The Survival Rule of a Concubine's Daughter 119: A Gambler Couple, Li Xiu Suddenly Felt Sympathy

  As soon as they turned their heads, they saw Li Xiong walking in with big strides. Zhou Mama and others looked uneasy and hurriedly came forward to pay their respects.

  Li Xī didn't even glance at them, his gaze was fixed straight on Rú Qíng who was surrounded by the crowd in the middle. He saw that Rú Qíng's face was twisted with anger, gritting her teeth and staring at Zhī Yì with a look as if she wanted to devour him alive. Li Xī raised an eyebrow slightly and exchanged a brief greeting with Li Shì before walking into the crowd.

  Fang Jinglan also looked at Li Xiao, slightly stunned, and suddenly thought of the time, if Qing hadn't returned yet, it was indeed not proper. She couldn't help but say: "Good son-in-law, have you come to pick up Qing'er? Cough cough, this girl has been spoiled by me, look, she's lost her senses, relying on others and refusing to leave. Fortunately, you've arrived, quickly take this girl back home."

  As if he had lost every battle, not to mention being deeply in debt, when he saw Li Xiao, his eyes suddenly lit up. "You're here! Ah, I'm having a terrible day... Has the king eaten yet?" He suddenly remembered that he hadn't returned home at this hour and estimated that the man was also angry, so he involuntarily shrunk his neck.

  Li Xiang glanced at her, his eyes moved to the chess pieces, and his eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of chess is this?" He was still very familiar with Go, but he couldn't figure out what route this was.

  "Ha ha, Brother-in-law must not have played before, this is Fourth Sister's invention of Five-piece Chess, as long as five pieces are connected in a line, it counts as a win, very simple, but now the inventor Fourth Sister has lost so badly she's red with shame, haha, this is what they call teaching an apprentice to starve the master!"

  Li Xiao carefully studied the chess pieces on top, and soon saw through the trick. He saw the pile of golden beans in front of Zhiyi's desk and couldn't help but laugh and scold: "You useless thing, you still won't go back now, it turns out you've lost your eyes to red (lost badly). When did I, Li Xiao, marry a gambler wife?"

  Everyone laughed and teased her, her face turned red with emotion, she couldn't help but say: "Who knew second brother would secretly study hard, I, I..."

  Li Xiao shook his head, "Earlier, he said he wanted to win a bunch of golden beans to bring back for Meng Ge to play with. Hmmph, big talk."

  In front of so many people, with a look of disdain on his face, he couldn't help but retort: "You're so capable, then you come and try it yourself, see if you can win gold beans for Alliance Brother."

  Fang Jinglan's eyebrows jumped in anger, and she hastily scolded: "How dare you be so rude to the young master? Don't..."

  Unexpectedly, Li Xiao rolled up his sleeves, "Fine, I'll also try my hand. I don't believe that I can't win back the golden bean." Then he lifted his robe and sat down with a mighty thud, exuding an aura of murder.

  "Stop, stop, stop! Second Brother is a seasoned veteran, it's not easy to win against him!" There were times when she only won because of his momentary lapse in attention.

  Zhī Yì was intimidated by his killing aura and couldn't help but say: "You're just a defeated subordinate, do you think you've won?"

  Li Xiang raised an eyebrow, "If I don't try, how will I know that I won't win against you?"

  "Alright, let's bring it on then. However, since Qing has already lost all his golden beans and still owes Zhen a few people, are you sure you want to win them back?"

  Li Xī couldn't help but shoot a glance at Rú Qíng, who looked very embarrassed and lowered his head.

  "What's the fun in that? Gambling is a bit too common, how about we try something else?"

  Then everyone asked him how to gamble, Li Xue smiled slyly and raised his eyebrows. "It's simple, whoever loses draws a stroke on their face, ten rounds for victory or defeat, and see who has the most strokes on their face in the end."

  Everyone thought this method was good, interesting and didn't hurt harmony, and could also further improve relations with Li Xiao. Thus, another unprecedented war began.

  Li Xiu may have figured out the moves of Go, but he still lost the first few games miserably, with his face smeared with black ink. Everyone wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. However, gradually, Li Xiu finally grasped the key and was able to turn things around. Unfortunately, he was still defeated by Zhiyi, who had a home advantage. In the end, Li Xiu's competitive spirit was ignited, his thick eyebrows rose in defiance as he shouted: "Let's play again! I won't believe it if I don't win tonight!"

  It seems that Li Xiu has made thorough preparations this time, and Zhiyi has also set up his formation. Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly turned defensive into offensive, and Zhiyi had no choice but to solve his own chess pieces first. Qing, who was watching from the side, stared intently and shouted "Attack, attack, attack again!" with all her might. Finally, she saw an opportunity and snatched the chess piece from Li Xiu's hand, pressing it down with one move. She clapped her hands wildly and laughed: "I won, haha, I won, haha......" The feeling of winning at chess is really great!

  "As for you, it doesn't count, watching chess without speaking is a true gentleman."

  Ru Qing said, "It's obvious, can I be blamed? Even if I don't say it, the king will see it for himself." Li Xiao also said, "Right, even if Ru Qing doesn't say it, my next move is still going to be that move."

  Then the couple both wanted to give Zhiyi a painting, thinking that Zhiyi had won so many gold beans from her just now, and they were full of resentment. Holding the brush, they prepared to paint a long and thick black face for Zhiyi. But Li Xiao also had the same idea, and in the end, the couple snatched up the brushes again. Finally, Fang Jinglan scolded Ruqing, "You're getting more and more unruly! This is a man's business, what are you, a woman, doing interfering? Get out of here!"

  With a gloomy face, Li Xiu threw down her brush, but couldn't bear to see Zhiyi's suitable-for-smiling face scrunched up. However, in the end, her desire for revenge won out over her slight tenderness towards him. She picked up a coarse brush, dipped it heavily in the inkstone, and with a twitching lip corner and faintly bulging veins on her forehead, she smiled triumphantly as she examined Zhiyi from left to right, seemingly searching for inspiration on how to draw something heavy, thick, and long. After half a day of examination, she finally found the spot, just as she was about to make her move, Zhiyi suddenly turned his face away, and the brush only lightly swept across his cheek, leaving a mark. Li Xiu didn't expect him to dodge, and her anger caused her nose to twist, as she repeatedly said it didn't count. Zhiyi refused to admit defeat, saying that the mark was already there.

  Li Xue was unwilling to do it, saying that he dodged, a petty act. Unexpectedly, Zhi Yi's eyebrows didn't even twitch as he said: "I wasn't a gentleman to begin with." With an expression of "you're only realizing this now".

  Li Xiu was furious, but he also knew that earlier Zhiyi had scolded him for being a bandit and not a gentleman, so he retorted in the same way. Now this person is actually learning from his example. It's really too despicable.

  Li Xiang was unwilling to concede, and it was clear that he had a "you and I come fight" look on his face. Heh, he really didn't dare to fight him. In the end, he could only reluctantly give up.

  As soon as the hot water was brought in, Li Xiu washed his face clean and then Li Shi took the opportunity to let everyone take a break and have dinner together.

  Li Xuan was stunned and looked at Ru Qing, "At this time, haven't you eaten yet?"

  Ru Yu said with a very embarrassed expression: "I was suddenly inspired and lost track of time."

  Li Xiang never expected that his little wife was actually a gambler and also a rascal.

  "Let's eat first, after we finish eating, we'll head back." Li Xi felt that he was being very magnanimous, tolerating his young wife's unruly behavior.

  Actually wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, swallowed back the words.

  After all, men and women are different, so in the end they set up two tables, with the women eating inside and the men drinking outside. Li Xu had eaten his fill, but he couldn't avoid having a couple of drinks. Seeing that his two uncles seemed to be coming at him aggressively, he tried to curry favor with Fang Jinglan, who was very pleased with this son-in-law and didn't dare to really offend him. Even so, Li Xu still ended up being forced to drink quite a bit by Zhiyi.

  As soon as Ruqin finished eating and came out, he saw Li Xiao drunk with a bright red face, stumbling when walking, and couldn't help but stamp his foot. With great effort, he supported him up, "You useless thing, is this all the alcohol you can handle?"

  Li Xiao got drunk and slurred: "I'm in trouble, marrying a wife with such a formidable uncle."

  Looking at her two brothers sitting upright and solemnly, she sneered: "You're stupid, you let him drink and he really drank?" Can't bear to actually force-feed him.

  Li Xiao walked two steps unsteadily and said with a hateful tone: "So it's good that Zhiyi left."

  As if suddenly remembering something, she said: "Prince Wang, you're also drunk, let's just stay here for the night and head back tomorrow, how about it?"

  Li Xian hastily shook his head, where is his father-in-law's home as comfortable as his own?

  "Tomorrow, Second Brother and Sister-in-law will set off, this farewell, I don't know when we can meet again, let me stay one more night, okay?"

  Li Xizhi instinctively wanted to refuse, but Zhi Li spoke up and said: "Don't be ridiculous. What bride still lingers in her natal home? Hurry up and follow your brother-in-law back."

  With a pained expression, she puckered up her mouth, her eyes full of sorrow and resentment.

  Li Xiu's face turned red with anger, his eyebrows raised, "So Uncle really thinks of Ruo Xin as a daughter who has been married off and is now water that has been splashed out? This won't do! Although Ruo Xin is already married, she is still a daughter of the Fang family. What's wrong with her staying at her natal home for one night?"

  Fang Jinglan was slightly startled, but she put on a kind smile. "As long as the prince doesn't mind our humble abode, please feel free to stay." Then she instructed He Shi, who had just returned from her mother's home, to quickly tidy up the house.

  He only had someone tidy up the furniture in Xieyi Residence again and let Ruyi and her husband stay there.

  As soon as they entered the house, Auntie Zhou and Xingxiang were busy with one thing after another. Ruoxi looked around and smiled: "I didn't expect that, Eldest Sister hasn't changed a single brick or tile here."

  Li Xiang also looked around, the bedroom was nicely decorated, very delicate and elegant, with many potted plants outside the window, the room was fresh and airy, with a pink tone throughout, just like Ruyi, the whole person looked soft and sweet, like glutinous rice, round and fragrant.

  Li Xiang looked around and asked, "After you get married, who is this house prepared for?"

  "It should be Wen Ge Er, Wen Ge Er is also four years old this year. In a few more years, he should have his own courtyard." Yu Ru replied, suddenly looking at him suspiciously, "Aren't you drunk?"

  Li Xidong lay on the soft couch by the bed, covering his forehead. "Ah, my head hurts so much. Don't you come to serve your man and rest?" As he spoke, he stretched out a pair of legs very high.

  As if she had been grinding her teeth, she couldn't help but want to pour a basin of cold water on him. But thinking that he had behaved fairly well tonight, she decided to be a virtuous and wise wife after all. So, Ruoxi bent down and personally helped him take off his golden-buckled sheepskin boots, then took off his socks. Xia came over with hot water from outside, and Ruoxi personally wrung it out to wipe his face, clean his hands, and wash his feet. After a flurry of activity, she finally got him settled down, then let Chen Xiang and the others help him onto the bed.

  Chen Xiang hesitated, looking at Li Xiao's tall figure, and wiped the hair on her cheek. "Your Highness, do you need me to call Mother Zhou?" She was Yu Rou's personal maid, and it didn't seem quite right for her to be serving Li Xiao.

  "No," Ru Qing shook her head, "you go heat up some water instead." She was sleepy too.

  After everyone left, she finally took off Li Xiao's clothes and found a hand on her waist. Without lifting her head, she hit it away, "Don't mess around, go to sleep quietly."

  Li Xiao turned over halfway and held Ru Qing in his arms, "Where did this chess piece come from?"

  As if delighted, she smiled and said, "I saw it in an old book, it's quite interesting." She didn't dare say that this was a Western toy.

  "So, who do you usually play with during ordinary times?"

  "Hmm, previously it was with Xiang Ling and the others, but unfortunately they were too stupid. Later on, I fought alongside Second Brother, Second Brother is really formidable, previously he would often lose, now it's me who often loses."

  Li Xiao fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying: "Tomorrow we'll head back, I'll come with you to practice."

  "Really?!"

  Li Xiao hummed and said with a proud face, "Is there any falsehood? This king's words have always been trustworthy."

  She nodded with a smile, "Hmph, I knew the prince would keep his promise." Then she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, her voice soft and sticky, "Alright, let me go now, I'll come back after I've cleaned up. This is my mother's house, it wouldn't be good if someone saw us."

  Li Xiao smiled and said: "We are husband and wife. What's it to you?"

  Ru Qing's face turned red as she let out a sound, struggling to get down from the bed, and let Xiang Yu Xia serve her while preparing to rest. Suddenly, Zhou Mama's voice came from outside, "Wang Fei, Er Fu Ren heard that Wang Ye had fallen drunk and felt very apologetic, so she specially sent someone to cook a hangover soup for Wang Ye to drink."

  As if in thought, she turned her head and looked at Li Xiao, "Is the king really drunk?"

  Li Xiao shook her head, "I'm a bit dizzy, okay, bring it in." Then she propped herself up and sat on the edge of the bed.

  After a while, a little girl brought in a pot of hangover tea and Li Xue glanced at her, looking at her absent-mindedly and asked: "Was it your family's lady who made it?"

  That young girl was not very old, with a timid look on her face. Seeing Li Xiao's expressionless face, although he was wearing casual clothes, she felt a sense of murderous aura emanating from him. She trembled and replied: "It was my mistress who had someone brew it. She said that the king had gotten drunk and had a bowl of tea to sober up."

  Li Xiao took the bowl and gulped it down, then handed it to her, "Alright, thank your wife for me." After drinking the tea, he wanted to relieve himself again, so he went to do his business once more, then lay back in bed.

  It was as if she had already gone to bed, covered herself with the quilt and suddenly found that the person beside her had fallen asleep. She couldn't help but feel surprised, had he really fallen asleep? Alas, if only she had known earlier, she would have waited until he fell asleep before going to look for Zhiyi to reminisce about old times.

  ……

  On the second day, Ruqing got up early and arrived at Zhiyi's courtyard. She had a lingering farewell with her sister-in-law, Yu Shi. Zhiyi was wearing a cyan garment and was busy in the bamboo forest pavilion, where many boxes and chests were placed inside and outside, most of which were gifts from relatives. Zhiyi was playing with his little daughter when he saw Ruqing and smiled, "Did you sleep well last night?"

  As she spoke, she smiled and said, "Very well, thank you brother for your concern." She glanced around and suddenly her tone turned sorrowful, "The road to Datong is so far away, today we part ways, I don't know when I'll be able to see brother and sister-in-law again." Looking at the adorable little niece, Ruqing's heart softened, she hugged the little girl in her arms, kissing and cuddling her face. Yujie still looked like Zhiyi, but who knows if she would also become like Zhiyi, always with a gloomy face. Girls should be soft and delicate, after all.

  Zhi Yi was also reluctant to part, but didn't say much, just saying: "There is no banquet in the world that doesn't disperse. Don't be sad, sister. If everything goes well from now on, I'll still be able to come back and visit often. When the time comes, we brothers will have a good reunion."

  She nodded silently, trying hard to swallow back the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't bear the sadness of parting, alas.

  She saw that Qing's eyes were red from holding back tears, and she knew that her own emotions weren't much better. She didn't say anything, but simply took out a handkerchief to wipe away the tears at the corners of Qing's eyes. "You're already married, why are you still crying so much?"

  "Who says you can't cry once you're married?" She didn't want to cry either, she just couldn't help it.

  Raising his head to glance at the sky, Zhiyi Qi said: "You usually love sleeping in late, how come you're up so early this time?"

  "It's just that you can't bear to part with your brother."

  Zhi Yi Wen said, "After I leave, you must live a good life. Li Xiu... although he has many shortcomings, there are still some redeeming qualities. You two must get along harmoniously. This guy has always been soft-hearted, as long as you bring out your usual skills, I believe it will be easy to achieve twice the result with half the effort."

  Nodding slightly, "I know what to do, thank you for your advice, brother."

  Zhi Yi was somewhat annoyed, and although she had many things to say, when the words reached her lips, she didn't know where to start. After a long silence, she said: "Although you are married to a high-ranking official, don't look down on yourself too much. You are the legitimate wife, married through proper arrangements, and even the Emperor himself arranged the marriage. You have every right to be confident. If some fool dares to bully you, don't hesitate to stand up for yourself."

  She nodded slightly, indicating she knew what to do and wouldn't let herself be taken advantage of.

  "Not long ago, the courier from Datong Inn brought a letter to me, saying that the gifts you sent to my family earlier had not been lost, but were intercepted by someone privately."

  "Ah," she said softly, "it's Li Xiao."

  Zhī yì lèng le xià, "nǐ dōu zhī dào le?"

  Translation:

  Zhi Yi was taken aback, "You already know?"

  As if she had guessed it, "Sister guessed it." She had also thought before that it was just a low-level station handling affairs, but later in a casual conversation with Mrs. Xiang, the embroidery she sent to the Xiang family actually appeared in Li Xiao's house, and she guessed seven or eight out of ten.

  This time, Zhiyi was shocked. "The good things that sister sent to the Xiang family were all intercepted halfway, and only a few important ones were brought back. And sister's embroidery, local products, and many precious gifts were all privately intercepted by him. Since sister knew it was he who did it, why didn't she think deeply about why Li Xiang would do such a thing?"

  "This hateful thing is really not a good thing."

  Zhī yì jìng le hǎo yī huì，"mèi mèi bù shēng qì?"

  Translation:

  Zhiyi was silent for a while, "Little sister, aren't you angry?"

  "I'm angry, of course I'm angry. But anyway, it's all in the past and it didn't cost much money either. Let's just forget about it."

  She is now a princess, with 50 taels of silver every month. She can spend the silver as she likes, wear whatever clothes she wants, wear whatever jewelry she wants, and order the servants around. Those things she sent to the Xiang family back then are really not worth mentioning anymore. It's good that he took them away, so no one will say that she privately gave the Xiang family anything.

  Zhī Yì stared at her strangely, "Little sister, do you know why Lǐ Xiāo would do such a thing?"

  "It's just for fun, what else could it be?"

  Zhī yì dāi le yī huìr, yòu dào: "Wǒ nà pǐ bǎo mǎ, yuán běn shì Lǐ Xiāng de."

  English Translation:

  After being stunned for a while, he said again: "My precious horse was originally Li Xiang's."

  Ru Qing smiled and said, "I heard Liu Erge mention it before, it seems that brother exchanged a robe for it, brother you are so powerful." And Li Xiao was a big fool who was beyond salvation. Not understanding investment is one thing, but he also made unprofitable deals.

  Zhi Yi quietly said: "Sister, you know that the robe he insisted on exchanging with me is the one you personally made for your brother."

  "Like feelings nodded,"Little sister also knew just a few days ago. He really has no eyesight, brother don't laugh at him."

  Of course, don't think Li Xiao is completely useless either. In fact, aside from his evil deeds and appearance, he's actually quite righteous, at least when it comes to friends and family.

  Another interpretation is that he thought the Mongolian horse was not worthy of his general identity, so he deliberately found an excuse to give the horse to him.

  Such things have been done before, let's take the son of Hu's family, Hu Zi Shu, for example. He was a few years younger than Li Xiao, but he had to rely on his own strength to support his family in Beijing, where life is unfamiliar and it's hard to find work. So, he came to Li Xiao for help. Li Xiao introduced him to the most famous construction team in Beijing, where he became an apprentice and earned two or three taels of silver per month, enough to support his wife and children. This time, during the Chinese New Year, he brought some dried dates from his own home to express his gratitude. Li Xiao thought the dates were quite good, so he used the excuse that "your sister-in-law loves to eat these" and asked him to bring over ten kilograms more, which he bought at market price.

  Later, after tasting the jujube, it was indeed nothing special. Li Xu then said to her: "My cousin is a down-to-earth farmer, if he can help, just let him help a bit, anyway, for me, it's just a matter of lifting my hand."

  He slapped him a few times, then sneered: "If you want to help someone, why not give them some silver? At market price, these dates are worth only a few coins." Ten or so pounds of dates, they're hardly worth half a dollar.

  Li Xiao had a different idea, "You're wrong. Poor relatives should be helped to the point of emergency relief, not poverty. My younger cousin is pitiful, but he hasn't reached the point of starving yet, I just need to help him a bit and he'll be fine. If I only give without expecting anything in return, it will eventually spoil him. Moreover, my nephew looks like an intelligent person, I don't want to ruin him."

  At that time, I was particularly moved by the story of Yu Rong's loyalty. Now, when I hear about the incident of Bao Ma exchanging his cloak, I come up with this reason on my own initiative.

  Zhī Yì stared at Rú Qíng for a long time, his eyes filled with an eerie and unbelievable gaze. Rú Qíng felt very embarrassed under his stare: "Brother, did I say something wrong?"

  Zhi Yi shook his head, "No, you're absolutely right." Then he turned his head to the side, hiding the smile of schadenfreude at the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he felt a little sympathetic towards Li Xiao.

  Digression

  Just bought a printer and can't figure it out, just got paper jammed again, so angry. Today's goods are a bit much, can't double post, will try harder tomorrow. My lifelong goal is to be a rich lady, only by doing business can I achieve my dream of being a rich lady. If you want me to post more, please support me, smiling slyly as I leave.