After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 15 Redemption
Bai Wanqing didn't care about anything else. That Second Young Master Zhang was clearly not a gentleman. She still had to bring Furong back immediately.

She went to the back street and found the tavern where they had just eaten, but it was clear that Young Master Zhang was no longer there.

"Shopkeeper! Where are the two people who were sitting here just now?" Bai Wanqing asked anxiously as she stepped forward.

Seeing that Bai Wanqing was dressed elegantly and looked like a young lady from a wealthy family, the shopkeeper dared not offend her and immediately pointed to the gambling den not far away.

"Miss, those two young men went straight to the casino after leaving here. You can try looking for them there!"

"Did you see a girl coming when they left?" Bai Wanqing gave a general description of Furong's appearance, which the shopkeeper remembered very well.

"Yes, yes! That girl seems to be that young master's fiancée; they went together towards the gambling den."

Bai Wanqing felt something was wrong and quickly rushed out of the tavern.

"Ruixin, go and fetch Uncle Liu right now." Bai Wanqing said with a worried expression, but her steps were swift.

"No! Miss, it's too dangerous for you to go to the gambling den alone! I can't leave you now." Ruixin was worried about Bai Wanqing and refused to leave no matter what.

Bai Wanqing had no choice but to find a child by the roadside, give him some candy, and tell him to go find Uncle Liu at the western market.

The child was overjoyed to receive the candy and ran off happily. However, Bai Wanqing was unsure whether he could find Uncle Liu, but bringing Furong back could not be delayed.

Bai Wanqing quickly arrived at the gambling den. The gambling den was crowded with people. Bai Wanqing looked around but did not find Zhang Er Gongzi and Bai Furong.

"Miss, could it be that the tavern owner has made a mistake? The second young lady shouldn't be here."

This was Ruixin's first time here. Most of the people here were vulgar men who kept swearing, especially the losers, who cursed and swore. This made her very nervous.

"Let's keep looking!" Bai Wanqing refused to give up.

Just then, a burst of laughter suddenly came from the second floor of the gambling den, and a lot of people gathered up there and cheered.

Bai Wanqing decided to go upstairs to take a look, but as soon as she stepped onto the stairs, the manager of the gambling den greeted her with a smile and blocked her way.

“Young lady, this is a gambling den. I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. I advise you to leave as soon as possible. This is not a place for you.”

The shopkeeper was indeed smiling, but his words were full of threat.

Bai Wanqing remained calm and composed. "Manager, this is a gambling den, not a brothel. Are you only going to let male customers gamble here and turn away female customers? If you do, you'll lose half of your business."

The shopkeeper was clearly taken aback by Bai Wanqing's outspokenness. He was momentarily stunned, then put on a smiling face and said, "So, what you mean, young lady, is that you're also here for leisure?"

"Of course, people come to the gambling den to gamble."

The shopkeeper stepped aside slightly to make way for Bai Wanqing. Without saying a word, Bai Wanqing quickly went upstairs. Clearly, the shopkeeper was not very at ease with her arrival, so he sent a thug to follow her.

Bai Wanqing immediately saw Zhang Er Gongzi sitting at the gambling table. His face was solemn, his hands were clenched into fists, and he looked at the other side with a face full of resentment. Had he lost?

Bai Wanqing didn't care whether he lost or not. She shifted her gaze to the side and immediately saw the man who had just been drinking with Young Master Zhang, but she couldn't find Bai Furong.

It wasn't until the bearded man across the gambling table burst into laughter that Bai Wanqing turned her gaze to him and noticed Bai Furong, who was pale with fright behind him.

"I won!" The bearded man stood up, raised his hands to signal to the surrounding audience, who whistled in response.

"Hahaha! Young Master Zhang, you've even lost to me with your little darling wife. What? Is there anything else you want to bet on?" The bearded man mocked Young Master Zhang.

Young Master Zhang stood up angrily. He had no more chips left, so naturally he couldn't gamble anymore.

"Hmph! Yan Hu Zi, don't be too smug. I'll get my revenge sooner or later!"

Yan Huzi laughed even louder, "Hey Zhang Er Gongzi, no matter how much you search, your little wife is mine now! You're already green with envy, don't you all agree?"

The people around burst into laughter again.

Young Master Zhang, however, was completely unconcerned. "What is she to me as my wife? She's just a fool I broke off the engagement with. What do you think you've won? She's nothing more than a little fool from the Bai family."

After finishing his speech, Young Master Zhang burst into laughter. Everyone else present curled their lips in disapproval, feeling sorry for the girl who had married the wrong person. They thought the man had no sense of responsibility whatsoever. What a pity! What a pity!
Bai Wanqing, mingling in the crowd, roughly understood the situation: Young Master Zhang had used Furong as a bargaining chip and lost to Yan the Bearded Man on the other side. Seeing everyone discussing this, Young Master Zhang's face turned ashen, and he stood up to leave. Seeing that Young Master Zhang was about to leave, Bai Furong ran over and grabbed him.

"Second Young Master, you can't abandon Furong! You said you wouldn't break off the engagement with Furong as long as she obeyed you!" Bai Furong's face was covered in tears. She couldn't believe that the Second Young Master Zhang would actually use her as a gamble and give her to this bearded man, so she begged him desperately.

Bai Wanqing couldn't stand it anymore and was about to speak when she saw the Second Young Master Zhang ruthlessly kick Bai Furong aside.

"I've already told you, stop bothering me!"

“You are no longer my fiancée. Now,” Young Master Zhang glanced at the bearded man across from him, “go to your new husband!”

Bai Furong lay on the ground, staring in disbelief at the man who had caused her to lose. Her Erlang wasn't like this! Why did this happen!

Bai Wanqing broke through the crowd and, together with Ruixin, helped Bai Furong up. Everyone was taken aback; how come they hadn't noticed when another young lady had arrived?

The young woman was wearing a veiled hat, so no one could see her face clearly.

Bai Furong was also somewhat frightened, but still unwilling to give up, she wanted to find Young Master Zhang. "Furong, it's me!"

Bai Furong turned around and, hearing the familiar voice beside her, finally couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

Young Master Zhang didn't know who the person was, but he had lost money and women, and was in a position to lose face. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him, he slunk away.

Bai Furong caught a glimpse of Zhang Er Gongzi's fleeing figure, and her little face scrunched up in grievance. "Sister! He doesn't want me anymore!"

Bai Wanqing held Bai Furong and gently patted her back twice.
Bai Furong gripped Bai Wanqing's hand tightly, crying as she looked around at the people, "Sister, this place is so scary, Furong doesn't want to stay here anymore."

"Okay! Now I'll take you home!" Bai Wanqing helped Bai Furong and started to walk out.

But it's easy to get into a casino but hard to get out, especially since Yan Da Hu Zi had finally won back a beautiful young woman; how could he possibly let her go so easily?

"Wait! Young lady, you can't take my people away."

Bai Wanqing stopped in her tracks, then had Ruixin help Furong up first. She turned to Yan Dahuzi and bowed slightly. "Master Yan, I'm sorry, this young lady is my sister. She is a daughter of the Bai family and cannot go with you. I am willing to exchange her for money. What do you think?"

Yan the Bearded Man looked Bai Wanqing up and down, then chuckled, "Miss, you probably don't understand the rules of the casino. Young Master Zhang has already lost to me by betting my sister on her. Now she's mine, and no one can take her away!"

"And what did you just say? You want to pay money to ransom it?"

"Ask anyone around you, who doesn't know who I, Yan the Bearded Man, am! I want beautiful women, what would I do with your money?"

After saying that, Yan the Bearded Man burst into laughter, and the thugs and gangsters around him also burst into laughter.

A young man standing next to Bai Wanqing whispered in her ear, "Girl, you're very unlucky. You've run into Yan the Bearded. His greatest hobby isn't money, it's women!"

“Now that your sister is in his hands, he won’t let her go.”

Ruixin was puzzled. "If we help him find a wife, will he let our second young lady go?"

The young master shook his head. “Marry a wife? You really don’t understand this Yan the Bearded. He’s notoriously ruthless. He’s married five wives since eight years ago.”

"None of them survived to this day; they were all beaten to death by him!"

"Now you're saying you want to find him a wife? Tell me, which family would be willing to marry their daughter to him? That's not just suffering, that's taking their lives!"

Yan Dahuzi looked at Bai Wanqing with amusement. He seemed quite proud of his past achievements and let the young master explain things to Bai Wanqing, so as not to waste his breath.

Hearing these terrifying things, Bai Furong was so frightened that she went limp, and it took Ruixin a lot of effort to support her.

"Big sister!" Bai Furong cried out in fear.

Bai Wanqing lifted her veil, gave Bai Furong a reassuring look, then turned to Yan Da Hu Zi and said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone.

"What if I absolutely must redeem my sister today? Would you, Master Yan, be so kind as to do me this favor?"

(End of this chapter)