Entering the city
It's snowing, and the vast land is covered in a thick layer of white. People are busy preparing for the New Year, wearing thick fur coats. The railway line that normally transports coal and goods is now filled with people coming and going to pay their respects, or rather, to collect debts. The coal from Ligu Iron Mine, daily necessities like rice, flour, meat, eggs, fruits, firewood, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea are mostly provided by merchants from Xuzhou Prefecture, 80 miles south of the iron factory. Luxury goods from the south are constantly transported to Xuzhou through the Grand Canal and then distributed to various places, making it a transportation hub, connecting four provinces. Although some say it's a strategic location that armies must fight for, with the war moving north and the heavy military presence in Xuzhou, this place can be considered a haven in these chaotic times.
Merchants in Xuzhou Prefecture obtained contracts from the ironworks through bidding, supplying these daily necessities on time, settling accounts every so often. The ironworks' pig iron, steel, and various iron products, as well as weapons, were also sold to the southern regions through merchants. With the year-end approaching, merchants came to settle their accounts and rush around for next year's contracts. They walked around, making connections, and sent gifts.
The second young lady decided to go for a stroll in Xuzhou Prefecture, the iron factory was filled with mud, coal ash, black smoke, and rough men. For girls, it's necessary to change environments from time to time to cultivate their mood.
After the last gladiatorial contest, Second Miss never again let Liu Ziguang go down to the arena, and even moved him out of the gladiatorial camp to live in a house with wooden beds and quilts. He could also eat white rice every day. Enjoying the treatment of a family servant, he had not slept on a proper bed board for over a year. Liu Ziguang was very emotional, although his living environment had improved, but he still always missed escaping. Unfortunately, the guards were strict, and he knew nothing about the outside world. He thought to himself that he should find an opportunity to escape with his three brothers.
The second miss had a lack of capable roles under her, gladiators could win money and were entertaining, but she suddenly felt some reluctance to see this young man die in the arena, so she gave Liu Ziguang an identity as a house guard. Letting him follow her and fight his way out wasn't bad either.
The Ministry of Transport arranged a special train, and Second Miss took a few servants to Xuzhou Prefecture to purchase New Year's goods. Yu Xiaolong was busy with official duties and couldn't accompany them. In order not to lose face at critical moments, Second Miss specially brought her beloved Red Cloak General along. What kind of situation is called a critical moment? Of course, it's fighting and brawling, Second Miss's favorite thing.
Liu Ziguang changed into the ordinary servant's attire, a black cotton gown and a tile-hat, and together with three other servants avoided the wind on the gangway outside the carriage. The second young lady was resting in the warm room with her maid, and after one hour the train arrived at Xuzhou Prefecture Station. At the station there was always an iron factory's transfer office stationed, and the office had prepared a green sedan chair. The sedan bearers carried the second young lady, while the rest of them walked on foot, and they headed towards the city.
The second young lady did not go to the cosmetics store and silk shop, but first went to the iron factory's ironware store for inspection. The iron factory has a workshop that specializes in making steel knives and long swords, called "Lianfeng Number". There are branches everywhere, and Lianfeng Number's weapons are all made of high-quality steel, with prices to match. However, various martial arts schools and security agencies still flock to them, and heroes on the rivers and lakes take pride in owning a Lianfeng Number steel knife. Knives and swords belong to short-range weapons, and the government does not prohibit wearing them. As for long spears and halberds, Lianfeng Number also produces them, but they are custom-made for the military, and ordinary civilians cannot buy them.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a scar on his face. When he saw the young mistress arriving, he hastily brewed tea to entertain her. The second young lady giggled and played in the Lianfeng store for a while, extorting several hundred taels of New Year's money, then took her entourage to Mashitian Street, which specialized in selling dogs and horses, to take a stroll.
Mashi Street was originally a place in Xuzhou Prefecture where horses were sold, but later gradually evolved into dogs, horses, cats, eagles, monkeys, and eight brothers selling everything. It is the most favorite place for young masters from several surrounding cities to stroll around, except for Huajie Lane.
There were many people on the street, and Second Miss got out of the sedan chair and walked. The 16-year-old girl was wearing a brocade cloud-patterned jacket with a white fox fur cloak lined with downy feathers over it, and she had on cloud-embroidered calfskin boots with gold trim, silver mouse-shaped ear warmers, and was holding an ice sugar gourd in her hand, nibbling at it as she walked. Her small face was rosy from the cold, and looked especially lovely. She seemed to be a pampered young lady from some wealthy merchant's family.
The second young lady saw a crowd of people gathered around, looking at something exciting. Her curiosity was piqued, and she pushed through the crowd to see what it was. It turned out that a merchant with a thick northern accent was selling dogs. The merchant wore a sheepskin coat, and his fur hat had two fox tails hanging down from either side, making him look very different from people in the Central Plains region. He seemed to be from outside the Great Wall.
In front of the guests, there were two dogs with medium-sized builds, covered in thick, dense gray fur all over their bodies. Their blue eyes were shaped like almonds, and their ears stood upright. They looked similar to wolves but were as gentle as Pomeranians, not afraid of strangers at all. They licked the hands that people stretched out to pet them, a stark contrast to the stupid and ferocious wild dogs back home. The second young lady's eyes widened immediately, stroking one of the dog's heads, and generously fed it the sugar gourd in her hand.
"This dog, named Husky, was tributed from the distant country of Russia and only the imperial family and nobles in the Jin and Liao dynasties can afford to raise it. It can be played with during normal times and used for pulling sleds in winter. It is gentle and lovely, able to understand human language, and is rarely seen even in the Yan-Yun region, let alone the Central Plains. These two were obtained from the mansion of the Sixth Prince of the Jin Kingdom at a great cost, so today I want to sell them at a good price. I heard that Xu Zhou Prefecture is home to many wealthy families, surely you gentlemen won't disappoint me."
"Alright, no need to say anymore, I'll take it. Name your price." The second young lady hugged the dog's head and couldn't bear to let go, waving her hand for the maid to come over and pay the bill.
"In response to Miss's words, the price of two Siberian Husky dogs is 2,000 taels of silver." The customer humbly lowered his head and replied.
"Autumn fragrance, give me some silver." The second young lady's tone was as casual as buying two cents' worth of stinky tofu on the street.
The onlookers were shocked, a thousand two silver coins for a dog was simply too expensive. An ordinary government official's annual income was only about one hundred to two hundred silver coins, and with this amount, an average family could live comfortably for a year.
Liu Ziguang stood behind, hearing such an outrageous price also shocked and changed his complexion. To think that the iron factory originally bought these slaves for twenty-five taels of silver each, forty slaves could be exchanged for a dog.
The onlookers were indeed connoisseurs, and this rare Samoyed was truly valuable. No matter how much they asked for it, it would be reasonable. But this little girl was not simple; she seemed to understand nothing about the principle of charging high prices but paying low ones. She agreed without even furrowing her brow, apparently having a lot of money at home.
Qiu Xiang was the personal maid of the second young lady, and also a model of elegance. She casually pulled out two large-denomination silver notes from her purse to pay the bill.
"Hold on, this tribute dog was first spotted by our young master. Who are you people and how dare you compete with our young master for things?" A haughty-looking steward-like man said from among the onlookers, behind whom stood a young master wearing a fox-fur coat and a square scarf, his two lecherous eyes fixed on Second Miss's pale yet rosy face.
Qiu Xiang indeed lived up to her reputation as the personal maid of Second Miss, with every gesture and movement exuding the same arrogance. "You think you're worthy of competing with my family? Not to mention that it was my family's miss who asked for the price first, even if we were to sell to you, could you afford it?"
The housekeeper was about to speak, but the sly young master stretched out his hand with a folding fan and stopped him, smiling and saying: "What a sharp-toothed and cunning little girl! Today I must compete with you, not for my own face, but for my father's face. Wangcai, bring the silver, three thousand taels."
"Ah, young master," said the steward, whose name was Wang Cai, as he took out three silver notes and slapped them onto the counter of the northern merchant with a flourish. "My young master is from Haizhou, surname Huang. I advise you all to give up now."
In Haizhou, there were many wealthy salt merchants, and among them, the Huang family was the richest. The steward of the Huang family was a master of deceitful tricks, with two purposes: one was to suppress his opponent without a fight, and the other was to convey a message from his young master to the young lady of the opposing family. Which young lady wouldn't love wealth? Especially when it came to such a handsome and elegant young man.
It's said that the second young lady has come with great enthusiasm to compete with the wealthy. Within a hundred miles, including the King's Manor, there are only a few people who can rival Tie Chang in terms of wealth. Since this despicable little brat wants to show off his axe skills in front of Lu Ban, let's play along with him.
"Qiu Xiang, take 5,000 taels of silver notes."
"Prosperity, take six thousand taels."
" Qiū Xiāng, bā qiān liǎng!"
Translation: "Autumn fragrance, 8,000 taels!"
"Ten thousand taels of silver!"
The onlookers applauded and cheered, following the commotion. Xiaoxiang's small face turned red as she leaned in close to Second Miss and said: "Miss, this Haizhou guy is hitting on us, look at his eyes, he's staring at you, Miss...he's so indecent! Do you want to call Red Armor General to behead him?"
The debauched young master opened his folding fan with a flourish and gazed at the second miss with half-closed eyes.
The second young lady had a majestic air about her as she waved her hand and said, "Bring them all here."
Qiu Xiang handed over a thick stack of silver bills, and Second Miss took them and slapped them on the table. "One hundred thousand taels, Ri Sheng Chang ticket number sees the ticket pay silver bills, I just don't believe you can take out so much."
The sly young master's face changed, and he also waved his hand at Wang Cai. After waving for half a day without seeing any movement, Wang Cai leaned close to the young master's ear: "Today they brought only 30,000 taels, but they seem to have some backing, so be careful, Master."
"You ignorant fool, what do you know? No matter how big your backing is, can it be bigger than my uncle's? Just wait and see me take action."
The scoundrelly young master chuckled twice, put away his folding fan, took two steps forward, bowed slightly and said: "Miss is indeed from a wealthy family, spending money like dirt. I admire that. I'd like to invite Miss to take a step into the nearby wine tower for a simple meal, and also ask for your favor."
The second young lady hummed in her nose; "No money, still learning to pretend to be someone else's family, this miss doesn't socialize with poor people." She didn't even bother to look at the northern merchant who was staring blankly at the silver ticket, and took two huskies to leave.
"Ah~~~, today is a must-go, whether you go or not, from Haizhou Prefecture to Xuzhou Prefecture, no one dares to offend our young master Huang! You little ones!" Wangcai saw the young master's signal and stepped forward, stretching out his hands to block the second miss. Behind him, several big men lined up, holding steel knives, and in broad daylight, they were carrying lanterns. Two pairs of lanterns, one pair written "Haizhou Salt Control Deputy" and the other pair written "Xuzhou Prefecture Main Hall". The idlers saw that they were about to fight and snatch people, and suddenly a large open space appeared.
"Ah, the main hall of Xuzhou Prefecture, who are you..." Autumn Fragrance was quite suitable for acting, pretending to be at a loss, it seemed that this was not her first time doing such things. The second young lady also pretended to be timid, covering her mouth with her small white hand. The four house servants' performance was very amateurish, stiffly feigning shock. Only Liu Ziguang had an angry expression.
Huang Gongzi burst out laughing and said, "Put the knife away, don't scare the young lady." He then turned to Er Xiaojie and said, "Today, I want both the girl and the dog. With both humans and dogs, haha, let's have fun together, follow me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the fierce-looking house servants rushed towards Second Miss and Qiu Xiang. Before Second Miss could even raise her hand, Liu Ziguang, who was already furious, stepped forward to meet them.
After several heavy punches, the family guards became panda eyes.
"It's gone too far! He's killing people in broad daylight! Quick, get up!" Huang Gongzi was furious.
The remaining house slaves rushed up, but these arrogant guys were no match for Liu Ziguang, who beat them until they cried out in pain and begged for mercy. Huang Gongzi saw that his own side was at a disadvantage and quietly retreated with Wang Cai.
When the street fight felt different, it could smash the surrounding things, there was no time for half a stick of incense, and several family members were lying on the ground, humming and humming, blood flowing all over the place. The people on the street were watching from a distance, the second lady looked at the end of the fight, patted her hands with a sense of unfulfilled desire, shook off the melon seeds on her cloak, hid the leftover melon seeds in her pocket, and called out to the fighters and actors.
"Let's go and have dinner."
There is a small hill on the south side of Horse Market Street, because the ancestral house of the former dynasty's Minister of Revenue is located on the mountain waist, so it is named Hubu Mountain. At the foot of the mountain there is a family hotel called Tongrenju, which is one of the largest wine houses in Xuzhou Prefecture. The second young lady won a street fight today and was overjoyed, planning to hold a grand feast for her subordinates at Tongrenju.
The waiter saw the noble guests arriving and hurriedly welcomed them "Several distinguished guests are invited to the elegant room upstairs"
"What a refined seat! Our young lady wants the best private room!" Qiuxiang tosses out a silver ingot weighing one or two taels, which the waiter catches. "Alright, the best private room, eight guests please... Ah, wait, aren't you going to tie up these two precious dogs in our backyard first?"
"Give my two dogs the deluxe suite." The second young lady said, and Autumn Fragrance tossed out another silver ingot. The waiter caught it but didn't dare to put it in his pocket, saying anxiously, "This...the deluxe suite is our small hotel's VIP room. If we accommodate your two beloved dogs today, I'm afraid our business will be ruined from now on."
"Cut the nonsense and bring your boss here," said Qiuxiang.
A group of people walked into the Tianzi Hall private room and sat down. The shopkeeper came in with a smile, but before he could speak, Second Miss placed a gold ingot on the table. "Two private rooms, two tables of good wine and food, I don't want to hear any other nonsense."
Looking at the gold ingots weighing one or two liang, the shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Alright, sir, what dishes would you like to order? Hmm, Xiao Er, take these two special guests to the private room with the character 'di'."
Dried fruits, candied fruits and Pu'er tea were placed on the table. The second young lady held the menu, pointing and poking at this and that, ordering over thirty dishes and two jars of good wine. The waiter scurried off.
Downstairs was noisy, a burst of footsteps going upstairs, the door curtain was lifted, and Huang Gongzi walked in, with two men behind him wearing Japanese samurai uniforms, with three long and short knives at their waists. The three men entered the Tianzi package room, sat down loudly, and the two warriors were too short, after sitting down, the long knife touched the ground a bit awkwardly, and they proudly slapped the knife on the table with a loud bang, quite majestic.
Huang Gongzi smiled slyly and was about to speak. Qiu Xiang spoke first, "Miss, it turns out that this Huang fellow is in the same line of business as us, selling knives. Look at those two short guys, their waists are all knives, hehe." A burst of laughter ensued.
Young Master Huang slammed his hand on the table and said, "Little girl, don't think you can just toast without drinking, or you'll be punished with a penalty drink. It's one thing for you to compete with me in buying tribute dogs, but it's another matter altogether that you ordered your underlings to beat up my family members. Have you heard of the Huang family of Haizhou? Today..."
The second lady was waiting for the dish to be served, and she was very impatient. Before Huang Gongzi finished speaking, a plate of dried fruit was smashed over her head. "What's the point of talking? You brought people here to cause trouble, didn't you? Let's just fight!"
The ronin from Japan was furious, but before he could make a move, Liu Ziguang had already grabbed the hilt of the sword on the table. The Japanese warrior only managed to grasp the scabbard, and Liu Ziguang took advantage of the situation by pulling the sword out of its sheath. The Japanese warrior hastily tried to draw his own sword from his waist, but he was a step too slow. A flash of steel, and the Japanese warrior's arm was severed.
"Ba Ge" Another Japanese ronin saw his companion being chopped, swung his knife to chop Liu Ziguang, and the two started chopping each other across the table.
At the same time, Second Miss had already picked up a stool and rushed towards Huang Gongzi, hitting him on the head, causing him to bleed profusely and fall to the ground. Second Miss viciously kicked Huang Gongzi's face with her foot, then turned around to see that Fu Sang Lang Ren was picking up his severed arm. With an evil smile, Second Miss gave a signal to Qiu Xiang, who understood and ran over to kick the severed arm out of the room. The two of them wanted to go and take care of Huang Gongzi again, but he had already disappeared without a trace.
Rat-a-tat, a string of rapid footsteps going downstairs, it turned out that Huang Gongzi had taken the opportunity to slip away. In less than a moment, a team of household guards dressed in green uniforms and hats rushed upstairs, two groups of people fought fiercely in the private room, Second Miss and Qiu Xiang hid on one side, occasionally throwing a stool, plate, vase and so on into the crowd.
The shopkeeper's several waiters cried with sad faces at the door, begging: "Everyone, please give our small store a little face, don't fight, don't fight." A wooden stool flew out, and the shopkeeper hastily dodged, seeing that it was not a big deal. He grabbed an apprentice and whispered a few words, and the apprentice went out to find help according to his words.
In an instant, a burly man with a group of followers rushed in, carrying knives and clubs. His purple-bald head was exposed, his chest open in the cold winter month, revealing a large copper-plated belt buckle at his waist. In his hand was a chain hammer. As soon as he entered, he saw over ten people fighting fiercely, the room already badly damaged, and now they were fighting in the main hall. The shopkeeper hurried over to say: "Master Shen, this humble shop is under your protection, look at this..."
"Everyone get back, Lord Zhen Nan is here!" Lord Zhen's attendants yelled.
A vase flew out of the gang as an answer. The town master asked the shopkeeper: "What's going on?"
"Not clear, both groups of people are unfamiliar." The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his chubby face.
Even a powerful dragon cannot suppress the snake in its own territory. How dare you act wildly on my turf at Shen Nan Guan? You little ones, come and fight me!
Zhen Ye swung his chain hammer and led his underlings into the battle array.
Liu Ziguang was having a great time, this street fight wasn't as intense as the arena fights, it couldn't be described as fierce, only lively, similar to Jackie Chan's movies. That Japanese warrior was agile and jumping around like a big monkey, quite annoying. The other thugs and bodyguards were just ordinary rascals. They exchanged blows with their weapons, but actually didn't kill many people.
The owner of Tongrenju was on the verge of tears, staring at the shop hall that had been smashed to pieces, and the customers had all run away. He wanted to chase after the customer who hadn't paid yet, but he saw 50 or 60 yamen runners rushing towards him with anxious expressions. The owner hastily grabbed hold of the leading officer: "Officer, come quickly and take a look, it's been turned upside down inside."
The leading officer pushed open the counter with one hand and shouted to the crowd of yamen runners behind him, "It's here! Everyone get to work! Don't let them escape! The ones who dare to resist will be killed!"
The yamen runners shouted in unison, brandishing their single-edged swords and iron rulers as they charged into the Tongren Residence. Huang Gongzi saw that reinforcements had arrived and felt a great sense of relief. Clutching his bleeding head, he pointed at Second Miss from afar: "Catch that little wretch for me, and I'll reward you with one hundred taels of silver."
As the yamen runners arrived, the thugs became somewhat fearful and planned to slip away in the chaos. The yamen runners were unclear who was on their side, so they beat everyone except Huang Gongzi's followers. Liu Ziguang was entangled by the Fusang warriors and had no chance to escape.
The two servants brought by the second young lady have already been knocked down, and another one is unknown where he went. The yamen are more numerous and gradually gain the upper hand. The second young lady and Qiu Xiang each picked up a knife, and the four of them retreated to the door, fighting while retreating. The common people of Xuzhou Prefecture like to watch the excitement, and many onlookers have gathered on the mountain behind the Ministry of Revenue. Children climb trees, young men climb onto rooftops, and vendors take advantage of the situation to sell small stools, melon seeds, and peanuts.
The crowd suddenly parted to make way for a path, and over a hundred men rushed over, panting, with about half of them wearing various types of armor, including scale armor, chain mail, and mountain-patterned armor. They were armed with fine steel swords and looked much more professional than the local constables. Among the crowd was one of Second Miss's house servants, who had apparently gathered a group of rough-looking men from the Refining Edge gang to come and assist in the fight after hearing that their mistress was involved in a brawl.
The second young lady and her group were surrounded by the crowd of accountants, and the two groups began to confront each other on the square in front of Tongrenju's stopped horse carriage. A dense array of knives and swords pointed at each other, with a cacophony of curses filling the air. It seemed that the yamen runners had not been shy about fighting with Lianfeng Number in the past, and now they took advantage of this opportunity to settle old scores. As the two sides exchanged rich vocabulary regarding each other's female relatives, their clashing weapons began to strike true. The front of Tongrenju had become a battlefield.
Just as the fight was getting intense, a crisp and clear footsteps came over, a large army wearing red scarlet hats marched over, divided into two teams to surround the crowd, spears pointed out, shouting "Kill!"
