It was a long road, and after more than half a month of trekking, Xu Wenqing, his servant, and Zhang Gou finally arrived in Chang'an.
Zhang Gou rode his horse and leaned against the carriage, telling his master and servant Xu Wenqing, who was leaning against the carriage window, about his experience as a pirate.
When he talked about the battle with the officers and soldiers, in which he was stabbed through the heart by the soldiers' spears, Xu Wenqing's master and servant all exclaimed and asked: "Then how did you survive?"
Zhang Gou touched his chest and said with a smile: "My constitution was different from others since I was a child. My heart grew on the right side, so I survived the catastrophe."
Xu Wenqing smiled and said: "This means that if you survive a catastrophe, you will be blessed later!"
At this moment, Luwei suddenly shouted: "Look, we have arrived at Chang'an City!"
Zhang Gou turned around and saw a huge city at the end of the official road. At the gate of the city, people entering the city lined up in a long line and sighed: "We are finally here!"
Although Xu Wenqing couldn't see it, he still had a happy expression on his face and said with a smile: "That's great, I'll be able to see His Highness soon."
After entering Chang'an City, the three of them paid their bills and exited the carriage.
Lu Wei looked at the bustling street and pouted: "Miss, we were deceived last time - we went to a fake palace. We can't be deceived again this time."
Xu Wenqing accused: "You still say that you are not smart enough."
Luwei pouted and said: "My little maid is indeed not clever enough, but Miss you are not much better either!"
Xu Wenqing hummed: "Isn't that what they say, smart master, clever maid, I just need to be smart enough, no need to be clever."
Lu Wei pursed her lips. She had never read a book, so naturally she couldn't argue with Xu Wenqing.
When the two were bickering, Zhang Gou asked someone to ask, returned to the two of them, and said: "I asked clearly. Feng Chan's team came back more than ten days ago. Let's go directly to the palace to find His Highness."
Xu Wenqing said: "No, I need to find an inn to take a bath first, change my clothes and then go to see His Highness. Lu Wei, can you take that blue bird skirt with you?"
Lu Wei shook the big bundle behind him and said, "I'm bringing it with me, so don't worry."
Zhang Gou had no choice but to take the two of them into a neighborhood and find a clean inn.
After having a meal at the inn, Xu Wenqing took a bath with flower petals, then changed into a bird skirt, and was finally ready for everything.
Afterwards, the three of them hired a carriage and headed towards Prince Zhou's Mansion.
Along the way, Lu Wei's little head stuck out of the car window. When the three of them entered Pingkangfang, Lu Wei put his head back and said anxiously: "Miss, something is wrong!"
Xu Wenqing asked hurriedly: "What's wrong?"
"I just took a look around. The clothes worn by the women in Chang'an City are all so beautiful. Even these ordinary women are so well-dressed, let alone the ladies from wealthy families."
Xu Wenqing asked: "Can't my bird skirt be as good as theirs?"
"There's no comparison at all!" Lu Wei said unceremoniously.
Xu Wenqing shouted: "Stop! Stop the car quickly!"
"What's wrong?" asked the coachman.
"Instead of going to Prince Zhou's Mansion, we will go to the best clothing store in Chang'an City instead!" Xu Wenqing said hurriedly.
"That will cost more."
Luwei yelled: "Do you think we can't afford your fare? If we ask you to divert, just divert, don't talk so much nonsense!"
"Dele!"
The driver turned the horse's head and headed towards the west city.
Zhang Gou shook his head and sighed, thinking: "Isn't it just a piece of clothing? Why should you care so much?"
The carriage drove smoothly for more than half an hour and arrived at the famous Buzhuang Street in the West Market. Here you can find not only Tang suits, but also costumes from various countries in the Western Regions.
The three of them got off the carriage, and while Zhang Gou was paying the fare, Xu Wenqing said, "Hey, may I ask, do you know which store here has the best ready-made clothes?"
The coachman thought for a while and said: "In terms of reputation, Ten Brocade is naturally the most famous, but Fan Ji's ready-made clothes are also good and relatively cheap. It depends on what you choose."
Xu Wenqing nodded and thanked him, and with the help of Lu Wei, he came to the door of Shijinmen.
Lu Wei said excitedly: "Miss, the coachman is right, this cloth shop is so grand, completely different from other cloth shops!"
Xu Wenqing smiled and said: "Then let's go in and take a look."
After entering the cloth shop, Lu Wei was dumbfounded. She had never thought that there was such a big cloth shop in the world. She saw seven or eight customers in the shop looking at clothes, and each customer was greeted by a waiter.
Among these guests, there was a group of men and women dressed in the most luxurious clothes. A short, fat man in a purple robe was introducing several pieces of ready-made clothing to them.
After seeing those clothes, Lu Wei's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "Miss, there are some good clothes over there."
After saying that, he supported Xu Wenqing and walked over.
The fat man in purple robe was the shopkeeper of this cloth shop. When he saw Xu Wenqing and the two coming, he glanced at them, ignored them, and continued to introduce the man and woman.
Lu Wei looked at the hanging clothes and asked, "Miss, what color do you want?"
"blue."
Lu Wei nodded, pointed to a blue palace dress with purple gold trim, and said, "Shopkeeper, take that dress off and have a look!"
The fat shopkeeper glanced at her and said slowly: "This dress is not cheap, not everyone can afford it."
Lu Wei said angrily: "What do you mean by this? Are you looking down on people?"
The fat shopkeeper chuckled and said, "This is a guest. How dare you? Are you sure you want that one?"
"Look, that's the one, take it down quickly?" Lu Wei said impatiently.
The fat shopkeeper nodded, called a waiter over, took off the clothes with a long pole, and handed them to Lu Wei.
"Where's the fitting room?" The fat shopkeeper pointed to the west corner.
Lu Wei helped Xu Wenqing enter the house. After a rustling sound, Xu Wenqing changed into new clothes.
"Reed, what do you think? Does it look better than my bird skirt?" Xu Wenqing asked anxiously.
Lu Wei said with a smile: "You don't have to ask, I guarantee that when the prince sees you, he won't be able to take his eyes away!"
Xu Wenqing spat and said: "If you keep talking nonsense, wait until my eyes are cured and see how I cure you!"
"You can't bear to part with it," Lu Wei said with a smile.
The two of them left the fitting room and came to the outer hall. The woman in the pair of richly dressed men and women saw Xu Wenqing and said happily: "This dress is very beautiful. Master, I want one too."
The man said calmly: "Shopkeeper, how much does that dress cost?"
The fat shopkeeper immediately put on a smile and said: "This is the latest style and uses the best materials, so the price may be a bit more expensive."
The man asked impatiently: "How much?"
"Sixteen hundred dollars!"
The man's expression changed, he turned to look at his female companion and said, "Let's pick something else."
The woman said unhappily: "I want this!"
"you sure?"
The woman nodded vigorously.
The man in fine clothes turned around and left without saying a word. The woman's face suddenly turned pale, she stamped her feet and quickly chased after her.
The fat shopkeeper sneered and snorted: "After all, this is a county, and I can't even afford clothes. Bah!"
When he turned to look at Xu Wenqing and the two of them, he squinted at them from the corner of his eyes and said, "You have heard the price, pay it quickly!"
Xu Wenqing hesitated for a while and said, "I don't want it either."
"Miss, why don't you buy it? I think it looks pretty good. We have enough money left to buy it. Anyway, we won't have to spend money when we get to the palace." Lu Wei advised.
Xu Wenqing still shook his head and said: "Let's go and have a look elsewhere."
The fat shopkeeper sneered and said, "Want to leave? That's not possible. You have already worn this dress. I can't sell it to anyone else. You have to buy it!"
Lu Wei said angrily: "You want to buy and sell by force?"
Her voice was loud and bright, immediately attracting the attention of all the customers in the store.
Even Zhang Gou, who was standing at the door, heard the sound and came over and asked, "What happened?"
The fat shopkeeper glanced at him and said coldly: "They tried on our ready-made clothes, but they don't want to pay. Why don't you go with them? If you don't want to cause trouble, just pay the money quickly?"
Lu Wei said angrily: "How can there be any reason in the world to buy something after trying it on?"
The fat shopkeeper said calmly: "I'm sorry, this is the rule here!"
Zhang Gou didn't want to cause more trouble, so he asked, "How much is it, I'll pay you."
The fat shopkeeper nodded, stretched out a fat hand and said: "That's about the same. It's a total of 1,600 yuan. Please pay it quickly."
Zhang Gou's face turned pale. He was actually poorer than Xu Wenqing's master and servant. With all his belongings combined, he couldn't afford this dress.
As soon as the fat shopkeeper saw his expression, he knew that he couldn't afford the payment, and said coldly: "You are so loud, I didn't expect him to be a poor man."
Zhang Gou said angrily: "Why are you swearing?"
The fat shopkeeper snorted: "You don't give me money to buy clothes, shouldn't you scold me?"
Lu Wei said angrily: "I think this is a black shop. How can clothes be so expensive in the world?"
The fat shopkeeper said coldly: "We, Brocade, are a high-end business, but you dare to say that we are a black shop. This is disrespectful to the royal family! If you don't hand over the money today, I will let you enjoy the taste of jail!"
He could tell at a glance that the three of them were outsiders, so he decided to make a killing.
The onlookers all looked at Xu Wenqing and the others with sympathy, without any intention of intervening.
Lu Wei said angrily: "You profiteer, do you know who our young lady is?"
The fat shopkeeper sneered: "Oh? Tell me about it?"
"I'm not afraid of scaring you to death, my lady is the daughter of the governor of Yangzhou!" Lu Wei said with his head held high.
The fat shopkeeper and his waiter looked at each other, and then they all burst into laughter. The fat shopkeeper laughed so hard that he couldn't breathe, and said: "How old do I think you are? It turns out that you are the daughter of a governor from another place."
Immediately his smile faded and he said coldly: "Let me tell you, this is the capital, not to mention the governor from other places. Even if the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture comes to our store to buy something, he still has to pay!"
Lu Wei said angrily: "Do you know who we are here to find?"
The fat shopkeeper said impatiently: "I don't care who you are looking for. If you keep talking, believe me or not, I will report you to the official?"
"We are here to find Zhou..."
Lu Wei was about to tell her the name of Wu Chengsi when Xu Wenqing suddenly pulled her hard and gritted his teeth and said: "Lu Wei, if you dare to tell his name, I will drive you back to Yangzhou!"
Lu Wei was taken aback and said aggrievedly: "Miss, if I don't tell you, don't drive me away."
The fat shopkeeper on the side exclaimed: "Oh, it's actually staged. Do you think this will make me scared?"
With a cold look, he said: "Hunchback, go to the Yamen and report to the official, saying that someone bought something without paying!"
A hunched-backed waiter responded and was about to leave the shop.
Xu Wenqing was anxious. She didn't want to be separated from Wu Chengsi for so long, but they met again in the Yamen. She immediately said: "Lu Wei, give them the money and we will buy the clothes."
The fat shopkeeper smiled proudly and said, "That's right."
Seeing that the two women were being bullied in this way, Zhang Gou, a grown man himself, could only do nothing on the sidelines. He felt angry and annoyed and said loudly: "Don't buy it!"
The fat shopkeeper glared and said, "You have nothing to do here, so shut up."
Xu Wenqing whispered: "Brother Zhang, let's forget it. It's better to have one less thing to worry about than to have one more thing to worry about."
Zhang Gou said loudly: "Don't be frightened by him. The world has never tried the principle of buying clothes before trying them. The yamen are also reasonable. We don't need to be afraid of them."
The fat shopkeeper said coldly: "Good boy, you asked for this, don't regret it later. Hunchback, what are you doing standing around stupidly? Go and report it to the official!"
The government officials from Chang'an County arrived faster than expected. In addition to the four police officers, a head catcher was also dispatched.
After asking about the cause and effect, the head catcher in dark blue uniform frowned and said, "Since you tried on the clothes, why don't you buy them?"
Xu Wenqing's heart sank and he said nothing.
Zhang Gou raised his voice and said: "This gentleman, the purpose of trying on clothes is to see if they fit and then buy them if they are suitable. This is the rule that a cloth shop should have."
"Yes, in all our years in Yangzhou, we have never heard that you have to buy clothes after trying them on!" Lu Wei followed.
The catcher raised his eyebrows and said, "Are you from Yangzhou?"
Lu Wei said loudly: "Yes, my lady is the daughter of the governor of Yangzhou!"
The catcher was startled. He looked Xu Wenqing up and down and saw that although she was blind, she did have the air of a lady.
"Shopkeeper Liao, what they said makes sense. I think we should just let this matter go," the catcher advised.
The fat shopkeeper said forcefully: "What about the governor's daughter? Can the governor's daughter not obey the rules? Can the governor's daughter buy things without paying for it?"
The catcher was silent for a while and said: "They are outsiders and may not be familiar with the rules of your store. Just think of it for my sake, forget it?"
The fat shopkeeper smiled and said: "Wang Captou, if you enforce the law like this, our boss will not be happy."
Wang Captou was slightly startled, glanced at Xu Wenqing, and then at the fat shopkeeper.
After weighing it for a moment, he looked at Xu Wenqing and said: "Girl, every store has its own rules. This is not Yangzhou after all, so you should just pay and settle the matter."
Although Xu Wenqing was angry, he didn't want to make things worse. He snorted and said, "Lu Wei, give them the money!"
Zhang Gou couldn't bear it any longer, and said loudly: "I didn't expect that the dignified Chang'an Yamen would enforce the law like this. I think I have gained some experience."
Wang Captou's face darkened and he said, "My friend, please be careful what you say."
Zhang Gou had a hesitant look on his face and clenched his teeth, as if he was making a difficult decision.
Wang Captou didn't look at him anymore and said loudly: "Call the team and go back to the Yamen."
At this moment, Zhang Gou seemed to have made a decision and said loudly: "If Her Royal Highness knew that the police officers in Chang'an Yamen were so indifferent to right from wrong, I don't know what she would think."
Wang Baotou was so startled that he almost jumped up and asked in a voice: "Which princess are you talking about?"
The fat shopkeeper also turned pale and looked over with a pair of triangular eyes.
"Of course it's Her Royal Highness Princess Taiping!" Zhang Gou said proudly.
Wang Captou said in a respectful tone: "I wonder what your relationship is with Princess Taiping's Mansion?"
"I...I have been following Her Royal Highness Princess Taiping for a while." Zhang Gou hesitated and said.
Wang Captou looked at the fat shopkeeper and said: "Shopkeeper Liao, let's not disturb Her Royal Highness with such a trivial matter. Why don't we just let it go like this? What do you think?"
The fat shopkeeper suddenly sneered and said: "Wang Captou, don't be deceived by them. Her Highness the Princess has been staying in Chang'an City all year round. This guy is from Yangzhou, how can he have the opportunity to serve Her Highness the Princess?"
Wang Captou was stunned for a moment, then turned to stare at Zhang Gou and said, "When did you come to Chang'an?"
Zhang Gou hesitated for a moment and said: "Today...today."
Wang Captou was furious and said: "Good boy, you dare to use the name of Her Royal Highness Princess Taiping to deceive outside. I think you are impatient!"
At this moment, a voice came from the door.
"He did enter the princess's mansion and even talked to Her Highness. I can testify!"
Wang Batou hurriedly turned his head to look. When he saw the speaker, he yelled angrily: "Wang Datou, what are you doing here to get involved? Your skin is itchy again, aren't you?"
The visitor was Zhang Gouchu's guide to Chang'an - Wang Datou.
"Master, I really didn't lie to you. I saw Brother Zhang talking to Her Royal Highness the Princess with my own eyes, right at the Yongle Marquis Mansion."
Wang Captou sneered and thought: "The Yongle Houfu has been raided, who are you lying to?" He asked coldly: "Let me ask you, what is your relationship with these people?"
Wang Datou walked up to Zhang Gou, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "We are good friends, right, Brother Zhang?"
Zhang Gou hesitated for a moment, thinking that Wang Datou was here to testify for him after all, so he nodded and admitted.
Wang Captou sneered: "So you are friends."
Shopkeeper Liao shouted: "They must be a group, specializing in deception and abduction. Mr. Wang, you can't let them go!"
Zhang Gou, Xu Wenqing and the servants were all confused, but Wang Datou suddenly whistled and shouted: "Brothers, come in quickly and help save people!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of beggars suddenly poured in outside the door. They hugged Zhang Gou and the others and left the cloth village. Then they pushed Xu Wenqing and Xu Wenqing into a cart and quickly turned into an alley.
When the fat shopkeeper and his waiter chased him out of the door, they had already disappeared. He stamped his feet and shouted: "Chase, chase! That blind little girl ran away with her clothes!"
Xu Wenqing felt that he was being pushed around, and then he sat on something. He was shocked and frightened, and shouted: "Luwei, are you there? What is going on!"
Luwei hurriedly took her hand and cried: "Miss, there are so many beggars here, and they caught us on a cart!"
Zhang Gou and Wang Datou were running next to the car. Zhang Gou hurriedly said: "Junior Sister Xu, don't be afraid, they won't hurt you."
Then he said to Wang Datou: "What are you doing? Let my junior sister down quickly!"
Wang Datou ran quickly and glared: "Why don't you know what is good and what is good? If I hadn't saved you, they would have taken you into the Yamen!"
Zhang Gou glanced behind him, gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, they are not chasing us, please put them down quickly!"
Wang Datou said: "We can't stop now. Shijinzhan is very powerful, and the owner behind it is Cai Huzi. We have to go to the princess mansion quickly to be safe."
Zhang Gou was surprised and said, "What are you going to do at the princess's mansion?"
"Of course I am looking for protection from Her Highness the Princess. By the way, I have helped you so much this time, and you must repay me! I don't want anything else, as long as you let me see Her Highness the Princess."
Wang Datou was all smiles.
Zhang Gou suddenly stopped and remained motionless.
Wang Datou was taken aback, stopped and shouted: "What are you doing? Run quickly, it will not be fun if you fall into Cai Huzi's hands!"
Zhang Gou gritted his teeth and said, "I can't go to the princess mansion."
"Why, why?" Wang Datou hissed.
Zhang Gou was silent for a while and said: "If you can't go, you can't go. Don't ask any more questions."
Wang Datou scratched his big head and suddenly said: "Then let's go to Prince Zhou's Mansion. It would be fine if you could let me see His Highness Prince Zhou."
Xu Wenqing shouted loudly: "No, I don't want to go to him like this!"
Wang Datou glanced at Xu Wenqing, then at Zhang Gou, and stamped his feet: "What on earth is going on with you? The one we offended is Shijindan! If we don't find a big shot to protect us, we will be dead!"
Zhang Gou glanced at Xu Wenqing and saw that her face was red and big tears were oozing out of the corners of her eyes, and his heart was filled with infinite guilt.
He looked at Zhang Gou and said, "You go, we stay and make it clear to them that we will just buy the clothes."
"Fart! I just did something like that, do you think they will let me go?" Wang Datou yelled.
Zhang Gou frowned and said, "In that case, why are you meddling in other people's business?"
Wang Datou scratched his head hard and glared: "I hope I can save you and have a chance to say a word to Her Highness the Princess."
At this moment, a beggar rushed over and said: "Brother Big Tou, they are coming!"
Wang Datou said anxiously: "We don't have time to delay here, let's go! Let's go!"
Zhang Gou, however, remained motionless and raised his head and said, "I will never go to the princess's mansion even if I die!"
Wang Datou said anxiously: "If you don't go, if you don't go, just go to my place to hide for a while. Is that okay, my ancestors?"
Zhang Gou hesitated for a moment, thinking that it would be best if he did not go to the Yamen. He would wait for a while and then accompany Xu Wenqing to find Wu Chengsi.
Then he agreed: "That's fine, thank you very much."