CHAPTER 203: CHAPTER 203 BULLYING

The Emperor held his forehead, struggling with a headache for quite some time.

He couldn’t foresee how things would escalate when Marquis Dongxiang went to the Duke Chong’s Mansion to kick people out.

He had a strong urge to leave the palace.

But even if he went, it seemed that apart from being forced to help Marquis Dongxiang kick people out, he couldn’t do anything else.

But to leave it unattended like this, how could he face the late Heir of Duke Chong?

Yet the Emperor thought for a long time and couldn’t think of anyone who could restrain Marquis Dongxiang.

In the end, he found someone who could barely count as part of the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion and someone he could still bully—

Marquis Dongxiang’s son-in-law.

The Emperor instructed Eunuch Fu, "Go to the Duke Zhen Country Mansion and find the Young Master, let him handle this matter."

Eunuch Fu, "..."

The Emperor.

We can’t handle this matter.

If you help Duke Chong, Marquis Dongxiang might get angry, and who knows who he might target next time.

In their eyes, no one is immune to being taken advantage of.

Everyone is just a stepping stone for establishing authority.

But Eunuch Fu also knew the weight that Old Duke Chong held in the Emperor’s heart, leaving the Emperor to sit idly by, he couldn’t manage that.

Sighing, Eunuch Fu withdrew from the Imperial Study.

Duke Zhen Country Mansion, garden.

Su Jin stood by the lakeside, enjoying the breeze, with the water shimmering like a pool of shattered gold under the sunlight.

Xingxing looked around curiously.

"What are you looking at?" Su Jin turned and asked.

"Just a moment ago, people were taking turns sneering that the Young Master is a wastrel, why is no one here now?" Xingxing said curiously.

"..."

Su Jin couldn’t help but tap her on the forehead, "Why does it sound like you’re hoping for people to sneer at us?"

"Not at all, just bored," Xingxing said, rubbing her forehead.

"Let’s go back," Su Jin said.

They began walking back.

The maids who had been approaching them earlier now briskly walked away before even getting near.

It really seemed like something was amiss.

"Go find a maid and ask," Su Jin instructed.

With one command from Su Jin,

a bizarre phenomenon appeared in the Duke Zhen Country Mansion that sent shivers down one’s spine.

As soon as the maids heard Xingxing calling them, they ran off.

Whenever one fled, Xingxing just let them be.

She called again, and they ran again.

Xingxing was starting to get annoyed.

The next time she spotted a maid, she rushed right over.

That startled maid even dropped her lunch box and started sprinting away.

Xingxing, "..."

"Stop, don’t run!" Xingxing shouted.

The maid ran even faster.

She had never run so fast in her life.

As if a moment’s delay would cost her head.

Xingxing’s fiery temper was rising; why was it so difficult to ask a simple question?

She chased with all her might.

She was used to running as a bandit maid; no other maids could compare.

Moreover, after a short while, the maid tripped over her skirt and fell forward, which was quite pitiful.

Xingxing approached her.

Hands on hips.

Slightly short of breath.

"Why are you running!" Xingxing glared at her.

The little maid remained on the ground, unable to get up, full of grievances with no one to tell.

Was she really about to run?

She was walking perfectly fine.

It was Xingxing’s menacing glare and sudden rush that made her run, how could she not?

The little maid lay there, afraid to get up, and cautiously asked, "W-why are you chasing me?"

"Aren’t you going to get up first?" Xingxing asked.

Only then did the little maid get up.

Xingxing pulled her up and asked, "I ask you, just a while ago a lot of people were sneering at my lady, why are they running upon seeing us now?"

The little maid, "..."

The Eldest Young Madam is really out of the loop.

The maids who were sneering at them earlier are now scared to death, and yet they still don’t know what happened.

"Half an hour ago, the Heir of Duke Chong lost the Duke Chong’s Mansion to your family’s Young Master," the maid replied.

"..."

A look of joy appeared on Xingxing’s face.

She ran towards Su Jin, happily exclaiming, "Miss, the Duke Chong’s Mansion now belongs to the Young Master!"

The voice was clear and loud, spreading out like ripples into the distance.

Princess Nanzhang happened to be passing by, and her expression soured at Xingxing’s cheer.

Su Jin was stunned.

This change was just too drastic!

"What exactly happened?" she asked.

"The Young Master was trained by the Marquis, his gambling skills are superb, how could he lose so miserably," Xingxing said.

"Yesterday, I suspected the Young Master was just playing around with the Heir of Duke Chong," Xingxing giggled.

"..."

"My father taught him gambling too?" Su Jin was shocked.

Besides studying and literacy, martial arts, and archery, they even had to learn gambling skills; what kind of life did her brother have before?

Xingxing said, "It wasn’t that Marquis wanted to teach, but Young Master had to learn because he once lost Qingyun Mountain, truly lost it."

Xingxing narrated:

The gambling houses are lively places, and Su Chong had a lively personality.

At thirteen, when he went down the mountain, he saw the bustling gambling house and entered.

Seeing others gamble, he joined in.

He was just a young boy inexperienced in the world, how could he compete against seasoned gamblers, losing miserably.

Young Su Chong had a high-spirited nature, the more he lost, the more he gambled.

He ended up deeply in debt, even losing Qingyun Mountain.

Su Jin held her forehead, "Did anyone dare to go to Qingyun Mountain to collect the debt?"

"Of course not," Xingxing said.

"Those people didn’t know the Young Master was the Young Master of Feihu Village. When they saw him writing the name Qingyun Mountain on the IOU, they were terrified then and there," Xingxing said.

"People within a hundred miles of Qingyun Mountain feared the Marquis, and even before the Marquis descended the mountain, the gambling house closed down," Xingxing said.

"..."

"Qingyun Mountain was lost, and although no one dared to claim it, the Marquis was still very angry and made the Young Master kneel at the ancestral tablet for a day and a night," Xingxing said.

"From that day, the Marquis made the Young Master learn gambling skills, saying a person should stand tall and honor their bets."

"If someday someone really came to claim Qingyun Mountain, the Marquis would give it to them."

"Since Qingyun Mountain was lost by the Young Master, he must rely on his own skills to win it back," Xingxing said.

"..."

Her father really knew how to teach his son.

Su Jin silently thought to herself.

Xingxing said, "During that time, the Young Master had a rough time. No one taught him; he had to figure it out himself, rolling dice every day, almost dislocating his arm, and no one helped him plead for mercy."

Su Jin, "..."

Her father not only knew how to teach his son.

But he also taught with ease.

"However, the Young Master is smart; he was self-taught within two years, but unfortunately, the Marquis wouldn’t let him use it, saying it was to ensure he didn’t forget his main path."

"..."

In the distance, Princess Nanzhang was trembling with rage.

Mrs. Zhao was supporting her.

Princess Nanzhang clenched her hand tightly.

Causing Mrs. Zhao to wince in pain.

It was truly exasperating.

Because the Young Master of Dongxiang Marquis Mansion claimed he neither gambles nor visits brothels.

The Heir of Duke Chong overheard this.

Moreover, he somehow found out about the Young Master once losing Qingyun Mountain, so he devised a scheme.

Yet he never expected that bandit to have learned from his mistakes!

This time, they delivered themselves right to his hands!