While saying this, she led Qin Yongzhan to a secret door. As small and plain as it looked, the inside was a completely different world.
Many people were gathered in front of several tables, leaving almost no way out. In front of each table stood a festively-dressed person carrying a gong.
Whenever someone won money, he would knock on the gong, and the gong-beater in front of the first table would knock three times with joy. "Congratulations to Mr. Qiao, who just won 3,000 taels in this round."
The loser hung his head in despair. Mr. Qiao was surrounded by congratulations. He cupped his hand and said, "Drinks on me in the house, everyone!"
Qin Yongzhan was looking at him with great enthusiasm. He just saw that he had won 3,000 taels of silver after playing for less than a quarter of an hour!
He anxiously asked Ms. Zhu. "How does this game work?"
Ms. Zhu smiled. "You're going to need chips to play this. It's called paying to win. Just follow me, sir. Let's get your chips ready."
Each token was worth 100 taels of silver. Qin Yongzhan first hesitated, but Ms. Zhu tried to comfort him, "Why don't you get more of these, sir? You will win a lot more anyway."
Qin Yongzhan was convinced by her and cashed in another 1,000 taels of silver.
Seeing this, Ms. Zhu smiled even more brightly and let Qin Yongzhan put his arm around her waist as they headed to the gambling table.
...
It was now at the Li family's residence.
By now, it was late at night, and Li Baojia was already lying in bed, but her eyes were still twinkling, so she was still wide awake.
Taotao slept in the side room so that if Li Baojia got up in the middle of the night, she could take care of her. There was also someone on duty outside.
Li Baojia suddenly got up, pressed her ear against the door, and detected no movement whatsoever outside before quietly opening the door and tiptoeing her way out into the dark.
There was a water storage area in the courtyard for the kitchen.
She sneaked to the kitchen, picked one of the large jars, picked up the scoop and filled a large scoop, gritted her teeth, and poured it on her body.
The water flowed down from the top of her head, and her silk lingerie was half-soaked. Although it was now May, the nighttime temperature was much lower than in the day. A gentle breeze still made her shiver all over.
She was afraid it was not enough and poured another two scoops and stood in the courtyard in the night wind for an hour before going in.
She changed her clothes, wiped her head, and sneezed twice before drifting off to sleep under the covers.
She thought in a daze, "I hope it'll work tomorrow..."
...
It was the next day.
Taotao woke up, asked other servants to prepare water and towels, and brought them to Li Baojia's room.
Li Baojia was still curled up into a ball under the blanket. Taotao was amused to see her and nudged her. "Miss, it's time to get up."
"Hmm..."
Taotao was going to nudge her again when Li Baojia turned over, and Taotao was startled.
Her forehead was sweaty, her face was flushed, and her hair was tangled in strands on her forehead. Her eyes were tightly closed, and she looked in distress.
Taotao reached out, touched her forehead, and found it very hot. She hurriedly shouted, "Someone, come here, please."
Several maids outside the door hurriedly came in, and Taotao said urgently, "Go get the doctor and madam to come here! Miss has a fever!"
Several maids ran out. Taotao soaked the towel next to her, then twisted it dry and put it on Li Baojia's forehead, looking at her worriedly.
She really couldn't understand why she would suddenly become like this when she was clearly fine last night.
She could never have imagined that the young lady who went to bed early yesterday would go out and get herself drenched and get a cold.
Li Baojia only felt dizzy now and could not see things clearly.
Madam Huang also became anxious upon hearing this. Last night, Li Wangde spent the night at her place and heard the movement. He frowned. "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, but she is sick today?"
Madam Huang was impatient to see her, and Li Wangde did not have to go to court today, so he also went with her for fear of a certain undesirable situation.
The two of them stepped into Li Baojia's courtyard together and found the doctor was already there. The doctor stroked his beard. "She's got a cold. Take some medicines and rest for a few days, and she'll be fine."
Li Wangde said, "Can she still attend the Lantern Festival tomorrow?"
Madam Huang wiped her tears next to him. "Let it be. Nothing is more important than Jiajia's health."
The Lantern Festival was indeed an important festival for unmarried men and women, but many activities were going on, so it was tiring.
That doctor thought for a while and said, "I suppose, but don't move too much and avoid the wind."
Li Wangde put his mind at ease. The doctor prescribed the medicine and then left.
Although Li Baojia felt terrible at the moment, she had not forgotten today's business.
She struggled to pull her clothes with a red face and said weakly, "Father..."
Madam Huang hurriedly came over to hold her hand. Li Wangde also looked over.
"I saw the brothel caught a huge fire today and also saw a lot of silver. Many people with weapons entered the imperial censor's house next door. It's very terrible."
Madam Huang took a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on her forehead. "What nonsense is she talking about?"
Li Wangde didn't take it seriously, either.
Li Baojia spoke intermittently, "I also saw something happen to uncle. Our home is just like the imperial censor's home. I am so scared."
Hearing this, Li Wangde said, "Don't talk nonsense. This is impossible. Just have a good rest. You can't be absent tomorrow."
After saying that, he walked away with great strides.
He came and went quickly, but Li Baojia was relieved. she knew that her effort had paid off.
Madam Huang told Taotao to keep an eye on her to avoid disturbing her sleep and then quietly left.
Li Baojia then drifted to sleep again, and before she completely lost consciousness, she thought with regret, "It seems that I have completely overestimated myself. Didn't think I was so weak... now this is much more serious than I thought it would be."
While Li Baojia was feeling dizzy, the gambling house in Yixian Mansion was still bustling.
At this time, Qin Yongzhan had lost his sanity because he'd almost lost every penny he had on him. As he piled on the pressure, he began pulling his hair in anxiety.
The gambling house was sealed with black cloth with only a few candles lit, preventing the gamblers from keeping track of time. All their mind was on gambling.
Because they were in the confinement of the room, they started to feel a bit stuffy inside, and many people were sweating, but they were still excited, especially Qin Yongzhan, who had just lost all his money and wanted to win it all back.
His eyes were bloodshot. "Again!"
Ms. Zhu told him regretfully, "Mr. Qin, you are out of tokens again."
Qin Yongzhan was stunned. "How can I be out of money again? I just got 50 tokens on credit! Let me get some more."
Ms. Zhu said, "But... you already have a lot on credit, and you can't get any more according to the rule."
Before he could reply, she changed her tone. "But, you are the only son of the Qin family, which means the Qin family's property will be yours. You can also use it as your chip. For example, the house, the storefront, and even the maid's work contract..."
Qin Yongzhan held the dice tightly with both hands. "Then do it! Give me another 500 tokens!"
Ms. Zhu smiled and turned around. "Bring Mr. Qin another 500 tokens, and bring me the paper for Mr. Qin to sign."