I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Long Yuan was stunned.

He had seen countless noble ladies and stunning beauties in Kyoto, but he had never seen eyes as clean and pure as the girl in front of him.

She carried a faint medicinal fragrance, and though she wore no makeup, her beauty was breathtaking.

Especially her eyes, which were as clear as a spring, without any worldly impurities.

With just one glance, the Ninth Prince, who was decisive and ruthless on the battlefield, suddenly felt his heart skip a beat.

"Ah... We have guests here, Ling'er is being impolite."

Zhao Ling was also stunned for a moment. When she saw Long Yuan dressed in casual clothes, her cheeks flushed slightly. She quickly bowed, turned around and ran into the inner hall to find Su Wanqing.

Long Yuan's gaze followed her back until she disappeared behind the door, then he reluctantly looked away.

"Yifei, this young lady is...?"

Long Yuan swallowed hard, suddenly finding the wine in his hand no longer appealing.

"Her name is Zhao Ling, and she is Wen Yuan's younger sister."

Zheng Yifei looked at Long Yuan's absent-minded appearance and chuckled inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "He is also the youngest seventh-level alchemist in the Heavenly Crafts Academy."

"A seventh-tier alchemist?"

Long Yuan gasped. Such a young seventh-level alchemist was extremely rare, even in the capital.

What's more, she's so beautiful...

Long Yuan coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, then leaned closer to Zheng Yifei and asked in a low voice, "Yifei, is Miss Zhao... married?"

Zheng Yifei shook his head: "Ling'er is focused on alchemy and hasn't thought about these things yet."

Long Yuan's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Zheng Yifei's wrist: "Yifei, we're brothers, you have to help me!"

Zheng Yifei withdrew his hand, looking at him with a half-smile: "Your Highness, you are a prince, what kind of woman can't you have? Ling'er is simple-minded and not suited for the scheming life in the palace."

"I swear!"

Long Yuan suddenly stood up, raised three fingers, and said with an extremely solemn expression: "I, Long Yuan, am by no means the kind of playboy who is lustful at first sight and abandons his lovers. I fell in love with Miss Zhao at first sight."

If I could marry her, I would never take a concubine in my life! As for the royal rules, I have already built a mansion outside the palace, and I will never let her suffer the slightest grievance!

Zheng Yifei quietly looked at Long Yuan.

After six months of getting to know each other, he has a good understanding of Long Yuan's character.

This prince is indeed extraordinary; he is kind, upright, and responsible, and at just over thirty years old, he has already reached the mid-stage of the Void Refinement realm, indicating a promising future.

Most importantly, he didn't have that arrogant, condescending attitude.

Ling'er is of marriageable age, and if she could have a man like this to protect her, it would indeed be a good match.

"I can't make that decision."

Zheng Yifei pondered for a moment and said, "It depends on Ling'er's own wishes. Later, I'll have Wanqing sound her out. If Ling'er isn't opposed, you can try to get to know her first."

"Thank you so much, brother! I will never forget your kindness!"

Long Yuan was so excited that he repeatedly cupped his hands in greeting, forgetting all his worries from earlier.

"Your Highness, please don't thank me yet."

Zheng Yifei tapped the table, bringing the topic back: "Let's talk about the disaster relief money first. With 20 million disaster victims, 5 million gold coins are definitely not enough."

Since those powerful families are unwilling to contribute, let's try a different approach to get them to willingly part with their money, and moreover, we should involve all the people of Tanzhou Prefecture.

Long Yuan was taken aback, his thoughts forcibly pulled back to reality: "A different method? How do we extract it?"

Zheng Yifei extended a finger, dipped it in the wine, and wrote two characters on the stone table.

Lottery.

"Lottery? What's that?"

Long Yuan looked puzzled.

Zheng Yifei patiently explained. He had done this lottery trick once before when he was in the Qingyun Sect in the Southern Wilderness, so he was quite familiar with it.

However, this time it's on a larger scale and is being issued under an official name.

"Simply put, it was a system where the government would print a certificate called a lottery ticket. Ordinary people would buy one for a small amount of money and then participate in a draw periodically. The winners could receive a huge prize."

The money from those who don't win the lottery goes to the government and is used for disaster relief.

Long Yuan frowned as he listened, then hesitated, "This... isn't this gambling? Although the court doesn't ban gambling, if the government takes the lead in setting up gambling dens, once that reputation gets out, those censors in the Censorate will definitely curse me to death."

"Your Highness, this is not gambling, it is called 'charitable donation for disaster relief, a blessing from the imperial court'."

Zheng Yifei corrected, "We can print the words 'Relief for disaster victims, immeasurable merit' on the lottery tickets. When ordinary people buy lottery tickets, they are doing good deeds, and the imperial court has set up a big reward to reward their good deeds."

Who can find fault with this reputation?

Long Yuan's eyes gradually brightened.

"Your Highness, think about it. Why are those powerful families unwilling to donate money? Because donating money is like throwing good money after bad—it's gone forever, and at best they gain a hollow reputation. But what if we told them that if they spent money on lottery tickets, they had a chance to win a million gold?"

Zheng Yifei sneered: "Human greed is limitless. As long as the reward is high enough, not to mention powerful families, even beggars on the street will be unable to resist taking out a few coins to try their luck."

Long Yuan slapped his thigh and stood up excitedly: "Brilliant! This idea is brilliant! Yi Fei, what are your specific plans?"

Zheng Yifei laid out the plan that had already taken shape in his mind.

"We have seven levels of awards. The grand prize is one million gold coins; the first prize is one hundred thousand gold coins; the second prize is fifty thousand gold coins; the third prize is twenty thousand gold coins; the fourth prize is ten thousand gold coins; the fifth prize is two thousand gold coins; the sixth prize is five hundred gold coins; and the seventh prize is ten gold coins."

"The price was set at two silver coins per piece, a price that ordinary people at the bottom of society could afford with a little effort."

Meanwhile, to attract wealthy individuals to purchase in bulk, we've set a discount: one gold coin can buy six lottery tickets.

"We will set up three lottery draw points in Tanzhou Prefecture and one in each of the eight prefectures below, for a total of eleven points. The draw will be held for seven consecutive days, and each prefecture must draw one grand prize winner every day!"

Long Yuan was thrilled, but quickly calmed down and raised a crucial question: "Yi Fei, your plan is excellent. But there's a problem. Cultivators possess divine sense. If they scan the lottery tickets with their divine sense and know in advance which ones will win, wouldn't we be doomed to lose everything?"

"I've already thought about this problem."

Zheng Yifei was confident: "I will personally design the lottery ticket design and then hand it over to the Tiangong Academy branch for production. The Tiangong Academy has a special protective coating. As long as it is applied to the scratch-off area of ​​the lottery ticket, even a powerful cultivator at the Refinement Void Realm will not be able to penetrate it with their divine sense."

You have to scratch off the coating to see if you've won.

"good!"

Long Yuan slammed his hand on the table, his mind completely made up: "I'll go find Prefect Zhu right now! This matter is entirely in your hands. Give him the manpower and the authority!"

That night, Long Yuan dragged Zheng Yifei to the prefectural governor's mansion and dug Zhu Zhenbang out of bed.

After hearing Zheng Yifei's "disaster relief lottery" plan, Zhu Zhenbang was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time.

He had been in officialdom for decades and had seen all sorts of ways to amass wealth, but this was the first time he had ever seen such a blatant scheme that perfectly combined greed and good deeds, openly and honestly selling hope to the whole world.

"Yifei, your brain is absolutely amazing."

Zhu Zhenbang took a deep breath and immediately made a decision: "Go! I will issue an official document first thing tomorrow morning, affixing the seals of the Prefectural Governor's Office and the Imperial Envoy, and issue a notice to the entire prefecture!"

For the next ten days, the entire Tanzhou Prefecture was engulfed in an unprecedented frenzy of preparations.

Official documents from the prefectural governor's office flew to the eight prefectural cities like snowflakes.

The official document clearly states that the Ninth Prince, out of compassion for the disaster victims, has established a "Disaster Relief and Blessing Lottery," with all proceeds going towards the reconstruction of the disaster area.