CH 23

shishiballs7-8 minutes 23.04.2023

Chapter 23 – The Horse Hanging Inn

“But…”

QingXing was somewhat worried.

Gu Yunruo simply lifted her veil and self-deprecatingly said, “Who would dare to approach someone as ugly as me?”

“Miss, please don’t say that.”

“Alright, alright, it’s just that I didn’t come back last night. Let’s go, I’ll take you to have some fun.”

Gu Yunruo snapped her fingers and hummed a lively tune.

CuiHua looked at the two coming in, frowned in confusion, and mistook them for someone looking for someone else.

“Little cutie, do you already forget me so soon?”

Gu Yunru bent down and pinched her round face.

“It’s my brother’s voice, but why are you wearing a skirt today?”

CuiHua looked at her puzzled look. The voice was clearly her brother’s, who saved her on the street that day.

But Qingxin frowned tightly because the Horse Hanging Inn was full of unwashed, smelly men. She tugged at Gu Yunru’s sleeve and said, “Miss, why do we have to come to this kind of place?”

“QingXing, don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

Gu Yunruo raised her lips. As long as she came to the Horse Hanging Inn, she could temporarily forget her worries. She asked CuiHua to choose a good spot for them, just to join in the fun.

“Should I call you brother or sister, CuiHua?” CuiHua still didn’t quite understand, Gu Yunruo touched her head fondly and said, “Call me brother in front of outsiders. After all, others can’t tell if I’m a man or a woman now.”

“Okay, brother.”

Cuixia smiled and then ran to the backyard to do some work. Qingxin felt that the people around her were not very friendly, and some men were leering at her, making her skin crawl.

“Qingxin, follow Cuixia to the backyard and see if there’s anything you can help with.”

“But there are so many people here, Miss…”

“Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself.”

Gu Yunru didn’t want her precious maid to be targeted by a group of rough men.

“Yes…” Qingxin gritted her teeth and left the main hall temporarily.

The hall was filled with smoke, and Gu Yunru waved away the smoke in front of her. She didn’t expect people to start growing tobacco and other plants at this time.

“Little brother, you look unfamiliar here. Is it your first time in a place like this?”

A big man with a beard approached Gu Yunru, and she smelled a foul odor and couldn’t help pinching her nose and saying, “Do you have body odor? Can you please move your hand away?”

The big man felt embarrassed and turned red. He withdrew his hand and said sulkily, “Little brother, how do you want to play?”

Several men turned their attention to Gu Yunru, and she said without thinking, “According to the rules in my area, I don’t know if you can understand them. We can play ‘Hu Pai’ or ‘Hong Zhong,’ there are several ways to play. Which one do you want to learn first?”

Everyone looked at each other and thought it was quite novel, so they followed Gu Yunru’s method.

Gu Yunru played without thinking about the time, and Qingxin had already fallen asleep in the backyard. Gu Yunru had bad luck today and kept losing one after another, even though she had taught everyone the rules of the game. The final result was a total disaster.

“Hahaha, little brother, you’re broke, aren’t you? How about taking off that hat of yours and let us see what you look like, or maybe take off your outer clothes. I see the material of your clothes is good, maybe we can exchange it for some money.”

A man with big yellow teeth had long wanted to see what Gu Yunru looked like.

“No, this round will be considered as me owing you, I will definitely win it back later!”

Gu Yunru took a deep breath. She would never take off her hat, but she realized that she didn’t have any money in her pocket. She hadn’t brought much money out today, and after playing for a few rounds, she owed a lot of people at the table.

“Little brother, are you any good? Why is your luck so bad today?”

“Yes, that’s right. We agreed to gamble, and if you lose, you have to pay. You’ve already lost so much. If you can’t bring any more money, then you can pawn the little girl you brought with you to us.”

“Yeah, if it comes to it, you can take off your clothes and give them to us.”

Everyone burst into laughter, their eyes lewd, and they spoke some vulgar words.

Gu Yunru irritably touched the cards in her hand and knocked her head hard. Even the cards were against her. What had she done wrong?

“I’ll play with you.”

Suddenly, a loud voice came from behind her. Gu Yunru turned around and saw that it was Rong Zhen. He was wearing a low-key red python robe today and looked energetic. He must not have slept all night.

“What’s your relationship with each other?”

Several men looked curiously at Rong Zhen. He was handsome and had a noble temperament. He was probably not an ordinary person like them.

“Sorry for the trouble. This person is my servant boy.”

“Ohh, you were just a servant boy, no wonder you look so shabby. Now that you’re here, you can play these few rounds for him.”

Gu Yunru was stunned and speechless on the side. When did Rong Zhen become so approachable and kind? And how did he end up in this place?

“What are you still staring at? Hurry up and teach me the rules.” Rong Zhen looked back at Gu Yunru. Gu Yunru nodded and taught him the rules of the red center card game. Unexpectedly, he learned it after listening once and played it skillfully. He won back all the money she owed.

“I didn’t expect you to hide your talents so well!”

Gu Yunru looked at him with new admiration. She originally thought he was a cold and distant person, but she didn’t expect him to have such a lively and cheerful side.

“This kind of game is boring after you learn the rules once. Why don’t we play a bigger game?”

This sentence was addressed to the men in front of Rong Zhen.

“Okay, what kind of game?”

“Chop off a finger for whoever loses a round, how about that?”

As soon as he said this, Gu Yunru was so angry she almost vomited blood. She quickly pulled him away from the table.

“I’m telling you, can you stop playing such violent and bloody games? You’re receiving treatment right now and need to control these twisted thoughts. Do you understand?”

Suddenly, Rong Zhen raised the corners of his mouth and said, “I was just kidding. Why are you so nervous?”

Gu Yunru looked at him and was completely enchanted by his rare smile. She didn’t expect this guy to have such a handsome smile, like a heart-stealing thief who captured her heart.

Gu Yunru thought of his inexplicable temper today, and all her fondness for him disappeared. She shook her head and said, “Alright, we’ve played enough. It’s getting late, let’s go back.”

“You…” Rong Zhen wanted to ask if she was still angry, but he didn’t know how to say it.

“What do you want to say?” Curiosity flashed in Gu Yunru’s eyes. Rong Zhen seemed a little off today.

“It’s nothing, I’m just a little tired.”

“You still haven’t told me how you ended up here. Don’t tell me you were just taking a walk?”