"Faster, Treading Clouds, faster, faster..." Listening to Yu Weiwei's nervous cheers, Hua Zhi watched from a distance as two horses raced almost neck and neck, guessing the other horse must be Swift Wind.
"Ahhhh, we won, we won! Treading Clouds won!" Yu Weiwei excitedly grabbed Hua Zhi's arm and shook it vigorously, turning back to glance at the Zhu family young lady with a triumphant expression.
The Zhu family young lady maintained excellent composure, merely smiling without saying a word.
"Weiwei, how much did you bet?" A young lady in front turned around to ask.
"In total?"
"Yes, inside and outside combined."
Yu Weiwei made a gesture of twelve, "I used all my savings. If I'd lost, I would definitely have demanded compensation from my cousin."
Hua Zhi showed a curious expression but didn't inquire further. Noticing this, Yu Weiwei didn't explain either, just said cheerfully, "I noticed you wrote down two hundred taels earlier?"
"I didn't bring much silver with me."
"For a small wager, two hundred taels is plenty. Madam Wu, you can settle ours later, but please give Miss Hua her winnings first."
The woman who had initially organized the betting handed over two silver notes, "Small stakes are easy to settle, though I suffered heavy losses today."
"You only gave back a tiny portion of what you won last time," Yu Weiwei glanced at the silver notes and stuffed one into Hua Zhi's hand, "Buy some sweets with this."
Hua Zhi looked down at the note. She hadn't spent a single coin of her supposed two hundred taels bet, yet had won a solid two hundred taels in mere moments. Winners want to continue, losers want to recover their losses - this is the allure of gambling.
"I want to go see my horse, would you like to come?"
"Your own horse?"
"Yes," Yu Weiwei couldn't conceal her pride, "My father bought me a mare. I've been feeding her myself since she was this small. When she grew bigger, we moved her to the horse racing track. There's more space here, and Little Treasure is much happier."
Watching her animated explanation complete with gestures, Hua Zhi nodded in agreement. She wasn't the best conversation partner but made an excellent listener. Quite satisfied with her, Yu Weiwei pushed her along, "Come on, come on, let's go see my Little Treasure."
"Please wait a moment, Miss Yu. I need to say something to my younger brother."
Just then, Zeng Xiangyan and several others were approaching. Yu Weiwei went up to meet them, her tone quite imperious, "Cousin, Miss Hua and I are going to see Little Treasure. You must entertain Young Master Hua properly."
Knowing his cousin's impulsive nature, Zeng Xiangyan turned to Hua Zhi thinking he would need to rescue her if she showed any reluctance. But when he actually saw her, he paused in surprise - the young lady didn't appear to be under any duress.
Hua Zhi said gently, "If it's inconvenient for Young Master Zeng..."
"Not at all inconvenient. You can rest assured leaving your younger brother with me." Zeng Xiangyan put his arm around Little Six, "I'll take him to see Treading Clouds. My cousin knows where to find us. Have fun, you two."
"As if I needed you to tell me," Yu Weiwei subtly glanced back and forth between the two before taking Hua Zhi's arm and leading her down from the viewing platform.
After the two had walked some distance, someone whispered, "Brother Zeng, did you know the Zhu family intends to propose marriage to the Yu family?"
Zeng Xiangyan frowned. He usually couldn't be bothered with such messy affairs, since his capable elder brother handled family matters. But this didn't mean he was ignorant. The Zeng and Yu families were as close as brothers, while the Zeng and Zhu families had never gotten along. What was the Zhu family trying to pull?"Master Zeng." A gentle, graceful voice pulled Zeng Xiangyan from his thoughts. Seeing it was the young lady from the Zhu Family, he offered a slight bow in return.
"Congratulations on Ta Yun winning the championship again."
"Thank you." Zeng Xiangyan distantly cupped his hands in acknowledgment. "I'm going to see Ta Yun now. Please feel free to do as you wish, Miss Zhu."
After descending from the viewing platform, Dou Qingyang approached and whispered, "Does that Zhu Family girl have feelings for you?"
Zeng Xiangyan instinctively glanced back and saw the Zhu Family young lady still standing where she was.
"See? I wouldn't believe it if someone said she doesn't have feelings for you." Dou Qingyang nudged him with an elbow. "You've got trouble."
And not just small trouble.
The two exchanged a look but didn't discuss it further there, instead calling out to friends and heading toward Ta Yun's stable.
Little Six didn't speak much, behaving like a proper younger brother. His demeanor wasn't unpleasant, so no one excluded him. After demonstrating decent equestrian skills and racing with others, he gradually integrated into their small circle.
It was dusk when they returned from the horse racing track.
Yu Weiwei leaned out from the carriage. "Hua Ling, how many more days will you be staying in Jin Yang?"
Hua Zhi didn't commit to a definite answer. "We'll remain for a few more days."
"Shall we play together again tomorrow then?" Yu Weiwei gestured for her to come closer and whispered, "I'll take you to a wonderful place."
Zeng Xiangyan tapped his younger cousin's head. "Do you think Miss Hua is as fond of amusement as you are?"
"Today's experience was quite novel for me. If Miss Yu says it's fun, it must be enjoyable. I'd be happy to go, if Miss Yu doesn't find me dull."
Yu Weiwei's eyes lit up, and she shot her cousin a challenging look. She'd been right - Hua Ling was the easiest to get along with! Otherwise, she wouldn't have invited her despite their different personalities.
"Then it's settled! I'll come find you tomorrow."
Hua Zhi smiled and nodded, then bowed slightly to Zeng Xiangyan before turning to enter the main hall.
Little Six wasn't in a hurry to leave. "It wouldn't be proper for me to accompany my elder sister. Might I trouble Brother Zeng to show me around tomorrow?"
Zeng Xiangyang laughed freely. "Alright, I'll take you out. But..." After a moment's thought, he added, "Bring some silver with you tomorrow - not too much, just enough to join in the fun."
Little Six deliberately leaned closer. "You mean those betting pools you started several times at the horse racing track today?"
"Exactly. People in Jin Yang love this. As long as you don't overdo it, it's harmless fun. If you're not comfortable with it, that's fine too."
"Not at all, I think it's quite entertaining. If I'd brought silver today, I would have joined in."
Zeng Xiangyan happily patted his shoulder. "Good, then I'll take my leave now."
"Thank you for today, Brother Zeng."
Zeng Xiangyan waved casually, mounted his horse, and rode off.
In the courtyard behind the inn, Yu Mu and Jia Yang were already waiting to report, but Hua Zhi stopped them. "No rush, let me first organize what I learned today."
Little Six arrived quickly, entering the room right after her despite the delay. "Sister Hua, I really broadened my horizons today. In just one day, at that single horse racing track location, they gambled eleven times."
Hua Zhi motioned for him to sit. "I followed Yu Weiwei and the others in six rounds of betting. At most I won twelve hundred taels, but ended up losing four hundred.""That's still somewhat fortunate. Zeng Xiangyan's luck wasn't favorable today—he lost two thousand eight hundred taels. The biggest loser dropped over five thousand taels."
The two exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking slightly. A gambling den was never a good place; even cloaked in an elegant guise, it couldn't change the fact that it was gambling.
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