The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 153 (Part 1) Willing to Bet and Accept Loss

It has not yet completely darkened, but the oil lamps on the four walls of the hall of Yunwei Store are all lit. The felt curtain hanging on the door is lifted up by the threshold for some reason, and the north wind penetrates through the gap and is biting. But at this time, no one in the entire hall could feel it. Almost everyone in the store stood at the food table against the wall, and even the two cooks in the backyard ran out, craning their necks with their hands pricked in grease to look inside. Only the two monks from Hedong were still sitting in the corner of the room. They stopped chanting sutras and sat there in a daze, looking over from time to time.

Mi Dalang's forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his hands were tightly clenched into fists. Pei Jiulang, who was sitting opposite him, had a calm look on his face. He casually threw three copper coins onto the table. He took a look and said with a smile, "Lao Yang". He took it back and sprinkled it again. The three copper coins still had "Lao Yang" on the back. Then he closed his eyes slightly and muttered a few words, opened his eyes and said with a smile, " This time, I got the sign of Lei Tian Da Zhuang. There is Qian in the sign, which dominates Yang, and it should be in the left hand. "

Mi Dalang blinked his eyes, holding in his breath and not daring to let go, but he heard Pei Jiu sigh, "It's just that ordinary people don't know that this hexagram is under it, so the silver hook must be on Dalang's right hand!"

Mi Dalang's expression suddenly changed, his clenched hands almost trembled, he reluctantly opened his right fist, and sure enough, there was a small silver hook. There was a sound of inhalation all around.

Pei Jiulang smiled faintly and said, "Da Lang, this is the eighteenth game. We have something to say first. Pei is making a bet with someone on hiding the hook, and the number is only twenty-nine. Please sit down and have a few drinks first."

Mi Dalang's lips trembled, his eyes widened and he wanted to say "no", but look at the face in front of him that showed no emotion at all, and the three things that were spinning around in his hands as if they could come to life at any time. Suddenly a feeling of fear rose from the soles of his feet, and he sat down involuntarily.

Ye Lun's face was even uglier than Mi Dalang's: They are not young children. What kind of casino have they never been to? But this trick of hiding the hook is the simplest, but also the most impossible to fake. If the person in front of you is not really possessed of thaumaturgy, how could he have hit the mark eighteen times in a row?

Everyone in the hall stayed still for a while, and then started talking in low voices. From time to time, they secretly glanced at Pei Jiu, who was still drinking calmly. A look of fear appeared on everyone's face.

Mi Dalang stayed for a long time before saying, "Mr. Pei Lang, how much will I lose to you?"

Pei Jiulang's tone was unhurried, "Pei Jiuyuan said it was one min per round. In the sixth round, Dalang added it to ten mins, and in the last three rounds it was added to one hundred mins. It was exactly four hundred and five mins." ”

Mi Dalang's face suddenly turned pale. Although more than four hundred pieces of silk was not a large amount, how could he carry so much money with him? The total amount of gold he had on his body was only more than a hundred dollars. How could he have forgotten this when he was so obsessed with gambling?

Pei Jiu glanced at him and smiled very casually, "No one would bring so much money and silk when I go out. If the old man has something else to pay for it, Pei will not force others to do anything."

Mi Dalang's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Mr. Pei Lang is going to Xizhou. Do you have a maid with you? I am originally in the slave business, so how about using two stunning maids as payment for the four hundred coins?"

Pei Jiu frowned slightly and was silent for a moment before saying, "If it's really inconvenient for you, Da Lang, I have no choice but to do this."

Seeing that he agreed without even paying back the price, Mi Dalang felt relieved. He turned around and gave instructions to Ye Lun. After a while, Ye Lun brought two women over. It was the red-haired woman just now and the previous one. The one with green eyes. The green-eyed woman is plump but has an ordinary appearance. The red-haired woman has snow-skinned brown eyes and a beautiful appearance, but now half of her face is swollen. Someone in the store sneered - who didn't hear that Mi Dalang sold this green-eyed woman more than an hour ago for a hundred silks? As for the red-haired one, he was the one he was determined to get rid of. , these two combined are worth four hundred coins? I'm afraid a hundred strings are not worth it!

Mi Dalang glared at the person who was laughing, and then looked back at Pei Jiu. He saw Pei Jiu frowning even more tightly, and he couldn't help but feel guilty. He didn't have many connections in Chang'an, and most of the female slaves he sold were sold directly to ordinary people. Kangfang, Ah Lu has long been divorced, clumsy in tongue, and not good at singing and dancing, so he cannot be sold for a price. Ah Hong has a stubborn and violent temper, and will cause trouble if he is not good at it. If he can seize the opportunity to deal with it now, it will be less What a big trouble...

Thinking of this, he said with a smile, "The beauty of this Ah Lu is not in his appearance. Lang Jun will know it once he tries it. As for this Ah Hong, his temperament is worse, but his appearance is good. It is rare for him to have a noble birth. If he had been born earlier, For half a year, I'm afraid even spending four hundred dollars can't even touch her finger, that is, only someone as noble as Lang Jun can conquer her. "

Pei Jiu glanced at the two female slaves and sighed, "Pei is in a hurry to go to his post, but he really doesn't want to take the **** the road, which will delay the trip and increase the expenses." Mi Dalang couldn't help but feel anxious, thinking As soon as he thought about it, he took out a piece of gold from his arms and slapped it on the table, "Mr. Pei Lang, here is hardware. It is enough to cover the expenses of two slaves on their way to Xizhou. What do you think?" He stared at Pei Jiu closely, with a somewhat fierce look in his eyes.

Pei Jiuyi was startled, laughed out loud, shook his head and said, "Da Lang misunderstood, it's better to do this. Pei doesn't want Da Lang's hardware. Da Lang is going to Chang'an anyway, so Pei will write a letter now. These two I will entrust you with a maid and deliver it to General Su's residence in Changxingfang. When you return to Xizhou in the spring, you can bring General Su's reply to Pei at the Governor's Mansion in Xizhou. I will give you a big thank you."

Mi Dalang couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard this, "Is this true?"

Pei Jiu smiled and said, "Pei, why are you coaxing me to do anything?" He turned to Lao Qin and said, "Can you please lend me a pen and ink?"

Mi Dalang accepted the gold ingot and smiled broadly, "In all the years that Mi has traveled to Chang'an in the Western Regions, I have never seen such a cheerful person as Jiulang!" He shook his head as he spoke, feeling that he had never praised someone so heartfeltly in his life.

Pei Jiu smiled and said seriously, "Although these two women are slaves, they are still part of Pei's filial piety to the general, so I will trouble Mi Dalang to take care of them for a while, so as not to cause Pei any loss of face." ”

Mi Dalang naturally patted his chest to assure himself. What he hated the most when he went to Chang'an was that he was controlled by the people at the Kouima Store. Even if he had a stunning Hu girl, he could only sell it to the land of fireworks. If he could get acquainted with one or two noble people from Chang'an, If you can sell these women into noble houses, the income will be more than double? At worst, there are more than two thousand miles left. I can just pay these two by myself. How much more money can I spend?

The green-eyed woman had already understood, and her face was filled with surprise. Ah Hong, who was twisting his head, couldn't help but turn around and look at Pei Jiu in surprise. Pei Jiu raised his head and looked into her eyes, then turned his head after a moment, feeling dazed.

Here Lao Qin had found a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, grinded half of the inkstone, and brought it up. Pei Jiu came to his senses, thought for a moment, wrote a few lines with a swipe of the pen, and dried the ink. He handed it to Mi Dalang and hugged his hands with a smile, "Thank you." Mi Dalang burst out laughing, and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, then heard a cook suddenly yell, "Oops! "He ran towards the backyard, and Lao Qin followed him in a panic.

After a while, Lao Qin walked in from the back door with a sad face and said loudly, "We can't serve mutton coins today. We only have mutton minced cake soup. Even if you are the owner of a small shop, I invite you to have a bowl each." In the hall There was a burst of laughter.

Mi Dalang also laughed, turned to look at A Hong and A Lu and said, "If it weren't for Pei Jiulang, how would you two be today? Why don't you hurry over and have a drink with Pei Langjun?" Lu walked over with a busy smile. Ah Hong hesitated for a moment, then turned around and took a step forward.

Pei Jiu frowned and waved his hand, "Thank you Da Lang for your kindness, but Pei Jiu is not used to being accompanied by strangers, so let them go down!"

Mi Dalang glanced at Pei Jiu in surprise, and then at the handsome young man next to him. His eyes turned to the young man's face and waist, and a look of sudden realization suddenly appeared on his face, "Mi is being abrupt! Jiulang Forgive me, forgive me!”

Hidden Hook, comes from the allusion of Mrs. Gou Yi. Guessing the left and right hands is a popular game in the Tang Dynasty.

 (End of this chapter)