"Don't, don't go," Wei Dongling quickly stopped her. "Don't let the general be distracted by such trifles. Compared with the war between the two countries, these are not worth mentioning."
Seeing that Qi Jinxuan wouldn't listen, Wei Dongling took her hand and looked into her eyes firmly. "Trust me. I'll find a chance to prove my innocence."
Qi Jinxuan reluctantly nodded and advised her not to act rashly. Then she got up and ordered someone to send some precious tea and gifts to the Yu Mansion and the Prince's Mansion respectively to thank them for saving Wei Dongling.
After having some millet congee, the doctor came for a follow - up visit, changed the dressing on her wound, and gave her some Chinese medicine. After chatting with Qi Jinxuan for a while, it was already late at night when she went to sleep.
When Wei Dongling opened her eyes again, she saw Qi Jinxuan sleeping soundly beside her.
She gently lifted the quilt and got out of bed. She went back to her own room, changed her clothes, put on a hat with a veil to cover her face, and left the General's Mansion, heading straight for the East Gate.
The night was deep and all was quiet.
The moon illuminated the whole street. The bank was located in the most prosperous area of the East Gate, and its door was tightly closed at the moment.
Wei Dongling stepped forward, grasped the copper ring, and knocked on the door three times gently. After waiting for a long time, there was no response.
She wasn't discouraged and knocked again.
Then she heard an old man's voice from inside the house. "We're closed at this late hour. Please come back early tomorrow."
Wei Dongling lowered her voice. "I'm here to see Lord Xu."
There was no sound from inside.
After a long while, the door of the bank opened a crack. A skinny old man held up an oil lamp, looked at her, and stepped aside to make way.
Wei Dongling stepped in and heard the old man whisper, "Follow me." She quickly followed him.
They walked through a narrow corridor. There was a candlelit room at the end. The old man made a gesture of invitation to Wei Dongling and then stood aside waiting.
Wei Dongling stepped into the room and saw a middle - aged man sitting at the desk. He nodded, indicating for her to sit down.
Wei Dongling didn't sit. She didn't take off her hat either. She asked, "Are you Lord Xu?"
Lord Xu didn't mind her rudeness. He nodded. "I am. May I ask what brings you here at this late hour, miss?"
"At the Zhao Family's horse - training ground in Chongguan Ferry, under the stable, Jingzhe is being held there."
Hearing this, Lord Xu suddenly stood up and asked in surprise, "Really?"
Wei Dongling rolled up her sleeve, showing the criss - cross whip marks on her arm, and nodded. "Absolutely true."
The middle - aged man hurriedly rushed out of the room. Although his steps were in a mess, he still remembered to tell the old man, "Shopkeeper, see the miss out and reward her handsomely."
So, Wei Dongling left the door with a stack of silver notes in her pocket.
Goodness! Five hundred taels! That was enough for her to buy a small mansion in a remote area.
The rich were really generous!
Wei Dongling instantly felt that the beating wasn't in vain. The pain from her wounds seemed less severe. If she could get five hundred taels for each beating, with her physical endurance, she might even get rich!
Under the veil, Wei Dongling was happily calculating when suddenly she saw the door of a shop next door open, and several elegant young men walked out one by one.
The young man in brocade robes at the front shouted to his companions behind, "What bad luck today! I lost twenty thousand taels. I'll surely be scolded by my mother when I get home."
Twenty thousand taels? Wei Dongling was stunned. The five hundred taels in her hand suddenly didn't seem so attractive.
These rich people could casually lose more money in an underground gambling house than all her savings.
The man behind laughed. "Your twenty thousand taels is nothing. Young Master Yu just lost one hundred and seventy thousand taels. He'll probably get beaten with a cane when he gets home."
One hundred and seventy thousand taels? Young Master Yu? Which Young Master Yu?
Wei Dongling stood there, suspicious, with a bad premonition. Then she heard a familiar voice at the end wailing, "Who of you can lend me some silver first? I need to pay back the money I took from the accountant's office."
The others spat. "We've all lost everything. Who has any silver to lend you?"
"Yu Zixi! You profligate!"
Wei Dongling angrily lifted the veil. Under the bright moonlight, with a ferocious face, she glared at Yu Zixi and roared, grinding her teeth.
Hearing her voice, Yu Zixi looked up. He saw Wei Dongling standing there, hands on her hips, lifting the veil and glaring at him fiercely. Her face was gloomy and terrifying. He quickly stepped forward with an apologetic smile. "You're not fully recovered yet. Why did you come out? Is your fever gone?"
All the young men looked over and started whispering and discussing.
"Who's this? Could she be Young Master Yu's new sweetheart?"
"She's quite pretty."
"Indeed. She's much better - looking than the last one."
"Don't say it. Our Young Master Yu really has good taste. The women he picks are getting prettier and prettier."
Yu Zixi quickly waved his hand to shoo them away. They left, laughing boisterously.
Yu Zixi stepped forward and said solicitously to Wei Dongling, "It's cold at night. You're dressed so thinly. How can that be?" As he said this, he was about to take off his clothes for her.
Wei Dongling didn't appreciate his kindness. She stepped forward and kicked him hard on the buttocks.
Yu Zixi let out a shrill scream. Caught off guard, he staggered and fell to the ground. He cried with a mournful face, "Wei Dongling, talk to me nicely. Don't hit me!"
Wei Dongling took off her hat. Enduring the pain from her wounds, she rushed over and punched and kicked him. "Gambling! I'll teach you not to gamble!"
"I was wrong!" Yu Zixi got up and dodged while wailing, "Wei Dongling, stop hitting me!"
The wounds on Wei Dongling's body were about to burst open, but she didn't care. She continued to beat Yu Zixi indignantly. "One hundred and seventy thousand taels! I'll teach you to lose one hundred and seventy thousand taels!"
One hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver could buy a small mansion in the capital!
Wei Dongling was so heart - broken that it was as if blood was dripping. The angrier she got, the harder she hit.
Yu Zixi's shrill screams echoed far into the night. "Ah - I really know I was wrong - Ah - Don't hit my face - "
The servant who was dozing in the carriage waiting for his young master was awakened by his screams. He quickly lifted the lantern and came to look for him. He saw his young master with a bruised and swollen face. If it weren't for the clothes and the familiar screams, he wouldn't have recognized him.
Yu Zixi, with a slanting eye and a crooked mouth, rushed forward and hugged his servant's leg, crying. "Wei Dongling, you shrew. I won't marry you! I'm calling off the engagement!"
The servant sighed and couldn't bear to look.
Wei Dongling got into the carriage and glared at Yu Zixi sitting opposite, who was still sobbing. She still wasn't appeased. If her fists weren't hurting so much, she would have continued to beat him.
Yu Zixi looked at her timidly and asked carefully, "What are you doing at the bank in the middle of the night?"
Wei Dongling roared, grinding her teeth. "It's none of your business! I'm not here to gamble!"
Yu Zixi said anxiously, "The East Gate Bank has always been managed by the Crown Prince. You mustn't have anything to do with him!"
Oh? So Jingzhe was the Crown Prince's man?
Wei Dongling snorted. "So what about the Crown Prince? He's much more reliable than you."
Yu Zixi was so angry that he turned livid. He pointed at her and said, "You, you, you. Are you blind?"
Wei Dongling was too lazy to talk to him. She lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage. Then she walked back to the General's Mansion alone under the moonlight.
Yu Zixi lay on the carriage window and shouted after her, "Hey! Don't go out before you're fully recovered!"