This middle-aged customer had a dignified appearance. His eyes were bright and he exuded an elegant aura. Due to his Beijing accent and the fact that he had a follower with him, he gave off an unfathomable feeling.
"Who are you?"
The shopkeeper's expression was extremely ugly. This customer had asked for 500 strings of string of cash. It was a heavy slap to his face. Furthermore, it was in his shop.
The middle-aged customer ignored the shopkeeper and smiled strangely. "I came from Beijing. If I bring these hides back, I will make five times the profit. So, young master, you don't have to worry."
Ang Lee wasn't stupid. He immediately understood the middle-aged customer's smile. He was helping him and didn't really want to buy it.
"Okay, 500 strings of cash. Deal." Ang Lee smiled indifferently.
"Wait." The shopkeeper's face was filled with anger as he shouted, "This is my Wang Family's Beast Skin Shop. How can you do business here?" Seeing this, a few professors gathered around.
"What do you mean? Do you want to fight?"
"This is the Wang Family's Beast Skin Shop. Your hides can only be sold to me. And you, you can only buy the hides in my shop." The shopkeeper was full of arrogance.
"I'm not selling anymore. Kun Xiong, let's go."
"You're not allowed to leave. You're taking advantage of my shop if you go out to trade. You met in my shop."
After the shopkeeper finished speaking, a few professors surrounded Ang Lee and prevented him from leaving.
Ang Lee really didn't want to cause trouble. He gently raised a burly professor above his head. When the other professors saw this, they immediately surrounded Ang Lee. However, these useless people couldn't take a beating. After a few punches and kicks, they were all lying on the ground.
"What are you doing?" The shopkeeper was frightened.
Ang Lee patted the shopkeeper's shoulder and said, "I sell hides. Of course, I'll sell to whoever gives me the most money. What do you think?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Young master, you're right." The shopkeeper quickly nodded and said in a fit of anger, "I'll pay 600 strings of cash."
The middle-aged customer smiled and nodded to Ang Lee, indicating that the price was reasonable. He then walked out of the shop with his follower.
"600 strings of cash. Deal."
"Deal, deal."
One tael of gold was worth six hundred thousand coins. If they were all paid with copper coins, it would be extremely difficult to carry around. For this reason, the shopkeeper paid with gold. One tael of gold was worth six strings of cash. One tael of gold was worth six strings of cash. One tael of gold was worth six strings of cash.
At this time, most of the gold was ten taels per collar, and ten collars were exactly one hundred taels. Ang Lee carried the ten collars of gold and walked out of the Wang Family's beast hide shop.
"Please wait, Langjun." Ang Lee quickly caught up with him and took out a handful of gold. He said, "Thank you, Langjun, for your help. This handful of gold is my reward." Then he handed it over.
The middle-aged Langjun was quite unhappy. He reached out to stop Yan Zhenqing and scolded, "I helped you because I couldn't bear to see the shop owner bullying you. I didn't do it for a reward. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"Yan Zhenqing!" Li An's heart trembled. Could it be that the person in front of him was the famous calligrapher Yan Zhenqing? Why would he appear in this small Liucheng County? Was he here to experience life and find calligraphy inspiration?
Of course, Ang Lee didn't know that Yan Zhenqing was currently an eighth-ranked Imperial Censor. He was ordered to follow Zhang Yi to inspect Hebei to understand the local disaster and the local people's situation. At the same time, he was also inspecting the achievements of the officials at all levels. Zhang Yi stayed in Ji City, but Yan Zhenqing had already entered Yingzhou and was visiting incognito.
"Langjun, please forgive me. Ang Lee didn't want to give it to you." Seeing that Yan Zhenqing didn't accept it, Ang Lee put the gold back into his pocket.
"Ang Lee." Yan Zhenqing nodded and praised, "Li Shaolang's skills are not bad. If you join the army in the future, you will definitely be a general."
"I don't dare, I don't dare. You flatter me."
"Haha, we will meet again if fate wills it. Farewell." Yan Zhenqing grinned and left with his followers.
"Kun Xiong, let's go."
"Imperial Censor, from what I see, Li Shaolang's martial arts are quite good. If he can be recruited into the Eastern Palace Guard Squad, wouldn't that be a good thing?"
Hearing this, Yan Zhenqing's expression was complicated. He paused for a moment and then said meaningfully, "The Crown Prince lives in the side courtyard of the palace all year round and is completely protected by Your Majesty's tens of thousands of Yulin Guards. The Eastern Palace Guard has long become a decoration. However, Your Majesty really has put a lot of thought into protecting the Crown Prince."
Obviously, from Yan Zhenqing's point of view, the Eastern Palace Guard Squad was just a decoration. They were responsible for guarding the Eastern Palace, but the crown prince didn't live in the Eastern Palace. He lived with the emperor and was heavily protected by the emperor's Yulin Army. Rather than saying it was a protection, it was more like monitoring.
This was enough to show that the current emperor, Li Longji, was very worried about his crown prince. Of course, this was also related to the frequent coups in the Tang Empire. As the emperor, Li Longji had to be on guard against his son.
"Imperial Censor, you mean …"
"You only need to remember that the crown prince doesn't need the Eastern Palace Guard Squad, but the support of the court officials and generals at the border. Only when they all support the crown prince can the crown prince be truly safe. In this way, the Tang Empire can flourish forever."
Yan Zhenqing warned his trusted subordinate.
As a supporter of the crown prince, Yan Zhenqing knew that if he wanted to stabilize the crown prince's position, the court officials and generals at the border were very important. The Eastern Palace Guard Squad was completely useless. On the contrary, if the crown prince gathered able-bodied men to strengthen the Eastern Palace Guard Squad, it would arouse the emperor's suspicion and bring disaster to himself.
"Imperial Censor, you're right. Now that Li Xiangguo and Prince Qing have secretly contacted each other, it seems that they are working together to deal with the crown prince. The situation in the court is quite urgent, and the situation at the border is not much better, especially in Hebei. Several generals who support the crown prince have all died."
Yan Zhenqing frowned and said, "It's just a small northern expedition, but it actually caused many generals to die. Moreover, they were all generals who support the crown prince. How can there be such a coincidence in the world?"
"Imperial Censor, you think there's a problem here?"
"Of course there's a problem. Although these generals died in battle or went missing, as long as we investigate carefully, we will definitely find out the truth. This is also another mission of our trip."
"Imperial Censor, don't worry. I will do my best to investigate this matter."
Yan Zhenqing was ordered by the court to inspect the disaster in Hebei. At the same time, he also received a secret order from the crown prince's faction to go to Yingzhou to investigate the death of many generals.
"That's right, Li Shaolang just now is a very good clue." Yan Zhenqing smiled slightly.
"Li Shaolang."
Yan Zhenqing nodded and said, "This Imperial Censor and the missing Pinglu Military Academy Captain Li Wu can be considered close friends. This Li Shaolang and Li Wu look very similar. It's very likely that they are father and son. If not, why would this Imperial Censor be so nosy just now?"
"Haha, I see. I understand."
On the street of West Lane of Liucheng County, a burly aristocratic young man was walking side by side with an equally burly middle-aged Langjun. Behind them were six guards with swords and sabers hanging from their necks.
"Uncle Tian, I heard that you have been to Chang 'an City. How is Chang' an City compared to Liucheng County?" The aristocratic young man glanced at the crowd on the street and asked.
"How can a small Liucheng County compare to Chang 'an City? The difference is too big. We can't compare at all." The middle-aged Langjun waved his hand.
"Then how about the women in Chang 'an City? Are they also incomparable to those in Liucheng County?" The aristocratic young man's eyes flashed with light.
The middle-aged Langjun smiled knowingly and said with his head held high, "Any young lady in the Grand Pleasure Brothel in Chang 'an City is better than those in Liucheng County. Do you know that in Chang' an City, there are people who are willing to pay a lot of money just to see a beautiful woman?"
"There is such a thing. If I can stay in Chang 'an City for a long time and enjoy all the beauty in the world, I, An Qingzong, am willing to be a hostage." A trace of evil flashed in the aristocratic young man's eyes.
That's right. The burly young man was An Lushan's eldest son, An Qingzong. The middle-aged Langjun next to him was Tian Qianzhen, An Lushan's general.
As An Lushan's eldest son, An Qingzong knew that he would be sent to Chang 'an City as a hostage sooner or later. He was reluctant at first, but after hearing Tian Qianzhen's words, he changed his mind.
"Uncle Tian, the young lady in front is quite good-looking." An Qingzong looked up at the young girl who was hawking hazelnuts.
Tian Qianzhen glanced at her and shook his head. "She is too young and inexperienced."
"She is a little young, but it would be good to buy her as a servant in the mansion."
"Oh, is there a shortage of servant girls in the mansion?"
Tian Qianzhen smiled slyly. Obviously, he could see that An Qingzong liked young girls. Buying a servant girl was just an excuse.
"What a pretty young lady. Come back with me and be a servant girl. You can earn 30 coins a month. It is much better than selling hazelnuts on the street." An Qingzong said without hesitation.
"Third Brother." The young girl was scared and stepped back.
"Young Master, we sell mountain products, not people." Li Feiyu stepped forward and stared at An Qingzong.
"How dare you stare at me. Do you know who I am?" An Qingzong was furious. He stared at Tian Qianzhen like a toad in heat.
"Don't be angry, Dalang." Tian Qianzhen smiled and walked over. He looked at Li Feiyu and said arrogantly, "Young Master, my Young Master is the eldest son of Ying Province's Governor An. He has a noble status. If my sister can enter the Governor's Mansion as a maid, it will be much more noble than selling mountain goods on the street. This is also the accumulated good karma of your ancestors. Young Master, please advise my sister not to disappoint my Dalang's good intentions."
This was a blatant threat. Naturally, Li Feiyu would not agree.
"Thank you for your kindness, Young Master. My sister is a country bumpkin and doesn't know how to serve noble people."
"It doesn't matter. I can teach her slowly. You guys, take this young lady away." An Qingzong lost his patience and ordered the guards behind him to take action.
"What are you doing? Is there no law?"
Li Feiyu panicked. At this moment, there were eight people and they all looked very strong. He was alone and would not be able to protect the young girl.
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