Zhong Li lifted the curtain and poked her small head out to look outside. She had to pretend to be innocent, naive, and pure as a delicate flower, even though it didn't quite fit her persona. She pushed through the discomfort.
Just as she felt the muscles in her face start to twitch from the forced idiotic smile, the sky suddenly brightened.
"Shizi!" she said, lowering the curtain and looking at Lu Wuxie opposite her.
Lu Wuxie was lounging on the couch, leisurely cracking melon seeds. He had truly embodied the unrestrained and carefree Shangyuan Hong.
"Did they give the signal?" he asked.
Zhong Li nodded.
"It seems they've begun to trust us preliminarily," Lu Wuxie said, sitting up straight. He also lifted the curtain and peered outside.
Qin Guan Street was different from the main street, Luohua Street. It was similar to Cat Alley in Jincheng, a place where all sorts of people mingled, especially brothels and gambling houses, which were almost entirely concentrated in this area.
"Did you observe anything?" Zhong Li asked.
Lu Wuxie shook his head. "The pedestrians around seem normal, but that doesn't mean no one is watching. We'll be at Jinzhou Restaurant soon, let's go inside and take a look."
"Okay!" Zhong Li nodded.
Jinzhou Restaurant was located between Zuihong Lou and Bole Casino.
Zhong Li wasn't used to wearing the clothing of Yingzhou women. As she got off the carriage, her shoes had a slight slope. Her foot slipped, and she almost fell flat on her face.
"Be careful!" Lu Wuxie, walking ahead of her, saw her predicament. With quick reflexes, he supported her. His gaze flickered to her ill-fitting shoes, and he promptly carried her to the coachman's seat, then crouched down to attend to her feet.
"What are you doing..."
"Shush!" Lu Wuxie raised his finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
Zhong Li pursed her lips and watched him.
As Lu Wuxie removed her shoes, he said, "We're playing a married couple, and newlyweds at that. This is perfect. The more eyes on us, the more people will believe it."
Without giving Zhong Li a chance to react, he swept her up into his arms and carried her into Jinzhou Restaurant.
Zhong Li was quite shy. Lu Wuxie's actions just moments ago had already made her blush furiously. Now, with him openly holding her like this, she could only cling to his sleeve, burying her face in his chest, silently repeating to herself, 'Don't see me, don't see me.'
Lu Wuxie seemed to sense her thoughts, a smile playing on his lips, looking utterly content.
Lin Jin, leading the way in front of them, glanced back at his master's expression and sighed inwardly. 'My master's ambition only goes this far.'
Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie sat in a corner of the restaurant and ordered some small dishes and rice.
Zhong Li ate while observing the surroundings. Qin Guan Street was more crowded than Luohua Street. When they arrived, it was close to mealtime, and people were coming and going incessantly.
Just as they finished the dishes before them, and the guests in the restaurant were about to disperse, the waiter brought a plate of small dishes to their table.
"Waiter," Lu Wuxie called out to the waiter, who was about to leave after placing the dishes. "We didn't order this dish."
The waiter heard him and smiled. "You two guests didn't order it. That customer over there ordered it for you."
He pointed to a table diagonally across from them. "Huh, that's strange. The person was just here, but now they've left after ordering?"
Lu Wuxie and Zhong Li exchanged glances.
Zhong Li asked, "May I ask, waiter, what is this dish called?"
The waiter scratched his head and looked at the plate of cold mixed wood ear mushrooms. "It's called 'Black and White Jade with June.'"
"What?" Lin Jin, standing nearby, was completely bewildered by the dish name. "What does that mean?"
The waiter smiled and explained, "The wood ear mushrooms are black, and the onions are white. The color is also semi-transparent white, hence 'Black and White Jade.' As for 'June,' it's the season when onions are harvested, so it's called... 'Black and White Jade with June.'"
After hearing the explanation, Lin Jin couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that people would come up with any exaggerated dish name to make money.
"You can go," he waved the waiter away.
Zhong Li picked up her chopsticks, about to pick up a piece, when a name flashed through her mind. When she looked at Lu Wuxie, his expression had become solemn.
"You've thought of something?" she asked.
Lu Wuxie nodded. "Based on what you told Elder Tian yesterday, there should be a place nearby called Black Alley, right?"
Zhong Li nodded. She remembered it was to the northwest of this restaurant.
Lu Wuxie casually threw some loose silver onto the table, deliberately leaving a bit extra, and pulled Zhong Li towards the direction of Black Alley.
Before coming here, Zhong Li had asked Tian You about Black Alley.
Twenty years ago, Ge Meng had captured a large number of northern Di prisoners of war. Logically, most prisoners would have been beheaded. However, Linzhou was too impoverished at the time, and the people lacked labor. These prisoners were then settled in Black Alley, specifically to provide labor for the people of Linzhou. It became the largest source of slave output for the Southern Yue Kingdom.
As time passed, Black Alley naturally developed its own character. It became a place that the yamen wanted to manage but couldn't, only occasionally suppressing it with force. Local ruffians, murderers, and wicked bandits frequented the area, so most respectable people in Linzhou avoided it.
"Are we really going to that place?" Zhong Li asked cautiously as she followed Lu Wuxie, cautiously getting into the carriage.
Lu Wuxie reached out and gently brushed her cheek, which felt a bit cool from the wind. "My lady, do not fear. I am here."
Lin Jin flicked the whip, striking the horse's hindquarters forcefully. With a whinny, the carriage sped rapidly towards Black Alley.
A moment later.
As the carriage approached Black Alley, before they could even react, a crumpled piece of paper was thrown in from somewhere.
Lu Wuxie opened the paper and read its contents.
Zhong Li leaned closer. It read a number and a sentence: Five hundred taels of silver, one hour.
"They want us to prepare five hundred taels, and we only have one hour," she said.
Lu Wuxie nodded, lifted the curtain, and signaled Lin Jin to stop the carriage.
After the carriage came to a halt, he looked around. Directly opposite was the Wu Family Silver Bank.
Zhong Li followed his gaze forward and said, "As we suspected, one of them is very good at calculating routes. They've calculated how fast our carriage will travel and where it will stop."
Lu Wuxie nodded, took out five hundred taels of silver notes from a carved small cabinet beside him, and led Zhong Li off the carriage.
The Wu Family Silver Bank was considered the largest cash exchange house on Qin Guan Street. As soon as Lu Wuxie entered, a young shopkeeper approached them.
"Are you two guests here to deposit silver or invest?"
In the Southern Yue Kingdom, silver banks had become established. Most of them were controlled by the court, while a small number were run by powerful magnates. The Wu Family Silver Bank, for instance, was a branch of the richest family in the Southern Yue Kingdom.
Lu Wuxie casually threw the five hundred taels of silver notes onto the table. "Exchange for silver."
The young shopkeeper glanced at it and was about to refuse. It was only when he saw the official token in Zhong Li's hand that he said, "Yes, yes."
He then quickly entered the inner hall. When he emerged, he presented three trays of large silver ingots.
Zhong Li remembered what Shan Ji had told her before. While Lin Jin was busy counting the silver, she casually asked the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, I have a question for you."
"My Lord, please speak!"
"How many Wu Family Silver Bank branches are there in Linzhou?"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "Three. There's one on Luohua Street, this one here, and another one at the southernmost end of Hongcao Street."
"Alright. Let me ask you again, have you seen this note?" Zhong Li then took the note from Lu Wuxie and placed it in front of the shopkeeper.