At the Su Family residence.
After breakfast, Su Yourong was about to take the thirty thousand taels of silver she had acquired by mortgaging valuables and continue to place bets, when a eunuch from the palace arrived to deliver good news.
“Greetings, Miss Su.”
The eunuch bowed, then said with a wide smile, “Good news has come from Qu Prefecture! Young Master Shen broke through the city wall of Yuping Pass and rendered great service to the imperial court…”
Listening to the eunuch’s words, Su Yourong was suddenly overjoyed, then hastily asked, “Is Shen Jing alright?”
What she cared about most right now was Shen Jing’s safety.
“This…”
The eunuch looked troubled. “Duke Qi’s battle report sent to the imperial court didn’t mention it, only that they are already on their way back to the capital, escorting Prince Ji. So, Young Master Shen should be fine.”
That’s wonderful!
Su Yourong was overjoyed. She quickly took out a fifty-tael silver note and handed it to the eunuch, “Thank you, Eunuch, for making the trip.”
Fifty taels?
The eunuch was startled.
This was too generous, wasn’t it?
When eunuchs like him usually went to various families to deliver good news, if they met someone generous, they would be rewarded with three to five taels of silver. If they met someone stingy, they would get some broken silver, and some clueless people didn't even give any.
A reward of fifty taels of silver was truly a first for him.
“Thank you, Miss Su.”
The eunuch took the silver note with a beaming smile and said, “Your servant will pay close attention to news from Young Master Shen’s side. If there’s any news, your servant will deliver it as quickly as possible!”
“Thank you, Eunuch.”
Su Yourong replied politely.
After seeing the eunuch off, Su Yourong couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.
Fifty taels of silver!
She had just given it away so casually!
Had she been infected by Shen Jing?
However, she had just received the silver from pawning those valuable items, and the smallest denomination of silver note she had was fifty taels!
No!
Before the news spread, she had to quickly go and place her bets!
Perhaps she could still catch the last wave of betting before the books closed!
With this thought, Su Yourong dared not delay any longer and quickly left the Su Family residence.
However, even though Su Yourong rushed all the way, by the time she arrived at Hengyun Gambling House, the books there had already closed.
Su Yourong secretly felt regretful.
Well, she had lost out on nearly a hundred thousand taels of silver.
With a heart full of regret, Su Yourong left Hengyun Gambling House.
As she was returning home, the subordinate Ye Qing had sent to tell Qiao Lao San to close the books also returned to Prince Jing's Residence.
“What did you say?”
Upon learning that Su Yourong had bet a hundred thousand taels of silver at Hengyun Gambling House yesterday, Ye Qing almost vomited blood from anger.
A hundred thousand taels of silver, at odds of one to three!
Hengyun Gambling House would have to pay out four hundred thousand taels of silver!
The subordinate was terrified and cautiously repeated what he had just said.
“I…”
Ye Qing suppressed the urge to curse, gritted his teeth, and demanded, “How much in gambling funds did Qiao Lao San collect?”
The subordinate lowered his head and whispered, “Including the Su Family’s hundred thousand taels of silver, it’s a little over four hundred and ten thousand taels in total…”
“Four hundred and ten thousand?”
Ye Qing breathed a slight sigh of relief. “That’s not too bad! Paying the Su Family four hundred thousand taels of silver, even if there’s a loss, it won’t be much…”
It was just a wasted effort, unfortunately.
If he had known this, why had he bothered with all that fuss?
The subordinate cautiously glanced at Ye Qing and stammered, “Your Highness, after You Rong placed her heavy bet yesterday, several other people also bet at one to three odds, and they were all… heavy bets!”
Listening to the subordinate’s words, Ye Qing’s heart fiercely twitched, and he asked somewhat nervously, “How much did those few people bet combined?”
“One hundred and thirty thousand taels…”
The subordinate answered cautiously.
“Ho… how much?”
Ye Qing’s expression changed drastically. He grabbed the subordinate and demanded, “Are you sure it’s one hundred and thirty thousand taels?”
One hundred thousand taels plus one hundred and thirty thousand taels!
Two hundred and thirty taels!
One to three odds!
Including the principal and winnings, just this alone would require paying out over nine hundred thousand taels of silver!
Hengyun Gambling House had only received a total of four hundred and ten thousand taels in bets!
In other words, he would lose at least five hundred thousand taels of silver?
Ye Qing’s chest heaved violently, and he almost spewed a mouthful of fresh blood.
He had originally thought he could make a fortune by opening this gambling house.
As a result, he hadn’t earned a single penny and would have to lose five hundred thousand taels of silver instead?
Even if he was a prince, five hundred thousand taels of silver was a huge sum for him!
Looking at Ye Qing, who was so angry his soul seemed to leave his body, the subordinate tentatively said, “Your Highness, should we send someone to deal with Shen Jing? As long as Shen Jing dies, even if…”
“Deal with your grandmother!”
Ye Qing roared, kicking the subordinate to the ground, “Is your brain filled with shit?”
Deal with Shen Jing?
Did he think the Longxiang Imperial Guards protecting Shen Jing and Pang Suo were made of mud?
“Your Highness, calm your anger!”
The subordinate cried out in pain from the kick and quickly begged for mercy, “This lowly one was also thinking for Your Highness…”
“Get lost!”
Ye Qing was furious, kicking the subordinate hard again, then panting heavily, “Hmph, hmph.”
Five hundred thousand taels of silver!
Just thinking about losing so much silver made Ye Qing’s heart ache.
After taking a few deep breaths, Ye Qing ordered someone to call the steward of the Prince Jing's Residence.
“How much cash does the residence still have?”
Ye Qing asked through gritted teeth, his face dark.
The steward bowed his head and replied, “In terms of cash, roughly three hundred thousand taels…”
Ye Qing’s expression changed drastically, and he roared, “Why is there so little silver? Where’s the rest?”
He had to pay out at least five hundred thousand taels of silver!
Yet, the residence only had three hundred thousand taels in cash?
“Your Highness, there really is only this much silver!”
The steward looked at Ye Qing with a bitter expression, “The residence’s income is indeed considerable, but the expenses are also high…”
Saying this, the steward started to tally the detailed accounts for Ye Qing on his fingers.
He usually entertained those officials in the court, giving rewards here and there, and gifts for favors, all of which cost a lot of silver.
The expenses for the hundreds of people in the Prince Jing's Residence were also not a small sum.
To still have three hundred thousand taels of silver in cash now was already quite good!
If it weren't for some undisclosed income, the Prince Jing's Residence would have collapsed long ago.
“Alright, alright!”
Ye Qing impatiently interrupted the steward, “This Prince didn’t ask you to give me a detailed account!”
The steward lowered his head, but felt indignant in his heart.
You’re unhappy if I tally the accounts, and you’re unhappy if I don’t.
What exactly do you want to do?
Ye Qing was not in the mood to bother with the steward, secretly pondering what to do now.
No!
He couldn’t pay!
To gather five hundred thousand taels of silver, he would probably have to sell off all the valuable items in his Prince Jing's Residence!
But very quickly, he thought of an even more critical problem.
If he didn’t pay, this matter would likely escalate.
If his Imperial Father found out that he secretly opened a gambling house, wouldn’t that be even more disastrous?
Damn it!
Paying was not an option, and not paying was not an option either!
Ye Qing was both anxious and furious, pacing back and forth in the room!
At this moment, he wished he could tear Qiao Lao San into ten thousand pieces.
This idiot!
So many people placed heavy bets, and he actually accepted them all?
Why didn't such an idiot just die?
Hmm?
As he thought, Ye Qing suddenly stopped, a ruthless glint flashing across his face…