"Taking by force, you are clearly forcing the First Princess to fight you to the death. I originally thought you had given up and accepted your fate, but it turns out, you have never surrendered!"
"Imperial Daughter, why don't we go back first and bring more people?" Fu Dan asked tentatively. After all, if a fight broke out, their two fists would be no match for four hands. Bringing more people would give them more confidence.
"No need, the two of us are enough." Xiao Man headed towards Tian Yu Tower.
The fire that night had reduced Tian Yu Tower to ashes, leaving only broken walls standing in the center of the bustling street, telling tales of its former glory.
Xiao Man stood amidst the ruins, lost in thought. Fu Dan, on the other hand, looked around, her hand never leaving the hilt of her sword, ready to fight at any moment. Xiao Man glanced at her and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Relax, it's broad daylight. They wouldn't dare to make a move unless they want to incite public outrage," Xiao Man said slowly.
"If the Imperial Daughter is assassinated, they won't admit it was them."
"If I say it was them, then it was them," Xiao Man said softly. "In three days, at most three days, someone will voluntarily deliver the deed to Tian Yu Tower."
"Really?" Fu Dan asked curiously. Tian Yu Tower was located in a prosperous street and was the First Princess's main source of income. How could the First Princess give it up so easily?
Xiao Man smiled mysteriously and left with Fu Dan. After they were gone, several small tails persistently followed them.
"Imperial Daughter, we are being followed."
"Don't worry about it." Xiao Man stopped and looked at Fu Dan. "Can you gamble?"
"A little."
"Let's go, I'll take you gambling!"
The Golden Silver Gambling House was packed with people from all walks of life, a motley crew of gamblers.
Xiao Man and Fu Dan entered the Golden Silver Gambling House without attracting much attention. After all, people came here to win money, not to gawk at others.
It wasn't until Xiao Man won ten consecutive rounds, with a grand slam each time, that she began to attract a lot of attention.
Seeing that Xiao Man was a skilled player, the manager immediately changed the dealer and brought over an experienced player to face her. However, this did not stop Xiao Man's winning streak.
Fu Dan watched as the silver coins piled up before Xiao Man like a small mountain. Her face was full of admiration. Rumor had it that this Imperial Daughter Xiao Man was adept at all sorts of vices, and she had initially dismissed it as gossip. But looking at Xiao Man now, with two handsome young men sitting on either side of her, flirting with them so skillfully, it was as if she had done it countless times before.
"Indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover!" Fu Dan muttered. Everyone thought this returning Imperial Daughter was a weakling, a pushover, someone everyone wanted to bully. Who knew that Xiao Man was not only not a pushover but a porcupine with quills?
Anyone who dared to approach her would be met with her sharp quills, leaving the approaching enemies bleeding profusely.
Xiao Man grabbed a handful of banknotes and stuffed them into Fu Dan's hand. "Find a table and play by yourself. Either multiply this money tenfold, or lose it all! Otherwise, don't come looking for me."
"Master, your subordinate..."
"Go, this is an order."
Fu Dan reluctantly took the money and went to lose it.
"What did you say?" The Fourth Princess spat out a fruit pit and asked again.
"Reporting to the Princess, the Imperial Daughter has been gambling at the Golden Silver Gambling House and has won a hundred thousand taels in half a day, without losing a single round."
"One hundred thousand taels!" The Fourth Princess's voice rose. "Were you letting her win?"
"Princess, our gambling house's top experts took turns playing against her, and not one of them was her match. Moreover, she's been encouraging others in the gambling house to bet with her. If this continues, our gambling house will lose all its capital!"
The Fourth Princess gnashed her teeth fiercely. "She's deliberately provoking me!"
"Fourth Princess, she is an Imperial Daughter, and she came to gamble at the gambling house openly. We who run gambling houses open our doors to guests from all walks of life. If we can win but not lose, the reputation of the Golden Silver Gambling House will be ruined. You must know that many officials and nobles frequent the Golden Silver Gambling House. If we let the Imperial Daughter continue winning like this, even with the Golden Silver Gambling House's vast wealth, we won't be able to withstand it."
"She must have cheated!" the Fourth Princess said angrily. How could anyone only win and never lose? Xiao Man must have cheated, but her people just didn't discover it. Su Dan Novel Network.
"The Imperial Daughter has two young men accompanying her, and they are both our people. If she were cheating, our people would surely know. Also..." the manager swallowed. "It was our people who were caught cheating by her, and she broke one of their arms on the spot."
The Fourth Princess took a deep breath to calm her anger. "Go, let's go to the Golden Silver Gambling House. I want to see what trick she's playing."
By the time the Fourth Princess arrived at the Golden Silver Gambling House, Xiao Man had already left. She had won two hundred thousand taels of silver and left happily. The gambling house staff wanted to stop her but dared not, given her status. If they fell out, they would be the ones to suffer in the end.
When the Fourth Princess heard that Xiao Man had won two hundred thousand taels and left, her heart ached. "Fine, fine, I'll consider it a costly misfortune averted!"
However, the Fourth Princess never expected that Xiao Man would return to the Golden Silver Gambling House the next day. Her luck was still incredibly good, and she won a huge sum, once again leaving after winning two hundred thousand taels of silver.
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Princess's face contorted. After a long while, she calmed down and sent someone to deliver a post to the Imperial Daughter's mansion, requesting an audience. If she didn't understand that Xiao Man was deliberately targeting her, then she would be an idiot.
"Miss, the Fourth Princess requests an audience."
"Please invite her in." Xiao Man was teaching Fu Dan how to play dice. Fu Dan hadn't won much money at the gambling house in the past two days. Firstly, she was timid and never gambled big, so her wins and losses were small. Secondly, she had no experience and was very unfamiliar with these games.
As soon as the Fourth Princess entered, she saw Xiao Man explaining how to shake dice to Fu Dan.
"I've heard that the Imperial Daughter is skilled in the art of gambling, and it is truly as rumored," the Fourth Princess said with a smile as she walked in. "You have won quite a lot of money at my gambling house these past two days."
Xiao Man put down the dice cup and looked at the Fourth Princess. "What, is the Fourth Princess heartbroken over the silver?"
"How could I not be heartbroken?" the Fourth Princess said familiarly as she sat down. "You've won forty thousand taels from me in two days, forty thousand! That's several months of my revenue, and you've won it all in a single day. Don't talk about being heartbroken, my heart is bleeding."
"The Fourth Princess is wealthy and powerful, she wouldn't care about such a small amount of money," Xiao Man said slowly. "I wanted to buy a shop in a prime location in the Imperial Capital, but the price was simply beyond reach. Furthermore, as an Imperial Daughter, I am merely a title without substance, with no salary. So, I had to return to my old profession to earn some money."
The smile on the Fourth Princess's face almost vanished. "If you need money, you have to cause trouble at my Golden Silver Gambling House?"