"A gentleman is persistent, while a villain is fickle. Lord Zhu, we scholars are all upright gentlemen. You just said that Censor Hu rode a donkey to take up his post. You won't change your mind halfway, right?!"
After the gambling was concluded, Zhang Chufeng once again provoked Zhu Ping'an, fearing that Zhu Ping'an would change his mind at the last minute.
"Of course, I think that Censor Hu might have been late because he followed the ancestral custom of riding a donkey."
Zhu Pingan nodded.
Hearing this, Zhang Chufeng smiled happily. It's the 31st year of Jiajing. The inspector has broken the ancestral rules and has ridden horses for a hundred years. He is still riding a donkey. I think you got kicked in the head by the donkey. Haha, this is the best. Zhu Zihou, Zhu Zihou, I accept your gambling money.
Well, you snatched all the money that Fatty Chu won last time in the name of "funding military preparations." This time, I'm going to make you pay a little!
"Well, a gentleman's word is as good as gold! Fatty Chu heard that, Lord Zhu bet that Censor Hu would ride a donkey."
Zhang Chufeng couldn't wait to say to Chu Xiong.
"Okay." Chu Xiong nodded, looked up at Zhu Ping'an and asked, "Brother Zhu, how much are you betting?"
"Ahem, as for gambling, a little gambling is just for fun. I only have..." Zhu Ping'an coughed and spoke in a simple and honest voice. As he spoke, he reached into his arms, as if he was taking out money.
"Master Zhu, I want to give your militia some more money this time. If you bet too little, you can't take it away."
Zhang Chufeng said hurriedly, pulling out a heavy purse from his sleeve and throwing it up and down.
"All I have on me are these two silver notes you sponsored me last time and this fifty-tael silver note of my own..." Zhu Ping'an continued speaking as he took out two one hundred-tael silver notes and a fifty-tael silver note from his arms.
Zhang Chufeng's eyes suddenly widened, and he was overjoyed. Two hundred and fifty taels, that's really appropriate for you. Two hundred and fifty, ha ha ha, you are really an idiot. Thank God, today is a good day. This is the rhythm of getting back all the principal and interest. Then, without hesitation, he took all the three silver notes from Zhu Ping'an's hand at lightning speed and stuffed them into Chu Xiong's hands without any explanation. "Okay, straightforward, Fatty Chu, take it, this is Mr. Zhu's bet."
Chu Xiong was naturally happy to play dumb, and took the silver from Zhu Ping'an that Zhang Chufeng handed over, put it in his official hat, and said with a smile, "Okay, little brother Zhu, I'll bet two hundred and fifty taels."
"I mean I only have two hundred and fifty taels, not..." Zhu Ping'an smiled helplessly.
"Alas, Lord Zhu, why didn't you say it earlier? However, it's too late now that the matter has been done." Zhang Chufeng shrugged.
"Ah?! Okay, then let's do this." Zhu Ping'an said with a wry smile.
"Haha, Lord Zhu bet two hundred and fifty taels, so I can't bet less either. I'm going to bet all my money bag. Remember, Fatty Chu, Lord Zhu bet that Censor Hu will come to take office riding a donkey, and I bet that Censor Hu will come to take office riding a horse. Don't make a mistake." Zhang Chufeng threw his money bag to Chu Xiong and emphasized again.
Chu Xiong took Zhang Chufeng's purse and counted it, "Okay, Brother Zhang, bet one hundred and fifteen taels of silver."
"Hey, Brother Zhuo, do you want to join in?!" After Chu Xiong took the silver from Zhang Chufeng, he nudged Zhuo Yan who was approaching him with his shoulder.
Zhuo Yan nodded with a paralyzed face, took out a fifty-liang silver note from his sleeve, threw it into Chu Xiong's official hat, and said concisely, "This is the only one I have. Censor Hu is coming on horseback to take up his post."
"Ahem, why do you all ride horses? Brother Zhuo, don't you think about it? You know, the ancestral rule is..."
When Chu Xiong saw Zhuo Yan also bet that Hu Zongxian would come on horseback to take up his post, he couldn't help but blink his eyes and said coaxingly.
Zhuo Yan rolled his eyes and asked without any expression on his face, "What are you betting on?"
"That's right, Fatty Chu, what are you betting? How much are you risking?!" Zhang Chufeng followed up with the question.
Chu Xiong's fat face showed some interesting expressions. He coughed and said seriously, "Ahem, I haven't thought too much about betting. I mainly want to help Brother Zhu's militia, so I can only bet on the opposite side of Brother Zhu. Well, I don't have much money, so I'll just bet 150 taels."
Hearing this, Zhang Chufeng and Zhuo Yan rolled their eyes at Chu Xiong and cursed, "Shameless!"
Next, Chu Xiong made use of his talent for networking, and went to visit several of his friends in the yamen, and persuaded three more people to join the game, with their bets ranging from twenty, thirty, and fifty taels.
In fact, with Chu Xiong's social circle, he could have brought in more people, but he came back after bringing in these three people.
"Fatty Chu, why don't you go and get a few more? Mr. Zhang from the Ministry of Works, and Mr. Wang from the Ministry of Revenue, and..." Zhang Chufeng asked in confusion when he saw Chu Xiong coming back so soon.
Zhuo Yan also looked at Chu Xiong in confusion. In the past, when they had such elegant gambling, Chu Xiong would always bring eight or nine more people. Why did he only bring three people today? This was not Chu Xiong's style.
"You know nothing. All these people bet that Censor Hu will come on horseback, but only Brother Zhu bet that Censor Hu will come on a donkey. There are too many people and too little meat. How will we divide it when the time comes? We have no choice but to close the bet early."
After hearing Zhang Chufeng's question, Chu Xiong couldn't help but replied with a pained look on his face.
"Yes, the market must be closed."
Zhang Chufeng nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Yes, in this round, only Zhu Pingan bet on Hu Yushi riding a donkey, and everyone else bet on Hu Yushi riding a horse. Zhu Pingan, the idiot, bet 250 taels of silver. The most they can win is 250 taels of silver, so naturally the fewer people there are, the more they will get. Fatty Chu was right about this, and the bet must be closed.
Seeing this, Zhu Ping'an on the side couldn't help but curl his lips with regret. Why close the game? The more people, the better.
After the market closed, I waited for about a cup of tea before I saw a scout on horseback galloping down the official road.
"Report, the new Zhejiang Provincial Supervisory Censor will be here soon." The scout stopped in front of the long pavilion and reported.
All the officials immediately moved, straightened their clothes, cheered themselves up, and prepared to welcome Hu Zongxian's arrival.
After the scout reported, another cup of tea passed before a group of people appeared on the official road.
Censor Hu and his party are moving a little slowly? !
A group of officials thought that it was time to buy Censor Hu a better horse, as the current horse he was riding was a bit slow.
As Censor Hu and his entourage slowly approached, people couldn't help but narrow their eyes. The horse that Censor Hu was riding seemed a little short? !
"Hmmm... Hmmm..."
At this moment, a penetrating sound of a donkey's bray reached the ears of the officials waiting at the long pavilion.
"Donkey?!" The officials were stunned.
When Chuxiong, Zhang Chufeng and others heard the donkey's bray coming from the official road, their faces turned pale, as if they had lost their parents...