As soon as Hou Si finished speaking, he knew he had made a big mistake. But the words were already out of his mouth, so he could only kneel down and apologize. "Master Chen! I was being talkative! Please, Master Chen, considering my past contributions to the gambling house, be magnanimous and forgive me this time."
As he spoke, to show his sincerity, he slapped himself twice hard on the face.
Master Chen stared at Hou Si with wide eyes. "Hou Si, you've been in this business for so many years. You don't need me to teach you what to ask and what not to ask. Be careful. One wrong word, and you might not even know how you lose your life!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Master Chen is right! It's my fault!"
Master Chen looked at Hou Si kowtowing and apologizing, then waved his hand to let him get up. "Alright! Alright! Get up!"
"Thank you, Master Chen!"
"Hou Si, remember what I've told you. Do this thing well for me, and there'll be rewards for you."
"Yes, Master Chen! I'll surely handle it smoothly!"
Hearing this, Master Chen nodded in satisfaction. "Alright! Remember to keep your mouth shut! Otherwise, I can't guarantee your life will be safe! Now, go down!"
After Hou Si left the room, a steward in the gambling house handed him a money - pouch. He wiped the cold sweat off his face, opened it, and sure enough, there was a silver note worth five hundred taels. He put it into his pocket contentedly.
Instead of staying in the gambling house, Hou Si went home. He used to be a gambler, but his luck was really bad. He lost nine times out of ten bets. After losing all his family fortune, he came to his senses and became a shill in the gambling house. Usually, he would recruit new people to gamble, and the gambling house would pay him some money.
He had been in this business for many years and had gained some fame. Gambling houses in the capital would sometimes hire him. This time, Caiyuan Gambling House hired him to take Shen Feng to gamble.
Of course, the more Shen Feng lost, the more silver he would get. This time, Shen Feng had lost a total of ten thousand taels of silver, and he had received five hundred taels as a reward.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Open the door!" In the middle of the night, the gate of the Shen Mansion was pounded on vigorously from outside.
The young servant in charge of guarding the gate in the Shen Mansion got up wrapped in his clothes. Thinking it was someone coming to visit, he shouted impatiently outside the gate, "Who is it! It's the middle of the night! Come back tomorrow if you have something to do!"
"Open the door!" Shen Feng was in a bad mood after losing all his silver tonight. Now hearing that even a low - level gatekeeper dared to show him a cold shoulder, he angrily kicked the wooden board of the gate. "Open the door for me!"
The servant rubbed his sleepy eyes. Recognizing that the voice outside was very much like Shen Feng's, he quickly went to open the door.
The gate opened, and the servant stepped forward attentively. "Sir, you're back!"
"Damn slave!" Ignoring the servant's flattery, Shen Feng kicked him in the butt, knocking the servant to the ground.
Shen Feng walked all the way to the courtyard of Liang Shi in the back yard, naturally waking up all the servants in the courtyard. Even Liang Shi was woken up and got up wrapped in her clothes.
"Sir, why did you come back so late tonight?" Liang Shi asked, looking at Shen Feng being helped by the maids to change clothes.
After taking off his clothes, Shen Feng plopped down on the bed, kicked off his boots, and lay back, ready to go to sleep.
Seeing his state, Liang Shi knew he was in a bad mood. So she softened her voice and leaned in. "Sir, the other day, did you manage to get the silver from the younger sister - in - law's family?"
Shen Feng had been pretending to doze off with his eyes closed. Now hearing Liang Shi's words, he suddenly opened his eyes, his heart aching for the eight thousand taels of silver he had lost.
He originally planned to go home after getting the money. But then he had an idea. He thought he could use the eight thousand taels as gambling capital to win back the two thousand taels he had lost before. But unexpectedly, he was so unlucky that he lost the eight thousand taels too.
But he couldn't let his family know about this.
"I haven't been there yet!" Shen Feng covered his head with the quilt and mumbled.
Hearing this, Liang Shi's face changed. Thinking that Shen Feng was too shy to ask Shen Shi for the money, she patiently persuaded him. "Sir, listen to me. Now our Yuwen is going to take the imperial examination. If he passes it in the future, we'll need a lot of silver for bribes. And in half a month, we'll go to the hunting ground. Siyi and Sijia are both grown - up. They'll need some hairpins, jewelry, and clothes. I'm thinking of finding good marriages for them through this opportunity."
"Don't we need money for everything in this family? It's different for the younger sister - in - law's family. She only has Miao'er now. She has so much silver but nowhere to spend it. It's better to spend it on her nephews and nieces. When Yuwen becomes an official and Siyi and Sijia get good marriages, they can also help her in return."
Seeing that Shen Feng was still pretending to sleep and not saying a word, Liang Shi continued. "Sir, why don't you talk to the younger sister - in - law nicely? Just tell her we're borrowing the silver first and will pay her back when we have money. We're all family. She can't refuse, right?"
Finally, Liang Shi gritted her teeth and made up her mind. "Sir, if you feel too shy to talk to her, I'll go and talk to her!"
Hearing this, Shen Feng said impatiently, "It's just some silver. Do you have to be so obsessed with it? I'll go tomorrow!"
After saying that, he kicked the quilt. "Why don't you turn off the lights and go to sleep!"
Liang Shi wasn't the least bit dissatisfied with his attitude. She waved her hand to signal the maid to turn off the lights, then lay down and soon fell asleep.
Hearing the steady breathing beside him, Shen Feng turned over irritably, facing away from Liang Shi. He was a bit relieved that he hadn't taken all the money from Shen Shi at once. There were still seven thousand taels left, which could at least satisfy Liang Shi.
Thinking of this, he gradually calmed down and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Shen Feng wasn't very capable. He just held a nominal position in the court and only needed to show up for roll - call every day. So in the morning, with a heart full of worries, he went to the Shen Mansion again.
This time, when Shen Shi saw Shen Feng, her face was no longer amiable. She felt as if an enemy had come to collect debts.
True to Shen Shi's expectations, as soon as Shen Feng sat down, he directly asked, "Sister, is the seven - thousand - tael silver note ready?"
After hearing his words, Shen Shi's face turned even colder. "It's only been two days, and you're already here to urge me. Are you afraid I'll renege on my debt?"
Shen Feng raised his mouth and smiled obsequiously. "How could that be? It's just that the family is in urgent need of money."
Shen Shi glanced at him and didn't say anything more. She told Nanny Hu to go inside and get the silver note and hand it to Shen Feng. "Here! This is a seven - thousand - tael silver note. Take a look!"