"You're clearly causing trouble on purpose!" the Third Mistress pointed at her, indignant.
"I'm not, don't spout nonsense," Ye Ningyuan walked forward, making a move to take the treasure map from Su Yunmo's hand. "In any case, my bid is the highest now, so this is mine."
Seeing her about to take the treasure map, the Third Mistress grew anxious. Disregarding Lin Zequ's instructions, she said, "Wait! How about we have a gamble? Whoever wins gets to take the item!"
Ye Ningyuan glanced at the little dumpling with some surprise.
Mo Mo was right after all, she had indeed made such a strange request.
Su Yunmo sneered inwardly.
Having been with the Third Mistress for so many years, she understood her best.
She had two main characteristics: a strong sense of pride and a love for gambling.
This woman detested being looked down upon in public. Whenever she encountered such a situation, she had to compete for superiority, and her method of competition was often through these underhanded means.
"My bid is higher than yours, I've already won, why should I gamble with you?" Ye Ningyuan crossed her arms, scrutinizing her with disdain.
The others chimed in, calling the Third Mistress's idea whimsical.
The Third Mistress, feeling the eyes on her, lost her composure and stared intently at Ye Ningyuan, saying, "I must gamble with you. If you're afraid, just hand over the treasure map early."
Ye Ningyuan subconsciously glanced at Su Yunmo.
The little dumpling nodded.
Ye Ningyuan raised her eyebrows and said, "Alright, I agree, but we need to add more to the stakes."
Seeing her agreement, the Third Mistress was delighted. "Fine, I agree!"
"Are you sure you agree? Aren't you going to ask what the added stakes are?" Ye Ningyuan had her arms crossed.
The Third Mistress was confident. "No matter what stakes you want to add, I'll play along. I can't possibly lose!"
The previous incident at the casino was just an accident. Her gambling skills were very high; how could a young girl like Ye Ningyuan be her match?
"Since we're gambling, we must draw up a written agreement to prevent either party from going back on their word," Su Yunmo instructed a servant to bring brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote a contract.
The Third Mistress signed and thumb-printed without even looking.
The two agreed to shake dice and guess whether the outcome would be large or small.
To ensure fairness, a person was randomly chosen from the crowd to shake the dice cup.
The Third Mistress guessed large, and Ye Ningyuan guessed small.
But when the cup was opened, the dice inside showed small.
The Third Mistress's face immediately changed. "This is impossible, you cheated!"
She had heard it clearly; it was definitely large!
Su Yunmo waved her hand, and the servants of the Prince Yu's manor gathered around, escorting the onlookers out.
Only three people remained in the courtyard.
Ye Ningyuan jumped onto the table and sat down. "You can't make baseless accusations. You must be a good sport and accept your losses."
Even if they cheated, so what? Did this woman think that Mo Mo and she had orchestrated this whole scene just to play a game of guessing dice?
The Third Mistress refused to accept it, shouting, "I don't accept this! You must have ganged up to trick me, I'm not playing anymore!"
She turned to leave.
Su Yunmo narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Is it a bit too late to leave now?"
Linlang came from behind and kicked the Third Mistress's calf, knocking her to the ground. Then, she drew a short knife and held it against her wrist.
The Third Mistress immediately screamed, "Let go, hurry and let go! What do you want to do?"
Ye Ningyuan jumped off the table, holding the signed contract and waving it in front of her. "Next time something like this happens, you'd better read what's on the paper carefully before signing."
Su Yunmo added softly, "It's okay if you can't read it. I can tell you. It says that whoever loses will have an arm chopped off. You choose."
The Third Mistress's face turned deathly pale, and she struggled desperately. "No, let go of me, let go of me! Help! Quick, someone help!"
These two girls were simply devils; they had been plotting against her from the very beginning!
Linlang swung the short knife down.
The Third Mistress screamed.
However, the short knife did not land on the Third Mistress's hand but on the ground.
The Third Mistress, terrified, almost fainted, but she quickly regained consciousness and shouted, "Let's change the terms! I'll give you money, just let me go!"
Su Yunmo had been waiting for her to say this. "You want to buy your life with money? You can, but my price is not low."
Before Su Yunmo could finish, the Third Mistress screamed, "I'll give you ten thousand taels!"
"I don't want silver. I want all the dowry that the Marquis's wife brought when she married in!" A cold glint flashed in Su Yunmo's eyes as she spoke word by word.
The Third Mistress stared at her in disbelief. "What did you say?"
Dowry? Why would Su Yunmo suddenly make such a request?
Her gaze flickered. "I don't know anything about a dowry. Those things were buried with her long ago."
Su Yunmo sneered, "Then we have nothing more to say. Linlang, act!"
Linlang raised the short knife again, this time directly at the Third Mistress's hand.
Cold sweat beaded on the Third Mistress's forehead. She closed her eyes and shouted, "I really can't give you the dowry! Those things were left by the master, and he instructed no one to touch them!"
She had been short of money recently, so she had secretly taken out a few pieces of jewelry to sell behind the master's back. It seemed Su Yunmo must have discovered this secret from the jewelry shop.
But how did she recognize items from Nanjiang?
Su Yunmo and Ye Ningyuan exchanged glances, a thoughtful expression passing through their eyes.
"I don't care about that. Either you find a way to hand over all the items, or I'll have someone chop off one of your arms. You choose."
The Third Mistress was in a dilemma, but she truly didn't want to have her arm chopped off, so she chose the former. "I'll go back and get the things for you right now!"
"A wise choice." Su Yunmo dismissed Linlang to release her. "Take a few people with you to ensure all the items are retrieved."
Linlang recognized the items from Nanjiang, so her presence would prevent any mistakes.
"Little Mistress, rest assured," Linlang nodded in agreement, pulled the Third Mistress up, and dragged her outside.
After they left, Ye Ningyuan turned to look at Su Yunmo.
"This is truly strange. For a place as wealthy as the Marquis's manor, how could they be so short of money that the esteemed Marquis would seize his wife's dowry?"
Su Yunmo furrowed her brows, pondered for a moment, and a thought flashed through her mind. "What if he kept those things not for money?"
"If not for money, then it's to find something," Ye Ningyuan stroked her chin. "Did the Nanjiang princess bring anything important when she came for the marriage alliance back then?"
Su Yunmo remained silent, instinctively touching her chest.
At her chest, the glazed lock was faintly warm.
Ye Ningyuan noticed her small movement, her eyes slightly narrowed, her expression unchanged.
"Alright, it's getting late, and I should head back for dinner. The old man has been strict lately, and I don't dare provoke him."
Su Yunmo replied with an "Mm."
"I'll come find you to play again another day. Mo Mo, you must miss me constantly." Ye Ningyuan gave her a flirtatious look and walked away humming a tune.
Su Yunmo took the glazed lock out of her embrace, feeling the aura emanating from it, her eyes gradually darkening.
The glazed lock recognized its owner; items that recognized their owner were useless to others.
Lin Zequ had even conspired with Luo Yun'e to test her about this before, but when the glazed lock was in her mother's hands back then, it hadn't recognized an owner.
Since her mother came for the marriage alliance from Nanjiang, she must have had something in Lin Zequ's hands as leverage. Then why didn't Lin Zequ take the item when her mother was alive?
Thinking about it carefully, something felt off.