After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

Gan Cai'er was extremely frustrated; she felt that today was incredibly unlucky. First, she ran into Meng Yu, then she missed her chance and failed to hear any useful information, wasting her entire trip to Zhushan.

All the way, she kept her head down and silently followed behind Huang Tinghai.

Huang Tinghai thought he was in a bad mood because he had embarrassed himself in public while composing a poem, so he even encouraged her a couple of times on the way.

Gan Cai'er just smiled and didn't say anything.

When Gan Cai'er returned to the poetry gathering venue, she found that the gathering had already ended. The students were strolling or chatting in small groups in the plum grove.

As soon as Zhou Caitong saw Gan Cai'er, he greeted her and said, "Young Master Zhu, you're finally back. If you hadn't come back, I would have had to send someone to look for you."

"I got lost in the woods just now, thank you for your concern, Brother Zhou." Gan Cai'er bowed.

"The Zhu family's younger sister is looking for you everywhere. She said that if I see you, I will tell you to go to the entrance of the plum grove to find her, and she will be waiting for you there," Zhou Caitong said.

"Thank you, Brother Zhou."

After thanking Zhou Caitong, Gan Cai'er hurriedly headed towards the entrance of the plum grove.

When she arrived at the entrance, she saw Zhu Xiaoxiao standing with Huan'er and several women, with two young men beside them.

The large group of people puzzled Gan Cai'er, so she asked, "Xiao Xiao, are you looking for me?"

Zhu Xiaoxiao turned around upon hearing the voice and saw that it was Gan Cai'er. She immediately smiled and said to a woman beside her, "Madam Wang, this is my cousin. I came here with him today."

"Brother Youchen, this is Madam Wang."

Gan Cai'er was completely confused, but still bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Madam Wang."

“It’s good that you have your brother here.” Madam Wang smiled and nodded, then said to Gan Cai’er, “Young Master Zhu, this is a nephew of my master’s old friend, named Ma Yuting, who is also a student at the academy.”

"He just mentioned that there's a village opera performance today, and Xiao Xiao really wants to go. With Madam Zhu not around, I'll have to worry about her a lot."

“I was worried about Xiaoxiao going alone, but she said her brother would be there today. Since you're here, why don't you go with Xiaoxiao?”

Ma Yuting!!!

Gan Cai'er's eyes widened instantly as she looked at the white-clad man beside Madam Wang. He was indeed handsome, refined, and exuded an air of scholarly elegance.

But that's all she's got – pretty and delicate!

Gan Cai'er then turned her gaze to Zhu Xiaoxiao, only to see that the latter's face was slightly flushed and her face was beaming with joy, as if half of her heart had already fallen for her.

"What kind of taste does Zhu Xiaoxiao have!" Gan Cai'er thought to herself.

In this life, she would never let this man harm Zhu Xiaoxiao again.

"Xiao Xiao, it's getting late. I promised my eldest cousin I'd take you home early. Let's watch the village opera another time."

Zhu Xiaoxiao's smile slowly faded, and she glared at Gan Cai'er. But Gan Cai'er looked at her with a straight face, showing no intention of changing her mind.

Seeing this, Ma Yuting quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

“Young Master Zhu is right. It takes an hour to get to the village from here, and by the time we go back and forth, it will be dark. The village opera will be performed for five days in a row, so it would be better to go tomorrow.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded as she looked at Gan Cai'er's cold face.

"Then let's do it tomorrow."

On the way back in the carriage, Zhu Xiaoxiao looked unhappy.

"Ah Cai, why won't you let me go see the village opera?"

"Ha, you don't actually want to go see the village opera, you've clearly taken a fancy to that young master Ma." Gan Cai'er snorted.

Zhu Xiaoxiao blushed instantly when her secret was exposed, but she remained stubborn.

"What nonsense are you spouting! What do you mean I've taken a liking to Young Master Ma? It just so happens that there's a local opera performance at his house!"

“Qingshui Town puts on a village opera every year, but I’ve never seen you enjoy watching it. What, is the village opera at Young Master Ma’s house more appealing?” Gan Cai’er mocked mercilessly.

Seeing Zhu Xiaoxiao being rebuked by Gan Cai'er, Huan'er couldn't stand it anymore.

“Madam Lan, you’re wronging my young lady. We see the village opera in Qingshui Town every year, so it’s nothing special. But my young lady has never seen a village opera in Zhushan County before. Who knows what’s interesting about it?”

Gan Cai'er chuckled at Huan'er and rolled her eyes. Then, she leaned close to Zhu Xiaoxiao's ear mysteriously and whispered something.

"Tomorrow, we won't go to the village opera. I'll take you to a more interesting place, where your young master Ma is also there. Do you want to go?"

Gan Cai'er's mysterious demeanor completely piqued Zhu Xiaoxiao's curiosity.

So, as soon as she got home, Zhu Xiaoxiao asked Steward Li to send a message to Young Master Ma, saying that she was feeling unwell after returning home and would not be going to see the opera the next day.

The next day, Gan Cai'er got up very early and started dressing up Zhu Xiaoxiao. In less than half an hour, Zhu Xiaoxiao was transformed from a gentle and quiet young lady into a refined and handsome young man.

Then, Gan Cai'er did her own and her two maids' makeup. Thus, the four women—the young lady, her maids, and servants—successfully transformed into four young masters and servants.

Zhu Xiaoxiao tugged at her clothes, frowning.

"Ah Cai, where are you taking me?"

"You'll know when you get there."

"But even if we dress in men's clothes, we still can't pretend to be men."

Zhu Xiaoxiao admitted that she didn't have Gan Cai'er's ability to imitate men.

"Don't worry, even if others know we're women in disguise, the people there won't say anything," Gan Cai'er said confidently.

Today, Gan Cai'er is taking Zhu Xiaoxiao to a gambling den. There, only money matters; they don't care if you're male or female.

The woman disguised herself as a man simply for convenience and to avoid gossip.

When Zhu Xiaoxiao saw the words "Jubao Gambling House", her eyes widened.

She pointed at the deck of cards, her face full of disbelief: "Ah Cai, you brought me here to gamble?!"

"No, it's not about gambling, it's about broadening your horizons." Gan Cai'er raised an eyebrow and pulled Zhu Xiaoxiao inside.

In her past life, Zhu Xiaoxiao had told her in a letter that the gambling den Ma Yuting frequented most was "Jubao Gambling Den." Nine out of ten times Zhu Xiaoxiao raided gambling dens, Ma Yuting was there.

Therefore, Gan Cai'er chose this place as her first stop today.

The doorman at the "Jubao Gambling House" initially tried to stop them from entering, but Gan Cai'er pulled out a piece of silver and threw it into his pocket; it weighed a full two taels. The doorman then beamed and invited them in.

"Jubao Casino" wasn't particularly big. Gan Cai'er led Zhu Xiaoxiao around for a while before spotting Ma Yuting sitting by the gambling table.

He was still wearing the same white round-necked robe as yesterday, but it was very wrinkled, clearly indicating that he hadn't returned home all night. His face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, and a ring of black stubble had appeared on his chin. Where was the refined gentleman he had been yesterday?

"That, that's Young Master Ma?!" Huan'er exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth and whispering.

At this moment, the dealer on the gambling table shouted "Place your bets now!" and prepared to open the dice cup. The people around the gambling table erupted in excitement, banging on the table and shouting "Big, big, big!" and "Small, small, small!" The cries were endless.

Ma Yuting was one of them.

His eyes were bloodshot, he pounded the gambling table with both hands, and shouted excitedly—a typical gambler.

Zhu Xiaoxiao was led out of the gambling den by Gan Cai'er. She was in a daze the whole way, like a lost doll.

Back at the Zhu family's villa, she didn't eat or drink; she just sat quietly in the room without saying a word.

Huan'er was so anxious she was about to cry.

By evening, she had finally come to her senses. Her eyes darted around, and she said, "Huan'er, I'm hungry."

Huan'er wiped away her tears and ran out happily to prepare food.

After drinking two bowls of soup and eating a bowl of rice, Zhu Xiaoxiao finally looked at Gan Cai'er.

"Ah Cai, how do you know that Young Master Ma is a gambler and goes to Jubao Casino?"

Gan Cai'er picked at the rice in her bowl, remained silent for a long time, and finally looked at Zhu Xiaoxiao and said...

"Xiao Xiao, this is what you told me."

Zhu Xiaoxiao looked at Gan Cai'er in utter astonishment.

Gan Cai'er sighed and slowly said

"Xiao Xiao, let me tell you a ghost story..."