Chapter 60: Beyond Expectation

Liu Tieniu?

This man has indeed been at the gambling house for three months. Originally, he was meant to be used as leverage against the Han family, but that plan fell through. Instead, he became nothing more than an idle mouth to feed.

"He's still at the gambling house? If you thought he was useless, shouldn't you have expelled him already?" Second Young Master Bai suddenly asked.

"Young Master, though this man doesn't seem reliable, the tricks he's come up with have brought in more and more customers for us. And he has a very sharp eye—he can spot a cheat at a glance..."

So, he does have his uses. But it's impossible he would dare such a thing, and the records in the accounting room are confidential. No one without inside access could get in.

"Keep investigating!"

The steward nodded and immediately dispatched people to uncover the truth.

But secrets cannot be kept forever.

After three days of searching, nothing had changed.

Other merchants were already starting to stir restlessly.

"Have you heard? It seems the Bai family's gambling house is about to go under."

"Really? I heard their gambling house was built on the property of Master Chen."

"Master Chen? You mean the former silk magnate, who later settled here in North County?"

"That's right. But I heard their family suffered a tragic accident years ago. Now that you mention it, this whole affair seems suspicious."

These merchants were not involved in any grand businesses, but they looked down on the Bai family in their hearts. Normally, they pretended to be friendly, but it was merely a show of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

Now, upon hearing trouble had befallen the Bai family, they naturally couldn't resist adding insult to injury.

But as dozens of days passed, the rumors threatened to become reality.

Miss Zhilian from Drunken Flower Pavilion grew anxious. She had already spread word of the incident, so why did it seem the Bai family was not much affected? What use then, were all her efforts?

A sense of dissatisfaction festered within her.

Could it be that even her sole wish would be delayed again?

"Young Master Han, that girl has come looking for you again?"

Zhilian, afraid of misunderstandings, found someone to pass word of these events to Young Master Zhu.

"The Bai family's gambling house?"

"It's probably about that affair. But it’s been more than ten days—aren’t you planning to take this chance to reveal the truth?" Young Master Zhu was puzzled.

Clearly, they held the advantage, yet now they had suddenly stalled. Wasn’t that illogical?

"The moment isn’t ripe. Besides, plenty are already eager to strike while the iron is hot." Han Qing smiled mysteriously. He had already arranged for this news to be leaked to the other gambling houses. Those rivals had long envied the Bai family’s thriving business. Surely, they would make their move now?

Indeed, these families had not rested. Each scrambled for resources; none had stepped back.

Second Young Master Bai was in a panic. Such a large enterprise was under his management, yet the informant remained unfound. He worried that these people might use this to threaten him.

"Is there any progress with the gambling house?" Old Master Bai was furious.

He had heard some rumors lately. Though others were wary of his position and wouldn’t speak too harshly, he was old enough to see through things.

"Grandfather, the steward has been investigating, but no leads have surfaced," Second Young Master Bai replied, bewildered.

"The victim back then was the Chen family, but now they are gone. Yet someone is using this old affair to muddy the waters. The only possibility is they want to destroy our Bai family."

His words were a revelation for the family. They had thought it was merely dirty business competition and that finding the source of the leak would resolve it. Now it was clear—the matter was far from simple.

"Are we just to give up the Bai family gambling house?" Second Young Master Bai asked, unwilling to accept it.

He had never considered that possibility. The whole affair felt off, and it seemed unlikely others would truly gain from it.

"No, someone else is more anxious than we are." The old master was indeed a master of the game. He calculated that as long as he did nothing, no one would dare bring the matter into the open.

But he forgot—the court had already dispatched an official to this region. Was it merely for the sake of that imperial merchant quota? The unsolved cases in North County needed someone to stir up trouble first—then everything would proceed naturally.

"Brother, it’s been months since I last saw you!"

The little storybook shop welcomed a rare visitor. When Erzhuang saw Han Qing, he was overjoyed.

"What new books have you put out this week?"

"Most are written by Young Master Su. The other gentlemen are not regular contributors."

"Start promoting these new manuscripts this week, especially these key stories..."

Han Qing was striking from two flanks at once.

The shop’s storybooks circulated not just in North County, but even in Luojing—where young gentlemen of noble families appreciated them. They sent humble servants to purchase the books.

But Han Qing had already noticed the pattern and told no one. Instead, he set a trap.

Some things had to be seen to be believed.

Sure enough, the new stories were instantly sought after by young lords in Luojing, especially those featuring key events, which quickly became the talk of the town.

This immediately attracted wide attention.

Next, Miss Zhilian herself was sent to deliver the exposé to Luojing.

As expected, the court dispatched an imperial inspector. Prefect Wang of Quanzhou was specially assigned to investigate the case.

When the Bai family heard, they were shocked—never had they imagined things would turn out this way.

"What do we do now? The court is sending officials."

Panic seized them. They had never anticipated such an outcome.

When the facts were exposed, the Bai family would have no way out.

"Why panic? Though we had a hand in it back then, the real culprits have already become mountain bandits."

What?

Old Master Bai’s words left them at a loss.

What did he mean?

"When the time comes, just lay all the blame on the gambling house steward. How were we to know the truth behind it all?"

Second Young Master Bai immediately understood. They needed a scapegoat.

But the head steward had served their family for decades. This seemed heartless.

"What? You’d rather see the whole family ruined?"

No one dared argue; they simply exchanged helpless glances.