Chapter 405: Teahouse World

The woman deliberately sat in front of the window with her hands behind her back and looked outside. Then she couldn't help frowning and looked around the upstairs.

The space upstairs is not small, with three tables placed by the window, and another five or six tables not by the window.

At this moment, in addition to the table of Chen Fenghe and Xiao Yunshuo, there were two or three other tables of guests.

Chen Fenghe was sitting at the middle of the three tables by the window.

Seeing this, the woman turned to look at the waiter and said, "Waiter, why are you being so dishonest? The table with the best view in your house is obviously that one!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at the table where Shen Fenghe and the others were sitting.

Seeing this, the waiter had no choice but to smile and say, "Hey, sir, I'm really sorry. That table is already taken, and this is also good. It's the second best seat in our restaurant..."

Before the woman could say anything, the two people accompanying her whispered, "Young... Sir, we're having trouble this time, so we'd better keep a low profile. This place... is almost the same."

After hearing this, the woman had to suppress her anger and sit down.

However, before the waiter brought the refreshments, the woman stood up suddenly and walked to Chen Fenghe and their table before the two men could stop her.

She first glanced at Chen Fenghe, who was still wearing a cloak. When she saw the bright and beautiful face of the woman in front of her, a moment of astonishment and shock flashed in her eyes. Then she turned to look at Xiao Yunshuo, clasped her fists and said, "Brother, may I have a discussion?"

Without waiting for Xiao Yunshuo to speak, she pulled out a ten-liang silver ingot from her sleeve and placed it on the table. "Can I use this ten liang of silver to buy your window seat? The rime scenery is truly beautiful, and I'd like to enjoy it from the best spot."

Although the woman was wearing ordinary casual clothes and did not look gorgeous, Chen Fenghe could tell at a glance that the material she wore was not ordinary linen or cotton, but the finest silk. Regardless of this, she spent five or ten taels of silver at a time and brought two followers with her. She must be from a wealthy or noble family, most likely from an official family.

People with this kind of background are usually more domineering. Chen Fenghe didn't expect that this woman would actually spend money to buy a position.

Moreover, he spent ten taels of silver at once.

For ordinary people, let alone ten taels of silver, even if they were given one tael of silver, they would probably have happily given up the place.

It’s a pity that neither she nor Xiao Yunshuo are ordinary people.

Even though she paid ten taels of silver at once, the woman still disturbed their viewing experience.

Xiao Yunshuo shook his head and said, "I'm sorry. We rarely go out to relax, and it's rare to encounter such a beautiful view today, so I wanted to enjoy it from the best vantage point."

After hearing this, the woman couldn't help but look a little surprised.

Can’t even buy it with ten taels of silver?

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider? This is a silver ingot worth ten taels of silver, enough for you to have tea and snacks in this shop for a year!"

Xiao Yunshuo looked at her and said calmly, "I think I've made it very clear just now."

When the woman heard this, her face turned unhappy. Just as she was about to lose her temper, the two people accompanying her came over and stopped her: "Sir!"

The woman finally suppressed her anger, went back to her table and sat down heavily, making quite a noise.

Everyone was originally watching the fun with bated breath, but now that they saw nothing was happening, they started talking again.

"You won't even exchange it for ten taels of silver? If you ask me, I'd be willing to exchange it for even one tael of silver." Someone said regretfully.

"You want to change? You have to be willing to spend money to get a seat by the window, right? Who would pay you to trade for your seat in a corner?" someone teased him.

"The young man who rejected us is indeed wealthy, but he looks unfamiliar. I know most of the wealthy families in Youzhou City, so how come I have never seen this guy?" Someone showed off his wide circle of friends.

Everyone shook their heads and said, "We've never seen it before. We think it might be a tourist from somewhere else."

Everyone soon lost interest in the matter and changed the subject.

"This year has been bizarre. First, there was a plague in Youzhou City, and then Heaven sent down a celestial fire to end the plague. It was already bizarre. Who would have thought that this was just the beginning? Then came the snow and frost disaster in Lingnan, the locust plague in Jiangnan, the bursting of the Yellow River and Huai River dikes, and the drought in the four northern prefectures. These natural disasters, one after another, are truly heartbreaking..."

"Who says it's not true? You said our northern climate is dry to begin with, so a drought wouldn't be surprising. But Lingnan, where people wear thin gauze even in winter, is actually experiencing heavy snowfall and a frost disaster? And Jiangning Prefecture, it's a land of fish and rice, the most prosperous and wealthy place in Dayu. I heard that after paying the public tax, the rice produced each year is not enough for the family to eat, and every household has enough surplus to raise pigs, cattle, chickens, ducks, and the like. With such fertile and fruitful fields, how could locusts and wild birds be short of food? Who could have imagined that a locust plague would break out in such a place, devouring thousands of acres of fertile rice fields and leaving them with nothing to harvest? Alas! So, we mortals really can't fathom the thoughts of God!"

"With so many natural and man-made disasters, I'm afraid this is not our fate..." someone said.

Someone immediately whispered, "Don't talk nonsense! At the beginning of the year, there was clearly an auspicious sign like the heavenly fire, which shows that our country of Dayu is prosperous. This year's troubled times are only temporary. As long as we can get through it, everything will be fine soon!"

The person who spoke first was more pessimistic. "I hope so. But... even if there were auspicious signs at the beginning of the year, I'm afraid it was because God had vindicated the Crown Prince. It was another chance given to our Great Yu. Who would have thought that the one in the palace would treat it so lightly? Just think about it, this year alone, how many good and honest officials have been imprisoned or exiled? The capital and other places are controlled by the cronies of the Second or Sixth Prince, exploiting the people and making money unscrupulously, and no one can control them. I'm afraid God has sent so many disasters to wake people up! Just wait and see, this year there will only be minor disasters, and next year will be the real problem!"

Someone else said, "A few days ago, I saw someone on the street getting a fortune-teller's interpretation. The gentleman said that this year and next year will be a disaster for Dayu. If we can overcome it, our national strength will be several times greater. If we can't overcome it, then..."

At this time, the waiter approached them, and while filling the pot on the table with water from the copper kettle, he said with a smile: "My dear guests, chat is just a small talk, but we ordinary people should not discuss the affairs of state."

After hearing the waiter's words, several people realized that they had gotten ahead of themselves and said many things that were too extreme. They laughed and said, "That's right. Fortunately, although our Hejian Prefecture has suffered from drought this year, the harvest has not been completely destroyed. Compared with Hedong Prefecture, Daming Prefecture and other prefectures and counties, it is much better. Let's have tea and not talk about these things."

Everyone laughed and talked, trying to change the subject. Someone asked, "Mr. Zhang, I heard your niece was recently chosen by the government to be sent to the capital for a selection of concubines. If she's chosen and becomes a concubine, your family will become members of the imperial family, and you'll enjoy endless wealth and glory in the future."

The man known as Zhang Xianggong was drinking tea when he choked on the words and quickly waved his hand to deny them, "Where did you hear these rumors? My family is just an ordinary family. My brother just passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. How could it be my niece's turn to go to the capital for the imperial selection? That opportunity is at least given to families of Juren and above. To be honest, my niece just decided on her husband a few days ago, and she will be married next year when the weather warms up. Where did the rumors of going to the capital for the imperial selection come from? If that were true, would I still be here telling you what I just said? Wouldn't that be giving them a handle?"

Everyone listened and thought about it, and the person who spoke laughed and said, "Perhaps I misheard. However, I did hear that the palace recently selected a lot of unmarried young ladies from official families to go to the capital. Could it be that they are not selecting concubines?"

Zhang Xianggong smiled and said, "I've heard a thing or two about this. A distant relative of my neighbor's, who used to work as an aide to the government, said that even the daughters of our prefectural governor, as well as all the unmarried daughters from the prefectures and counties, and even from the generals guarding the border towns, were being sent to the capital. They said they were going to the palace to keep the princesses company, but in reality... I heard they were choosing wives and concubines for the second and sixth princes. Think about it, the crown prince died unjustly and under unclear circumstances, and the fifth prince who caused him was exiled and later died of madness and poisoning. For the past year, the second and sixth princes have been fighting each other at court. Their wives and concubines might even become empresses or imperial concubines in the future. Who among the court officials and generals wouldn't want to see them? They all happily sent their daughters to the capital..."

"This is really laughable. So many things have happened this year, and the harvests are failing everywhere. I wonder how many ordinary people will be displaced, and yet those high-ranking officials, nobles, and princes are still thinking about grandly selecting their principal and concubines. Just sending the ladies to the capital, how much money will it cost? Where do the local officials get the money? Isn't it from us ordinary people?"

"In the final analysis, our current ruler is probably confused. The Crown Prince was framed to death, and he even favored the culprit..."

Seeing that the conversation had returned to the topic of 'state affairs', someone hurriedly offered tea with a smile: "Everyone, let's have some tea and not talk about these troubles!"

Everyone then changed the topic and started chatting about other things.

Chen Fenghe listened to all these words while drinking tea and eating snacks.

Emperor Yucheng always liked to seek fame and reputation, calling himself a benevolent monarch. His reputation among the people was quite decent. Unexpectedly, in just one year, his reputation changed so much.

However, how many of these were secretly arranged and facilitated by Xiao Yunshuo?

Although she was the first one to think about the Heavenly Fire Omen, it was Xiao Yunshuo's people who were able to spread this matter throughout Dayu in a short period of time.

Over the past year, I'm afraid a lot of such "public opinion wars" have been carried out behind the scenes.

However, even if she guessed these things, she just planned to pretend not to know.

Having said that, thinking that Xiao Yunshuo would eventually go back to be his crown prince and emperor, he couldn't help feeling a little melancholy in his heart. He no longer had the heart to drink tea and enjoy the scenery, so he called the waiter to settle the bill.

At another table, the three of them glanced at each other quickly when they heard the guests in the teahouse chatting about the "talent show".

However, none of them spoke, just drank their tea in silence.

As Chen Fenghe and Xiao Yunshuo left the teahouse, they heard a commotion.

"Shopkeeper, please be kind. We haven't had a single grain of rice for several days. Could you please give us some rice and flour? Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, shopkeeper..."

Across from the teahouse was a grain store. There was a group of refugees, about a dozen or twenty in number, all in tattered clothes, with pale faces and thin bodies, gathered in front of the grain store, carrying the elderly and children. Leading the group was an old man with white hair and beard and a hunched body. He held a walking stick in one hand and a dirty blue and white bowl in the other, begging in a low and pitiful voice.

After a while, the owner of the grain store came out. He was a middle-aged man with a big belly. He waved his hand fiercely at the old man and said in a stern voice, "You stinking beggar! Get out of here! I'm still giving you some rice? Do you know that all the prefectures in Dayu have suffered from disasters this year? The price of rice and flour changes every day. Giving you a little bit of money? That would be dozens or even hundreds of coins. Do you think I'm being taken advantage of? You're starving to death. What does it have to do with me?"

The old man was already staggering with hunger, and the grain store owner hit his arm with his hand. The bowl in his hand was swept to the ground at once, and with a crisp "pop" sound, the bowl broke into two pieces, and the old man staggered and fell to the ground.

"Ouch..." The old man fell to the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.

"Father-in-law!"

"grandfather!"

A pale and thin woman with a child who looked three or four years old saw this and hurried forward to help the old man while shouting.

The child was so scared that he started crying loudly.

"Dad!" A middle-aged man who was originally supported by a woman sat down on the ground unsteadily. Everyone could see clearly that one of his trouser legs was empty and he was actually disabled!

The middle-aged man also shouted anxiously, then glared at the grain store owner angrily: "If you don't want to give me food, then don't give me any. Why are you hitting me? My father is almost sixty years old. How can he withstand such a shoving and pushing?"

The shopkeeper sneered and raised his voice, "Oh! I haven't said anything yet! Are you blackmailing me? Everyone is watching! I pushed him? I just waved my hand casually, and he fell down because he lost his balance. It's not my fault! No, maybe this old guy fell down on purpose, just to blackmail me! I advise you to get out of here right now and don't delay my business! Otherwise, don't blame me for reporting you to the police and accusing you of malicious blackmail. When the time comes, you will have a hard time!"

After hearing this, the middle-aged man was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot. He crawled forward to argue again. The old man, with the help of his daughter-in-law and grandson, finally got up and quickly raised his hand to signal his son not to speak anymore.

"Son, stop talking. Let's go. If this family doesn't work, ask someone else. Don't get angry with them. If you really provoke the government, it will be terrible..."

After hearing this, the middle-aged man had no choice but to swallow his anger and stop talking.

Just at this moment, the three or four-year-old child was sharp-eyed and saw some scattered rice on the ground in front of the grain store, so he shook his little body and went over to pick it up.

The shopkeeper saw that the little guy was trying to rush into the store. It was obvious that he was taught by his parents. He was so angry that he kicked the child!

"Get out of here, you little beggar!" the shopkeeper scolded.

Just as the kick was about to hit the child hard, a dark shadow suddenly flashed by, grabbed the child in his arms and carried him away.

The shopkeeper was standing on one leg when he felt a strange gust of wind under his feet, which made him lose his balance. He cried out "Ouch!" and fell on his butt.

He looked closely and saw that the child was being held in the arms of a middle-aged man.

This middle-aged man was Yuan Xu, who had disguised himself as the steward of the Yun Mansion.

The child had stopped crying, but was frightened this time. He pouted his lips and started crying again.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper became even more furious. He stood up and grabbed the old man who had just been knocked to the ground by his arm, shouting, "You beggars, not only are you delaying my business and trying to extort money, but you even dared to push me! Let's go! We must go to the government today and let the master make a clear judgment!"

When the old man heard that he was going to be taken to see the officials, he immediately became anxious and begged bitterly, "Boss, please be kind. This is all our fault. We have disturbed your business. I apologize to you. Please don't take us to see the officials..."

They fled all the way from Daming Prefecture to here, and they were sneaky as they passed through prefectures and counties, and hid as soon as they saw the officials.

The reason is that once they are caught by the government, they will be sent back to their place of origin.

However, his family originally lived on the bank of the Yellow River in Daming Prefecture, and was a victim of the Yellow River-Huaihe River dike bursting disaster. Their houses and crops were all washed away, and even his only son had his leg broken by the collapsed house.

Unfortunately, those corrupt local officials forced them to sell their land at a low price in exchange for food to get through this winter.

He originally thought that he could just get through this year first, but who would have thought that his family would be robbed and all the money and food he earned from the land was stolen. In order to survive, he had no choice but to flee the famine.

However, the Huanghuai River dike breach was rumored to be a man-made disaster, not a natural one. Fearing they would lodge complaints in Beijing, local officials set up checkpoints on the official roads south to stop the famine-fighting refugees. Anyone attempting to travel south was inevitably beaten, sometimes imprisoned and unjustly executed.

The family had no choice but to head north. However, although there were not as many checkpoints in the north as in the south, the prefectures and counties were well connected, and if they encountered disaster victims, they would immediately ask the government to repatriate them.

They finally arrived at Hejian Prefecture. They heard that although there was a drought, the harvest was not complete. Even if the whole family had to beg here, they still had some hope of surviving the winter.

If they were taken to see the officials, their entire family would be doomed!

The old man pleaded anxiously, and at the end of his words, he even trembled and was about to kneel down to beg the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was even more arrogant: "Humph! Are you scared now? It's too late! Let's go! I will go to see the official with you today no matter what!"

At this moment, a clear voice rang out: "Shopkeeper, you are too unreasonable. They just asked you for some food, and you refused to give it to them, but first you hit the elderly person, and then you almost kicked the child. Now you are turning the tables and accusing them of blackmailing you and pushing you?"

Chen Fenghe looked over and saw that the person who spoke was the girl dressed as a man whom she had met in the teahouse before.

Seeing that the person speaking was a handsome young man, the shopkeeper sneered, "Young sir, please stop meddling in other people's business! That brat was clearly trying to run into my shop just now, intending to steal food or blackmail someone. He must have been paid by his family! Everyone saw it just now, could I have missed him?!"

Everyone around couldn't help but nod and say, "That little kid did seem to be trying to run into the store just now. Who knows what he was up to? The shopkeeper's suspicions aren't groundless."

"Even so, beating up a child is a bit excessive."

"It's better to see the officials and let the master judge. It's the same thing. This family is sneaky. When the shopkeeper said he wanted to see the officials, they were scared and begged for mercy and kowtowed. Maybe there is something fishy going on. Maybe they are habitual criminals who cheat and kidnap people."

Seeing everyone around her saying this, the girl couldn't help but look at the family with some suspicion. She frowned and said to the shopkeeper, "Even if they are truly wrong, it's wrong for you to kick them! This aunt...this young master saw this today, and I won't sit idly by! You apologize to them right now, or...I'll smash your shop!"

The two men following the girl hurriedly embraced her and whispered, "Sir, our status is not convenient, so we should not meddle in other people's affairs. It would be better to let them see the officials and let the government handle it."

After these words were spoken, the girl began to waver and hesitate, and remained silent for a while.

When the family heard everyone around them saying they were going to see the officials, they were so anxious that they almost cried. The old man and the daughter-in-law knelt down and begged, "Boss, it's our fault. Can't we just leave immediately? Please, don't see the officials. If you do, we will..."

He stopped talking halfway.

The world is a fickle place. If someone hears that they will be sent back to their hometown after seeing the officials, and someone with bad intentions goes to the officials to inform on them and get a reward, then they will be finished.

Seeing that public opinion was on his side, the shopkeeper smiled smugly and said, "What do you think? It seems I was right. You are really not good people. I would have let you go, but today I have to intervene in other people's affairs and enforce justice on their behalf! Let's go! Let's go to the government office now..."

Before I could finish my words, I suddenly heard a gentle and pleasant voice asking, "Little brother, don't cry. Sister will give you some sweet-scented osmanthus cake, okay?"

The one who spoke was Shen Fenghe.

The child wiped away his tears and looked at Chen Fenghe timidly, then carefully took the osmanthus pastry handed to him by Chen Fenghe. He was also very hungry and gobbled it all up in big mouthfuls.

Chen Fenghe waited for him to finish eating before gently asking, "Be good, little brother. Tell me why you ran to the store just now?"