Upon hearing they were going to win back their losses, Zhao Rui and Sun Wei instantly perked up, temporarily letting Xiao Jingxuan off the hook.
"Deal! Xiao Er, you said it yourself—we're counting on you to turn our luck around today!"
Xiao Jingxuan breathed a sigh of relief, sneaking a glance at Su Xiaoyu. Though she still looked bewildered, at least she wasn't staring at him like he was some "pervert" anymore.
Soon, the three young masters, along with Su Xiaoyu, hurriedly made their way to the Thousand Gold Stage.
Even though it was daytime, the gambling den was bustling with noise and excitement. Cheers and sighs from gamblers filled the air, and the atmosphere was thick with the tension of "win or lose deciding one's fate."
As soon as Xiao Jingxuan entered, he headed straight for the most crowded "Big Small Points" table, with Zhao Rui and Sun Wei trailing behind him like a pair of sycophantic attendants.
"Make way, make way!" Sun Wei pushed through the crowd, slapping the gambling table and shouting, "My friend here is a master gambler! Today, he's going to show you all how it's done!"
Xiao Jingxuan pretended to be calm as he flicked his sleeves and sat down. He pulled ten taels of silver from his money pouch and slapped them onto the table, sweeping his gaze across the room with an air of arrogance.
"This round, I'm betting on Big!"
The dealer shook the dice, the porcelain bowl spinning rapidly on the table.
When the bowl settled and was lifted, the dice showed "five, five, six."
Fifteen points—Big! The crowd erupted in cheers, and Sun Wei pounded the table, yelling:
"I told you! When Xiao Er makes a move, he never loses!"
Over the next few rounds, Xiao Jingxuan seemed to have found his groove. Whether he bet on Big or Small, he won five times in a row, piling up a small mountain of silver in front of him.
"Hahaha! See that? That's what I call skill!" Xiao Jingxuan gloated, grabbing a piece of silver and waving it in front of Su Xiaoyu. "Well, little follower, isn't your young master impressive?"
Su Xiaoyu looked at his meager "earnings" and felt utterly unimpressed—she even felt like laughing.
Wasn't this just the simplest game of probability?
Betting on Big or Small with dice was purely a matter of luck.
The way the second young master was strutting around, you'd think he had conquered the world.
If they were playing something like Blackjack or Texas Hold'em, she could at least use probability to calculate her odds, but this? There was no skill involved at all.
Besides, she had already noticed that Xiao Jingxuan's winning streak was purely due to luck.
"The second young master is truly amazing!" she said with a smile, offering praise.
Just then, a mocking laugh echoed from the entrance of the gambling den: "Well, well, if it isn't Xiao Er? What's this? Didn't feel like visiting the brothels today, so you came to the gambling den to seek validation?"
Everyone turned to look and saw a young man dressed in a sapphire-blue brocade robe striding in, followed by two servants. A sly, sinister smile played on his lips.
This was Li Mo, the second son of the Minister of War.
He and Xiao Jingxuan had been at odds since childhood—sworn enemies.
Li Mo was widely known in the Jingcheng circle of young masters as a truly vile and cunning character.
Xiao Jingxuan's face darkened at the remark. "Li Mo, where I go is none of your business, is it?"
"Now, now, don't say that."
Li Mo walked up to the gambling table, picking up a die and spinning it between his fingers, his tone provocative. "I heard you've won a few rounds today? What a coincidence—I'm feeling lucky too. How about we play a big one? Let's bet on 'Guess Odd or Even,' one round for a hundred taels. What do you say?"
A hundred taels?
Hiss!
Such a high stake?
The gamblers around them fell silent, all aware that these two were bitter rivals. It looked like a good show was about to unfold.
Sun Wei tugged on Xiao Jingxuan's sleeve and whispered, "Xiao Er, don't gamble with him! Li Mo's gambling skills are better than yours, and he loves to cheat!"
But Xiao Jingxuan was provoked by Li Mo's taunts and grew furious.
He had just been pretending to be a "Gambling God" in front of Su Xiaoyu—if he backed down now, wouldn't he lose all face?
Stiffening his neck, he declared, "Let's gamble then! Who's afraid of who!"
Li Mo smiled and sat down in the opposite chair, signaling a servant to bring out a large silver ingot, which he placed boldly on the gambling table.
"Then let's begin!"
Soon, the dealer began shaking the dice cup.
In the first round, the dice cup settled. Li Mo casually guessed "odd."
Xiao Jingxuan nervously guessed "even."
The cup was lifted—four, five, six, totaling fifteen points, even!
"I won!"
Xiao Jingxuan excitedly punched the air and glanced triumphantly at Li Mo.
Li Mo smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes. "Not bad, Xiao Er, you're quite lucky. But one round doesn't decide the winner. Dare to go again? This time, let's bet two hundred taels, how about it?"
Two hundred taels? Xiao Jingxuan's heart sank.
That was more than half his monthly allowance.
But he had just won a round and was provoked by Li Mo's taunts—how could he back down now? Gritting his teeth, he said, "Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"
The dice cup was shaken again and settled. Li Mo gestured for Xiao Jingxuan to guess first.
Xiao Jingxuan hesitated for a moment and guessed "odd."
A faint, almost imperceptible smirk curled at the corner of Li Mo's lips as he confidently said, "Then I'll guess even."
The cup was lifted—two, three, three, totaling eight points, even!
Xiao Jingxuan's hundred taels instantly changed hands, and on top of that, he lost another hundred taels!
Zhao Rui and Sun Wei, standing nearby, were so anxious their lips felt parched.
"Xiao Er, why don't we call it quits? If you keep gambling like this, you won't be able to pay it back later."
But Li Mo wasn't about to let him retreat. He pulled out another ingot and slammed it on the table.
"What? Scared? Or do you just not have the silver? If you're broke, just say so—I can lend you some, though I doubt you'd have the guts to pay me back."
Xiao Jingxuan's eyes reddened with anger as he pulled out another hundred taels and placed them on the table.
"Enough talk! Shake the dice."
As expected, the third and fourth rounds took a sharp turn for the worse.
No matter whether Xiao Jingxuan guessed odd or even, Li Mo always accurately guessed the opposite result.
The silver in front of Xiao Jingxuan dwindled rapidly, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Zhao Rui and Sun Wei could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything.
Su Xiaoyu stared intently at the dealer's hands as he shook the dice and at Li Mo's expression.
She noticed that every time the dealer shook the dice, there was an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible pause in his movements. And the moment the dice cup landed on the table, Li Mo's ear twitched almost imperceptibly.
They were cheating!
Su Xiaoyu understood immediately.
The dealer must have been controlling the dice, and Li Mo was either listening to the dice or using some kind of signal to know the result!
Just as Xiao Jingxuan was about to place another bet—with only his last hundred taels left—his face turned pale, and his hands trembled slightly.
At that moment, Su Xiaoyu pretended to be jostled by someone nearby. With a soft "aiya," she stumbled and bumped into the back of Xiao Jingxuan's chair.
Xiao Jingxuan, fully focused, turned around in confusion.
Seizing the opportunity, Su Xiaoyu leaned in and mumbled in an extremely low, rapid whisper, "Young master… his… his ear twitched…"
Though faint, the sound struck Xiao Jingxuan's highly tense nerves like a thunderclap! He snapped his gaze toward Li Mo, and connecting it with the bizarre consecutive losses earlier, instantly understood everything!
The dice cup landed once more. The dealer gestured for bets.
Li Mo watched Xiao Jingxuan with leisurely composure, ready to reap his final victory.
Xiao Jingxuan took a deep breath. Instead of placing a bet immediately, he fixed his eyes intently on Li Mo.
Sure enough, the moment the dealer's hand left the dice cup, Li Mo's right ear twitched almost imperceptibly!
Now!
As if struck by divine inspiration, Xiao Jingxuan slammed his last hundred taels onto "Odd"!
Li Mo's face shifted slightly, then he sneered, "I guess Even!"
The cup opened—one, four, five. Ten points. Even!
"Hahaha! Xiao the Second, you've lost—" Li Mo's laughter cut off abruptly.
Because inside the dice cup lay three dice: one, four, five! Ten points was even.
Xiao Jingxuan had won?!
Everyone was stunned, including Xiao Jingxuan himself.