The next day, the sun rose three poles high.
Gu Wen woke from his slumber, summoned a maid to freshen up, and then had his trusted 'capable assistant' called in.
With a slender figure, dressed in blue silk attire, sporting a small beard, and a sly appearance, Jiang Fugui was the small shopkeeper Gu Wen encountered in the early days of his entry into Longqiao Night Market.
He was shrewd and astute, a very standard and rigid merchant, but his abilities were more than sufficient.
Gu Wen sat at the table for his meal, which consisted of the famous Pearl Red Date Porridge from the Drunken Immortal Tower and the White Flour Pastries from the Fragrant Jade Pavilion in Longqiao.
This meal cost thirty taels of silver, equivalent to two years' worth of provisions for an ordinary person.
The fragrance made Jiang Fugui, who had just entered, salivate.
Gu Wen beckoned and said, "If you haven't had breakfast yet, sit down and eat with me."
Jiang Fugui, with a thick skin, sat down with a smile, picked up a white flour steamed bun, and said, "Even if I've eaten, I can't miss a meal with Master Wen. Oh, this white flour steamed bun is truly sweet. It's rare to have it during a great disaster year."
Gu Wen chuckled, "I've never treated you unfairly on ordinary days. You haven't missed out on a few steamed buns, have you?"
"Master, you are generous with your money, and I have many mouths to feed at home." Jiang Fugui's mouth was full, and food crumbs kept falling on the table as he spoke.
"Moreover, with the chaos of war these past two years, we need to save more money. Who knows when Bianjing will completely collapse, and we'll have to flee to the south."
The chaos of war had almost become the norm in this era.
Barbarians lurked outside the Great Gan Frontier, while inside, bandits and rebel armies were rampant.
Every time the court would levy heavy taxes in the name of reorganizing the border troops, the exorbitant levies were so heavy that even many landlords couldn't bear them, leading many to eventually turn to banditry.
The fact that landlords couldn't survive may sound absurd, but it was a reality in the Great Gan, right before Gu Wen's eyes.
This was why he firmly stood within the bureaucratic class, even if he was just a minor guest officer without an official rank in the Wang Mansion.
In this world, there were no distinctions between scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.
There were only scholars and commoners, or more extremely, the nobles in the capital and the slaves from the outskirts.
Gu Wen knew that there were bandits roaming near the Bianjing Prefecture, sometimes robbing wealthy merchants and sometimes seizing the court's supplies, even daring to raid the government warehouses in the city.
Such banditry had been rampant in the Bianjing region for many years, longer than the current emperor had been on the throne.
The court had considered suppressing the bandits, but whenever these bandits encountered the official troops, they would either scatter or besiege and devour them, scaring the imperial army into only talking about suppressing the bandits but not actually doing it.
In fact, everyone knew that the Great Gan was doomed.
Even small shopkeepers like Jiang Fugui were planning to flee south, which was evident of the prevailing sentiment.
Two years ago, Gu Wen had already purchased some properties in the south as his main goal in recent years was to escape.
However, if there were extraordinary powers at play, then everything was uncertain.
"The south is not a place you can just go to. Besides, I've been dining with Ninth Prince for a day, so I must repay a lifetime of gratitude." Gu Wen shook his head, avoiding obvious troubles in a casual manner.
In his position, there were knives everywhere, and he couldn't be sure that some servant in the mansion wasn't a spy for the Wang family.
Surface loyalty had to be absolute.
After the meal, Gu Wen wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said, "Fugui, there have been many strange occurrences in the city recently. Go investigate personally, try to keep a low profile and avoid trouble."
Gu Wen emphasized repeatedly that since he was certain that extraordinary powers existed in this world and that he himself was undergoing some kind of change, he didn't want anyone under his command to touch anything dirty and bring it back.
Jiang Fugui was puzzled, but as a subordinate, he knew not to refuse Gu Wen's orders, just like he couldn't refuse Zhao Feng.
"I'll take care of it right away."
At noon, Gu Wen lay on a rocking chair, with the mansion servants busy at work, and occasional knocking and crying sounds from outside made the servants work even harder, with meticulous attention to detail.
Happiness was relative.
Without going out to see, one could guess why there were knocking sounds outside, mostly for selling children to make a living.
It was not only to feed the adults but also to let the children survive.
A few years ago, Gu Wen used to take them in, but now he had over a hundred people in his mansion.
According to the law, as someone without an official position, he could only keep up to fifty slaves.
How many people could Gu Wen shelter alone?
He was just a servant.
Entering the mansion through the back door, Jiang Fugui came to Gu Wen's side and whispered, "Master, the strange occurrences that have been circulating recently are all being surrounded by the servants of the wealthy families. It's impossible to inquire or see anything."
"The servants of the wealthy families?"
"Yes, they... they are actually carrying weapons openly on the streets of the capital. Could they be rebelling?"
Jiang Fugui's voice was very low, his eyes full of suspicion, even he could sense something unusual.
The Great Gan prohibited the private possession of weapons.
During the reign of the previous emperor, there had been a rebellion in the Bianjing area, and the rebels had almost breached the capital.
So the court issued a decree: "Those who privately possess weapons shall be punished with a year and a half of hard labor."
Private possession of weapons was common, but carrying them openly on the streets was rare, especially a large group of people openly carrying weapons.
Truly worthy of being the Great Gan ruled by our wise emperor.
"What about Fenghuang Road and Longqiao?"
Gu Wen inquired.
Fenghuang Road had a racing track specifically for carriages to improve the efficiency of transporting goods.
It connected major markets, and even the palace's daily necessities were brought in through this road.
And recently, there were rumors of a tree growing there.
Could it be that the road was also being surrounded?
Longqiao was an important hub connecting the east and west districts of the city, and it was unlikely to be surrounded.
"Fenghuang Road has been surrounded by the imperial troops. Now, the goods transporters have to take detours, even circling half of Bianjing from other gates to enter. I went to see Longqiao, but this humble one couldn't discern anything miraculous."
It seemed that Zhao Feng was not the only one.
This was normal.
If a prince could find an immortal, then it was impossible for other noble families, as well as the palace, not to find one.
But why had they only emerged recently?
A term floated in Gu Wen's mind: the revival of spiritual energy.
"No need to inquire further."
Instead of wandering aimlessly, it was better to see the immortal mentioned by Zhao Feng.
Three days later.
Gu Wen received another order.
The Wang Mansion was to welcome the immortal on the day of Grain Rain.
To match the grandeur of the royal family, they needed to prepare the six rites.
These rites were for welcoming, offering, serving tea, serving food, providing accommodation, and seeing off the guest.
As the chief steward of the Wang Mansion and also in charge of Longqiao Night Market, apart from the welcoming and seeing-off ceremonies, the rest fell on his shoulders.
Gu Wen called in his subordinate Jiang Fugui, gave a few instructions, and then set off to visit the taverns one by one in Longqiao Night Market, assigning the task to the Moonflower Pavilion based on the closeness of relationships and the thickness of the red envelopes.
Hundreds of taels of silver ended up in Gu Wen's pocket, as procuring bids had always been a lucrative job since ancient times.
Gu Wen knew it was due to his recent display of loyalty, or else Zhao Feng wouldn't have entrusted him with this task.
Carrot and stick, there had to be a carrot.
Gu Wen was being entertained by the innkeeper of the Moonflower Pavilion when suddenly the innkeeper asked in a low voice, "Lord Wen, I heard that Ninth Prince is hosting a banquet to entertain an immortal."
The word 'immortal' was whispered very softly, but Gu Wen, sitting beside him, heard it clearly, causing his movements to pause.
"Who told you that?"
"These past few days, people from the Ninth Prince's mansion have been boasting in various taverns and brothels, saying that the Ninth Prince is going to entertain an immortal, and even claiming that the Ninth Prince has a divine mandate."
Seizing the opportunity to gain popularity.
Gu Wen realized that it wasn't the troublemakers in the mansion spreading rumors, but it was clearly orchestrated by Zhao Feng himself.
With the position of the Crown Prince currently vacant, anyone could potentially become the Crown Prince.
Among them, Zhao Feng was the most ambitious, so how could he miss such an opportunity?
"Ninth Prince naturally has a divine mandate, as for whether he is an immortal, that's not something for a mere merchant like me to concern myself with."
Gu Wen chuckled, trying to say as little as possible.
He hadn't received the task of spreading rumors, but he could sense the increasingly restless undercurrents.
While merchants had a slightly higher status than commoners, they were never the core of society.
When they knew certain things, it meant that many things were starting to come to light, and the main households were beginning to utilize them.
Gu Wen, feeling slightly tipsy, then visited the largest theater troupe in the capital.
On both sides of the road, there were crowds of people kneeling, with grass inserted behind their ears and prices laid out on the ground.
Selling themselves as slaves.
Years of famine had fattened the slave markets specializing in human trafficking, bringing the slave market, which should have been hidden in the shadows, to the forefront.
The Great Gan explicitly prohibited the keeping of private slaves.
Servants and laborers were legally similar to the Song Dynasty's employment system, more accurately described as laborers.
The law also stipulated that slaves and servants could not be punished or killed privately, with the most severe punishment being exile for three thousand miles.
But nowadays, the palace maids were all bought with money, and many women who had exceeded their terms had not been released.
Every year, there were escapees who were caught and executed.
As the saying goes, when those above do not act like humans, those below naturally do not treat others as humans.
A few eunuchs in palace attire were leading a group of men and women, and Gu Wen's carriage stopped on the side to make way, coldly observing everything.
A person who had lost a piece of meat could be arrogant, while those who diligently worked the land could only sell themselves as slaves.
"Master, do you need a maid?"
An old woman approached with her daughter, a fourteen-year-old girl with an ordinary appearance, a scar on her face, an average figure, commonly known as a maid.
Gu Wen shook his head; he already had enough servants at home.
The old woman anxiously said, "Just for one or two taels of silver, my daughter can work hard and earn a living by eating wheat."
The market price for an ordinary maid was around eight taels of silver, while a more attractive one could fetch up to fifteen taels, and a very beautiful one could sell for over a hundred taels.
Using a passage from the Northern Song Dynasty, it was said that in the capital, when a household had a daughter, they would cherish her like a treasure.
As she grew up, they would teach her skills and crafts, and she would serve scholars and officials.
Names varied, such as personal attendants, skilled workers, servants, seamstresses, front-of-house staff, actors, musicians, and cooks.
Among them, cooks were the lowest in rank, but they were indispensable in extremely wealthy households.
Bianjing did not require agricultural labor, and there were too many high-ranking officials and nobles.
The martial prowess of men was of no use, and instead, having daughters was much more beneficial.
"So cheap, why don't you find a wealthy family?"
Gu Wen casually asked, but it seemed to hit a sore spot, as the old woman wiped her tears and pleaded, "I did try, but they all found my daughter not good-looking enough. Nowadays, even maids who sell themselves have to be pretty. Sir, please be kind and take in my daughter."
Gu Wen fell silent; he hadn't expected the world to change so quickly.
Even maids had appearance requirements now.
There were too many people forced to sell themselves as slaves, which was not a good thing.
If one day the rebels invaded Bianjing again, then the commoners kneeling here today would become ravenous monsters.
Furthermore, the food in the fields wasn't grown by themselves.
These people, if they became servants of the noble families, would most likely become hidden households, and the scholars and officials would not pay taxes honestly.
But what did that have to do with him? He was just a merchant.
"Let's go."
Gu Wen scattered a few pieces of silver, drew the curtain of the carriage, and the surroundings once again fell into the swaying motion of travel.
From behind, there was still an exceptionally ear-piercing call.
"Master Qingtian!"
I helped them, but they want to harm me.
He detested fame; it was of no benefit to him.
Grain Rain Day.
The God of Spring departed, and the rain nurtured all grains, drizzling continuously.
The Wang Mansion was brightly lit, with a procession passing through Longqiao, spanning three streets.
Along the way, armored soldiers maintained order, and countless people eagerly discussed whether the emperor was going on an inspection tour.
The nobles and officials of the prominent families were already seated behind the screens on the second floor of Longqiao Night Market, silently watching the deserted road.
In front of the Ninth Prince's mansion, family members gathered, and Zhao Feng stood there in a python robe and coronet, exuding an indescribable air of nobility, holding a red rope broom tied with red strings, symbolizing the welcoming of the guest.
Those with a pedigree were in the second row, welcoming the immortal alongside the Ninth Prince.
Gu Wen couldn't get close to them, and today he couldn't even go to Longqiao because it had been entirely reserved by the noble families.
Each shop had a major family background behind it; otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to open a shop in the most prosperous and luxurious area of Bianjing.
He could only stand with a group of merchants on the street opposite Longqiao, gazing from afar at the massive arch bridge, craning his neck.
Suddenly, the dense clouds parted, and a golden beam of light descended from the sky, a snow-white figure slowly descending with the wind, finally floating to a stop on Longqiao.
It was a person, a woman.
Graceful and slender, she appeared to be about one meter seventy to eighty tall, with a conical hat and white veil covering her face, wearing a loose white robe that completely concealed her figure, making it impossible to discern her build.
She held a donkey in her hand, and the donkey shook its head restlessly, devoid of any aura of an immortal's steed.
The entire Longqiao Night Market and even Bianjing fell silent.
The emperor, empress, and numerous concubines sitting on the palace walls, the officials in the high towers, the bailiffs maintaining order, the kneeling commoners on the roadside...
Then came the almost boiling cheers, countless people kneeling and bowing, the nobles trembling.
The white-clad divine maiden, whether intentionally or unintentionally, turned to face the direction where Gu Wen was standing, and in an instant, everyone around knelt down, not daring to offend her divine presence.
Only Gu Wen remained standing, looking up at her.
The white figure was like the only color in a monochrome world, imprinted deeply in his mind like a white lotus in a withered pond.
Becoming an immortal was mostly a beautiful thing.
After being tugged on the sleeve by the merchants next to him a few times, Gu Wen finally came to his senses and knelt down.
Naturally, he didn't revere the immortal, but he didn't want to attract trouble by standing out.
When he looked up again, the divine maiden was already leaving Longqiao with her donkey along with the procession, while Zhao Feng and his family members came forward to welcome her.
He wore a stone jade pendant on his chest, bowed and said, "Zhao Feng of the Zhao family, respectfully welcomes the divine guest."
"The Zhao family?"
The divine maiden tilted her head slightly, her melodious voice tinged with some confusion, but seeing the stone jade pendant emitting a divine light, she didn't delve further.
Perhaps they had changed their name.
Many books are now hard to find, so cherish them while you can.