The unspoken conversation in the inn's lobby, where people dared not speak out, pierced Xiao Che's heart like a sharp thorn.
The leisure and comfort that the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan brought was instantly gone.
That evening, the Gao family sent a more formal invitation, urging "Master Xiao" to grace them with his presence at the banquet.
However, this gold-embossed invitation, which once represented "opportunity" and "connections," now seemed incredibly glaring to Xiao Che, as if it were stained with the blood and sweat of ordinary people.
"Should we... still go?" Lin Wanwan asked in a low voice, looking at Xiao Che's gloomy face.
“Go, why not go?” A cold smile curled at the corner of Xiao Che’s lips. “I would very much like to see with my own eyes just how ‘elegant’ this Salt Commissioner’s birthday banquet will be.”
That being said, the next day, Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan did not go to the Gao residence for the banquet as agreed.
They got up very early, changed into more inconspicuous coarse cloth clothes, disguised themselves as the most ordinary small merchants, and then left Wanghu Tower quietly.
The place they were going to was not the Gao residence, but the largest salt market in Suzhou.
Suzhou Salt Market is located beside the canal wharf in the south of the city. It is the distribution center of the salt industry in the entire Jiangnan region. Every day, it is bustling with activity, with countless salt boats docking here and countless salt merchants trading here.
However, when Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan stepped into the salt market, they keenly sensed something was amiss.
Logically, such a bustling market should be filled with the noise and energy of bargaining. But the atmosphere here was unusually oppressive.
Most salt shops were deserted, with the shop assistants leaning listlessly against the door. But the few large salt shops that were bustling with customers all had signs with the same character "高" (gao, meaning high/expensive).
The entire salt market seemed to be firmly controlled by this word "high".
The two exchanged a glance, and both understood what was going on.
Instead of going to the deserted salt shops, they went into a small teahouse a little further from the salt market. Inside, many salt merchants sat sighing and lamenting, clearly having suffered from poor business and seeking solace in alcohol.
Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan found a corner to sit down and ordered two bowls of coarse tea.
"Gentlemen, you look unfamiliar. Are you also here in Suzhou to do salt business?" A middle-aged merchant with a worried look at the next table took the initiative to speak.
Following the pre-arranged script, Xiao Che sighed and replied with a worried expression, "That's right! My brother and I brought some furs from the north, intending to exchange them for salt to take back and make a profit. Who would have thought that the price of salt in Suzhou is even higher than in the north! How... how can we do business like this?"
His words immediately resonated with several small salt merchants in the vicinity.
"Sigh! Don't even mention it!" The middle-aged merchant slapped his thigh, his face full of indignation. "You two are from out of town, you don't know! Nowadays, salt in Jiangnan is something that small businesses like ours can no longer afford to touch!"
"Oh? What do you mean?" Lin Wan-wan asked, her curiosity perfectly timed.
The middle-aged merchant took a swig of his wine, lowered his voice, and began to complain bitterly: "What else can I say? The Gao family has monopolized all the salt permits in Suzhou!"
"Salt permits?" Xiao Che feigned ignorance.
“It’s a salt trading permit!” Another salt merchant chimed in, indignantly explaining, “Trading salt without a permit is a capital offense! Before, we could buy some permits fairly from the government. But ever since Gao Dechang became the salt commissioner three years ago, all the permits have fallen into the hands of his own family!”
"The Gao family, relying on their relationship with the salt commissioner, owns more than a dozen large salt shops! We small salt merchants can only buy salt from the Gao family's salt shops at high prices and earn a meager living through hard work if we want to do business!"
At this point, the middle-aged merchant became even more furious: "That's not all! What's most hateful is that the Gao family also forcibly added an extra 'refined tax' on top of the salt price stipulated by the imperial court!"
"A donation for refined taste?"
This word echoed the "writing fee" they had heard at the inn yesterday, causing both Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan's hearts to sink.
"Yes! It's the 'refined donation'!" The middle-aged merchant sneered, his tone full of sarcasm. "They call it 'supporting the literary style of Jiangnan'! They say that their 'handsome young master,' who is extremely talented, often holds literary gatherings and banquets for famous scholars, which costs a lot. They need us merchants to do our part for the 'refined style' of Jiangnan!"
"Pah!" Another salt merchant spat on the ground. "I think it's just doing their part for the Gao family's 'treasury'! Of that money, 80% went into the Gao family's own private coffers! And the remaining 20% was taken by them to pay tribute to that Salt Commissioner Gao!"
"That's right! After we pay this 'refined tax,' the price of salt naturally skyrockets. In the end, isn't all of this money passed on to ordinary people? Now, ordinary families in Suzhou can hardly afford salt!"
Inside the teahouse, a group of small salt merchants were filled with righteous indignation and grumbled their complaints.
The "jade-faced gentleman" they had praised to the skies by the literati of Jiangnan had now become a bully who abused his power and exploited the people.
The "Jiangnan Literary Gathering," which was widely praised, completely tore off its "refined" mask, revealing the "dirty" truth of collusion between officials and businessmen behind it.
These parasites who plunder the people's wealth and line their own pockets have been given a very vivid nickname by the people in private—"Salt rats"!
Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan listened quietly without interrupting.
But their faces were already as cold as ice.
Xiao Che's knuckles turned slightly white from the force he used to hold the teacup.
He finally understands completely now.
Why was Young Master Gao so enthusiastic upon meeting this "wealthy merchant from the capital," promising to help him and inviting him to a banquet?
That's not about making friends; it's about finding new and bigger "sugar daddies"!
He understood even more clearly what his poem, which had amazed and dominated the entire audience at that so-called "literary gathering" the previous night, meant.
He, Xiao Che, the emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty, actually used his talent to personally stand up for these "salt rats" who exploited the people, right in front of everyone!
He became their facade of "refinement," their most glamorous signboard for accumulating wealth!
A huge, indescribable feeling of nausea instantly surged into his heart!
He felt that his magnificent poem had been tarnished!
It's been completely filthy by these filthy "rats"!
Lin Wanwan looked at his extremely ugly face and sighed inwardly.
She looked up and clearly saw that above the head of her emperor, who had a severe case of "mental fastidiousness," floated an emoji filled with disgust and anger—
A cartoon version of him is holding a rag, frantically wiping a piece of paper with poems written on it, as if trying to remove all the stains. Next to him is a line of large characters:
[You've soiled my poem! .gif]
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