Chapter 148: Aiming Only to Be the Winner

They thought they were being witty and that nobody could understand what they were saying. But as for the people here, leaving Shen Shi aside, he had received plenty of civilized education. As for "building high towers of debt," he understood it all too well.

This was also related to his work environment in his previous life; the mountains of debt in state-owned enterprises were by no means small. Moreover, reading books and newspapers was an essential skill within state-owned enterprises. Large state-owned enterprises had their own newspapers as well as subscribed external ones, and someone had once explained the historical allusion of building high towers of debt in them.

As for Zhao Zhen...

Heh, as if there were any emperors of the Great Song with a low cultural level. Absolutely none.

Yet Master Xu not only joked without avoiding them, but also used the allusion of building high towers of debt.

Was he unintentional? Intentional? Or did he know his identity?

Of course, Zhao Zhen did not believe that they would dare to mock him so brazenly if they knew his true identity, but he simply could not bring himself to be happy. Which was only natural—being talked about in such a manner, even if he wanted to be happy, he couldn't.

Why was he having such bad luck today?

Aside from them, quite a few others had failed to understand as well. Take Cao Jinhua, for instance. "Master Shen, what are they talking about?"

Whether it was games or the Female Precepts, Cao Jinhua was quite confident, but she knew very little about such grand historical events.

"Building high towers of debt? Why would we be building high towers of debt?"

Hearing the phrase, she only grasped the literal meaning; the allusion and its origin were completely unknown to her.

After Shen Shi smiled and explained it to her, he glanced at Zhao Zhen and said, "They are relying on the imperial stables, assuming we wouldn't dare to claim them."

As he said this, Shen Shi distinctly saw Zhao Zhen's face twitch.

How bitter Zhao Zhen felt inside! What had he even done? He was just lying down and still got hit by a stray bullet!

"What? The stables aren't his?" Cao Jinhua let out a low gasp upon hearing this.

"I'm afraid so," Shen Shi nodded.

"Then why is he still gambling? What's the point of this?" Cao Jinhua asked, indignant.

"Unless His Majesty personally gives his nod, otherwise..." Shen Shi kept his eyes on Zhao Zhen, watching his reaction.

If Zhao Zhen objected, the matter would rest there. But if he continued to put on an act, Shen Shi would absolutely not mind taking over those stables.

He was the emperor?

So what? The ones to swindle are precisely the emperors who put on airs. Besides, there was a precedent for this. Zhao Kuangyin lost Mount Hua to Ancestor Chen Tuan, an event carved right into a stone tablet on Mount Hua.

Moreover, the Zhao Kuangyin of that time was much like Tang Renxian now—figuring that since it wasn't his own property anyway, he might as well gamble. In the end, he had no choice but to lose Mount Hua.

Each and every one of these people had horses, and Kaifeng Prefecture was reached in no time.

"Cousin, why don't we just let this matter go," Shen An said, having no desire to blow things out of proportion. "Yamen gates are not so easy to walk into."

"What? Scared? It's too late now." Someone on Tang Renxian's side had already struck the Dengwen Drum.

"This... why must it come to this? Why must it come to this?" Shen An was entirely helpless. He was merely a scholar and had never belonged to their circle.

"Shall I go and put in a good word for them?" Shen Yuejiao suggested.

"No need," Shen Shi shook his head and stepped into the yamen.

"How can he be like this? At a time like this, what would be so terrible about showing a little softness?" Shen Yuejiao stamped her foot, deeply annoyed by Shen Shi's lack of pragmatism.

"Heh, heh..." Seeing her earnest efforts, Cao Jinhua could not help but laugh. She didn't quite understand Shen Yuejiao's little schemes, but Shen Yuejiao's bias toward Tang Renxian was obvious to anyone.

When a woman showed such partiality toward a man, there was only one reason: she had taken a fancy to him.

Shen Yuejiao's behavior did not upset Cao Jinhua; instead, she viewed it as a "role model."

One by one, they stepped into the main hall, with Zhao Zhen and his companions entering last. The two rows of bailiffs shouted "Might!", and the prefect stepped from the inner hall into the main chamber, seating himself grandly beneath the plaque.

"Eh? It's you lot? What is the meaning of this?"

The prefect not only spotted many officials' scions among the crowd, but also saw his own son.

"Uncle, Zhuer and the others were merely engaging in a friendly horse-racing wager for entertainment, yet these people insist on accusing my nephew of cheating." Tang Renxian spoke up immediately to establish a connection, while trivializing the matter.

In the territory of Kaifeng, high officials and nobles were never in short supply; even a vegetable vendor might have ties to some estate.

Furthermore, the arrivals had horses—without horses, they couldn't have raced. For people like this to be described as having absolutely no background would be to insult the prefect's intelligence.

Then again, Tang Renxian was someone he knew—the son of a Minister. Surely no one here had a higher rank than him! If there were, he would certainly recognize them.

Indeed, this was the art of officialdom in the capital. For ordinary people, he would handle matters according to the law. When that wasn't possible, it naturally depended on the identities of both parties.

"It was merely a bit of entertainment, and all of you—why must you bring it to the yamen? The imperial courts are not set up for you to play games." The prefect sounded somewhat angry, righteous and stern.

As if this were not a legal case, but merely children's mischief.

"My lord, they have had their say. Won't you listen to ours?" At this moment, Cao Jinhua stepped forward.

Upon seeing Cao Jinhua, the prefect trembled involuntarily, utterly horrified.

She was actually from the Maternal Uncle's Estate.

As a magistrate governing the capital district, he naturally had to be familiar with the prominent figures here. At first, he had been wondering what kind of characters dared to race horses against Tang Renxian. Now that Cao Jinhua stood forth, he couldn't help but shudder: *Good thing I didn't issue a direct verdict.*

"Very well! Tell me what happened."

On one side was the Minister's estate; on the other was the Imperial Maternal Uncle's estate. Even if this truly were just a childish prank among scions, he still had to adjudicate it properly.

Tang Renxian glanced at the prefect, surprised that even after he had addressed him as "Uncle" and tried to pull rank, the prefect still hadn't ruled in his favor, but instead insisted on inquiring about the case. Could it be that these people weren't just country bumpkins?

Even if they weren't, so what? His father was a Minister.

Thinking of his father's official position, Tang Renxian stood firm. He wanted to hear what the other side had to say, and how this prefect would judge the case.

From his perspective, *I spoke and you refused to judge, insisting on hearing them out. You asked for this. When the stables are exposed later, let's see what you do.*

Well, consider it a lesson for him!

Tang Renxian was quite confident he would not lose, because this was no longer a question of winning or losing, but involved the Emperor's stables.

Right! He was the one who lost. But for the other party to dare win the Emperor's stables was likewise an act of lese-majeste.

"...Reporting to my lord, that is how it happened." Within a short while, Cao Jinhua had laid out the cause and effect of the facts.

"What? You are the ones who lost?"

The prefect was stunned upon hearing this. He hadn't yet grasped the issue concerning the stables; right now, he was simply astonished that Tang Renxian was the loser. He had all along assumed that Tang Renxian was the winner, and that the other party refused to accept defeat and accused him of cheating.

That would have been the logical and reasonable scenario!

"Reporting to my lord, precisely so."

"If they are the ones who lost, why bother harassing this official?" the prefect frowned and said. Win or lose was clear, so what need was there for a lawsuit?

"My lord, winning or losing is of no consequence. It is what was wagered that matters. The stables in the West City, though under my father's jurisdiction, are not the property of this humble nephew..."

His phrasing was rather convoluted, but stripped of embellishments, it was quite simple. These young masters were prone to lawlessness, using other people's property as collateral for their bets. If they won, naturally there was no problem at all, but if they lost... Heh... they wouldn't suffer any losses themselves.