Chapter 107 A Grand Gamble

Although he was the focus of everyone's attention, Han Mo showed no signs of stage fright. Compared to the competition venues of later generations, this was nothing! "Brother Han!" Zhong Yanchong quickly stood up and greeted Han Mo with excitement. "All the senior students are here!" Seeing how excited the imperial students were, Han Mo also greeted them with a smile. "Isn't he just a fraud? What's he being so arrogant about?" Cai Shu couldn't stand seeing Han Mo win such widespread acclaim. "Oh? Isn't this Brother Cai? What? Have you finished copying the Book of Changes three hundred times?" "Hahahaha!" Han Mo's remark immediately made the surrounding princes and noble sons laugh heartily. "What does it matter to you if I've finished copying or not? I just ask, do you dare to personally compete with me?" Cai Shu's face turned from red to pale, and he finally became enraged. "You want me to personally compete with you? I'm afraid your purse has too few copper coins to cover the赔偿!" "Do you think my Cai family can't afford to pay for the copper coins in your pocket?" Cai Shu had already lost his mind. This made Han Mo a bit hesitant. All he had on him was the ten taels of silver that Chun Tao had given him. Cai Shu was, after all, a young master of the Cai family, and with his family's reputation, thousands or tens of thousands of strings of copper coins were not something he would take seriously. "What? You're not going to tell me you're short of cash, are you?" Seeing the hesitation on Han Mo's face, Cai Shu felt incredibly pleased. "Brother Han, I have some copper coins here, not much, but five hundred strings. Brother Han, why don't you take it first!" Zhong Yanchong spoke as he took out a voucher from his怀里. "That's right, we have some copper coins here too. Brother Han, just take them!" Cai Shu had now become the disgrace of the Imperial Academy, and the students who came with Zhong Yanchong also took out deposit vouchers of varying amounts. The Didiang Store was an institution under the court's examination department, and it was the closest thing to a modern bank. Of course, its services were mainly for officials and wealthy merchants. These vouchers were mostly living expenses that the students' parents had deposited for their sons. Unlike Jiaozhi, even though Emperor Huizong was so incompetent and Cai Jing was so cunning, they could only tamper with the handling fees and interest rates. After all, all the users of this institution were from the privileged class, and anyone who touched it would be attacked by everyone! Even Wang Anshi had only optimized the system here back then. With these items, one could withdraw the amount written on the face value at any Didiang Store in the Great Song Dynasty. "Young Master Han, my young lady says that you only need to bet. Please don't worry about trivial matters!" As everyone was getting excited, a young maid suddenly walked over and handed Han Mo a jade token. "Your young lady is?" Han Mo was stunned. He really couldn't figure out when he had met such a rich woman. Could it be that his luck was coming, and he was about to strike it rich? "Hahahaha, Brother Han is confused. Of course, it's Miss Shishi!" Zhong Yanchong said, winking at Han Mo. The princes and noble sons began to jeer, making Zhou Bangyan's face even more unsightly. Although his family was quite wealthy, his expenses had always been high. He had spent at least tens of thousands of strings of coins over the years to pursue Li Shishi. Li Shishi had never been so generous to him! The competition had not even begun, and his jealousy had already flared up. Everyone knew that this fellow had also been a patron of Li Shishi. However, ever since Li Shishi had caught the emperor's eye, he had been pushed aside. Even though they had no marital ties, he often felt like something was on his head. Today, seeing Li Shishi openly subsidizing a pretty boy in front of him, it would be a miracle if he could endure it. "Are you guys done making a scene? This was supposed to be a refined event, why are you adding so much worldly wealth?" Zhou Bangyan glared at Han Mo. This made Han Mo even more depressed. This was truly an outrageous situation. Wasn't Cai Shu the one causing trouble? Why are you looking at me? If you have the guts, go to the Cai family and reason with his grandfather! "No matter how much you win tonight, half of it belongs to your young lady!" Han Mo no longer stood on ceremony. He directly took the jade token and placed it on the table in front of Cai Shu along with the vouchers handed over by the students: "Since we're going to play, let's play big! These vouchers are about three thousand strings. The rest will be drawn from this jade token. I'm betting thirty thousand strings! I bet on myself to win. Do you dare to accept?" "Thirty thousand strings?" A gasp erupted from the crowd. According to the odds Cai Shu had set earlier, if Han Mo won, Cai Shu would have to pay three hundred thousand strings! "Good! You're sending me money, why wouldn't I accept it!" How could Cai Shu back down at this moment? He directly slapped the table and shouted loudly. Zhou Bangyan, seeing that his words had been completely ignored by Han Mo, became even more furious. "Is anyone else betting? No matter how much, I, this official, will accept it all today!" Cai Shu had gone mad with gambling. He stood up and shouted arrogantly. "Since that's the case, Zhou also bets thirty thousand strings, betting on himself to win!" The matter was his own doing, and he had personally placed the bet. How could Zhou Bangyan back down now? "I'll bet five thousand strings, betting on Mr. Zhou to win!" "I'll also bet three thousand strings! Betting on Mr. Zhou to win!" The reputation of a person precedes them. Compared to Zhou Bangyan, although Han Mo was gaining fame, he had already written two timeless works consecutively. Even the common people knew that inspiration was needed for such things, and it wasn't like turnips in a field where you pull one and another appears. Comparing their reputation and their current form, Zhou Bangyan naturally had a higher chance of winning. Although the Song people were fond of gambling, when they sat at the gambling table, wouldn't they consider preserving their stake first? Although Zhou Bangyan's odds were slightly lower, he was more reliable. The manager of Fan Lou quickly sent a few accountants to help Cai Shu collect money and issue vouchers. In less than half an hour, the table in front of Cai Shu was piled high with all sorts of vouchers. The situation was almost one-sided, all leaning towards Zhou Bangyan, which made Cai Shu's mood complicated. Even though Zhou Bangyan's odds were low, he couldn't resist the sheer amount of money. In such a short time, the money bet on Zhou Bangyan had reached around 200,000 strings. On the other hand, less than ten percent of people were optimistic about Han Mo, and the bets placed on him were less than 40,000 strings... If Zhou Bangyan won, he would surely suffer huge losses tonight. "My master bets one hundred thousand strings on Young Master Han to win!" "Hiss—"