Chapter 97 part1

Chapter 97.1 - Casino Open for Business
Chong Ming Year 27, September 1st
The Chong Ming Emperor has been in power for twenty-seven years. Although he was muddleheaded and incompetent, none of his ministers and princes was pushovers. Therefore, even if he often made some ridiculous decisions, the imperial city of Jun Zi City was still thriving as always.
The streets were crowded and bustling with noise and excitement. The sound of ringing gongs and drums along with the shouts of hawkers selling their wares mixed together into an irritating noise in one's ears.
However, under this prosperity, there was a street filled to the very brim with people, and there was even a steady stream of people pouring into this street. That street was walled Xiao Jin Street*.
[*T/N: 销金街 – Money Squandering Street]
"Da Hei*."
[*T/N: Literally "Big Black"]
By the side of the road, a well-dressed, handsome man suddenly called a name.
The guard in black clothes standing behind him immediately took a step forward. "Gong zi, what is your command?"
The handsome man looked at the crowd of people who kept rushing by them. Some people seemed to be pouring into the crowd as if they were in a hurry. If the man and his guard had not stepped back in time, then they would have been hit several times already. The man was puzzled. Looking at the situation, it seemed like something major happened.
"Go and see what happened."
Translations are by www [dot] vmnovels [dot] com, if you're reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
"Yes, gong zi!"
The guard in black spoke and caught a young man who happened to run past them.
The young man who was waylaid for no reason turned around with dissatisfaction, wanting to toss out a few words of complaint, but then found that the person holding him was equipped with a weapon around his waist.
The handsome man walked in front of the young man and asked gently, “Young man, what is going on here? Why are so many people going to that street?”
The young man gave him a once over. The handsome man didn't seem to be from foreign lands, but he didn't even know about such a big thing? Still, the young man explained truthfully, "If gong zi is from the capital then you should have heard of Xiao Jin Street. There were originally ten big gambling houses, but there were only nine left a few months ago. A mysterious man bought up the gambling house that had gone bankrupt. He changed Feng Hua Gambling House into Tian Long Gambling House. Today is precisely the opening day of that Tian Long Gambling House."
The handsome man felt that something was odd. "What's so strange about a casino opening?"
Of course he knew about Xiao Jin Street. There were countless casinos and brothels there. Precisely because there were so many, there was nothing strange about an old business falling and a new one rising to take its place.
"If it were just an ordinary casino then there is nothing strange, but this Tian Long Gambling House is different," said the young man.
"How is it different?" The handsome man asked with interest.
"The predecessor of Tian Long Gambling House was destroyed by Bao Hua Gambling House. Bao Hua Gambling House has always regarded Feng Hua Gambling House as something already within their pocket, but then out comes a dark horse, stealing the wind from their sails. So everyone is curious about who is behind Tian Long Gambling House. Who would dare to oppose Bao Hua Gambling House?"
Hearing the name Bao Hua, a strange glimmer flashed through the eyes of the handsome man.
"Then, we have to go and see. But there should be other reasons, right?"
Bao Hua Gambling House was unlikely to give up. They would spare no effort to suppress Tian Long Gambling House, as usual. It should be impossible to attract so many curious people on Tian Long Gambling House's opening day.
The young man said, "Gong zi, good guess. If Tian Long Gambling House was just like other casinos then it's nothing strange, but these days many people have been saying that Tian Long Gambling House invented a new gambling game. Don't know if it's true or false, so everyone wants to see it."
"A new gambling game?"
The handsome man's expression suddenly brightened. He thought of various reasons, but he didn't think of this one. It was indeed a good way to attract gamblers with a new gambling game. Customers liked fresh game play and were naturally interested. Once the curiosity struck, then like the young man said, they would all have the idea of going to see for themselves.
The handsome man smiled at him and said, "Thank you, young man. Just then, we were rude."
The young man was embarrassed to see him being so polite, and quickly waved his hand to say it was okay, and then ran away.
"Da Hei, let us go and see too."
The handsome man retrieved a fan from within his sleeve and flipped it open with a popping sound. Then he strode in the direction of the largest flow of people.
A tangled expression flashed by the guard's face, and then he reluctantly followed the man. He didn't like the name Da Hei. It didn't feel like a name for a person, but his many protests were all invalid, so he kept using it all this time.
Tian Long Gambling House's opening day was even livelier than what the other nine big casinos had imagined.
However, the livelier that it was, the uglier the other nine casinos' expressions became, especially that of Bao Hua Gambling House. They had already spread the word, and many old time gamblers promised to give them face and not go to Tian Long Gambling House. Everything went according to their plan.
But just three days ago, the wind changed directions completely.
Don't know who transmitted it, but news of there being a new gambling game in Tian Long Gambling House spread around, arousing the gamblers' interest.
Although they didn’t say it, their expressions said that they were looking forward to the day when Tianlong Casino opened.
The nine gambling houses had previously maliciously guessed that the so-called new gambling game was actually a gimmick spread by Tian Long Gambling House. How could a new gambling game be created so easily? So they were all waiting for the day when Tian Long Gambling House opened. If the news was false, then they had ways to make Tian Long Gambling House go out of business in a short time.
Announcement \(^∀^)/
I picked up a new Chinese BL novel:
This novel is also set in ancient China, but it’s not a transmigration story. Instead, the gong goes back in time to right the wrongs of his life, in particular showering the shou with more love, hence the title. Reviews promised me lots of fluff in this story, so I’m looking forward to it.