After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

Everyone stared coldly at Steward Zhou lying on the ground.

Just as she predicted, not long after, Steward Zhou let out a piercing scream of pain.

At this moment, Steward Zhou felt as if he were being gnawed by a thousand ants. Every part of his body, inside and out, was unbearably itchy, but his hands were tied, and he couldn't move them even if he wanted to grab them.

"Ah, ah..." Manager Zhou screamed and rubbed himself hard on the ground, his legs constantly rubbing against each other, but it didn't solve anything.

Even when my clothes were torn and my skin was chafed, I didn't feel any pain.

In the end, his face was rubbed raw.

Rong Yingluo squatted down: "Manager Zhou, do you feel better? If you answer all my questions honestly, I'll give you the antidote. If you don't, then you can just rub yourself to death right in front of us."

"Young master, please have mercy. I'll tell you everything you ask." Steward Zhou had never suffered such torment in his forty-plus years of life.

Even if he were forced to commit suicide at this moment, he would not hesitate to stab himself with a knife, but he cannot do it.

Upon hearing this, Rong Yingluo slipped another pill into his mouth.

Fifteen minutes later, Steward Zhou gradually calmed down, but the wounds he had inflicted on his body were real, and the pain from the wounds was excruciating, though a thousand times better than the intense itching he had just experienced.

Rong Yingluo nudged Gu Ce's arm, signaling him to ask.

"Manager Zhou, has this gambling den ever been known to cheat people?" Gu Ce began to ask.

"Yes, but we are selective. We generally don't dare to touch the officials in the capital. Most of the people we select are merchants from outside the city or wealthy households."

"How much money has the Heaven and Earth Casino made since it opened?"

"More than three million taels."

"Who are the guards in the gambling den?"

"They were sent by the Crown Prince. I don't know where they came from." Steward Zhou didn't know everything.

Gu Ce asked this question because during the fight just now, he clearly felt that these people did not seem to be hired from the martial arts world, but rather seemed to be well-trained thugs.

The Crown Prince has his own trained bodyguards, but these people don't quite resemble bodyguards.

With so many people, and the Crown Prince only being twenty-five years old, it's unlikely he could train so many people in the first place. Could it be that Consort Cao has some hidden trump card?

Next, Gu Ce asked many more questions he wanted to know.

Rong Yingluo then approached Yuwen Zhang and said, "Who told you to stand up? It hasn't even been three months yet."

"I'm just standing up to show these lackeys my domineering presence." Yuwen Zhang had been trying to put his legs on the ground these past two days, and with the help of his guards, he slowly stood up. He actually managed to do it.

After more than a year, he was finally able to stand up. Tonight, on this occasion, he naturally wanted to show his imposing and powerful side; it would be too humiliating to be in a wheelchair.

He couldn't let the little fairy look down on him. In another month, he would be able to stand by her side and play with her. A woman like the little fairy couldn't stand being locked up in a place like the inner quarters. It's just that Gu Ce was a bit of an eyesore.

"Hurry up and sit down." Rong Yingluo was afraid that standing for too long would affect his later recovery, so she personally pushed the wheelchair over for him to sit down.

Seeing how worried she was, Yuwen Zhang obediently sat down.

Before he could even settle in, Li Xuanye strode over: "Little Taoist priest, what medicine did you give me tonight? It actually suppressed the poison in my body, making me as powerful as before I was poisoned. Is the poison gone?"

He was so excited tonight. The long-lost feeling had returned. He felt amazing right now. He was no longer the weakling Li Xuanye he used to be, but the Li Xuanye who could fight on the battlefield.

"You wish! This only temporarily suppresses the poison in your body, allowing you to recover for a short period of time, but only for two hours. After two hours, you'll be back to normal." Rong Yingluo chuckled.

This guy is so eager to recover that she didn't dare give him the medicine tonight, for fear that he would become listless before their operation was over and he would need someone to protect him.

She didn't tell anyone about this, but instead gave him a bowl of ginseng soup provided by Steward Zhou.

"Ah, there are only two hours left, and one hour has already passed. No, I have to do something." Li Xuanye ran off in a flash to help the guards search the entire gambling den, including the Red Silk Pavilion in front of it.

Gu Ce interrogated all the key figures in the gambling den on the spot.

Overnight, the Tiandi Gambling House was completely wiped out, and all the original guards were secretly sent out of the city and quietly sent to the Li Family Army in the North as vanguards.

The girls in the gambling den were all slaves bought by the prince, and they were all beautiful. Many of them had already been abused by the gamblers.

Gu Ce consulted their opinions. Those who were willing to take their indentures and go home were released from their slave status, while those who were unwilling were allowed to stay in the gambling den and continue working. He also guaranteed that no customers would ever bully them again.

In the end, no one dared to approach anymore.

The madam of the Red Silk Pavilion was also someone specially arranged by the Crown Prince. After explaining the information he knew, Manager Zhou and the madam were each stabbed by Li Xuanye and sent directly to the underworld.

Overnight, the Heaven and Earth Gambling House and the Red Silk Pavilion completely disappeared from the capital.

There were also 800,000 taels of silver that had not yet been given to the Crown Prince.

Once everything was dealt with, everyone left completely.

Nobody knows who shut down the Tiandi Casino.

Back at the Gu residence, Rong Yingluo slept until noon before getting up.

Gu Ce sent her back to Yinliu Courtyard last night and hasn't come back since.

He even has to go to the morning court session; I really admire his stamina.

She had never stayed up all night in her life; she felt extremely uncomfortable if she didn't sleep for even one night.

"Miss, you're awake? I've already informed the old lady that you're not feeling well today and won't be paying your respects."

"Has my husband returned?" Rong Yingluo was eager to know how they would handle the aftermath.

"Not yet." Yinghong helped her mistress get dressed and wash up.

Last night, her master said he had to go out to take care of something important and told her to stay home and guard the door so no one would know. So she obediently slept in the outer room.

Knowing that her mistress had gone out with the young master, she wasn't worried at all and simply fell into a deep sleep, not even knowing when her mistress returned.

"Hurry up and get ready, I'll take you to Honghao Restaurant for lunch." Rong Yingluo wanted to go to the restaurant to hear some gossip, to see if the news of last night had spread among the people.

Meanwhile, in a side hall next to the Imperial Study in the palace, Gu Ce was having a meal with Emperor Taikang.

Gu Ce had been invited to dine by Emperor Taikang more than once or twice, a special privilege that others could only envy.

Ever since Gu Ce guessed that he was most likely the emperor's son, he has become more casual at meals than before, and even took the initiative to serve food to Emperor Taikang.

Emperor Taikang grew increasingly fond of him, even refraining from speaking while eating.

"Did things go smoothly last night?" Emperor Taikang asked, putting down his chopsticks after eating a piece of fish.

"It went very smoothly. With the weapons you agreed to borrow from the Armory, none of the remaining soldiers escaped after they surrounded the gambling den."

It's estimated that the Crown Prince still doesn't know that the Heaven and Earth Gambling House no longer exists.

Gu Ce then placed another piece of scrambled eggs on Emperor Taikang's plate. After putting down his chopsticks, he took out the land deeds for the Heaven and Earth Gambling House and the Red Silk Pavilion from his pocket and respectfully presented them to the emperor.

"What are you going to do for me?" Emperor Taikang was taken aback.