On the Day of the Grand Wedding, My Wife Was Acting Strange - Chapter 36:

Chapter 36: A Shocking Secret – The Underground Bank!

Lin Zhen watched Zhang Li’s swift and efficient figure, the corners of his lips lifting into a satisfied smile. He slowly walked up to her, tightly clutching the heavy imperial decree in his hand. He softly instructed the attendant nearby, “Close the doors. Have everyone else leave.”

“Creaaak.” The heavy casino doors slowly closed, cutting off the noise of the outside world. Zhang Li inexplicably felt a wave of nervousness, instinctively stepping back a few paces to keep a subtle distance from Lin Zhen.

Could it be… this guy’s beastly side was awakening? Was he planning to do something improper in broad daylight?

“Your Highness, why close the doors in broad daylight?”

Lin Zhen gave a faint smile, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes as he casually tossed the decree toward her. “See for yourself.”

Zhang Li’s gaze landed on the decree, and upon seeing the five-clawed golden dragon seal, she had a rough guess already. When she opened it and saw the words clearly, she felt the world spinning around her.

The decree read:

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Heroic talents are not limited by birth; all things under Heaven should cast aside distinctions of high and low, noble and base. Thus, We decree that on the auspicious date of the ninth day of the eighth month, a grand Gambling King Tournament shall be held at the Hero Casino in the capital. This contest is not merely for entertainment, but to select extraordinary talents of intellect and courage, to crown the best among them, and to showcase the grandeur of the empire. The victor shall be bestowed the honorary title of Gambling King by the imperial court, an honor without equal.”

“Second year of Fuyao, twentieth day of the seventh month.”

Zhang Li softly read this line, her brow furrowed tightly, her eyes full of disbelief and shock. She slowly raised her head to look at him.

“Did the Emperor really issue such a decree for you!?”

She felt like her entire worldview had just shattered.

The mighty Emperor, ruler of a nation, actually publicly supported gambling, and even wanted to hold a so-called Gambling King Tournament. If this news got out, wouldn’t other nations laugh themselves to death?

Lin Zhen casually took a sip from the tea Zhang Li had been drinking, but before he could savor it, he spat it out violently, accompanied by a fit of coughing. “Pfft, cough cough… what is this medicine!?”

“This is bitter tea.” Zhang Li responded indifferently.

Lin Zhen frowned deeply, finding it unbelievable. “You drink this to quench your thirst?”

“Though bitter, it clears heat, calms the mind, and improves one’s complexion. If Your Highness drinks it often, it would be quite beneficial.”

Yeah right.

How could this even be called tea? It was mixed with the taste of ginger and spices, and there was even a faint aroma of sesame oil. The tea leaves floated stubbornly on the surface, refusing to sink.

That one sip was a blend of bitterness that tasted like the runoff from a latrine in the summer heat. It was enough to make one roll their eyes in disgust.

If not for his strong will, he would have thought he was ascending to the heavens.

Lin Zhen secretly cursed in his heart.

Better not ask him how he knew what that tasted like—that was all from his own bitter experiences in youth.

Lin Zhen spat out the remaining bits of tea in his mouth, the dregs tracing an ugly arc through the air. Only then did he look at Zhang Li nonchalantly.

“Enough nonsense. Tell me, can we make one hundred thousand silver taels within three months?”

“Your Highness, can you at least tell me how you managed to do this?”

“No,” Lin Zhen shook his head.

“Hmph.”

Zhang Li snorted softly, giving him a reproachful yet flirtatious glance.

“With this decree, the casino will surely be packed with people. Gathering one hundred thousand silver taels in three months will be as easy as flipping a hand.”

Her gaze sharpened. “But why change the name to Hero Casino? We were already called Yuanda Casino.”

“Only from the Hero Casino can heroes emerge. Find someone to make a signboard and open up as soon as possible. Also, you lost the bet. What’s the secret you were going to tell me?”

This was what Lin Zhen was most curious and concerned about.

What exactly was the secret that made the Gu family willing to brawl in the streets and risk everything to take it back?

Zhang Li, knowing she had lost the bet, didn’t hesitate and said directly, “The underground bank.”

“Bank?”

“Yes, this casino is the Gu family’s lifeline and their largest source of income. But what truly makes their wealth endless is not the casino itself, but the underground bank hidden beneath it.”

Without delay, Zhang Li strode toward the depths of the casino, with Lin Zhen following closely behind.

As they walked, she explained, “Your Highness knows, the biggest profit in a casino comes from lending. But on the books, this casino doesn’t have that much money. So the Gu family dug a warehouse beneath the casino to store the black money they’ve embezzled and taken as bribes over the years. Then the casino lends it out and reclaims it later.”

“This way, the money is laundered and becomes clean. So this place is also the Gu family’s money laundering hub.”

Lin Zhen nodded slightly, already understanding in his heart.

He knew the casino was not just a profit-making tool for the Gu family but also their hidden stage for laundering evidence of their crimes. But this operation was even more sophisticated and elaborate than he had imagined.

Zhang Li led Lin Zhen to the warehouse entrance, touching the edge of an oil painting of an ancient pine tree.

As the painting frame slowly detached from the wall, a square hidden compartment appeared.

Zhang Li gently pushed it, and the entire wall silently slid aside, revealing the dark, deep space behind it.

Lin Zhen was secretly impressed.

Even with his experience from the future, he hadn’t imagined such a massive underground project beneath an ordinary-looking warehouse.

Ancient corrupt officials were truly ingenious.

Lin Zhen’s gaze sharpened as he asked quietly, “Since you know about the underground bank, why did the Gu family allow you to be captured by me?”

Zhang Li glanced back with a brilliant smile, like spring flowers, her tone cunning. “Because they don’t know.”

She took out a fire striker and walked inside, with Lin Zhen close behind.

“The Gu family’s steward comes to the casino every night. At first, I thought he was just here to audit the books. But when I noticed the silver in the warehouse kept increasing, I became curious and followed him, discovering this place.”

“But he doesn’t know I know their secret. Otherwise, do you think I’d still be alive?”

As she spoke, Zhang Li lit the candles inside the warehouse.

The faint glow spread warmth, illuminating a small area. In that corner bathed in light, Lin Zhen’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Before him was a mountain of gleaming silver!

Every silver tael was as bright as freshly fallen snow, uniformly cast into five-tael ingots, stacked tightly upon each other, piled as high as the warehouse ceiling.

It was like a wall of dreams built from silver, both awe-inspiring and unreal.

How much money was this?

Lin Zhen recalled scenes from anti-corruption documentaries he’d seen when he was a selection student—how they found billions in assets at officials’ homes, stacks of cash forming walls. But he had never seen it with his own eyes. Only now did he understand the sheer impact of money.

With this much wealth, the Gu family was indeed as rich as a nation.

No wonder Gu Beichen had been unstoppable in the original plot. Just these funds alone could keep the entire Great Qian army fed and equipped for two years—an army of hundreds of thousands!

In the original novel, the author only described how vast the Gu family’s assets were, how much annual income they had, and how Gu Beichen was the most outstanding prodigy. But he never mentioned how corrupt his father was!

Lin Zhen remembered how in the novel, Gu Beichen always sent large sums of silver to Murong Yan, claiming they were from confiscated property of Lin family faction’s corrupt officials.

Murong Yan had thus become increasingly fond of Gu Beichen, enamored by him, thinking he was the most capable man in the world.

And yes, if not for his transmigration, Gu Beichen would have indeed been the most capable.

But now… all your fortune is mine!

And this windfall was just the beginning!

Zhang Li lit all the candles, and Lin Zhen finally saw the full extent of the warehouse.

Zhang Li said, “I roughly calculated—about two million six hundred thousand taels of silver, one hundred fifty thousand taels of gold, and as for the jade and jewelry, I didn’t count.”

Lin Zhen swallowed hard.

One hundred thirty metric tons of silver, seven and a half metric tons of gold.

And now, it was all his.

Ridiculous that he had still been pooling money with Fatty and the others to start a company!

Wasn’t that slapping himself in the face?

No, he had to find someone to move this money out immediately. Otherwise, by tomorrow, it would all belong to Gu Beichen!

With this much money in his hands, wouldn’t Gu Beichen hire ten thousand assassins to kill him?