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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Celeste S.] [Azurixa] [Esther D.] [Christine G.-L.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[Smurfinbatik] [J Jean] [K.Rom] [Tori D.] [Nicole] [Ziana K.-P.]
G O L D S T A R
[Cindy] [Victoria] [Nanashi D. Y.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Book W.] [Christigale M.] [DetectiveGeek421] [Hlau V.] [Britnae M] [kuroneko_chan]
[Liznel M.] [onepiece] [Ray] [Scorpion Princess] [Sweetlove]
Steward Liu thought to himself: it wasn’t just the young master that I underestimated, but also the Young Madame. There isn’t the slightest naivety and inferiority of a poor child, rather she’s not easy to handle and is difficult to fool.
Indeed, people marry because they share common traits.
The carriage was driving on the streets in the southeast area. Because of the metropolitan exam, several main streets had been closed, allowing only the examinees to pass through with their exam pass. The original road they took when coming here could no longer be used to go back.
Thus, they changed streets.
The shops in this street were very novel, giving people the sense of all colors of spring.
"What's that?" Gu Jiao asked, pointing to a loft on the left.
Steward Liu replied, "Is Young Madame talking about the Fragrant Jadeite Building? That's a brothel."
That was the capital brothel of ancient times?
She actually hadn’t seen one yet in all her time in the capital. Gu Jiao drew the curtain slightly and looked at the brothel in front of her eyes curiously.
Steward Liu looked back and saw her excited little appearance, his eyebrows slightly creasing up.
Wouldn’t young misses normally avoid it upon hearing it was a brothel? How come you look so interested? Staring without even blinking an eye?
"What building is that one?" Gu Jiao asked again, pointing to another shop with two floors.
Steward Liu answered, "Cloud Music Hall? It's an opera house."
"Opera for which people?" Gu Jiao asked.
Steward Liu paused before explaining, "It’s an opera house for men."
Gu Jiao: "Oh."
The area around the Imperial Academy was the major school district of the State of Zhao. Having such luxurious places there wasn’t allowed, let alone brothels and opera houses. Gu Jiao hadn’t even seen a gambling house or martial arts school there.
"Is that a gambling house there?" Gu Jiao continued to inquire, this time pointing to a shop with a big gambling word hanging in front of it.
Steward Liu: "That’s right, Young Madame."
"What about that?"
"That’s also a gambling house."
"How come their sign didn't have the word about gambling?"
"It's a gambling house with a relatively high status."
"What about that one?"
"An auction house."
Gu Jiao asked many places in a row, either a brothel, a martial arts school or a gambling house. Her eyes were bright, as though emitting green lights.
Steward Liu: ...Young Madame, is it really fine to be so enthusiastic about these things? If Lord Marquis asked later, wouldn’t I be blamed for leading you astray?
After crossing this street, the store fronts became much loftier, but Gu Jiao suddenly lacked interest. She yawned and lowered the curtain.
Stewart Liu, who carefully selected the most noble street in the capital to tour and introduced to Gu Jiao, "…"
When they reached the end of this street, a burst of shouts and quarrels attracted Gu Jiao's attention. Gu Jiao lifted a gap in the curtain and looked at the shops on the street, "What is that place?"
"That is the Brisk Wind Tower." Steward Liu responded.
Gu Jiao poked out her little head, "It looks very lively. What are they doing?"
Steward Liu closed his eyes helplessly, "Betting on the metropolitan exam results."
Young Madame, can you stop being attracted to this sort of thing?
"What do you mean exactly by metropolitan exam results?" Gu Jiao asked.
"Ranking." Steward Liu answered.
There were many gambling games like this in the capital, but the most sensational one was the triennial imperial examinations. All major gambling houses in the capital would start to let the big shots place their bets first, blocking all sorts of problems. The most popular ones were Huiyuan and Zhuangyuan, followed by Tanhua, Bangyan, the metropolitan exam top ten, the palace exam top ten and so on.
[T/N: Huiyuan - Metropolitan exam top scorer; Zhuangyuan - Palace exam top scorer; Tanhua - Palace exam third rank; Bangyan - Palace exam second rank]
The higher the ranking, the more expensive the minimum bet.
For example, in the metropolitan exam top ten, the minimum bet for the lowest rank was ten wen, while in the palace exam top ten, the lowest rank’s minimum bet was one hundred wen.
It didn’t mean that the more expensive the bet, the more one would lose. It mainly depended on the number of bets. If a person bet on someone by himself, then the odds of this person winning were extremely low.
This year's hottest figure was An Junwang, whose name dominatingly occupied both Huiyuan and Zhuangyuan.
In contrast, the competition for Bangyan and Tanhua was fierce. There were the names of the Chen Family’s di son, Luo Family’s concubine-born son, and Zhao Family’s di son… Gu Jiao even saw Du Ruohan's name down on the betting list.
Gu Jiao’s eyes swept the list from top to bottom, not to mention the palace exam top ten, she didn't even see Xiao Liulang's name in the metropolitan exam top ten.
What was this?
Did her husband not deserve to be in the top ten?
"Young Madame..." Steward Liu followed Gu Jiao, looking worried.
Although all the gambling houses in the capital had set up gambling games, Brisk Wind Tower was especially different. It was actually an elegant place where you could drink tea, taste wine and enjoy delicious food. You could even listen to storytelling and singing. Here was where the top dignitaries and gentry in the capital gathered.
Although this Young Madame was the daughter of a Marquis Estate, she grew up in the countryside after all. Steward Liu was afraid...
To put it bluntly, Steward Liu was worried that Gu Jiao wasn’t good enough to be presented on the table. He wasn’t afraid that the Marquis Xuanping Estate would lose face because of her. Anyway, Lord Marquis had neither face nor skin in the first place, but her humiliation might attract the mockery of others and this might make her feel upset as a result.
Gu Jiao went out in a hurry and didn't bring any money. She turned to Steward Liu and asked, "Do you have any money?"
Steward Liu was stupefied.
Gu Jiao held out her hand and made a gesture asking for money.
Steward Liu didn't bring much either, just some small bits of silver, plus the coachman’s money, the total was only ten taels.
Gu Jiao walked into the Brisk Wind Tower.
A worker stepped forward and asked politely, "Young miss, are you here to place a bet or have tea?"
"Place a bet." Gu Jiao answered.
To be honest, Gu Jiao's attire was obviously not luxurious, but at this time of the year, many civilians also came to place bets, a lot of them in fact.
Gu Jiao even had a red birthmark on her face compared to those people.
The worker was experienced and knowledgeable and didn't lose his manners. He enthusiastically led Gu Jiao to the betting table and asked her, "Which Lord do you want to place your bet on?"
The participants in the metropolitan exam were all Juren with scholarly honor and title. It was not an exaggeration to call them Lord Juren.
Gu Jiao replied, "The person I want to place my bet on is not on your list."
"Which place are you betting for?" The worker continued to ask with a smile.
Gu Jiao answered, "Huiyuan and Zhuangyuan."
"Oh, isn't it on the top? Take a look!" The worker pointed to the list hanging in the middle of the lobby. An Junwang's name was written both under Huiyuan and Zhuangyuan, and of course, several other examinees’ names were also written there. Obviously, those examinees were there to serve as a foil to An Junwang; few people placed their bets on them, and all of them were even phony customers.
Gu Jiao: "There’s none of those examinees that I want to bet on."
The worker: "Then... Who does young miss want to bet on?"
Gu Jiao:“Imperial Academy’s Xiao Liulang.”
The worker expressed he had never heard of this name before.
Xiao Liulang had a certain fame in the Imperial Academy. After all, there were not many freshmen admitted into Shuaixing Hall. This year, there were only two, one was An Junwang and the other was Xiao Liulang. Moreover, Xiao Liulang ranked first in the subsequent exams almost every time, and he also got into a conflict with Director Zheng.
However, those things happened inside the Imperial Academy. Who would know him outside the Imperial Academy?
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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