The next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
Gu Wen woke from his sleep, called for his maid to wash up, and then had someone summon his "right-hand man."
This man was small and thin, dressed in blue brocade, sporting a small mustache and a face that seemed cunning and shrewd, and his manner always exuded a touch of cleverness.
His name was Jiang Fugui, a small manager Gu Wen had met in his early days when he first ventured into the night market at Dragon Bridge. He was a typical, rigid merchant, shrewd and lively, yet competent enough.
Gu Wen sat down to dine, his breakfast consisting merely of Pearl Red Date Porridge from Zuixian Building and white flour pastries from Xiangyu Pavilion, both rarities in these troubled times.
The aroma made Jiang Fugui, who had just entered, swallow his saliva. Gu Wen waved him over and said, "If you haven't eaten breakfast, sit down and join me."
With a thick face, Jiang Fugui sat down, grabbed a white flour bun, and said, "Even if I've already eaten, I can't miss out on a meal from Mr. Wen. Ah, this bun is so sweet, it's rare to have such during these disaster years."
Gu Wen chuckled, "I haven't treated you poorly on normal days; surely you've eaten buns before?"
"Sir, you're generous and carefree with money, but we have elders above and little ones below, and dozens of mouths to feed in my family," Jiang Fugui spoke with his mouth full, crumbs falling onto the table as he spoke.
"Besides, with the chaos from the war in these two years, we need to save more money. Who knows when Bianjing might completely fall, and we'll have to flee to the south."
War and chaos had almost become synonymous with this era.
Daqian was surrounded by barbarians from outside its borders, and internally, bandits and rebel armies were endless.
Each time, the court would levy brutal taxes in the name of reorganizing the border troops, taxes so heavy that even many landlords and prominent families couldn't bear it, ultimately turning to banditry in significant numbers.
If landlords couldn't survive, which sounded ridiculous, it was indeed happening in Daqian, right before Gu Wen's eyes. This was why he stood firm within the bureaucratic class, even though he was merely a titleless Guest Elder at the royal court.
In this world, there were no distinctions among scholars, peasants, artisans, and merchants, only between the officials and the commoners, or to be more extreme, between the lords of the capital and the slaves from other regions.
Gu Wen knew of bandits roaming near Qianjing County, sometimes murdering prominent merchants, sometimes robbing imperial military supplies, even breaking into the city to raid the treasury.
Such bandits had been rampant in the Qianjing region for many years, longer than the current Emperor's reign.
The court had considered suppressing these bandits, but whenever these bandits encountered imperial soldiers in large numbers, they'd scatter, and if in small numbers, they'd band together and overpower them, frightening the imperial guard so much that they only discussed supressing bandits without actually implementing it.
In fact, everyone knew that Daqian was doomed, even a small manager like Jiang Fugui was planning to flee to the south, which was quite telling. Gu Wen had bought some properties in the south two years ago, aiming to escape there, which had been his main goal in recent years.
However, if there were transcendent forces involved, then it was a different story altogether.
"The south isn't a place you can just decide to go to, and since I eat the Ninth Prince's food, I naturally owe him a lifetime of gratitude," Gu Wen shook his head, lightly dodging the obvious peril.
His position was fraught with danger everywhere, never knowing if any servant in the house might be a spy from the royal court.
Outward loyalty had to be absolute.
After the meal, Gu Wen wiped his mouth with a silk handkerchief and said, "Fugui, there have been many strange incidents in the city recently. Go investigate personally, and try to keep a low profile and avoid trouble."
Gu Wen emphasized repeatedly, since he was sure that transcendent forces existed in this world and he was in the midst of some changes, he didn't want his subordinates to touch anything dirty and bring trouble back.
Jiang Fugui was quite puzzled, but as a subordinate, he had no right to ask questions, just as Gu Wen couldn't refuse Zhao Feng.
"I'll handle it right away."
Noon.
Gu Wen lay in a rocking chair, household servants worked with their heads down, occasional knocks and cries from outside prompted the servants to work even harder, meticulous in their movements.
Happiness is relative.
Without going outside, one could generally guess the reason behind the knocks; it was nothing but selling children for survival. It was both to exchange for food and to ensure the children stayed alive.
A few years before, Gu Wen would still take them in, but now he had over a hundred people in his household. According to the law, without an official position, he could have no more than fifty slaves. How many could Gu Wen protect alone?
He was just another house slave.
Jiang Fugui entered from the back door and came up to Gu Wen, whispering, "Sir, the strange occurrences recently reported have all been surrounded by the servants of the large houses, impossible to catch a glimpse or hear a thing."
"Servants of the large houses?"
"Yes, they... they are actually armed in the streets of the capital, sir, could it be that they're planning a revolt?"
Jiang Fugui's voice was extremely low, his eyes filled with shock and suspicion, even he sensed something extraordinary.
During the Saint Emperor's reign, private possession of weapons was forbidden following a rebellion near Bianjing that nearly breached the capital. Consequently, the court decreed, "Anyone privately owning forbidden weapons will be imprisoned for eighteen months."
These days, private weapon possession was common, but unsheathing them in public was rare, especially when a large group did so.
It's indeed the Daqian of my Saint Emperor.
"What about Phoenix Road and Dragon Bridge?"
Gu Wen inquired.
Phoenix Road had a dedicated carriageway meant to enhance the efficiency of transporting goods. It connected the major markets, even daily supplies for the palace went through this road.
Recently, it was rumored that a tree had grown there; could it really block the road?
Dragon Bridge, a vital junction connecting the eastern and western parts of the city, couldn't possibly be blockaded.
"The tree at Phoenix Road is surrounded by the imperial guard, now all transport and pedestrians have to use the back lanes, even circling half of Bianjing City to enter through other gates. I checked Dragon Bridge myself, I, a fool, couldn't see anything miraculous about it."