Chapter 127: You Got Yourself into Trouble

Cheng Shoubing was dumbfounded. He had eagerly rushed over to claim his prize, fully expecting his young master to be generous and reward him handsomely. He had no idea he had messed things up.

One million taels!

Cheng Shoubing's eyes instantly reddened. With a howl, he leaped over the counter and lunged at the manager, fighting with him. However, he was quickly dragged out by the guards of the Four Seas Casino.

"Where did this madman come from? Beat him until his own mother wouldn't recognize him!" the manager yelled furiously, clutching his bruised and swollen eye.

"Oh, so this is the Four Seas Casino's way of treating guests," a mocking voice interjected as Zu'an strolled in leisurely. "You refuse to pay when you lose, falsely accuse your customers, and then beat them half to death."

Beside him, Chu Chuyan's expression turned cold when she saw how badly Cheng Shoubing had been beaten. Though he wasn't particularly likable, he was still a member of the Chu family, and she wouldn't tolerate outsiders bullying him like this.

Several Chu family guards nearby had already understood the unspoken command. They rushed forward, knocked down the Four Seas Casino guards, and rescued Cheng Shoubing.

"Wow, that woman is so beautiful!""Are you blind? You don't even recognize Miss Chu, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Mingyue's family.""She truly lives up to her reputation as Mingyue City's most beautiful woman.""But what are they doing here? Isn't gambling forbidden for the Chu family?"

Other patrons in the casino, and even passersby, gathered quickly to watch the commotion.

Cheng Shoubing, bruised and swollen, staggered over to Zu'an, embraced his leg, and burst into tears. "Young master, those damn scoundrels tore up the betting slip!"

Zu'an's eyelids twitched. "Talk all you want, but don't wipe your snot on my clothes."

Seeing Chu Chuyan had also arrived, the manager of the Four Seas Casino didn't dare to be disrespectful. He approached with a smile, though his eye was still black and swollen from the punch, making his grin look comical. "Miss Chu, what a pleasant surprise to see you here. I am Du Laosan, the manager. Please forgive my poor reception, my poor reception."

Chu Chuyan snorted. "If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have witnessed your esteemed establishment bullying members of my Chu family with such arrogance."

"Oh no, not at all," Du Laosan replied awkwardly with a forced smile. "We didn't know he was from the Chu family before. We sincerely apologize for any offense."

Zu'an, standing by, grew impatient. "Alright, alright, enough with the pleasantries. Just pay the one million taels you owe."

Du Laosan's expression subtly changed. He quickly said, "I don't understand what you mean, Young Master. Your household slave just tried to scam us with a fake betting slip. There's no one million taels involved."

"Whether the betting slip is real or fake should be verified by witnesses. How can you just tear it up like that? Isn't that the behavior of someone with a guilty conscience?" Zu'an said coldly.

Hearing his words, the surrounding crowd nodded in agreement. The Four Seas Casino's actions did seem suspicious.

Du Laosan had anticipated this. He began, "When I saw your estate's attendant earlier, I thought this was his personal attempt at fraud. To save your household's reputation, I tore up the betting slip to prevent gossip. But now it seems this was orchestrated by you, Young Master."

Since the betting slip was already torn, there was no evidence to contradict him, so he could say whatever he wanted. Moreover, the reason he gave seemed plausible enough.

As expected, after hearing his explanation, some in the crowd cast doubtful glances at Zu'an.

"Oh, so you're trying to turn the tables," Zu'an chuckled. "I anticipated this, so I came prepared. The real betting slip is right here with me."

Zu'an took out the real betting slip from his robe and showed it to everyone. "It's a shame your guilty conscience made you tear up the other one without even looking closely. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made such a rookie mistake."

Du Laosan was speechless.

Rage value from Du Laosan +666!Rage value from Zheng Dan +666!Rage value from Sang Hong +666!

Zu'an instinctively glanced at the closed doors leading to the casino's back rooms. So Zheng Dan and Sang Hong were hiding back there. It seemed this casino was indeed their property.

He had wondered why Zheng Dan had been so eager and proactive with him before. Now it made sense; she clearly had an agenda, likely targeting the 7.5 million taels IOU from the "Silver Hook Casino," planning to use it later to completely take over the Silver Hook Casino's assets.

One had to admit, this Sang fellow was really going all out, even willing to have his fiancée use a honey trap on him, letting him hug and touch her freely.

Hmm~ Could this guy have some unusual fetishes?

I've definitely got to be friends with a guy like that!

It seemed they still didn't know the 7.5 million taels IOU was no longer with him. He had to inform the beautiful principal when he returned home, warning her not to reveal this secret. He was still waiting for them to "lose both the lady and the troops"—a double loss.

At that moment, Chu Chuyan also spoke up. "The authenticity of a betting slip is actually very easy to determine. The paper material, handwriting, and ink quality are all specially made, impossible for an ordinary person to forge. Furthermore, every detail is registered and filed at the yamen; a simple comparison will make everything clear. Besides, every betting slip has a corresponding stub at the casino. I will immediately petition the county yamen and have the county lieutenant bring people to your casino to examine your accounts and stubs from over the years. The truth will quickly come to light."

Having managed the Chu family for many years, these business details were no secret to her.

"Miss Chu, please calm down, Miss Chu, please calm down~" At this moment, a man hastily ran in. "I am Zheng Guanxi, the owner of the Four Seas Casino. Greetings, Miss, and Young Master."

What a joke! They were clearly in the wrong here. If an investigation truly began, how could they hide anything? Moreover, having officials come to audit their books would result in losses far beyond a mere one million taels.

"You're the owner of the Four Seas Casino?" Zu'an subtly glanced at the distant rooms. It seemed Zheng Dan and Sang Qian had no intention of coming out, which was understandable. Given their status, they naturally wouldn't show their faces and get involved in casino affairs; they would certainly need some proxy.

"Yes, yes, that's me," Zheng Guanxi replied, smiling broadly and adopting a very amiable demeanor.

"Your surname is Zheng. Are you from the Zheng family in the city?" Zu'an asked, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"No, no, no, I have no relation to the Zheng family. How could someone like me possibly be connected to them?" Zheng Guanxi immediately denied it, secretly regretting that he hadn't changed his name. Otherwise, he was too easily guessed. However, he also had to leverage the Zheng family's influence in daily affairs, putting him in a dilemma.

Zu'an said, "I don't care if you're from the Zheng family or the Jia family. We need to settle today's matter. You must give us an explanation."

"Yes, yes, yes," Zheng Guanxi said, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead. "Everything that just happened was Du Laosan's personal action. The higher-ups at our casino had no idea. He must have become accustomed to embezzling over the years and wanted to pocket this huge sum for himself."

Du Laosan, standing nearby, looked utterly confused.

Zheng Guanxi didn't give him a chance to explain. "Guards! Drag him away and hand him over to the authorities!"

Du Laosan immediately panicked. "You can't just abandon me after crossing the river! This was all Miss..."

*Crack!*

The nearby thugs were prepared. With one punch, his jaw was dislocated, and he could only mumble incoherently, unable to speak clearly.

Zu'an snorted. "There's no need to play the 'temporary worker' trick in front of me. Just tell me directly: are you going to pay the money or not?"

"Yes, yes, yes, of course we'll pay," Zheng Guanxi said, smiling, but his heart was trembling. One million taels! Had the Zheng family's casino even earned that much in total since its establishment? "However, this amount is truly massive. Would it be possible to pay it back in the form of an IOU?"

Zu'an nodded. "You can, but at a 4 percent interest rate."

Zheng Guanxi was startled. "But last time at the Silver Hook Casino, you only asked for 1 percent interest!"

"Can they be compared? That was a debt of 7.5 million taels, clearly not payable in a short period. But yours is only one million taels. Don't tell me a casino owner can't afford that." Zu'an snorted. Fortunately, he had only bet 10,000 taels; otherwise, it would have been another muddled debt that was unlikely to be recovered.

"Exactly! If you can't even pay out winnings, why run a casino?""I think that Du Laosan's behavior just now was the Four Seas Casino trying to renege on their debt.""This Chu family's son-in-law is truly a casino jinx.""From now on, we'll follow his bets. He's definitely a guiding light!"

Hearing the murmurs from the surrounding crowd, Zheng Guanxi was sweating profusely. Suddenly, he paused as if he heard something, then turned to Zu'an and said, "How about this: we'll pay half, 500,000 taels in cash, and the rest will be an IOU, settled later with 2 percent interest. What do you think?"

Zu'an chuckled. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Hand over the money." He hadn't expected to get everything back this time, so receiving 500,000 taels in cash was already beyond his expectations. After all, he had only received 150,000 taels from the Silver Hook Casino last time.

At this moment, in the secret room, Sang Qian's face was grim. "Just looking at that guy makes me want to punch him."

Zheng Dan smiled faintly. "With Miss Chu protecting him, you can't."

Sang Qian eyed her suspiciously. "Why do you seem not angry at all?"

"Why should I be angry? Our original plan was to get close to him and retrieve the money anyway," Zheng Dan said, looking at Zu'an in the distance through a crack. "This money is just temporarily with him. Later, I will not only get our own money back but also much more."

Sang Qian hummed in acknowledgment. "It's all up to you now. Make sure to protect yourself and don't let him take advantage of you."

Zheng Dan hummed. "I know."

"Also, some of the casino's rules need to be changed," Sang Qian said dejectedly. "The odds can't be set so high, and for high odds, we must limit the betting amount. Otherwise, a few more times like this and we won't be able to bear it." He couldn't always send his wife to do the dirty work; he felt a sense of cuckoldry lately.

The Chu family headed back home. Zu'an counted the silver notes in his hand and casually tossed one to Cheng Shoubing, who was so delighted he almost burst with joy.

Zu'an then distributed some more silver notes to the guards. They hesitated slightly, but seeing Chu Chuyan didn't object, they happily accepted. Everyone had a family to support; who wouldn't want more money?

"The young master was really handsome today.""I didn't think so before, but now I see he and Miss Chu are becoming more and more a match.""Alright, for the sake of these silver notes, I'll grudgingly agree with you this one time."

Zu'an tucked a stack of silver notes into Chu Chuyan's arms. "These are yours."

Chu Chuyan didn't take them. "No, thank you."

"Don't be so polite. You contributed to getting our money back today," Zu'an chuckled. "Your husband is getting richer and richer. From now on, I'll be the one to support you."

Chu Chuyan was speechless.

Seeing his smug look, she really felt an itch to hit him.

Back at the Chu manor, Zu'an was so elated that he almost couldn't sleep that night. The next morning, he woke up feeling refreshed, as if the sky was bluer, the clouds whiter, and the air sweeter.

Just as he was cheerfully heading out to the academy, a group of yamen runners suddenly appeared at his door. "Zu'an, you've committed an offense. Come with us!"