Chapter 3 Yue State

  Yang Zilu urgently wants to know what kind of environment he is in now. If the other party says it's Zhou Mouwang several years, he really doesn't know how many years before the Common Era. He might as well follow his relatively good memory of history and add the current history for comparison.

  "Ah, you don't know?" Yi Guang asked in surprise, but his expression immediately turned gloomy.

  "What? What's wrong? I've been traveling in the Central Plains, and even when I arrived in Chu State, I was still traveling in the southwestern part. I really don't know about the situation in Yue State?" Yang Zilu hastily explained. His reason was a bit far-fetched, but in this era, information wasn't well-developed, and it mainly relied on merchants to spread news. Moreover, Yang Zilu said he was in the more desolate southwestern part of Chu State, where people were scarce, and even fewer merchants liked to do business there. It was normal for Yang Zilu to say he didn't know about the situation. However, Yang Zilu found it strange that Yiguo looked so gloomy. Could it be that Goujian had just lost a battle?

  Yi Guang didn't quite understand how far southwest of Chu State Yang Zilu was, anyway Yang Zilu didn't know either. She furrowed her brow and said with a worried face: "Our Yue State and Wu State fought a war about three years ago, and were defeated at Fuyue. The king was trapped in the Kuaiji Mountains, but later the king made peace with Wu State, which saved us from being destroyed. However, the king was taken as a servant by the King of Wu! This King of Wu is really detestable, and he also imposed many taxes on us! Now everyone has grievances that can't be expressed!"

  Yang Zilu heard this and estimated that he was in the midst of the Wu-Yue struggle for hegemony, being taken away as a servant. Isn't this referring to Goujian? In the TV series, he even fed Fuchai feces to show his loyalty, and only then did Fuchai let him return. However, he had to confirm it. So Yang Zilu hesitated and asked: "Oh? I don't know the king's name?"

  Yang Zilu knew that in ancient times, people could not casually call others by their names, which would be considered extremely disrespectful. Many people changed their names because they were the same as or similar to those of emperors. This was not only true for people at the time but also for deceased individuals when writing historical records. Even place names had to be changed.

  The famous Tang Dynasty general Li Ji, was originally called Li Shi Ji, but because this "Shi" is the same as that of Li Shimin, it was changed to Li Ji. This Li Ji is the prototype of Xu Maogong in the Romance.

  "I don't know!" Yi Guang shook his head and said.

  Yang Zilu initially thought that Yiguang didn't want to say anything, and was just evading the question for himself, but seeing Yiguang's completely bewildered expression, it was clear he also had no idea.

  On the other side, Tong Hua began to show off his talent, laughing and saying: "Hehe! You all know, right? I know that the king of Yue's surname is Ji (fourth tone), his clan name is Xia, and his given name is Goujian! As for the king of Wu, that damned ruler, I also know what he's called - Fuchai, but I don't know his surname!"

  "Wu State should have been surnamed Ji, as it was a vassal state of the Zhou royal house." Yang Zilu still knew some common sense. Wu State was established when the Zhou State was still under the rule of the Shang Dynasty. At that time, the king wanted to pass on the throne to his youngest son, but according to the custom at that time, he had to pass it on to his eldest son. The eldest son knew his father's intention and escaped to Jiangnan to establish his own foundation. Later, the descendants of this younger son established the Zhou Dynasty and naturally granted a high title to Wu State. Yang Zilu still remembered this story vaguely.

  "Gosh, I know so many people!" exclaimed Zheng Dan.

  The tongue that just spoke was not accompanied by a face that revealed an angry and unjust expression, puffed out both cheeks, and thought to himself: Just now when he didn't know, I didn't say anything, and when I did speak, I didn't praise him. Now this guy knows, and immediately praises, humph!

  Yang Zilu smiled slightly, he didn't notice Zheng Dan's abnormality, he just thought Zheng Dan was outgoing.

  Yi Guang, however, noticed Zheng Dan's unusual behavior and thought to herself: Ah Dan usually isn't so polite to these men, why is she being so nice to Yang Zi Lu? ...especially so! Has she fallen for him?

  "By the way, Brother Yang, where are you staying tonight?" asked with a pretended ignorance, actually trying to embarrass Yang Zilu.

  Yang Zilu heard this and immediately became embarrassed, he really didn't have a place to live, but when he saw his clothes, his eyes lit up and he smiled: "Do you have an inn or a pawnshop there?"

  "What's with the inn? What's going on? What about the pawnshop?" Yi Guang asked softly, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

  Yang Zilu scratched his head and smiled, "Oh, maybe that's just what we call it in our hometown, you might have a different name for it here. An inn is a place where travelers and merchants can rest and eat. A pawnshop is when you don't have money but need some urgently, so you sell something valuable to get the cash, but you don't want to part with it. For example, if you pawn a gold hairpin worth 100 coins."

  "One hundred wen? Where did it come from?" The young Dong Xie asked curiously.

  "Really! Brother Yang, we've never heard of this term here? Is it a currency from another country?" Zheng Dan moved her body closer to Yang Zilu, asking curiously.

  "What a mess! I remember that Qin Shi Huang's achievements in unifying the country included standardizing weights and measures, currency... Ah, how did I get myself into this trap?! Yang Zilu was heartbroken, the protagonist of the novel who had just arrived and was still getting used to the environment here."

  Yang Zilu smiled and said, "That's a circle, this big!" Yang Zilu made a circular motion with her thumb and index finger, and then quickly passed it off. Who knows if these little devils have any copper coins on them? If they do, I'll be in big trouble! Anyway, inside there is a square shape, which is more popular in the state of Qin. Speaking of pawnshops! This golden hairpin is worth 100 wen, but at the pawnshop, it's only worth 80 wen, or even less!

  "Huh? It's better to sell it myself!" Yi Guang immediately interrupted Yang Zilu, saying. "This pawnshop is really black-hearted!"

  "Hah! Hah! No merchant is not deceitful, but he has one advantage, that is, within a certain period of time, he won't sell this thing, you can redeem it back, but at that time, it will cost 100 cents. Yang Zilu didn't mind Yiguang interrupting his words, after all, a pretty girl like her naturally has some special privileges."

  "Oh, I see! So this pawnshop is a place where people who are short of money can bring things they don't want to sell as an emergency measure, and then take them back when they have the money! This isn't a bad thing at all!" Zheng Dan clapped her hands excitedly, her cheeks flushing with a charming red glow.

  "What you said is absolutely right!" Yang Zilu praised, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at Zheng Dan's moving and lovely face.

  "What a pity! Yang brother, we don't have a pawnshop or an inn here." Tong Hua spread his hands and smiled with some schadenfreude.

  "What Yang Dage said is a guest house, I think? My father and I heard people mention it when we entered the city. Yang Dage is indeed a man who has traveled to many countries, he really knows a lot!" Another young man, Dong Ling, couldn't help but say with a tone of admiration.

  No matter what era or where, people who are knowledgeable and capable will always be respected and admired by others.

  Zheng Dan put on a serious face: "Don't worry! Brother Yang can come live at my place, but what will you do? Otherwise I'll let Father make you be that thing!"

  Yang Zilu looked at the clothes on her body with some regret, smiled and said: "Forget it, I'll pawn this dress, but since there's no pawnshop here, I'll sell it! It's just that this dress has been with me from my hometown, and I'm a bit reluctant to part with it!"

  Zheng Dan and others heard this, also didn't know what to say. The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat chilly, no one spoke again.

  Yang Zilu didn't want his own affairs to affect others, and couldn't help but break the silence with a smile: "Do you guys want to hear about my travels around the country? I'll tell you one! This story is called... Cowherd and Weaving Maiden, legend has it..."

  As they spoke, they had unknowingly returned to Zhan Luo Village. Zhan Luo Village was built along the Huan Sha Creek, with a clear creek dividing the village into two parts. A small wooden bridge that could accommodate about two people walking side by side was built near the entrance of the village, connecting the two villages and facilitating travel between them.

  "Alright, we've arrived at the village entrance, my home is just ahead!" Zheng Dan said with a smile.

  "Oh! Have we arrived? I'm troubling your family today!" Yang Zilu's eyebrows were slightly awkward, but now he had nowhere to live, and he couldn't just sleep under the stars with the ground as his bed, could he? From their conversation earlier, Yang Zilu knew that during the day there was nothing to worry about, but at night it was common to hear wolves howling. Even big black bears would come to visit every one or two months, so every household raised one or two dogs. This village even had a wall as high as a person on the outside.

  "Oh dear! We're here already! Brother Yang, you haven't told me what happened to the Cowherd after the Queen Mother took away the Weaving Maiden. Did he reunite with the Weaving Maiden?" Little Yihua gazed at Yang Zilu with tears welling up in her eyes, making it seem as if Yang Zilu had done something that would make gods and humans alike indignant.

  But there really are people who think this way.

  "A somewhat arrogant and rough voice rang out: 'Who are you? What are you doing? Daring to lay hands on my Yiguang?'"

  Yang Zilu looked back and saw a young man, one hand on his waist and the other pointing at him, with two followers behind him. It was probably this young man who had just spoken.

  "Chen Zhen! What are you doing here, acting so wildly! Yang is my guest, if you dare to act wildly again, I'll have Ah Dan break your legs!" Zheng Dan said, taking out the green bamboo stick from his waist, with a fierce momentum, like a mother tiger protecting her cubs.

  When he saw Zheng Dan, Chen Zhen also knew that this was not someone he could mess with. Whether or not he could win a fight was one thing, but the problem was that there were countless people behind him who admired Zheng Dan and wanted to stand up for her. Chen Zhen hastily turned around and left, but didn't forget to leave a harsh remark. "You little brat, don't think that just because Ah Dan is protecting you, you can bully Yi Guang! You just wait and see!"

  Zheng Dan heard this and suddenly became extremely angry. "You don't know anything but you still dare to speak!" He picked up the green bamboo stick, ready to chase after him.

  "Never mind!" Yang Zilu hastily grabbed Zheng Dan's arm and said with a smile.

  "Lucky you!" Zheng Dan muttered with her cute wrinkled nose.

  Yang Zilu looked at Chen Zhen's back, and couldn't help but reveal a wry smile. Chen Zhen? With the same name as Master Huo Yuanjia's disciple, what a pity that this Chen Zhen was actually an arrogant and unscrupulous scoundrel from ancient times, wasting such a good name.

  "Let's go! Brother Yang, don't bother with this kind of person!" Zheng Danhuan called out cheerfully, not putting Chen Zhen in his heart at all.

  "Uh-huh!" Yang Zilu smiled and replied softly.