Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Victory and Defeat

Bai Zhengliu was truly surprised this time: "Is that so? Earlier, I heard that Yuanwai Tang arranged the marriage because Miss Meng also came from a respectable background."

And Yuanwai loved his son, intending to choose a good woman to be his daughter-in-law.

To this, the man with the horse face only retorted: "An orphaned girl from a respectable background, isn’t that better than a respectable young lady with both parents alive? After all, young master Qiu isn’t the type who can serve as an official."

Bai Zhengliu fell silent. Upon reflection, although the words were harsh, there was some truth in them.

If Tang Junqiu were healthy and had the intention of entering the court, no matter how well he studied or what talents he had, Yuanwai Tang would likely arrange a position for his son. But he was unfortunately frail to the point that, not only did he have no great prospects, Yuanwai’s only requirement for his son might just be that he could live a long life.

It would be best if, while Yuanwai was still able to manage things, his daughter-in-law could give him a grandson.

In that case, there would be no need to consider the support from the Meng family. An orphaned daughter-in-law bringing her entire dowry into the Tang family would be the better choice. That oft-repeated "Meng family’s good girl" could be explained this way.

Realizing this, Bai Zhengliu sighed slowly.

He then confirmed: "So, based on your view, Yuanwai Tang and Miss Meng...?"

The man with the horse face replied, "That’s definitely two separate issues."

Bai Zhengliu had no response, so he continued to gamble with him.

Perhaps because the stakes had shifted, the man with the horse face no longer felt pressured. The further the game went, the more relaxed he became.

Bai Zhengliu’s dice came up four, five, six, and the man with the horse face hovered around similar numbers. However, being more experienced, Bai Zhengliu won at least two out of three rounds.

At that point, Bai Zhengliu poured him some more wine—as he did, Mei Yinghan took over the task.

Bai Zhengliu looked at Mei Yinghan, who smiled and said, "It’s a small matter, no need for Brother Bai to trouble himself."

Bai Zhengliu returned the smile, "Only Brother Mei thinks everything is a small matter."

Looking and listening to the entire scene, the man with the horse face muttered, "Tch."

After two more rounds, Bai Zhengliu brought up the question again.

This time, the man with the horse face was much more cooperative, saying, "Normally, Miss Meng doesn’t go out much. If I were to tell you something so definite, it would be a lie."Bai Zhengliu pondered: "Hmm."

The man with the horse face glanced at him, smiled, and added: "But as for the person who spread these idle rumors, I know a few things."

Bai Zhengliu looked at him.

The man with the horse face smiled: "Let’s have another round!"

Bai Zhengliu, feeling helpless, said: "Alright."

After three more rounds, he finally won another game.

The swordsman patted his water pouch, his mood still relatively calm. This was the third question, and he had only finished one-third of his drink. At this rate, he could ask six more questions.

He thought about what else he needed to know, while the man with the horse face continued: "Old Feng Liuxi always liked to sneak peeks at other people’s wives when they were bathing, and he’s snuck into the widow’s house at the village head’s several times. But if these things were to be said aloud, it would ruin the reputation of those women, so no one in the village makes a fuss. If anyone gets hurt, they just call on their brothers and secretly beat him up. No one dares to make it public."

The swordsman was slightly stunned. "Feng Liuxi," that name...

He stared intently at the man with the horse face. At this moment, the man with the horse face continued speaking.

"He’s mentioned before that Tang Junqiu is weak, and Miss Meng is probably going to be a widow soon after marrying him. At times like these, it would be Feng Liuxi’s job to step in and help. Haha, he speaks so grandly, doesn’t he fear his tongue getting twisted!"

Bai Zhengliu’s expression grew more complex.

The man with the horse face continued: "I know that guy. Since he’s had such thoughts, he surely didn’t just say it with his mouth; he might’ve really come to Tang’s house looking for trouble! But just because young master Qiu is useless doesn’t mean the rest of the Tang family is. Feng Liuxi didn’t get any advantage, and if he goes outside, isn’t he bound to try and show off with his tongue?—If you ask me what’s really going on between Yuanwai Tang and Miss Meng, in my opinion, it’s most likely something like this."

Bai Zhengliu sighed: "So that’s how it is."

Feng Liuxi had such a nature; no wonder the villagers didn’t have much patience for him.

Bai Zhengliu was glad he hadn’t gone down the wrong path for too long. After thinking for a moment, he changed the subject: "Brother, you’ve told me so much, but you haven’t told me your name yet."

The man with the horse face: "Me?"

Bai Zhengliu smiled: "Exactly. This surely doesn’t count as a question, does it?""That doesn’t count." The man with the horse face looked at Bai Zhengliu with some confusion. Then, he glanced over at the swordsman, who was also looking at him with a somewhat profound gaze.

The man with the horse face said: "You people from the Jianghu, one after another... Alright, my surname is Ma, and I go by Er. If you want to call me, just call me ‘Ma Er’."

Hearing the answer, Bai Zhengliu’s fingers slightly moved.

Ma Er, Feng Liu, and now add a "Wang Chongxi." These few people didn’t go to the gambling house to work as the tea stall owner had said, but had really fallen into the Tang family, and couldn’t get out!

The swordsman took a deep breath.

Feng Liu’s malicious gossip earlier, and the tea stall owner’s erroneous information afterward. He didn’t think the tea stall owner had intentionally deceived him; it was just that the same matter, seen by different people, could lead to different answers. One still had to focus on the current situation in order not to be misled by false information.

"Ah, so it’s Brother Ma," Bai Zhengliu cupped his hands. "Just call me ‘Bai Lang.’"

The man with the horse face nodded: "Got it. Hero Bai, Hero Mei—" His gaze shifted between the swordsman and the knife-wielder, "I’ve heard your companions call you that many times. Now that you know about the Tang family’s situation, it seems I won’t be able to continue drinking."

Bai Zhengliu smiled, "Since Brother Ma still wants to drink, let’s continue gambling."

The man with the horse face curled his lips: "So petty."

Bai Zhengliu explained: "I just still have a few questions to ask."

The man with the horse face waved his hand: "Alright, alright, ask away."

Bai Zhengliu shook the gambling cup again, and soon, another round of wins and losses ensued.

This time, his question was: "From Brother Ma’s perspective, what else should we be wary of in the Tang family?"

After all, the Tang family surely still had some issues.

The man with the horse face squinted his eyes. Bai Zhengliu immediately noticed the temperature in the surrounding air subtly drop.

But the man with the horse face didn’t actually lose his temper. Instead, he said: "That’s not something that can be traded for a drink."

Bai Zhengliu, ever accommodating, said: "Alright, I’ll change the question—Has the change in the attitude of everyone today happened because we’ve already been 'settled' by Yuanwai Tang?"

The man with the horse face fell silent.Bai Zhengliu calmly met his gaze, with not a hint of fear in his expression.

After a moment, the man with the horse face muttered, "You people from the Jianghu, always so boring." Then he casually nodded.

Bai Zhengliu’s heart raced, and he pressed on: "Are we... really here because of Brother Qian?"

The man with the horse face raised an eyebrow: "Brother Qian? Oh, that one who clearly can't fight. How should I know?"

Bai Zhengliu thought to himself: "Fine, you don’t know. But from Tang Yuanwai’s behavior, this wasn’t an issue in the first place."

The knife-wielder asked again: "Brother Ma, you and the other guests leave the Tang family every afternoon. Where do you go afterward?"

The temperature around them dropped even further, but the man with the horse face still didn’t lose his temper. He replied in a flat tone: "If you want to know, why don’t you follow and see?"

Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment: "Follow them..." That was one option. Then, he suddenly realized, "Wait, do you guys still come back to the Tang family in the evening?!"

This was an idea that had just popped into his mind, but as soon as the words were out, Bai Zhengliu found himself somewhat convinced by his own theory.

The man with the horse face looked at him speechlessly: "What would we come back here for? Haven’t we died fast enough?"

Bai Zhengliu looked at him suspiciously.

The man with the horse face sighed: "If you have no more questions, then I’ll be leaving."

Bai Zhengliu stopped him: "No, Brother Ma." After a brief hesitation, he raised his hand, unsheathed his knife, and laid the "Twenty-Eight Generals" flat before him.

After a series of movements, the man with the horse face didn’t show much on his face, but his gaze lingered on the long knife, subtly shifting.

Bai Zhengliu observed him for a moment and asked: "This knife... what do you think of it, Brother Ma?"

The man with the horse face was taken aback: "Your knife? You don’t know yourself?"

Bai Zhengliu replied, "Brother Ma is implying that I know it can kill the other guests in the courtyard?"

The man with the horse face smirked: "You speak so boldly. Truly arrogant."

Bai Zhengliu: "Does Brother Ma not think so?"The man with the horse face sneered and took a sip of his drink.

Bai Zhengliu silently observed him, then asked, "If we were to use the same method that turned Brother Ma into what he is now, how likely would it be to succeed?"

The man with the horse face replied, "What kind of question is that?"

Bai Zhengliu said, "Since Brother Ma says so, then it seems you can answer."

The man with the horse face clicked his tongue. "Tch, you're still losing, and now you're asking this?"

Bai Zhengliu said, "Fine, let’s play again."

With that, the knife-wielder and the gambler played three more rounds.

Bai Zhengliu lost all three.

"Again," he said.

Three more rounds, and he lost all three again.

At this point, Mei Yinghan, who was observing from the side, began to sense that something was wrong.

Although the man with the horse face had the advantage, the previous dozens of rounds hadn't gone this way, with him getting three sixes from the start every time. No matter what Bai Zhengliu rolled, it was always a "loss."

The swordsman frowned, but Bai Zhengliu remained calm, still saying, "Again."

Three more rounds, and he lost all three again.

The man with the horse face smirked disdainfully, but Bai Zhengliu had gradually found his rhythm. In the next few rounds, the dice he rolled were exactly the same as the man with the horse face—three sixes, perfectly lined up.

"It’s useless," the man with the horse face said lazily. "I’ll tell you what, why don’t you change the question?"

He felt like he was letting the knife-wielder off easy. It had been a long time since he had drunk, and these two young men were exactly scratching his itch today.

Just as he was thinking this, Bai Zhengliu shook the cup again.

The man with the horse face rolled three sixes again. He yawned. "Pour the wine, or shall we go again?"Bai Zhengliu said, "Pour what wine? Brother Ma, you should first take a look at the numbers I rolled."

The man with the horse face didn't take it seriously. "Haven't you understood the rules yet? If both are the same size, the banker wins." As he spoke, he lowered his head, looking at the gambling cup Bai Zhengliu was picking up.

What he saw left the man with the horse face frozen in place.

Bai Zhengliu's cup indeed contained three sixes. However, in addition to those three sixes, there were three additional ones.

—The knife-wielder had actually used his internal strength to crack the dice! With the extra three points, his total far surpassed the man with the horse face's score!

The man with the horse face was incredulous. "This?!"

Bai Zhengliu politely replied, "Brother Ma, what was my previous question?"

Little Mei, observing the whole scene: "Brother Bai is amazing ^^"