Song Yan thought that this might be the most painful gamble of his life. He opened his palms—clean and bare, with only the lines marking his hand. Yet if anything went wrong today, these hands would indirectly be the reason his sister lost her life. If he hadn't been so naive and foolish, his sister wouldn't have been forced into such a passive and dangerous situation. In fact, he had never seen her face a more perilous challenge than this.

  Losing would mean staking their lives... With reddened eyes, Song Yan stepped forward, resolute and determined, standing in front of Song Chuyi as if ready to face death. "If we're gambling, let it be with my life."

  Knowing how ruthless Han Zhi was, if she lost, both their lives would be forfeit.

  Han Zhi sneered, his mouth twisting into a sinister smile. "Last lifetime, you died an unjust death, and this lifetime... you're just another scapegoat. If Song Chuning had a brother like you, maybe she wouldn't have died so miserably..."

  His entire being exuded an aura so dark and revolting that it was terrifying. Song Yan didn't fully understand his cryptic words, but he knew they were far from good and snapped back, "Shut up!"

  Song Chuyi held Song Yan back, calmly adjusting his slightly askew cloak and retying the fastenings. Only then did she turn to Han Zhi, smiling with a subtle taunt. "Young Lord, why do you keep prattling on like an old woman? We came to Tongzhou not just to meet you—we have other important business to attend to. Tonight, we'll be staying at the governor's residence..."

  The smile on Han Zhi's face instantly twisted into an angry scowl. "You dare threaten me?"

  At this point, when they were essentially mbs awaiting sughter, Song Chuyi still dared to speak boldly—as if the governor of Tongzhou could make a difference. This gambling den operated with the support of the governor's wife, and no one could touch it, not even the governor. Even if he killed Song Chuyi and Song Yan here, he could easily shift the bme onto the influential Zhang family, who managed the gambling den.

  Song Chuyi seemed to read his thoughts and cut him off with a smirk before he could even sneer. "If we're going to gamble, then let's gamble. There's no use throwing around threats beforehand."

  Guanshan shook his head, finding this Sixth Miss Song both annoyingly arrogant and pathetically naive. His young lord was a master of dogfighting and cockfighting, almost undefeated. Could a sheltered young dy, no matter how clever, possibly have the skill to beat him at something as brutal as this?

  The gamblers Song Yan had hired at high prices had been useless; what chance did she stand?

  Han Zhi turned to Guanshan, his voice cold and devoid of any warmth. "Take her to pick a dog."

  He had changed his mind. Initially, he'd pnned to humiliate her a bit, then give her Song Yan's leverage and the child, on the condition that she would also take on the trouble that was causing problems for the Prince of Commandery. But she had chosen to walk down this path to ruin herself.

  He wasn't afraid of death, nor did he mind stirring up trouble; his mother wanted him dead, and even his once-beloved aunt no longer seemed to care for him as before. If he could take a few people with him to the grave—especially someone like Song Chuyi, who had died once already and held memories of a previous life—how thrilling would that be?

  Song Chuyi quickly selected a dog, and everyone stared in disbelief at the scruffy, mangy animal she had chosen. Qingying leaned in, worried, and whispered, "Miss, perhaps you should pick another..."

  The dog looked feeble, wobbling as if it had no strength. How could it possibly be useful?

  Guanshan cleared his throat, barely holding back his ughter as he reported to Han Zhi, "No one has ever picked this dog before. It's fed sporadically... who would have guessed that Sixth Miss Song has such a unique eye for it?"

  She had chosen the most useless, seemingly doomed dog.

  Song Chuyi always had a knack for standing out and emphasizing her uniqueness. Han Zhi smirked inwardly, amused at her folly—like many women, she probably believed herself to be extraordinary. Reality, however, was always quick to sp such illusions out of them.

  "Let her be," he instructed, motioning for Guanshan to bring his rge, powerful wolfdog to the front courtyard. Eyeing the bedraggled dog with its drooping tail, Han Zhi raised an eyebrow at Song Chuyi. "Are you ready?"

  "Not yet." Song Chuyi shook her head unexpectedly, then calmly id out her conditions. "You said if we lose, we forfeit our lives. Now my brother and I are both here, but as for what you promised us..."

  Han Zhi waved his hand dismissively, and Guanshan cpped, signaling a maid to bring out the items. Song Yan checked each one carefully before nodding to Song Chuyi. "It's my jade sachet, A Heng's promissory note, and... Jiang Yuan's indenture contract..."

  So the child's name was Jiang Yuan.

  Song Chuyi looked back at Han Zhi. "How do I know you won't go back on your word and refuse to give us anything even if we win?"

  Guanshan almost burst out ughing. Wasn't this young dy supposed to be scarily clever? How could she ck such self-awareness? Did she really believe she could defeat the young lord, a seasoned gambler? And with a mutt no one had ever chosen, no less...

  Han Zhi also found her insistence amusing. He nonchantly called for paper and ink, swiftly wrote out a contract, signed it, and tossed it over to Song Chuyi. "Now are you satisfied?"

  For someone destined to die, why bother with such details?

  Song Chuyi patted the ugly, tongue-lolling dog, then opened the gate to the fighting pit herself.

  Han Zhi's wolfdog, with its sharp gaze and glossy coat, stood poised and powerful, a stark contrast to Song Chuyi's wobbly mutt with its blotchy face, appearing infinitely more imposing.

  Someone in the crowd muttered something, and the entire ring erupted in ughter. Looking at the two dogs, the outcome seemed obvious. What was there to compete over? Choosing that ugly dog—did she lose her mind?