There are many businesses involved in the dark market, such as reselling the treasures in the palace, buying and selling children and women, and even the loot obtained from the battlefield, in addition to being handed over to the treasury, some of them also flow into the dark market, and then sell them separately, and the sellers and the dark market can reap a considerable income. As for the buyers, they are basically some powerful people from Ruoshui or surrounding cities and counties, and these people have become valuable customers here after buying a showdown in the dark market, and the showdown fee paid every year alone is enough to feed a group of people here. In fact, it is also a profitable deal for buyers, holding a showdown engraved with a signature, which is equivalent to having an identity in the dark market, and more importantly, in addition to trading in the dark market, in Kyoto or elsewhere, this showdown has become a talisman.

And Tan Cen, who Zuo Qing has been staring at for a long time, is the core figure of this dark market.

A few days later, the dark market.

With Shouyanzhu in the West Building and the showdown of Changsun Xi, the two successfully entered the dark market and opened a 'stall'.

Su Yan stared out through the crack in the door for a long time, and only closed the door again after confirming that there was nothing abnormal. The west building looked around the furnishings of the house, and finally stopped on the west wall. The palm of his hand slowly touched the wall, and he suddenly stopped on a painting of mountains and rivers.

"What's wrong?" Su Yan asked nervously.

The painting was lifted in the west building, and a thumb-sized hole appeared in the wall, leading to the west room.

Su Yan was shocked: "This... Is this going to be black and eat black?! ”

"The stall is for sellers and buyers to trade, and the house is fully furnished, and there is only a chair in that room, not even an oil lamp."

"You're saying someone is spying on us?"

Xilou patted the dust on his hands and said to her: "It shouldn't be, our appearance has changed, and there is a showdown in our hands, so we won't be suspected, maybe that room is just a cautious method that the dark market has always been cautious about." ”

Su Yan's hanging heart was put down, and after thinking about it, he said: "The shopkeeper has heard my voice, I try not to speak, you come to deal with him." ”

Xilou nodded, and sat down on the edge of the long table against the wall. From time to time, someone knocked on the door and came in, and the shopkeeper greeted him eagerly, stopped at a distance of an arm's length from the West Building, and bowed deeply: "Little Luo Hairui, I have seen this adult." ”

Xilou now has the face of a middle-aged man, and his movements are naturally old-fashioned, he raised his hand, and said in a deep tone: "Shopkeeper Luo can let me wait." ”

Shopkeeper Luo smiled and said: "My lord atons for his sins, the business in the city is busy, and I really can't get out of the way!" It's just ......" His brows furrowed slightly, staring at the West Building for a while, and asked cautiously, "This adult looked at Mian Sheng, I don't know where he works?" ”

Su Yan thought that at this time, he couldn't let Xilou answer by himself, and he had to negotiate with his own subordinates, so he calmed his voice and said in Yansheng's tone: "Border City, General Yu Chengfeng." ”

Shopkeeper Luo didn't remember this person's name for a while, and it took a while to remember, his face suddenly changed greatly, and he quickly knelt down: "It turned out that Master Yu was here, and the little one has eyes and no beads, please surrender!" "He hasn't seen Yu Chengfeng, but he has heard of this person's exploits in the border city, that is a brave and good warrior, he was promoted by Changsun Xun many years ago, and he has risen all the way, and now he is a general in the border city!

Su Yan said again: "My lord came to Beijing this time to visit the eldest grandson to thank him for his promotion, and secondly, he wanted to do business with you, but he was told that he needed a showdown, and the eldest grandson had it, so we went along with the east wind." ”

Eldest grandson? Shopkeeper Luo was stunned for a moment, in his impression, the two adults of the eldest grandson family had never patronized his family's business.

Su Yan explained unhurriedly: "Lord Changsun Xun's niece, Changsun Xi, now she is no longer needed. ”

When Shopkeeper Luo heard the name of the eldest grandson, he understood, nodded and said: "It turned out to be the eldest grandson girl, the little one has been too busy recently, and he forgot it, don't blame the two adults, don't blame it!" ”

Su Yan was worried about how easy it would be to say it, so he hurriedly gave Xilou a look. Xilou stretched out his hand and picked up the teacup on the table, took a small sip, and then said to the shopkeeper Luo: "This time, I came to buy a woman through the shopkeeper, I could have bought it from the surface, but unfortunately my requirements are too high, whether it is Kyoto fireworks willow lane, or the border city, none of them meet." ”

"It seems that only I can meet the requirements of adults." Shopkeeper Luo's smug look was on his face.

Xilou raised his eyebrows, "This woman must be a pure yin with eight characters, and she is still a woman who has not left the cabinet, do you have it here?" ”

"I may not have it here, but as long as the adults give me time, there will be!"

"Oh? How long? ”

The shopkeeper Luo opened a palm, and the west building was about to open his mouth to bargain, but he didn't expect the shopkeeper to say: "Five hours, it's getting late now, the adults will come over early tomorrow morning, and the small ones will be ready to be served." ”

Su Yan couldn't help but ask: "Five hours, aren't you the master of my family?" ”

"This girl is so angry, although the little one is just a shopkeeper, but you go and inquire about the reputation of my shopkeeper Luo, and if you say five hours, it won't be a moment more!"

Xilou got up and applauded, and said with a smile: "I naturally know the fame of Shopkeeper Luo, Lord Eldest Sun mentioned you, saying that you are the most powerful, and I will rest assured that I will come to you to do business." If it happens this time, I'm going to buy a showdown and be your guest! ”

Shopkeeper Luo hurriedly greeted the smile, "The adult has lifted it, if the adult thinks it is good, he will take care of the business in the future, and the little one is grateful!" ”

A few conversations, in the blink of an eye, late at night. The two returned to the academy and spent a difficult night. The next day, I went to the dark market again, and sure enough, I saw a woman sitting obediently in the stall, with hemp rope tied to her body, and a very thin wooden strip hung with the eight characters of the woman's birthday, as well as her origin and surname.

Shopkeeper Luo waited for a long time, and when he saw that the West Building came as promised, he immediately greeted him, and served tea and introduced women.

"How did you find her in such a short period of time?" Xilou couldn't help but ask.

Shopkeeper Luo didn't become cautious because of this, it seems that he has long been accustomed to others asking like this, "Naturally, I bought it from the seller, as for the provenance, heh, the dark market transaction, layer by layer, as complex as a spider web, and the small ones don't know where to buy them, I just know that they are done neatly and there is no trouble." ”

There is no flaw in what he said, and there is no way to start at all. Xilou could only give up for the time being, and turned to study the woman, but this research found that the woman's neck was full of strangulation marks, and her wrists were also injured, some of which hurt her muscles and muscles, and she was already black and swollen. Su Yan also saw the wound and felt a little uncomfortable.

"These hurt ......" Xilou's voice couldn't distinguish joy, anger and sorrow, and pretended to be very similar to Zuo Qing's conversation.

"It's just a skin injury, just recuperate for a few days, it doesn't matter much, adults can rest assured."

Su Yan was very angry about the shopkeeper's attitude, but he could only endure it, stretched out his fingers and gently touched those injuries, the woman gritted her teeth, and the beads of sweat instantly covered her forehead. She didn't moan a single moan from beginning to end, just hung her head and her eyes were gray.

Xilou pinched her chin and asked, "Do you know what I bought you for?" ”

The woman didn't respond, I don't know if it was numbness from pain or despair.

Xilou asked again: "Do you have parents and family?" ”

As if talking about the sore spot, the woman's face changed, she raised her head slightly, stared at the West Building, and suddenly sneered, the West Building is nothing, Su Yan retreated in fear, and her heart palpitated.

Shopkeeper Luo was worried about the yellow business, and hurriedly scolded the woman: "I gave you a way to live, you should keep to yourself, if you dare to make a mistake, be careful that you have no way out!" ”

Su Yan looked at Shopkeeper Luo in shock, and said in his heart: Wasn't it bought, it was robbed? This woman's parents can't be threatened, right? Thinking of this, a fire rushed up in my heart, if it wasn't for the West Building to find the abnormality and intercept it in time, the consequences would be unimaginable. I saw Xilou rub his hand on the woman's clean clothes with disgust, and said with a displeased face: "This woman's personality is too strong, and she is covered with injuries. Shopkeeper Luo, you should know that the objects we all want to buy are intact, and the money is also spent comfortably, I never thought that you would use force to beat her like this, the price is ......" said, looking at Shopkeeper Luo with a smile.

The shopkeeper looked embarrassed: "My lord, you didn't say what kind of woman you want," after thinking about it, the other party was not a master to be messed with, so he could only change his words, "You say a price, if the small one can be eaten, you will take it away!" ”

The west building walked around the woman, thought for a moment, and then said, "I can't get a penny." ”

It was not only the shopkeeper who was shocked this time, but even Su Yan felt incredible. Xilou explained: "Since we are doing business, then we must take a long-term view, for example, this woman, if you give it to me today, I will buy the showdown and do your long-term business in the dark market, do you know how many wealthy families I have made during my tenure in the border city?" How many maids do they need in a year? How many concubines will you accept? Let's not talk about this, let's just talk about the barracks, border passes, or garrisons, the most lacking thing in the barracks is not only gunpowder, but also women. I am in the military department, and I have a deep friendship with many generals in the army, I will introduce you, you make money, and we will win together. ”

Shopkeeper Luo didn't seem to be moved, but said politely: "The last house sells goods, the dark market transfers, and the next house receives goods, the small one is just an errand runner, I'm afraid I can't do your business." ”

Su Yan felt strange, didn't he say before that he would buy the woman and then open the shopkeeper, so that they could go around in the dark market to collect evidence, why did they suddenly not act according to the plan!

Xilou is still unhurried: "If you don't have enough manpower, how can you find someone in this Ruoshui City in a short time?" In addition to the criminal department's handling of cases, I'm afraid only the dark market can do it, right? Shopkeeper, I'm afraid you're not just transferring goods, you're also at home, right? ”

Shopkeeper Luo's face became more and more ugly, and he seemed to have something unspeakable.

"I value your business here, if we can cooperate, wouldn't it be a win-win situation?" Seeing that he still didn't let go, Xilou's tone immediately became strong, "Don't you believe me?" ”

Shopkeeper Luo hurriedly knelt down, "The adult misunderstood, the small one is just ...... I just don't dare to call the shots! ”

As expected by the West Building, Shopkeeper Luo is indeed not the master here.

"Why, you can't call the shots, who can call the shots," Xilou pressed step by step, "Let him come out, I don't believe it, there are still people who don't want to make money!" ”

Shopkeeper Luo began to dodge again, and his speech was a little stumbling, "This ...... Small... The small one is just a shopkeeper, and I haven't seen the master, so it's better for you two to wait patiently here for a few hours, and the little one will report it, and if the master is interested, I will invite you two to go to the discussion. ”

Xilou's gloomy expression eased slightly, and he nodded: "In this case, you have to convey my mind well, otherwise the business will not be successful, I have to go to the eldest grandson to talk about your hospitality here!" ”

Shopkeeper Luo retreated as he agreed, and closed the door in a hurry, followed by the sound of footsteps hurrying downstairs.

The chief of the west building breathed a long sigh of relief and hurriedly drank tea.

Su Yan opened the door and looked around. It was early in the morning, and there were no other guests, and there were not many guards. Closed the door again and immediately untied the woman. The woman was a little surprised, but she didn't dare to say more. Su Yan comforted her and said: "Don't worry, girl, we are not bad people who buy you, you must remember that in this room, you must not leak out what I said to this son, it is related to your net worth and life." ”

The woman didn't seem to understand, but she nodded excitedly.

After pacifying the woman, Su Yan asked the West Building: "Before leaving, let's say okay, how can you go back on your word, if there is a flaw, I don't know how to break the siege!" ”

Xilou said calmly: "I came in a hurry, I forgot to explain it to you, rest easy!" Seeing that her anger had subsided slightly, he explained to her in detail, "I thought about it all night last night, and I always felt that Tan Cen, a cautious person, would not come to the dark market to show off, this is definitely not his style, if it goes down according to the original plan, there should be no evidence, so I changed it temporarily." You don't think it's very successful, as long as Shopkeeper Luo can introduce us to Tan Cen, the rest will be easy to do. ”

"Even if you pretend to be similar, it's just appearance, what if Tan Cen knows Yu Chengfeng? Even if you don't know him, with his cautious style, he suddenly meets someone who takes the initiative to come to the door, or a border city general, he will definitely take more precautions, are you not afraid of revealing flaws? Su Yan flicked his sleeves and sighed, "Forget it, the matter has come to this, what are you going to do?" ”

Xilou was confident about this matter, and did not feel that it was not feasible, but still reasonable, "Since it is cooperation, the contract will be signed, and with his signature, I am afraid that there will be no evidence?" ”

"What if you don't see us? But there was no chance. ”

Xilou pressed his neck and bones, and said comfortably: "He will definitely see him." ”

At dusk, the shopkeeper Luo came back, but said that the master was a little entangled in other things, and asked them to wait for three days, and then please move to a place and meet themselves, and presented a piece of stationery to the west building.

The letter reads: Three days later, the Xishan Courtyard

After placing the woman, it was already dark, Su Yan sat in the pavilion by the South Lake, took the letter and looked left and right, and then leaned under his nose to smell it, but still found nothing abnormal. Xilou walked over, saw that she was still studying the letterhead, and reached out to snatch it, "It's just a letter, what other clues can you see?" If you have this spare time, you might as well have a drink with me. As he spoke, he handed her a jug of wine.

Su Yan felt that this matter was too easy, but he couldn't think of anything wrong, so he thought about it and looked worried.

"Yu Chengfeng is a friend of Changsun Xun, and with Changsun Xun as a guarantor, he will not doubt it, but he is cautious, so naturally he will not see us easily. Shopkeeper Luo said that Tan Cen was haunted by other things, I think he just wants to go to the border city for verification, three days, isn't it just a round trip if you hurry up? ”

Su Yan jumped up suddenly: "So we really showed our stuffing?!" ”

"Yu Chengfeng rarely enters Beijing, and when he comes, he only goes to the military department, Tan Cen is the secretary of the ministry, and he usually has a lot of affairs to deal with, and he will not have the spare time to meet a small general in a border city. He went to verify, it was just because Changsun Xun was not in Kyoto, and he was not at ease. It's already arranged over there, and he can't find anything. Xilou pressed her on the stone bench and continued, "But when he goes, he should know something about Yu Chengfeng from the barracks, and we will also take advantage of the time in the past few days to quickly check on this person, and when the time comes, we will not be in a hurry if Cen is tempted." ”

If you want to understand a person, you must first get his case, but ...... The treasury of the household department, which was supposed to store the Kyoto cases, ran out of water last month, but it has not been completely repaired, and those cases are still temporarily stored in the ministry, and it is impossible to see them at all, so we want to find another way...... Su Yan suddenly thought of a person - Changsun Yue.

At present, Changsun Xun's uncle and nephew are far away from Chu State, and Changsun's family is unhindered, and it is still easy for Changsun to go to her uncle's room to find something.

That night, the eldest grandson Yue rushed to the Yanshan Courtyard with a box. The box was full of letters and a jade pendant.

Su Yan asked Changsun Yue while flipping through the letters: "Have you ever heard your uncle talk about a person named Yu Chengfeng?" ”

The eldest grandson shook his head suspiciously, thinking to himself that he had not been treated well, how could he know about his uncles.

When Su Yan opened the third letter, he finally found a clue, this is a letter sent from the border city, it was written by Yu Chengfeng, and many of the remaining letters were also sent by him, and the letter also mentioned a jade pendant, which I think is the one in the box.

The eldest grandson was already curious about finding something for her, but at this time, he was very fascinated by Mr. Su staring at his uncle's letter, and felt even more strange, so he couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Su, are you looking for something?" If you need manpower, I'm willing to help. ”

Su Yan noticed that there was still someone staying here, and smiled at her: "You have already helped a lot, if you don't have these letters, I'm afraid you will be in trouble in three days." ”

"Three days later?!" The eldest grandson Yue couldn't understand it even more, "Where are you going in three days, aren't you going to teach?" Today you are gone, and the students are complaining. ”

Su Yan accepted the letter, got up and said to her: "You don't care about this, in short, you help me take care of Shu Youtang, and when the matter is completed, I will invite you to go to Yunlai Pavilion to eat and drink!" As he spoke, he pushed her out of the door, and before parting, he reminded again, "Don't mention today's events to anyone, remember!" ”

Changsun Yue nodded, but she always felt uneasy in her heart, but Mr. Su commanded, and she could only respond.