There are many diners around, eating and drinking.
The expressions on the faces of many diners were that of great enjoyment.
There is a feeling of being addicted.
“Everyone’s expressions look so weird!”
Azi said.
If you eat something, even if it is very delicious, it will not be like this.
Qingqing said:
"Why do so many people look so bad after eating so much?"
If you are a healthy person, even if your complexion looks bad, it won't be much worse.
But these diners who were eating were different. Their faces gave people that they were not in a good state of mind, as if they had not slept for a long time.
Moreover, many people have sunken eye sockets and a sallow complexion.
Chen Yipin said nothing and looked at these people silently.
Just as he had guessed at the beginning, what these people looked like now was exactly what he thought.
At this time, an old man rushed into the Tianji Tower with a little girl.
"Please, give it to me! I really want to eat your food!"
The old man took a waiter's hand and said pleadingly.
The waiter threw away the old man's hand in disgust and said:
"Go away! You still owe our Tianji Tower so much money and haven't paid it back, who will give you food!"
The old man fell to the ground, and the little girl next to him held him up.
The old man grabbed the little girl's hand and said excitedly:
"Didn't you say before that you could sell my granddaughter to you? Now I'm keeping my granddaughter here to pay for the money I owed!
Even though she is young, she can help you with your work and eat very little! When she grows up, you can sell her!"
The little girl cried and looked at her grandfather and said:
"Grandpa, don't sell me! Grandpa! Grandpa!"
The old man looked at the little girl with disgust and said:
"Why don't I sell you! Your parents are dead, do you still expect me to raise you?"
When the little girl heard this, she cried even more sadly.
The waiter looked at the little girl next to the old man and said with a wicked smile:
"I'll discuss this with our shopkeeper, but there should be no problem!"
When the old man heard this, he kowtowed to the waiter excitedly.
"thanks, thanks!"
"Grandpa, don't sell me! I can take good care of you at home! From now on, I will only eat one meal a day!"
The little girl cried and pulled the old man's sleeve.
The old man seemed not to have heard anything and ignored the little girl, looking at the waiter who was looking for the shopkeeper.
Chen Yipin and others noticed this scene.
AhZi had a bad temper. She slammed the table angrily and said angrily:
"What a beast!"
Saying that, it was like rushing to intervene in this matter.
Although she was not sold, she had lived alone since she was a child.
She knows better than anyone how difficult it is to live like this.
Seeing the little girl like this, naturally she couldn't control her bad temper.
"Azi, wait a minute! Check the situation first!"
Xiao Feng pulled Ah Zi.
"Wait a minute? Wait a minute and that girl doll will be sold!"
Ah Zi said to Xiao Feng angrily.
"No, if we really want to sell it, my brother-in-law will help!"
Xiao Feng said.
AhZi was a little irritable, and now that Xiao Feng was pulling her, she could only endure it.
Chen Yipin suddenly said:
"Maybe I understand why Tianji Tower allows so many people to pay on credit."
Qingqing said:
"Sir, do you want to say that Tianjilou wants to take advantage of these people who have credit and then traffic people?"
Human trafficking during the Ming Dynasty was a serious crime.
According to the provisions of the Ming Dynasty Code, those who plunder and sell human beings will be punished with 100 sticks and exiled for 3,000 miles.
Those who plunder and sell human beings to others as wives and concubines shall be punished with a penalty of 100 rods and sentenced to 3 years in prison.
Those who plunder and sell more than three people will be beheaded.
If Tianji Tower did this, then all these people would probably be beheaded.
"Well, that's right."
Chen Yipin nodded.
After adding what I had guessed Tianjilou added to the food and wine, and then adding that Tianjilou actually allowed diners to pay credit for up to a hundred taels of silver, and now.
The Tianji Building can be said to be connected with each other.
However, these are just Chen Yipin's guesses at the moment. The specific methods and purpose of Tianji Tower are really unknown.
On the second floor of Tianji Building.
"Mr. Wang, what's so noisy downstairs?"
A young man dressed sumptuously asked the respectful person next to him.
"Master Huang, let me go down now to check the situation."
Mr. Wang's voice is a bit sharp and his appearance looks like other men.
But when you hear this voice, you can think of him as a eunuch.
There were very few eunuchs among the common people, and they were basically untouchable when going out.
The only places where you can often meet eunuchs are the palaces of major dynasties.
These two people were none other than Zhu Jianshen, who was visiting privately incognito, and the eunuch Wang Gonggong.
As soon as Zhu Jianshen arrived here, he heard people saying that the food in Tianji Tower was delicious and fragrant, so he came here.
When we arrived at Tianji Tower, before the food was served and before we even took a sip of the drink, we heard the noise below.
"I'll go see it with you."
Zhu Jian said deeply.
I came here for a private visit in Weifu. If something unfair happened, I, as the emperor, would naturally take care of it.
Zhu Jianshen and Wang Gonggong went downstairs and happened to stop next to Chen Yipin's table, watching what happened at the door.
"Brother, may I ask what happened at the door?"
Zhu Jianshen raised his hands and asked Chen Yipin.
At the door, the old man was still kneeling on the ground, and the little girl kept sobbing.
They were wearing linen clothes, and there were many traces of mending on their clothes.
It can be seen that these two people's families are not very wealthy.
Chen Yipin, who was looking at the situation at the door, turned his head.
After seeing Zhu Jianshen, Chen Yipin frowned slightly.
Zhu Jianshen was dressed gorgeously and looked like a young man.
But his temperament is not that of a young man.
Also, the person next to Zhu Jianshen had a very strong smell from the sachet, but when he smelled it carefully, there was a stench.
This smell is very similar to the smell of the man in black Chen Yipin encountered before.
Those men in black are eunuchs from Dongchang, which means that this person should also be a eunuch.
With an eunuch and a young master with extraordinary temperament, the only combination that Chen Yipin could think of was the emperor and the eunuch.
Qingqing also looked over, and was shocked when he saw Zhu Jianshen and Wang Gonggong.
But soon, calm returned.
"Brother, this is what happened at the door..."
Chen Yipin recounted what he had just seen.
After he finished speaking, he noticed the change in the expression on Zhu Jianshen's face.
After Zhu Jianshen listened to Chen Yipin's narration, he said angrily:
"You actually want to do something like this! Don't you take my "Da Ming Law" seriously?"
When the prince heard what Zhu Jianshen said, he said with a smile:
"Master, don't be anxious, let's take a look at the situation. If that's the case, we'll report it to the official later!"
Chen Yipin was originally observing Zhu Jianshen, but now he heard what Zhu Jianshen said.
Chen Yipin was even more certain that the person next to him was the emperor.
This emperor is Zhu Jianshen, the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
"snort!"
Zhu Jianshen realized that he had said the wrong thing. Although he was angry, he did not continue.
Hearing this, Ah Zi coldly snorted:
"Report to the official? Can the government control Tianji Tower!? If you ask me, just go up and teach him a lesson!"
The prince glanced at A Zi.
By saying this, I was trying to comfort the emperor.
When you say that, wouldn't what you just said be in vain?
Zhu Jianshen said coldly:
"If it were the government of Qixia Town, it really wouldn't be able to do anything to Tianji Tower. But..."
Zhu Jianshen was halfway through speaking and did not continue.
He also knew that the government of Qixia Town would definitely be unable to control the Tianji Tower.
However, when he came out for a private visit incognito, it was definitely not the prince who was protecting him alone.
There are six doors around, and the people from Jinyiwei are there.
When the time comes, I will most likely let the people from Liumenmen and Jinyiwei take action.
The entrance of Tianji Building.
The waiter led the shopkeeper out.
The shopkeeper has a fat head, big ears, and a big belly.
The waiter came close to the shopkeeper and whispered a few words. A sly smile appeared on the shopkeeper's face.
When the diners saw this, it was as if it had not happened, as if this incident was normal to them.
The entire Tianji Tower is paying attention to what is happening at the door. Currently, only Chen Yipin, Zhu Jianshen, and Wang Gonggong are the only ones paying attention.
People passing by the door were watching curiously.
From time to time, he pointed at the old man, with an expression of disgust, disgust, and disgust on his face.
The old man was very excited when he saw the shopkeeper.
"Shopkeeper, look at how my granddaughter is doing!
She is only six years old. If you let her work in your Tianji Building for a few years, you can sell her!
I promise you won’t lose money! I’ll use her to pay off the debt I owed before!”
The little girl cried even louder.
"Grandpa! Please, don't sell me..."
"Grandpa, don't sell Niuniu..."
The old man listened to Niuniu's cry and angrily said:
"Shut up! A girl will be sold sooner or later!"
Niuniu didn't dare to speak anymore, she just kept crying.
The shopkeeper touched his beard and looked at Niuniu.
He stretched out his greasy hand, lifted up Niu Niu's hair, and took a look at Niu Niu's face.
Although Niuniu's face is dirty, her facial features still look pretty good.
Niu Niu was frightened by the shopkeeper and hid behind her.
Seeing this, the old man pushed Niu Niu's thin body.
The shopkeeper showed a sinister smile and said to the old man:
"This kid is too young, but... I can spare you some money."
After finishing speaking, he asked the waiter beside him:
"How many taels of silver does he owe?"
"Go back to the shopkeeper, this old guy owes our Tianji Tower two hundred taels of silver."
The waiter said with a flattering smile.
The shopkeeper heard this and said:
"Girl, out of kindness, let me pay you fifty taels of silver! You still owe us Tianji Tower one hundred and fifty taels of silver."
"Fifty taels! That's too little for the shopkeeper! When Niuniu was little, she could work for you in the store. When she gets older, you can sell her. It's not fifty taels anyway!"
The old man heard this and said hurriedly.
He originally thought that he could offset all the money he owed, and even get a little more, but he didn't expect that it was not enough.
"Isn't that too little? Let me tell you, the most others can get from me is thirty taels. I'll give you fifty taels just because I feel sorry for you!"
The shopkeeper shouted angrily.
After finishing speaking, he said to the waiter beside him:
"Take her down!"
"yes!"
The waiter stepped forward and pulled Niuniu to leave.
The old man was anxious, stepped forward and hugged the shopkeeper's leg, saying:
"Shopkeeper! More! Fifty taels is really too little!"
"Go away! Fifty taels given to you is too much, you still want more? I advise you to go back quickly and find a way to pay back the remaining one hundred and fifty taels!"
The shopkeeper threw the old man away angrily.
The old man's body was already weak, but he was thrown away by the shopkeeper and flew out.
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
Seeing this, Niu Niu broke away from the waiter and rushed towards the old man.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper shouted:
"Someone, get that old man away! Stay here with this little girl!"
"clear!"
Several more waiters came over, two of them dragged Niu Niu, and the other few kicked and punched the old man.
Ah Zi's eyes turned red when she saw it.
He broke free from Xiao Feng's hand and rushed forward.
"Azi!"
Seeing this, Chen Yipin and others also followed.
Zhu Jianshen also followed behind them with Wang Gonggong.
Azi rushed over and punched the two waiters who were dragging Niuniu twice, knocking them to the ground.
As for the old man, Azi's behavior of selling Niuniu just now made Azi hate him very much. How could he save the old man?
Wuqing didn't think as much as Azi did. With a thought, several chairs rose out of thin air and hit the waiters who were beating the old man.
"Bang bang bang——"
Several waiters were knocked out by chairs.
The old man's nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and he was lying motionless on the ground.
"Grandpa! Are you okay, Grandpa!"
Niu Niu knelt on the ground and pushed the old man's body.
Zhu Jianshen was watching from behind. When he saw the chair suddenly fly up and hit the waiter, he looked at Qingwu in surprise.
"ruthless?"
Zhu Jianshen murmured to himself.
He had seen Wu Qing behave like this before.
But looking at Qing Qing's outfit, he didn't look like the Qing Qing he knew, so he was unsure for a moment.
Azi leaned over and touched the old man's nose, and said to Niu Niu:
"Your grandfather...is dead."
Niu Niu felt very uncomfortable when she heard this.
Although her grandfather wanted to sell her, he was the best person to her since her parents passed away when she was three years old.
That is to say, grandpa has been very bad to her in the past few days.
"Grandpa! Don't die, Grandpa!"
"You said before that you wanted to see me get married!"
"grandfather!"
The shopkeeper reacted, pointed at Azi and asked:
"Who are you? How dare you make trouble in Tianji Tower!"
"What's wrong with the Tianji Tower? The Tianji Tower can plunder and sell people at will! I'm afraid you don't take the "Da Ming Law" seriously!"
Ah Zi retorted.
The shopkeeper sneered and said:
"How can we talk about robbing and selling things that you and I agree on?"
The Ming Dynasty could buy and sell people, but the prerequisite was that it had to be reported to the government, and then it had to be stamped by the local government before it could be done.
Such sales are legal.
But trafficking is different. Trafficking is the buying and selling of human beings through violence, kidnapping, threats, inducements, and deception. The lowest is exile, and the highest is beheading.
The phenomenon of human trafficking that the ancient dynasties severely cracked down on refers to "smuggling" and "smuggling." Smuggling refers to trafficking in people through threats, inducements, deception, etc. "Smuggling" is more serious, kidnapping people through violent means.
Then sell it for a profit.
In this chapter, I combine plundering and selling together.