How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 122 The Huang Family (6)

Old Master Huang was worried about the one million. It wasn't that he didn't have that much; his assets accumulated over the years should be enough. But if Guo Zixing wanted that much cash, he really couldn't come up with it. He couldn't very well give away all his savings from all those years, could he?

Ever since Guo Zixing gave Master Huang his advice, Master Huang has come to negotiate several times, but Guo Zixing has been adamant about the one million silver dollars, which has made Master Huang a little anxious.

Unable to give away all his assets, and with Guo Zixing pressing him for more, Master Huang was left with no other choice.

"Fine, I'll give it a try."

Master Huang gritted his teeth and secretly sent a letter to the Song family. Of course, he didn't send it openly, but secretly asked a servant to contact the Song family's spies in the South Garden.

Although Madam Song has not appeared in public for a long time, she still has a few useful people around her.

The family of the deceased little thing belonged to the First Madam. Although the little thing is dead, her parents, brothers and sisters are still working in the Song family. In particular, her father, Fang Lao Jiu, is practically the second-in-command of the steward.

Fang Lao Jiu was a smooth and clever man, which was why he was able to be useful to the steward. However, he had a great hobby: gambling. The death of a little one seemed to be no big deal to him at all.

Sure enough, before the 49th day memorial service was even over, he sneaked out to gamble again.

They dared not go to the big gambling dens for fear of being run into the Song family, and only dared to gamble on big and small at "Uncle's" place to satisfy their cravings.

"Big...big..." Fang Lao Jiu stared nervously at the shaking dice cup, calling out the numbers one after another. He had taken two yuan today and bet on big.

"Place your bets now, one, two, three, open!" The dealer opened the dice cup, and everyone crowded around to take a look.

"One, two, two, five points, small!" the dealer called out in a drawn-out voice, dividing the money among the losing side before starting the next round.

Fang Laojiu lost over a hundred silver dollars in a row and couldn't afford to lose anymore. He stepped back a few paces and shrank behind the crowd to watch others gamble.

"Fang Laojiu, hurry up and place your bet! Giving up halfway isn't your style."

The people who frequented the gambling den were all familiar faces, so when they saw that Fang Laojiu had backed down, they started teasing him.

"Come on, you all know my daughter is gone, that's why I'm not in the mood."

"Hehe, what are you saying? Everyone who comes here has some troubles. Stop pretending and come on over."

"That's right, I saw you come to visit a couple of days ago."

Fang Laojiu refused, saying, "Oh dear, it's hard to explain if I lose too much. You guys go first, you guys go first. I have to wait until the sun is high in the sky, when the yang energy is at its peak, to get rid of my bad luck."

"You're joking. If fortune tellers were accurate, the madman under that bridge would have been rich long ago."

"That's right, Fang Lao Jiu, you're not chickening out, are you? Your Song family is the richest family around here. You, the second-in-command, only lost a little over a hundred silver dollars. Isn't that like pulling a hair from a cow, getting away with it without a scratch?"

Everyone teased him, trying to drag him into the fray.

As they were shoving each other, the shopkeeper came over. He apologized to everyone and then had someone help Fang Laojiu to the side.

"Sorry everyone, Mr. Fang is very generous. The game we wanted to play last time has just started. Let's invite him over first. This round is on me. Have fun, everyone."

Upon hearing this, Fang Lao Jiu knew that his "uncle" had something to discuss with him, which also gave him a chance to slip away. So he replied, "Hurry up, I've been looking forward to this for so many days, let's go quickly."

Working together, the two slowly withdrew from the crowd, walked straight through the gambling den, and arrived at a secluded courtyard.

Master Huang was sitting in the main room drinking tea, and when he saw Fang Lao Jiu coming over, he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Ninth Brother, it's been a long time."

Looking at the several guards around him, each one looking incredibly strong and muscular, Fang Lao Jiu secretly swallowed hard and quickly flattered them, "Oh, Uncle, what are you doing... If you need anything, just give the order, I won't refuse. What are all these people up to?"

"I don't want to do anything, I just want to ask if your master has forgotten his place."

Fang Lao Jiu couldn't possibly respond to that, so he quickly asked, "What makes you say that?"

Master Huang took a sip of tea, looked up at Fang Lao Jiu, and asked, "I sent her a letter last time, but it seems to have disappeared without a trace."

Fang Lao Jiu had no idea. He only knew that his son had sent a message to the First Madam once, and that was all.

"The First Madam is keeping a close watch on us, perhaps... perhaps it's not very convenient."

"So, the letter wasn't delivered?"

"No, no, I dare not. It was definitely delivered. Please rest assured, it was definitely delivered. It's just... it's just that there was no pen and ink in the First Madam's room, so perhaps she didn't reply."

Master Huang looked at him with sarcasm, not believing a word he said. "Fine, you were a traitor, I don't trust you either. Take me to the Song residence today, I have questions for her to ask her myself."

Fang Lao Jiu was startled; this was much more difficult than delivering a message.

"This...this isn't appropriate, is it?"

"How is it inappropriate?"

Fang Lao Jiu dared not tell the truth. On the surface, the First Madam's surname is Liu, while your surname is Huang. What would happen if someone found out that you were in the First Madam's courtyard?

Master Huang didn't ask Fang Laojiu to agree immediately. Seeing that he was hesitating, he gave him a look, and his attendants immediately pushed him to the ground.

"Ouch, Uncle, please don't make things difficult for me!" Fang Lao Jiu cried out in pain as several burly men suddenly tackled him to the ground, pinning his hands behind his back and stomping hard on his back with one foot.

"If you do things properly, I'll only reward you. If you don't agree, then we can settle the score from twenty years ago today," Master Huang said threateningly.

Fang Lao Jiu was a man who valued his life so much that upon hearing this, he agreed without hesitation, "Alright, alright, Uncle, I will definitely help you this time."

Before he had even suffered much, Fang Laojiu could no longer withstand the power of the large foot on his back.

Master Huang ordered his men to release him. Fang Lao Jiu sat on the ground rubbing his shoulders, his small eyes gleaming with shrewdness.