Leaving from the Ministry of Industry, Wang Hu took Li Mu to Li Ji's mansion. This mansion is in Anyifang, also next to Zhuque Street, but it is far away from the imperial city, and it cannot be compared with the location of Cao Guogong's mansion, but in Chang'an City, it can be regarded as a middle and upper position. This mansion was originally prepared for Li Siwen, and it was used when he got married and set up his own business. But now Li Siwen has made a county order in Dingxiang, and Li Ji has tried his tone several times, Li Shimin has no intention of transferring Li Siwen back, and he can't use it for the time being, so he gave this mansion to Li Mu.

On the way, Wang Hu has been peeking at Li Mu's expression with his spare eyes, and he has been with Li Mu for a long time, and Wang Hu knows a little bit about Li Mu's temper. Just after seeing Li Mu blacking out the names of the two principals, Wang Hu knew that this matter could not be good. But this time the opposite is the eldest grandson Wuji, it is Uncle Guo, a newly appointed Ministry of Industry Langzhong, who is going to tease Uncle Guo's tiger beard, this person seems to be an egg smashing stone, Wang Hu has followed Li Ji for many years, and his personality is somewhat contaminated with Li Ji's caution, and he has the intention to persuade Li Mu not to do anything, but he doesn't know how to speak.

Seeing that there was Anyifang in front of him, Wang Hu finally couldn't help but speak, and said, "Li Mu, don't be impulsive!" ”

"Huh?" Li Mu looked at Wang Hu strangely and said, "What impulse?" ”

"I know you're angry because the two principals didn't come to see you when they went to the Zhao Guogong Mansion to repair the garden, but don't be impulsive. In fact, they can't be blamed for this. That's Uncle Guo, when the dynasty is a product of the country, it takes a few craftsmen to repair the garden, it is normal to go to the Ministry of Industry to inform a few people, and it is not just Uncle Guo, when our Guogong Mansion is repaired, he also came to the Ministry of Industry to borrow craftsmen, and other Guogong has also used some of them, this is a very common thing, you must not offend Uncle Guo because of this little thing. ”

Li Mu smiled and said, "It turned out that this was the case, I wasn't angry or impulsive...... Does the look on my face look like I'm angry? ”

Wang Hu nodded seriously and said, "If you're not angry, why do you cross out their names?" ”

"The name was crossed out because the person was not available, not because he was angry about this matter, nor was it aimed at Uncle Guo. But if I want to do something in this position in the Ministry of Works, the current style of the Ministry of Industry is absolutely undesirable and must be changed, but I haven't figured out how to do it for a while, and when I think about it, it's not too late to deal with it, not a few days. ”

Wang Hu nodded and said, "Although I have never been an official, I see that our family and the state are all cautious and cautious, walking on thin ice. If you are an official for the first time, it is better to be safe, so as not to cause trouble, try not to cause trouble. ”

Li Mu smiled and nodded, but he was a little surprised in his heart. This Wang Hu has the courage of ten thousand people on the battlefield, but when it comes to this officialdom, he is so trembling that he can't help but feel gimmicked.

After a few more steps, he came to a mansion. Wang Hu turned over and dismounted, took out the key from his waist, opened the copper lock on the door, and took Li Mu in. This is a standard three-entry mansion, two houses inside and outside, plus a lobby, which is inferior to the grandeur of the Guogong Mansion, but if it is lived, twenty or thirty people can live there. Li Mu walked around the mansion and could see that it was taken care of on weekdays, the inside and outside were very clean, and he only needed to buy some application things, and he could live in it at any time. Li Mu was very satisfied, and planned to go back to clean up, so he brought his wife and Qiaoqiao over. The time for the marriage is urgent, only seven days, and now we have to prepare.

Coming out of the mansion, Wang Hu reminded: "You are now a marquis, and you also have your own mansion, you need to arrange a few maids to be proper." Today happens to be a Wednesday, and there is a new slave auction in the West Market, so you might as well go and take a look. ”

"Slaves?" Li Mu frowned slightly, and said, "Are there often slaves sold in the West Market?" ”

"In this pacification of the Turks, several armies have brought back many prisoners, some of whom will be put up for auction in the western market, and some merchants who specialize in the slave business, who have all kinds of sources, come here in the hope of selling them for a good price. Slaves were sold every day, but there were auctions only on Wednesdays, and the quality of slaves was much better. ”

When Li Mu saw that Wang Hu talked about slaves, the expression on his face remained unchanged, and he knew that the slave trade in the West Market was a common thing in the eyes of the people of the Tang Dynasty. For him, who has the thoughts of later generations, he is somewhat shocked, but when he thinks of the social environment of the Tang Dynasty, he can still understand it. In this era, slaves were part of wealth. If you can't use it yourself, you naturally have to take it out and sell it, although it is a little inhumane, but it is also a understandable thing.

Li Mu thought for a while and said, "Anyway, it's still early, let's go and have a look." I don't know how much the slaves in Naxi City are worth? ”

"Ordinary Kunlun slaves, a few dollars of silver, not consistent. Some of the armed Turks of the Turks, almost the same money. The price is high for young women, among which the Silla maid is the highest price, almost two times the price, but it is not absolute, if the appearance is outstanding, the price will rise, and the price of dozens of times has also appeared. ”

Li Mu thought to himself that there were not many people in this mansion, so it would be enough to match Qiaoqiao with a maid to serve, find a cook to cook, a groom to feed the horses and drive the car, and then find two old mothers who worked. According to the usual money per person, it can't exceed ten taels of silver, and he now has a dozen taels of silver on his body, the day before yesterday he smelted iron ingots, refined slag, and saved more than thirty taels of silver in the system, which can be exchanged at any time, no matter how it is calculated, it is enough.

The two turned their horses around and came to the West Market. Under the leadership of Wang Hu, he came to a place called "Mouth Horse Walking". When he got off the horse, someone came to support him. Someone led the horses aside for the two and fed them fodder, and gave each of them a wooden sign with a number engraved on it. Li Mu looked at the wooden sign in his hand and saw that the number was "Saner", and he didn't know whether it was 32 or 23. The two of them walked into the horse shop, only to see that there were 'stalls' one by one, and the slaves were tied with their hands, and they were sitting on the ground one after another, with blank faces. Everyone has a piece of grass on the top of their head, and these grasses are of different lengths and represent different prices, and the longer the grass, the more expensive it is. But this is only an indication of the grade, and the specific amount of money has to be discussed with the traffickers. From the outside to the inside, there are also differences, on the outside are some old and very poor spirited slaves, on the inside are some young slaves and some women, and then gradually you can see some children, all of them yellow and thin, and the young women can not see a single one.

Li Mu planned to find a maid for Bai Qiaoqiao, but he couldn't find a suitable one. Suddenly, a gong sounded, Li Mu looked up, and saw that in the center of the mouth and horse line, a curtain fell, revealing a round high platform, and a goatee was holding a gong in his hand.

"Rank up! There's something good today! ”