"Ugh, I can't live like this anymore!"
"I wish I could grab a knife and fight those bastards to the death!"
"Go all out? You think you can fight them head-on?"
"What can we do? Just bear with it and it will pass!"
Outside the Cloud Pavilion, around the tea stalls, complaints were incessant.
"Dad, should we go in disguise and gather information?"
Wang Gousheng asked in a low voice.
"Don't disturb your father while he's drinking tea!"
Li Tianjun ignored Wang Gousheng.
After this kid was exposed, Li Tianjun completely let loose.
In his current state, he is simply not fit to continue ruling Yunzhou.
Gathering and passing information can increase the risk of exposing others.
So now he's a true tea drinker, just passing the time by drinking tea.
"Dad, you can't do this! If we don't achieve something, we might get kicked out of the house!"
Wang Gousheng continued to persuade him.
Finally, I found a father, and now I have a place to settle down for the rest of my life.
Wang Gousheng didn't want Li Tianjun to continue down this path of despair; he had to persuade his father to work harder.
If he doesn't work hard, how will he sponge off his parents?
"Hey, Old Zhang, it's time to pay!"
Just then, a scarred man walked out of the tea stall.
Seeing the man approach, the tea stall owner forced a smile and stepped forward, saying apologetically, "Scarface, it's not that I don't want to take it, it's just that the price is too high."
If we pay this amount, my tea stall will be unable to stay afloat!
He can earn thirty taels of silver a month from his tea stall.
This number is already a lot for ordinary people.
But not all of this money ended up in his hands.
In order to run a tea stall, in addition to the normal fees he should pay, he also has to bribe officials.
After all the miscellaneous costs, he might only end up with five taels of silver.
They're a little better off than the average person, but they only earn a meager living through hard work.
Now the gang that manages this area wants to raise prices, and he's willing to cooperate.
But the other party immediately asked for an extra ten taels of silver per month, which he really couldn't afford.
"Unsustainable?"
The scarred man stared at the tea stall owner with a half-smile, then pressed down with both hands and suddenly lifted it up: "Then let's not maintain it!"
From now on, this place no longer belongs to you!
With a loud "bang!"
The tea stall was overturned, and pots and pans were scattered all over the ground.
"Brother Scar, I can quit running the tea stall, but could you refund the year's rent I paid?"
The tea stall owner said through gritted teeth.
The rent here is paid annually.
The annual rent here is nearly one hundred taels of silver, and he has already paid that amount.
If he can't get it back, the loss will be too great for him.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The scarred man grinned, then stepped forward, grabbed the tea stall owner by the collar, and said menacingly, "Say that again?"
"I......"
"Enough!"
Just then, a voice came from the tea stall.
"Who dares to meddle?"
Scarface's eyes widened as he looked toward the source of the sound.
Following the gaze of the surrounding tea drinkers, he quickly spotted the person who had spoken.
The next second, he recognized Wang Gousheng.
If it were before, he would have slapped Gousheng twice across the face.
But even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare now.
Of the dozen or so gangs that were wiped out that day, each one was stronger than the gang he belonged to.
"Brother Wang, it's you, sir!"
Scarface released his grip and looked at Wang Gousheng with a smile.
"From now on, I'm in charge of Old Zhang's tea stall."
"If you ever dare to come collecting rent again, I'll break your legs."
"Brother Wang, you're in charge!"
Scarface said with a forced smile, "I'll inform them as soon as I get back!"
Not only that, the thief even refunded the rent Old Zhang had paid that year.
"Alright, get lost!"
Wang Gousheng waved his hand, and Scarface immediately left.
"Thank you, Uncle Wang!"
The tea stall owner looked at Wang Gousheng with tears of gratitude.
"We're all acquaintances, what's the big deal about this little thing?"
Wang Gousheng waved his hand and sat back down.
It feels good to be called "Master"!
It feels even better to stand up for someone else.
But soon, Wang Gousheng's smile vanished.
A huge crowd gathered around.
These people included not only vendors from the vicinity of Yunshanglou.
"Uncle Wang, my humble porridge shop..."
"Uncle Wang, my family's cloth shop..."
"Uncle Wang, my barber's pole is all gone..."
Everyone had only one goal: to seek Wang Gousheng's protection.
And this is just a corner of the Cloud Pavilion.
Since Li Fan and his group left, the "Victors" faction, led by Zhang Ziqiang, has been reaping huge profits.
From top to bottom, layer upon layer of exploitation resulted in widespread discontent within Tianyun City in just five days.
......
"Father, why don't we leave?"
Looking at the dense crowd, Wang Gousheng felt a chill run down his spine.
He's willing to show off occasionally, but it's impossible for him to actually act as a righteous and just official.
In this world, good people never live long, while evil people live for thousands of years.
Take, for example, that domineering swordsman Li Fan.
Wherever he was, neither aristocratic families nor江湖草莽 (jianghu caomen, meaning roughnecks and outlaws) dared to act so recklessly.
"Where are we going?"
Today I'll show you all your power!
Li Tianjun said casually, "After you've had your fun, go to the Nanzhou Zhenwu Division."
Wang Gousheng has already planned out his future.
Since we've already entered the world of martial arts, we might as well go all the way.
A good-for-nothing like him, who is neither good at martial arts nor at literature, would be perfectly suited to be a clerk in the Zhenwu Division.
Given Li Fan's kindness, Yan Mingshu will likely take care of him to some extent.
Speaking of Yan Mingshu, he should be about to make his move!
......
The sun sets in the west, at dusk.
In front of the governor's mansion, guards lay on the ground.
"How dare you! This is the governor's residence! How can you be so insolent here!"
A martial artist shouted a question, but was quickly suppressed on the spot.
Yan Mingshu walked smoothly into a lively courtyard.
In the courtyard, wine pools and meat forests abound, with music and dance in celebration.
Many Yunzhou officials were found to be improperly dressed and engaging in lewd acts.
Even worse, he held the woman's waist and swayed her repeatedly.
To engage in lewd behavior in broad daylight is an insult to civility!
Han Yan, who was following behind Yan Mingshu, immediately darkened his expression.
The officials present were all scholars from the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Looking at himself like this, he doesn't resemble a scholar at all.
In contrast to him, Yan Mingshu remained completely calm.
Once you leave the academy, you get used to what you see.
Yan Mingshu walked past the crowd and went straight to the center of the courtyard.
Some guards tried to step forward to stop him, but without exception, they were all stunned by Han Yan.
"Who are you?"
Just then, Zhang Ziqiang, who was in the main seat, noticed Yan Mingshu.
He held the woman in his arms, his eyes blurry with drunkenness as he looked at Yan Mingshu.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Yan Mingshu."
Acting Governor of Yunzhou, Zhenwu Commandery!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com