Chapter 631: The Merchant’s Intervention (Part 1)
Early the next morning, Li Qing’an went to the Ministry of State Affairs in the Imperial City to find Zhang Gao and asked him to take charge of Anxi. He had expected some persuasion, but to his surprise, Zhang Gao agreed readily, saying he was willing to go to Anxi. Overjoyed, Li Qing’an talked with him for over an hour before they ended the conversation happily. He then went to the Secretariat to meet Zhang Yun to discuss the details of Zhang Gao’s transfer to Anxi.
Li Qing’an spent the entire morning busy, and it wasn’t until near noon that he left the Daming Palace. As soon as he reached the Danfeng Gate, a bodyguard stepped forward and reported, “General, someone is waiting for you outside the Danfeng Gate—already for over an hour.”
One hour was equivalent to two hours in later times. Someone had waited for him for over two hours—undoubtedly a long wait.
“Where is he?”
The bodyguard pointed to a carriage in the distance and whispered a few words to Li Qing’an. Li Qing’an was momentarily stunned before nodding and saying, “Go and take a look!”
Li Qing’an’s carriage rushed forward and gradually came to a stop dozens of steps away from the opposing carriage. Hundreds of elite cavalry formed a protective barrier on either side, watching the other carriage warily.
The door of the opposing carriage opened, and a charming woman stepped out—none other than the persistent Yang Huahua. She walked forward with grace, bowed deeply to Li Qing’an’s carriage, and said, “Huahua pays her respects to Prince Zhao!”
Li Qing’an also got out of his carriage. Seeing her heavily made-up face and enchanting smile, he could smell her strong perfume from afar. There was no trace of her usual simple elegance or her sad appearance after being beaten before.
Li Qing’an had heard that she did business in Hebei and Hedong and had won An Lushan’s favor. Her merchant caravans were the only ones able to travel freely throughout Hebei, allowing her to reap huge profits from the war.
Smiling, Li Qing’an asked, “How come you’re in Chang’an?”
“Prince Zhao, I’ve come especially for you to deliver a generous gift.”
Hearing her address him as Prince Zhao instead of “Seventh Young Master” as before, Li Qing’an knew she had overcome her reservations. He nodded and smiled, asking, “What gift?”
Yang Huahua’s eyes sparkled as she replied with a smile, “It can’t be explained in just a few words. It’s almost noon. How about I invite you for lunch? We can talk while eating. I assure you it’s the gift that will interest you the most.”
“Alright! Follow me.”
Li Qing’an got back into his carriage and ordered, “Go to Shuxiang Tower!”
Shuxiang Lou is a tavern located in Chongren Fang. It opened this year and is operated by his father-in-law, Dugu Haoran. The tavern is quite large, covering eight mu of land, and consists of two five-story buildings, making it one of the top ten taverns in Chang’an.
The two buildings are called Zhuangyuan Lou and Xiangguo Ju. This is mainly because Chongren Fang has a strong cultural atmosphere; the Imperial Academy is located here. Tens of thousands of scholars come to the capital to take the exams every year, almost all of them gathering in Pingkang Fang and Chongren Fang. Additionally, there are many provincial offices in Chongren Fang. Clearly, Shuxiang Lou aims to make money from scholars and officials from other regions. Of course, court officials also want to show respect to the Dugu family and often come here to dine.
It is now the warm month of March, and Chang’an will hold the imperial examinations next month. This is the first provincial examination held after a two-year hiatus, so it attracts great attention. Tens of thousands of scholars from all over the country fill Chang’an City, and young people in a hurry can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of Chongren Fang.
Interestingly, the Southern Tang dynasty in Chengdu will also hold provincial examinations next month, but only about twenty thousand scholars will go there, while the number of scholars in Chang’an is said to exceed one hundred and fifty thousand. This shows the rise and fall of the two Tang dynasties. People have their own judgments. Since the Northern Tang army swept through the south and suppressed An Lushan’s rebellion in Hebei, Chang’an has become the preferred place for people’s hearts.
Li Qing’an’s carriage slowly stopped at the back door of the tavern. It was noon, and officials were coming out to eat. It was easy to encounter officials who came to drink during the noon break. Although Li Qing’an was at ease, if he were seen with the infamous former Lady of Guo State, there would surely be a lot of gossip in the court that afternoon, and his reputation would be somewhat affected. So Li Qing’an stayed low-key and entered the tavern through the back door.
Not long after Li Qing’an entered the tavern, Yang Huahua’s carriage stopped at the front door. The tavern owner, who had been instructed in advance, immediately went up to her and said, “Madam, please follow me!”
Yang Huahua nodded and whispered a few words to her attendants before following the owner upstairs. Although the Yang family had fallen into decline years ago, Yang Huahua’s appearance still caused a stir at Shuxiang Lou. Many officials dining there recognized the Lady of Guo State; some had even been her lovers. As Yang Huahua went upstairs, many people came out to greet her.
“Madam, you still look stunning!”
“Madam, are you married? Who is your husband?”
“So you weren’t killed by the sword after all!”
…
Some praised her, some mocked her, and some teased her, but Yang Huahua wasn’t annoyed at all. With a smiling face, she greeted each person one by one, “So it’s Doctor Zhang. The Flower Record Shop in the East Market is mine—feel free to deposit money there.”
“Viceroy Li has praised me, but I’m already old.”
“Lord Ma, I’m still unmarried. If you don’t mind, I’d be willing to marry you.”
……
Yang Huahua remained calm and smiling as she walked up to the fifth floor, where there were no customers and it was very quiet. Only then did her smile slowly fade. Turning around, she spat and said, “I live better than any of you!”
The shopkeeper secretly smiled bitterly and led Yang Huahua to the innermost room. Eight burly men stood at the door, all with sharp eyes and exceptional martial skills.
“Madam, please come in! His Highness is waiting for you inside.”
After a pause, the shopkeeper added, “When you go down later, madam, you can tell me first, and I’ll lead you through a secret passage.”
“No need. I’ll walk out openly.”
With that, Yang Huahua quickly entered the room. It was a suite of two rooms—inside and outside—used exclusively by Li Qing’an as a dining area. It was highly secret; aside from Dugu Haoran and the head shopkeeper, no one else knew about it. There was also an inner room. Outside the outer room’s door stood eighteen of Li Qing’an’s trusted bodyguards, even more muscular than the eight outside. One of the bodyguards opened the door to the inner room and said, “Madam, please!”
Two female bodyguards took Yang Huahua to the side room for inspection. Li Qing’an’s security was extremely strict—this was not up to Li Qing’an’s own decision but a decision by the government. Officials below the third rank had to undergo thorough searches when meeting him, let alone Yang Huahua, who had come from Hebei.
Helpless, Yang Huahua was searched carefully by the two female bodyguards, even inside her hair. All her personal items had to be taken out and placed on a golden tray, to be temporarily kept by the female bodyguards and returned to her when she left. Even her gold hairpin was taken off.
“Madam, I’m sorry. Please come in!”
The two female bodyguards led Yang Huahua into the dining room, where two beautiful maids served her. Four personal bodyguards stood in a row by the window with their hands behind their backs. The curtains were drawn, making the room somewhat dim.
Li Qing’an was standing with his hands behind his back, admiring a calligraphy piece on the wall. It was written by Du Gu Haoran himself, with the words “Indifferent to an official career” inscribed on it. Since Li Qing’an took charge, Du Gu Haoran had held positions in the Eastern Palace. Last year, he was promoted to Guest of the Crown Prince, a high-ranking but honorary position with no real power. After being impeached by Pei Zunqing, he nearly lost even that honorary role. After Pei Zunqing’s death, he became disheartened, realizing that Li Qing’an would not reuse him. So he resigned from his position as Guest of the Crown Prince and accepted an honorary role as Tutor to the Crown Prince before retiring honorably. Earlier this year, he borrowed 10,000 guan from his daughter Du Gu Mingyue to invest in this tea house. Since his career was not going well, he turned his attention to making money and enjoying life.
“Your Highness, the Prince of Zhao, it’s really difficult to have a meal with you!”
A helpless, bitter laugh came from behind him. Li Qing’an turned around and saw that her makeup was a bit messy, lacking the striking elegance he had seen before. He smiled slightly and said, “Fortunately, you’re a woman; otherwise, the merchants from Hebei would never have been able to meet me.”
“Is that so? Then I’m quite lucky.”
“More or less! Please, sit down.”
Yang Huahua sat down. She took out a gold mirror adorned with jewels and carefully retouched her makeup with an eyebrow pencil. She raised her beautiful eyes and smiled at Li Qing’an, asking, “Do you like my makeup?”
Li Qing’an smiled faintly and said, “Whether I like it or not doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you like it.”
“Sigh! As I get older, time spares no one. I can only rely on makeup to wear a mask.”
Yang Huahua put away the eyebrow pencil and mirror and sighed deeply. “Without a man to rely on, a woman ages quickly. I really regret it now. If only I had married someone earlier—then I wouldn’t have to endure all this hardship.”
Li Qing’an poured her a glass of wine and said with a smile, “But I think you’re willing to work so hard. Isn’t that right?”
Yang Huahua picked up her glass, her eyes curved into smiles. “You really know me well. You guessed right—there’s no way to hide anything from you.”
She drank the wine in one gulp and said thoughtfully, “The official world is for men. I can’t compete with them, so I do business to make money. What’s a husband? What’s a man? They’re all nonsense. Only money is reliable.”
Yang Huahua let go of the past. Li Qing’an became somewhat interested in her and smiled, saying, “Tell me, what kind of business do you do in Hebei?”
Yang Huahua poured herself another cup of wine, raised her eyebrows with a smile, and said, “Don’t try to trick me. I know that selling grain, pig iron, or any military supplies will get you executed if caught, so I don’t do those things. I sell salt and jewelry. Is that good enough now?”
Li Qing’an shook his head and said, “I think these are just cover-ups!”
Yang Huahua smirked and gave a thumbs-up. “You’re really sharp! You can’t fool me.”
She lowered her voice and said to Li Qing’an, “To be honest, I actually deal in gold and silver, profiting from the price difference between them and copper coins. I can exchange one silver dollar for two guan in Hebei Province, then take those two guan to Taiyuan where they’re worth two silver dollars again. I make ten thousand guan per trip—am I not amazing?”