The beggar spoke and came over.
Hearing the beggar's words, the Centurion suddenly froze. Having been amused by Lin Yi, he had long since squandered his own silver.
Even if he got the answer right, what good would it do? Winning the prize wouldn't be enough to buy wine.
Oh dear, thanks to this beggar, the Centurion thought to himself. If not for this beggar, he would have lost face immensely today.
So he shouted, "You filthy beggar, don't come over here. Just looking at you is bad luck. How could you win the lottery? I give up." With that, he returned the paper to the servant and quickly withdrew from the crowd.
As the Centurion left, the others continued with the lottery.
Leaving aside the others, after the Centurion stepped out of the queue, he sneakily checked his own pocket.
How annoying, he thought. Now he estimated that even he was not as wealthy as the beggar, who at least had a few copper coins in his begging bowl.
