Shipin Dalizheng

When they walked out of Taifu Xie's study, Zhao Ling and Du Shaokang were already waiting on the way they came. They followed the guide back the same way.

When he came to a three-story independent building surrounded by flowers, Rong Tang keenly felt the prying eyes and turned his head to look over.

At the highest point of the floor, a beautiful figure with her face covered by a veil was staring at them without any hesitation. Her clothes fluttered in the wind and she stood gracefully, like a fairy in the sky.

Rong Tang was just wondering if she was Concubine Xie when Zhao Ling suddenly turned his face away and said with a pout, "Don't look at her, she's a goblin."

Du Shaokang's eyes lit up, "This is Concubine Xie, she really looks like a fairy."

Zhao Ling glared at him, and Rong Tang found it funny. There are no fairies in this world. Even if there are, she has been hiding in the deep palace for ten years and is said to have killed countless people. She is also a monster.

It was not until they left the main room and came to the public area that Du Shaokang came to his senses. He turned around to please Princess Zhao Ling and surrounded her like a little rooster. He almost had "Seventh Princess, I cherish you" engraved on his forehead.

However, Zhao Ling was annoyed with him after all. Although she planned to listen to her mother and give up Zheng Changning, she did not intend to give Du Shaokang a chance.

She walked past Du Shaokang and naturally took Rong Tang's arm, "Cousin Tang, let's go together. I'll introduce you to some good playmates."

Rong Tang slipped away from her arm without a sound.

Zhao Ling's supposed playmates turned out to be a few acquaintances: Gu Zhongxun, Xie Bingzhi, Wang Boan, and He Qilin. They gathered in a pavilion, completely absorbed in playing the game "Shengli".

Rong Tang pointed at them and asked, "Are all your playmates playboys?"

Zhao Ling stamped her feet. "No way! They are all the princes' study companions. We used to rob bird nests together when we were young. Gu Zhongxun, He Qilin, let me introduce you to this princess's cousin."

Gu Zhongxun pushed her aside and said, "Go away! You're interrupting my card game...Seventh Princess!"

Gu Zhongxun, who was dazed by the cards, came to his senses, stood up and faced Zhao Ling. He was about to say something nice, but he saw Rong Tang again and immediately forgot about Zhao Ling.

"Prince Rong, come here. Wang Boan is too stupid. If you team up with him, he will drag people to death. You and I will work together to kill them both."

They were addicted to playing cards, but they were all bad at it. They kept regretting their moves, looked down on each other, and couldn't find a partner to play with.

Nothing happened, Rong Tang raised an eyebrow, "Who among you is leaving?"

Xie Bingzhi was the host and didn't want to spoil the guests' fun, so he took the initiative to leave and make room for Rong Tang. Rong Tang sat down and happened to sit next to Gu Zhongxun, becoming their rival.

Gu Zhongxun shouted, "You have to be in the same group with me."

Wang Boan stopped him, "Why is it different? Don't you always say you're a master? Why, you don't dare to fight against Rong Shizi?"

Of course, Gu Zhongxun refused to admit that he was inferior to Rong Tang. He rolled up his sleeves and shuffled the cards. The four of them silently picked up the cards in their hands.

In between playing cards, Rong Tang carefully felt the feel of the paper. It was rather rough, and the pattern drawn on it was very abstract, but the hardness and flexibility were sufficient. It was much better than the ones they played with in prison. It seemed that they had put a lot of effort into it for fun. Suddenly, he had a vague idea.

It can be imagined that the game between someone who can't count cards and someone who can is almost like a kindergarten kid competing with a middle school student in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. After a few games, Gu Zhongxun and He Qilin were defeated miserably. They quarreled with each other and blamed each other for being blind and only feeding cards into each other's hands.

Wang Boan was very happy. His card skills were even worse, but just following Rong Tang's cards was enough to win.

The quarreling sounds attracted many onlookers, and many people were ready to make a move. Rong Tang took the time to take a look. Most of the people who were eager to watch with curiosity on their faces were second- and third-generation rich people who had no jobs and were idle.

Gu Zhongxun and He Qilin finally lost their temper and said, "We don't want to play anymore. You set the rules. Who knows if you cheated or not?"

Rong Tang didn't take it seriously. "How about this? The three of us play Landlord. You two against me, two against one. Is that okay?"

This sentence aroused the two men's competitive spirit, and they started to play farmers together. After two incense sticks, it was fortunate that they did not lose money, otherwise they would have lost everything.

Gu Zhongxun broke down and threw the cards again. Rong Tang didn't intend to tease them anymore and wanted to ask where he bought the paper to finish the job. Suddenly, a fan blocked Gu Zhongxun's hand that was about to throw the cards. "Master Gu, let me touch Master Rong for a while."

Gu Zhongxun turned around and saw the person coming. His angry face disappeared completely. "Thank you, sir."

Rong Tang looked at the newcomer, and was met with a pair of sinister eyes. Xie Jinzhi was a handsome man, once one of the most distinguished young men in Shangjing. However, due to marital discord, he was crippled by Princess Zhaohua. Now, he lay half-recumbent on a rattan chair, carried around by several servants.

Zhao Ling knew that Xie Jinzhi hated the Fourth Princess, and also knew that he had a strange temper after being seriously injured. Fearing that he might hurt his cousin, he tried to pull him away, "Cousin Tang, my mother wants to see you this afternoon. Since we're here, it wouldn't be rude to leave now."

Xie Jinzhi's lips curled up in sarcasm. "Why, Rong Shizi set the rules himself, and taught the techniques himself, but now he's afraid of a novice like me?"

Rong Tang couldn't say he was afraid, so he asked, "I wonder what kind of play Master Xie likes?"

Xie Jinzhi said, "Let's fight the landlord. Bingzhi, come and help."

Xie Bingzhi's face turned pale. Is it okay if he doesn't want to participate?

"Let me play with Master Xie for a while!"

This voice startled Rong Tang again. He saw the lingering Zheng Changzhi being pushed over by Old Wen. His face was calm, and he no longer had the traces of the mean behavior he had shown to Rong Tang a few days ago.

"Brother Zheng, that's fine too. We're both as good at writing and having fun as you and me. Let's see if we're even close."

At that moment, Gu Zhongxun and He Qilin stood behind the two of them, explained the rules of the game in detail, and for the sake of fairness, tried a few hands first to familiarize themselves with the rules.

After a few rounds, Zheng Changzhi figured out the trick and said with great interest, "It's quite interesting."

Xie Jinzhi stopped talking, but Rong Tang keenly noticed that this was not his first time playing cards as he said. He must have practiced before. Also, it was normal for Xie Bingzhi to teach him how to relieve his boredom since he was lying there bored.

Only when the game really started did the onlookers outside see what a battle between masters looked like. After winning the first two rounds, Rong Tang lost his advantage in counting cards because the two of them had learned how to count cards. After that, what to play and what not to play, and how to play to win was not a matter of calculation, but a matter of luck.

Whoever is lucky enough to get a big and smooth hand will have a greater chance of winning, otherwise he will definitely lose.

After ten rounds, Xie Jinzhi lost interest. "It's boring. Comparing card skills has become a competition of luck. Is there anything more complicated than that?"

Xie Bingzhi's eyes lit up, "Fighting for the upgrade, this is even more brain-burning."

In fact, Rong Tang taught them too many brain-burning cards, but they were too brain-burning and they forgot about them.

Several people were very excited and were about to teach the two the rules of upgrading the cards when a maid ran over and shouted, "Go and see! A few young ladies are fighting."

The young men watching were all very surprised. The young ladies in the boudoir tried hard to appear gentle and quiet in public, so who was fighting in public?

"Whose daughters are these?"

The maid said, "There is the new daughter of our Xie family, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, the daughter of Cui Jijiu, and Miss Tang."

Everyone had an impression of the first few. One was the host of today's Xie family banquet, and the other two were talented women from Beijing who often appeared in public. But no one knew who the last one was.

Then someone asked, "Who is Miss Tang?"

Before he finished speaking, Rong Tang jumped up and ran in the direction where the maid came from.