Chapter 86: Visitors from Yangzhou

As the New Year approached, Emperor Li Longji issued an order allowing the markets to remain open at night, with the gates closing only at 9:30 p.m. Trade between the eastern and western markets surged significantly, especially at the Tianbao Canal wharf outside Chunming Gate. Ships from various places filled the waterways, with government ships laden with goods such as tea, rice, salt, oil, and more.

Private ships carried local specialties: brocades, mirrors, and bronze wares from Yangzhou; silk robes and embroidered fabrics from Jingkou in Runzhou; bronze wares, silk, Wu silk, and red gauze from Hangzhou; tortoises, pearls, ivory, and agarwood from Guangzhou; famous porcelain, wine vessels, tea kettles, tea pots, and tea cups from Hongzhou; blue-green stones, paper, and rhizoma coptidis from Xuanzhou; as well as three-fragmented glutinous rice and Fangwen silk from Suzhou. Dozens of provinces’ cargo ships gathered in the capital, creating a bustling scene day and night with constant noise and lights.

The wharf was even more crowded, with clerks sent by shops to inspect goods, laborers carrying items, and carts transporting freight—everything in full activity.

At that moment, a fleet of ships from Yangzhou slowly docked, loaded with high-quality tea. A man emerged from the canopy of the second ship. Around forty years old, he wore a green robe, had dark skin, and a sturdy build. Gazing at the dark walls of Chang’an in the distance, he sighed softly, his eyes filled with worry.

The ship gently bumped against the dock and began to shore up. The middle-aged man entered the cabin, picked up his luggage, and stepped ashore with concern. Clearly not a first-time visitor to Chang’an, he quickly found a carriage rental shop. A clerk greeted him warmly, “Sir, would you like to rent a carriage?”

“I’ll rent one.”

Although the man spoke Mandarin, his accent was clearly from Yangzhou. The clerk immediately waved, and a carriage arrived. The man got in and ordered, “To the Eastern Market!”

The carriage set off toward Chunming Gate. Half an hour later, he got off at the Eastern Market. Entering the market, he soon found a bronzeware shop. There were few customers left, as shops were busy preparing goods for the New Year. He slowly approached a bronzeware shop and whispered to the busy owner, “Second brother!”

The owner was startled. Turning around, he saw the middle-aged man and was shocked. “Third brother, how did you come here?”

“Ah! It’s a long story.”

The owner glanced around, pulled him inside, and asked in a low voice, “I heard the authorities are hunting your master. Why exactly?”

……

In front of the Qingwang Palace in Yongfu Fang, several horses rushed in from afar. In the darkness, several men in black jumped off their horses and rushed up the steps. One leader bowed and said, “Please inform the King of Qing that there is urgent news from Yangzhou.”

The gatekeeper did not dare delay and immediately ran inside to report. Moments later, the door opened, and a steward came out, saying to the men in black, “Your Highness orders you to go to the study right away.”

The men in black disappeared through a side door, which closed with a creak. At that moment, a pigeon took off from a nearby roof, circled once, and flew swiftly toward the eastern inner garden.

In the study, King Qing Li Cong asked anxiously as soon as he saw the leader of the men in black, “Is there any news about that salt merchant?”

“Your Highness, after that salt merchant Du Bosheng escaped from prison, we searched everywhere for him. The latest news from Yangzhou is that he has sent someone with a message to the capital. It’s very likely to be his former manager, Yuan Kai.”

“What!” Li Cong flew into a rage. He slammed the table hard and said, “You fools! Why did I keep you? You can’t even catch a mere salt merchant, and now he’s allowed to send people to the capital.”

The men in black knelt in fear and pleaded, “Your Highness, please calm down. Matters in Yangzhou are not under our control. We will do our best to capture the man sent by Du Bosheng in the capital.”

“Hmph! I give you three days. If you can’t catch him, I’ll take your heads. Get out!”

The men in black kowtowed and fled in a hurry. Li Cong was extremely annoyed and punched the table fiercely.

What troubled Li Cong was a major incident in Yangzhou. Lu Huan, the governor of Yangzhou, was part of the crown prince’s faction. Twenty days ago, he received a report that the salt smuggler Du Bosheng had appeared in a brothel in Jiangdu County. He immediately sent nearly a hundred officials to arrest him. After capturing him, Du Bosheng was sentenced to death for selling a large amount of smuggled salt, pending approval from the Ministry of Justice. To save his life, Du Bosheng revealed several major smuggling cases involving the King of Qing. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Lu Huan planned to take Du Bosheng to the capital.

Unexpectedly, the news leaked. Liu Changyun, the transport commissioner of Jianghuai who supported the King of Qing, immediately claimed that Du Bosheng was smuggling salt by boat and that they should handle the case. Naturally, Lu Huan refused, and the two clashed.

On the way to the capital, as Du Bosheng was being escorted, Liu Changyun sent people to intercept him. But during the attempt to seize him, Du Bosheng was rescued by a mysterious group, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Lu Huan and Liu Changyun almost simultaneously submitted complaints against each other, and the matter remains unresolved, seemingly ending on an inconclusive note.

The existence of the salt smuggler Du Bosheng posed a huge threat to Prince Qing Li Cong. To eliminate this danger, Prince Qing spared no effort in sending his own warriors to capture Du Bosheng. Unexpectedly, instead of capturing him, Du Bosheng sent people to the capital. Needless to say, these people must have evidence against him; if it fell into the hands of the Eastern Palace, all of Li Cong’s efforts over the past few years would be in vain. Anxious and restless, Li Cong paced back and forth in his study with his hands behind his back. At that moment, a young man in white entered the study. He bowed and said, “Father, have there been any news from Yangzhou?” Upon seeing the young man, Li Cong quickly waved his hand and said, “Qiu, you’ve come at just the right time. I was about to look for you.” The young man’s name was Li Qiu, the only son of Prince Qing. He was originally the eldest son of the former crown prince Li Ying. After Li Ying was killed in the 25th year of the Kaiyuan era, he was adopted by childless Li Cong. At twenty years old, though young, Li Qiu was sharp, capable, and strategic, and was highly regarded by Prince Qing. Hearing that there was news from Yangzhou, he rushed over immediately. Li Cong sat down and sighed, “We just received news from Yangzhou—Du Bosheng has sent people to the capital.” Li Qiu was stunned. “Has Du Bosheng been captured?” “Not yet. But I heard he sent his trusted men to the capital. I’m very worried he might harm me. I’ve already assigned Zhao Yuanling to handle this, but I’m afraid he might fail.” Li Qiu immediately stood up and said, “Father, let me take charge! I will definitely capture this man.” Li Cong nodded. “That’s exactly what I thought. You handle this, and I’ll have Mr. Yan assist you. You must capture him as soon as possible—under no circumstances should he come into contact with the people of the Eastern Palace.” … In the Eastern Inner Garden, Li Qing’an was sitting by the light, reading a pigeon message. In the Tang Dynasty, pigeons were also called “flying servants” and were already used for sending messages. Ever since Li Linfu told him to keep a close eye on Prince Qing, he had arranged a special team to gather information about Prince Qing, including closely monitoring his residence. He had just received intelligence that mysterious men in black had entered and left Prince Qing’s mansion that night, and he had also faintly heard the words, “Urgent matter from Yangzhou!” Li Qing’an burned the pigeon message in the light. The top priority now was to find out what exactly had happened in Yangzhou. … These days, Yang Zhao’s injury from the stick had gradually healed. Although he had been demoted to the magistrate of Wannian County, he worked tirelessly, handling cases and managing affairs diligently, as if he had become a different person. He earned high praise from the governor of Jingzhao, Xiao Jing, who reported his achievements to the emperor several times.

It all stemmed from a new assistant he had acquired—Linghu Fei, who was from the same hometown as him and had passed the imperial examinations. However, due to his short stature and unattractive appearance, he was rejected by the Ministry of Personnel and failed to enter official service. Half a month ago, recommended by Yang Zhao’s old friend, Xianyu Zhongtong, a wealthy man from Shu, Linghu Fei came to the capital to serve as his assistant. Although he had been in the capital for only a short time, Linghu Fei already had a thorough understanding of the power dynamics in Chang’an. He advised Yang Zhao to keep a low profile, do more and speak less, so as to let the emperor see his abilities.

Yang Zhao agreed wholeheartedly and abandoned his extravagant lifestyle—stopping by gambling houses, giving up alcohol and women, and focusing entirely on government affairs. As the New Year approached, Yang Zhao became even busier. Yet these days, he was in a poor mood because another patrol unit, the Nine Gates Patrol, had been assigned to his territory. Logically, this unit should have helped him maintain order and curb the arrogance of the Jinyiwei, which should have been a good thing. But the problem was that the head of this patrol unit was Li Qing’an. Although Li Qing’an wasn’t exactly his archenemy, he still annoyed Yang Zhao greatly. Damn it! How dare he steal his women!

Early in the morning, Yang Zhao was in the county office, mindlessly reviewing cases—mostly about chickens stolen from Mrs. Zhang’s house or women being harassed while using the toilet. Nothing serious at all. At that moment, his assistant Linghu Fei entered, carrying a stack of documents.

“County Magistrate Yang, have you heard? In Pingkang Fang, a few Uyghurs harassed local women on the street. The patrol unit beat each of them a hundred times, and one of them died on the spot.”

“Hmph! Even if they’re all killed, it’s none of my business. Let Li Qing’an deal with their bodies.”

“It seems County Magistrate Yang holds a deep grudge against Li Qing’an?”

Linghu Fei set down the documents and smiled. “It’s just two women. Why make an enemy over such a trivial matter?”

Yang Zhao sighed. “It’s not just about those two women. To be honest, even if they were returned to me, I couldn’t take them home. It’s just that this kid has only been in Chang’an for a month and is already so arrogant. It bothers me!”

Linghu Fei smiled slightly. “A tree that stands out in the forest is bound to be uprooted by the wind. Don’t be fooled by his current success; his foundation is weak. Once he becomes complacent, that will be his downfall. So, County Magistrate Yang, there’s no need to take him seriously.”

Yang Zhao nodded lightly. “That’s what I think too. I hope he suffers a big setback.”

At that moment, a court official rushed in and reported, “County Magistrate, the deputy head of the Secretariat has arrived.”

Yang Zhao was surprised. Who could this “deputy head of the Secretariat” be?

Linghu Fei smiled. “It’s Li Qiu, the son of Prince Qing.”