Hearing this, Yu Weiwei grew even more curious. If they were not quite well enough acquainted for her to actually search for them, she truly would have dug out those banknotes to see what denomination they were— a hundred taels could be one note, a thousand taels could equally be one note, and ten thousand taels was perfectly possible as well.

Though she did not actually rummage through anyone’s things, Yu Weiwei’s manner became noticeably warmer and more familiar. Ordinarily it should have been Hua Zhi— the outsider who needed guidance— who had more to say. But along the way, Yu Weiwei found herself doing most of the talking. Even when she noticed this, Yu Weiwei did not think anything was amiss.

Girls raised by great families, even those who were not especially clever, had an eye that had been trained from childhood. They knew who was genuinely from a distinguished background and who was merely someone who, even dressed in a dragon robe, would never be mistaken for a crown prince.

This young woman who called herself Hua Ling spoke and conducted herself in a way that made it abundantly clear her origins were not low. What was more, she had come from the capital— where prominent clans and great families were the last thing in short supply, and where people traveling about did not necessarily use their real names. She might even be of imperial lineage, for all one could know. Associating with her, even if one set aside one’s dignity to do so, would never be a loss.

It was precisely this reasoning that had led her, having only recently become acquainted with this person, to bring her into a place that belonged to their own circle.

Thinking ahead to where they were going, Yu Weiwei lowered her voice and said, “Stay close to me. Don’t ask too many questions and don’t say too much. If there is anything you don’t understand, ask me afterward.”

Hua Zhi agreed, letting a carefully measured look of curiosity settle onto her face. “Are there rules?”

“Nothing explicitly stated, but there are unwritten conventions that everyone follows. It makes for a more comfortable environment to play in— and naturally no one objects.” Yu Weiwei nudged her with her shoulder. “What did you do for entertainment back in the capital?”

Hua Zhi thought over the rather uninspiring pastimes of the capital’s young women and said with complete sincerity, “Compared to what you have here, it really was quite dull.”

Pleased to have her pride satisfied, Yu Weiwei lifted her chin with satisfaction. “Of course. Nothing elsewhere can compare to our Jinyang. Hey, Hua Ling— what brings you all the way here?”

“I came on my father’s behalf to call on an old friend of his. As it turns out, the friend had already passed away. My younger brother is young and rarely gets the chance to go anywhere— once we were out, he absolutely refused to turn back so soon and insisted on staying to enjoy himself for a while. I had no choice but to indulge him.”

Yu Weiwei made a sound of acknowledgment and, knowing when to stop, asked nothing further and moved on to other topics. Hua Zhi acted as though she had no idea she had just been gently probed. Jinyang’s situation was as peculiar as it was— she suspected that every detail of her movements since entering Jinyang had been thoroughly looked into. Fortunately, out of wariness toward the Zhaoli Tribe, she had not only done nothing to arouse suspicion herself, but had also sent Chen Si around with gifts to establish the story that she had indeed come to find someone, only to find that person was no longer there.

Even so, she had been careless in one respect— she should not have used the surname Hua. If their acquaintance were to deepen, they would surely look into her background, and the surname Hua was far too conspicuous a target.

Or perhaps she should simply go ahead and present herself as Hua Zhi in her dealings with them? The Hua family had already fallen. Her reputation for turning stone into gold was already out there. If they took an interest in this ability of hers and approached her on that basis— if she were drawn into their circle passively on those grounds— it would likely earn their trust more readily than if she were to do anything proactively.

But that would not work either. The Hua family must not be associated with gambling. It would ruin their reputation.

She turned all of this over in her mind for the rest of the journey, and only when the carriage came to a stop did she quietly set those thoughts aside and follow Yu Weiwei down.

Instantly, she felt several gazes come to rest on her.

She raised her head and made a frank, open assessment of her surroundings and the people before her. They were in a courtyard. A considerable number of carriages were already parked there— some ornate and imposing, others deliberately understated— but all of them were delicate and compact in the way carriages meant for women’s use tended to be.

Five or six people were standing together at this moment— young women of good families similar to Yu Weiwei, and women of about thirty with a graceful, mature air. They had evidently just arrived as well, and upon seeing Yu Weiwei began teasing her. “We thought you’d be here already. How is it that you’re only just coming?”

“I had to keep my grandmother in good spirits first.” Yu Weiwei replied with a laugh, then pulled Hua Zhi to her side. “A new friend— I’ve brought her along to have some fun. You are not to bully her, any of you.”

The gazes that had been politely veiled a moment before became openly appraising. One of the women covered her mouth to laugh. “Honestly, who would dare bully anyone that our Young Miss Yu brings? Though if she loses money, she can’t blame us for it.”

“As if you’d give it back,” Yu Weiwei said bluntly, calling it out without the slightest ceremony. Every circle had its harmonious relationships and its conflicts— those who got along and those who could not stand each other. It was just that the friction between them never ran too deep. More often than not, the more they disliked each other, the more they played together— you win a few rounds, I win a few rounds, and grudges were dispersed faster that way.

Yu Weiwei made no attempt at introductions and instead took Hua Zhi’s arm and walked toward the entrance. “No point wasting time here. They’ve probably been enjoying themselves inside for a while already.”

The others agreed and followed them in. What was the point of lingering outside? Better to get in and play a few more rounds— and drain the newcomer of everything she had while they were at it.

Hua Zhi took in her surroundings without making it obvious. The courtyard was exquisitely appointed at every turn, with nothing but maidservants to be seen— it put her a little in mind of an inner household’s rear courtyard.

Beside her, Yu Weiwei looked very smug. “Surprised? Even my own rear courtyard doesn’t look this good. They change the decor every so often too. Whoever runs this place has money to burn.”

“This is… a place for women to enjoy themselves?”

“You guessed right. We can hardly play alongside those insufferable men, can we? And going to an actual gambling house is even more out of the question. So the proprietor put together a place like this— so that we can let loose and enjoy ourselves without any worries.”

Hua Zhi glanced at the flower-filled courtyard where blossoms still jostled for attention despite it being the end of October, then looked at the carved balustrades and jade-inlaid galleries, and nodded in agreement. “They really do have money to burn.”

Affirmed in her pride, Yu Weiwei felt more and more that she and this person were kindred spirits— but then the thought that she was not a local made Yu Weiwei a little wistful. “You must stay and play here for a long time. It’s far more fun than the capital.”

“That depends on whether I find it enjoyable.”

“Just you wait— keep a good grip on your purse, or someone will clean you out entirely.”

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. “Let them try.”

The two talked and laughed as they walked, passing through a moon gate and entering one of the inner courtyards, from which the sound of laughter and chatter could already be heard. Yu Weiwei led her straight to the central room. Four people were already playing inside. Hua Zhi immediately recognized the Zhu family girl and one of the young women who had been sitting beside Yu Weiwei at the horse track that day— someone who had been in their company ever since. She knew her name was Wang Xin.

It was Wang Xin who spotted them first and called out with a bright smile, “Weiwei, you’ve come late today!”

Yu Weiwei gave another round of explanations, then impatiently asked how the game stood so far. “Who’s winning?”

“Who can say anything about winning or losing at this point? It’s still early!” another young woman replied, waving her over and urging Yu Weiwei to get into the game.

Wang Xin burst out laughing. “You’re the one losing! You didn’t want Weiwei to know, did you? Weiwei, let me tell you— her luck is absolutely terrible today. I rolled a three and thought I’d certainly lost, and then she rolled out a two! Ha!”

The woman pursed her lips but did not argue. Her luck today truly had been beyond arguing with.