Chapter 105 The ulterior motive

　　Shu Huan stood up and poured another cup of tea for Gu Xiran. This time she didn't urge him and quietly waited for him to continue.

　　Gu Xiran organized Du Qiu's words in his head and said, "That uncle of Shang Xin had always only idled about. Moreover, dining, wining, whoring and gambling, he did them all. As long as he had money, he would surely spend them all. After he had spent them all, he would ask his big brother for money. If he couldn't get the money, he would steal the things of the house and p.a.w.n them. That her family was poor like this had everything to do with her uncle's willful squandering of money. The moment the villager who knew about this mention him, they would scold him, saying that if it wasn't because Shang Xin's father maintained him and was cautious, even his house and the remaining two acres of thin field would've been sold.

　　"Then, isn't it that her uncle had no one to restrict him after her father had pa.s.sed away?"

　　Gu Xiran nodded, "In the beginning it was great. Her uncle swore before her father's death that he won't gamble ever again in this life. However, an addiction is not easy to quit. He endured for a few months, but he couldn't withstand the temptation of those owners of the dens and still p.a.w.ned the things of home to go gamble. He won a bit money at first. He didn't know that this was a temptation trick that the owners often used. He only thought that although Shang Xin brought bad luck to her parents, but she could bring good luck to his fortune. Hence, he treated Shang Xin quite well. Because of the new year, he even let people made some new clothes for her. However, the more he gambled afterwards, the more he lost. The more he lost, the more he gambled. Not only had he p.a.w.ned everything at home, he even lost the house and the fields."

　　Every gambler with a gambling addiction would have a mentality like it was the end of the world. If the mountain and river weren't exhausted and they couldn't gamble anymore, they wouldn't stop. Shu Huan could guess what had happened afterwards and said, "Did he also gamble Shang Xin away?"

• Mountain and river exhausted: no more money

　　"Mm." Gu Xiran lowered his head and drank some tea. "It would be fine if he had only lost her away. It may be miserable if she had been resold. However, if she was able to be sold to a benevolent family to be a maid, it would be better than following her uncle.

　　Shu Huan frowned and asked, "What else had happened?"

　　"I don't know," Gu Xiran shook his head. "The villagers had determined that she had been secretly sold, but her uncle had been strongly crying out grievance, saying that Shang Xin had hid the last food and sneaked away in the middle of the night. She was just a child and didn't have money; where could she run off to? It happened that even her shadow couldn't be found anywhere. Hence, she was considered one of the people that mysteriously went missing at Shadow Moon Village."

　　Shu Huan frowned even more and said solemnly, "We encountered Shang Xin on the mountain. Then, she had escaped for sure. However, had she escaped before or after her uncle took her to pay the debt?"