Chapter 8: By the Balcony (II)

Harsh policies are worse than tigers!
That was what the young man thought to himself. If it were just ordinary taxes in silver, they wouldn’t be a problem for these silk shops that made huge profits every day. But adding something like raw hides, which wasn’t in season, was another matter. After all, raw hides were unique to the grasslands. Aside from the Turks and Uyghurs in the northern deserts, only the Khitans in the northern Jizhou region had large areas of pastureland. Merchants in Chang’an could only obtain raw hides by trading with these herders.
It would be fine if it were a fair exchange—after all, everyone was getting what they needed.
But if the herders learned of the merchants’ eagerness and started demanding more, just like those Turkic women, wouldn’t the merchants end up losing everything?
It wasn’t necessarily that the imperial court didn’t care about the people’s welfare, but it was certain that lower-ranking officials were exploiting them.
Sigh, harsh policies are worse than tigers—truly worse than tigers!
He bought three bolts of Suzhou silk from Hao’s Silk Shop and asked Hao Chun to deliver two of them back to the mansion as gifts for the two young ladies. Li Kuo took one bolt himself to give to Ni Xin. Having done this many times before, he went straight up to the second floor as soon as he entered the inn, heading toward the guest room on the north side.
“Sir, sir!”
Just as Li Kuo was about to knock, the inn attendant rushed over.
“Sir, are you looking for the young lady staying in this room?”
The attendant, out of breath, wiped his sweat with the handkerchief on his shoulder before asking.
“That’s right. She…”
“She checked out early this morning and left. She even told me to tell any man who comes looking for her the truth!”
The attendant was honest—without even asking for a tip, he spilled out everything Miss Ni had instructed him to say.
“Oh, thank you.”
Li Kuo nodded in gratitude.
This Ni Xin was really interesting! She clearly liked him but refused to admit it. Must have upset her last night?
With that thought, the young man sighed, turned, and went downstairs, heading out of the inn.
“Creak!”
The wooden door slowly opened. Watching the young man leave, Ni Xin leaned against the doorframe, tears streaming down her face.
That fool!…
“Hello, Brothers of the Peach Garden! Hello, Prosperity of Four Seasons! Hello, Top Five Heroes! Hello, Luck of Six Six! Hello, Clever Sister! Hello, Double Horse Drink! I give it all to you!”
In the military camp on the outskirts of Chang’an, the copper-armored soldiers were drinking and playing gambling games. Since their general wasn’t in the camp these days, they finally had some time to relax. If they didn’t reward themselves now, wouldn’t that be too unfair?
“Come on, fill General Dou’s cup!”

Seeing Dou Qing make another mistake, Pu Dachui laughed heartily and handed him a glass of wine.
“Hey, old Pu, you’re really unfair! This is already the third time. Why do you keep pouring wine for me?”
Dou Qing wasn’t easy to bully either. Seeing Pu Dachui’s behavior, he became angry too.
“Hey, hey, didn’t you say it wrong? Didn’t you say it wrong?”
Pu Dachui narrowed his eyes and explained, making it impossible to find fault with him. Usually carefree, he actually had quite a few scheming ideas.
“Alright, then tell me—what are you good at? Tell me what game you want to play, and I, old Pu, will play it with you!”
“That’s what you said!”
Dou Qing slammed the table and said, “Then let’s play a game of rock-paper-scissors!”
Pu Dachui scratched his head and asked, “Rock-paper-scissors?”
“Yes, rock-paper-scissors!”
Dou Qing nodded and said, “We’ll use three dice. If the total is less than ten, it’s ‘small’; if it’s more than eleven, it’s ‘big’!”
“That’s simple!”
Pu Dachui was overjoyed at the idea. There was nothing complicated about it—perfect for him.
Everyone present had military backgrounds, so they acted right away. In no time, the table once filled with food and drinks was cleared away, replaced by betting chips and dice.
Everyone took a deep breath and stared intently at Dou Qing, the proposer. …
“Bet on ‘small’! Bet on ‘small’! Damn it, I told you to bet on ‘small’! You idiot bet on ‘big’!”
Pu Dachui angrily pushed Wang Xiaochun’s head and cursed nonstop.
The three dice rolled this time also resulted in a total less than ten, meaning all of Pu Dachui’s chips went to the center of the table.
“Hehe, Brother Dachui, I told you! Things change over time—after thirty years in one place, it’s thirty years elsewhere. It’s time for you to lose a few rounds.”
Dou Qing laughed as he gathered the pile of silver coins to his side, teasing Pu Dachui.
“Hmph, don’t get too happy too soon. It was Xiaochun who wasn’t obedient before. This time, I, old Pu, will personally take action and win back what I lost!”
Pu Dachui wasn’t someone to be trifled with either. Seeing this, he straightened up his betting stick, determined to win back all the lost money.
“Great, Brother Dachui! That’s exactly the spirit I like. Come on, put all the chips on the table!”
Dou Qing ordered cheerfully, as if the money would soon be in his hands.
“Brother Dachui, what are you betting on?”
“Need I say? I’m betting on ‘small’!”
Pu Dachui crossed his arms over his chest and declared firmly.
“Alright! Then I’ll roll!”
With that, Dou Qing started shaking the pottery bowl faster and faster. Everyone’s gaze focused on his hands.
“Roll!”

With a loud shout, Dou Qing stopped. “Really lower the bet?”
“What’s the need for words? I’ll lower it!”
Dou Qing nodded and slowly lifted the pottery cup.
“Twelve, twelve—big!”
As soon as he saw the three sieves, Dou Qing beamed with joy. “Brother Big Hammer, you lost again!”
“How, how is that possible!”
Pu Big Hammer covered his head in despair, cursing bitterly. This was half a year’s salary—the money he had saved to marry a wife. Lost all in just one day?
“No, I, Pu, must win it back! I’ll bet next year’s salary!”
Dou Qing smiled and said, “Good. Since Brother Pu is so generous, I’ll match you by betting next year’s salary too!”
Just as Dou Qing was about to start shaking the cup, a messenger stumbled into the tent, shouting, “It’s bad, it’s bad… General, the general has returned!”
“What general? Speak clearly, kid!”
Pu Big Hammer grabbed the man by the collar and snapped at him.
“It’s General Li, the military commander… General Li has returned!”
The messenger trembled like straw as he uttered these words that shocked everyone.
Ah!
At that moment, all the copper-armored soldiers present were stunned into silence.