The third day of the first lunar month was the day when he arrested Huang Anliang, the commander of the Yanqing Guard, and it was also the day when the four thousand families of the Yanqing Guard fled in all directions.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Ouyang Xiaoke came to Tianyi Inn to play the guqin. It was already the tenth day of the lunar month and there was still no one around. Xiao Chen would not believe it if nothing happened to the Ouyang family.
If this Ouyang Qianhu really escaped home, even if the nearby police station was mobilized to surround the entire Yizhou City for arrest, it would not be a big deal.
However, whether it can be caught when the time comes is another matter.
The Ouyang family has been operating in Yizhou City for many years and is one of the three major families. To say that it has no contacts with the government is pure self-deception.
Who can guarantee that no one will tip off the Ouyang family due to interests.
Now that we have come to Yizhou City, we should first try to find out whether Ouyang Qianhu has come back. Once he comes back, Xiao Chen doesn't mind and will deal with the Ouyang family together with the crime of harboring. If someone comes forward to intercede, even say
Lovers are also dealt with together.
Anyway, from the moment he entered Yizhou City Gate, Xiao Chen didn't have a good feeling about this place.
Standing up, Xiao Chen raised his arms, stretched, twisted his neck, and looked at Shopkeeper Xu.
"We talked for an entire afternoon, but in the end I couldn't even hear a single piece of music, that's all. Shopkeeper Xu, our Yishui Inkstones in Yizhou City are all on the entrance to the city gate. They look quite cultural.
On the street?"
Hearing Xiao Chen ask about Yi Shuiyan, shopkeeper Xu let go of the guqin in his hand, stood up, and returned to his previous respectful look.
"The main street just after entering the city gate is the largest Yishui Inkstone Market in Yizhou. If you want to buy a few exquisite items, you can take a walk on that street."
"If I want a large quantity or something big, can I find it on the street?" Xiao Chen asked with a smile.
The Ouyang family is the largest Yi Shui inkstone business monopoly in Yizhou. If you want to get close to the Ouyang family, even if you can't ask directly, you must at least know where their shop is.
Knowing that he came to Yizhou just for Yi Shui Inkstone, shopkeeper Xu did not recommend the Ouyang family to him. It seems that shopkeeper Xu's grudge against the Ouyang family has not diminished with the passage of time.
Shopkeeper Xu lowered his head and was silent for a moment, looking at the ground and his hands hanging down naturally, as if he was engaged in an ideological struggle.
Xiao Chen was not in a hurry, pretending as if nothing had happened, and picked up the tea bowl on the table and took a sip.
Seeing Xiao Chen put down the tea bowl, shopkeeper Xu raised his head again: "If the young master wants a large quantity or requires a large item, he has to go to the Ouyang family's shop. It's not that his shop is cheap, but this
Only the Ouyang family can grow large quantities and large items."
"Oh, so the inkstone business in Yizhou City has been monopolized by the Ouyang family?" Xiao Chen asked lightly with a smile on his face.
"It's not a monopoly, but it's almost the same. After years of accumulation, whether it's quantity or quality, Ouyang's Yi Shui Inkstone still has certain advantages compared to others." Shopkeeper Xu lowered his hands and said respectfully.
"Are their shops also on that main street?"
"Yes." Shopkeeper Xu nodded, "Any shop with the two characters Ouyang under the signboard is their store."
"Okay. Let's go take a look on the street first." With that said, Xiao Chen walked towards the door of the inn.
By the end of the afternoon, there were few pedestrians on this gravel street, and a cold wind blew, making it seem a bit deserted.
Duan Tianming put his hands together in his sleeves and followed quickly.
"This matter of Ouyang Qianhu has been settled. Should we also investigate the matter of Yizhou garrison's arbitrary charges?"
Looking up at the main street not far away, Xiao Chen smiled: "Without the permission of the state government, a small garrison leader, even the brother-in-law of Zhizhou, would never dare to charge fees from merchants in the city so blatantly.
.If the emperor has no arrangements, let’s conduct a thorough investigation of Yizhou City.”
In a relatively large-scale Tianyi Inn, the shopkeepers are forced to do their own busy work, and those smaller merchants still don't know what they are like.
As for the life of the people in the city, Xiao Chen couldn't imagine it.
"In the Ministry of Etiquette's scientific examination, the examiner took bribes and confiscated the examination papers of those who did not give gifts. Should we also investigate?" Duan Tianming asked again.
"Although Cangcheng has been killed by me, we still need to find out these things about the Ministry of Rites. If we didn't know, we wouldn't think about it. Now, because of the unfairness of the imperial examination, Ouyang, who has seen through the world of mortals, has appeared in Yizhou
Xiao Ke. If you don’t check the Ministry of Rites, what will you do to Dongchang?”
"Staying in the capital, I feel that the whole Ming Dynasty is in a prosperous age. Now I have traveled three hundred miles, and I didn't expect to find so many problems." Duan Tianming shook his head and said.
Xiao Chen turned around and glared at Duan Tianming: "If everyone in the Ming Dynasty is conscious and the officials are honest, then why did the emperor establish this Dongchang? There is no Dongchang, no Jinyiwei, and people like you and me who don't know how to farm or do business,
All I have to do is starve to death.”
"That's right." Duan Tianming chuckled, raised his right hand, and scratched the back of his head.
After a while, the two of them stepped onto the main street paved with bluestones.
Looking back at the alley where Tianyi Inn was located, Xiao Chen couldn't help but smile bitterly.
The gravel road was filled with dust, and compared to the clean and tidy main street, which was decorated with green bamboos, it looked shabby.
Not to mention people's status, the contrast between these two streets is too great. This should be Yizhou City's deliberate class division.
The two of them stood on the bluestone street and stamped the dust from their feet.
Perhaps hearing the sound of the two stamping their feet, the waiter from a nearby shop opened the door and walked out.
He looked at the two of them carefully from head to toe, and then greeted them with a smile on his face.
"You two gentlemen are a bit unfamiliar. You have just arrived in Yizhou, right? If you want to buy Yishui inkstone, please go to the store and have a look. Our store has all kinds of high-quality products. I guarantee that you will be satisfied." Xiao Ergong
He dressed up and tried his best to please.
Although this is the main street, perhaps it is because people have not yet finished celebrating the New Year. There are not many pedestrians on the street, and there are almost no customers in the shops.
After finally seeing two men who were not very poor, the waiter tried his best to drag them into the shop.
"Everything?" Xiao Chen turned to look at the waiter.
It seems that the word "everything you need" is a bit too big. The waiter smiled awkwardly, held his hands together and placed them on his lower abdomen, bowing his body lower: "Anyway, we have a lot of exquisite products in the store, you two can go in first."
have a look."
"Okay, let's go in and see if there are any fine products."
