Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 24 Making Money

The thought of being a complete stranger to Harper flustered and saddened Hansen. He worked up his nerve and grabbed her wrist to ask, "Tell me, have you fallen in love with another man?"

There was disgust in Harper's gaze as she glared at him. She poked the needle into the back of his hand that had him loosen his grip. Hansen was furious at how dare this woman fall in love with another man in such a short time.

"My business has nothing to do with you, Your Highness. You better care more about my sister Felicia than minding my business. After all, she's your fiancee. Besides, please show me some respect when you see me in the future. If you dare to be so rude next time, I'll prick that part of your body instead of your hand with my needle." With a quick sinister glance at Hansen's lower body, Harper added, "With this needle, you won't be able to have fun with any other woman, Your Highness." Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Shame on you! You're a girl! How can you say that?"

Without even a glance at him, Harper left quickly. When Hansen tried to catch up with her and clarify things, Yvonne came out from behind the rockery. Although she had straightened her clothes, there were still some traces.

Yvonne didn't expect Harper to be there and her face turned pale. "Err... Harper?"

The expression on Hansen's face changed, and Harper didn't miss it after she raked down her eyes on Yvonne's clothes. A sly smile appeared on her lips, and she left without saying another word.

The both of them had a feeling that Harper spotted a wrong. Hansen left quickly and left behind a frightened Yvonne alone to suffer.

Hansen had left angrily, and Sue had been busy treating Felicia. While it was rare for Harper to have days of peace, she was bored of staying at home every day.

"Nina, change your clothes and let's go out."

"Go out?" The order made Nina a little scared. "My Lady, your father forbids you from going out."

"When did he say that he wouldn't let me go out?" Harper raised her eyebrows. "I haven't heard that from him since I came back from the country house. Let's go."

"Yes, My Lady."

The both of them changed into men's suits and left the mansion. A very embarrassed Nina said, "My La... My Lord, is it okay that we came out like this?"

"If we didn't come out like this, we would be recognized as soon as we left." Harper's fan was knocked on Nina's head. "If we want to cover up our true identities, we should sneak out. Don't you feel bored staying at home all day long? What's more, we're always be under others' control in the mansion. We need to have a way out."

"My Lord, what are you talking about?"

"I mean we're short of money. We should find a place to make money!"

"Money? Where can we make money?" asked Nina curiously.

Harper thought for a while and then said, "Let's go to a gambling house."

"What?" A loud shout came from Nina. "A gambling house? No!"

A palm slapped over Nina's mouth as Harper hurriedly shushed her. "Why are you yelling? My pocket money's decreased. How can I pay you if I don't go to a gambling house?"

"But My Lord, if your father knows that you've been to a gambling house, he'll break your leg!"

"Who'll ever know if we don't tell anybody else?" Harper's brows gently raised.

"I..."

"Well, don't waste time. Come with me." Confidently leading Nina, Harper swaggered into the largest gambling house, Joy Club, in the imperial capital. Gambling houses were usually places to make people very rich or very poor overnight. Some people were overjoyed, while some were disappointed.

"Humph! I can't believe that I have such bad luck today!" A young man with a flush face looked at the dealer, as he dropped plenty of silver on the table. "I bet on the small number!"

"Sir, you've always bet on the small number today and lost every time. Don't you want to change?" The dealer offered with a smile.

"No! I bet on the small!" the young man shouted angrily. He was too unlucky today and kept losing ever since he started gambling, which was annoying him.

"My Lord, let's go back. This isn't a place we should come in." There were tears in Nina's eyes. If Mavis knew that she took Harper to a gambling house, she would definitely sell her.

Harper just smiled at her with raised eyebrows. "We'll go back sooner or later, but I won't return without anything. Wait next to me."

Casually making her way through the crowd, Harper whispered in the young man's ear. The man's mouth twitched and he frowned in hesitation, but he eventually waved his sleeve and slipped something into Harper's waiting hand. She smiled and slipped in the crowd to hide.

"My Lord, you've lost a lot. You'd better go home now. If your father knows that you're in a gambling house again, he'll beat you to death!" The young man's manservant couldn't help but dissuade him.

"No, I have to win once today!" said the young man as he shook off his manservant's hand and pounded a jade pendant from his waist on the table. "This is worth 1, 000 taels of silver. Can I make a bet with it?"

"There's nothing that can't be gambled in the gambling house!" The young man looked like a moving and waving treasure house filled with silver to the dealer.

"I still bet on the small!"

"Sir, you're very unlucky today. How about a change? I don't think you should bet on the small anymore." The dealer smiled at him.

"Cut the crap! I just bet on the small. Hurry up. I don't believe I'll lose all the time!"

The dealer grinned and announced the result. "Four, four, six, it's big. Sir, you lost again."

The dealer happily took his jade pendant, but was stunned at a folded bank note owned by a bettor that bet on the big number. "This is...?"

"Mine." A huge smile was on Harper's lips. "10, 000 taels of silver, I've bet on the big."

While the dealer's face darkened because he didn't want to give the bettor 10, 000 taels of silver, the public was watching and he couldn't deny it. So the dealer had to ask someone to take out a bank note of 10, 000 taels of silver, and gave it to Harper. After she happily took the bank note, she turned to leave.

"Stop! What? Do you want to just leave after you win?" The dealer was angry.

The words made Harper stop in her tracks and turn around. "Are you telling me the players can only lose in the gambling house?"

"Who set that rules? Players are only allowed to lose and can't win?" The young man jumped on it immediately. "So Joy Club can't afford to lose?"

"No, that's not what I meant. Sir, you have such good luck today. Aren't you going to put a bet again?"

"I'm not going to bet again. A person shouldn't be too greedy. It's enough to win 10, 000 taels of silver," said Harper with a smile.

The dealer narrowed his eyes and said, "Sir, I think you should give it another try."

"Well...let me make another bet." She returned to the table and placed down a tael of silver. "I'll bet on the big again."

When he saw the silver, the dealer went mad. Even if they played till the night, the dealer wouldn't be able to win back the 10, 000 taels of silver Harper had won.

"Sir, are you fooling me?" the dealer asked coldly.

"Fooling you?" Harper chuckled. "You cheated this man out of his money and now you want to trick me?"

The words made the dealer's face turn ghostly pale. He cursed, "Don't speak nonsense. When did I cheat? You're slandering the reputation of our Joy Club. Are you here to pick a fight? Who the hell's are you? How dare you make trouble in Joy Club! Somebody, come here! Arrest him! He's cheating!"

"My Lord, what should we do now?" Nina panicked. When the guards surrounded them, Nina trembled like a leaf until the young man strode forward and grabbed the dealer. "How dare you swindle me? Do you know who I am?"

"Sir, don't listen to that toy boy's nonsense. I didn't cheat! You'll have a bad time if you make trouble in Joy Club. Do you know the boss behind it?"

The dealer's words made Harper frown. "What? Not only did you cheat but you're also oppressing us with your power? Actually, I'd like to know. According to the laws, officials aren't allowed to open gambling houses and brothels. So...can you tell me who's behind you?"

"Err..." The dealer looked away. "No matter if we have somebody behind us or not, we won't cheat."

"We'll know whether that's true or not after the test," Harper concluded. A guard was pushed away as Harper grabbed a dice and handed it over to the young man with a bright smile. "You've always been playing dice, so I'm sure you'll know what's going on at just a glance."

The young man weighed the dice in his hand and pinched it only to find that it was empty. The dealer's face turned pale with fear. "Damn you! How dare you lie to me! I'll beat you to death!" the young man roared.

"Stop it, Your Highness." The manservant spoke up when he saw that his young master, Carlson Jun, was fighting with others. His words made the guards realize that the young man was from the imperial family, so they didn't dare move.

The gamblers who had lost money here made a fuss and wanted to take back their money when they saw the cheat of Joy Club. The whole gambling house became a mess in just a snap.

"Stop!" A roar of a man echoed and made everyone pause, except for Carlson Jun, who continued beating up others. The man flew downstairs and dragged Carlson Jun away.

"You bastard! Release me or I'll ask my father to destroy your Joy Club!"

"Your Highness, please don't be angry. There's such a bastard in Joy Club. We'll surely give an explanation to everybody. Please calm down." The man released him and glanced at Harper before he looked at the dealer who had been cheating.

"This bastard ruined the reputation of Joy Club. Break off his arm and drive him away!" At the order, someone stepped forward and pressed down the dealer to cut his arm off with a knife. Fresh blood splashed everywhere and Harper took a few steps back. She hid herself behind the door and quietly left. It was better to leave first.