Bianjing, the sacred capital of Daqian.

Recently, this divine capital has not been peaceful. There are ghosts and weird things happening frequently inside, and there are vassal kings who are restless outside.

On the twenty-third day of the first lunar month, Gu Wen, who was working in the Qingxi Water House outside Longqiao, was summoned by his master.

Gu Wen sat in the carriage, and the boy spanked the horse's butt meticulously. The sound of slapping revealed a certain pattern. The carriage was very stable, and the slight shaking made people sleepy.

Victims of the disaster were crowded on the road outside, huddled and shivering on both sides of the road. It was freezing in Bianjing in March, but the nights were still difficult.

He asked as usual: "There have been a lot of victims recently. I still remember they said there was a good harvest a few days ago."

"Sir, a good harvest is only worth the money. Even if the gold grows in the ground, it won't be enough to pay taxes."

"That's right. Ten years of land tax and ten years of land tax were levied in the first place. Even after ten years of receiving the money, we still haven't seen ten years of food growing in the fields."

Daqian was originally peaceful, the emperor's succession was justifiable, and there were good harvests year after year. However, the people of the world were forced to live by exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. The two national policies were changed from rice to mulberry and horse policies, which directly led to civil unrest in the two counties. Banditry is endless.

Gu Wen originally wanted to say something, but a sudden cough left him speechless.

This body was poor and weak, and he often fell ill. If he hadn't gotten a job in the palace, he would have died long ago. But fortunately, he was just weak and did not have any serious diseases.

"Master, are you okay?"

"Old problem."

He waved his hands and said no more, leaving only the trembling of the hungry people in the cold wind and the faint joy coming from the distance in the air.

After leaving Zhuque Gate and heading to Longqiao, more than a hundred people walked into the night market.

There are crowds of people, there are thousands of vendors, there are many jade buildings on both sides, and the lights are red every sunset.

The watermen push the wheelbarrows through the lanes and back alleys of various restaurants, transporting buckets of water to restaurants, teahouses, Goulan tile houses, or the mansions of dignitaries, or Changlefang brothels, etc. The land of fireworks and willow lanes.

The restaurant sells sea cucumbers, shark's fins, bear paws, scallops, fish maw, deer tails, deer tongue, bird's nests...

Under the hooked railings and rolling curtains of the brothel, there are Yangzhou thin horses, harem girls, and horned prostitutes.

On the gambling table in Changlefang, people are playing dice, fighting cocks, fighting quails, and spreading money.

Although it is past midnight and most people have already fallen asleep, for the rentier class in Bianjing, nightlife has just begun. They neither get up early because of work nor rest because of tomorrow's work. They are born to enjoy themselves. of.

The food, mountain and meat forest at home will turn the two meals into three, four, or even twelve meals. Some have gold, silver, jewelry, beautiful maids, male concubines, and slaves. There are sedan chairs for traveling, maids for food, and concubines for living. , even those who remove feces have specialized personnel.

Some have candlelight and oil fires dividing the darkness of the night, and some have hanging curtains and thin gauze to block the rising sun.

Bianjing is not peaceful recently, but it has nothing to do with dignitaries like them. Prosperity never refers to a specific place, but the path you take.

Riding horses in the busy city, they disturbed many dignitaries, literati, and children of aristocratic families along the way... Some drunkards were unable to dodge. The guard who was opening the road in front raised his hand and whipped his hand, and his howling attracted more people's attention.

People in the flower houses and jade courtyards on both sides kept looking at them, catching a glimpse of the ordinary faces sitting in the carriage. Those who entered Longqiao for the first time all asked which family the young master came from to make such a grand display.

Those who have been in Longqiao for a while only dared to answer after the carriage drifted away:

"Marquis Wen of the Ninth Prince's Mansion, Chitose of Longqiao."

Gu Wen's face was expressionless. The dim light outside the car window shone on his face. His face was ordinary and unremarkable. If he fell into the crowd, it would be difficult to attract others' attention.

He naturally enjoys all the things that power brings. He has long been accustomed to stepping on others' heads, has long been tired of other people's awe, and has long since turned into a man-eating monster.

The morality, civilization, and concepts of the previous life will only harm others and ourselves.

Feudal ethics has never been as simple as a concept. He is a god who cannot be disobeyed. You can only scold him when he dies.

He is just a slave under this great god, half of the class who can stand in this feasting and feasting. He is not a high-ranking official, not a relative of the emperor, nor is he a powerful official in the capital.

He is the operator of a water house and a retainer of a prince.

There are more than 3 million people in the inner and outer cities of Bianjing, 60% of which rely on the Taojiang tributary that flows through Bianjing, and the rest rely on digging wells. However, the huge Bianjing only has 2,000 wells, of which 1,600 are bitter water wells.

, mostly used by ordinary people.

There are more than 300 clear water wells, which are used by officials' homes and well-off families, and they have to pay water money every month.

There are no more than a hundred sweet water wells, and they are all "water gold mines".

Most of the private wells in the city sell water to make a living. The shopkeeper sets up a wooden wheelbarrow with a wooden bucket above it. After the waiter fills it, he pushes it to the buyer's house, pours it into the water tank, withdraws the money and leaves.

Therefore, Gu Wen made a living from this and occupied the largest water house near Longqiao, which half of the shops in Longqiao relied on.

The money that passes through my hands every month does not range from ten thousand taels of gold to eight thousand taels.

People gave him the nickname "Wen Hou".

------------------

Ninth Prince's Mansion.

"Marquis Wen, the palace has arrived."

Gu Wen got off the carriage and looked up. He saw a large house with towering stone lions, surrounded by a high wall and covered with green glazed tiles. A kissing beast was placed on the ridge of the roof. It was clearly the residence of the prince.

He did not let his servants lead the way and walked quickly into the house. The guards who stood every step of the way turned a blind eye to him and no one stopped him.

It was not the first time that Gu Wen came here, but it was the first time that he was summoned into the palace late at night. This made him very surprised. What on earth required him to come to the palace late at night.

Urged on by his eagerness to uncover the mystery, he quickened his pace.

The palace was still immersed in the long night, and everything was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, making Gu Wen's steps more clear and obvious. Even before he came to the study, the nobleman sitting there had already noticed it.

The splendid bead curtain was lifted by the eunuch, and Gu Wen walked into the study. The light incense filled the air from the beast stove. The noble man was leaning over the desk writing calligraphy and painting. The bright yellow robe was slightly reflected in the candlelight. His facial features are handsome and noble beyond words.

The Ninth Prince Zhao Feng is also a strong contender for the crown prince of Daqian.

Ten years ago, the prince fell into the water and died. Today, the emperor has not appointed a new prince. The emperor is old and the emperor is in trouble.

Gu Wen stepped forward and knelt down on one knee. Daqian did not need to kneel down except in extremely formal occasions, and ministers in the court did not need to kneel down when meeting the emperor.

There is only one kind of person who needs to kneel down and worship, domestic slaves.

There are three, six, and nine grades everywhere, and wherever there are people there are distinctions between high and low. There are two types of retainers, one is the children of aristocratic families who bring money to join the group, and the other is those like Gu Wen who have no support but are capable. Ordinary people.

The former is a minister and needs to be treated with courtesy by his master, while the latter is a slave and can be killed and chopped into pieces at will.

But a smart master will acquiesce to the rule of the slaves kneeling while being friendly and informal.

"I'm sorry that your family is rushing to the palace in the middle of the night."

Zhao Feng put down his pen and showed his closeness appropriately. This is another benefit of being a retainer. He can easily gain the trust of his master and become his confidant.

Gu Wen was one of the Ninth Prince's confidants. He would be consulted on all business matters, but this was the first time that he was consulted in the middle of the night.

The attitude of the Ninth Prince today is also a bit strange. He is closer than before, and even has a little more 'respect'? I am a commoner, and my abilities are mostly in business. For the powerful, business is just a decent way to eat.

Zhao Feng asked in a tone of discussing family affairs: "It must have been five years since Aiqing came to my palace, right?"

Five years.

Gu Wen was in a daze. He realized that five years had passed and five years had passed since he traveled through time.

Five years ago, he traveled through time and became a beggar in Bianjing, Daqian. He was carrying an ancestral stone jade pendant, which was said to have immortality. Before Gu Wen could understand the details of the Ninth Prince's eunuch, he came to his door and wanted his hand. of jade pendant.

The man brought more than a dozen heavily armed sergeants and revealed his identity. Gu Wen knew he couldn't keep the treasure, so he made a condition. He wanted to be rich and prosperous. After traveling through time and being a beggar, he suffered for more than half a year. If he couldn't keep the treasure, he would at least take the opportunity to get out of poverty. .

The other party agreed, and then brought him into the Ninth Prince's Mansion, where he remains until today.

At first, when Gu Wen heard that "Nine Princes have the legacy of Taizu," his first reaction was to run away. With this name, the Ninth Prince would inevitably be involved in the struggle for the throne. But when he saw the various things in feudal society, he found that In fact, the power struggle for the throne is not scary, but being an ordinary citizen is scary.

Even if you have a net worth of tens of millions, you will be nothing more than a fat pig under the butcher's knife of the officials in the next second. They have many ways to eat you.

So Gu Wen stayed in the Ninth Prince's Mansion and used some modern company management experience to become the other party's right-hand man, the 'Marquis Wen' who was responsible for the largest cash flow room in the Ninth Prince's Mansion.

Gu Wen replied: "If it weren't for Your Highness, I might have starved to death on the roadside. Your Highness's kindness will be remembered forever."

"Have you heard about the strange things happening in the city recently?"

"Of course, someone saw the dragon shadow swimming under the Dragon Bridge, a ten-foot-tall tree grew overnight on Zhuque Road in the south of the city, the giant Buddha of Baiyun Temple glowed with golden light, and someone in Bianjing met a white deer at night. This is auspicious, everyone It is said that Daqian can last for ten thousand years."

There are many theories about ghosts and gods in ancient times, especially in recent times, and they have noses and eyes.

Gu Wen asked people to inquire and found out that a tree suddenly grew on Zhuque Road. The government called hundreds of people but they couldn't pull it out or push it down, so they finally had no choice but to let it go. Now, because of this tree, the entire Zhuque Road has become a tree. It was blocked every day.

"You should know that these are all true."

Zhao Feng took off the stone jade pendant from his waist and placed it on the table where Gu Wen could see it. His address to Gu Wen suddenly changed and he said, "This is your family heirloom from back then."

"Now it belongs to His Highness."

"What if I want to return something to you?"

Zhao Feng's body leaned forward slightly, his tone was calm and light, as if he really wanted to return it to Gu Wen, but he didn't know how much edge was already emerging in the dark.

Gu Wen replied without hesitation: "Then I need to repay His Majesty's kindness. In the last year alone, I have spent three thousand taels of silver. In five years, I am afraid it will be ten thousand taels. I will not be able to pay back even if I have to dig out my heart and soul." superior."

"Your Highness, are you going to let me eat for free?"

Facing the rhetorical question, Zhao Feng was stunned for a moment, then chuckled a few times. The laughter instantly made the murderous intention fade away a lot. He put away the jade pendant and cursed with a smile: "Ai Qing is quite dashing. You can spend three thousand taels of silver a year to buy things here in Bianjing." This mansion only costs less than a thousand taels. And if I don’t count the money allocated by the clan, I’m afraid my annual expenses are less than half of my love for you.”

"Your Highness's Holiness."

Gu Wen took the opportunity to compliment him, knowing that he had escaped another disaster today.

Accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. Although Zhao Feng is only a prince, his official position is not as good as his current administration. He has more authority than the emperor over Gu Wen and everyone in the Ninth Prince's House.

Seeing Zhao Feng's helpful nod, Gu Wen even laughed from the bottom of his heart. This move was nothing more than a combination of kindness and power, beating the people below him all the time, and at the same time enjoying the power of overpowering others.
To be continued...