As the old saying goes, if the sky falls, there will still be a tall one to hold it up. The bandits outside Taiyuan City are pressing down on the territory, but the shops in the city are still open as usual. They have all kinds of food, clothing and entertainment, and the business is quite good. It's just that the prices are a bit higher than before.
In particular, some hotels and restaurants are not affected by the situation at all, and on the contrary, business is booming.
This is thanks to the refugees.
The bandit army crossed the Yellow River and marched eastward. When the people with big families heard the news, they fled.
The high walls and thick walls of Taiyuan City were naturally their first choice. There were many wealthy gentry from other prefectures and counties within a hundred miles who fled here.
Although they are both refugees, they have different personalities. When entering Taiyuan City, they naturally do not want to be crowded with the poor people in a dirty refugee camp. Moreover, they carry their families and a large amount of luggage with them, so naturally they prefer to stay in a hotel.
In ancient times, restaurants and hotels were usually integrated into one, with the front and back yards, the courtyard as the guest rooms, and the hotel as the restaurant.
It was noon at this time, and the teahouses and restaurants in the streets and alleys were almost full to the brim with people who had escaped to stay at the hotel and locals who had come to hang out and talk nonsense.
"Now that the prices are so high and so many people are going out to restaurants, there is no one crying poor anymore." Fang San rolled his eyes and said after looking at several shops and finding them all full.
Chang Yu smiled and said nothing, and the group continued to look elsewhere.
Xiaonanmen Street, this street faces Nanhua Gate, the main entrance of the Jin Palace, in the north, and Chengen Gate (Xiaonanmen) in the south. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most prosperous street in Taiyuan City.
Finally, I found a restaurant next to Chunyang Palace near the city gate. It was a three-story building, magnificent and the business was equally booming.
Private room? No!
After Fang San asked some questions, he confirmed again and again that all the private rooms were full, and only the lobby on the third floor had vacancies.
Let's go to the lobby. Chang Yu has a special status, and the swords carried by his entourage are very eye-catching. In addition, he was assassinated the day before yesterday, so he had to be low-key and cautious. He originally wanted to find a private room, but his wish failed.
Somehow, the waiter persuaded a table of customers by the window to change seats for Chang Yu. He probably agreed because he saw the swords on Fan Jiaqian, Tiezhu and others.
The seat is by the window, and the view is excellent. You can almost see the north and south of Xiaonanmen Street, and you can even see the faces of the soldiers on duty at the south gate.
There were not many people in the seat, except for Fei Yu, there were only seven people, Fang San, Li Tiezhu, Hu Ling, Fan Jiaqian, Cheng Ming, Tang Potian and Tu Yuan.
As for those personal guards? I can’t see them now, but when something happens...
There were not many people, and there were not many words, but there were indeed a lot of dishes ordered, and I almost ordered everything on the menu in the store.
Except for Fang San, all of them were tall and round-waisted, and had an astonishing appetite. In fact, the menu in the restaurant these days was only a few simple dishes, not as dazzling as in later generations.
Although everyone didn't talk much and concentrated on eating, they still attracted the attention of other diners in the lobby.
After all, at this time in Taiyuan, those who can freely carry weapons on the streets are not ordinary people.
Only people from the military.
Besides, except for the young man, all of these people had bruises and swollen faces. It was difficult not to attract anyone's attention!
In this current situation, the status of soldiers is too sensitive. Even on the streets, people are pestering the patrolling soldiers to inquire about information.
The few people in front of me who can go to the restaurant to spend money are naturally people with status in the military. Among the diners, there are gossips who want to trick them and find out something.
However, just as someone was approaching with a glass of wine in his hand, several murderous looks came his way, which instantly frightened the person and made him take a few steps back. No one had the courage to come over anymore, and they just talked in low voices.
Chang Yu didn't notice all this. He was staring out the window while eating, watching the people coming and going on the streets, the towering city walls, and the clouds gathering and dispersing in the sky.
Hey, that person looks familiar!
Suddenly, Chang Yu found several women wandering around the Imperial Temple across the street, and one of them was particularly familiar.
It turned out to be Zhu Zhi'e, the princess of the Jin Palace!
It was dinner time and she was wandering out. Chang Yu was a little surprised and thought about asking her to come and eat with her.
However, although the Ming Dynasty was open to the public and Zhu Zhi'e was an unusual woman, it was unlikely that the princess of the royal palace would go out to a restaurant with these men.
Hey, why is he here?
Just as Chang Yu was staring across the street, a private room on the third floor opened and several people walked out. One of them saw Chang Yu inadvertently, raised his eyebrows, and walked over with a chuckle.
There were actually people who dared to come over to disturb them. Tiezhu and the others felt someone approaching, and glared in an attempt to scare the person away. However, when they saw the person coming, they instantly turned into smiling faces and stood up to salute: "Hello, Your Majesty."
Chang Yu turned his head when he heard the sound, only to see Zhu Shenxuan standing at the table with a smile, "Why are you in such a good mood that you came to the restaurant?"
"Haha, it's fate."
Chang Yu also laughed: "Your Majesty's relatives are here, so why don't you stay at home to entertain guests and go out here to be cool?"
After saying that, he stood up and motioned for Zhu Shenxuan to take a seat.
Zhu Shenxuan was not polite, he sat down and said, "I have already eaten."
"Why, the chefs in the palace are not as good as those in this restaurant?" Chang Yu said with a smile.
Hehe, Zhu Shenxuan said with a bad smile: "Someone is treating you, if you don't eat, you won't get it for free."
Chang Yu said, "As Zhu Shenxuan, the number of people who invite him to dinner can be queued up all year long. Moreover, the current situation is uncertain, and there are many people who want to get information from him."
Zhu Shenxuan's appearance caused a commotion in the restaurant lobby. He was the king of Taiyuan, and everyone with a good reputation knew him. Seeing that he was obviously familiar with the people at the table, they started talking about it, but they also knew what was going on and did not interrupt.
.
"The man who entertained us today and the factory... you have some connections." Zhu Shenxuan said, there were many people present, and he also deliberately shielded Chang Yu's identity.
"Do you have a relationship with me?" Chang Yu wondered. The only people he knew in Taiyuan were the first and second-level civil and military leaders. He only met a few of the squires in person. It was impossible to say that they knew each other, so how could they be related to each other?
"Yang Chengde"
As Zhu Shenxuan spoke, he turned his head and raised his fingers behind him, and a middle-aged man with a fat head and big ears walked over with a bow and a nod.
Chang Yu was startled and then realized that the product was out of stock. Yang Buyi accepted that rich father, Yang Chengde, the richest man in Dongcheng.
"This is the factory...that's the real owner," Zhu Shenxuan pointed at Chang Yu and said to Yang Chengde.
Yang Chengde understood and saluted Chang Yu respectfully: "Young man Yang Chengde pays homage to you!"
What does this mean? Chang Yu was a little confused and asked Zhu Shenxuan with his eyes.
"You are interceding with me. I think 50,000 taels of silver is too expensive!" Zhu Shenxuan leaned towards Chang Yu and whispered.
"Hell, if you assassinate the Admiral of Dongchang in the street, it's a capital crime. You might even have your home confiscated. Is fifty thousand taels of silver too expensive?" Chang Yu whispered bitterly.
"Okay, okay, don't use such a big label. Isn't it just a dude who caused trouble on the street and got kicked? Yang Chengde responded to the call and donated a lot of money and food. Now it is really difficult for him to come up with 50,000 cash at once."
.
"When I told you earlier, I didn't see your reaction. Why are you now a lobbyist? Are you getting any benefits?"
"Ahem, what are you talking about? I am the kind of person who enriches the public and privately?" Zhu Shenxuan felt insulted and looked unhappy.
"Then why do you want to be a lobbyist? Considering how well our family knows you, you have nothing to gain and can't afford to go early."
"Ahem, I'll talk to you in detail later. I have already agreed to this matter. You have to give me some face even if you don't give it to me." Zhu Shenxuan said in a domineering tone as if he were a different person.
Oh, let me go. Chang Yu immediately became more interested. He looked at Zhu Shenxuan and chuckled: "Young Master, you have successfully aroused my curiosity. If you don't tell me about this now, it's really shameful for so many people to disrespect you."
It’s beautiful!”
"you……"
Zhu Shenxuan stood up with an angry roar, which made the people watching the excitement startled at first, and then all kinds of gossipy faces showed up.
Even Yang Chengde also saw that something was wrong, his face looked extremely ugly and embarrassed, and he stood there at a loss.
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I’m typing in a hurry, so I’m a little late in updating. Book friends, please support me a lot. (To be continued)