Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 52 Casino
Judge Wu is a businessman.

He always wore a black warrior uniform.

He once served as a judge under the Tianping Jiedushi, but was later dismissed for making a mistake. However, he always called himself a judge.

Zhu Wen took out a secret letter from his bosom, handed it over, and whispered, "Secret order from the Salt Marshal."

"Understood, understood!" Judge Wu bowed and went into the inner room. He soon returned with a recruitment envelope. "All the information I've gathered this year is in there. My lord, take a look and you'll have your own ideas."

Zhu Wen showed a satisfied look, exchanged a few words with Judge Wu, and then bowed and said goodbye.

Lan Suting just watched quietly from the side. After Zhu Wen and she left together, she asked, "Where are we going next?"

"We just came out of Judge Wu's pawnshop, so naturally we have to go to the casino next."

"Casino?" Lan Suting was a little confused.

She knew that Zhu Wen sometimes played dice with his second brother Zhu Cun, but they did not really gamble.

Zhu Wen also never approved of the soldiers in the camp gambling.

But since it was Zhu Wen's decision, there must be a reason for it, so she wouldn't ask too much.

So the two of them walked into a building that looked like a ancestral hall.

The windows of the building are sealed with black paper, completely blocking out light, so the inside is brightly lit even during the day.

Inside, crowds of people gathered, their eyes fixed on the gambling table, their eyes bulging out like goldfish. When the dice were thrown, some shouted with joy, while others sighed and stamped their feet.

Zhu Wen touched the gold ingots on his body and sighed, "There really aren't many left."

This sentence immediately attracted several gamblers like blood attracts leeches.

Their eyes were filled with wolf-like green light. One of them, with a scarred face, stared at Lan Suting intently, and then said, "If you don't have enough money, you can bet on this girl."

"Okay." Zhu Wen replied.

Lan Suting looked a little frightened, but then regained her composure.

The scar-faced gambler was quite proud. He looked at the frail girl in front of him as if she was his own.

He had won many people's wives and daughters through gambling, but he sold most of them after he got tired of it.

Zhu Wen then added, "But even a small amount of money is still money. If you want Qin to bet his sister, you must first win all the money I have."

"So, what are we betting on? Chupu, backgammon, or just rolling the dice in a porcelain bowl?"

"Comparing size, it's fast like this." Zhu Wen said quite firmly.

He exchanged all the gold ingots in his hand for chips.

First it was Scarface, then several of his accomplices, who soon lost all their chips.

They found that the seemingly gentle boy opposite them could always throw a little more than them, neither more nor less.

For example, if Scarface throws down three leopards with fives, Zhu Wen can throw down three leopards with sixes.

Scarface's face turned completely black.

His eyes were fixed on the young man in front of him, but he could not see the slightest abnormality.

The young man's hands were long, white, beautiful, and his nails were neatly trimmed.

But that's all he could see.

Scarface stood up suddenly, and a strong murderous look suddenly burst out of his eyes.

Lan Suting's pupils couldn't help but dilate slightly.

But Scarface didn't make a move. Instead, he rushed out the door and soon pulled a trembling woman in: "I'll bet with her!"

Zhu Wen said politely, "I'm sorry, but I don't accept live people as bets. It's too troublesome to convert them into cash. You can take her and exchange her for cash first, then come and bet with me."

Several gamblers stared at Zhu Wen fiercely.

But they found that Zhu Wen had his left hand on the knife at his waist.

So they retreated with good sense.

"How did you do that?" Lan Suting leaned close to Zhu Wen's ear and asked in a low voice, blowing her fragrant breath gently into the man's ear.

"I said I didn't cheat at all, do you believe it?" Zhu Wen turned around and said.

Lan Suting looked surprised.

"When I was very young, I would hide under my covers at night and practice dice in order to win a few candies from the kids."

"The weight of each side of the dice is different, and the feeling of throwing it is also different. If a person can clearly feel this feeling, then the number of points he wants to roll will be exactly what he wants."

Lan Suting said "Oh" and nodded.

She knew, however, that this was a rare talent, rare in a century. Not to mention the difficulty of controlling it so minutely, in a casino, three dice were used for dice comparison.

Zhu Wen's technique not only allowed him to throw the dice at will, but also allowed him to easily throw out Xiaolu when playing Chupu.

"Then why did you stop gambling later?" Lan Suting's delicate eyes sparkled.

According to the soldiers in the camp, Zhu Wen never gambled with them once and also hated gambling.

Zhu Wen replied, "First, if you always win every time you gamble, then there's no point at all."

"Secondly, which Jiedushi, even a provincial governor, would willingly lose his territory to you?"

Lan Suting said softly, "A person who cares about his country would really not care about gambling with such a small amount of money."

"So why do I prefer to spend so much time sleeping?" Zhu Wen said with some emotion. "Many skills take a lot of time to acquire, only to find out they're useless. For example, last time you asked me if I wanted to learn calligraphy from you. Of course I could learn it, but I'm afraid even if I put in so much effort, it might not be of any use."

Lan Suting listened to Zhu Wen's words silently.

She knew that only a genius like Zhu Wen could speak such words so easily.

As if to test what he said, Zhu Wen did not give up. He won many more times and even attracted the big dealer of the casino.

It makes no difference if a big dealer comes, the defeat will be the same.

"Good boy, how dare you cheat in my place!"

The big dealer soon let out an angry roar.

Then Lan Suting heard the sound of many swords being unsheathed.

She realized that what Zhu Wen said was absolutely right.

Not only would it be impossible for a Jiedushi to lose his territory in a casino, even an ordinary casino owner would turn the table if he lost too much.

Lan Suting quickly moved her body to Zhu Wen's left side. She thought Zhu Wen would draw his sword immediately and put his other hand around her waist.

But Zhu Wen had no intention of taking action.

"Who saw Qin cheating?" His words were still polite.

The big dealer sneered: "If you don't cheat, how can you win every bet and never lose once?"

There is a saying that goes, "A true gentleman never regrets a move, and a real man never regrets a move he has made."

But almost no one can do it.

In history, even the crown prince who wanted to become the emperor would smash the chessboard on his opponent's head after losing a game of chess.

The same is true for gambling.

Zhu Wen sighed: "If it were an ordinary person, of course he couldn't do it."

The big dealer's eyes were filled with murderous intent: "Do you think you are not an ordinary person?"

"Judge Wu sent me here. He didn't have enough gold, and the copper coins and silk were too heavy, so he asked me to come over and help."

As he said this, Zhu Wen also threw out an empty recruitment bag.

The bag clearly has Judge Wu's special emblem on it.

The dealer, the gambler with the scar on his face, and many others all changed their expressions immediately.

They all knelt down and said, "We didn't know your Excellency was coming. We were blind and didn't recognize you. Please forgive us!"

Such a large number of spines facing the roof, connected into a black mass, made Zhu Wen feel a little uncomfortable.

"Everyone, get up." Zhu Wen waved his hand and said generously, "I really took out too much today. I'll keep 10% and return the rest to you."

For a moment, everyone showed a look of gratitude.

Since Judge Wu was the contact person arranged by Huang Chao, he was certainly not an ordinary pawnshop owner.

"Look, I'm just here today to collect some funds. I'm not gambling, so it doesn't count as breaking the rules." Zhu Wen said to Lan Suting.

"After all, thinking of winning a kingdom through gambling is just like your little idiot's idea that 'a prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner'. It's pure fantasy."

Lan Suting sighed softly, "How can you be so proud of yourself for saying something so unbecoming of the sages?"

Zhu Wen blinked: "Because when I say these words, I can see your cute side."

Lan Suting's sparse eyelashes trembled like a mimosa, and she lowered her head to avoid Zhu Wen's gaze.

"We've been to the pawnshop and the casino, so where should we go next?" she asked softly.

"Brothel." Zhu Wen said seriously, "Zhizhen, change into men's clothes when you get back. Also, let's untie Madam Tian and take her with us."

(End of this chapter)