In Yu Shu's view, the gambling in Anling City is very interesting. It is quite different from the gambling she has seen in Yiyang City. There are more rules here, but the more it is "gambling". After all, gambling requires luck.
There are 30 gamblers present, and each gambler has three questions. That is to say, there are at least 90 questions. Some of them are easy, and some have high stakes. When you bet on other people's questions, other people are also betting on your questions. Because you don't know the bet beforehand, you may win on one side and lose on the other.
While the cards are being distributed, Yu Shu thinks about it. She now has 20 taels of silver, which means that according to the minimum bet of five taels of silver for one question, she can choose four questions. According to the "bet", if she bet on four questions, she can also bet on the four questions in other people's hands. If she can only lose, she can win at least forty taels of silver for the first round. That is to say, if she is unlucky and gets five taels of silver for each question, she can't stop after the first round.
For the sake of prudence, Yu Shu doesn't want to be arrogant. She wants to bet on the lowest bet of five taels of silver for the four questions in the first round, in order to have one more chance to draw a question.
The number plate was quickly given out. Yu Shu got number nineteen because she would be drawing numbers according to this order later. The closer the number was to the front, the better. She didn't care what number her number was, but the people near her were secretly happy because their numbers were in the front.
After getting the card, Yu Shu starts to set the questions. The business of the stall in Qiu Gui Fang is not good these days, so she bought a copy of Arithmetical Classic from another trading store and studied it in her spare time. She has a better understanding of the mathematical level of people at this time, so she is not totally clueless when she is asked to set the questions.
Trying to write neatly, Yu Shu put the questions and answers into the envelope, and marked the front of the envelope with "One, Two, Three, Four". She didn't dare to give too many questions. Only one of them was difficult, and the other three were average. She wanted to preserve her capital and gamble a few more rounds to make up the numbers.
When the time was up, the burly man who had been explaining just now walked out again. Behind him was a fledgling holding a tray. He didn't care if there were people who hadn't come up with a question yet. He showed everyone the thirty numbers on the tray, which corresponded to the ones in everyone's hands.
"If there's anyone who wants to draw a question first, you can call your number now."
Five taels of silver to buy an advantage. Although they could not know who was behind the number, and whether the question was difficult or easy, everyone present was a bargainer. Since they dared to gamble, they all had some ability. It was not as if there was no one who had done some research on numbers and could see through it.
Sure enough, three people were willing to pay to choose their opponents first. To Yu Shu's surprise, one of them called her number. Next, the burly man personally directed several fledgling to go to the tables of the three people whose numbers were called. He took the questions in the red envelopes on their tables and gave them to the three people who called their numbers. He wanted to see whether they wanted to choose one, two, or all of them.
Soon, a fledgling came back with a tray. Yu Shu looked at the four red envelopes on the tray. She reached out and took a look. She didn't see the number she had just made. Obviously, the other party had picked all four of her questions and returned four of them.
Yu Shu had a subtle feeling in her heart. She accepted the other's number and kept it for solving the questions later. Then she opened the envelopes one by one. She didn't look at the questions first, but looked at the bet under the questions. The bet of the first envelope made her so surprised that she clicked her tongue —
The other party actually bet one hundred taels of silver!
Was he really that confident that others would not be able to solve it? Yu Shu was shocked as she looked at the question. Immediately, the corners of her mouth twitched. This question could be considered to be of a standard. At the very least, it was two levels higher than the questions in the gambling houses of Yiyang City. However, it was not considered difficult for her. She solved it in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Yu Shu put down the first one and opened the second one. She shook the paper and looked at the bottom. She was stunned —
One hundred taels of silver!
She looked at the question and knew that he could solve it. Excellent!
She directly opened the remaining two envelopes — one hundred taels of silver. All four questions cost four hundred taels of silver. This made Yu Shu feel like a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse. She pressed down on the middle question and raised her head to look at the other side. She found the person who had chosen her question. Obviously, the other party had just read her four questions and was looking at her. Because there was a distance between them, they couldn't see each other's faces clearly. But Yu Shu knew the difficulty of the questions he had set. She estimated that the other party would be able to solve two of her questions.
In this way, Yu Shu felt that she was in a dilemma. Should she solve these four questions or not? Should she solve one or all of them?
This was four hundred taels of silver. If she really won against the other party, she would definitely stand out and attract the jealousy of others. She might even become enemies with the person who lost the money. But she didn't understand. There was no reason to reject the meat that was delivered to her.
Yu Shu touched her chin and picked up the teacup to take two sips. Finally, she decided to solve two of his questions and leave two empty. At least she could save face and there was no hatred between them. She didn't want to let the other party lose too badly.
She took out her charcoal stick, touched the paper, and compared the four questions. She picked out two that she was interested in and solved them.
At this time, the other guests in the game had chosen their opponents according to the card number. The strong man who presided over the game put a water bottle on the table in the middle so that everyone could see it. It was an hour for a round.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, someone solved the first question. Yu Shu looked over and saw the strong man personally take the solution and the card number from that person's table. He took it to the table of the person who set the question and opened the white envelope to answer. He then handed the question and the solution to the person who set the question. After the other party confirmed it, he raised the card in his hand and announced loudly,
"Number nine, bet on question number sixteen, ten taels of silver."
There were a few whispers in the quiet room. The person who lost the bet put the money on the tray, and the strong man pointed to a young man to take it to the person who won the bet. This was the round.
After watching the excitement, Yu Shu no longer paid attention to the following developments. She skillfully solved the first question. Less than half of the time had passed, and during this time, a few more people had won, but the highest bet was only 20 taels. There was also the man who had spent 5 taels of silver to bet with her, and he had also solved one of her questions. Yu Shu very readily paid the money. After all, she had more money to win from him later.
She was not in a hurry to call the burly man over to verify it. Instead, she continued to solve the next question. After solving it, she saw that there was still plenty of time, so she rechecked the two questions that she had already calculated, just in case she was careless.
After that, the strong man came to her table twice, and Yu Shu obediently paid the money. It was a total of fifteen taels of silver, and she still had five taels of silver in her hand.
When there was almost the time to drink a cup of tea left, she stopped and scribbled on a few pieces of paper with charcoal. Looking at the gamblers who were either happy, dejected, or working hard, she waved to the strong man.
"This way."
The strong man came over. He first picked up the number on her table and looked at it. Then he took the two questions she handed to him and took the number to find the person who solved the questions.
Yu Shu looked over there, rubbing her hands, waiting to hear the sweet sound of winning the bet. However, she didn't hear the announcement. From her point of view, the strong man stood in front of the table with his back facing her, blocking her view. She couldn't see what the two people were talking about. She had a bad feeling. When she was about to stand up, she saw the strong man turn around, raised the number in his hand, and said in a muffled voice,
"Number 19, lose the two questions on number seven, 200 taels of silver."
Yu Shu's expression suddenly changed. She pressed the table and stood up. She lost the bet. How could it be possible!
After the strong man finished his announcement, he walked towards her and asked the young chick behind him to come forward. He expressionlessly asked her to put the money on the tray.
However, Yu Shu didn't take the money. Instead, she said with a straight face, "I want to see his solution first."
She wasn't boasting. She was very confident in herself. Unless it was a precise calculation, the probability of her making a mistake after checking twice was only one in ten thousand. It was completely negligible.
If she didn't make a mistake, then there must be a problem with the person who solved the questions.
The burly man didn't say anything more and turned around to take the solution from that person. Yu Shu took a look at it and sneered inwardly. That person's solution was far from the correct solution, so how could it be correct? She shook the two pieces of paper in her hand and turned her head to the two gentlemen who were invited by the Evergreen Gang and said, "He made a mistake. May I ask Mister Song and Mister Liu to help me verify it?"
This was 200 taels of silver. Not to mention that she didn't have it, even if she did, she wouldn't let it slip away like this!
The two people looked at each other. The older Mr. Song said, "Give it to me."
Yu Shu took the question and solution from the person who set the question and her solution for the two people to review. She thought that since they were invited here to hold the fort, they must have the ability to see mistakes. Unexpectedly, after reading three copies, Mr. Song stroked his beard and said, "There's no problem with the solution.
"There's no problem with the solution. You lost the bet."
Yu Shu frowned and said politely, "Did the two of you see wrongly? I can solve the question for you right now. Please take a closer look and see if it's right or wrong."
Mr. Song snorted unhappily and threw the three copies on the table. He picked up his teacup and turned away, ignoring Yu Shu.
Yu Shu's heart sank when she saw that the two of them weren't willing to make a decision. She then heard the strong man say coldly,
"You lost the bet. Are you trying to pester us endlessly? What kind of place do you think the Evergreen Gang is, huh? "
She turned her head and saw that the strong man's face suddenly became fierce. He walked over with two thugs, looking as if he wouldn't treat her politely if she didn't take out the money immediately.
Yu Shu knew that something was wrong and cursed. She took two steps back and thought quickly. Just as she was thinking of a solution, she heard a commotion in the building in front of her and a few girls screamed. Not long after, she saw the two thugs guarding the door from the backyard to the front hall being kicked out. In a blink of an eye, a group of soldiers wearing sandalwood robes and black crowns rushed in. There were twenty to thirty of them and each of them held a three chi long sword in their hands. They looked fierce and the leader of the group pointed at the courtyard and shouted,
"How dare you gather people to gamble in the south of the city. A month ago, the imperial court issued a decree to strictly investigate private gambling. Have you eaten the guts of a leopard?"
Faced with this sudden situation, the people in the courtyard turned pale. Many of them immediately squatted down while trembling. Even the two masters behind Yu Shu stood up in fear. Yu Shu was probably the only one present who was happy to see this group of soldiers.
The strong man was bold and walked forward with two men. He raised his eyebrows and asked in a hoarse voice, "Which lord do you work for? Do you know that our Evergreen Gang has an article specially approved by Lord Xu of the Ministry of Rites that allows us to gather and have fun? How dare you come here? Aren't you afraid of Lord Xu's reprimand?"
Hearing that the strong man had brought out his men, the leader of the soldiers was not afraid at all. He snorted coldly at the strong man and held his long sword in a reverse grip. He turned around and cupped his hands towards the curtain door.
"Lord Xue."
As soon as he said that, a low laugh was heard. Everyone looked back and saw a handsome young man slowly walking out from under the curtain. He was dressed in a vermillion robe and had a black crown on his head. He wore leather shoes and had a hint of a smile on his face.
"Song Sixian of the Ministry of Rites has been dismissed from his post in the imperial court this morning. If you want to find him, I'm afraid you'll have to go to prison."
Yu Shu's eyes widened. Before she could lower her head to avoid the gaze, she saw that Lord Xue had turned around to look at her. Coincidentally, his gaze swept past her and turned back. When he saw that it was her, his eyes were slightly startled. In the next moment, Yu Shu clearly saw him glare at her.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
