Half a month later, outside Yuzhou Prefecture.
The signboard of Drunken Immortal Tavern gleamed blindingly under the midday sun. Inside and outside the building, crowds of people bustled about, making it difficult to find even a spot to stand.
What wafted in the air was not the aroma of wine, but the stench of money.
There was also an intoxicating excitement; the reflection of gleaming copper coins could be seen in the depths of everyone's eyes.
On the official road outside the window, carriages and horses formed a long, dragon-like procession, kicking up dust that obscured half the sky.
"Make way! Make way! My master's carriage passes first!"
"Bullshit! My master rushed all the way here from Jiangnan! If you delay our entry into the city, can you afford to pay for it?"
The sounds of arguing, horse hooves, and the creaking of carriage wheels rolling over stone slabs mixed into a chaotic mess.
These people were all heading for Taoyuan County.
In a corner by the window on the second floor of Drunken Immortal Tavern, a man in a moon-white long gown sat upright. His back was ramrod straight, and no matter how noisy his surroundings were, he remained as unmoving as a mountain.
Pei Ji.
He had taken off his conspicuous scarlet official uniform and changed into a plain robe. However, his face was devoid of color, with sharp contours that seemed to keep everyone at arm's length.
His gaze swept over the flushed, wealthy merchants in the tavern who threw their money around like dirt, and his brows furrowed deeply, carving out distinct lines.
"A bunch of greedy opportunists."
The corners of his lips turned down, revealing a silent mockery.
These people had been bewitched by the sleight of hand of Demoness Xu. Every single one of them seemed to have lost their minds, flocking to that dilapidated county town.
Pei Ji picked up his teacup. The tea was already completely cold. He didn't drink it; he merely stared at the tea stalks floating on the surface while his thoughts drifted far away.
The Emperor had sent him to investigate, but what was he investigating?
To investigate whether the so-called divine cement stone was real or fake?
To investigate whether the Glazed Heavenly Palace was a scam?
No.
He was investigating the Third Prince, Xiao Jingyan, and what kind of trap he had set up in Taoyuan County.
Pei Ji put down the teacup and tapped his fingertips lightly against the tabletop twice.
The thing he despised the most in his life was hypocrites who used the guise of pleading for the people to actually line their own pockets.
"Xu Qinghuan..."
He silently recited this name, the corners of his lips curving downward in contempt.
What kind of waves could a merchant's daughter possibly make?
Just then, the steady sound of footsteps came from the stairs.
Pei Ji raised his eyes, his gaze suddenly freezing.
A middle-aged man wearing a dark-cyan silk robe walked up. He had a jade belt tied around his waist and held a folding fan in his hand, dressed in the attire of a wealthy merchant.
But those eyes...
Were too sinister.
Those eyes were overly sharp. Even when smiling, they could not hide the dangerous aura that only appeared when scrutinizing prey.
Yuzhou Prefecture Inspector, originally named Wang Sheng.
He scanned the room, his gaze pausing briefly on Pei Ji before moving away.
"Shopkeeper, are there any empty seats?"
"Oh, Master Wang, you're late! Right now, there's barely even room to stand!" The shopkeeper trotted over, squeezing out an enthusiastic smile on his face. "How about... you share a table with that scholar over there?"
He pointed at Pei Ji.
Mister Wang smiled and nodded, "Then I shall impose on him."
Pei Ji lifted his eyelids expressionlessly, which counted as tacit consent.
Mister Wang sat down, lightly waving his folding fan with a gentle smile. "Is this brother also heading to Taoyuan County?"
"Passing through." Pei Ji cherished his words like gold.
"Oh?" A hint of inquiry appeared in Mister Wang's smile. "What a coincidence. I am also... passing through."
The two exchanged a glance and picked up their respective teacups. Neither spoke another word.
Between the two men, a silent contest had already begun.
Right at that moment, a group of fat-headed, big-eared merchants at the neighboring table suddenly burst into a roar of laughter.
"Hahaha! Lao Zhang, on this trip to Taoyuan County, you must be making at least three to five hundred taels of silver, right?"
"Three to five hundred taels? Who are you looking down on!" The fat merchant called Lao Zhang slapped the table, his spit flying everywhere. "The last time I went, just with one cart of Cleansing Mud, I made eight hundred taels after reselling it! This time I brought three carts of goods, so my profits will at least triple!"
"I heard Miss Xu has released a new product called Ice Box, which can make ice during the dog days of summer!"
"Is that true? In this sweltering heat, ice is more precious than gold!"
"How could it be fake? The neighbor of my cousin's brother-in-law works at the Xu family's mine, and he saw it with his own eyes!"
The finger Pei Ji used to tap the tabletop stopped.
Ice Box?
Making ice during the dog days of summer?
Wasn't this complete nonsense?
He put down his teacup and abruptly spoke, his tone flat and devoid of any fluctuation. "Out of every ten people I've met on this journey, nine of them say they are going to Taoyuan County."
He paused for a moment, making no effort to conceal the doubt in his words. "May I ask you gentlemen, is that place truly as... miraculous as the rumors say?"
As soon as his voice fell, the merchants at the neighboring table turned their heads in unison.
Lao Zhang looked Pei Ji up and down and laughed heartily. "Yo, scholar, you've never been there, have you?"
"If you haven't been to Taoyuan County, then you've truly lived your life in vain!"
"That place is absolutely miraculous!"
The merchants began to preach all at once, talking over each other.
"That cement road is so flat and smooth that it can reflect a person's shadow! You can ride in a carriage all day without your backside hurting!"
"The Glazed Pavilion is incredibly bright! It's even more magnificent than the imperial palace!"
"The workers at the mine eat braised pork every single day, so much that they want to throw up!"
"And there are rules at the city gates. To enter the city, you have to pay a deposit of five hundred copper coins. If you violate the sanitation regulations, you get fined ten taels!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Last time, just because I had mud on the soles of my shoes, I was fined ten taels and even had to wear those wretched straw shoe covers!"
"But I have to say, that place is just spotless! Even the beggars eat roast chicken!"
Every detail was absurdly exaggerated, yet they corroborated each other, making it sound as if there wasn't a single flaw to be found.
The hand with which Mister Wang held his teacup paused in midair for a moment.
He had come to Yuzhou specifically to investigate Li Wencheng's report, which claimed that the Xu family was oppressing the commoners and fishing for fame and compliments.
But now, listening to what these merchants were saying...
Purchase limits?
A fine of ten taels?
Beggars eating roast chicken?
Where was there even the slightest sign of oppressing the commoners?
Could it be that Li Wencheng's report was a false accusation?
Mister Wang's brows twitched imperceptibly, yet the smile on his face didn't diminish in the slightest.
Pei Ji, however, let out a cold sneer.
He picked up his teacup, the corners of his lips turning down in utter disdain. "In my... In this humble scholar's opinion, it's nothing more than tall tales spun by a few hired shills."
As soon as he finished speaking, the clamor at the neighboring table abruptly stopped.
Lao Zhang slapped the table and stood up abruptly. He pulled out a fifty-tael silver ingot and slammed it onto the table with a loud smack.
"Scholar, if you don't believe it, let's make a bet!"
Lao Zhang pointed at the silver ingot, his eyes glaring with a domineering intensity. "If you go to Taoyuan County three days from now and find even half a word of what we said to be false, this silver is yours."
He paused for a moment, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. "But if you find that the place is even more unbelievable than what I described..."
"You have to kowtow three times to Miss Xu's statue in public and shout three times, 'This student has eyes but failed to see!'"
The entire table burst into roaring laughter.
Pei Ji's face turned livid.
Mister Wang looked thoughtfully at the silver ingot, then at Pei Ji.
The two exchanged a glance.
In the next second, both of them stood up together.
"Farewell."
"I am heading to Taoyuan County right now."
The two figures disappeared down the stairs, one after the other.
The shopkeeper was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "There sure are a lot of people these days who love to tempt fate."
Lao Zhang smugly blew on the silver before pocketing it. "Just wait. Once those two get to Taoyuan County, I guarantee they'll drop to their knees faster than anyone."
