The Chen family in Luozhou is not a wealthy family but is very famous in Luozhou, because the Chen family is one of the few merchants in Luozhou who made a fortune next to officials.

It is said that the ancestral home of the Chen family is in Xizhou, Jiangnan, and the wife of the head of the family, Chen Zhongliang, is the daughter of a local local official in Xizhou, and this small official is also quite capable, and has made political achievements through a crackdown on bandits in Xizhou, and then rose all the way, and now he has gone to Chang'an as an official, and Chen Zhongliang has followed this father-in-law to do business from Jiangnan to Luozhou, and I heard that he has begun to plan to go to Chang'an to develop.

Chen Zhongliang is indeed planning to go to Chang'an.

When Chen Zhongliang was in Xizhou, he opened a cloth village, which was not large, but the money he earned was enough to make him a person with status in the local area, but Chen Zhongliang was self-made, and his family had nothing to rely on, and he could only be a person with status in that small place in Xizhou by his own efforts.

But men always want to do something big, and Chen Zhongliang doesn't want to stay in Xizhou for the rest of his life, so as soon as he learned the news of his father-in-law's promotion, Chen Zhongliang immediately sold the cloth village in Xizhou and followed his father-in-law to Jingzhou first.

When he first arrived in Jingzhou, Chen Zhongliang didn't know what to do in Jingzhou, so he opened a cabinet shop very casually, specializing in helping others save money, and only earn some rent and storage fees.

But what surprised Chen Zhongliang was that the business of this cabinet shop was better than that of the cloth village, and there was no need to work hard, only enough places were prepared to place things to make money easily, and the local government was not very good at making trouble for him, which made Chen Zhongliang moved, so he carefully managed the cabinet shop.

This business is getting more and more prosperous, especially after the alliance with other counterparts in the Tang Kingdom, the business has reached a higher level, and Chen Zhongliang's ambition has also become greater, so in the past few years, whenever his father-in-law is promoted, Chen Zhongliang has to move to a place, and then build a branch, which is moved and moved, and moved to Luozhou.

In Chen's mansion, Chen Zhongliang was thinking about which Chang'an businessmen to visit first after going to Chang'an to get through the relationship, and when he looked up by chance, he saw his doorman running over in a panic.

"Lord, lord, Shu, the king of Shu is here!" The man pointed in the direction of the gate, looking frightened.

Chen Zhongliang's eyes lit up, and he said, "The King of Shu has come to Luozhou?" Where to stay? Go to the storeroom and pick up the most valuable things, I'm going to visit it myself! ”

If you can get the support of the King of Shu, it will be much safer than relying on his father-in-law, and maybe you can do a great career!

"It's not!" The man breathed a sigh of relief, "The King of Shu has come to see the lord, and he is at the gate of the mansion!" Also、And King Wucheng is also here! ”

Chen Zhongliang was stunned at this time.

The King of Shu and the King of Wucheng came to see him? Why? He'd never seen these two before! Could it be that the father-in-law had a connection with the King of Shu and the King of Wucheng? But even so, what did these two princes deign to come to Luozhou to find him for?

There were many doubts in his heart, but Chen Zhongliang didn't dare to delay, tidied up his clothes, and walked out quickly: "I'll go to the door to greet people, you go and inform your wife, let the kitchen prepare wine and food...... Wrong! Go to Momofuku House and book a table! Order the best and let them be delivered right away! ”

"Yes!" Seeing that Chen Zhongliang was so happy, the man felt that something good was about to happen in their house, so he also happily ran to Mrs. Chen and relayed the matter explained by Chen Zhongliang to Mrs. Chen word for word.

Mrs. Chen was also happy when she heard that the two princes were coming.

"These two Buddhas must have been begged by my father! Go, send someone to Baifu Building! Change! I want to change my clothes! Pick out the best clothes for me! ”

I didn't expect her to be able to see the prince in her lifetime, and she was a pair when she saw it, but she was so beautiful!

Mrs. Chen was busy dressing up here, and Chen Zhongliang over there had already seen Pei Ze and Xiao Yanzhi in a wheelchair in front of Chen's mansion.

couldn't tell which was the king of Shu and which was the king of Wucheng, so Chen Zhongliang only knelt down and kowtowed: "Grass people Chen Zhongliang visited the king of Shu and the king of Wucheng." I don't know that the two princes are coming, and they are not welcomed, and they invite the princes to Haihan. ”

Xiao Yanzhi lowered his eyes and looked down at Chen Zhongliang, who was about to put his face on the ground, and said with a gentle smile: "The head of the Chen family is polite, it is this king and his righteous brother Tang Tu who are visiting, I hope it will not disturb the head of the Chen family." ”

"Don't bother, don't bother!" Chen Zhongliang raised his head and looked at Xiao Yanzhi and Pei Ze and smirked, and then realized that he didn't seem to be looking directly, and lowered his head in a panic, this time he really put his face on the ground.

Xiao Yanzhi raised his eyes and looked inside the Chen Mansion, and asked with a smile: "Doesn't the head of the Chen family invite this king in to sit down?" ”

"Please! Yes...... No," Chen Zhongliang got up from the ground and smiled awkwardly, "The two princes, please, the grass people are out of shape." ”

Xiao Yanzhi smiled, glanced up at Pei Ze, and was pushed into the Chen Mansion by Pei Ze, and when he went up the steps, Pei Ze was carried up with a wheelchair.

After letting go of Xiao Yan, Pei Ze complained in a low voice: "I have long said that it is good to have me to hug you, you have to sit on this thing." ”

Xiao Yanzhi pursed his lips and replied in a low voice: "I'm already very imposing when I'm sitting, what does it look like to be held by you?" ”

Pei Ze was silent.

In front of civilians like Chen Zhongliang, they can scare people no matter what they look like, and their identities are there.

But Pei Ze also knew that Xiao Yanzhi didn't feel that the King of Shu was any different from ordinary people from the day he became the King of Shu, if Xiao Yanzhi wanted to suppress people with momentum, it must be his own momentum, not the momentum of the word "King of Shu".

Entering the Chen Mansion, Xiao Yanzhi looked around curiously.

"The Chen family master's house is really exquisitely furnished."

The prosperity of Luozhou is not inferior to Chang'an, many rich businessmen live here, if I remember correctly, Yansheng also has a house here, because it is not at the foot of the imperial city, there is no need to worry about the construction regulations, so the house built in Luozhou will be more luxurious and exquisite than the one in Chang'an City, and although the Chen family's house is not comparable to the palace in terms of scale, the meticulousness of this carved beam painting is definitely not lost to any palace in Chang'an City.

Chen Zhongliang has really made a lot of money over the years.

Chen Zhongliang bent his waist but said proudly: "The King of Shu has won the prize, and the commoner is just a small house." ”

Entering the Chen Mansion House, Xiao Yanzhi looked left and right for a while, then held the teacup and stopped talking.

Pei Ze was originally just here to help Xiao Yanzhi push the wheelchair today, and the affairs of the Chen family had nothing to do with him, so he didn't speak.

This is hard for Chen Zhongliang, looking at Pei Ze and Xiao Yan holding a cup of tea calmly and leisurely, Chen Zhongliang really can't guess what these two people are here to do.

Before Xiao Yanzhi finished drinking this cup of tea, Mrs. Chen, who was dressed in a fancy way, walked out of the backyard, her steps were light and her smile was like a flower.

"The women have seen the two princes." Gracefully, the smile on Mrs. Chen's face is a little more charming than usual.

Glancing at Mrs. Chen, Xiao Yanzhi was still holding the tea bowl as if he hadn't heard what Mrs. Chen said, gently blowing on the tea soup, then taking a sip, meditating for a while, and then picking up the tea bowl and repeating this set of actions.

Mrs. Chen maintained a blessed posture of bending her knees, she didn't hear anyone speak for a long time, she raised her eyes and secretly glanced at Pei Ze and Xiao Yanzhi, but saw that the movements of the two were extremely consistent.

Mrs. Chen frowned suspiciously, and then desperately gave Chen Zhongliang a look.

Chen Zhongliang saw that Mrs. Chen had been squatting for too long and had begun to sway from side to side, so he stubbornly spoke: "Two princes, this is clumsy. ”

Hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi put down the tea bowl and said lukewarmly: "This king is not blind, suddenly there are many people in front of him, and this king naturally sees it." ”

"Ah...... That's right...... Haha......" Chen Zhongliang laughed dryly.

After looking at Mrs. Chen again, Xiao Yanzhi spoke again: "Sit down, always let the master's house stand, but it seems that the king is rude." ”

"Don't dare," Chen Zhongliang shook his head hurriedly, "Grass people...... It's good for the grass people and the clumsy wattles to stand, and it's good to stand. ”

Mrs. Chen also stood up with the support of the maidservant and echoed: "Yes, yes, let's just stand." ”

Seeing people at this time, why does she think that these two princes are not good? Could it be that my father got into trouble in Chang'an City?

felt that the frightened appearance of the couple was very interesting, Xiao Yan said: "This king came today to see someone." ”

"People?" Chen Zhongliang looked puzzled, "Who is it?" If it was someone from Chen's mansion, the grass people would immediately let people bring it to the prince! ”

Xiao Yanzhi laughed and said, "Since this king has come to the Chen Mansion in person, this person is naturally in the Chen Mansion. It is a concubine of the head of the Chen family, and I don't know if it is inconvenient to bring it out for this king to meet. ”

Concubine? Hearing Xiao Yanzhi say this, Chen Zhongliang was even more confused.

There are not many concubines in his house, and there were more when he was in Xizhou, but in the past few years, because of his father-in-law, his wife has either given away or sold the concubine room, and he will not stop him because he wants to please his father-in-law, and now there are about three or five concubines left in his backyard, all of which were earlier than his wife, and now he does not dare to see them all year round.

"I don't know which one the prince is talking about?"

Xiao Yanzhi looked at Chen Zhongliang with a smile and said, "Xiao Chunyue, this king wants to see Xiao Chunyue." ”

When they heard this name, Chen Zhongliang and his wife really didn't remember who it was for a while, there were too many women who had come and gone around Chen Zhongliang over the years, and the same number of women who were sold elsewhere through Mrs. Chen's hands.

Seeing that the couple was confused at the same time, Xiao Yanzhi's heart was on fire, but the smile on his face was even brighter: "What? Is there too many concubines of the Chen family, can't you remember which one it is for a while? ”

"That ......," Madame Chen said stubbornly, "can you please tell the King of Shu in more detail?" ”

"More detail?" Xiao Yanzhi lowered his eyes, "That woman was bought by the head of the Chen family from a hunter family when the Chen family was still in Xizhou, she was only a teenager when she first entered the Chen family, and this matter was also seventeen or eighteen years ago." ”

When Xiao Yanzhi said this, Chen Zhongliang and his wife suddenly remembered a woman, a little girl bought from the countryside, they only felt beautiful when they first met, but in the next few years, they became more and more coquettish, Chen Zhongliang and his wife quarreled for this woman, and Chen Zhongliang really liked that woman at that time, so he protected that woman tightly. Finally, Mrs. Chen's father was promoted, and Chen Zhongliang had to curry favor with Mrs. Chen if he wanted to rely on his father-in-law's power, so Mrs. Chen took the opportunity to sell the woman to the Qinglou.

It's just that I didn't expect that after so many years, someone would still come to find that woman, and it was the King of Shu who came.

Mrs. Chen smiled weakly: "Hey, it's rare for the King of Shu to come to find it in person, it must be someone who is extremely important to the King of Shu, but there is really no such number one person in our house." Why don't the king of Shu go to the backyard with the women to see for himself? ”

"No?" Xiao Yanzhi raised his eyebrows, "This is strange, back then, this king saw her taken away by the Chen family master, and the Chen family owner bought her money, and this king did receive it, why is it not in the Chen Mansion?" ”

Chen Zhongliang swallowed his saliva and said with a dry smile: "You are the King of Shu...... Jokes, right? The grass people bought the girl back in a mountain village in the south of the Yangtze River, how could the king of Shu receive the money? ”

Xiao Yanzhi said coldly: "The head of the Chen family also said that you bought this person, so where is she now?" ”

Hearing Xiao Yanzhi's question, Chen Zhongliang realized that he had lost his words, and Mrs. Chen glanced at Chen Zhongliang with hatred.

Chen Zhongliang could only continue to make up lies: "Because, because of the business relationship, the grass people moved their families several times, and some of the weaker concubines in the palace died of illness on the way, and some good-looking people were taken back by the local powerful people. ”

Xiao Yanzhi raised his eyes to look at Chen Zhongliang again, and sneered: "It seems that the head of the Chen family really didn't recognize this king." It is also said that this king was only an eight-year-old child back then, but now he has grown up and changed, and this king and his sister Xiao Chunyue are not half alike, and it is reasonable that the head of the Chen family can't recognize it. ”

"Sister, sister?" This word frightened Chen Zhongliang and his wife, and they looked at Xiao Yanzhi dumbfounded.

"Yes," Xiao Yanzhi chuckled lightly and said, "It's the only sister of this king in this world, so this king asks again, where is she?" ”

Chen Zhongliang's legs were weak, and he fell to his knees with a plop: "The grass, the grass people really don't know anything...... The concubines of the grass and grass people were all handled by this woman, and only this woman knew where they were sent! ”

Chen Zhongliang pointed at Mrs. Chen and looked at Xiao Yanzhi with a sincere expression.

"You!" I didn't expect Chen Zhongliang to say this, and Mrs. Chen looked at Chen Zhongliang in astonishment.

Chen Zhongliang didn't dare to look at Mrs. Chen, and hung his head after speaking, not daring to take a breath.

"Oh?" Xiao Yanzhi turned his eyes to look at Mrs. Chen, "Then Mrs. Chen, where is she?" Don't tell this king that you don't know, this king is a little impatient now. ”

"That's, that woman is there, that's ...... The prince spares his life! The women really don't know! The women sold the people at the beginning, but the women didn't know what happened after that! Mrs. Chen trembled with fright and fell to her knees crying.

"Sold?" Xiao Yanzhi's face turned cold, and even his voice was much lower, "Where did you sell it?" ”

Mrs. Chen swallowed her saliva and replied in fear: "Sell, sell to Qinglou." ”

"What did you say?!" Hearing this, Chen Zhongliang exclaimed, "Didn't you say that you sold her to a big family?" How could it be a green building?! ”

"I'm ......," Mrs. Chen said as she broke the jar, "if you let you know that slut went to the Qinglou, can you not go to see her?" If you hadn't been hooked by her, would I have been able to sell her to the Qinglou?! ”

"Jealous woman! You jealous woman! Chen Zhongliang looked distressed.

"Stop arguing!" Xiao Yanzhi shouted angrily, so frightened that Chen Zhongliang and his wife immediately shut up, "You said you sold her to the Qinglou?" And what do you think the king should do with you? ”

Mrs. Chen shuddered, and the delicate makeup on her face had long since faded from tears, and it was extremely ugly.

"The prince spares his life! The folk woman really didn't know that she was the prince's sister! Women's ...... The prince spares his life! The prince spares his life! Unable to think of an excuse, Mrs. Chen could only kowtow to Xiao Yanzhi violently, and the sound of "dong dong" shocked Chen Zhongliang, who was kneeling next to him, couldn't stop trembling, but still couldn't make Xiao Yan's heart soften.

Xiao Yanzhi said: "This king has always thought that women hate places like Qinglou very much, and probably no woman would want to go there to experience what it means to be cold and warm in the world, but why can women always send another woman to that kind of place with great interest?" There are other places to choose, so why is it there? Mrs. Chen, why is that? ”

"It's the people's women who are confused, it's the people's women who are carried away by jealousy for a while, and beg the prince to spare her life!"

Chen Zhongliang didn't dare to say a word, let alone intercede for Mrs. Chen, for fear that he would get into trouble.

Xiao Yanzhi chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Mrs. Chen, this king won't take your life, so you don't have to worry." This king is just thinking, since Mrs. Chen will send people to the Qinglou, she must also have a certain complex for the Qinglou, right? Why don't you come to fulfill Mrs. Chen and send Mrs. Chen to see it? ”

I heard that Mrs. Chen, who could save her life, was just relieved when she was stupefied by the second half of Xiao Yanzhi's words.

"Don't ...... No! Mrs. Chen kneeled in front of Xiao Yanzhi and grabbed the hem of Xiao Yanzhi's clothes, "Please don't beg the prince!" You can do whatever you want the women to do, please don't send the women to the Qinglou! ”

"Not going to the Qinglou?" Xiao Yanzhi sneered, "How about sending it to the army to comfort the soldiers?" ”

Mrs. Chen's face turned pale in an instant.

Xiao Yanzhi raised his foot and kicked Mrs. Chen out unceremoniously, once again making Pei Ze affirm that Xiao Yanzhi was really not gentle with people outside his family, and anyone who provoked his family, regardless of gender, would be treated roughly.

Xiao Yanzhi asked Chen Zhongliang again: "What does the head of the Chen family think this king should do with Mrs. Chen?" ”

Hearing this, Chen Zhongliang turned his head to look at Mrs. Chen, who was crying, and looked at it like that for a long time, then suddenly leaned over and kowtowed, and said firmly: "Clumsy Jing is guilty, and it is also the grass people who have no way to discipline them, and the grass people are willing to take the place of Clumsy Jing." ”

Chen Zhongliang's words were completely unexpected by Mrs. Chen, and Mrs. Chen immediately stopped crying and looked at Chen Zhongliang in a daze.

"You guys are affectionate," Xiao Yanzhi gritted his teeth and said, "I think of my sister who has been in the Qinglou for more than ten years, and the more this king sees your affection, the more angry he becomes, what do you say about this?" ”

"The grass people don't know how to forgive their sins, and let the prince do it."

Leave it to his whims? Hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi was a little dazed.

How can he get rid of this couple? No matter how he falls, time can't be reversed, the hardships that my sister has endured will not disappear, even if he sends Mrs. Chen to the Qinglou, he can't offset his sister's offense, how else can he fall?

Pei Ze thought that Xiao Yanzhi would really retaliate with a tooth for a tooth, but after not hearing Xiao Yanzhi's answer for a long time, Pei Ze became suspicious, and when he turned his head, he saw that Xiao Yanzhi's eyes were not angry, nor harsh, but a little confused.

Raising the corners of his mouth, Pei Ze raised his hand and gently knocked twice on the table.

Hearing the two sounds of "knock knock", Xiao Yanzhi turned his head to look at Pei Ze, and when he saw Pei Ze hooking his hand, Xiao Yanzhi leaned over.

Pei Ze leaned into Xiao Yanzhi's ear and whispered, and withdrew after speaking.

After listening to Pei Ze's words, Xiao Yanzhi lowered his eyes and thought about it, and then made a decision when he raised his eyes to look at Chen Zhongliang and his wife, and said in a deep voice: "From today onwards, you and your husband will be demoted to lowly status, and every qiē of the Chen family will be collected and paid into the treasury. ”

Being demoted to lowly status, but with nowhere to go, their future situation may not be better than being sold to a green house.

are also lowly status, the woman who was sold into the Qinglou only needs to do that one thing, although it is said to be a cash cow for people, but it is also raised by people with good food and drink, but like the Chen family and his wife, who directly received the lowly status and went to the street, some will be bought into slavery, and if they meet a master with good conduct, they can live a stable life, but if they are sold into a kiln or meet a despicable and shameless master, then maybe what will become of it.

He can't care about right and wrong, and he can't care about what happens to other women, it's just that his sister has suffered, and he has to let them taste it before he can be willing. He left the couple with a way to live, and the rest were left to fate.

Chen Zhongliang and his wife were stunned for a moment, and then hurriedly kowtowed to thank him.

Only then did Pei Ze call Xu Ren outside the door, and said, "Xu Ren, you can deal with the household registration of the husband and wife, and then notify the people in the household department to collect the house and all the cabinets of the Chen family." ”

"Yes!" Xu Ren clenched his fists and answered loudly before going about it immediately.

Xiao Yanzhi also waved his hand at Chen Zhongliang and his wife, and when the husband and wife saw this, they immediately supported each other and ran away.

When only Pei Ze and Xiao Yanzhi were left in the hall, Pei Ze looked around, and then said to Xiao Yanzhi: "Let's buy a house in Luozhou in the future." ”

Xiao Yanzhi, who was still immersed in a subtle mood, came back to his senses when he heard this, turned his head to look at Pei Ze and asked suspiciously, "Why?" ”

Isn't a Wucheng Mansion plus a Shu Mansion enough for the two of them to live? If they have lived in the palace enough, they can still go to the palace to live, why should they buy a house in Luozhou?

Pei Ze did not directly answer Xiao Yanzhi's question: "If you don't buy a big house, the courtyard is enough, and you will come to live for a month or two when you are free, just you and me, and no one will bring it." ”

Pei Ze said this, which made Xiao Yanzhi a little moved.

"Then it's better to go to the countryside and buy a house."

Pei Ze thought about it and nodded, "That's right." ”

The countryside is big, and it can be surrounded by mountains and rivers, and if you build a house, you can connect a big yard, and when the time comes, you can go up the mountain and down the river, hunt and fish, and they can do whatever they want.

Xiao Yanzhi looked at Pei Ze, squinted his eyes and smiled.