Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

A thousand taels of silver.

The dealer snatched it back in one swift motion, without leaving a sound.

Yun Shuwen stood there, stunned, staring blankly as the chips were taken away, her mind buzzing.

It was in my hand just a second ago, how did it disappear the next second?

No! He can't just let it go like this!

He'd play one more round, and no matter how much he won, he'd stop, never lingering in the game.

He gritted his teeth and pushed out the remaining chips.

But... he lost again.

He lost this round even faster than the last one; the moment the cup was opened, his knees buckled.

Not only did he lose all his chips, but he also owed the dealer eight hundred taels of silver.

"Young Master Yun".

The manager of the gambling den walked over with a smile, his attitude even more respectful than before.

"You're a regular customer of ours. If you're short on cash, we can sign an IOU first, and we can discuss the interest rate."

Yun Shuwen swallowed hard; her throat was as dry as sandpaper.

He glanced at the clattering dice on the gambling table, then at the manager's smiling face, and only one thought occupied his mind—to win back his losses.

"Lend me... two hundred taels first."

His voice was a little hoarse.

Without saying a word, the manager immediately had someone bring over two hundred taels of silver in chips, and at the same time, he smiled and asked him to sign an IOU.

Yun Shuwen didn't even look at it before grabbing the pen and signing it.

He pushed up two hundred taels of chips and lost it all in one go.

This time, not only did he lose the two hundred taels he had borrowed, but he also owed the bookmaker four hundred taels because of the betting rules.

In the blink of an eye, a hole of a thousand taels appeared!

"Lend me another thousand taels."

Yun Shuwen's eyes were already red, veins were bulging on his forehead, and his voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

The manager's smile remained unchanged, and he handed over another IOU.

After borrowing money from him several times, by the time dawn broke, Yun Shuwen had accumulated a stack of IOUs in front of him.

He sat at the gambling table, his face pale, his fingers clenching the last chip as if in spasm.

The last remaining chip was soaked through with his sweaty hands.

He lost over ten thousand taels of silver.

This number finally brought him to his senses.

It's over ten thousand taels, not just a dozen or a hundred taels.

Even if his mother is the eldest daughter of the Qin family, she could not possibly pay off this debt for him.

No! He suddenly remembered that his mother no longer cared about him.

The manager's expression changed in an instant.

The smile vanished completely, replaced by a cold, businesslike expression.

He gave a wink to the two thugs, who immediately stepped forward and lifted Yun Shuwen off the chair, one on each side.

"What are you doing!"

Yun Shuwen struggled for a moment, then someone grabbed her by the collar.

One of the thugs roughly tore off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the steward.

The manager weighed it in his hand.

"The quality is decent, but it's only enough to cover the interest."

He tucked the jade pendant into his pocket, patted Yun Shuwen's face lightly, but the humiliation was palpable.

"Young Master Yun, return the money within three days."

The manager's smile returned, but this time, it sent chills down your spine.

"If you don't pay up, I'll break one of your legs."

We're in business, and integrity is our core value, don't you think?

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yun Shuwen was kicked out of the gambling den.

He rolled down the steps like a tattered sack and landed in a muddy puddle on the side of the street.

The streets were deserted in the early morning, except for a stray cat crouching in a corner, coldly scrutinizing him with its green eyes.

Yun Shuwen lay on the ground, trembling all over.

It's not that I'm cold, it's that I'm afraid.

He owes over ten thousand taels of silver, and if he can't pay it back within three days, the gambling den will really break his leg.

He knew all too well what kind of people ran these gambling dens.

They kept their word.

Mother, only you can save him now!

He was kicked out in front of so many people today, and now he's going back; he's completely lost face.

But is his face more important or his legs? If he loses his legs, his life will be ruined.

Yun Shuwen scrambled to his feet and stumbled toward the city gate.

Hot Spring Village.

This time, Yun Shuwen didn't kneel or take out the porcelain shards. Instead, he peeked through the crack in the door and tearfully recounted what had happened at the gambling den.

He dared not lie, because lying would be pointless.

He only asked the gatekeeper to inform him, just one sentence.

He said he owed money to the gambling den and that if he didn't pay it back in three days, his leg would be broken. He begged his mother to save him.

The gatekeeper glanced at him, his eyes holding a complex expression.

It was probably pity, but more than that, it was annoyance.

He turned around and went inside anyway.

Yun Shuwen squatted outside the door and waited.

He couldn't squat down, so he stood up and walked around a couple of times, then squatted down again, then stood up again, like a trapped beast locked outside a cage.

He strained his ears to listen to the sounds inside, and when he heard footsteps approaching, his heart suddenly raced.

The doorman opened the door and looked at him expressionlessly.

"The lady said, 'Your own affairs are your own responsibility.'"

The door closed.

Yun Shuwen stood frozen outside the door for a long time.

Then he slowly squatted down and buried his face in his hands.

His shoulders trembled for a while; it was unclear whether he was crying or cursing.

His mother really stopped caring about him.

With tens of thousands of taels of silver and a leg, the mother truly abandoned all responsibility.

Yun Shuwen stood up and kicked the door hard, making her toes ache.

He spat at the closed door, muttering curses that even he couldn't understand.

He cursed his mother, the gambling den, and the injustice of fate.

He never felt that he had done anything wrong.

He just gambled a few times, he was just unlucky.

Is it his fault for being unlucky?

With her mother possessing mountains of gold and silver, what did a few hundred thousand taels mean to her?

She would rather let Xiao Fang, that outsider, abuse her than save her own son.

it is good!very good!

Three days passed quickly.

Yun Shuwen hid in a dilapidated temple in the west of the city. When he was hungry, he would eat cold steamed buns stolen from the temple's offering table, and when he was thirsty, he would drink well water.

He dared not go out, fearing that the people from the gambling den would find him.

You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.

On the evening of the third day, when he went out to find something to eat, he was blocked at the entrance of the alley.

Two thugs dragged him into the backyard of the gambling den.

The steward stood in the courtyard, toying with his jade pendant in his hand. When he saw him being dragged in, he smiled and shook his head.

"Young Master Yun, three days have passed."

Yun Shuwen was pressed to the ground, her face pressed against the cold bluestone slab.

One leg had been pulled out and was placed under a thick wooden stick.

The thug rolled up his sleeves, spat into his palm, and swung the wooden stick.

Yun Shuwen's teeth began to chatter, his whole body trembled like a leaf, and a heat rose in his crotch, filling the air with a foul stench.

He struggled desperately, but the two burly men held him down tightly, and he couldn't move an inch.

He could only watch helplessly as the stick was raised and stopped directly above his leg.

He closed his eyes, his mind blank.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from the alley.

A horse-drawn carriage was parked outside the back door of the gambling den.

That was no ordinary carriage.

The carriage was made of ebony wood, with dark curtains, and the sound of the wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs was dull and heavy.

A man who looked like a bodyguard climbed off the carriage shaft and went straight into the backyard.

He glanced at the manager and said something.

The manager's attitude changed immediately.

He bent down, his face beaming with a smile even more eager than when he saw his own father, and repeatedly agreed.

Then he waved to the two thugs, and they released Yun Shuwen.

They dragged him up from the ground and carried him onto the carriage.

Yun Shuwen was still trembling when she was shoved into the carriage.

He slumped onto the cushion, his bones feeling like they were falling apart, his crotch wet and emitting a pungent, foul odor.

A glass lamp was lit in the carriage, its dim and warm light illuminating the face of the person opposite.

The nobleman wore a moon-white brocade robe, his hair was tied up with a jade crown, his face was as beautiful as jade, and a gentle smile played on his lips.

The man sat there, perfectly at ease and impeccably dressed.

This contrasted sharply with his disheveled appearance—his body reeking of stench, his hair in disarray, and his face gaunt.

Yun Shuwen subconsciously pulled her foot back, lowered her head, and dared not look into the other person's eyes.

The word "ashamed of oneself" was like a needle pricking his heart.

In his twenty-odd years of life, this was the first time he felt like a stray dog ​​that had been pulled out of a ditch.

The person opposite him looked at him with a gentle gaze, without any contempt, as if looking at an old object that still had some use.

He spoke, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze.

"I happen to be short of an advisor. I wonder if Brother Yun would be interested?"

Yun Shuwen suddenly raised her head.

The flame of the glass lamp flickered, reflecting two faint points of light in the man's gentle pupils.