There are many businesses involved in the dark market, such as reselling palace treasures, buying and selling children and women, and even trophies obtained from the battlefield. In addition to being turned over to the national treasury, some of them also flow into the dark market and are then sold in bulk. The sellers and the dark market can all reap the benefits.
A considerable amount of income. As for the buyers, they are basically some powerful people from Ruoshui or surrounding cities and counties. After these people bought the showdown cards in the dark market, they became the VIPs here. The annual showdown fees alone are enough to support this place.
A group of people. In fact, it is a profitable business for the buyer. Holding a signed showdown card is equivalent to having an identity in the dark market. More importantly, in addition to being able to trade in the dark market,
In Kyoto or other places, this showdown card has become a talisman. Wherever it goes, the Mexican faction will be in awe, even in the Jianghu, they will recognize this thing.
And Tan Cen, whom Zuo Qing has been staring at for a long time, is the core figure in this dark market.
A few days later, dark market.
With Shou Yanzhu in the west building and Chang Sun Xi's showdown, the two successfully entered the dark market and opened a 'stall'.
Su Yan stared outside through the crack in the door for a long time, and then closed the door again after confirming that nothing was abnormal. He looked around the furnishings in the west building, and finally stopped at the west wall. His palms slowly touched the wall.
, stopped suddenly on a hanging painting of mountains and flowing water.
"What's wrong?" Su Yan asked nervously.
Opening the painting in the west building, a thumb-sized hole suddenly appeared on the wall, leading to the room on the west side.
Su Yan was shocked: "This...is this a plan to take advantage of others?!"
"The stall is used for transactions between sellers and buyers. The room is fully furnished, but there is only one chair in that room and not even an oil lamp."
"You mean, someone is watching us?"
Xilou patted the dust on his hands and said to her: "It shouldn't be the case. Our appearance has changed, we still have a showdown in hand, and we won't be suspected. Maybe that room is just a cautious method in the dark market."
Su Yan finally let go of his worries. After a second thought, he said, "The shopkeeper has heard my voice. I'll try not to speak. You deal with him."
Xilou nodded, then sat at the long table against the wall and waited quietly. From time to time, someone knocked on the door and came in. The shopkeeper greeted him eagerly, stopped at an arm's length from Xilou, and bowed deeply to salute.
: "Little Luo Hairui, I have met this adult."
Xilou now had the face of a middle-aged man, and his movements were naturally old-fashioned. He raised his hand and said in a deep tone, "Shopkeeper Luo, please let me wait."
Shopkeeper Luo smiled apologetically and said: "My lord, please make atonement. The business in the city is so busy that I really can't get away from it! It's just..." He frowned slightly, stared at the west building for a while, and asked carefully, "This lord looks strange.
I don’t know where I work?”
Su Yan thought that he couldn't let Xilou answer on his own at this time, and he had to negotiate with him, so he said in a deep voice, imitating Yansheng's tone: "Border Town, General Yu Chengfeng."
Shopkeeper Luo didn't remember this person's name for a while, but it took him a while to remember it. His expression suddenly changed, and he knelt down quickly: "It turns out that Mr. Yu is here. I'm ignorant, so please convict me!" He had never seen Yu Cheng.
Feng, but I have heard of this man's achievements in the border town. He was a brave and skilled warrior. He was promoted by Chang Sun Xun many years ago and rose through the ranks. Now he is the general of the border town!
Su Yan added: "My family came to Beijing this time to visit Mr. Changsun to thank you for your promotion. Secondly, he wanted to do business with you, but he was told that a showdown was needed. Mr. Changsun had it, so we took advantage of it."
Master Changsun? Shopkeeper Luo was stunned for a moment. In his impression, the two adults of the Changsun family had never patronized his family's business.
Su Yan explained calmly: "Master Changsun Xun's niece, Changsun Xi, is no longer of use to her now."
When Shopkeeper Luo heard Chang Sun Xi's name, he understood. He nodded and said, "It turns out to be Miss Chang Sun. I've been so busy lately that I forgot about it. Don't blame me, sir! Don't blame me!"
Su Yan was worried that what he said would reveal the truth, so he hurriedly winked at Xilou. Xilou reached out and picked up the tea cup on the table, took a small sip, and then said to shopkeeper Luo: "I came here this time because I want to buy a cup of tea through the shopkeeper.
This woman can be bought from the public, but unfortunately my requirements are too high, neither the fireworks in Kyoto nor the border towns can meet my requirements."
"It seems that only I can meet your request." Shopkeeper Luo's face was filled with pride.
Xilou raised his eyebrows, "This woman must be pure yin, and she is still a girl who has not left the court. Do you have one here?"
"I may not have it here, but as long as adults give me time, there will definitely be it!"
"Oh? How long?"
Shopkeeper Luo opened his hand, and Xilou was about to bargain, but he didn't expect the shopkeeper to say: "Five o'clock, it's getting late now, sir, come over early tomorrow morning, the little Ding is ready to serve."
Su Yan couldn't help but ask: "Five hours, are you trying to trick my family?"
"This girl is so angry. Although she is just a shopkeeper, if you go and ask me about shopkeeper Luo's reputation, the five hours promised will not be more than a moment!"
Xilou stood up, applauded, and said with a smile: "Of course I know Shopkeeper Luo's reputation. Master Changsun mentioned you before and said that you are the most powerful. I will rest assured to do business with you. If it succeeds this time, I will definitely buy it."
Let’s have a showdown and be your honored guest!”
Shopkeeper Luo quickly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I appreciate you. If you think it's good, I'll come back to take care of the business in the future. I'll shed tears of gratitude!"
After several conversations, it was late at night. The two returned to the academy and spent a difficult night. The next day, they went to the dark market and saw a woman sitting obediently in the stall, with a hemp rope tied around her body and a very thin root hanging from it.
On the wooden strips are written the woman's birthday, as well as her origin and surname.
Shopkeeper Luo had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Xi Lou coming as promised, he immediately went up to him, serving tea and introducing the woman.
"How did you find her in such a short time?" Xilou couldn't help but ask.
Shopkeeper Luo didn't become cautious because of this. He seemed to be used to people asking this. "Of course I bought it from the seller. As for the source, huh, dark market transactions are layer by layer, as complicated as a spider web. I don't know even the smallest ones."
Wherever I bought it, I just knew it would be done cleanly and without any future troubles.”
There was no flaw in what he said, and there was no way to start. Xilou could only give up temporarily and turn to study the woman. This study found that the woman's neck was full of strangulation marks, and her wrists were also injured, some of which hurt the muscles and were already black and blue.
It was swollen. Su Yan also saw the wound and felt a little uncomfortable.
"These injuries..." Xilou's voice could not tell the difference between emotion, anger, sorrow, and joy, and his pretense was very similar to Zuo Qing's conversation.
"It's just a skin injury. It will heal in a few days. It doesn't matter. Don't worry, sir."
Su Yan was very angry at the shopkeeper's attitude, but he could only endure it. He stretched out his fingers and touched the wounds gently. The woman gritted her teeth, and big beads of sweat instantly covered her forehead. She didn't say anything from the beginning to the end.
After moaning once, he just lowered his head, his eyes darkened.
Xilou picked up her chin and asked, "Do you know why I bought you?"
The woman did not respond, either because she was numb from the pain or because she was desperate.
Xilou asked again: "Do you have any parents or family members?"
As if she had touched upon a sore point, the woman's expression changed. She raised her head slightly, stared at the west building, and suddenly sneered. The west building was nothing. Su Yan backed away in fear, with lingering fears.
Shopkeeper Luo was worried about losing business, so he hurriedly scolded the woman: "I've given you a way to survive, so you should behave yourself. If you still dare to make mistakes, be careful that you will have no way out!"
Su Yan looked at Shopkeeper Luo in shock and thought: Could it be that it was not bought but robbed? Could this woman's parents be threatened? Thinking of this, a fire rushed up in her heart. If it wasn't for Xi
Lou noticed the abnormality and immediately opened his mouth to intercept, but the consequences were disastrous. Xilou rubbed his hands on the woman's clean clothes with disdain and rubbed the blood stains on her face, and said with an unhappy face: "This woman has too strong a character and is covered in wounds. Luo
Shopkeeper, you should know that those of us who come to buy things all hope that the items we buy are in good condition, and the money is comfortable to spend. I never thought that you would use force to beat her into this state. For this price..." As he said that, Pi
He looked at Shopkeeper Luo with a smile but not a smile.
The shopkeeper looked embarrassed: "Sir, you didn't say what kind of woman you want." After thinking about it, he found that the other party was not someone to be trifled with, so he could only change his mind and admit his defeat.
Take it away!"
Xilou walked around the woman, thought for a moment, and then said, "I won't get a penny out of it."
This time it was not only the shopkeeper who was shocked, but also Su Yan found it incredible. Xilou explained: "Since we are doing business, we must take a longer view. For example, if you give this woman to me today, I will buy it."
Let's set up a showdown and do your long-term business in the dark market. Do you know how many wealthy families I made friends with during my tenure in the border town? How many maids do they need in a year? How many concubines will they take? Let's not talk about this, let's talk about military camps and border gates.
Well, regardless of the garrison, the most lacking thing in the military camp is not only gunpowder, but also women. I am in the Ministry of War and have deep friendships with many military generals. I will introduce you to you, you will make money, and we will win together."
Shopkeeper Luo seemed unmoved, and just said politely: "I sell goods at one store, transfer goods on the dark market, and receive goods at the next store. I'm just an errand boy. I'm afraid I can't do your business, sir."
Su Yan felt strange. They had agreed before to buy the woman and send the shopkeeper away so that they could go around in the dark market to collect evidence. Why did they suddenly not go according to plan?
Xilou was still calm: "If you don't have enough manpower, how can you find someone in Ruoshui City in a short time? Apart from the Criminal Department handling the case, I'm afraid only the dark market can do it? Shopkeeper, I'm afraid you are not only
It's just a transfer, and you're the one who went to the house, right?"
Shopkeeper Luo's face became increasingly ugly, as if he had something to hide.
"I value your business here very much. If we can cooperate, wouldn't it be a win-win situation?" Xilou saw that he was still refusing to let go, and his tone immediately became strong, "Don't you believe me?"
Shopkeeper Luo hurriedly knelt down, "Sir, you have misunderstood. I just... just don't dare to make the decision!"
As Xilou expected, shopkeeper Luo is indeed not the master here.
"Why, you can't make the decision, who can," Xilou pressed forward step by step, "If you let him come out, I won't believe it. There are still people who don't want to make money!"
Shopkeeper Luo started to evade again and spoke a little stutteringly, "This... little one... I'm just a shopkeeper, and I've never met the master. Why don't you two patiently wait here for a few hours, and I'll go and report it?"
, if the master is interested, he will invite you two to discuss it."
Xilou's gloomy expression softened slightly and he nodded: "In that case, you must convey my thoughts well, otherwise the business will not be done. I have to go to Mr. Changsun to talk about your hospitality here!"
Shopkeeper Luo agreed while retreating, closing the door in a hurry, followed by the sound of footsteps rushing downstairs.
Xilou let out a long sigh of relief and drank tea quickly.
Su Yan opened the door a crack and looked around. It was early in the morning, there were no other guests, and there were not many guards. He closed the door again and immediately untied the woman. The woman was a little surprised, but did not dare to say anything. Su Yan comforted her and said:
"Don't worry, girl, we are not bad people who bought you. You must remember that in this room, what I said to this young master must not be leaked out. This is related to your wealth and life."
The woman seemed to understand but still nodded excitedly.
After appeasing the woman, Su Yan asked Xilou: "We agreed before departure, why did you go back on your word? If there is a flaw, I don't know how to get out of the situation!"
Xilou said calmly: "I came in a hurry, I forgot to explain to you, please be patient!" Seeing that her anger had subsided, he explained to her in detail, "I thought about it last night, and I always felt that Tan Cen was so cautious.
It is impossible for a person to come to the dark market to show off. This is definitely not his style. If we go according to the original plan, we should not be able to find any evidence, so we changed it temporarily. You see, it is not very successful. As long as shopkeeper Luo can introduce us to the negotiation
Cen, the next thing will be easy to handle."
"No matter how much you pretend to look like him, it's just appearance. What if Tan Cen knows Yu Chengfeng? Even if he doesn't, with his cautious style, if he suddenly encounters a border general who comes to visit him, he will definitely take more precautions.
, Aren’t you afraid of exposing your flaws?” Su Yan rolled his sleeves and sighed, “Forget it, now that the matter is over, what are you going to do?”
Xilou was confident about this matter and did not think it was impossible. He was still confident, "Since it is cooperation, we will sign a contract. With his signature and pledge, why are you afraid that there is no evidence?"
"What if you don't see us? But there will be no chance again."
Xilou pressed his neck muscles and said comfortably, "He will definitely see you."
At dusk, shopkeeper Luo came back, but said that the master was busy with other things and asked them to wait for three days. Then they should go to a place and meet each other by then. He said that he presented a piece of letter paper to the west building.
The letter read: Three days from now, Xishan Xiaoyuan
After settling the woman, it was already dark. Su Yan sat in the pavilion by the South Lake, holding the letter and looking left and right, then put it under his nose and smelled it, but still found nothing unusual. Xilou came over.
, seeing that she was still studying the letter, he reached out and snatched it away, "It's just a letter, what clues can there be? If you have this free time, you might as well have a drink with me." He handed her a bottle of wine.
Su Yan felt that this was too easy, but he couldn't think of anything wrong with it. After thinking about it, his face was filled with sadness.
"Yu Chengfeng is a friend of Chang Sunxun. With Chang Sunxun as a guarantee, he will not be suspicious, but he is cautious and will not see us easily. Shopkeeper Luo said that Tan Cen is involved in other things. I think he just wants to go
It’s just a matter of asking for confirmation in the border town. If we hurry up in three days, wouldn’t it be just one round trip?”
Su Yan jumped up: "So we really exposed our secrets?!"
"Yu Chengfeng rarely goes to Beijing. When he comes, he only goes to the Ministry of War. Tan Cen is the minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He usually has many affairs to deal with and does not have the time to see a small general in a border town. He goes to seek confirmation.
It's because Chang Sunxun is not in Kyoto and he is worried. Arrangements have been made there and he can't find anything." Xilou pressed her down on the stone bench and continued, "But when he goes there, he should be able to find out anything.
We know something about Yu Chengfeng in the military camp, so we should take advantage of the time in these few days to check on this person quickly, and then Tan Cenruo will test him, so we won't be in a hurry."
If you want to understand a person, you must first get his documents, but... the warehouse of the Ministry of Household Affairs that was supposed to store the documents in Kyoto was leaked last month, and has not been repaired so far. Those documents are still temporarily stored in the Ministry of Personnel, and it is impossible to read them.
If you want to find another way... Su Yan suddenly thought of a person - Changsun Yue.
Now that Changsun Xun's uncle and nephew have gone to Chu State, there is no obstacle from Changsun's family. It is easy for Changsun Yue to go to her uncle's room to find something.
That night, Changsun Yue came to Lanshan Courtyard with a box in his arms. The box was full of letters and a jade pendant.
While reading the letters, Su Yan asked Chang Sun Yue: "Have you ever heard your uncle talk about a man named Yu Chengfeng?"
Changsun Yue shook his head in confusion, thinking that he had always been unpopular, how could he possibly know about his uncles.
When Su Yan opened the third letter, he finally found a clue. It was a letter sent from a border town, written by Yu Chengfeng. Among the remaining letters, many were sent by him. There were also other things in the letter.
Speaking of a jade pendant, I think it is the one in the box.
Changsun Yue was already curious as he was looking for something for her. At this time, he saw Mr. Su staring at his uncle's letter in fascination. He felt even more strange and couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Su, are you looking for something? If you need help,
I am willing to serve."
Only then did Su Yan notice that there was someone staying here, and he smiled slightly and said to her, "You have already helped a lot. Without these letters, I would have been in trouble in three days."
"Three days later?!" Changsun Yue couldn't understand it even more. "Where will you go in three days? Are you not going to teach? You are not here today, and the students are complaining."
Su Yan received the letter, stood up and said to her: "Don't worry about it. Anyway, help me take care of Shuyoutang. When the matter is done, I will invite you to Yunlai Pavilion for a drink!" He pushed her out the door and said goodbye.
Before that, he reminded me, "Don't mention today's matters to anyone, remember that!"
Changsun Yue nodded, but she always felt uneasy in her heart, but Mr. Su gave the order, so she could only comply.