Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 310: Forcing Endurance

Chapter 310: Chapter 310: Forcing Endurance

Thankfully, he had separated from his brother early, and after moving he never lived in the same courtyard. Otherwise, seeing his big brother’s behavior every day would have driven him mad!

Lian Bingcai spat disdainfully, spewing a mouthful of saliva and tossing away the toothpick he’d been using, lamenting that his life was truly dull.

Though living here was pleasant, Fat Master treated him to delicious food and drinks, and he didn’t have to lift a finger, like some grand nobleman. By all rights, this was the life he had always dreamed of.

If he wanted to eat something, he just had to mention it; if he desired to wear something, he simply had to ask. Delicacies from the mountains and seas, brocades and fine silks—he could have them all arranged on the same day, no ambiguity.

Yet after the novelty wore off, life became monotonous again. As the saying went, once belly and lust were satisfied, one’s thoughts turned to other desires. This place was too small; there was nothing to do!

Fat Master also never visited, and he was cooped up in a place as small as a pigeon’s cage day after day—it was utterly uninteresting.

Without crickets or dogs, with no widows from the eastern part of the town to tease, and without his close friends to gamble with, life was indeed boring. He was itching to gamble.

To be precise, it wasn’t that there was no one to gamble with. Once, when the itch to gamble became unbearable, he begged Fat Master to find someone to play a few rounds of dice with him.

Fat Master was kind and agreed with a smile, summoning a sharp-dressed, cold-faced man to accompany him in his play.

They did play, but it wasn’t satisfying!

He wanted to gamble high, but the other man’s throw was always a little higher than his.

He wanted to gamble low, and the other squarely rolled it high to the heavens, only revealing the tip!

He thought it was unbelievable and decided to call the numbers to test it. Whatever number he called for, that man would roll it.

Fat Master must have brought him a gambling expert from the casinos—wasn’t this a trap?

But Fat Master said it wasn’t so, this was the black-clad man’s first time playing dice. Disbelieving, Lian Bingcai was offered to try with someone else.

So they switched to another person, but the result was the same. After changing two or three times, it was still the same.

For the first time, he felt rolling dice with someone wasn’t interesting at all. The outcome was already decided; what fun was there in that?

He prided himself on being one of the best dice rollers in Yanqing Mansion, but he was no match for Fat Master’s men, alas...

Seeing his dejection, Fat Master offered a mysterious smile and reassured him that it was not a lack of skill, but rather that there were secrets to dice rolling that required proper practice to master.

Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up, and he persistently asked about the technique, but Fat Master just chuckled without responding.

His heart began to burn with eagerness. If he... if he learned this technique, would that mean he would always win at gambling, becoming unbeatable in Yanqing Mansion?

Since then, whenever he saw Fat Master, he would begin to implore him to teach the technique.

But whenever he broached the subject, the usually amiable Fat Master would just smile and shake his head, stating it was a Unique Technique that couldn’t be shared—essentially, a refusal.

Alas... when would he ever learn the secret to rolling dice!

Lian Bingcai sighed despondently, not knowing if he would ever learn the secret; his future seemed bleak.

Hearing some noise not far off, he looked up to see a procession heading in his direction, and the one decked out in gold and silver—if it wasn’t Fat Master, then who could it be?

His eyes brightened, and he hurried over with a hint of flattery, "Fat Master, you’ve finally come! I’ve been waiting so eagerly, I’ve missed you dearly. So, about that dice rolling technique, is it really impossible to teach me a little?"

Hu Miaomiao subtly separated him from the group to prevent this fool from somehow offending the Emperor, and said with a chuckle, "That won’t do, the Unique Technique is not to be taught outside, and it’s not that I won’t teach you, but learning it requires enduring hardship. Shaking the dice won’t be of any use, Little Cai, you’d better not put yourself through that ordeal."

As a Shadow Guard, the first rule is to have acute hearing and eyesight, to control strength in the hands with precision as desired. Just this requirement alone makes the training process extremely arduous, beginning with building a solid physical foundation and so on.

To pass this test, what level must one reach? The coordination of eyes, ears, and hands is crucial: in a windy outdoor setting, a thrown needle must pin a mosquito without killing it to be considered a success.

To reach such a level, shaking dice is child’s play; one could discern the rolled number simply by the sound.

He truly wasn’t deceiving this fool; with such abilities, how could he be material for that kind of training?

Lian Bingcai was not content and struggled, but Hu Miaomiao left no room for argument and directly asked, "Where’s your elder brother, Mr. Lian, at the moment?"

What a joke, with His Majesty right there, where was the time to dawdle with this fool? His primary reason for coming was to see Mr. Lian, with no time for dilly-dallying.

Lian Bingcai, anxious and agitated because he truly wanted to learn, heard the words and frantically pointed in the direction his older brother had gone: "He just went that way."

Having said this, he immediately began to plead again, "Fat Master, my own brother, shaking dice is useful, don’t be fooled by my appearance, I can endure hardship, really I can, please teach me a little!"

As he spoke, he clung to Hu Miaomiao’s plump arm and wouldn’t let go, begging pitifully.

The Emperor cast a scrutinizing glance at the man, his mind making calculations; this was indeed Lian Bingcheng’s brother, Lian Bingcai. Just as Hu Miaomiao described: crafty eyes and a sleazy appearance, undoubtedly with many undesirable habits.

Having learned Lian Bingcheng’s whereabouts, the Emperor walked forward decisively, leaving Lian Bingcai to pester Hu Miaomiao without intervention.

The others followed the Emperor, leaving only Hu Miaomiao and Lian Bingcai behind.

Seeing His Majesty walk away, Hu Miaomiao grew anxious, for being too familiar with people led them to mistake his nature, thinking him to be too soft-hearted, and Lian Bingcai was sticking to him like a needy dog.

He still had to guard His Majesty, oh dear, and it certainly wouldn’t do to hurt someone in front of His Majesty, especially when it was Beauty Lian’s relative, respecting not only the friar but also the Buddha.

The Emperor had walked a few steps ahead when, after a moment’s thought, he suddenly stopped his stride, turned around and said to Lian Bingcai, "You want to learn?"

Lian Bingcai, in the midst of pleading, heard the voice and looked over, only then realising that there was another individual present; somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at the speaker.

Instinctively, he straightened up, released Hu Miaomiao’s hand, and stood properly without daring to offend, nodding submissively.

The Emperor understood and thought that he might as well give him some task, as a favor for the Little Concubine; thus, he crisply instructed Hu Miaomiao: "Teach him."

With that, he turned and continued walking, brisk and unhesitant.

"Yes," Hu Miaomiao bowed and replied, then lifted his head with a smile beginning to form; there would be fun to be had now.

Lian Bingcai was momentarily dumbfounded, unable to believe that his heartfelt desire had been so easily granted, and that he hadn’t even dared to get a good look at the person from before.

Hu Miaomiao gently slapped him to bring him back to reality, careful not to use too much force, or else, like Chief Steward Zhang, he might cough for a good while. He looked at the fool with a smile tinged with a hint of pity.

Snap out of it, Lian Bingcai felt a surge of joy and couldn’t help but want to kneel in thanks, but as he started to bend his knees, something felt amiss. Standing up again, he hugged Hu Miaomiao, bubbling with joy, exclaiming his goodness, what a good man indeed.

Fearing delays might bring more problems, he insisted on starting the lessons right away; he was too eager to wait.

Hu Miaomiao smiled with deep significance; this fool had no idea what he was about to go through.