The next day, everyone disguised themselves and prepared to enter the Liang Country capital city in the afternoon.
They were posing as Ye Country spice merchants coming to Liang Capital City.
Ye Country had a strong literary tradition, and its literati loved refined tastes and paid attention to appearance and etiquette, enjoying burning incense on clothes and at important occasions.
Women try to please themselves and their husbands at home, or entertain guests, so whether in daily life or going out to visit guests or receive guests, they like to use spices to scent clothes and burn incense.
Over time, scented clothes and burning incense has become a habit for Ye Country people.
But Ye Country's spice output was very limited, and the spice industry was monopolized by the upper class aristocrats. The annual output could only meet the needs of the royal family and nobles.
In order to meet domestic demand, many spice merchants appeared, and every year a large number of merchants went to other countries to purchase spices.
Liang Country was known for producing spices. It had the most complete variety and cheapest prices among the five major countries, attracting large numbers of foreign merchants and peddlers to Liang Country every year to purchase spices, especially merchants from Ye Country.
Different types of spices had different prices. Merchants with sufficient funds generally purchased high-end spices, while peddlers lacking funds would buy secondary or lower-grade spices.
But no matter the grade, successfully transporting spices back home yielded very considerable profits.
This time, the Crown Prince posed as the eldest young master of a spice tycoon's family, Qin Chuyuan posed as the second young master, the Minister of Rites posed as their steward, and the others were all guards.
They handed their road letter to the city guards for inspection. People in Liang Capital City were already used to seeing Ye Country spice merchants, so they easily passed through without much questioning.
As soon as they entered the city, a shrewd person came up to them.
"Honored guests, you seem unfamiliar here. Is this your first time in Liang Capital City?" A tall and delicate-looking man stopped Gong Xiaohua and the others.
"You have good eyesight, Sir. May I ask who you are?"
"I'm a guide. Honored guests must be unfamiliar with Liang Capital City for your first time here. Having a local guide would save you a lot of trouble."
"You look like a scholar, why are you doing this for a living?"
"My family is poor. I'm earning some petty cash to subsidize my family."
"I see. We've traveled far and are looking for a convenient and clean residence. Does Sir know of such lodgings for us to stay?"
"You found the right person. I've lived in Liang Country for almost twenty years and know every corner of Liang Capital City like the back of my hand. Just follow me."
Before he could finish, Gong Xiaohua stopped him.
"May I ask, how much is your daily wage?"
The man was displeased that someone suddenly interrupted him, but in order to fleece these people whom he saw as fat sheep, he said in a tone as if he was doing them a huge favor: "Not much, just two taels of silver a day."
Two taels of silver? Back when she worked as a prison guard in the Ministry of Justice, her monthly salary was only 500 wen. This guy wanted two taels just to open his mouth, and for one day! He really took them for fools.
Gong Xiaohua completely ignored him and waved at a kid who had been staring at them not far away.
The kid looked about ten years old, wearing shabby patched cotton clothes. His face was red from the cold and his lips were chapped.
Seeing someone waving at him, the clever kid quickly ran over and looked up, "Do you need a guide?"
"Yes, can you handle it?"
"I grew up in Liang Capital City and know every place here. If you don't trust me, I can take you around first. If you are not satisfied, you don't need to pay me."
The man was furious that Gong Xiaohua called another person over, but he suppressed his anger and said with a smile:
"Honored guests, shouldn't we respect the order of arrival?"
Gong Xiaohua glanced back at the man and sneered coldly, "Two taels of silver a day? Do you really think we are that easily fooled?"
The man was speechless. He looked over Gong Xiaohua's group - they were all dressed appropriately.
The wealthy merchants he had encountered before would casually agree to high prices in order to keep up appearances.
But this group haggled over even two taels of silver, apparently just pretending to be wealthy merchants. He scoffed in disdain, "Pretentious paupers."
The man spat in front of everyone then left, cursing.
Everyone was shocked! They had never met such a realist in their lives.
"Sirs, please hire me! I only charge twenty wen a day!"
Twenty wen? They were shocked again! Wasn't that too big of a difference?
"Can he be trusted?" The Minister of Rites recovered from his shock and whispered his doubts to Gong Xiaohua.
Gong Xiaohua looked speechlessly at these people - young masters who had been pampered and didn't understand civilian life at all.
"Why be impatient? Sometimes it's these people mingling at the lower levels who have more inside information. There's endless fun in civilian life."
The Minister thought about it and didn't say anything more.
"Fifty wen a day. Help us find a convenient and clean private residence."
Xiao Shanzi patted his chest excitedly, "Trust me Sirs, I'll make sure you are satisfied!"
He led the way, walking towards the city interior.
"When going out, it's still best to have someone who's prudent and thrifty. Look how much we've saved already with this move," the Crown Prince whispered to Qin Chuyuan as they walked.
"Today I discovered civilian life is also quite interesting. From two taels to twenty wen - bargaining? Being insincere? The diverse state of civilian life is endless fun!"
"Your Highness has been pampered for too long. Shedding your identity as Crown Prince to experience more civilian suffering will teach you about the afflictions of life."
The Crown Prince was left speechless again.
Everyone followed the kid, who was very dedicated, introducing sights along the way and fun, interesting places in Liang Capital City.
The kid brought them to a prosperous busy commercial district. Passing through the main area, they came to a long river behind the streets, with arched bridges connecting banks every few hundred meters. Beyond the arched bridges were all kinds of big and small estates - truly an oasis of tranquility amid the hustle and bustle.
"Many estates here are rented out to merchants like you. You can rent long-term or short-term. The one I'm taking you to is a two-yard residence. The owner comes from a scholarly family so the estate is elegant. I thought you would like it, and the owner doesn't overcharge outsiders."
"Kid, how did you know we like elegant places?" The Crown Prince curiously asked.
"At first glance Sirs do not look like average businessmen, especially these two elder brothers. One looks romantic and heroic with an imposing manner, the other looks as fair as jade with an aloof and noble air - not like people who are out doing business but rather scholars accompanying their family steward to gain experience."
"Old head on young shoulders."
"Hehe, mingling in the streets since I was little, I've seen all kinds of people! We're here, please wait Sirs." He ran to the entrance of an estate nearby and knocked on the door.
Knock knock, the door opened from inside, and an elderly man came out.
"Oh it's little Xiao Shanzi."
"Uncle Fu, I've brought guests looking to rent a room." He gestured to indicate the people next to him.
Uncle Fu looked Gong Xiaohua's group up and down. After a while, "Come in." He walked into the yard by himself.
"Don't blame Uncle Fu, he may seem eccentric but he's actually very nice."
Everyone entered the residence, which was cleaned very neatly and had an elegant tranquil vibe. There was also no messy people around. The Crown Prince was very satisfied and paid three months' rent upfront. Uncle Fu took the rental contract and money back to the owner.
The Crown Prince, Qin Chuyuan, Minister of Rites, and Gong Xiaohua stayed behind in the residence, while the other guards went out to buy daily living supplies.
"Hey kid, don't go looking for other customers today. I'll give you one tael of silver to tell us some interesting stories or legends about Liang Capital City. How about it?" the Crown Prince said.
One tael of silver? The kid was shocked. Usually he would need to hustle customers for almost two months to save up this much, not to mention most outsiders didn't even want him as a guide.
And with this money, he could afford Sister's medicine again.
However, his mother did not allow him to collect other people's money all over the place, and he was conflicted. Everyone watched the little boy become excited one moment and frown the next, thinking he found the payment insufficient.
"What's the matter? Unwilling?"
"No, that's not it."
The boy agonized internally, finally deciding to take the risk - his sister's medicine was the priority.
"Alright, does the customer have any requests?"
