I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Xu Qing slammed the last ten taels of silver on the table, his eyes bloodshot and his voice heavy.

"I refuse to believe it! Let's try again!"

He braced his hands on the table, breathing rapidly like a bellows, as if he had just run ten miles.

He looked exactly like a gambler who had lost everything.

Xu Danian saw this and felt much more at ease.

He gave the croupier a wink and nodded slightly.

The dealer calmly gripped the dice cup and shook it.

"Snapped!"

The dice cup is placed face down on the table.

"Place your bet and you're done..."

Xu Qing held out his silver coins: "Small! I'll bet on small!"

Xiao Mingyuan slammed his fan on the table: "I'm not playing this time. Your luck is just too weird."

A barely perceptible sneer appeared on the croupier's lips.

Her hand reached under the table again...

Simply press down, and the die will flip over, revealing the opposite of Xu Qing's bet!

But her hand hadn't even touched it yet...

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Xu Qing lunged forward, leaping across half the table, and grabbed the dealer's wrist!

"How dare you cheat!"

The croupier's face turned deathly pale, and he froze on the spot.

She tried to pull her hand away, but Xu Qing held it down firmly.

"You...you're saying who's cheating! I think you're just a sore loser!" the dealer shouted, his voice stern but his heart pounding.

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Mingyuan suddenly stood up, swaying his fat body, took two steps to the croupier's side, and bent down to look under the table.

Then he reached out and pulled out a thin copper wire, the end of which was connected to an intricate mechanism fixed to the base of the dice cup.

Xiao Mingyuan picked up the copper wire and waved it in front of everyone. "Didn't cheat? Then what's the point of this mechanism? Just for scratching an itch?"

The table erupted in chaos.

"Chu Qian!"

"No wonder I kept losing today!"

"Pay up! Pay up!"

Several gamblers slammed their fists on the table, stood up, and started cursing at the dealer.

Xu Danian's expression changed three times.

He immediately stood up, grabbed Xu Qing's sleeve, and pulled her outside.

"Brother Qing, aren't you courting death? This is Chunhong Courtyard's territory! If you don't run now, you won't be able to escape when the thugs come!"

Xu Qing flicked his arm, shaking Xu Danian's hand away.

The frantic look on his face from losing had mostly faded, replaced by a cold gaze.

"Brother Da Nian, the bookmaker is cheating. According to the rules, everyone on the table has to pay back double the money today. Why should I run?"

Xu Danian was sweating profusely: "Double the compensation? You'd better be alive to take it! You're causing trouble here, do you think Chunhong Courtyard will let you off? Get out of here!"

He reached out to grab Xu Qing again, this time...

"Snapped!"

A folding fan came horizontally and struck Xu Danian's hand squarely.

Xiao Mingyuan had somehow ended up standing next to Xu Qing. His chubby face still wore that same grinning expression, but there was a hint of impatience in his eyes.

"Hey, what's your rush? Are you in cahoots with your brother, or with this croupier? What kind of older brother are you?"

Xu Danian was stunned.

Xiao Mingyuan took a step forward, his round eyes looking at Xu Danian.

"Do you think I, Fatty Xiao, would let anyone bully me while I'm sitting here? The cheating scandal isn't over yet. The casino manager isn't showing up, and I'm going to have a word with her. Is this how casino owners operate?"

Xu Danian's face had turned as dark as dirt.

As they were talking, the curtain of the gambling den was lifted.

An elderly woman, middle-aged, barged in with six burly thugs.

The woman was about forty years old and was wearing a scarlet jacket.

Her charm still lingers in her eyes and brows.

—Two fine smile lines at the corners of her eyes, full lips, and a smooth jawline.

Although her waist was half a size thicker than that of a young woman, her breasts were full and her hips were round, making her look like a ripe peach, exuding a sweet and mature woman's aura.

She walked with a brisk pace, her gaze sweeping around the room after entering. She paused for a moment on the copper wire, then turned to Xiao Mingyuan, a warm smile spreading across her face.

"Oh dear, Young Master Xiao! What happened? Why did things get like this?"

Xiao Mingyuan pointed at the croupier with his fan: "Mama Qian, you've come at the right time. Your men cheated right in front of me."

Madam Qian's smile remained unchanged, but her eyes turned cold. She turned to the dealer, her gaze chilling, and said, "Tell me, what's going on?"

The dealer's legs were already trembling, and her voice shook like a leaf: "Money...Money Mama, I...I didn't..."

"Nothing?" Mrs. Qian's voice suddenly rose. "Then what is this thread?!"

The dealer knelt down with a thud, trembling all over.

"It was...it was Xu Danian! He made me do it! He told me to scam Xu Qing and other customers. He gave me 10% commission for each job, and ten taels of silver after it was done!"

The gambling den fell silent instantly, and all eyes turned to Xu Danian.

Xu Danian's face had turned deathly pale.

He tried to turn and run, but he was surrounded by gamblers, completely blocking his way.

Madam Qian glanced at Xu Danian, then at Xu Qing, and finally looked at Xiao Mingyuan: "Young Master Xiao, did you bring this person? Or...?"

"I brought him," Xu Qing said softly. "He's my cousin, and the one who set me up today."

Mrs. Qian narrowed her eyes, seemingly weighing her options.

She glanced at Xiao Mingyuan, and seeing that he showed no sign of leaving, she put on a smiling face.

"Gentlemen, there are too many people here, could we talk somewhere else?"

Xu Qing waved his hand: "We can change the location, but we'll have to ask first."

Mrs. Qian was stunned for a moment...

She originally thought that Xiao Mingyuan was the one causing trouble and should be the one making the decisions, but she didn't expect that this young man dressed in poor clothes would be so organized.

Her smile remained, but her tone hardened: "Young master, when did it become the business of outsiders to judge the affairs of my Chunhong Courtyard?"

Xiao Mingyuan stepped forward, closed his fan, and handed it to Mama Qian: "Mama Qian, there are some people you can't afford to offend. Do you really want to know?"

Mrs. Qian glanced at Xiao Mingyuan and swallowed.

The smile on her face finally faded a bit. She knew perfectly well what kind of influence the Xiao family held in the county.

Moreover, Xiao Mingyuan was right; she didn't need to offend someone who could call the young master of the Xiao family "brother."

"...Then let's hold the trial in the backyard." Mrs. Qian stepped aside, making way for them. "I'll have some people guarding outside. Please make yourselves at home."

……

In a secluded woodshed in the backyard.

Xiao Mingyuan's two henchmen closed the door, one grabbed Xu Danian's shoulder, and the other threw the rope on the ground.

Xiao Mingyuan sat on a tattered stool, legs crossed, clapping his hands together with a fan: "Xu Danian, do you want to speak yourself, or do I need to make you speak?"

Xu Danian's lips trembled uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered.

Xiao Mingyuan waved his hand, "Give them a beating first."

bang bang bang~

The two henchmen beat Xu Danian so badly that his balls were bruised and swollen.

Xiao Mingyuan asked again, "Will you tell me or not?"

Xu Danian had not yet spoken.

Xiao Mingyuan gestured with his chin towards his henchman: "Initiate the torture."

The attendant stepped forward, but before he could even touch Xu Danian's clothes, Xu Danian burst into tears...