As the sun rises, the streets and alleys of Yulin County come alive, with the aroma of wine and meat, attracting diners passing by.
In the small shop where Xia Shang is located, the chef holding the knife skillfully cuts the beef on the heavy chopping board. He shows calmness and propriety when raising the knife in his hand. It is obvious at a glance that he has decades of knife skills. The shop is full of knives.
The smoke of the fragrant bone soup and the chattering diners from all walks of life could not be dissipated. On the table were red and slightly white braised beef and the unique taste of Yulin County people.
A small corner hides a small scenery, but it brings a little poetry to people. Perhaps this is the most authentic and authentic ancient life.
A bowl of beef as thin as paper and as wide as the palm of your hand was served. The irresistible deliciousness and temptation not only conquered Xia Shang, but also made Yazhi salivate. Although the taste was a bit bland, it had a pure beef flavor.
And the real weight reveals the full sincerity of ancient people.
Eating beef and listening to people chatting around him, Xia Shang found that this was a good way to understand this society. Whether it was a small food stall or a small tea stall, the guests who gathered together always chatted about the new things happening around them.
Xia Shang happened to need to collect information, but he still knew too little about the world.
After lunch, Xia Shang asked Li Zhong and Yazhi to go back first, and went to other places to listen by himself, hoping to hear some useful information.
Using the afternoon, Xia Shang went to several small tea stalls and wandered around the alleys and courtyards of Yulin County for a few times. He heard a lot of gossip. For example, Miss Li's family eloped with a scholar named Zhang's family.
The Luo family's daughter-in-law is having an affair with Mr. Wang next door.
But the thing that gets talked about the most is naturally the incident of the Xia family being ransacked.
These are seemingly inconspicuous 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 grapevine information.
One day later, Xia Shang already felt that something was fishy about the Xia family.
The first is the situation faced by the current government——
It has been sixty years since the founding of the Hua Dynasty, Emperor Hua Shang has been in power for seventeen years, Emperor Hua Sheng has been on the throne for forty-three years, and he is now seventy years old.
Three years ago, the barbarians in Shu rebelled and occupied 46 counties in Chengdu, Lingyang and Chengzhong in half a year. The whole country was shocked. Emperor Huasheng personally sent an army of 300,000 to attack the barbarians in the west. Unexpectedly, he was defeated during the battle between the two armies.
He was shot in the left abdomen. Although his life was saved, his health continued to deteriorate and he is now bedridden. I heard that he has not been in court for two months.
Emperor Huasheng is critically ill, and the battle for the crown prince has surfaced. Among the princes, the most vocal ones are the eldest prince Li Xin and the second prince Li Xiangyang. The two are fighting openly and secretly for the position of prince, and there are rumors even in Yangzhou City, thousands of miles away.
You can imagine how complicated the situation in Beijing is now.
This is the general background information collected by Xia and Shang Dynasties. Under such a general premise, the arrival of the third prince, the Yong Wang Li Shou, in Yangzhou will become 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 prince in terms of age. But now the prince's position has not been determined, and the third prince has long been named the Yong Wang, and he is also the only prince among the princes. It can be seen that the three princes
The prince's status in the capital was not high. The main purpose of being conferred the title of Prince Yong by the emperor was to make him retreat in the face of difficulties, and it was also a way for the emperor to protect his son.
The third prince appeared in Yangzhou at this time, and appeared in Hualou in a grand manner, and even ignored his status to steal a woman from a rich man...
This must be the third prince's pretense to show off to his two brothers in the capital. I don't know if he is really showing his attitude to his two brothers or is deliberately showing weakness.
Regardless of the above two situations, the third prince should not take action against the Xia family at this juncture.
Moreover, the third prince is just an idle prince now, with no power and power. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that following him will not lead to much development. What ability does he have to make the huge Xia family disappear in a blink of an eye?
There must be something fishy about the Xia family. The current information is not enough, so Xia Shang decided to go to Yangzhou City tomorrow to investigate.
Xia Shang was concerned about the looting of the Xia family, while Li Zhong and Yazhi were more concerned about the 10,000 taels of gold.
Seeing that the day has passed like this, the young master has not taken any action at all.
Yazhi was okay, but Li Zhong seemed a little anxious.
Early the next morning, Li Zhong was about to ask Xia Shang about his plans when he suddenly heard Xia Shang say that he was going to Yangzhou City. Li Zhong was overjoyed and said that the young master was going to the city to look for business opportunities.
So the three members of the family quickly got on the carriage and drove all the way to Yangzhou City without stopping.
Li Zhong did not enter the city, but guarded the carriage outside the city.
After getting along for two days, Yazhi found that the young master had become easy-going after losing his memory. His speech and behavior were steady and capable. He did not look like a young and energetic young master, but more like a wealthy man who had experienced great storms. In contrast, Yazhi
On the contrary, he was more afraid of Uncle Zhong.
Now that Uncle Zhong is not around, Yazhi is no longer so cautious. Not long after entering the city, he asked Xia Shang: "Master, do you have plans for ten thousand taels of gold?"
I don't know if he didn't hear Yazhi's words, but Xia Shang suddenly turned around and asked: "Do you know where there is a cloth shop or a garment shop in Yangzhou City?"
Yazhi didn't quite understand: "Why are you looking for a cloth shop and a garment shop?"
"Of course I need to buy some appropriate clothes."
One look at the attire of the two of them, it is indeed not decent enough.
Xia Shang's brocade shirt had been worn for several days, and it was wrinkled and exuded a sour and rotten smell. Yazhi, on the other hand, was dressed in plain clothes of a commoner's wife, which was not very pretty, and made her beautiful woman look pale.
There is nothing wrong with buying a whole set of clothes, but Xia Shang's current economic situation is not very good.
Ten thousand taels of gold have not yet been recovered, and now they are spending some unnecessary things. Yazhi is a little worried.
Concerned, Yazhi took Xia Shang to find a cloth shop.
"Jiangnan Buyi" is a large cloth shop in the famous town of Jiangnan. It not only sells cloth of various qualities, but also has a wide range of finished clothes. Coarse linen clothes with prices as low as 30 to 50 taels, and rare brocades with prices as high as 3,000 to 5,000 taels are all on display.
In the store.
Choosing clothes is a woman's favorite thing. Seeing the dazzling array of luxurious clothes, Yazhi couldn't control herself.
In particular, the long-sleeved Confucian shirts made by "Li Jin" hanging high in the middle of the store are not only well-made and decently designed, but also have hundreds of gold carps embroidered on the inner layer with gold silk.
Yazhi's eyes shone brightly when she saw it, and she explained repeatedly: "Master, this 'Li Jin' is a unique secret made by the Li family. It is made by dyeing silk, and the color is natural. However, the production is complicated, and it is said that the showgirl with the best craftsmanship only has one
You can make a piece of 'Li Jin', so it is extremely precious. Even if the emperor wants to customize the clothes woven by 'Li Jin', he has to give three years' notice in advance. If this clothes is worn on the young master, I don't know how stylish it will be!"
Although the clothes are good, they are ridiculously expensive.
A full fifty thousand taels of silver!
"Who would buy such luxurious clothes?"
Even Xia Shang felt that the price was not worth it, and he thought it could only be used as a display piece and hung there forever. But as soon as he finished speaking, someone shouted: "Seller, I want that 'Li Jin' Confucian shirt."
"Mr. Zhang, don't worry. This Confucian shirt was first chosen by my boy. Shopkeeper, wrap it up for me."
"Master Tong, I have to order this piece of clothing today. The store owner, I will pay fifty-five thousand taels."
"Ouch!"
The scene became lively now, and the elders of some families got into an argument over a piece of clothing.
In just a quarter of an hour, the clothes originally priced at 50,000 taels were sold to 80,000 taels.
The argument in the store brought the two back to reality. Their current wealth could not even afford a single thread of the clothes.
After spending half an hour in the cloth shop, Xia Shang changed the outfits for himself and Yazhi, spending a full five taels of silver.
Today, Xia Shang is wearing a brand-new straight jacket, a simple light blue color, and a dark green belt. The whole person looks much cleaner and neater. There is also a hair ribbon, which is fluttering in the wind, and the literati's charisma is fully displayed.
.Leaving Buzhuang and standing on the street, I made the girl passing by blush with just one glance.
"Master... why did you give Yazhi... why did you give Yazhi such clothes?"
Behind him, Yazhi's voice was as soft as a mosquito's, and she followed Xia Shang with small steps, not daring to raise her head, her face flushed with shame.
"What? Doesn't it fit?" Xia Shang looked back curiously, and his eyes lit up, "It fits very well! Why do you have to be so coquettish? Remember, you are a man now. Who else can walk like you?"
Yazhi was dressed in a snow-white school boy's clothes, dressed neatly, and her hair was tied up with a ribbon like a man's. How could this be the once-famous nobleman? He was clearly a frail and somewhat cute little book boy.
It was Yazhi's first time meeting a man. Although there was nothing wrong with her appearance, it was not easy to change her manners and conversation.
"Master, what are we going to do?"
"I heard that Yichun Courtyard by the West Lake is as famous as Liuyue Tower where you are, so we will go and open our eyes today."
Xia Shang answered absentmindedly, but Yazhi was stunned.
"Master! Are you planning to go to the brothel?!"
Xia Shang said nothing more, still thinking about everything that happened in Buzhuang. (To be continued)