotes on his person. The last hope for Feng Hua Gambling House was completely snuffed out, but he still refused to give up.

After losing all his money, he had rushed around looking for people to help, especially to those who had received his gifts before, but each and every one of them closed the door in his face. Once they heard that it was Boss Zhang coming to visit, they had the servants send him away. No matter what he said, they still did not want to meet with him.

Boss Zhang later learned that these people all knew who was the backer of Bao Hua Gambling House.

Because they were afraid of that person, they didn’t dare to offend him, so they did not dare to help Boss Zhang. Although Boss Zhang was angry, there was nothing he could do.

Boss Zhang felt very helpless. He could only drown his sorrows and troubles in alcohol. If he was drunk he could forget all about his problems. He wouldn’t have to think about those troublesome things. But he knew that this was just a moment of comfort.

Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels dot com

Boss Zhang downed the last of the alcohol in the jug, let out a belch, and wiped the spilled alcohol on his chin with the back of his hand. He put the jug down on the table and shouted, “Waiter, give me another jug of alcohol.”

The server who heard his call immediately came over.

“Boss Zhang, you have already drunk three pots of alcohol. If you keep drinking like this you will become drunk.”

The server came over but did not give him another jug of alcohol right away. He looked Boss Zhang up and down, and smiled a bit. However, Boss Zhang did not notice that the smile now carried a bit of disdain.

Boss Zhang grabbed the server by the collar. His face was very red, but there was still some clarity in his eyes. He had been in the capital for twenty years. How could he not hear the underlying meaning of the server? He got angry. “What do you mean? Are you afraid that I will not pay for it?”

The waiter’s smile was unchanged. There was a hint of irony. “Boss Zhang, you should not tease me. Right now, who in the capital doesn’t know that Feng Hua Gambling House is bankrupted?”

A hint of anger flashed across Boss Zhang’s face. He forcefully pushed the server away. The server was prepared ahead of time and only took a few steps back, but his smile had already cooled.

“Boss Zhang, if you want to continue drinking alcohol, then first pay for the three jugs of wine that you’ve already drank. Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t be able to pay up and the shopkeeper will blame me.”

Boss Zhang roared, “Get lost!”

The waiter snorted, “I ask that Boss Zhang not make things hard for me.”

Boss Zhang was angry with him. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t say a word. He finally understood the meaning of “once a wall falls, everyone pushes.” Even a little waiter dared to give him attitude.

Just then, a person suddenly placed a jug of wine on the table.

That person had a pair of good-looking slender hands, and immediately caught the attention of the two people. When they turned, they saw a handsome gong zi dressed in white clothes. His face was indifferent and calm, but his temperament was refined and poignant. Once they laid eyes on him they could not look away.

Their eyes almost froze in place with how hard they were staring.

The gong zi dressed in white spoke in a light voice, “This wine is on me. Put Boss Zhang’s check on my tab.”

The server could not react right away. He stuttered when he spoke. “Ah… yes… that… this little one won’t disturb the two of you then.”

He ran away as soon as he finished speaking.

He did not think that there would still be people who dared to take care of the lonely Boss Zhang. And looking at what the other party was wearing, it seemed that he was no ordinary person. If he was a friend of Boss Zhang’s, then the waiter was worried that the other party would pursue his attitude problem with Boss Zhang. Thus he ran away as quickly as possible.

Boss Zhang stared at the man dressed in white who had suddenly appeared. He didn’t understand why this person was looking for him. He didn’t think that there was anything of interest in him that could still be coveted. In the past, those who had contacts with him now couldn’t wait to leave him, for fear of being implicated.

“Who are you? Why are you treating me to alcohol?”

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Welcome to the patreon family!
yuukiininah ♡ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ♪)

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 83.2 – Feng Hua Gambling House

Neither of them realized that their conversation has entered into An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian’s ears. They were not interested in the little twists and turns in the situation, but An Zi Ran was still interested in Feng Hua Gambling House. To operate a casino for this many years without background and without backing, this Boss Zhang did indeed have a bit of skill.

“Wang fei, do you want to play a few rounds?”

They had already sent the manager away, leaving only the two of them behind, so Fu Wu Tian no longer deliberately suppressed his voice.

An Zi Ran did not hesitate.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

The two went directly to the first floor, just to have a look. There was no need to gamble too much.

The manager saw the two of them coming down from the second floor. A flash of surprise passed through his eyes. He thought he had guessed correctly that these two had came to study the functioning behind a casino, but in the next second, the two sirs were sitting down at a gambling table, preparing to play.

The manager deliberately walked over to take a look and found that the amount they betted each time were neither too high nor too low, each time it was between ten to hundred silvers. Furthermore, nine times out of ten they won. Their winning rate was so high that it was scary. After a short while, they won several hundred silvers. After observing for a while, the manager felt that they may have really came to pass the time, but they still couldn’t let them keep winning like this.

Just as he was wondering whether or not he should replace the dealers at their table, the two abruptly stopped playing. They exchanged the several hundreds of silvers that they won into banknotes and then left the gambling house.

“I didn’t know that you could gamble.”

Outside of the gambling house, An Zi Ran looked towards Fu Wu Tian with some surprise in his eyes. He thought that Fu Wu Tian’s long stay in the military camp meant that he had little exposure to gambling. But just now, he won several of those rounds due to Fu Wu Tian’s advice.

Fu Wu Tian perceived his thoughts. “I have gambled before in the military camp.”

An Zi Ran was astonished. “You can still gamble in the military camp?” He thought that gambling would be strictly prohibited in the military camp, otherwise the soldiers would become easily distracted, but instead, it was Fu Wu Tian, their leader, who took the lead in gambling.

“You can’t!”

An Zi Ran immediately understood what he meant.

Fu Wu Tian did not continue this topic anymore. He looked towards Feng Hua Gambling House, which was not too far away. The storefront was quiet and desolate. “What does wang fei think about this Feng Hua Gambling House?”

An Zi Ran gave it some thought. “It’s possible to give it some consideration.”

Fu Wu Tian asked, “Then would you still like to visit it?” Before, he saw that An Zi Ran had an interest in the gambling house, and was able to guessed a few things, but he didn’t think that wang fei would start from this aspect. But it was only with a casino that you could invest less and profit more.

Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels dot com.

Although he had just returned to the capital not long ago, and he did not have a concrete understanding of everything yet, but he knew that much of Da Ya’s money flowed within gambling houses, including stolen money.

“No. Let’s return to the prince’s palace.”

After the two returned, Fu Wu Tian immediately sent Ge Qian An to investigate the matter of Feng Hua Gambling House.

The next day, all the information related to Feng Hua Gambling House was quickly presented to them.

Feng Hua Gambling House had fifteen years of history, but its main development happened ten years ago. At that time there were two owners of the casino, Boss Zhang and his brother. Rumor had it that thye were from the same village and they grew up together. Although they weren’t born from the same parents, they were even closer than biological brothers.

The two of them worked together to establish Feng Hua Gambling House.

However, the one who made the biggest contribution to Feng Hua Gambling House was Boss Zhang’s brother. Without him, the casino wouldn’t have flourished. But there was competition in every industry, especially in the gambling industry.

The development of Feng Hua Gambling House stirred up great jealousy in some people.

Those people provoked the relationship between Boss Zhang and his brother. Boss Zhang was fooled. Although he did not kill his brother by himself, he still indirectly caused it.

However, Boss Zhang was really very capable. After taking over Feng Hua Gambling House, he spent ten years making it one of the top ten gambling houses in the capital.

Bao Hua Gambling House wanted to annex other gambling houses to expand itself in the gambling industry. Feng Hua was a casino without a backer, so naturally it became a target of Bao Hua Gambling House. Bao Hua started targeting Feng Hua since the previous year. Gradually less and less people went to Feng Hua to gamble, and now only a small number of people still visited the place. The workers that Boss Zhang had hired were also snatched away by other casinos.

Nowadays, everyone was just waiting for Bao Hua Gambling House to swallow Feng Hua Gambling House.

After reading this information, An Zi Ran unexpectedly curved the corners of his lips up in satisfaction.

Just as he looked up and prepared to share his thoughts with Fu Wu Tian, a shadow suddenly shrouded him. Without waiting for him to react, his lips were abruptly captured in a kiss, not only that, the other party even had the gall to stick his tongue into his mouth and entangled the two.

An Zi Ran’s face went taut as he silently pushed the other person away.

Fu Wu Tian looked at An Zi Ran’s lips which glistened with his saliva. He reached out his hand with the intention of caressing An Zi Ran’s cheek, but the youth caught him by the wrist.

“Don’t get uppity.”

An Zi Ran licked his wet lips with his tongue. It was weird to have someone else’s saliva on his lips, so he unconsciously licked his lips.

Fu Wu Tian’s eyes stared fixedly at his movements. “Wang fei, you’re seducing this prince.”

Once An Zi Ran processed the meaning of his words, he immediately wiped off the saliva on his lips with his sleeves and looked at the man calmly. “Now I’m not.”

“…Wang fei, you’re a rascal.”

“I still need to learn that from you.”

When you’re up against someone who was a shameless rogue, you had to be more shameless and more of a rogue than they were!

This was a new skill that An Zi Ran had just recently developed. Although the effect could not be said to be significant, he was generally satisfied with it.

It was the second time that Fu Wu Tian decisively changed the topic, “How do you feel after reading the information on Feng Hua Gambling House?”

An Zi Ran cooperated with his change in topic. “Very good.”

It was entirely possible for him to consider purchasing Feng Hua Gambling House. At that time, he wouldn’t even need to do advertising. Having so many people pay attention to the casino was equivalent to firing the first shot. Moreover, he didn’t have to waste time looking for a new place to open a gambling house. He could just renovate Feng Hua Gambling House a bit and that would be fine.

As for whether Boss Zhang was willing to sell the place or not…

This problem was not within the scope of his consideration. There was no way to save Feng Hua Gambling House in its current state. Boss Zhang must also be very clear on this point. The difference was in whom he sold it to.

After making his decision, An Zi Ran began to implement his plans.

Prev | Contents | Next

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 83.1 – Feng Hua Gambling House

The atmosphere inside the private room was getting more and more tense.

Although the betting amount was not high, everyone present in the room knew what it would mean for Boss Zhang if he lost this round.

In all likelihood his Feng Hua Gambling House would have to come to an end.

Who would want to go into a gambling house that didn’t have money? Not to mention, this time it was Bao Hua Gambling House – a casino with a strong background – that wanted to annex Feng Hua Gambling House. No matter how much Boss Zhang resisted it was useless. If he’d obediently handed over his gambling house perhaps he could still preserve his life.

A few people secretly shook their heads.
Translations by Vanilla Muse.
Boss Zhang’s attitude indicated that he wanted to struggle until the very end.

“Who does wang fei think will win?” Fu Wu Tian murmured. He spoke in a low voice and the manager next to him had his attention on the gambling table. At that moment, he was not paying attention to them.

An Zi Ran faintly said, “Is it still necessary to guess? Isn’t the outcome already understood? Feng Hua Gambling House will undoubtedly lose.”

Fu Wu Tian clasped his hands behind his back. His ruminating gaze fell upon the people on the other side. Those people were looking over at them with curiosity. As soon as the other side met Fu Wu Tian’s eyes, they averted their gazes, but it did not seem like they recognized them.

Although Fu Wu Tian was very famous, there were still very few people who had actually seen him.

Just as they finished speaking, the outcome of the bet at the gambling table was revealed.

The middle-aged man’s eyes were wide as he stared incredulously at the other man. The other party’s skills were even better than he had imagined. The six dices were stacked one on top of the other, revealing a one at the top. This was not something that ordinary people could accomplish.

He was not the only one surprised. The other people in the room were also very surprised at the result.

It was not difficult to shake the dice cup until all six dices stacked atop one another; many skilled gamblers could do it. But to shake the dices until they lined up with the same number on one side, not to mention having a one on the top, those who could accomplish such a feat could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

The middle-aged man slumped into his seat.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels dot com.
His Feng Hua Gambling House was finished!

“You’ve let me win*, Boss Zhang!” The other man stood up and cupped his hands towards Boss Zhang in salute. The person beside him immediately snatched up the remaining banknotes that was in front of Boss Zhang.

[*T/N: 承让 cheng rang means “you let me win,” and it is said politely after winning a game. It’s a courtesy phrase. It doesn’t mean Boss Zhang actually let him win.]

The gambling match between Feng Hua Gambling House and Bao Hua Gambling House ended here. The conclusion of the match adhered to everyone’s expectations. Feng Hua Gambling House’s lost was not at all unexpected. It would not be long before Feng Hua Gambling House became an operation under Bao Hua Gambling House.

After watching a good show, the crowd of people left the private room one by one.

Boss Zhang was ruined. He walked out of the private room as if he had lost his soul.

“Boss Zhang, please stay!”

The other man who was gambling against Boss Zhang suddenly called out to him and came over.

Boss Zhang’s expression was very ugly. He definitely did not want to give any attention to the other man, but today was not the same as yesterday. He didn’t dare fling away the other person and not give him face, but that didn’t mean he had to give a good expression for the other person to see either. After all, the reason he ended up like this was because the other man’s subordinates were playing underhanded tricks in the background.

The other man walked up to him. “Boss Zhang, people in the light do not speak surreptitiously, so I will speak frankly. Your gambling house can no longer go on operating like this. My master is very interested in your gambling house. Why don’t you be a little more tactful and sell your gambling house to my master? That way, you can still have a living path.”

The last sentence was more oblique.

Boss Zhang heard the threat in his words. His facial expression became even uglier. Of course he knew that he was in dire straits. His conclusion won’t be good no matter what. No doubt, his enemies have always been waiting for his final end. But to force him to sell his gambling house and go bankrupt… he definitely won’t allow it!

The other man saw his determination and smiled unconcerned. “Boss Zhang, why are you so stubborn? After all, Feng Hua Gambling House originally wasn’t yours anyways, right?”

Boss Zhang suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Are you surprised that I know?” The other man said leisurely, “There is nothing in the capital that I, Luo Yang, do not know about. I already knew from a long time ago that you snatched Feng Hua Gambling House from your brother’s hands. It’s better that you act with alacrity. It will be better for the both of us!”

Boss Zhang bowed his head and grinded his teeth together hard.

He was not a good person, and he was well aware of that, but he has never had an uneasy conscience.

Only this one thing alone has been a thorn in his heart these past few years.

Perhaps because of his age, there were fewer and fewer people by his side that he could trust. In recent years, he often thought about how he fought with his brother when he was young. At that time his brother trusted him very much, but he actually went and betrayed his brother. The gambling house that they worked together to build up, he stole it for his own.

He regretted his actions.

Five years ago, Feng Hua Gambling House was not called Feng Hua. It was he who changed the name, all for the sake of peace of mind, to pay homage to his dead brother. Therefore, even if he lost all his wealth, Feng Hua Gambling House alone was something he could not give up to others. This was the only thing that he could do now.

“Tell your master to set aside his notions. I will never sell the gambling house to you.”

Boss Zhang said this sentence and then left.

The other man looked at his back and narrowed his eyes. “There is no absolutes in this world. What my master wants, it is not something a lowly casino owner like you can prevent.”

On this street, every gambling house had a backer of some sort, but there were also exceptions.

For example, Feng Hua Gambling House was considered a miracle in Jun Zi City, because there was no big man behind the casino backing it up. The gambling house was completely built from the ground up by Boss Zhang and his brother.

For many years, the reason why Feng Hua Gambling House has always been peaceful was because Boss Zhang knew how to operate in society, often using money to “pay respects” to certain people. But now that his master wanted Feng Hua Gambling House, even if Boss Zhang found someone with a higher status to back his casino, it would still not be enough.

This was an inevitable course!

Neither of them realized that their conversation has entered into An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian’s ears.

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Thank you for the coffee treat Sleepy Lazy Cat (*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*) ☕

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 82.2 – Fierce Competition

The manager hesitated for a moment. “Yes.”

Then he gently pushed opened the door of the private room. The movement was not big, but entering at this juncture would definitely be conspicuous. However, when they entered the room, no one looked over. Everyone was holding their breath and staring at the table. The atmosphere was tensed and repressed.

The room was large, and there were already more than a dozen people inside.

The manager led them inside.

An Zi Ran looked at the two people who were currently gambling. The person with his back to the door was a slightly fat middle-aged man. He wore gold and silver jewelry, and looked like a nouveau riche. At this moment, his expression was not very good. He looked a little green around the gills as he used his hand to wipe the cold sweat off his forehead.

Opposite the middle-aged man was a person who looked to be about thirty years old. His face was very plain.

In front of the man was a pair of dices and a dice cup. Beside his hand was already a stack of a dozen banknotes. The denomination of each piece was no less than a thousand silvers. There was even a banknote of ten thousand silvers.

On the other hand, the middle-aged man’s stack of banknotes was pitiful in comparison. It was evident that he lost quite a lot. It was no wonder he was pouring cold sweat. He had lost thousands and thousands of silvers in the blink of an eye. Even your average wealthy businessman could not afford such a lost.

The manager saw that the two men were starting to become interested in gambling. After pondering he explained, “Sirs, what you are seeing now is a gambling match between our gambling house and Feng Hua Gambling House. The middle-aged man on the left hand side is Boss Zhang of Feng Hua Gambling House. He was a very famous gambler in his youth.”

Regardless of how famous he was, right now Boss Zhang was being slaughtered on the gambling table.

An Zi Ran looked at Boss Zhang who was wiping his sweat once again. It seemed that there was some grievance between the two gambling houses.

The manager smiled and said, “Customers, this is your first time here so it’s no wonder that you do not know. There are more than a dozen gambling houses on this street. The competition is very fierce. It’s very normal for a casino to fall today and for another to spring up in its place tomorrow. Those who can have the last laugh must have the strongest background.”

An Zi Ran cocked his head and gave the manager a glance.

The words of this manager seemed to have a warning of unknown meaning!

The manager couldn’t be thinking that they were here to investigate and getting ready to open their own casino, could he? An Zi Ran didn’t think that a manager could say this to a customer for no reason.

At the table, the man and the middle-aged man started the final round of their game.

Asides from guessing big or small, there were a lot of other tricks when it came to tossing dices. Just before they came in, the two players have already played eleven rounds. The middle-aged man lost ten rounds.

“This is the last round. Let’s compete to see who gets the lowest number.” The middle-aged man knew that he had no retreat route. He stared fiercely at the other man as he spoke.

The other man looked at the middle-age man, glanced at the money beside his hand, and then said, “Boss Zhang, it seems you don’t have much money left.”

The middle-aged man’s expression was stiff as he replied, “There’s not much, but there’s still enough to play one more round.”

The other man smiled and placed his hand atop the large stack of banknotes. He said, “Could it be that Boss Zhang wants to win this money back? Without this money, Feng Hua Gambling House would have to go bankrupt, right?”

The middle-aged man stared at the stack of banknotes for a long time and then finally withdrew his gaze. Of course he thought this, but he didn’t have much money left right now. The most valuable thing he had left was his gambling house. He knew what the other party’s meaning was. He wanted him to use his gambling house as collateral, but he would never do such a thing.

He wasn’t stupid. The reason he ended up like this was because the other side had this game rigged. They wanted to swallow up his gambling house. In that case, he would not let them have their wish no matter what.

“Do not talk nonsense. Let’s get started.”

The middle-aged man wiped his face hard. There was a glint of determination in his eyes.

The other man frowned. He knew that he could no longer try to rile up the middle-aged man. He could only give up on the idea. “In that case, I will accompany you, Boss Zhang. Please.”

The middle-aged man picked up the dices and the dice cup. He shook it vigorously. His technique was quite skillful. One could tell that it was something he had practiced for some years, and most people would not be able to imitate him.

After a while, the middle-aged man slapped the dice cup onto the table.

The crowd immediately stared at his hand. He lifted the dice cup and revealed six red dots. Each dice rolled up as a one. They couldn’t help but let out a burst of uproar.

“It’s a six.”

The eyes of the people looking at the middle-aged man suddenly became different. To think that he would get a six on the last round. It was the lowest number possible using six dices. Looks like Feng Hua Gambling House still had a chance to make a come back.

The middle-aged man let out a sigh of relief and looked at the other man. “It’s your turn.”

The man’s expression was very calm. Even if the middle-aged man managed to get the lowest number six, his expression did not change. Hearing the middle-aged man’s voice regaining confidence, he slowly picked up the dice cup.

Prev | Contents | Next

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 82.1 – Fierce Competition

The inside of the gambling house was a completely different world.

From the outside, the building only seemed clandestine; the interior situation could not be discerned at all. After entering the building, it could be seen that the place was very spacious.

The noisy and uproarious atmosphere rushed at An Zi Ran like a cloud of foul smoke, which made him slightly uncomfortable. He frowned. It seemed that this place was only good in appearance.

The spacious lobby was twice as big as the lobby of a typical restaurant. There were thirty gambling tables set up. Large groups of people crowded around the tables, staring intently at the things on the tabletop. Their eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Some have been gambling here since the previous night. They were just like addicts. Even though they lost everything they still refused to leave. They borrowed money from the gambling house and continued to gamble, leading to an increasing debt, until their faces were colored with despair.

This was a gambling house!

Everyone wanted to get rich in one night. Instead, they end up losing a family fortune.

People wanting to get rich quick were a common sight, but instead, they end up losing a family fortune. Families becoming ruined and homeless were much more common than overnight millionaires. There were many people who became crazy from losing too much.

An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian circled around the gambling house.

The gambling games here were all relatively simple and common.

Games like tossing dice, dominoes, and such were all simple things, but the people gambling were all riled up with excitement.

Every time the crowd of people laid down their bets they would stare at the dealer unblinkingly. When the dealer reveals the result, the excitement and despair were immediately intertwined.

The people in the gambling house took note of An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian early on. They saw them looking around but not betting. After observing for a while, couldn’t help but come over. A voice spoke in respectful tones, “Is it these two gong zi’s first time coming here?”

Judging by their clothes, it was easy to tell that these two men weren’t just commoners, so the manager did not dare to be contemptuous. In the capital, you never know who might have connections.

“Yes, it is the first time. Your gambling house only has these types of gambling games?”

An Zi Ran nodded.

The manager laughed. “Of course not. If these two gong zi would like to see others, you can go to the second floor. The first floor is just some small things. The real fun is on the second floor.”

“Then lead the way.”

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

The manager immediately showed them to the second floor with extreme deference.

The first floor of the gambling house was opened to the common folk. There was no limit to the sum of money gambled. Players could bet as little as a single cooper coin or as much as they would like. However, if the amount exceeded certain limits, the dealers would pay attention to this person and then ask him to go to the second floor. The second floor was the most exciting place in the gambling house and also the place where the most money was exchanged.

Those who could go to the second floor were those who had at least a thousand silvers of net worth. The amount of eat bet never went lower than a hundred silvers, so people who liked stimulation would go to the second floor.

As they walked, the manager explained to them about the second floor.

Asides from mahjong and guessing games, the second floor also had cockfighting games with various types of animals. Overall, there was way more variety upstairs than there were downstairs.

To improve the class level, the gambling house also had private rooms.

The private rooms were mainly aimed towards those who came with companions. Some people just wanted a quiet place, while some people wanted to take care of personal grievances without being seen by others.

As the manager explained about the second floor he secretly observed the expressions of the two people and saw that they did not show too many expressions from the start up until the present. The doubts in his heart grew deeper and deeper. These two people didn’t really seem to be interested in playing. The average person usually did not play for the first time at the gambling house, but they would still reveal some looks of interest. However, these two had no reactions from beginning to end. Could they be industry spies from another gambling house?

The possibility wasn’t nil. This kind of situation has happened before.

Some gambling houses were very monotonous in their games, so they would send some people to other gambling houses to investigate the games that were there, but now this type of thing has been happening less often.

Da Ya only had these types of gambling games, and by now everyone was already aware of the different types of games available, so there was no need to investigate other places. It was more likely that a newly opened gambling house sent people to study from a more established gambling house.

The more the manager thought about it, the more he felt that there was such a possibility. The two were dressed luxuriously. That meant that if they didn’t have power then they must have wealth. It was entirely possible for them to be opening their own casino.

Having said that, the manager still did not dare to drive them away.

Someone who could afford to open a gambling house definitely wasn’t simple.

Just as the manager was thinking of sounding out the two with some tactful words, he found that the two customers have stopped walking. He followed their line of sight and saw that they were looking at a private room. When the manager saw the number on the room he couldn’t help but be stumped for a moment. This couldn’t be…

“Is there anyone playing inside?” An Zi Ran asked casually.

The private room was very quiet. The average person might think that there was no one inside, but as for him and Fu Wu Tian, they could feel an unusual pressure from inside.

The manager replied, “There is indeed someone playing inside this private room.”

“Can we go in and see?”

Prev | Contents | Next

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 81.2 – Casino

The woman had a beautiful face. If one were to give her a score then she could get up to eighty points. She wasn’t the prettiest among all the contestants, nor was she the most dazzling, but in other places she would be considered a big beauty.
Translations by vmnovels (.) com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
At this time, the young woman tugged hard on the man. There was a ruthlessness to her gaze as she spoke fiercely to the man, “Big Brother, where’s the money? In the end did you prepare money for me?”

The man’s expression lacked confidence, clearly showing that he was unwilling.

The woman forcefully tugged at him twice. “Tell me the truth. Otherwise, once I gain wealth and fame, don’t even think of getting any benefits from me!”

“Don’t, don’t, don’t!” The man immediately became anxious.

“Then quickly give me fifty silvers.” The woman spread out her hand towards the man. Her expression was particularly impatient. But at this moment, her expression contrarily seemed very malevolent.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
The man hesitantly spoke, “Don’t… don’t have…”

The woman’s eyes widened. “How could you not have? Yesterday, didn’t you say you were going to go out and gather fifty silvers for me, so that I could participate in the talent competition of the Beautiful People Building? Now, the competition is about to start, and you’re telling me you don’t have the money?”

“Little Sister, Brother has wronged you. The five silvers… I lost all of it.” The man said remorsefully.

He originally wanted to go to the casino to test his luck, and see if he could turn five silvers into fifty silvers. But he didn’t expect that his luck was particularly poor. He played ten rounds, lost ten rounds, and all the money was lost. Now, he only had a hundred or so copper coins left. But this money was to pay for their accommodations and food for the next few days. If he lost even that, then they would have to sleep on the streets.

The woman stared at him incredulously.

“All… all lost?”

The man did not dare to look at her.

The woman inhaled sharply. “You pile of waste. Don’t show up in front of me these next two days. And also, give me the money that you have left.”

The man dithered for a moment, but still gave her the pouch of money.

The woman grabbed the purse, turned and melted into the crowd, no longer caring about the man.

The man stood there facing the direction of the Beautiful People Building for a while. Suddenly he took out another pouch from the bosom of his clothes and smiled wretchedly. “Fortunately, I am resourceful, otherwise these coppers would also be taken away. Let’s go try my luck again. Maybe this time I will earn everything back.”
Translations by Vanilla Muse
After he finished speaking, he put the pouch away and ran in the opposite direction of the Beautiful People Building.

This kind of situation often happened, and it was not news to many people.

An Zi Ran also left the Beautiful People Building accompanied by Fu Wu Tian. The two of them went in the same direction as the man. It was the capital’s most famous money-squandering establishment. The capital did not lack for such places: there was the dazzling red-light district and extravagant gambling houses where people threw their money away recklessly. These were all well known places in Jun Zi City.

The so-called money-squandering establishment was not the same as An Zi Ran had imagined.

In his impression, it was a place of chaotic disorder, where people of all backgrounds would gather, and there would often be conflict.

But when he and Fu Wu Tian arrived at that street, the situation of the place was beyond his expectation. Rather, it was bustling with noise and excitement.

There were people coming and going on the streets. Restaurants, buildings, gambling houses, shops, etc, were all very proper.

An Zi Ran looked towards Fu Wu Tian with puzzlement. “Isn’t gambling banned in Da Ya?”

He’d always thought that Da Ya was a country that banned gambling. He had never seen gambling houses in An Yuan County, and he also saw no traces of such establishments in other counties, so he had always thought that was the case.

Fu Wu Tian was not at all surprised by his words. “Wang fei does not know, Da Ya indeed does not prohibit gambling, but it is very strict about gambling. This was decreed by the previous emperor when he was alive.”

“How is it strict?”

“If you want to open a gambling house, you need to get the authorization of the royal family. Then you can justifiably open up a gambling house. If not, the whole family would be executed when caught. However, the profits of gambling houses are indeed very large, so there are many places that would take the risk of opening underground gambling dens even if they do not have permission.”

An Zi Ran immediately understood. In fact, it was a business license. “Are brothels and male brothels the same as gambling houses?”

Fu Wu Tian said, “No, although the nature of the two is similar, the authorizer is different, only local officials need to approve.”

Unexpectedly, Da Ya was stricter in this regard.

As they walked and talked, they arrived before a casino without realizing it. The outside of the establishment was very clean, and there was a faint noise coming from the inside.

Just as An Zi Ran was debating whether or not to go inside, two hired thugs suddenly threw a person out the door. That person fell right in front of him.

One of the thugs spat in his direction. “You don’t have money yet you dare to cause a scene in the casino? Look well at what kind of place this is. Be more mindful next time!”

After that, the two turned back to the gambling house and ignored the person.

An Ziran looked down at the person who was thrown out. He couldn’t help but arch his eyebrow. It was the brother of the brother-sister pair they saw outside the Beautiful People Building not long ago.

The man climbed up from the ground, wiped the corner of the broken lip, muttered darkly ‘bad luck,’ and got ready to leave. He suddenly found that An Ziran was watching him and said, “What are you looking at, huh? Never seen… Ah!”

The man had not finished speaking yet when he let out a miserable shriek. He cradled his mouth and fell on the ground again. Blood seeped out between the gaps of his fingers. There were subtle cracking sounds as if some bone was broken.

The murderous weapon that had struck the man slammed into the steps of the gambling house, rolled along the ground, and stopped moving. It was a piece of silver.

An Zi Ran turned his head and looked at Fu Wu Tian. Unexpectedly he also had this skill!

Fu Wu Tian came over and took his hand. “Let’s go in and take a look.”

The two did not pay attention to the man on the ground, nor did they bother to pick up the silver. It was stained with the man’s saliva. Just thinking about it was gross. And they did not lack for money. After the two of them entered the gambling house, a quick-witted little beggar seized the opportunity to snatch up the money and took off with it.

The man who fell on the ground also noticed that he was struck with a piece of silver. Although he didn’t know what was going on, when he saw the little beggar scoop up the money and run off, he could care less about the injury to his mouth.

“You stinky beggar! Return the money to me!”

The little beggar ran very fast. The man just broke a bone. He had trouble breathing and could not catch up at all. Seeing his appearance, the little beggar actually stopped and stuck his tongue out at the man.

The man got extremely angry. He disregarded his injury and strove to catch up.

But no matter how fast he ran, he could not match up to the little beggar. Not long after, he lost sight of the little beggar.

Prev | Contents | Next

---

Cyber cake and cookies for new patron:

Miccie 🍰🍪\(^-^)/🍪🍰

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 81.1 – Casino

Jun Zi City was the most prosperous city in the empire of Da Ya. The streets were always bustling with crowds. People were pressed shoulder to shoulder as they navigated the streets. On both sides of the road were hawkers loudly advertising their wares. Laughter occasionally sounded from the groups of energetic young men and women standing in front of these stalls.

Compared to Chang Province, this was simply a paradise.

Recently, due to the emperor’s talent selection, the capital was even livelier than before. Pretty women with beautiful faces could be seen everywhere on the streets. Most of them were women who had came to participate in the talent selection.
Translations by www (.) vmnovels (.) com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
The second round of the talent selection would begin on the tenth day after the decree was issued, so these women still had three days to adjust. The candidates who arrived to the capital early would settle in and wait at the Beautiful People Building*.

[*T/N: 美人楼 mei ren lou – literally “beautiful people building”]

The Beautiful People Building was also known as the Talented Ladies Building.

As the name suggested, it was a building specifically for harem candidates from outside the capital to reside in.

Because the harem candidates were always beautiful, the building was later re-named Beautiful People Building. Every year during the talent selection, the Beautiful People Building would be the liveliest place of all.

It was said that an imperial consort, a gui fei, once hailed from the Beautiful People Building.

That gui fei was the mother of the second prince. She was known as Shi gui fei. She had a face of unparalleled beauty. When juxtaposed beside her, all the other harem candidates lost their brilliance. Chong Ming Emperor was captured by her beauty at first sight, and she was favored for a period of time. It could be said that she had unlimited glory. Regardless of whether the emperor still favored her or not, for a commoner like her to become a distinguished noble in a single leap, her story was enough to motivate those who had no status and no backing.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
And it was because of this very rumor…

Every year, candidates who stayed in the Beautiful People Building would all compete for the room where Shi gui fei once lived. More than twenty years later, that room was still captivating enough to make all of the candidates scramble madly for something unobtainable like quacking ducks.

The year before, a rich woman paid five thousand silvers to win that room. It was the highest price thus far. No one knows if the record would be broken this year.

Rumor had it that that rich woman went from an eighth-tier concubine to a third-tier concubine in two years. Don’t know whether that piece of news was true or not, but there would definitely be a frenzy among the candidates in the Beautiful People Building this year.

Today was the penultimate day counting down to the second round of the talent selection.

Asides from candidates who lived further away from the capital and therefore needed more travel time, and those who couldn’t make it due to some extenuating circumstances, everyone else was already gathered in the Beautiful People Building.

At this time, the Beautiful People Building was filled with crowds of people, men and women, all sizing up their competition.

“Don’t know which beauty will win the bid this year, but there will be a good show!” A man stood just outside of the assembly of people. While looking towards the crowd, he commented with a face full of expectation.

His companion replied, “Eighty percent are ladies from rich and wealthy families. In order to get ahead, you need a good portent. Unless they don’t want to win, they won’t be hiding away their money.”

The man suddenly turned his head around, “Not necessarily.”

His companion said in surprised, “Not necessarily? What do you mean?”

The man said, “I happened to hear an interesting thing in the last two days. Apparently, the Beautiful People Building is not going to auction off the room that the gui fei had lived in.”

“Why is that?” The companion was dumbfounded.
Translations by Vanilla Muse
The man said, “The concept of bidding with silver is not fresh and exciting anymore. The landlord of the Beautiful People Building decided to select a winner through a talent competition. The person who lasts until the end will be able to live in that room.”

The companion laughed, “That certainly is more interesting than bidding with money. But there are so many contestants. Would a day’s worth of time be enough?”

“There’s a point you’re not aware of.” The man raised his index finger and shook it from side to side. “The landlord of the Beautiful People Building is a profiteer. How could he give up such a good opportunity to make money? So not all of the ladies would be able to participate. Those who want in on the contest must pay fifty silvers in order to sign up.”

The companion hissed, “This registration fee is too expensive!”

The man smiled mischievously.

Otherwise, why would that landlord be called a profiteer?!

At this time, there were two outstanding men standing outside of the crowd. It was Fu Wu Tian and An Zi Ran. In the morning, he promised to accompany his wang fei out, but Fu Wu Tian did not bring along his subordinates. The location of Beautiful People Building was rather conspicuous. Not long after leaving from the prince’s palace, the two arrived here and overheard the conversation between the man and his companion.

An Zi Ran heard that the talent selection was very grand. He didn’t pay much attention to it at first. Today, he unexpectedly witnessed it. The grand occasion of the talent selection was very much similar to talent competitions of later generations.

“Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, with the merchant class being the lowest of them all. Revealing one’s family background in this place would only draw other people’s attention.”

No woman was generous enough to allow a threatening woman to enter the palace and compete with her for the emperor’s grace. Shi gui fei was indeed a successful example, but for her to gain the status of a gui fei and to maintain her position till this day meant that she could not be underestimated. These women wanted to follow in the gui fei’s old steps? First, they would have to ask the gui fei herself whether she was willing.

Fu Wu Tian heard this sentence and turned to look at his wang fei’s elegant profile. “This prince believes that with wang fei’s level of skills merchants will one day be placed before scholars.”

An Zi Ran turned his head in surprise. He rolled his eyes a little as confidence exuded from him.

“That is inevitable!”

Looking down on businessmen?

No matter. Those people will suffer for it in the future!

The two finished speaking and got ready to leave. They were not interested in Beautiful People Building and the talent competition that it was hosting. But just as they turned around, the conversation between a man and a woman in the corner caught their attention.

Prev | Contents | Next

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 80.2 – Concubine Selection and Carrier Pigeon

Seven days passed by quickly. Jun Zi City became very busy due to the arrival of these beautiful women.
Translations by www (.) vmnovels (.) com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
At the same time, An Zi Ran received the ledgers sent by Steward Su and a report on everything that happened in An Yuan County during his absence.

About the ledgers.

The An family helped the people of An Yuan County, they prospered together, and got rid of the plight of poverty. Although the money was scattered, the return was very rich.

Before An Zi Ran left An Yuan County he bought up all the farmers’ excess foodstuff. He sold that along with the large amount of grains he stored in his warehouse to Fu Wu Tian at a high price. The difference between purchase and selling price was huge, so he easily earned back all the money that he spent in the past.
Translations by Vanilla Muse.
The money that Fu Wu Tian got from confiscating the wealth of greedy officials belonged to the empire. Anything that was left over would have to be returned to the national treasury and given to the Chong Ming Emperor. Hence, An Zi Ran did not feel a shred of guilt for the money he earned from Fu Wu Tian.

However, there was one matter that An Zi Ran took extra note of.

The Da Guang Rice Shop in Wan Shan County has always been a big competitor of the An family’s rice business.

After An Chang Fu’s death, Boss Chen of Da Guang Rice Shop wanted to use this opportunity to suppress the An family’s rice business, so he deliberately lowered the price of rice. This did indeed cause some damage to the An family’s rice business, but the loss did not last long.

An Zi Ran had decisively lowered the price of rice to its normal level, which was lower than the price that the Da Guang Rice Shop was offering.

Boss Chen thought that An Zi Ran was deliberately challenging him. From that time on he bore a grudge, but he did not dare to keep the price down, because he couldn’t make much money. He was a businessman after all, and he knew that he couldn’t damage his business due to a moment of temper, especially since the other party was just a little brat.

After that, the An family started buying up rice in large quantities.

Boss Chen took advantage of this opportunity to extend an olive branch to Manager Feng. As a result, he was played by Manager Feng and waited stupidly for Manager Feng to reply. Then the disaster in Chang Province broke out. The An family took this opportunity to expand their wealth. Only then did Boss Chen come to see the truth.

After he discovered that he was played, Boss Chen found some people to go to the An family’s rice shop several times to make trouble, but he did not succeed, because every time his people appeared, there would be a group of bouncers guarding the shop.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
After a few times, Boss Chen guessed that he was being watched.

He was not willing to let it go after being played like that, not until County Magistrate Zhang of An Yuan County personally came up to him. He was just a businessman, what did he have to fight a government official with? Thus, brushing off his cold sweat, he stealthily ran away.

The person who was monitoring Boss Chen was Ah Ye.

When An Zi Ran left An Yuan County, he did not see him immediately.

After going over the ledgers, An Zi Ran wrote a letter to Steward Su. This Ah Ye could be used for important matters, but he still needed to be further investigated.

He was just about to call someone to send the letter to An Yuan County when Fu Wu Tian pushed the door open.

He saw the letter in his hand. “Who is it for?”

An Zi Ran replied, “Steward Su. I’m preparing to bring Ah Ye over to the capital.” He was preparing to develop his career in Jun Zi City, but he needed manpower. Although Ah Ye was a local snake* of An Yuan County, his mind was flexible. He might be able to accomplish big things in the capital.

[*T/N: 地头蛇 di tou she translates to “local bully / tyrant / regional mafia boss,” but I don’t recall Ah Ye being described as such previously. He seems more like a regular smart (and maybe shady) person.]

“Wang fei, if you lack people, you can talk to this prince,” Fu Wu Tian said.

“Let’s talk about this later. Right now, I haven’t figured out exactly what I want to do.” An Zi Ran shook his head. They had sent people to look for cottonseeds, but there was still no news from that matter. Even if he had plans he could not implement them. And it involved a wide range of things. He still needed to reconsider many matters, so he was preparing to consider other means of passage for his plans.

Fu Wu Tian suddenly took away the letter in his hand. “Wang fei, it would take more than half a day to get this letter into Steward Su’s hands, right?”

An Zi Ran heard another meaning in his words. “Do you have other methods?”

“Is wang fei forgetting that there is such a thing as carrier pigeon?”

“You have?” An Zi Ran only just then recalled. In this backward time and space there was no convenient modes of transportation like those in the twenty-first century, but there were carrier pigeons for messengers.

Fu Wu Tian felt that he was being underestimated by wang fei, so he took him to the back courtyard of the prince’s palace.

Although An Zi Ran has been married into the prince’s palace for some time now, he had never been in the back courtyard, because people were forbidden from stepping into that place. He had not been curious and had never been there.

As soon as they entered, a flock of carrier pigeons rushed at them.

“These are pigeons specially trained by the prince’s palace. They are twice as fast as the average pigeon. It only takes a short time to fly from Jun Zi City to An Yuan County,” Fu Wu Tian explained into his ear.

An Zi Ran was silent.

Fu Wu Tian’s laughter sounded leisurely.

An Zi Ran looked at him and suddenly thought of a matter. “Do you have time today?”

Without hesitation, Fu Wu Tian said, “If it’s to accompany wang fei then I always have time.”

“Go out with me in the afternoon.”

“Sure.”

Prev | Contents | Next

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 80.1 – Concubine Selection and Carrier Pigeon

Pleading to the little bun was the biggest mistake of lao wang ye’s life.
Translations by www(.)vmnovels(.)com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
That’s because the little bun couldn’t talk. Even if he wanted to forgive him, he couldn’t say it out loud.

In the end, the lao wang ye was still grounded. For two months, he was not allowed to leave the prince’s palace, and he was not allowed to touch a single finger on the little bun, even a little pat on the head was not allowed. An Zi Ran watched over his little brother like a hawk, ensuring that the little bun and the lao wang ye would never be in the same place at the same time.

The next day, the number of servants in the prince’s palace was reduced by a fraction.

Adhering to Fu Wu Tian’s orders, Fu Yi identified a dozen people who were talking bad about An Zi Ran behind his back. Among them was Xi Mei. She was the one that Fu Wu Tian caught gossiping before. He had demoted her from an upper servant to a lower servant and was sent to clean the toilets.
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels (.) com
Afterwards, Xi Mei still did not restraint her tongue. Instead, she would often cloister herself in a corner and curse An Zi Ran. Some servants happened to overhear her when they went past, otherwise no one would’ve known.

After this incident, the rest of the servants in the prince’s palace all settled down and knew to not gossip idly.

They no longer dared to hold An Zi Ran in contempt, and truly regarded him as the third master in the Imperial Fu Palace. They treated him respectfully, as if he were Fu Wu Tian or the lao wang ye.

At the An Palace next door…

Wang Qing Lan waited for several days, but could not chance upon the little bun at all. Later she heard about what happened over at the Imperial Fu Palace and finally found out that An Zi Ran had played her.

An Zi Ran never had the intention of bringing the little bun back from the prince’s palace. She had actually believed that he would take the little bun back, and had bustled about like a fool to make preparations. An Zi Ran must’ve been laughing at her behind her back!

“Madam, dissipate your anger, otherwise you’ll harm your health.” Qi Qiao advised.

Wang Qing Lan said coldly, “How can I not be angry? An Zi Ran never relaxed his guard towards me at all. But there is still one point that I can’t understand. Since he is so suspicious of me, why did he bring me along to Jun Zi City. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave me behind in An Yuan County?”
Translations by Vanilla Muse
Qi Qiao also did not understand. “Madam, Since you don’t understand no matter how you puzzle over it, then don’t think about it. As a matter of fact, Qi Qiao thinks this is a good opportunity.”

“What do you mean?” Wang Qing Lan wondered.

Qi Qiao replied, “Although the An Palace and the Imperial Fu Palace are next to each other, Qi Qiao thinks that if nothing big happens, the young master will not come over. We can seize this opportunity.”

Wang Qing Lan thought that what Qi Qiao said was very reasonable, so she nodded and said, “You are right. An Zi Ran would never let me interfere with anything happening in the An family. If it’s like that, I might as well use this opportunity to plan a way out for myself. I have to think about what is the best thing to do!”

Once the goal was determined, the master and servant pair stopped setting their sights on the little bun.

Two days later, a sensational piece of news swept through Jun Zi City.

The annual talent selection* was about to start up again. The talent selection was held every year, but this time the talent selection was being held several months earlier than in past years.

[*T/N: 选秀 xuan xiu – talented, noble young ladies enter the palace to be chosen by the emperor for his harem. When a lady is chosen she is granted the title of “talented lady” (in certain dynasties). She is not considered an official “concubine” yet until she’s slept with the emperor and he bestows a higher-ranked title on her.]

Some people speculated that the reason why the talent selection was moved up ahead of schedule was due to the jun wang’s merits in punishing those greedy officials in Hong Province and his governing of Chang Province. By using the wealth confiscated from the officials of Hong Province to manage the situation in Chang Province, he ended up not needing to use a single coin from the empire’s treasury, thus saving a lot of expenses for the emperor.

The emperor was lascivious by nature. He had a harem of three thousand with all different types of beauties in it, but no single beauty was ever favored for more than half a month.

Even so, every year when the annual talent selection began, there would still be a large group of women seeking for status, fame, and fortune, and they would all try their best to enter the palace. Some wanted to get close to the emperor, some wanted to collide with the emperor. If they could gain the emperor’s interest, then they could live in wealth for the rest of their lives.

As soon as the news spread, beauties from everywhere began to stir.

Da Ya’s talent selection was very strict. Both the beauty’s family background and appearance was very important, but the most important thing was still the face, because not only the children of noble families could participate, but children of the four classes of ancient China: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants could also participate.

[T/N: There’s so much contradiction in the above paragraph, I can’t even… >_<]

The talent selection process was rather cumbersome. Except for residents of Jun Zi City, who could sign up directly, ladies from other places must report to their local government office to sign up. But just signing up did not mean that they automatically got to enter, because the local officials would first screen the contestants. Only those who were beautiful and age appropriate would have their names forwarded to the capital. Lastly, people were then sent to escort these ladies to Jun Zi City.

This was the first talent selection.

[T/N: I’m guessing first time for this emperor…? The sentence did not elaborate. Some readers suggested it might mean the first phase or first round of the talent selection, which also makes sense.]

In order to cut down on time, the Chong Ming Emperor only allowed seven days for each location. If they were unable to send the participating ladies to the capital within that time period, then those ladies would be disqualified from the selection.

Because the talent selection was moved up schedule this year, many local official did not have the time to prepare. If they caused delay, the local officials might be punished by those higher up. In order to avoid that, they made the rules more flexible. As long as the participant’s looks were good and their background was clean then they were directly sent to the capital.

Prev | Contents | Next

---

A BIG welcome to AvalonAngel79 for joining our patreon crew!
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ ♡ ⊂(・ヮ・⊂)

Prev | Contents | Next

Chapter 79.2 – Punishment

An Zi Ran’s gaze shifted to Steward Li, who was sweating profusely at the moment, and said coldly, “Since Steward Li thinks that my words alone are not enough, then let us go to the wang ye right now and have him make a decision.”
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels(.)com
When Steward Li heard this, his face abruptly turned white.

An Zi Ran came back to see the little bun that afternoon. It turned out that the lao wang ye was in the little bun’s room, and he was carrying An Zi Ran’s little brother in his arms. Later, he learned from the servants that the lao wang ye would go play with the little bun when the head steward was not around. And the so-called play*, was him amusing himself with the little bun.

[*T/N: Implies that he was playing with the baby as if the baby were a toy, as opposed to playing with the baby to amuse the baby.]

The head butler discovered this incident and ordered the servants in the palace not to let the lao wang ye approach the little bun again.
Translations by Vanilla Muse
The lao wang ye was obedient for a time, but on the day that they returned, he reverted back to his old ways. It just so happened that An Zi Ran caught him when he decided to visit his brother that day.

An Zi Ran didn’t care that the lao wang ye was an elderly and directly prohibited him from approaching the little bun. At the same time, he also warned the servants about this, but Steward Li still disregarded his words in order to please Fu lao wang ye. In that case, he would not be merciful.

This matter was soon reported to Fu Wu Tian.

In the lobby of the Imperial Fu Palace

Fu lao wang ye knew that he made a mistake and stood in the middle of the lobby without a word of protest.

Steward Li stood next to him. His back was drenched with nervous sweat. He did not dare look up at the imposing wang ye and the displeased wang fei. Originally he wanted to ask the lao wang ye for help, but looking at the lao wang ye’s behavior made him feel like his future was bleaker than ever.

Fu Wu Tian looked at the lao wang ye who had his head hanging down, and then his eyes moved to Steward Li. In a deep voice, he said, “Steward Li, do you know your error!”

“This servants knows he is wrong. Begging wang ye to be merciful. This servant does not dare again.” Steward Li hurriedly admitted his mistake.

“Where did you go wrong?”

Steward Li was stunned for a moment. Didn’t the wang ye already know? Why was he asking? With suspicious doubts, he replied, “This servant shouldn’t have brought the lao wang ye to go look for the little gong zi, and shouldn’t have helped the lao wang ye hide.”

“And?”

Steward Li couldn’t answer this time. He didn’t know what he had done and he couldn’t think of it. He hesitated and raised his head. His eyes immediately clashed upon the wang fei’s cold and indifferent gaze. It was like an explosion went ‘bang’ in his head, his face turned white, and he remembered.

Fu Wu Tian said slowly, “This prince once said that since wang fei has married into the Imperial Fu Palace, he is now a master of this palace. However, you seem to regard this prince’s words as passing wind…”

Steward Li’s body shook.

The people around him have also bowed their heads.

Not everyone in the wang ye’s palace recognizes An Zi Ran’s status as the wang fei. Some people thought of An Zi Ran with contempt, thinking that he wouldn’t be favored for too long. Steward Li was also one of those people. So that day, he hadn’t placed any importance on An Zi Ran’s words at all. In his head he thought that as long as he could please the lao wang ye he would not have to fear the wang fei.

“Wang ye, spare me. This servant knows his wrongs.”

Steward Li’s fearful voice broke through the suffocating atmosphere in the lobby. He slammed his head against the floor in supplication. The floor creaked and there was a trace of blood after a while.

“Head Steward.”

When he heard himself being called, Fu Yi came into the lobby from outside. His gaze held an expression like a smile yet not a smile as he glanced at the lao wang ye, who was trying to shrink into himself as much as possible, but was unsuccessful due to his body’s girth.

“Investigate for this prince and see how many people in the palace are talking bad behind wang fei’s back. Once they are identified, expel all of them from the palace.”

“Understood, wang ye.”

Steward Li’s face was ashen as he was dragged out.

He was finished. Being expelled from the palace was equivalent to being branded with a bad reputation forever.

After resolving the matter of Steward Li, it was finally the turn of the lao wang ye.

The lao wang ye was keenly aware of the many eyes that fell upon him. His fat body started crawling towards the direction of the door in search of escape. He only managed two steps when he suddenly hit a meat wall. He turned around to look and saw that it was the head steward.

Fu Yi was different from Fu Wu Tian. He was like a smiling fox. Even if he were angry he would not reveal it. He would simply look at that person until that person started to panic.

The lao wang ye was in that very predicament.

“I’m wrong…”

Fu lao wang ye could not withstand the gazes of his grandson and the head butler. They were so chilling that it was scary and he couldn’t help but admit his mistake.
Translations by vmnovels, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
Fu Yi smiled. “How can lao wang ye be wrong? Actually you’re not wrong at all. I am the one in the wrong. We can only blame me for being too lax with you. I will definitely self-reflect in the future.”

Hearing these words, Fu lao wang ye’s hairs stood up on end. “Ah Yi*, I really do know that I am in the wrong. I won’t dare anymore in the future. I swear.”

[*T/N: Ah Yi is nickname for Fu Yi]

Fu Yi spoke with a smile. “Lao wang ye also swore like this to me last time.”

He promised wang ye and wang fei that he would take good care of the little gong zi. Instead, the little gong zi was scared twice. In the span of his housekeeping career, this was an indelible shame!

Fu lao wang ye knew that he had really angered his head steward and quickly ran in front of An Zi Ran. He revealed an expression as if he was pondering on a painful experience: “My dear grandson’s wife, grandfather won’t dare again, forgive me, okay? I promise that I will never touch your little bun again in the future. Please tell Ah Yi not to be angry anymore, all right?”

Whether it was before the illness or after, the person that he feared the most in the entire prince’s palace was the head steward, Fu Yi. When Fu Yi was angry, Fu lao wang ye would definitely suffer a calamity.

An Zi Ran found that the lao wang ye was still very clever.

It was a pity that he was looking to the wrong person for help. If An Zi Ran did not give him a profound lesson, he will still commit the same blunder in the future. An Zi Ran did not want to see the little bun being tossed around again.

An Zi Ran gave the old man a deep look, and then he shifted his gaze to the little bun in his arms, who was playing with his fingers. The little bun was completely unaffected by the atmosphere of the lobby. His cheeks were rosy and looked like delicious fruits.

At this moment, the lao wang ye did something unexpected.

He took up the little bun’s small paws in his hands and said sincerely, “Little Bun, grandfather knows he is wrong. Forgive me, okay? I will not play with you again.”

Little Bun: “…ah?”

Everyone: “…”

What a good application of the move ‘retreating one step in order to advance.’ It would seem that the IQ of the amnesiac lao wang ye was still very high.

Prev | Contents | Next