Super Zoo-Chapter 753 - 734: The Honor of Royalty?_2
It was three rounds, with eight, eight, and twelve horses competing on the same field.
In the first round of the preliminary competition, similar to usual horse betting, the commentator first introduced the pedigree, track record, and other information of the eight horses in the race, including details about the owners.
The top favorite to win, 'Azure Bay,' was in this group. This horse had an excellent pedigree, and its owner was quite famous, being a descendant of Xiangjiang's shipping magnate of the eighties, He Family, who ran a cruise business.
Suming's 'Great Joy' was also in this group, but it paled in comparison. Among the other seven horses with notable backgrounds and pedigrees, 'Great Joy' had no advantages, which led the commentator to only briefly mention it.
Hou Longtao was quite excited, making a special trip to the betting station and placing two thousand on 'Great Joy' to win. Although the Longines Cup was a competition, the Horse Club certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity, allowing bets as usual.
However, Suming couldn't place any bets himself. First, he was well aware of 'Great Joy's' limited abilities, and winning the championship was virtually impossible; second, he had a gentleman's agreement with the Horse Club, and it wouldn't be appropriate to try to make money from them again.
"Mr. Su, hello," said a very familiar voice behind him, though the tone was very formal and businesslike.
He turned around and froze.
A young face, wearing a cap adorned with a smart badge, looked at him with no expression—or, to be exact, it was a frosty Bingbing.
"Eh? Madam?"
It was He Baowen, who he hadn't seen in a long time. Seeing the insignia on her uniform, Suming laughed and said, "Wow, have you been promoted? Congratulations, there probably haven't been many as young as you in Xiangjiang's history to become a Chief Inspector."
It was indeed He Baowen.
Seeing the displeasure on her face, Suming immediately guessed the likely reason: no matter what, she had confessed her feelings last time and had suggested meeting at the end of the year in Xiangjiang to watch the races together. Yet, he showed up without notifying her, and now being caught 'red-handed,' it was no wonder she wasn't pleased.
Suming had originally intended not to stir up any trouble, knowing that nothing was planned, so why bring up unnecessary chatter that could mislead both her and himself. But then he unexpectedly ran into her at the racecourse.
Mentally cursing his bad luck, his gaze fell upon the three stars on He Baowen's epaulettes, revealing an extremely impressed expression as he exaggeratedly said, "Wow, it hasn't been long since we last met, and you've already been promoted to Chief Inspector? Three ranks at once, that's incredible."
Xiangjiang police had been rated as the best in Asia, and this was not unrelated to the vast police structure, with the highest ratio of police personnel in Asia. The police force hierarchy included department heads, middle management, and junior officers. Department heads were the real bigwigs, with Inspectors falling under middle management. A Senior Inspector was considered an upper-tier member of the police force, with the rank of Superintendent just above them.
A female Senior Inspector under 30 was a rarity in the entire force. With her rate of promotion, it would not be surprising if she became a Superintendent or a Senior Superintendent in the future. It was not inconceivable that if she was fortunate enough to be made a representative image of the police force, she might even enter the department head level.
He Baowen was apparently quite proud of herself as well. Hearing Suming's comments, her expression softened slightly, and she even managed a smile.
"Mr. Xiang," she nodded and smiled in the direction of Long Wu, as a form of greeting.
"What brings you to watch the horse racing today? And in uniform, no less?" Suming swiftly continued, smiling, "Could it be that you're in charge of security at the racecourse?"
He Baowen shook her head, glanced back at a box on the other side, and asked Suming with a frown, "Did you offend Princess Eugene?"
"Ah?" Suming was utterly confused. Which princess? He did see a princess at the opening ceremony, Princess Anne. But while he knew her, she didn't know him.
As for this Princess Eugene, who was she, and what was her story?
Hou Longtao stood next to him, flabbergasted. When the stern-faced policewoman approached Suming, he had been taken aback. While the police ranks in mainland China differed from those in Xiangjiang, he wasn't blind; he could tell from the insignias on He Baowen's shoulder that she was no minor character. Being from the mainland, he had a natural apprehension towards police officers.
Hearing the mention of a princess from the other party, Hou Longtao was even more speechless. Looking at Suming, he thought to himself that this guy had only been in Xiangjiang for a few days—first dealing with gangsters, then the Horse Club, and now he'd even managed to offend a princess.
Truly thrilling.
Without expression, Long Wu asked, "Is Princess Eugene in that box?" While saying this, he explained, "Seventh in line to the throne of England."
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"What exactly is going on?" Suming asked Hou Longtao.
"I have no idea what's going on either. The police force assigned me to be fully responsible for the safety of the four princesses. Princess Eugene heard that you are an expert in horse racing and has invited you to gamble against her."
"Hold on! How did it become four princesses?"
The several people present, including He Baowen, were all confused. Even He Baowen was unclear about the situation and was merely conveying the 'challenge' from the box: Princess Eugene wanted to gamble one-on-one with Suming in the upcoming race.
Such a gambling match was purely a private competition between individuals. If both sides were willing, it would not be illegal, and it had nothing to do with the Horse Club. It was just unclear why the other party would actively choose Suming.
Hou Longtao tugged at Suming's sleeve and said, "I don't know what the other side is up to, but be careful of any trickery. You might as well ignore her. I've never heard of anyone being forced to gamble."
After winning a big sum of money last time, Hou Longtao always felt the Horse Club would not let it go. At this time, it would be better not to stir up any extra trouble.
"Of course," He Baowen nodded at the side. "If you don't agree, not even the British Queen can do anything about it. Moreover, from a personal standpoint, I suggest you don't agree."
"Why?" Suming asked.
"The overall equestrian level of the British Royal Family is the highest in the world, and Princess Eugene is one of the best among them. Her skill in judging horses is not inferior to that of Princess Anne, who just led the team in a demonstration," He Baowen said.
Suming looked at Long Wu, who said, "Gambling on horses with the English, especially with the British Royal Family, is certainly not a wise move. However, when it comes to gambling on horses, no one can claim to have a sure win. So what about the British Royal Family? It's up to you."
Suming thought for a while and then smiled at He Baowen: "Then let's gamble." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
He also wanted to find out what the princess was really up to.
...
Amid the cheering and encouragement of thousands of spectators, the preliminary races proceeded as planned, and under the radar, another gambling match began.
As it turned out, it was not a wise choice to gamble on horses with a Beast Tamer. After three races, a completely confident Lady Eugene shockingly found herself penniless.
After losing 120,000 British Pounds, she had no surplus funds left for the year, not even enough to cover the cost of car repairs.
It wasn't as if she was out of money – after all, she was a royal princess with her own fixed property, plus the allowances from the royal family. Thus, she wasn't going to go bankrupt over 120,000 British Pounds.
However, the remaining money was meant for the maintenance of various properties, continuous investment, labor expenses, and other legitimate purposes.
It's like a college student with a thousand yuan a month for living expenses; perhaps seven hundred yuan is for essential daily meals and groceries, while the remaining three hundred is for discretionary spending.
Once the pocket money is gone, any further gambling would mean dipping into the 'living expenses'.
Princess Eugene was quite frustrated. Her luck today was absolutely terrible; how could she have put her bets on the wrong horse three times in a row?
Princess Haya shook her head without a word. After all, horse betting depended largely on luck.
In any form of gambling without cheating, the importance of luck is always higher than that of skill. Only when the difference in luck is minimal does skill come into play.
Princess Eugene had thoroughly analyzed her opponent's records beforehand and judged his skills as mediocre at best, thinking his previous wins were due to good fortune, which made her overly confident.
But in gambling, the ones to be feared are those who are on a lucky streak, as if blessed by the god of wealth, and nothing seems to stop them.
Princess Haya had far more experience and age than Princess Eugene and saw things more clearly. On the other hand, the young Princess Jiako was shocked to see Princess Eugene defeated time and again.
Young girls always share some common traits, such as pride. Seeing a fellow noble in Princess Eugene utterly defeated, an unhappy Princess Jiako said, "Sister Eugene, we can't let a commoner defeat us. This is a matter of royal honor!"
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