Zhu Maonian remained silent for a while, then repeated, "This person is not suitable."
"Father, you need to give me a reason, otherwise I will prioritize Changle's wishes," Zhu Changwang took a sip of tea. "Whether this person cares enough about Changle is the most important thing to me. You know that if you can't convince me, I can make this happen if I want it to."
Zhu Maonian smiled bitterly. As proud as he usually was of his eldest son's excellence, now it was giving him a headache.
"Changwang, his identity is not that simple."
"If it were simple, you wouldn't find it so difficult to say." Zhu Changwang understood his father. Since the day he stood behind him, his father had never hidden anything from him. The fact that he was so hesitant spoke volumes about the complexity of Qiuli's identity, but still...
"Whether he's a prince, a lord, or some figure in the martial arts world, what does it matter? If Changle approves of him, marrying anyone would be marrying down for her. If she doesn't approve, no one can hope to marry her."
Zhu Maonian gestured vaguely at him and sat down opposite him.
"Just a moment ago you were worried about not living to thirty, and now you feel you can?"
"Whether I'm alive or dead doesn't affect my ability to protect her." Zhu Changwang suddenly smiled. "She's not the type to be taken advantage of. She might resolve things on her own without needing my help. Father, don't underestimate her. Or rather, from now on, don't just see her as your youngest daughter who whines and throws tantrums in front of you. She's capable of far more than we realize."
Zhu Maonian sipped his tea, and Zhu Changwang didn't press him, quietly turning his teacup as he waited.
"I wasn't sure before, but after he regained his ability to speak, I started to have some suspicions. Though it's just a guess, I'm probably about ninety percent certain." Zhu Maonian leaned forward and whispered a name in his eldest son's ear.
The smile gradually faded from Zhu Changwang's face. It was him? There hadn't been any news of him for a long time.
Seeing his son also at a loss for words, Zhu Maonian sighed. If possible, he even wanted to persuade the man to leave right now.
"You think I don't want Changle to have a good marriage? But this person's identity is too complicated, and now that he can speak again, once people find out, it's likely to cause another uproar, and it might even lead to disaster."
"Whether it's a disaster or not remains to be seen. I don't think Qiuli is someone who can be easily manipulated," Zhu Changwang rubbed the rim of his teacup. "Let's wait and see. After all, he's right in front of us, and for now, Changle seems to just treat him as a friend from the jianghu. But there are different types of friends, and her attitude towards Qiuli is different from her attitude towards Ziming."
That was true. Zhu Maonian chuckled, "She seems to be laughing and joking all day, but she's as clever as a monkey."
Pretending not to hear the pride in his father's voice, Zhu Changwang calculated the days. "According to the information Changle and the others gathered, the black market should be tonight. Given Yunbei's situation, even if they had some wealth in the past, it would have been depleted over the decades. I'm curious about who this black market exists for."
"You suspect it's him?"
"It could be anyone. Let's wait for Changle to bring back news."
Naturally, Zhu Changle wouldn't miss out on this excitement. Lying on the roof, she watched the scene below with amazement.
"This is the most rudimentary and desolate black market I've ever seen."
At the place where they had been ambushed earlier, a row of stalls was set up. There weren't many goods on display, and only a few people were browsing the stalls. Hearing the haggling, Zhu Changle found it even more unbelievable. Weren't black markets supposed to deal in rare items, with prices in the hundreds or thousands of taels? But here they were dealing in hundreds of wen?
Tugging at Qiuli's sleeve, Zhu Changle whispered, "I just heard 380 wen."
Qiuli nodded, "For medicinal herbs."
380 wen. Zhu Changle thought of the medicine at Chengde Medical Hall that cost 10 wen per dose and still required people to save up to afford. How long would it take them to save up 380 wen?
In the end, the person bought the herb for 350 wen. Zhu Changle couldn't see clearly, but whether it was psychological or not, she felt that the person's hand was shaking as they paid.
Another person appeared beside them, and without looking, she knew who it was.
"I've figured out this black market. Let me tell you about it. Let's go."
Zhu Changle took one last look at the black market before silently following Dingding away.
"This place doesn't deserve to be called a black market," Dingding said, tossing a small wine jar. "This is local wine from Gu'an. Try it."
Zhu Changle removed the lid and sniffed, then froze. "Qingzhu?"
Hearing this, Qiuli also removed the lid. "It is Qingzhu."
Due to its limited quantity, the price of Qingzhu had always been high. Despite only being on the market for just over ten years, its reputation had spread far and wide, and every wine connoisseur knew of it.
The Great Wan Dynasty had extensive water territories, so arable land was relatively scarce. Grain had always been a major issue, so there were many regulations on using grain for brewing alcohol. The quality of wine depended on how much water was added, but what made Qingzhu special was that it was undiluted original wine. It had a clear, fragrant, and mellow taste with a long-lasting aftertaste. Even if you got drunk on it, you would never feel uncomfortable or have a headache.
Connecting the dots that this wine came from Gu'an, and her friend's specific reminder, Zhu Changle had already come to an unpleasant conclusion. "Don't tell me this is produced in Gu'an."
"You guessed it. Here's a jar as a reward." Dingding raised his wine jar in a distant toast to her and took the first sip. He looked like he had found a treasure. "As expected of Qingzhu, it's delicious."
Zhu Changle, usually a wine lover, didn't drink. "So Yunbei's grain has found a destination."
"I can only tell you for certain that this wine is produced in Gu'an. After you left that day, I was drinking with the brothers at the hall, and they brought out this wine, saying they had picked it up casually. The taste was really good. Damn, I never expected to drink Qingzhu there. When I first tasted it, I almost choked."
Zhu Changle couldn't smile. Ordinary people might never taste Qingzhu in their lifetime. She had drunk a lot because she had a master who loved good wine, and Dingding had often drunk with them, so of course he recognized it.
"Afterwards, I asked him to take me there. That place was probably a transit point, and it had already been emptied. I staked it out for a night and caught them delivering goods. Then I followed them all the way to the place. It was quite ordinary, just larger. Who would have thought that Qingzhu was brewed there? Probably even the people working there don't know."
The three fell silent, no one speaking for a moment.
Putting down the wine jar, Zhu Changle sat on the ground. "What's the deal with the black market?"
"That place just sells things that people in Yunbei need but can't buy, at a higher price. Like medicinal herbs, or some relatively expensive things that children need. Anyway, as long as they need it, they can buy it. If it's not available this time, they'll get it for you next time. It's just more expensive."
"That's not right."
Zhu Changle looked at Qiuli, who had suddenly spoken. "What do you mean?"
"If this black market didn't have something special about it, I wouldn't have been told about it."
Thinking of his mysterious identity and his inexplicable source of information, Zhu Changle felt she should believe him.
She stood up and patted her bottom. "Let's go back and take another look!"
Lying back on the roof, Zhu Changle looked down and saw that it seemed no different from before. In fact, there were even fewer people, making it look even more desolate.
