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The red walls and yellow tiles of the Forbidden City not only locked up the vast land, but also the restless heart of the young emperor Xuan Ye.

On the emperor's desk in the Qianqing Palace, the mountain of memorials seemed endless, and almost every one of them involved that one name—Ao Bai.

Today it's land grabbing, tomorrow it's military power. That imposing, booming-voiced regent was like an invisible mountain, weighing heavily on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

The so-called "sovereign decision" was often nothing more than a path already paved by Aobai, which he only needed to affix his imperial seal to.

"Hmph!" The young emperor irritably threw down his vermilion brush and paced back and forth on the polished gold brick floor.

Wrestling with the carefully selected young guards in the storeroom could certainly help release some of his energy.

But the daily routine of feigned skill and his opponents' cautious concessions made him feel a sense of suffocation, as if he were being bound by an invisible force.

Xuan Ye craved genuine, unrestrained stimulation, even if only for a moment.

That afternoon, Xuan Ye dismissed his attendants and took only his most trusted eunuch, Liang Jiugong, for a stroll in the Imperial Garden to relax.

But then he overheard two eunuchs whispering behind the artificial hill, their words filled with excitement and frustration.

"...Yesterday was really weird. That Xiao Guizi had an incredibly lucky streak. He won all three of his hands in one go and took away half a month's salary!"

"Who says otherwise! I thought Wen Youfang and his group brought a fool, but I didn't expect..."

The young emperor's ears twitched, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Gambling?" These two words were like a pebble thrown into the still lake of his heart, creating ripples.

The palace was strictly forbidden, and gambling was strictly prohibited, but he had lived in the deep palace for a long time and was filled with childlike curiosity about such "taboo" matters.

So he quietly summoned Liang Jiugong and whispered a few instructions to him.

Before long, the brothers Wen Youfang and Wen Youdao, who were strolling around near the Imperial Study, were led to a secluded corridor in front of the Emperor.

Upon seeing the emperor, the two men were terrified and fell to their knees with a thud, trembling violently, thinking that their secret had been exposed and they would be punished.

To everyone's surprise, the young emperor was not angry. Instead, he dismissed Liang Jiugong, leaving only the two of them. With an expression that was incongruous with his age, a mixture of majesty and curiosity, he lowered his voice and asked, "I've heard... you often get together to gamble? Is it interesting?"

The Wen brothers looked at each other, sweating profusely, and stammered, unable to answer.

"Tell the truth! I will pardon you!" The young emperor's tone became more forceful.

Wen Youfang, being slightly bolder, stammered, "Your Majesty, it's just...it's just that we servants were bored and...we were just playing around, betting a few copper coins. It was...it wasn't really that fun..."

"I find this interesting!" The young emperor's eyes lit up, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Take me there! I want to play too!"

"Huh?" The Wen brothers were dumbfounded at the same time, their legs went weak and they almost collapsed to the ground.

Take the Emperor to gamble?

If the Empress Dowager or Ao Zhongtang found out, they wouldn't have enough heads to chop off!
"Your Majesty! You mustn't! This...this will damage your reputation, and the place is filthy, it might defile your body..." Wen Youdao kowtowed repeatedly, his voice trembling with sobs.

"What are you afraid of!" The young emperor waved his hand in displeasure. "I'm going incognito, and no one will know! Go and find me some clothes just like yours! If anyone dares to leak this out, I won't let you off the hook!"

The boy's rebellious nature and thirst for excitement overwhelmed all rules at that moment.

The emperor's command is difficult to disobey.

With long faces, the Wen brothers cautiously found a half-new set of ordinary eunuch clothing.

The young Emperor Xuan Ye changed into the hat with great enthusiasm, and even lowered the brim of the hat. He looked at himself in the bronze mirror and felt that he was flawless. A long-lost excited smile, belonging to his age, appeared on his face.

……

The gambling den continued to operate as usual behind that secluded storage room.

When the Wen brothers brought this unfamiliar but distinctly different-looking "little eunuch" to the scene, the other little eunuchs, though feeling a sense of estrangement, assumed he was a newcomer from some government office and didn't think much of it, since he was brought by the Wen brothers.

The little emperor was participating in this kind of activity for the first time, and everything was new and exciting to him.

He didn't understand the rules and bet based entirely on gut feeling.

The dealer shook the dice cup, and judging from the sound, he felt it should be a "big" bet, so he pushed all the loose silver coins that Wen Youfang had secretly slipped to him over to him.

"Place your bets now!" The dice cup is lifted—one, two, four, seven points, small!

"Huh?" The young emperor was stunned for a moment, watching the dealer take away the silver, and was somewhat unconvinced. "Let's play again!"

He bet on "small" next time, but it turned out to be "big".

They then placed another bet on "surrounding dice," but the results were scattered.

He had absolutely no understanding of probability, nor did he pay attention to market trends; he acted purely on impulse, and to make matters worse, he had extremely bad luck.

He quickly lost most of the loose silver he had brought, but the more he lost, the more excited he became. He showed no sign of the usual gambler's frustration and caution after losing money; instead, he found the unknown and "adventure" incredibly thrilling.

This greatly worried the Wen brothers who were standing nearby.

The two were like ants on a hot pan, their foreheads covered in cold sweat.

They dared not reveal the man's identity, could not imply to the bookmakers to throw the game, and could not guarantee that the emperor would win.

Wen Youfang tried several times to remind the young emperor of his betting strategy, but the young emperor impatiently waved him off.

"I... This is really interesting! Stop arguing, we're sure to win this round!" The young emperor was completely immersed in the novel experience of "traveling incognito" and gambling, and once again bet the remaining silver on an extremely unpopular option.

The result was predictable: another complete loss.

Seeing that he had lost all the money he had brought, Wen Youdao was afraid that the young emperor would be displeased and blame him. He quickly took out the money he had on him and handed it over, whispering, "Master...Master, take your time, be sure before you bet..."

The young emperor, however, didn't care at all. On the contrary, he felt quite pleased with the feeling of "spending money like water," as if he had vented all the pent-up frustration he had suffered in court.

He patted his empty pockets and said to the Wen brothers with lingering enthusiasm, "We're unlucky today, but tomorrow! We'll try again tomorrow and win it back!"

Upon hearing this, the Wen brothers forced smiles that looked more like cries, inwardly groaning.

Gambling with the emperor is like dancing on a knife's edge. Losing money is painful, but what's even more frightening is that this ignorant little darling might get addicted and want to come every day, which would be a real catastrophe.

……

The Forbidden City has never been a place to harbor fools. Anyone who can establish themselves here, especially those working close to the emperor at the heart of power, must be incredibly shrewd and meticulous.
The original drama simply categorized the Wen Youfang and Wen Youdao brothers as comedic clowns, which is a huge misunderstanding.

Even if their status wasn't top-tier, they were certainly no ordinary people who could become close eunuchs in Emperor Kangxi's study.

Observing people's words and expressions and assessing the situation are almost instincts that allow them to survive.

For several days in a row, the Wen brothers accompanied the young emperor Xuan Ye, who was traveling incognito, to gamble. Instead of feeling honored, they felt as if they were holding a branding iron in their hands, and could not eat or sleep.

Seeing that the young emperor was not angry at all after losing money, but instead became more enthusiastic and determined after each setback, the two of them were inwardly groaning.

If it were an ordinary master, they would just coax and indulge him, secretly do some tricks to let him win a few rounds to make him happy, and that would be fine.

But this is the current emperor!

They dared not cheat openly, nor could they allow the emperor to keep losing, and they certainly could not speak up to dissuade him and spoil his mood.

The delicate balance required is even more perilous than walking a tightrope.

That day, after serving the young emperor his evening meal, the Wen brothers exchanged a worried look and quietly retreated to a secluded spot under the eaves, watching him begin to study the dice with great interest.

“Brother, this can’t go on!” Wen Youdao said in a low voice, his brows furrowed. “The Emperor is really determined to go again. We’ve almost run out of loose silver with us. We can’t keep pouring it in, can we? Besides… I’m really not at ease knowing that the Emperor is always losing.”

Wen Youfang was more composed than him, but his expression was equally grave: "Who says otherwise? But we can't openly let the bookmakers throw the game. Those guys are very shrewd, and with so many people around, it would be a capital offense if word got out."

He pondered for a moment, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, "I need to think of a way that will allow the Emperor to have his fill of fun, and at the same time... make him win!"

“Win? How can we win? You saw the Emperor’s luck, too…” Wen Youdao smiled bitterly.

“His Majesty’s luck is bad, but we can find a ‘master’ with good luck!” Wen Youfang lowered his voice, almost squeezing out a name through gritted teeth, “Xiao Guizi!”

Wen Youdao was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized: "You mean...wonderful! His luck, his skill, if we could get him to secretly help the Emperor win money, then..."

“That’s right!” A calculating glint flashed in Wen Youfang’s eyes. “However, we must not reveal the Emperor’s identity. We need to find a different way to phrase it, so that we can get Xiao Gui Zi involved without arousing his suspicion.”

The two discussed in hushed tones for a long time before finally settling on a story.

……

The next day, the Wen brothers approached Su Ning again.

This time, their attitude was completely different from when they had dragged him to gamble before; their faces showed just the right amount of sorrow and helplessness.

"Little Gui, are you busy?" Wen Youfang forced a smile, his tone much more polite than usual.

Seeing them arrive again, Su Ning became wary, but maintained a composed stammer, "Two...two brothers, is...is there something you need?"

Wen Youdao sighed and took over the conversation with great acting skills: "Alas, Xiao Guizi, to be honest, we brothers have come here this time because we have a difficult matter to ask for your help, sir."

"Oh? What...what could possibly be so difficult for two...two brothers who serve in the Imperial Guard?" Su Ning feigned surprise.

Wen Youfang leaned closer, his voice hushed as if afraid of being overheard by a third person: "It's like this, recently a new eunuch named Xiao Tongzi has come to serve the Emperor personally, right? This kid is very much in the Emperor's favor, but he has one problem—he's become addicted to gambling!"

Wen Youdao quickly added, his expression exaggerated: "But he has terrible luck, poor skills, and he just won't admit defeat! For several days in a row, he's almost lost all his monthly allowance, and he's been holding back his anger. My brother and I have been watching him closely, and we're really worried! You see, he's someone who's close to the Emperor. If he's upset about losing money and starts whispering in the Emperor's ear, what will happen to those of us who play with him?"

Wen Youfang interjected, his tone pleading: "So after much thought, we've concluded that when it comes to gambling skills in the palace, Eunuch Gui is the best!"

He secretly gave a thumbs up. "We'd like to ask you to come out of retirement and secretly help Xiao Tongzi out in the next gambling game. Let him win a few times and have some fun. It doesn't have to be much, just let him win back his initial investment and make a small profit. As long as he's satisfied, we can all be at ease."

After saying that, the two looked at Su Ning with anxious eyes, their gazes filled with the sense of urgency that "this matter concerns everyone's life and fortune."

Suning quickly calculated in his mind.

The emperor's personal eunuch?

Addicted to gambling?

Feeling down because you lost money?
This argument sounds reasonable; it was common for palace eunuchs to form cliques and scheme against each other, and it was even more common for them to curry favor with the emperor.

The Wen brothers' reason does explain why they are so concerned.

But Suning always felt that something was subtly off.

Who are the Wen brothers?
Would an imperial eunuch go to such lengths for a newly favored eunuch, even lowering himself to beg for help from the "God of Gamblers" whom they had previously distanced themselves from?
His face showed a troubled expression, and he stammered, "Two...two brothers are too...too kind of you to flatter me. The gambling table is unpredictable, how...how can you be sure of winning? Last time...last time it was just good luck. Besides...besides, if Xiao Tongzi wins, then...then wouldn't the other brothers lose? This...this is going to offend people..."

Wen Youfang seemed to have anticipated his refusal and immediately said, "Don't worry, Xiao Guizi! We brothers will privately compensate the others for the money we win or lose, ensuring they don't suffer any losses and that no one will blame you. We only ask that you give us some pointers in secret, or help Xiao Tongzi place a few bets at crucial moments."

He paused, then raised his stakes, "After this is done, we brothers will reward you handsomely! And, in the future, if anything happens in front of the Emperor, we can also do you a favor, Xiao Gui Zi, right?"

Having said all that, they were using both soft and hard tactics to block Suning's escape route.

Refusing again would seem disrespectful and might offend these two local bullies.

Suning's mind raced.

His original intention was to keep a low profile and wait for an opportunity to leave, not wanting to get involved in any trouble.

However, since the Wen brothers have spoken to this extent, involving those in the imperial court, a firm refusal might attract unnecessary attention and be detrimental to the plan.

It would be better to agree and see what they're up to. We could also use this opportunity to observe that so-called "Little Tongzi" and perhaps even get some information about the palace from the Wen brothers.

So, a look of hesitation and struggle appeared on his face. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he gritted his teeth and said, "Since...since the two brothers have said...that's how it is, I...I'll give it my best. But...let me be clear from the start, if...if I fail, please...please don't blame me."

Upon hearing this, the Wen brothers were overjoyed and repeatedly assured him, "No, no! With Xiao Guizi's help, success is guaranteed!"

"Thank you so much, Xiao Guizi, for your kind help!"

After seeing off the Wen brothers, who were full of gratitude, Su Ning's stuttering and timidity vanished instantly, replaced by deep contemplation.

Su Ning vaguely sensed that he had been drawn into the center of an unexpected vortex.

As for that so-called "Little Tongzi," he's probably not that simple.

The waters of the Forbidden City are indeed unfathomably deep.

However, it seems particularly interesting, after all, life can't be too mundane.

...(End of chapter)