The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

"What? Can't accept defeat?"

Lin Zhi was extremely pleased with himself at this moment.

"Let me tell you, don't mess with my older brother. Lin Yao likes him. If you dare to lay a finger on him, Lin Yao will come to your house and chop you up."

In Lin Zhi's view, Zhou Chu was standing up for her, so she couldn't let him suffer this undeserved disaster for her sake. Therefore, she had no choice but to use Lin Yao's name as a shield.

Liao Shun's face turned pale when he heard Lin Yao's name.

Compared to Lin Zhi, Lin Yao is much more well-behaved and not as unruly as Lin Zhi.

But once you offend Lin Yao, the things she's capable of doing are beyond imagination.

A while ago, some insignificant guy accidentally offended this young lady, and Lin Yao chased him all the way to his house and broke his leg.

Afterwards, the family had to take the man with the broken leg, prepare generous gifts, and go to the princess's residence to apologize.

This is not an isolated case.

Liao Shun and his group only wanted to swindle money from Lin Zhi; they were never truly afraid of him.

But Lin Yao is different.

Even if Liao Shun had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare offend this old lady.

"My name is Zhou Chu. If you want to win back, I'm ready anytime."

Zhou Chu said nonchalantly.

He was just a vice minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Even though they are both vice ministers, the scope of their authority differs greatly between the vice ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the vice ministers of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were respectively in charge of finance and military power in the Ming Dynasty.

Compared to the Vice Minister of War and the Vice Minister of Revenue, the Vice Minister of Rites held a less prestigious position.

The truly powerful one was the Minister of Rites. The Minister of Rites was in charge of many matters, including the imperial examinations and education. Many scholars, especially those from the south, had to address the Minister of Rites as "teacher."

In the past, Zhou Chu might have been more cautious when facing Liao Shun, or even avoided gambling with these officials' disciples at all.

But since he had promised Princess Deqing and would be doing business with the princess's residence later, he naturally had to take responsibility for Lin Zhi and teach the boy well.

Admittedly, Princess Deqing was after the old man, but since Lin Zhi hadn't changed at all in her eyes, her value in the princess's eyes would greatly decrease.

Anyone who wants others to value them more and more must constantly improve their own worth.

Liao Shun's expression froze when he heard Zhou Chu's name.

He had heard Zhou Chu's name quite often these days.

Every time his father scolded him, he would even bring up Zhou Chu, saying, "Look at Zhou Hengqi, so young, yet he is outstanding in every aspect, from talent to learning. And look at you, what can you do besides fooling around all day?"

These days, I've been comparing him to Zhou Chu repeatedly.

When he suddenly saw the person in person, the situation was completely different from what he had expected.

Wasn't Zhou Hengqi supposed to be a talented scholar? How come he gambles? And even cheats?

Zhou Chu ignored what Liao Shun was thinking and left the Jiaofangsi with Lin Zhi.

After returning home, Zhou Chu turned to look at Lin Zhi, and the look in his eyes made Lin Zhi feel uneasy.

"Didn't I say that you can't leave that yard without my permission?"

Zhou Chu said, enunciating each word clearly.

Seeing Zhou Chu rubbing his hands together in anticipation, Lin Zhi retreated in fear.

"I promise I'll listen to you from now on. I'm a man of my word."

Zhou Chu looked disdainful upon hearing this.

"If you want me to stop playing, we can play Pai Gow. If you can beat me, either way is fine."

Zhou Chu wasn't in a hurry to send Chu Liu back. He needed to make the kid realize tonight that everyone had been treating him like a sucker.

"Sure, isn't that easy? Beating you is a piece of cake!"

Lin Zhi said confidently.

In his opinion, Zhou Chu's success at the brothel was simply due to good luck in gambling.

But luck is a fickle thing. Although Lin Zhi kept losing, he always believed that he could turn things around.

Half an hour later, Lin Zhi signed an IOU for more than five thousand taels of silver with a look of utter disbelief.

In that half hour, he didn't win a single hand. Later on, Zhou Chu and Chu Liu simply started playing with their cards face up, getting whatever cards they wanted.