The Crybaby Prince is Reborn, Where is the Prince Going?

Chapter 159 Entering the City

The line to enter the city was very long, but since no one was causing trouble, there was no need to wait any longer.

But when it was Jinyou and his group's turn, they were stopped.

Liu Ya was already angry. He finally met a young lady, but she ran away right under his nose.

But what else could he do? Although he knew that the young man had no relationship with the young lady, it would be shameful to snatch her away by force.

Liu Yazhi cursed his bad luck in his heart, and he didn't even look happy with anyone who paid to enter the city.

When he suddenly saw such a team of escorts, didn’t they look like a huge and invincible fat sheep in his eyes?

If you dare to take the road from Guangling Prefecture, you will have to pay a price!

Liu Ya thought about it and ordered his men to surround the thirty or so people with great fanfare.

Cen Ye stood beside Jin You, his hand on the hilt of the knife, on guard.

Liu Ya thought Cen Ye was the leader of the group, so he walked up to him arrogantly, as if he wanted to stick his chin up to the sky.

Clearing his throat, Liu Ya said, "Where are you guys from? Should I give you a heads up?"

This was a test. Some escort agencies cooperated with the government, and if a family was harmed, it would be bad. But if it was a nobody with no backing, he would be punished.

"We are escorting some goods from Danzhou to Qingzhou, and we only want to stay in Guangling Prefecture for a while to rest and recover."

As soon as Cen Ye said this, Liu Ya showed an expression of "as expected".

He has no backing and has to travel a long way, but there is a lot of goods and plenty of profit, which will allow him to make a fortune!

Liu Ya said, "Okay. To enter the city, you must first pay 200 taels of commercial tax, 200 taels of tolls, 100 taels of carriage tax, and 6 taels of head tax per person..." He roughly counted the group and found there were about 30 or 40 people. "There are so many of you that I'm too lazy to count. The price is 200 taels for both people and horses. If you want to enter the city, you can pay 700 taels."

"Seven hundred taels?" Cen Ye frowned.

"Yes, not one ounce more or less, exactly seven hundred ounces."

"How come I didn't know there were these rules for escorting into the city? What's the difference between you and robbers?" Cen Ye snorted coldly, "Qingquan County didn't confiscate so much!"

"Qingquan County?" Liu Ya sneered. "That's nothing! Don't you see who my brother-in-law is? If you pay up, I'll put in a good word for you in front of my brother-in-law. I might even introduce you to some business with the prefect... But if you don't, I'll send you to see the prefect right now!"

Cen Ye took a step forward, but Jin You gently pulled the hem of his clothes. He restrained his momentum, took out the purse from his arms, and shook it up and down in his palm.

"Seven hundred taels is too much. The boss only gave us three hundred taels for travel expenses. This is all we have. We don't have more."

Liu Ya frowned, "Why is it only this little?" Did he make a mistake in judgment? These were not fat sheep but a group of poor ghosts?

Suddenly he felt disgusted: "Three hundred is three hundred, and I can pay the rest before I leave."

"Okay, okay, thank you, sir."

Liu Ya’s idea was simple. Since everyone was in Guangling Prefecture and couldn’t fly, he could just send someone to monitor them.

After receiving three hundred taels of silver, the group was allowed into the city.

Liu Ya shook the purse, which was quite heavy. There were small change and banknotes in it, so it was a profit anyway.

Three hundred taels is enough to go to the music hall and drink wine!

. . .

Guangling Prefecture is located in the south-central part of the country. Logically speaking, this city is not prosperous. At least when the previous prefect was in office, he had never heard of the prosperity of Guangling Prefecture.

But at this moment, Jinyou suddenly had a certain understanding of the extravagant life.

Walking along the main road, you will see a five-story restaurant next to the Chan Music House. A beautiful woman with a slender waist is leaning on the railing under the red lanterns. She is graceful in red pillars, pink clothes and light gauze. People passing by are all sighing and stopping to praise her.

Jinyou lowered the curtain and frowned.

No city would build such a large brothel on the main road. Once the emperor knew about it, the prefect or governor would lose their official hats.

But it seems that this place was not built recently, and it has not been heard by Emperor Xuan, so I am afraid it must have some support.

It goes without saying who is behind this.

Xiao Yunzhen fell asleep and woke up again. He didn't know if it was because winter was approaching, but the little girl was always sleepy and couldn't be woken up no matter how he called her. The time she stayed awake was getting shorter and shorter.

[Wow~ This sleep was so comfortable! Jinyou, where are we? ]

Jinyou put the map down and responded, "I'm going into the city and planning to rent a small courtyard to stay in."

[Okay, Jin Chengyang is in Guangling Prefecture, so there's nothing wrong with him staying here.]

Jinyou hummed and asked him, "What do you know about Dingyuan Hou?"

[Marquis Dingyuan?] Xiao Yunzhen pondered this and dug deep into his memory, but it seemed he had no memory of this person.

Unexpectedly, I have no memory of his deeds. Dingyuan Hou was a marquis of the previous dynasty. He had three sons and two daughters. His legitimate son, Jin Jinjue, was the top scorer in the imperial examination in October of the fifth year of Xuanwu. He was canonized as the crown prince and entered the Hanlin Academy. He also had a nephew, Jin Chengyang, who served in Lizhou for five years before returning to Beijing to serve as an official, first as Tongzhengshi and later as Zhanshi of the Zhanshi Palace.

"Zhanshi of the Zhanshi Mansion..." Jinyou seemed to be thinking, "Are you saying that Marquis Dingyuan is Xiao Mingli's man?"

Xiao Yunzhen explained: "No, Jin Chengyang doesn't represent the Marquisate, but I suspect Marquis Dingyuan was behind Jin Chengyang's appointment as Crown Prince's Secretary. In fact, another point is that Jin Jinjue didn't join the Crown Prince's faction, but instead supported Fourth Brother. I suspect Marquis Dingyuan is betting on both sides, so even if Third Brother becomes Crown Prince, he won't lose out."

Jinyou recalled: "It will take at least five years for Xiao Mingli to become the crown prince, right?"

Xiao Yunzhen was silent for a moment, then asked him, "Do you think the old emperor can live for another five years?"

Now it was Jinyou's turn to remain silent. He really didn't know.

Emperor Xuan is currently indulging in beauty, and his body, gradually being hollowed out by alcohol, sex, and poisonous insects, might suddenly die in just three to five years...

If there is no crown prince by then, I'm afraid there will be a fight for the throne.

Jinyou sighed. The timeline was indeed advanced, and Xiao Yunzhen's memories of his previous life were completely useless.

"Forget it." Jinyou said, "At worst, we can just let Xiao Mingli be emperor for a few years."

Three to five years is too short a time for Xiao Yunzhen to grow up. Even if all the royal bloodlines are slaughtered, there is no way to guarantee that the next "Regent" will not appear.

They don't have much time left, but if they follow the so-called historical process, leaving everything to fate is not Jinyou's style.

At least this trip to Lizhou will not make Jin Chengyang the future Prince's Secretary.

The carriage swayed as it passed a street. Suddenly, Cen Ye knocked on the wall, lightly, heavily, lightly...

Jinyou calmed down, someone was following him.

He lifted the curtain and whispered, "Let's find a broker to rent a three-story courtyard. Don't worry about them. Just follow them if you like."

"Okay." Cen Ye responded, and the group first found a restaurant that was not too busy to have dinner, and then Cen Ye arranged for the two to find a broker to rent a house.

The restaurant is not big, with only two floors. There are only five or six tables on the first floor. It is lunchtime, but the restaurant has no business.

The waiter was lying on the table, and I didn't know whether it was the shopkeeper or the accountant who was lying on the counter, fiddling with an abacus.

Suddenly, the man felt a darkness above his head, and the best sunlight was blocked by someone.

He looked up and saw a fierce-looking burly man followed by several burly men. He then looked outside the door and saw another group of men. They were not as strong as these men, but they didn't look easy to mess with either.

The shopkeeper instantly jumped up from the counter with a flattering smile on his face: "Sir, are you staying overnight or just for a meal?"

Without saying a word, several people made way for them. Jin You came forward holding Xiao Yunzhen, followed by his wet nurse Liu Gui and Cen Ye.

Jinyou said, "I'll just eat, not stay in the hotel."

The shopkeeper's face was full of smiles. After so many days, the people who came here were finally not looking for trouble, but people who really wanted to eat!

The happy shopkeeper slapped the waiter to wake him up, and asked him to help serve him, wiping the table and serving tea.

"Sir, please wait a moment. The restaurant hasn't started cooking yet. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a long time." The shopkeeper felt a little embarrassed. The restaurant had no business at all. Several head chefs had left. Seeing that the restaurant was about to close, he naturally didn't start cooking.

He just didn't expect that there would be people who didn't go out to dine there, but instead came to his small restaurant to eat, and there were so many people!

Jinyou said, "That's fine. Just cook for thirty people. It doesn't matter if it's a little later. Just make sure the portions are sufficient. They're all big eaters... Money isn't a problem."

The shopkeeper smiled knowingly and patted his chest, "Everyone knows that our restaurant serves generous portions, so rest assured, sir! Warm up with some hot tea first, and I'll do it right away!"

The group sat down one by one, filling up just a few tables.

Jinyou patted Xiao Yunzhen. The child was a little drowsy again. He didn't want him to sleep any longer for fear of hurting Xiao Yunzhen's body, so he called Qingfei over.

"Uncle Fei."

Qing Fei's wandering thoughts were so distracted by this voice that his scalp went numb. It took him a long time to realize that the person was calling him.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Jinyou pointed at Xiao Yunzhen and said, "He's been having trouble sleeping lately. I'm afraid there's something wrong with his health."

Xiao Yunzhen refuted him in a daze.

[I'm not sick, I just feel very sleepy and want to sleep.]

Qing Fei raised an eyebrow: "It's normal for children to be a little sleepy."

Although he said that everything was normal, his body was still honest. He walked to Jinyou and squatted to take Xiao Yunzhen's pulse.

After a while, Qing Fei said, "She's very healthy, there's nothing wrong with her. I told you it's normal for children to be sleepy. A baby this young would be tired after running so far with you."

Xiao Yunzhen is healthy, so Jinyou is relieved.

He thanked Qing Fei: "Thank you, Uncle Fei, I'm glad he's okay."

Qing Fei curled her lips: "Hearing you call me uncle, I feel uncomfortable all over. You called me old all of a sudden."

[I’m old to begin with.] Xiao Yunzhen thought.

Jinyou grinned. Fortunately, Qingfei couldn't hear Xiao Yunzhen's thoughts, otherwise she would have made a fuss.

Qing Fei returned to his seat and continued to wander in the sky.

Ever since the group approached Guangling Prefecture, the brothers Qing Fei and Pei Qingfan have been in a bad mood.

Pei Qingfan wanted Ge Pumu to follow him and make him laugh, but Qingfei didn't talk to anyone at all. He just focused on fiddling with the various herbs he brought.

Not only Jinyou could tell that something was wrong with Qingfei, but everyone who followed them also noticed it, but no one took the initiative to ask.

Jinyou summarized this emotion as - homesickness.

...

The shopkeeper said it was slow, and it really was slow.

The two tooth seekers returned with the key, tag, and deed, but the food had not yet been served.

After waiting for another stick of incense, the food was served.

There are ten dishes on each table, including meat and vegetables, as well as hot wine.

The shopkeeper was indeed not lying. The portions were huge, and each plate was as big as Xiao Yunzhen's two faces...

"The dishes are ready, please enjoy your meal, sir. If there are not enough, the kitchen has more." Some people were not familiar with the cooking and did not control the quantity well, so they made a little too much.

"Okay, please. Eat more. You're tired after so many days."

At Jinyou's command, everyone started to eat.

The shopkeeper was surprised for a moment, he didn't expect that the group was led by a child, but he didn't think much about it. After all, the young masters of rich families also traveled in such a grand manner.

But as he was calculating and looking at the group of people, he felt more and more puzzled.

It's so cold today, no one can resist the charm of hot wine.

But in this group of people, there were people at every table who did not drink, and even those who did drink only had two small cups and would not touch the wine cup again after warming themselves up.

'This group of people are quite influential!' the shopkeeper thought.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that the guards in the palace wanted to drink, but there were secret guards and shadow guards sitting next to them who never drank. If they drank more, wouldn't it seem like they were greedy drinkers?

Moreover, they did not dare to act rashly in front of the two guards. The two guards were too powerful. Even if they were just sitting next to them and did not release any murderous intent, they could still make them feel pressured.

It’s not that I don’t want to drink, but I simply don’t dare.

The meal was eaten in complete silence.

The existence of the thirty people seemed to be non-existent.

The waiter will only be called when adding more rice or dishes to confirm that these are real people and not ghosts.

The shopkeeper didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the group left. He always felt that someone was staring at him with ill intentions.

He was right. Cen Ye, who had just finished paying the bill, approached Jin You and whispered, "Master, I suspect there's something fishy about the hotel owner."

"What's wrong?" Jinyou asked.

"He's always stealing glances."

Others chimed in: "Well, it's weird to glance at it every now and then."

"Master, do you want to..."

"No." Jinyou held his forehead helplessly: "Maybe he is just curious. No problem, let's go to the house."

Jinyou sometimes suspected that the three guards of the palace had stayed in the capital for too long, and were exposed to nothing but killing and evil, causing them to forget even the most basic human feelings and popularity.

There was no business in this small restaurant, and it was obvious that the business had been taken away by the magnificent big restaurant. So many people suddenly came at this time, and they should be curious.

It's good to be vigilant, but killing someone just because they looked at you a few more times...isn't that a bit unreasonable?

Jinyou did not explain. They just lacked some emotions that were useless to them. Perhaps one day, because of certain things, they would gradually develop human emotions.

There was no conversation along the way. The group arrived at a large house with three courtyards. After putting their things in place, they found an empty room to use as a study temporarily.

Jin You called a few people to discuss the next plan. After two quarters of an hour, the group dispersed, and then all kinds of people appeared on the streets of Guangling Prefecture.

At the same time, Si Tong, who was with the young woman, was being pointed at and scolded by the young woman.

"Can you please stop following me? I'm very grateful that you helped me out, but please don't follow me anymore! I don't know you, and you don't know me! What's the point of following me?"

Si Tong touched his nose, avoided the young woman's gaze, and lied casually: "I like children... The one you are holding is very good..."

When the young woman heard this, she stuffed the child into Si Tong's arms and said, "I don't want it anymore. If you want, take the child away. Go quickly and don't follow me!"

Si Tong:? ? ?

The little woman is gone? She just left her child behind and left like that???

Leaving Si Tong holding a child in his arms, disheveled in the wind...