After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 132 Betting

"Don't miss out! The results of the imperial examinations will be announced soon. Gentlemen and ladies, feel free to place your bets. Who will be the top scholar this year?"

Gu Lin had just finished inspecting the shop under renovation and was preparing to return to the inn when he heard this sound as he passed a gambling den.

His interest was immediately piqued.

Gu Lin opened the car door and said to Niu Qiang, who was driving in the front, "Brother Niu, stop for a moment, let's get out and see what's going on."

Although Zheng Hao instructed Niu Qiang to accompany Gu Lin out to protect him, he did not intend to restrict Gu Lin's movements. Therefore, upon hearing Gu Lin's words, Niu Qiang immediately stopped the carriage outside the gambling house.

Gu Lin got out of the car and stood outside the gambling den without going in immediately.

In his mind, gambling dens were never good places, not places he could go, but the shouts coming from inside were quite eye-catching.

Just as he was debating whether to go in, he saw two men in long robes walking out of the gambling den, asking each other questions.

"I bet on Du Yuan, who did you bet on?" the slightly short and stout man asked, looking at the person next to him.

Another, taller man immediately laughed smugly, "I bet on He Yanzhi!"

"He Yanzhi?" The short, stout man looked puzzled and said, "Why are you betting on an unknown person instead of the top scholar from the capital?"

"An unknown person?" The tall man laughed incredulously. "You really don't know anything about him. He Yanzhi is no ordinary candidate. His grandfather was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and his father was also an important official in the court. Countless young men from prominent families in the capital grew up hearing about his name. Because his household registration was in his hometown, he did not participate in the provincial examination in the capital. In terms of ability, he is no less than Du Yuan. He was the top scholar in Xuzhou Prefecture."

The short, stout man was indeed unaware of these things, but he looked at the tall man with suspicion and said, "Even so, it doesn't necessarily mean that He Yanzhi will be the top scholar. Du Yuan is also the grandson of the Imperial Academy Chancellor. Even without him, the top scholars from other prefectures are not to be underestimated."

At this point, the man seemed to remember someone and said, "I remember there was a top scholar in this imperial examination who was only seventeen years old. At that age, he was several years younger than He Yanzhi and Du Yuan. Such a young and promising person must have exceptional talent. He is a person who cannot be ignored."

Upon hearing this, the tall man scoffed, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt. He said, "How can a top scholar from a remote place compare to Du Yuan and He Yanzhi? Besides," the tall man glanced at the other man and continued, "if you really believe that the seventeen-year-old top scholar can win the imperial examination, why do you still bet all your money on Du Yuan?"

The short, stout man's face showed displeasure. Just as the tall man had said, although he said that the seventeen-year-old top scholar was no worse than Du Yuan and He Yanzhi, after all, they were both top scholars, and the former was even a few years younger than the latter two.

By any measure, the former is better than the latter two.

But let's not forget that there are differences between the top scholars in the imperial examinations. The top scholar from the capital, the grandson of the Minister of Justice, the top scholar from the Suzhou and Hangzhou area in Jiangnan, and the top scholar from remote areas are not far apart.

The first three all have the strength to compete for the top spot, while the latter may be in a precarious position even if it wants to squeeze into the top ten.

Hearing their conversation, Gu Lin, who had been hesitant about entering the gambling den, immediately made up his mind and said, "Let's go in."

Upon entering the gambling den, Niu Qiang stood guard beside Gu Lin to prevent any unsuspecting people from bumping into him.

The two arrived at the betting booth for the top scorer in the imperial examination. Niu Qiang's tall and imposing figure caused many people to unconsciously scatter to the sides. Following him, Gu Lin squeezed to the front.

Looking at the table in front of him, Gu Lin saw the betting situation for the top scholar in the imperial examination and immediately felt a slight dissatisfaction.

As the crowd dispersed to both sides, the dealer became alert and fixed his eyes on Niu Qiang as a tall, fierce-looking man approached.

If the other party dares to cause trouble here, he will immediately call the gambling den's thugs over.

Unexpectedly, the tall man glanced at him, then moved aside. The farmer saw a handsome young man walk up to him.

The young man stood in front of the stall without saying a word, his head slightly bowed as he looked at the gambling table.

Gu Linsheng was thin and slender, and since he was a young man, the Zhuang family assumed that he and the tall man were a couple. In addition, the clothes they were wearing were not bad, especially the young man who was wearing a silk robe.

Seeing that Gu Lin only looked and didn't speak, the dealer assumed that the other party was new to the place and didn't know how to place bets, so he softened his tone and explained, "Husband, are you here to place bets? This year's candidates for the imperial examination are all young talents, and some of them are the most outstanding Jieyuan (top scorers) in the north and south, and they have a very good chance of winning the top score. Husband, have you decided who you want to bet on?"

The gambling den was a melting pot of all sorts of people, so when the dealer misunderstood their relationship, Gu Lin and Niu Qiang exchanged a glance and tacitly refrained from explaining.

Seeing that Gu Lin still didn't speak, the dealer pressed on, saying, "If you're hesitant and don't know who to bet on, let me introduce you to some of these men who are quite likely to become the top scholar in the imperial examinations."

After the dealer finished speaking, he raised his hand and pointed to the names of the people whose names were piled the highest on the table. After specifying one of the names, he said, "This is Wang Chao, the top scholar in the provincial examination of Suzhou Prefecture. He has ranked first in the county examination and the provincial examination all the way. If he can win the top scholar title this time, he will be a person who has won five top scholar titles in a row."

Gu Lin knew that winning the top three honors in the provincial and metropolitan examinations meant achieving five consecutive top honors.

The dealer pointed to the next name and said, "This is Du Yuan, the top scholar in the capital, and the grandson of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. The fact that he became the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy shows how learned Master Du is. With such a great scholar taking him under his wing and teaching him carefully, Du Yuan is also expected to win the top spot in the metropolitan examination."

Next, the dealer pointed to a name that looked like a small mountain of silver coins, and Gu Lin knew who it was after just one glance.

"If you ask me, the one with the best chance of winning the top prize is He Yanzhi, the top scholar. He grew up in the capital, was taught by great Confucian scholars, and was also mentored by two Lord Hes. His ability to compose a poem in seven steps is well-known even to us common folk. If you want to win, listen to me, you won't go wrong. Bet on these guys."

The dealer said emotionally.

Actually, without the bookmaker's introduction, as long as everyone had a little information about the rankings of these candidates in the provincial examination, they would know how to place their bets. Even without asking around, just by looking at which names had the most money piled up on them, they would know that no matter how they placed their bets, they should choose from those names.

Gu Lin took out his purse, pulled out three thousand taels of silver notes, and unfolded them. The dealer's eyes widened when he saw the amount.

Although this gambling den was located in the capital and frequented by countless princes and nobles, very few could actually come up with several thousand taels of silver at once.

After all, those who dare to openly squander money at gambling dens are mostly good-for-nothing sons from poor families. Unlike their fathers, uncles, and brothers who hold official positions in the court and have family assets to support their social activities, most of these playboy sons live off their monthly stipends, and even if they squander money, there is a limit.

Once they ran out of money, they would have the merchants keep accounts and go to their homes to withdraw money at the end of the month. However, there was a limit to the amount they could withdraw. One or two hundred taels was acceptable, but if it was several thousand taels, especially if it was spent at a gambling den, their parents would break their legs.

Gu Lin reached out his hand, and just as the dealer thought the other party was going to bet the silver notes on He Yanzhi, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.

He hadn't been talking nonsense with the young man in front of him. Among these people, He Yanzhi was the most likely to win the top prize, but the others also had a high chance of winning the top spot in the provincial examination.

In short, it's not safe to bet on anyone. Even if the young man in front of him bets on He Yanzhi, his three thousand taels could very well go down the drain.

Suddenly, the dealer paused, quite surprised to see the young man in front of him place his silver note on a name that almost no one cared about.

He asked uncertainly, "Husband, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

Looking at the black characters on the table that belonged to Zheng Hao, the top scholar from Xuzhou Prefecture, Gu Lin raised his head and looked at the dealer, saying, "I'll bet on him."

Looking at the young man in front of them who seemed foolish and rich, not only did the bookmaker find his behavior unbelievable, but the other bettors around them were also completely bewildered.

Where did this God of Wealth come from, rushing to give money to the gambling den?

After placing his bet, Gu Lin took the receipt from the gambling den and returned to the inn with Niu Qiang.

Today, Zheng Hao and Zhen Cheng had an appointment to go out, so Gu Lin did not wait for him to come back for dinner.

Gu Lin ordered a plate of roasted mutton from the waiter, asked him to sprinkle on some spice powder, and then drank some refreshing tea. He finished the whole plate of mutton by himself.

After a hearty meal, Gu Lin noticed that Zheng Hao had not yet returned, but knowing that he had brought people from the escort agency with him, he was not worried.

After eating, Gu Lin felt sleepy and went to sleep without waiting for Zheng Hao to return.

When Zheng Hao returned from outside, still feeling the cool night air, he saw through the paper window that Uncle Gu's room was dimly lit. He stood in front of Gu Lin's room for a moment before turning back to his own room.

.

As the weather gradually warms up, Gu Lin and his two companions will come down to the lobby for a meal every two days.

Among the group of men, a handsome young man stood out. However, those who lived here for a long time knew that wherever this young man went, he was always accompanied by several formidable guards. This was why, until now, no one had dared to provoke Gu Lin.

Even though they were having a meal at this moment, the other party was not accompanied by any guards, but was sitting next to a cool-looking young man and a burly man. It was clear at a glance that they could not be easily offended.

Therefore, even though many people cast ambiguous glances at Gu Lin, no one dared to make any rash moves.

Gu Lin didn't care about their stares; after all, he was a man at heart, and being looked at by others wouldn't hurt him.

However, Zheng Hao, standing to the side, was not as magnanimous as him. He would immediately remember anyone whose gaze lingered on Uncle Gu for even three breaths.

He wouldn't take any action if the other party meant no harm, but if anyone dared to look at Uncle Gu with disgusting, sticky eyes, Zheng Hao wouldn't let them get away with it.

Having been in Beijing for several days, he had secretly taught a lesson to many people who coveted Uncle Gu.

In the main hall, everyone was either focused on eating or chatting while glancing at the beautiful woman, all busy with their own affairs.

Suddenly, a series of footsteps came running in from outside.

The pageboy with two buns in his hair ran in and immediately looked up, searching for someone in the crowd in the hall. When he saw his young master, he ran over immediately: "Young master, hurry, hurry, the results of the imperial examination have been released!"

The inn was mostly occupied by people who had come from afar to take the imperial examinations. Upon hearing the pageboy's words, they all stood up abruptly, even more anxious than the pageboy's master, and asked in unison, "Why are the results being released so soon? In previous years, weren't they released after breakfast?"

Seeing that the person asking the question was also a scholar, and noticing the man's concerned expression, the page knew that he was also a participant in the imperial examination. The page saw his young master nod to him and replied, "When I ran back, I saw the yamen runners taking the list of candidates for the imperial examination to the posting area. Because I couldn't squeeze in from the outside, I thought I should hurry back to report the news. The list is probably already posted."

The pageboy's son nodded and said, "It's alright. I already had people keeping watch outside. We'll know the news soon."

Seeing the scene before him and learning that the list of successful candidates for the imperial examination had been posted ahead of schedule, Gu Lin, who was not particularly nervous before, couldn't help but hold his breath slightly.

He turned to look at Zheng Hao, who was sitting calmly next to him. Zheng Hao remained composed, slowly eating the wide noodles in his bowl, as if the matter being discussed by the group had nothing to do with him.

After swallowing the sweet porridge, Gu Lin hesitated for a moment and asked, "Should we go outside and take a look?"

"No need." Zheng Hao picked up a piece of fried milk and put it in the young man's bowl. This was Uncle Gu's favorite dessert.

Winter in the capital city is inconvenient for going out, so Gu Lin stayed indoors every day and couldn't help but crave sweets. He wanted to make some desserts to pass the time, but the inn's kitchen was not open to others.

So Gu Lin sold the recipe for fried milk to the innkeeper, and now, almost every table in the lobby has a plate of golden fried milk.

To reassure the other party, Zheng Hao explained, "I have already sent Da Zhuo to check the list."

Upon hearing this, and seeing the other party's unhurried and unhurried demeanor, Gu Lin gave up on looking at the list.

“少爷！少爷！”

A man dressed in a fine cotton coat ran in from outside and shouted, "You've passed! You're tenth in the imperial examination! You're tenth in the imperial examination!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin immediately turned around and saw that he wasn't the only one doing this; everyone in the entire hall had lost their appetite.

The man addressed as "Young Master" was none other than the pageboy's master.

The previously composed young scholar suddenly leaped up from his seat, strode over to the man, and asked, "Are you sure you didn't see wrong? Is what you're saying true?!"

The man nodded emphatically: "I wouldn't dare to deceive you, young master, it's absolutely true."

"Good! Good!"

The scholar repeatedly said "good" twice, and just as he was about to continue speaking, suddenly, a deafening gong sound came from outside.

Everyone immediately turned their gaze to the outside of the inn. Their eyes were bright and alert, knowing that the messenger bringing good news had arrived!