As the sun rises, the streets and alleys of Yulin County are lively, with the aroma of wine and meat, attracting diners passing by.
In the small shop where Xia Shang is, the chef holding the knife skillfully cuts the beef on the heavy chopping board. His hands rise and fall with the knife, showing his calmness and properness. It can be seen at a glance that he has decades of knife skills. The shop is filled with the lingering smoke of the fragrant bone soup and diners from all walks of life chatting and talking. On the table are the red and slightly white braised beef and the unique family affairs of the people of Yulin County.
A small corner hides a small scenery, but it brings a little poetry to people. Perhaps this is the most authentic and real ancient life.
A bowl of beef as thin as paper and as wide as a palm is served on the table. The deliciousness and temptation that cannot be hidden not only conquer Xia Shang, but also make Yazhi swallow her saliva. Although the taste is a bit light, the pure beef flavor and the real weight reveal the full sincerity of the ancient people.
While eating beef and listening to the people around him chatting, Xia Shang found that this was a good way to understand this society. Whether it was a snack stall or a tea stall, the guests gathered together always talked about the new things happening around them.
And Xia Shang happened to need to collect information, and he still knew too little about this world.
After lunch, Xia Shang asked Li Zhong and Yazhi to go back first, and he went to other places to listen alone, hoping to hear some useful information.
In the afternoon, Xia Shang went to several small tea stalls and wandered around the alleys and courtyards of Yulin County for a few circles. He heard a lot of gossip. For example, Miss Li eloped with a scholar from the Zhang family, and the daughter-in-law of the Luo family committed adultery with the old Wang next door.
But the most talked about thing was naturally the raid on the Xia family.
These are seemingly insignificant news, but they reveal many problems.
Xia Shang is best at data integration. In the past, his daily work was to extract the core content of several or even dozens of books, find their commonalities, and transform them into new content.
The same goes for integrating gossip.
One day later, Xia Shang already felt that something was amiss with the Xia family.
First, the situation faced by the dynasty -
The Hua Dynasty was founded sixty years ago, Emperor Huashang has been in power for seventeen years, and Emperor Huasheng has been on the throne for forty-three years, and is now seventy years old.
Three years ago, the Yi people in Shu rebelled, occupying forty-six counties in three continents of Chengdu, Lingyang, and Chengzhong in half a year, shocking the whole country. Emperor Huasheng personally led an army of 300,000 to the west to fight against the Yi people, but he was shot in the left abdomen during the battle between the two armies. Although he saved his life, his health deteriorated and he is now bedridden. It is said that he has not been in court for two months.
Emperor Huasheng is critically ill, and the dispute over the crown prince has surfaced. Among the princes, the most popular ones are the eldest prince Li Xin and the second prince Li Xiangyang. The two fought overtly and covertly for the position of the crown prince, and even the city of Yangzhou, thousands of miles away, had rumors. You can imagine how complicated the situation in the capital is now.
This is the background information collected by Xia Shang. If under such a premise, the third prince, that is, Yong Wang Li Shou, came to Yangzhou, it becomes traceable.
The current emperor has thirteen sons, among whom the eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince are more suitable for the position of the crown prince in terms of age. But now the position of the crown prince is undecided, and the third prince was named Yong Wang early, and he is also the only prince among the princes. It can be seen that the third prince's status in the capital is not high. The main purpose of being named Yong Wang by the emperor should be to make him retreat when he encounters difficulties, and it is also a way for the emperor to protect his son.
The third prince appeared in Yangzhou at this time, and appeared in the flower building openly, and even disregarded his status to compete with a rich son for a woman...
This must be the third prince pretending to show his two brothers in the capital. I don't know if he really expressed his attitude to his two brothers or deliberately showed weakness.
No matter which of the above two situations, the third prince should not take action against the Xia family at this critical moment.
Moreover, the third prince is now just an idle prince, without power and influence. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that there will not be much development following him. How can he make the huge Xia family disappear in an instant?
There must be something strange about the Xia family. The current information is not sufficient. Xia Shang decided to go to Yangzhou City to find out tomorrow.
Xia Shang is concerned about the Xia family being raided, while Li Zhong and Yazhi are more concerned about the 10,000 taels of gold.
Seeing that a day has passed, the young master has not taken any action.
Yazhi is fine, but Li Zhong seems a little anxious.
The next morning, Li Zhong was about to ask Xia Shang about his plan, and suddenly heard Xia Shang say that he was going to Yangzhou City. Li Zhong was overjoyed and thought that the young master was going to the city to look for business opportunities.
So the three of them quickly got on the carriage and drove all the way to Yangzhou City.
Li Zhong did not enter the city, but guarded the carriage outside the city.
After two days of getting along, Yazhi found that the young master became easy-going after losing his memory. His words and behavior were steady and capable. He did not look like a young and energetic young master, but like a rich master who had experienced many storms. In comparison, Yazhi was more afraid of Zhongbo.
Now that Zhongbo was not around, Yazhi was not so restrained. Soon after entering the city, she asked Xia Shang: "Young master, do you have any plans for the 10,000 taels of gold?"
Perhaps because he did not hear Yazhi's words, Xia Shang suddenly turned around and asked: "Do you know where there are cloth shops or ready-made clothing shops in Yangzhou City?"
Yazhi did not quite understand: "Why are you looking for cloth shops and ready-made clothing shops?"
"Of course, to buy a set of suitable clothes."
Looking at the clothes of the two people, it was indeed not decent enough.
Xia Shang's brocade shirt had been worn for several days, and it was wrinkled and had a sour smell. Yazhi was wearing plain clothes, which was not very pretty, and her beauty looked quite dull.
It was not wrong to buy a set of clothes, but Xia Shang's current financial situation was not very good.
Yazhi was a little worried because he had not yet found 10,000 taels of gold, and now he was spending some unnecessary things.
Despite her worries, Yazhi still took Xia Shang to find a cloth shop.
"Jiangnan Buyi" was a famous cloth shop in Jiangnan. It not only sold cloth of various qualities, but also had all kinds of finished clothes, ranging from coarse linen clothes worth 30 or 50 wen to rare brocade worth 3,000 to 5,000 taels, all of which were displayed in the store.
Choosing clothes was a favorite of women, and Yazhi could not control herself when she saw the dazzling array of luxurious clothes.
Especially the long-sleeved Confucian shirt made by "Li Jin" hanging high in the middle of the store, which was not only well-made and well-designed, but also had hundreds of golden carps embroidered on the inner layer with golden silk.
Yazhi's eyes lit up as she explained: "Master, this 'Li Jin' is a secret product of the Li family. It is dyed with silk and has a natural color. However, it is complicated to make. It is said that the best maiden can only make one piece of 'Li Jin' in her lifetime, so it is extremely precious. Even if the emperor wants to order clothes made of 'Li Jin', he has to notify him three years in advance. If you wear this dress, you will look so magnificent!"
Although the dress is good, the price is ridiculously expensive.
A full 50,000 taels of silver!
"Who would buy such luxurious clothes?"
Even Xia Shang felt that the price was not worth it, and thought that it would only be hung there as a display. Who would have thought that as soon as he finished speaking, someone shouted: "Shopkeeper, I want that 'Li Jin' Confucian shirt."
"Master Zhang, don't worry, this Confucian shirt was first seen by me, Tong. Shopkeeper, pack it for me."
"Master Tong, I want this shirt today. Shopkeeper, I'll pay 55,000 taels."
"Wow!"
The scene became lively. I don't know which two masters were arguing over a piece of clothing.
In just a quarter of an hour, the original price of the 50,000 taels of clothing was pushed up to 80,000 taels.
The dispute in the store brought the two back to reality. Their current assets couldn't even afford a thread for the shirt.
After wasting half an hour in the cloth shop, Xia Shang bought a new outfit for himself and Yazhi, spending a full five taels of silver.
Xia Shang is now wearing a new straight gown, a simple light blue color, with a dark green belt, which makes him look much neater and more tidy. With a hair ribbon, floating in the wind, he shows his scholarly temperament to the fullest. When he left the cloth shop and stood on the street, he made the passing girls blush with just one look.
"Master... why did you give Yazhi... give Yazhi such clothes."
Behind him, Yazhi's voice was as soft as a mosquito, and she followed Xia Shang in small steps, not daring to look up, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"What? Doesn't it fit?" Xia Shang looked back curiously, and his eyes lit up, "It fits very well! Why are you so shy? Remember, you are a man now, and who can walk like you?"
Yazhi was dressed in a snow-white book boy's outfit, dressed properly, and her hair accessories were tied up with a ribbon like a man. How could this be the once famous courtesan? Clearly a weak and somewhat cute little book boy.
This was Yazhi's first time dealing with a man. Although there was nothing wrong with her dressing, it was not so easy to change her manners and conversation.
"Master, what are we going to do?"
"I heard that Yichunyuan by the West Lake is as famous as Liuyue Tower where you are. Let's go there today to have a look."
Xia Shang answered absent-mindedly, but Yazhi was stunned.
"Master! Are you going to a brothel?!"
Xia Shang didn't say anything else, still thinking about what happened in the cloth shop.