I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

"Mr. Yao, you said you have some good medicinal herbs at home?" Zhou Qing went straight to the point.

Yao Lao San nodded, stood up and took out a wooden box from the inner room.

When the wooden box was opened, a snow-white ginseng was lying inside, with complete roots and a full shape.

"This is..." Zhou Qing took a breath.

"Thousand-year-old snow ginseng, I found it deep in the Changbai Mountains when I was young, and I've never been willing to sell it." Yao Lao San's eyes were filled with reluctance, "But something happened at home recently, and I'm in urgent need of money."

Liu Ying also recognized the preciousness of this ginseng and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Just then, there was a noise outside the courtyard gate.

"Yao Lao San! Hand over your son!"

"It's only natural to pay back your debts! If you don't pay me back today, don't even think about leaving!"

Yao Lao San's face changed drastically, and he quickly put away the ginseng: "I came to find my son."

The gate was roughly pushed open and seven or eight ferocious-looking men rushed in.

The leader was a fat man with a face full of flesh. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted loudly: "Yao Lao San, your son owes us three thousand taels of silver, and he must pay it back today!"

Yao Lao San trembled and said, "Gentlemen, can you give me a few days..."

"Grace?" The fat man sneered. "It's already been a month! Either pay up today or chop off your son's hand!"

At this time, a man in his thirties walked out from the inner room. He was Yao Dashan, the son of Yao Laosan.

Yao Dashan's face was filled with shame: "Dad, it's all because of my unfilial son that I've caused you trouble."

"Stop talking nonsense!" The fat man waved his hand impatiently. "Where's the money?"

Yao Dashan smiled bitterly: "Boss, give me a few more days, I will definitely find a way..."

"No time!" The fat man waved his hand, and several of his men immediately surrounded him.

Zhou Qing couldn't bear to watch any longer and stood up: "Wait."

The fat man then noticed that there were other people in the yard. He looked Zhou Qing up and down and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm just passing by." Zhou Qing said calmly, "It's only natural to pay back debts, but coming here to collect the debt like this isn't very appropriate, is it?"

"What's it got to do with you?" The fat man glared at Zhou Qing viciously.

"I see this guy doesn't look like a local, right?" Zhou Qing said calmly, "It's better to be polite when you're on someone else's territory."

The fat man was shocked by Zhou Qing's momentum, but he still said toughly: "Boy, do you know who I am? I am from the Qinglong Gang..."

Before he could finish his words, a younger brother behind the fat man suddenly changed his expression and whispered something in his ear.

The fat man's face turned pale in an instant, and he looked at Zhou Qing with eyes full of fear.

"You...you are Lord Zhou?" The fat man's voice was trembling.

Zhou Qing was puzzled, but remained calm on the surface: "Do you know me?"

"A few days ago, our boss was taught a lesson by you. After returning, he specifically told us to be respectful when we meet you." The fat man smiled apologetically, "It's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

So that's how it is, Zhou Qing remembered. He did teach a Qinglong Gang leader a lesson a few days ago, but he didn't expect the news to spread so quickly.

"Since it's a misunderstanding, let's forget it." Zhou Qing waved his hand, "But I think there's something fishy about this debt."

The fat man nodded quickly: "You are right, you are right!"

"How much does Yao Dashan owe you?"

"Three...three thousand taels." The fat man answered tremblingly.

"How much is the principal?"

"Eight hundred taels."

Zhou Qing sneered, "Eight hundred taels of capital, and it's become three thousand taels in less than two months? Your interest rate is too high."

The fat man was sweating profusely: "This... this is the rule..."

"What rules?" Zhou Qing's tone turned cold. "I think you set this up on purpose, didn't you?"

Yao Dashan was stunned: "Set up a trap? Impossible, those people are my friends..."

"Friend?" Zhou Qing looked at Yao Dashan, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I've been around the gambling table for more than ten years, who wouldn't see it? And that night, they paid for me to gamble." Yao Dashan vowed.

Zhou Qing sneered in his heart, he had seen this kind of routine many times.

"How about this, take me to meet your 'friends'. I want to see who they are."

Yao Dashan hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, the fat man quickly said: "Master Zhou, this money matter..."

"I will ask him to pay back the principal, but not a penny of interest. Come and get the money in three days." Zhou Qing said without question.

"Yes, yes, all up to you." The fat man hurried away with his men as if he had been pardoned.

Yao Lao San looked at Zhou Qing with gratitude: "My benefactor, your kindness is so great..."

"No need to say more." Zhou Qing waved his hand. "I suspect your son was set up. Let's find out first."

That night, Yao Dashan took Zhou Qing to a teahouse.

There is a private room on the second floor of the teahouse, and several people are playing mahjong inside.

"Dashan is here!" One of the tall and thin men greeted enthusiastically, "Come quickly, come quickly, we are short of one person."

The other two people also stood up to greet him, and they really looked like old friends.

Zhou Qing observed quietly from the side and soon discovered the clues.

The three of them cooperated very well and their techniques were very skillful. They were obviously veterans who worked together frequently.

"Come on, Dashan, you'll definitely be lucky today." The tall and thin man said with a smile.

After the mahjong game started, Zhou Qing carefully observed everyone's movements.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, he discovered the problem.

The fat man sitting opposite Yao Dashan secretly made some changes while the cards were being shuffled.

The short man sitting on Yao Dashan's left is responsible for transmitting signals.

As for the tall and thin man, he was responsible for controlling the rhythm, letting Yao Dashan win a few rounds first, and then slowly lose everything.

This is a very sophisticated scheme. If Zhou Qing did not have modern knowledge, it would not be easy to discover.

Another hour passed, and Yao Dashan really started to lose money continuously.

"Dashan, you're not lucky today." The tall and thin man pretended to be concerned.

"It's okay, continue." Yao Dashan's eyes were red, and he was obviously drunk.

At this moment, Zhou Qing suddenly made a move and grabbed the fat man's wrist.

"What are you doing?" the fat man asked in panic.

Zhou Qing sneered and pried open the fat man's palm, revealing several mahjong tiles hidden inside.

"What else is there to say?"

The atmosphere in the private room froze instantly.

Yao Dashan looked at the mahjong tiles in the fat man's hand, his face livid: "You...you are really lying to me?"

The three of them looked at each other, knowing that the truth had been revealed, and decided to stop trying to hide it.

"That's right, I lied to you." The tall and thin man sneered, "Who made you so stupid that you even boasted everywhere about having thousand-year-old ginseng at home?"

Yao Dashan was struck by lightning: "You...you are here for my family's ginseng?"

"Of course," the short man said proudly, "We've gone through so much trouble just for that ginseng, haven't we? Eight hundred taels of capital is nothing. That ginseng is worth tens of thousands of taels!"