Before long, the saying ‘extreme joy turning into sorrow’ had quickly appeared before him. In the last circle around the track, the white horse that was numbered 5, had slowly shortened the distance between it and the horse numbered 8 in the front. In the last ten meters of the race, the number 5 white horse had a burst of energy and sprinted forward, succeeding in reversing the course of the race and seizing first place.
The audience was deathly silent for a moment before raucous cheers and shouts of joy filled the air. Although not as many people bought tickets for horse number 5 as they did for horse number 8, there were still a good number. Prior to the start of the race, horse number 5 and horse number 8 had the most tickets bought.
Long Tianba, who had already stood up in excitement in anticipation of making it big, felt the smile on his face congeal and freeze. He almost couldn’t believe the sight in front of his eyes!
On another viewing stand was Zhu Yunxin, who was dressed in men’s attire. Her phoenix eyes crinkled up in happiness and adorable dimples appeared on her face. She spoke to the handsome young boy next to her, “Second Older Brother, quickly thank me now! I helped you earn a giant fortune ah! Aren’t I the smart one ah? Betting on Eldest Brother is the sure choice!”
Zhu Yunxiao had nothing to say. Wasn’t the person who first bought the tickets on their eldest brother him ah? Who in the family didn’t know that their eldest brother had fully inherited their lord father’s equestrian skills and that their usually strict father had even complimented him? Only fools wouldn’t bet on their eldest brother ah!
Now all of the praise had gone to his younger sister. Argh…who told him to be a good older brother ah? It was better to let his little sister’s words slide. After all, it was fine as long as she was happy.
Zhu Yunxin’s eyes flickered a bit and the smile on her face became so sweet that it could sicken a person. She looked at him and Zhu Yunxiao shuddered. He rubbed at the goosebumps on his arm and sighed, “Alright ah, there’s no need to ask. I know what you want! The money that I won will also be given to you to spend, alright?”
“Second Older Brother, you’re so good to me. Second Older Brother, you’re the best older brother in the world!” Zhu Yunxin didn’t stint on her compliments to him. Haha! The pink crystal bracelet that she had been eyeing was now going to be hers! Her lady mother was so stingy ah! She insisted that they save up their own money to buy the things that had caught their eye, even if it was from their own shops!
After marriage, Yu Xiaocao took all of the businesses under Imperial Prince Xu’s Estate into her hands. She had her hands tightly around the wallet. When she was teaching her children, she made sure to teach them the right way of handling money and never allowed them to take their wealth for granted. For her three children, they only had a set monthly allowance and if they wanted to buy something, they needed to use their own money to get it.
Take Zhu Yunxin for example. She was the high and noble young royal princess, but she even needed to work at ‘Blossoming Beauty’s’ skincare store on her days off in order to make some money. She already had her eye on a pink crystal bracelet at Wisdom Jade Pavilion for a long time. After saving up two months worth of allowance, she still had another half to go. With the money she won in the bet, she could finally buy the bracelet that she had admired for so long!
“Do you dare repeat what you just said in front of Eldest Brother ah? Aren’t you afraid he’ll scold you for lacking a conscience?” Zhu Yunxiao wasn’t easily fooled by his younger twin’s tricks and coldly huffed. It looked like even the money he set down for the initial bet wouldn’t go back into his pockets.
Zhu Yunxin giggled and said, “You both are the best older brothers in the world! Eh? Eldest Brother is planning on riding in the next race? So weird, Eldest Brother never participates in these things. Just what is going on ah? However…who cares, whichever horse that Eldest Brother rides is the one we need to bet on because it’s sure to win!”
When he saw how excited and exuberant she was, Zhu Yunxiao shook his head and was resigned to his fate of keeping close to her. He had a responsibility today. He needed to keep a close eye on his younger sister——stop her from causing trouble!
There was another person who had the same thought process as Zhu Yunxin and that was Zhu Yunxuan’s best friend, Lu Junbo. Lu Junbo was the precious son of He Wanning and Lu Hao. He was born three years after they had married and was younger than Zhu Yunxuan by a year. The two families had a good relationship with each other so they had played together since they were young.
This fellow was similar to his father and didn’t like to use his head. Oftentimes, Zhu Yunxuan would come up with a scheme in the shadows while he acted in the front. Lu Hao frequently scolded him to use his head more and not be led around by the nose by the heir of Imperial Prince Xu.
In actuality, Lu Junbo wasn’t someone who was dumb. He was just lazy. Furthermore, he knew that Zhu Yunxuan was the type of person who treated his friends well. He not only would shield them from trickery but would also think about what they preferred as well.
Consequently, Zhu Yunxuan’s connections with people were a lot better compared to his lord father’s. All of the noble young masters who were around his age were willing to hang out with him. The a.d.u.l.ts of these families were also secure in letting their sons play with the heir of Imperial Prince Xu.
What was the point of using his head when he had such a reliable and good friend around? Too tiring ah!
At the area where they placed bets, Zhu Yunxin saw the tall and sturdy Lu Junbo and greeted him warmly, “Older Brother Junbo, did you come here with my eldest brother ah? How much did you make from the earlier race? Dividends, dividends, you must split me some!”
Lu Junbo looked back and saw two twins who looked nothing like each other and chuckled loudly, “Yunxiao and Little Yunxin also come here to play? How come you guys didn’t go to the children’s section and decided to go to the racetrack instead? If your lady mother finds out, I’d be surprised if she didn’t spank you two!”
In Lu Junbo’s eyes, this pair of twins were like his own younger brothers and sisters. Thus, when he spoke to them, he used an easy and intimate manner.
“We don’t have a lot of opportunities to come out and play, so don’t be such a wet blanket ah, Older Brother Junbo!” Zhu Yunxin pouted her little mouth.
Everyone said that Imperial Prince Xu was a stern father while Princess Consort Xu was a loving mother, but it wasn’t true. Ever since they were little, their father had never hit a single one of the three siblings——naturally, he didn’t need to. After all, one glare from him was more than enough to stop them in their tracks. Their lady mother, on the other hand, was able to harden her heart and slap their wrists when they were naughty. Other than their eldest brother, who was incredibly clever and never let himself get caught, Zhu Yunxin and her second older brother had both been punished by their mother before!
“Alright, I won’t say any more! Don’t worry ah, I won’t tattle on you. However, earlier today Xiaoqing had told me she was going to find you to play. Looks like she’s missed you then.” Xiaoqing was Lu Junbo’s younger sister and was older than the twins by two years. Her full name was Lu Yuqing.
It was said that on the day He Wanning gave birth to her, it was storming very hard. However, as soon as she was born and gave her first cry, the clouds dissipated away and the rain stopped. A clear and boundless sky appeared, so that's how she got her name[1].
Zhu Yunxin also really liked Older Sister Xiaoqing, who had a frank and lively personality. She grinned, “When I get back, I’ll give Older Sister a ruby flower as an apology gift——that’s right, Older Brother Junbo, you haven’t told me how much you won from the last bet ah!”
“Not much, not much. Here, look!” Lu Junbo waved his winnings in front of her face and raised his eyebrow proudly.
“Wow! Older Brother Junbo is so rich ah! ——Can you lend me some ah?” Zhu Yunxin never saw herself as an outsider when interacting with the Lu Family’s siblings.
Lu Junbo rubbed her little head and began to open his wallet, “Your eldest brother is participating in the race, so how could you not bet on him? Oh? Did you not win enough money to buy your crystal bracelet ah?” As he spoke, he fished out two banknotes worth five thousand taels each.
Zhu Yunxin took out one from his hand and gleefully said, “You also know that my second brother and I don’t get a lot of pocket money, so our wallets are a bit thin. We don’t have a lot of capital to go off of so we naturally can’t win a lot at one time. I have just enough to buy the crystal bracelet but I also want to buy the rest of the pink crystal jewelries in the store to complete the set. My lord father had said that that type of crystal is rare. Furthermore, I love the color pink the most. Older Brother Junbo, I’m only borrowing this from you and I’ll return it in a bit!”
After she spoke, she took out the five thousand tael banknote and combined it with the two thousand she and her second brother had just earned and used it all to bet on the horse her eldest brother was riding on, horse number 6. The earlier race had a payout of 1 to 10 and the current one was a bit lower, 1 to 5. If she won, she’d have around thirty thousand taels! Ah ha ha, she’d become rich in a moment! The little mini-her in Zhu Yunxin’s heart was currently laughing gleefully with her hands on her h.i.p.s.
After the race, Lu Junbo and Zhu Yunxin had their pockets full of gold. The pitiful Long Tianba, on the other hand, was left with nothing and didn’t have a copper coin to his name. When he left to settle the bill, he had forgotten that he still had to pay for the things he and that group of wastrels consumed earlier. Altogether, it came out to five thousand taels and six hundred copper coins. Where would Long Tianba, who had lost all of his money, come up with the cash needed to pay the bill now?
This fellow was a stupid one as he decided to make a fuss at the office, “I just ate a table of food and took a bath, yet you guys want five thousand taels and six hundred copper coins? Just what are these ridiculous prices? This isn’t a ‘Celestial World’; this is a bandit’s den! You’re not asking for people’s money; you’re asking for their deaths!”
The customers who were near the office were all regular members here and had noble and wealthy backgrounds. Naturally, they all knew that this was one of Imperial Prince Xu’s businesses. Why was there an idiot trying to cause trouble here? Looked like that guy’s guts were quite big! Within moments, many people stopped what they were doing and stared at this fool in anticipation of what the idiot might do next.
Long Tianba had actually thought that he was successful in bringing together other dissatisfied customers and became even more confident.
The manager of the entertainment facility was a retired officer from the Xishan Barracks. He had a tall and sturdy figure with a body full of sinewy muscle. There was a long scar on his face and he looked quite frightening.
When he stepped towards Long Tianba, the fool began to yell in alarm, “What are you trying to do? Are you going to hit me? Let me tell you, when I left this morning, everyone at home knew I was coming here. If you try to imprison me here, my father won’t let you off!”
The manager quickly stopped moving and didn't try to get closer to him. He calmly said, “Guest, please calm down a bit. No one will try to hurt you here and no one will dare to imprison you to force you to pay. If you have any questions about your bill, please ask me. Our facility makes it very clear the prices of our services and we’re an honest business. We wouldn’t cheat any customer here.”
Long Tianba swung the stack of receipts in his hands and argued loudly, “This young master just ate a few dishes and had one hot bath, yet it cost five thousand taels ah? Are your facility’s dishes made of gold ah? Or…is your facility’s baths made of molten silver?”
After hearing his words, the other guests who were in the area began to laugh under their breaths. Would you dare to go into a bath made of molten silver?
When he heard the snickers, Long Tianba became even more confident. He puffed out his chest and raised his head up high and an arrogant expression appeared on his face. How could he know that all of his posturing and strutting just made him look like a complete fool in other people’s eyes?
The manager of the entertainment facility took the bill from his hands and scanned it. An ambiguous smile arrived on his face, “Whether or not our facility is cheating our guests, everyone else can find out after hearing what this guest has enjoyed here!”
[1] The characters in Yuqing's (雨晴) name mean 'rain cleared from the sky'.
