“Scram!”
Wei Hao flew into a rage. He never had a good impression of thugs who gave in to authority while bullying the weak. What debt note; it was just an excuse to take money for free.
Wei Hao didn’t expect this thug to be so brazen to even forcefully stop his and Wang Chong’s carriage to ask for money.
“Hurry up and leave. Otherwise, don’t blame us for getting nasty!”
Shen Hai and Meng Long stood up. They were both loyal guards of the Wang Family, and now that their young master’s carriage was being forcefully stopped and opened by a thug, the duo was infuriated.
They would never go easy on those thugs who often spent their time idling around and bullying the kind and weak.
Seeing Shen Hai and Meng Long flying into a rage and preparing themselves to beat him up, that thug’s expression suddenly tightened, as though he was fearful of the other party.
But soon, he snickered. He looked at the duo with a lofty and contemptuous expression. However, his disdain only flickered across his face for an instant. That man turned his head and looked at Wang Chong, who seemed to be the one who was the most up to negotiation, and chuckled:
“Hehe, this gongzi, you look like a talented person. You will definitely be one of the pillars holding up the country in the future. Why don’t you lend me some money? Rest easy, I will definitely return it to you.”
“Audacious!”
Shen Hai and Meng Lon’s expression turned icy as the energy in their dantian gushed out, emitting a powerful aura suddenly from their bodies. They stretched their hands forward grabbing the hands of the thug, preparing to throw him aside with a flick of their wrist.
Shen Hai and Meng Long were experts in the military. Even though they had sustained injuries, causing their fighting prowess to be lowered greatly, leaving them no choice but to move to the Wang Family, their strength still wasn’t something that an average martial artist could compare to.
With a single throw, the other party would at least be thrown a distance of twenty zhang, breaking all of his bones in his body.(1 zhang = 3.3m)
“Wait a moment!”
Wang Chong suddenly halted the duo.
Wang Chong had been immersed in his thoughts previously. Even though a thug had come and blocked his way, with Wei Hao, Shen Hai, and Meng Long here, it shouldn’t be a matter that he needed to worry over. However, after hearing the voice and the intonation of that thug, Wang Chong’s heart skipped a beat.
That voice and that tone was simply too familiar to Wang Chong.
‘Hehe, this gongzi, you look like a talented person. You will definitely be one of the pillars holding up the country in the future’; Whenever that man met those nobles or scions, he would always repeat that catchphrase of his with a bright smile on his face with the exact same intonation.
Even though it sounded like a compliment, those who had heard those words know that that guy didn’t mean the words he said.
He had used the very same words before dozens, even up to a hundred, of scions and nobles, and he didn’t even alter the phrase in the least.
Wang Chong had remembered hearing those words once. Even though it was only a single time, that person had left a lasting impression on Wang Chong.
——Even though Wang Chong had never met that person after that time.
Wang Chong turned his head and examined the man. At the first glance, Wang Chong didn’t see any hint of that person on the face of the thug before him, his ragged look didn’t spark any memories.
But at the second sight, beneath that messy hair, Wang Chong saw that trademark cold lips, as well as a small black mole beneath. His heart jumped and he could finally confirm that the man before him at this moment was him.
“It’s really him!”
A wave of emotions surged through Wang Chong’s heart as he looked at the man before him.
Wang Chong couldn’t have imagined that he would meet that person in his memories under such circumstances.
That ragged man before him now was a vast difference from the haughty and ambitious man in his memories.
“Wang Chong, what’s wrong?”
Wei Hao was surprised. From a moment ago, Wang Chong had been sitting there silently, seemingly thinking of something. Based on Wei Hao’s judgement, there should be no need to bother with these thugs and scums. It would suffice to just throw them aside. Yet, for some reason, Wang Chong stopped Shen Hai and Meng Long.
Wang Chong shook his hands to show that he was alright.
“Shen Hai, Meng Long, let him go.”
Wang Chong said.
Even though the duo was perplexed by Wang Chong’s words, they still obeyed Wang Chong’s orders and let go of him.
“How much money do you want to borrow from me?”
Wang Chong stared at that thug-like man as he asked. Even though he was different from the person in his memories, considering the date, he had just arrived at the capital and hadn’t succeeded yet. Being in an unknown land without any connections, this was the most miserable period of his life.
Honestly speaking, Wang Chong didn’t have a good intention of this fellow before him. He was hypocritical, deceitful, and vindictive. Even so, this man wasn’t without the slightest bit of good.
If he were to shower him with some help at this moment, it might be beneficial to him, the Wang Clan, the entire Great Tang, and his plans.
“I need 10 gold taels! No, it’s thirty… forty… No! Give me a hundred taels!”
The thug first asked for ten, but upon seeing Wang Chong not objecting to it, he slowly increased the figure until it reached a hundred gold taels.
“Preposterous!”
Before Wang Chong could speak, Wei Hao burst into an outrage. A hundred gold taels? Do you think that those are copper coins? You’re just a nobody, and we don’t know you at all. Yet, you dare to ask of a hundred gold taels from us? Audacious!
Wei Hao dared to bet that this thug was definitely here for the 38400 gold taels Wang Chong had earned in the Bluebottle Pavilion.
This thug was simply too brazen, to dare to extort money from the Wang Clan and Wei Clan!
“Wei Hao!”
Wang Chong stopped him. Then, he turned around to look at the carriage, unveiled the black cloth, and took out a stack of gold.
“Here’s a thousand gold taels! There is no need to return it.”
Wang Chong passed the gold to the man.
In an instant, the entire carriage fell silent. Wei Hao, Shen Hai, Meng Long, and even the Wang Family coachman had gone quiet. All of them stared at Wang Chong in astonishment.
No one thought that Wang Chong would pass a thousand gold tael to a thug which he didn’t know of so easily.
“You’re giving it to me?”
Even the thug was shocked. He couldn’t believe that Wang Chong was giving the sum to him, not to mention, it was much greater than the amount he had demanded.
“Do I look like I’m lying to you?”
Wang Chong smiled.
“Wang Chong?”
Wei Hao couldn’t help but question his intention. No matter how much money Wang Chong had, he shouldn’t give so much of it so easily to a thug. It was equivalent to throwing it away.
“Thank you, thank you.”
Upon hearing Wei Hao’s voice, the man immediately reacted and quickly grabbed the pile of gold. For there to be such a fool in the world, casually giving him a thousand gold taels, it was truly a blessing from the heavens!
“… If you do not wish to lose all your money, I have a small suggestion for you. At the Golden Lion Den, at the number two table, there’s an inconspicuous machinery. As long as you destroy it, their people won’t be able to tamper with the dices.”
Just as the man took the gold, Wang Chong suddenly spoke with a grin.
Hua!
The sound of him sweeping the gold suddenly stopped. That thug-like man lifted his head and his mouth was wide open, as though he had seen a ghost.
“How did you know?”
From the start to the end, he had never said that he was addicted to gambling. Even more so, he didn’t say that frequented the Golden Lion Den. He couldn’t understand how this teenage boy could tell that he frequented the gambling dens.
Furthermore, the Golden Lion Den was known for its good reputation. That was also the reason why he often went there.
Yet, that youngster said that the Golden Lion Den was cheating!
He didn’t think that he was dumb, and after playing at the Golden Lion Den for so long, he didn’t notice anything at all. Furthermore, even those old gamblers at the Golden Lion Den didn’t notice anything at all, how could a teenage kid know of such a matter?
“What are you babbling about? Could there be anything in the capital that our young master do not know of?”
Shen Hai and Meng Long criticized. The thug-like man was astonished, but Shen Hai and Meng Long weren’t shocked at all.
There were really few things that their young master didn’t know of. That was because the young master was once among their ranks as well.
“Shen Hai, Meng Long, forget it.”
Smiling, Wang Chong shook his hands, stopping the duo. The matter regarding the Golden Lion Den wasn’t a large matter at all. When the world comes to an end, many secrets would no longer remain as secrets.
Because the person in question would reveal their deepest secrets themselves.
But now, the secret was still unnoticed.
“I think there’s only a gambling den near Bluebottle Pavilion. Other than the Golden Lion Den, I can’t think of anywhere else. Also, if you don’t wish to lose all of your money, it’s best of you not to squander your wealth on gambling!”
Leaving behind these words, Wang Chong knocked on the carriage and the carriage slowly proceeded forward.
On his first contact with a future ‘influential figure’, it was sufficient to just leave a thousand gold taels with him. If he were to do it too excessively, it might not be a good thing.
“Which clan is he from? Such an odd person!”
The thug stood blankly on the spot for awhile as he silently watched Wang Chong’s carriage disappear into the distance. For a long time, he wasn’t able to say anything.
Even though he was despondent, he never really respected any of those scions. It was due to his contempt for them that he was able to act so brazenly around them.
But that young man… Despite being just a teenager, the impression he left him was too weird.
“Who cares! It’s not everyday that I meet such a fool. I should first play about first.”
Hiding the gold in his embrace, he walked into the distance.
（This book is a Xuanhuan novel. Due to the necessity of the plot, please do not fuss over why he is able to lift a hundred jin just like that ^-^）
“Hahaha, everyone, look who’s here. It’s Imperial Brother!”
“Hehe, if he’s the Imperial Brother, I’m a member of the royal family!”
…
The moment the thug stepped into the Golden Lion Den, the hall immediately burst into laughter. Most of the gamblers in the hall seemed to know him as they ridiculed him with a derogatory tone.
Hearing their laughter, the man stopped and his face flushed red.
“You bastards who look down on me, one day, I will have all of you kneel before my feet, Yang Zhao’s feet!”
The thug thought furiously.
Suppressing his anger, he brought the gold toward a gambling table. But after taking a few step, a thought flashed through his head and he walked toward the number two table. Yet, at this moment, he suddenly recalled the words Wang Chong said before he left.
Dices:
It’s a common gambling game in ancient China (I believe some places still have it now.)
Before the game, everyone would bet on either ‘Big’ or ‘Small’.
The banker would roll three dices hidden in a cup and slam it on the table.
Then, he would accept bets on either ‘Big’ or ‘Small’.
Based on the number on the dices shown, you will either win or lose money.
Due to lack of words,
Imperial Brother (国舅爷) -> The queen’s brother
Literally, it translates to: The uncle of the country.
The king’s brothers are known as princes or kings.