Shen Xinyan had already tested it yesterday—no matter how softly she spoke, A-Man could hear her clearly.
A-Man did not give an answer on the spot, only saying, “Wait for me a moment.”
Clearly, she had gone to gather information.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Xiao Si, who was driving the carriage, asked Shen Xinyan where she wanted to go.
Shen Xinyan had originally thought A-Man would be gone for a long time, but unexpectedly, A-Man suddenly spoke up: “Go to the blacksmith shop in Sandaohutong in the west of the city. First, we need to find you a backer.”
Last night, while Shen Xinyan was asleep, she had taken the opportunity to review all the information she had about Jingcheng. At this point in time for Shen Xinyan, quite a few valuable things were passing through the capital!
Shen Xinyan was slightly taken aback and pretended to be dozing as she whispered, “Why can’t we go to the palace first? What does the blacksmith shop in the west of the city have to do with finding a backer?”
Since last night, she had been unable to let go of the matter concerning Yao Jinfeng. Today, she had originally planned to ask for Yao Jinfeng’s address and directly enter the palace to lodge a complaint with the Emperor. She never expected A-Man to tell her to go to the palace first.
A-Man seemed to be in a rather good mood today and, for once, refrained from sarcasm: “There is something you need there. I know you can’t swallow this grievance and want to directly accuse the Yao family.
But you must understand that, as you are now, you have no capital that others would value, and you rely on the Empress Dowager for survival. If you lodge this complaint, whether it will implicate you depends entirely on the Empress Dowager and the Emperor’s moods.
The best outcome would be to preserve you, but for the rest of your life, you would only be able to accompany the dim light of ancient Buddha statues, wasting your prime years.
It’s often said that without a handful of chaff, you can’t even coax a chicken. If you continue to rely solely on the Empress Dowager’s affection to live, once you encounter the kind of situation I faced before, the Empress Dowager could abandon you at any moment.
Under the vast sky, there is no land that is not the Emperor’s territory; along the shores of the realm, there are no people who are not the Emperor’s subjects. The entire world is the Emperor’s chessboard, and you must become the most useful pawn. Only then can you truly protect yourself.
So what you need to do now is accumulate capital, to the point where even if you make a mistake, the Emperor would be reluctant to move against you. Do you understand?”
Shen Xinyan was herself, and no one in the world understood better than A-Man how high Shen Xinyan’s aspirations were. If she gave up on her own, that would be one thing, but she would never willingly be dragged down by others.
Life was already difficult for women. Since there was this opportunity, A-Man hoped Shen Xinyan could attain the greatest possible freedom from within her constraints.
Shen Xinyan did not refute A-Man’s words, only murmuring, “We’re going to the west of the city…”
The west of the city was inhabited mostly by military households and was much more chaotic than the other three districts.
These people made their living as soldiers, receiving pay while risking their lives, and were rough and unruly by nature, often forming cliques to drink.
To cater to them, the strongest liquor and the most unrestrained establishments in the imperial city were located in the west.
Soldiers, when drunk, were prone to causing trouble, so that area was also the most heavily patrolled.
Anyone caught causing trouble in the west, regardless of rank, would be directly hauled to the yamen and beaten with boards.
However, these people cared little for face and had short memories. After being punished, they would continue drinking and causing trouble.
Over time, outsiders were unwilling to go there, fearing they might suffer unjust harm or tarnish their reputations.
As for the blacksmith shop, it was also different from those in the other three districts. This shop could buy and sell simple weapons like bows, arrows, knives, and swords.
However, there were many restrictions, and buyers had to register their purchases.
Sometimes, when military households ran short of money, they could sell their weapons at the blacksmith’s shop to tide them over. Once their finances improved, they could buy them back.
Now, hearing A-Man tell her to go to that blacksmith’s shop, Shen Xinyan couldn’t help feeling nervous.
After all, she was a Sanpin Gaoming, a third-rank titled lady. How could she possibly go to such a place? If word got out, people would surely gossip.
Though uneasy, Shen Xinyan still told Xiao Si the location and had him take her there.
A-Man disliked Shen Xinyan’s timid demeanor, but considering that Shen Xinyan needed time to grow, she softly comforted her, “Once you leave Yao Fu, you’ll inevitably have to show your face in public. When you live to my age, you’ll understand that face and reputation are far less important than the benefits that end up in your own pocket.”
Then she fell silent again.
The carriage moved along, stopping and starting, while the streets on both sides grew noisy, even filled with shouts and curses.
Though she knew this was Jingcheng and unlikely to descend into chaos, Yingtao still paled slightly at the vulgar, crude curses.
She was a servant born and raised in Ning Guo Gong Fu, and this was her first time coming to such a disorderly place in the western part of the city.
The lanterns hanging from the four corners of the carriage, inscribed with “Zhen Guo Jiang Jun Fu,” swayed back and forth, announcing the occupant’s status and reminding others to make way.
Just then, A-Man suddenly spoke, “I’ve found out. That matter had nothing to do with you. It was Zhao Er’s half-sister, jealous of her legitimate elder sister’s success, who sought out that filthy thing to harm her. The incident won’t come to light until two years later. What a pity that Zhao Er not only lost her innocence but also her life.”
Shen Xinyan’s mood also turned somber. Women already had a harder life in this world than men, yet it was often women who made things most difficult for other women…
To lift her spirits, Shen Xinyan forced herself to sound cheerful, “You gather information very quickly.”
A-Man’s voice carried a tone of indifference, “If I want to, I can uncover any news in Daliang.”
It was a confidence unique to those in high positions. It seemed A-Man was indeed doing well.
After many twists and turns into a narrow alley, Xiao Si stopped the carriage and called from outside, “Er Furen, we’ve arrived at the blacksmith’s shop.”
Knowing she had to face this sooner or later, Shen Xinyan took a deep breath and asked Yingtao to bring her the Mili. The long black veil concealed her face, which eased her mind considerably.
Just as Xiao Si set down the carriage step, Shen Xinyan heard a furious roar, “Damn it, Old Liu, you black-hearted scoundrel! This is my genuine family heirloom weapon. How dare you offer me such a pittance!”
Worried about unnecessary trouble, Shen Xinyan decided not to alight. Instead, she opened the carriage’s small window and looked toward the source of the noise. There, she saw a burly man standing at the entrance of the blacksmith’s shop, red-faced and arguing vehemently with the blacksmith.
Blacksmith Liu also looked helplessly at the man, “Li Datou, you were conscripted into the army after fleeing famine. Back then, you were so poor you only had one pair of pants to your name. Where would you get a family heirloom weapon?”
He himself had once served in the military, even rising to the rank of Baihu.
But after taking an arrow to the knee, he had no choice but to retire from the battlefield. Fortunately, his father-in-law was resourceful and helped him secure the means to open this blacksmith’s shop, where weapons could be bought and sold.
He understood that everyone had it tough, and he was usually willing to do these military households a small favor. On ordinary days, he would trade the weapons in their hands back and forth, earning a meager profit.
After all, they all lived in this area, more or less familiar with each other’s faces, and nothing too troublesome ever came of it.
If someone was short on cash and asked him to hold onto a weapon for a couple more days, he would set it aside separately and later exchange it back for exactly what he had paid.
But that didn’t mean he was a soft persimmon that anyone could squeeze.
Li Datou had moved to Jingcheng for duty half a year ago. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, and he had a fondness for the drink. Whenever he wasn’t on duty, he would wander around in a daze, causing trouble.
Who would have thought that today he would set his sights on him, bringing this Liuxingchui as big as a human head to sell, demanding ten taels of silver in exchange. Was he out of his mind?
Perhaps because he had been exposed, Li Datou grew even more furious: “Even if it’s not a family heirloom, I captured it on the battlefield. Do you know how many of our brothers lost their lives to this thing? It still has blood on it.”