When Xiao Tian went out for some fresh air and came back in, he had calmed down a lot. At least he could pretend to be nonchalant.
Yi Qing saw through his little thoughts but didn't expose him. She thought to herself that the contrast between his behavior in and out of bed was quite cute. As long as the two of them were happy, that was fine.
"Mother, were you bitten by a mosquito?" Baozi suddenly asked, looking at Yi Qing's neck.
This was just an ordinary question, but the two adults across from him had guilty consciences and immediately felt a bit uncomfortable.
Especially Xiao Tian. He almost wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
Yi Qing was a bit better than him. She cleared her throat and pretended to be nonchalant. "Yes, a really big one."
"Did you kill it? I'll help you kill mosquitoes later."
Yi Qing: "No need. You can go boxing with Uncle Xiao later."
Box this big bad wolf!
"But mother, didn't you say we shouldn't exercise right after a meal?"
"Take a break first and then go. Hurry up and eat."
Baozi lowered his head and obediently shoveled rice into his mouth, but murmured, "Something seems off today."
Yi Qing and Xiao Tian glanced at each other. The former struggled to hold back her laughter, while the latter glared at her fiercely when he saw her like this.
Once something like this starts, Yi Qing felt she needed to rest for three to five days. But Xiao Tian was addicted to it and enjoyed it tirelessly.
The result of their shameless behavior was that Young Master Qing didn't show up at the gambling house again until five days later.
Xiao Jinghong, who had lost all his ten thousand taels of silver, lit up when he saw her.
These days, after losing all his money, Lady Sima had been nagging him. So he didn't even go home yesterday and just slept in the gambling house.
Since he had lost a lot recently and might get a share from the General's Mansion in the future, he had now become a VIP in the gambling house. Even though he had no money, no one was in a hurry to drive him away for the time being.
Xiao Jinghong, with empty hands, even began to doubt if his encounter with Young Master Qing had been a dream.
— Anyway, all he had left was the impression of Young Master Qing's generosity. He had nothing else.
"Second Master Xiao, long time no see." Yi Qing pretended to bow and salute.
Xiao Jinghong was eager for money, but he still had to save face. So he said, "Why haven't you shown up for so many days? Did you run into some trouble? Don't be shy. Tell me. In the capital, there aren't many things I can't handle."
Yi Qing sneered inwardly. If you could handle me, would I still be here plotting against you?
A good-for-nothing.
But on the surface, she wore a big smile and bowed. "Thank you, Second Master. Thank you. I didn't run into any trouble. I've just been too busy with business. We merchants earn hard money. It's different from you, Second Master. You were born with a golden spoon in your mouth and supported by the court."
As she was speaking, the young servant who had gotten a big windfall last time scurried over to salute Yi Qing. "My lord, it was so hard for this servant to find you."
"Were you looking for me or the silver melon seeds?" Yi Qing squinted at him and joked. It seemed that she enjoyed being flattered and didn't feel sorry for throwing away money at all.
"Both, both." The servant bowed and scraped.
Yi Qing burst out laughing. "I like your honesty. No melon seeds today. It's peanuts instead."
She fished out a gold peanut from her purse and tossed it out.
The servant caught it and looked at the glittering gold peanut in his palm. He could hardly believe his eyes.
"Gold?" he asked in disbelief.
Yi Qing closed her fan. "What? Do you think I can't afford it?"
"No, no. This servant wouldn't dare." The servant beamed from ear to ear and thanked her repeatedly. "Thank you, my lord, for the reward. This servant has seen gold of such good quality before, but this is the first time I've actually had it."
Xiao Jinghong was also shocked.
This gold peanut must be worth ten taels of silver.
Ten taels of silver was a year's income for an ordinary family. There were few people in the capital who were so generous.
Since he had grown up in the capital, he knew which princess was a spendthrift and often ran up debts, and which assistant minister's family had too many sons and was almost out of food...
In short, Yi Qing's way of spending money so extravagantly opened the eyes of everyone in the gambling house.
Yi Qing lost several thousand taels of silver in the gambling house but still wasn't satisfied. She didn't even blink an eye, as if the silver notes she spent were just pieces of paper.
Xiao Jinghong suddenly lost interest in the gambling table. He was more interested in this Shanxi merchant.
He really wanted to know what kind of business this Young Master Qing was doing that made money so easily that he could squander it without a care.
Actually, he didn't need Lady Sima to tell him. He also wanted to get closer and learn the way to make money.
He had even dreamed of getting rich and being the center of attention in the gambling house.
So Xiao Jinghong didn't let Yi Qing continue gambling. He insisted on dragging her out for a meal, saying that they would take turns treating guests and it was his turn today.
Yi Qing pretended to be reluctant to leave and followed him to the restaurant half-heartedly.
Xiao Jinghong had no money but pretended to be a big shot. He basically ordered a whole menu from the restaurant — anyway, he definitely wouldn't be the one to pay the bill in the end.
But today Yi Qing refused to drink. She said she had been staying up late these days and her stomach wasn't good. If she drank, she might vomit blood.
Actually, what she was thinking was that a certain big bad wolf now liked to use all kinds of reasons, or even make things up out of nothing, just to end up in bed with her.
So she had to stick to her principles and not give Xiao Tian an excuse to "punish" her.
If this goes on, my old waist is going to break!
Xiao Jinghong focused on the staying up late part and leaned forward. "I wonder what Brother Qing has been busy with recently?"
Look, money can make the devil push the mill. Now they were already addressing each other as brothers.
Yi Qing waved her hand and pretended to be nonchalant. "Ah, it's nothing. It's really boring. I've just been doing some accounting. A batch of the money I lent out has been paid back with interest. Looking at the account books gives me a headache. But you don't know, my father is really strict. If I don't look at the account books carefully and just try to get by, he'll break my legs."
"Money lent out?" Xiao Jinghong's eyes lit up. "To earn interest? How much interest?"
"Not much, just eight-tenths of the principal a year." Yi Qing said. "I'm just lazy. Actually, if you invest in business, you can get several times your money back in a year. In a good year, you can even get dozens of times your money back. But I don't like to worry about things. Life is for eating, drinking, and enjoying. Why be so tired!"
There was so much information in this speech that Xiao Jinghong couldn't even digest it.
"Eight-tenths!" He was deeply shocked. "If you lend out a hundred taels of silver, you'll get back a hundred and eighty taels a year?"
Yi Qing nodded. "Ah, Second Master Xiao, don't laugh at me. I'm just a good-for-nothing with no ambition."
Xiao Jinghong thought that a business that almost doubled your money in a year was still considered a good-for-nothing? No wonder this person spent money like water. It was like having a silver-note printing machine!
"What kind of business can get several times or dozens of times your money back?" Xiao Jinghong asked.
"They're all business matters. Not worth mentioning."