Yuzhou is close to the capital, with the Wei River running through it. It has been a prosperous place for several dynasties. The wharf in Jinyang, the capital city, is crowded with people and the sound of shouting is constant.
As a large passenger ship approached the shore, coolies wearing short clothes and carrying shoulder poles and ropes gathered around waiting for work. However, they also knew the rules and consciously left a path for people to pass through, not daring to get close to the nobles.
Hua Zhi, wearing a hood, was helped off the boat by Nian Qiu, with Xiao Liu protecting her on the other side. There were also guards Jia Yang and Yu Mu, who looked like they were not easy to mess with. Even the people who got off the same boat gave way to them, for fear of offending someone who should not be offended.
Nian Qiu looked around and said softly, "Miss, I will go to the carriage shop to rent a carriage. I will need it in the next few days."
Hua Zhi sent Chen Si, who was brought in to run errands, to do the work. She now had too many things on her mind, but she could not neglect the affairs of Yuzhou, so she brought Nian Qiu with her. Among the maids, she was not the bravest, the most capable, or the one with the best sense of the overall situation, but she was the most careful. Hua Zhi liked her carefulness.
The group went directly to the largest inn in Jinyang and booked one of the elegant courtyards. Nian Qiu tidied up the kitchen quickly and directed Chen Si to buy a bunch of things. In the afternoon, bursts of fragrance wafted out of the courtyard.
Xiaoliu sniffed as he entered the room, sighing, "Nianqiu is really capable."
"With careful training, anyone can become capable." Hua Zhi was just thinking about where to start when she heard him say this casually. However, Xiao Liu'er kept this in mind. Sister Hua's maids were not only capable, but what made him most envious was their loyalty. There were too few people like them, so he didn't need many. Four would be enough.
"Yu Mu, go to Jinyang's casino tonight to find out what the situation is."
Yu Mu agreed, but Xiao Liu asked, "Why do you want to go to the casino? Didn't Sister Hua come to Yuzhou to do business?"
Hua Zhi lowered her eyebrows and drank tea. After thinking for a moment, she did not hide it from him. "Yan Xi found official silver engraved with the Chaoli tribe's logo here before. I have checked and found that no silver mine has fallen into their hands. There is only one possibility. They have a very profitable business in Daqing. Jinyang is likely to be one of their extremely important bases."
Xiaoliu was still confused, "Why aren't officials from Daqing investigating this?"
"For them, even if Daqing is going to perish, they will probably think first whether surrendering will be more beneficial to them." After a pause, Hua Zhi smiled, "Of course, not everyone is like this. Yan Xi and I have some guesses. We had agreed to come to Yuzhou before, but later I was drafted by the emperor and was delayed. Now that he is going north because of me, I will come to check the situation for him. I also need to come and see what kind of business is suitable here."
Thinking of the civil and military officials in the court who were still arguing for their own interests, thinking of Brother Yan Xi who was always running around, and thinking of Sister Hua who came to Yuzhou even though she was just a woman, Xiao Liu found it ridiculous. It seemed that the court now existed for the purpose of dividing up the interests.
At night, Jia Yang and Xiao Liu's men guarded the inn, while Yu Mu led his men to meet up with the Qishusi people, and sneaked into various casinos under various identities. Hua Zhi received a report early the next morning.
"Jinyang has six large casinos, four second-rate ones, and countless small casinos. Five of the six large casinos belong to the same boss, and behind him stands Zhu Ling, the magistrate of Jinyang Prefecture."
Hua Zhi nodded slightly. Ever since Yuan Shifang's identity was exposed and he was arrested, the post of Yuzhou governor had been vacant and temporarily held by Tongzhi Lu Xinming. The court had been fighting over this position countless times, but the emperor had never nodded, and it was unknown whether he preferred Lu Xinming to take over.
"Nothing about Tongzhi?"
Jia Yang nodded, "Yes, the Seventh Mansion had sent several people to investigate this matter before, and I learned the situation from them. Lv Xinming is extremely cautious and has always been at odds with Zhu Ling. After he took over the temporary management of the affairs, their relationship became even more hostile. It is impossible for both of them to be the backstage of the casino at the same time. Lv Xinming even caused trouble for the casino before."
“How’s the casino going?”
"I have visited all six major casinos. Business is booming, and they seem to be able to accommodate another major casino. There is no life-and-death struggle. The backers of one of them are local prominent families. It seems to me that they are working together to suppress the growth of the other casinos, especially the four."
"Those four companies have the same boss?"
"No, they each have their own bosses and they have dealings with each other."
Hua Zhi understood that the big casinos had joined forces, so the other four also joined forces to fight against them.
She wanted to go and see for herself what was going on in the casino, but she just thought that the place was too troublesome. It would be no big deal if she was exposed, but she was afraid that she might have some connection with the Chaoli tribe and alert the enemy.
"Do any of you know how to play those games in the casino?"
Yu Mu and Jia Yang looked at each other and said, "I know a little bit."
"Play it for me."
They didn't know what the girl wanted to do, but they knew she wouldn't do this for no reason, so they went out to find tools and started playing.
The ways of playing here are not as varied as those in later generations. The most common ones are dice and Pai Gow, among which dice have the most varieties. Yu Mu is not an expert in this, but he knows about ten ways of playing. However, even if he can play in a variety of ways, it is still just dice.
Hua Zhi felt that it would be easy to get a piece of the pie from the casino. She only needed to make a deck of cards to give them more ways to play, and then come up with mahjong. There was no need to bring out anything else that was too high-end and complicated.
What she has to think about is whether to join forces with the casino or start anew.
"Are there any suspicious things about those casinos?"
"Qi Su Si's colleagues believe that several of them are suspects." Yu Mu paused and said the conclusion drawn by Qi Su Si, "Jin Yang's casinos are too peaceful to get along with each other. It seems like they are trying to make money together."
Hua Zhi's mind moved. "Casinos are the places where murder cases are most likely to occur. What is the situation here? What are their rules?"
Yu Mu had a vague grasp of something, but the feeling was fleeting. He cupped his hands and said, "I'll go check it out right away."
Hua Zhi picked up the dice and rubbed them in her palm. The dark side should be black, even if it doesn't look dark enough, the base is still black. But Jin Yang was too peaceful. Moreover, why was the backer of the five casinos a Tongpan (a judge) instead of Yuan Shifang, the governor of Yuzhou at that time
Yuan Shifang was the remnant of the Chaoli clan who had been nailed to death. He had the most reason to make money for the Chaoli clan, but he let go of the gambling house that made money very quickly. This is really unacceptable.
Could it be that he is avoiding suspicion
Or is the identity of Tongpan Zhu Ling suspicious? No, that shouldn't be the case. The Seventh Constellation had already thoroughly investigated all the officials in Yuzhou. If he really had a problem, he would have been arrested long ago, and it wouldn't have been delayed until now.