Scientific Travel

Zhao Shanglan sided with Cui Wuji when he was still a prince. After Cui Wuji became emperor, Zhao Shanglan was promoted from Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to Grand Secretary of the Imperial Academy.

That's not all. Since ancient times, promotion and wealth have been intertwined. Once Zhao Shanglan is promoted, he will start making money.

However, her way of getting rich was different from others; it wasn't through bribery, but through gambling.

It's not the kind of gambling like Pai Gow or dice in casinos, but gambling on who will be number one.

In March, she placed a bet on the martial arts champion with odds of 1:12.

In May, she placed a bet on the top scorer, with odds of 1:3.

In June, she placed a bet on who would be the most popular storyteller in the coming year, with odds of 1 to 164.

What made her famous was the bet on who would be the most popular storyteller the following year. She chose Jiang Ke. Before she chose Jiang Ke, Jiang Ke had only sold 435 storyteller books that year.

At the same time, Jiang Ke is also the author with the highest odds.

No one expected that Jiang Ke would write "Changqiu" the following year, a book that would make him the number one bestselling storyteller.

It is no exaggeration to say that back then, everyone, from high-ranking officials to street vendors, had a copy of "Changqiu" in their hands.

These three bets alone earned Zhao Shanglan over two million gold coins, not to mention that she placed nine bets in total that year. Without exception, she won them all.

At first, some people didn't believe it and thought that she was able to bet correctly because these matches could be manipulated.

In that martial arts championship competition, several people who originally had a chance to win were unlucky; they were all drawn together in the preliminary rounds. After being eliminated, it was only in the end that someone whose strength didn't rank in the top three won the championship.

Needless to say, the fact that she predicted the top scholar in the imperial examination is well-known. Everyone knows about her relationship with the emperor; the top scholar might even have been recommended by her.

And then there's Jiang Ke's story. To be honest, the popularity of "Changqiu" that year was partly due to Zhao Shanglan. Most of the people who initially bought the storybook did so because Zhao Shanglan had given Jiang Ke ten thousand gold coins. If it weren't for the sheer number of curious people, even if "Changqiu" was excellent, it might have remained unknown.

Zhao Shanglan only gambled for one year; the following year, she started investing.

Zhao Shanglan is rather lazy. There are too many things to do when she runs her own shop, but there are not so many things to do when she invests in other shops. All she has to do is give them money.

Just like running a gambling den, whatever store she invests in will see its market value double or triple.

Originally, Li Pingle could still call her smart. He never believed in luck, that was such an ethereal thing. In his opinion, Zhao Shanglan was able to get to where she was today because she was smart enough.

Li Pingyue absolutely refused to believe that Zhao Xuan's achievement of becoming the top scholar was not due to Zhao Shanglan's behind-the-scenes support.

Given Zhao Shanglan's contributions to Cui Wuji, getting him to choose Zhao Xuan as the top scholar wouldn't be difficult. Those who reach the palace examination are all exceptional individuals; the only difference is which one the emperor prefers.

Furthermore, regarding the competition for the champion, how could it be that all those who had a chance to win the champion were drawn together by sheer coincidence, ultimately allowing someone who couldn't even rank in the top three to slip through the cracks and win the champion title?

Too many coincidences make it seem intentional.

With the fact that he guessed correctly twice before, everyone's chances of winning against anyone Zhao Shanglan voted for in the future were greatly increased.

Most of the officials who enjoyed watching "Changqiu" did so to curry favor with Zhao Shanglan, and they spread the news on their own initiative.

Otherwise, how would ordinary people know what books officials like to read?

Who wouldn't be curious about the books officials like to read? This is probably the closest they've ever gotten to officials.

Later, Zhao Shanglan stopped gambling and started investing.

Some people say she's just lucky, that's why she makes money on every investment. But Li Pingle knows that all the types of shops she invests in are those that sell very well in those years.

Such a person must have a business mind; the types of products they choose are not random.

Li Pingle always thought she was a smart woman, until later, when he met Zhao Shanglan.

It was then that he realized that whether it was Cui Wuji, Zhao Xuan, or Jiang Ke, her choice to support them was simply because they were good-looking.

And those shop owners, they all chose to invest in them for the same reason.

Li Pingle couldn't accept this explanation, so he went to check each of those shops one by one.

.......

This time he accepted...

The shop owners were all tall, thin, and fair-skinned. Some had almond-shaped eyes, while others had doe-like eyes, but without exception, their eyes were all very large. They had high, straight noses and red, moist lips.

Although I've never met Cui Wuji and Jiang Ke, it's not hard to imagine what they look like.

During the time they spent together, Zhao Shanglan treated him very well, which is why he doesn't want to go to her now.

Because Li Pingle... his appearance also falls into that category...

Wang Moyu is now most likely in grave danger. Although Li Pingyue deliberately ignored this possibility, her mind was always filled with thoughts of whether she was suffering, whether she had been captured by Zou Guangyu, and whether she would be tortured.

For some reason, Li Pingle always disliked Zou Guangyu, feeling that she was strange.

There was no particular reason; he attributed it to a man's intuition.

Now that Wang Moyu is most likely in her hands, how can he not be anxious?

Zhao Mansion.

The servant glanced at Li Pingle and let him in without even asking his name.

Li Pingle wasn't surprised. Judging from the servant's attitude, Zhao Shanglan had recently hired quite a few new people...

That makes things complicated...

"What a rare guest! What brings you here?" When Zhao Shanglan heard that a good-looking person had come to see her, she thought it was the young master she had just met a couple of days ago who had come to visit her. She didn't expect it to be Li Pingle.

Li Pingle knelt on the ground, revealing what she thought was her most beautiful smile, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Zhao Shanglan with red eyes. "I've come today to ask you for a favor."

"Get up quickly." Zhao Shanglan personally helped Li Pingle up and seated him in a chair. "What's wrong? Why do you need my help?"

"I want you to save someone for me," Li Pingle said, looking into Zhao Shanglan's eyes.

Zhao Shanglan's expression turned cold, and she raised her hand to pour herself a cup of tea.

Li Pingle had been watching Zhao Shanglan the whole time. When he saw her raise her hand, he quickly got up and poured her a cup of tea.

Li Pingle knelt down, holding a teacup in both hands. "Here you are."

Zhao Shanglan took the teacup, casually placed it on the table, and lifted Li Pingle's chin with one hand. "A woman?"

"Yes." Li Pingle's crying just now wasn't all an act; part of it stemmed from her worry for Wang Moyu. Her eyes were red and swollen, making her look like a little rabbit.