Today's second update.

  Next double update, PK at 1200 points. The month is ending soon, vote if you like it.

  Thank you!

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  Yang City, with the reputation of being rich and unparalleled in the world. Similar to Luo City, it is a place where merchants thrive. However, Yang City's merchants are vastly different from those of Luo City. The merchants of Luo City are shrewd yet dignified, emphasizing practicality. In contrast, the merchants of Yang City are cunning and deceitful, obsessed with luxury and extravagance.

  The private goods that Mozi walked were for the nouveau riche in Yang City, and the goods controlled by officials and merchants in the Great Zhou. In general, the Great Zhou is biased towards the southwest and northwest, while the South De is biased towards the southeast. The geographical differences must lead to uneven distribution of resources. For example, famous ink and pens are produced in the Great Zhou, while silk embroidery is most delicate in the South De; similarly, the Great Zhou has rich mineral deposits, but the South De produces more exquisite weapons.

  Mozi and Cen went their separate ways to visit those customers who had already ordered goods, and on that day they sold all the goods in their hands, making a lot of silver tickets.

  Things went smoothly, and since they didn't need to restock this time, they were unexpectedly free on the second day.

  "Mo Ge, why don't we just get some goods and have my dad find a buyer? It's not easy to come here, and it would be a waste to earn less for no reason." Early in the morning, the two of them were having breakfast at the inn where they were staying. Xun Er was crunching on peanuts.

  Stinky fish said he wanted to go out and buy things for his brothers, but didn't take the two of them together.

  "The meaning of the East family is that since you're not doing it anymore, don't leave a tail for people to catch. She's now married into the Wang family and has a small business but a big reputation. Besides, all the big officials and merchants are in Shangdu, what's the point of us still doing private goods trading? Who knows, maybe one day we'll also become an official merchant.

  Mozi deliberately spoke coarsely while eating in the main hall to maintain her disguise as a man. She hesitated about whether she should lift her foot and put it on the stool like the two men at the next table, to appear more masculine."

  Cen Er Yi listened, his eyes lit up, "Really is."

  Mozzie saw that he was indeed sincere, and thought to himself that the people of Lu were truly ambitious, regardless of whether they could achieve it or not. Being an official or a merchant wasn't something that could be easily achieved. Moreover, there hadn't been a single woman who had become an official or a merchant in the entire Zhou dynasty, even though the founder was a female emperor. The descendants of the Wu family seemed to have intentionally erased the achievements of Empress Wu Zetian, and placed heavy restrictions on the princesses and imperial consorts, fearing that another woman like her would emerge.

  "Didn't you hear? The first corrupt official ran away last night." A neighbor at the next table who was leaning on his left foot spoke in a careless tone.

  Is it that the common people of Nandu love to give nicknames, or is it that the title of the first corrupt official was too loud and no one remembers his real name? Mozi heard it for the first time without interest, remembered it when he heard it for the second time, and when he heard it for the third time... didn't mind listening again.

  "How did he run?" The man with his right foot raised, leaned in and said, "To tell you the truth, His Majesty sent a team of imperial guards to carry out the imperial decree. Each one is a top-notch expert, just in case someone tries to kidnap him."

  "My third uncle's godson works in the yamen as a clerk, and last night it was his turn to be on duty. At the third watch, some guards came to the official residence to wake up the governor, asking him to deploy troops and seal off the city gates. Could the governor not issue an order? Then he took some men to the official hostel to take a look, and what they saw was astonishing: most of the guards were dead or injured, and the cage holding the first corrupt official was wide open, with no one left behind. The escorting imperial envoy said that a group of masked men had sneaked into the hostel, and when discovered, both sides fought each other. Originally it wasn't necessarily a losing battle, but then four more masked men with high martial arts skills arrived, and the guards couldn't withstand them. After a chaotic fight, they took the person away." The man with his left foot raised held a teapot in his hand, pouring tea into his mouth, and wiped it off with his sleeve.

  "I said I came out early this morning, and there are soldiers everywhere on the street. The city was sealed at three o'clock in the morning, it's definitely not going out." Right-footed man is quite thoughtful, "If it were me, we can't stay in South De anymore, think of a way to mix out of the city, cross the river to Da Zhou and hide for a while, and don't think about coming back."

  "It's not that easy." The man with his left foot raised snorted twice, "Haven't you seen how tightly the two armies are guarding the river? The waterway is checked more thoroughly than the land route. Even the peddler's load, including women's cosmetics, must be opened and inspected one by one, for fear of secretly sending messages. He's a big living person, and a wanted fugitive of the imperial court, how can he escape? Just watch, in a few days he'll be caught and brought back."

  Some people may ask: since the inspection is so strict, how did Mozi with private goods mix into the city?

  It's actually simple. Mozi's boat had passed through the Jin Yu beach from the shore of the Zheng Xia Ridge. The Zheng Xia Ridge is already within the borders of Nan De, and one can enter the east gate of Yang City. For merchants coming and going within the borders, the guards are relatively lax, and with a few more silver coins, they won't even check.

  "It's not easy for him alone, but aren't there those masked men? Even the Imperial Guard can't match them, the other side must have a strong background, I guess they're his hired helpers. With great rewards come brave warriors, maybe we can escape." The man with the raised right foot sang a counterpoint.

  "Or else, let's make a bet..."

  Next, there's no need to listen anymore. Mozi took a big bite of her bun and said to Cen Er, who was listening very attentively, "This number one corrupt official, do you think he can escape?"

  Cen Er suddenly became distracted and didn't know what he was thinking about. He then grabbed Mozi's sleeve and pulled it hard, lowering his voice to say, "Mo Ge, something's wrong, something's wrong."

  Mei Zi laughed at him: "What's wrong, did the first corrupt official Mo Fei also embezzle your money? He ran away, and you're so tense."

  "No, didn't you hear? Those two just said that later four masked men came. Four!" Xuan Er stretched out four fingers and said again in a tense tone, "The ones we brought into the city weren't four either?"

  Ziying casually but extremely quietly said to him, "You're thinking too much. If we follow your logic, the four people at the table behind us, the four people by the window, and the four people at the staircase entrance could all be last night's masked man."

  "Could..." Cen Er still wanted to say, Bai Yu and those people were indeed too mysterious.

  "Xun Er, don't believe whatever others say, it's just rumors. Since there's nothing to do today, why not go for a stroll and buy some Yangcheng specialties for your father and brother?" Mozi thought that even if Baiyu and the others were really involved in last night's robbery, she was the one who brought them in. If the authorities investigated, wouldn't they be accomplices? Therefore, she absolutely could not admit it, not even verbally.

  Cen Er forced Mo Zi to go buy "local specialties" like this.

  Mozi settled the account and remembered that she had promised to help Lüjù with something, so she went to the most bustling market. Baiyu entered the city yesterday and parted ways with her, so she didn't know which inn they were staying at either. As she strolled along, she thought that if she ran into them on the street, it would mean that both Cén èr and she herself had been thinking too much. Maybe they just "snuck" over to buy embroidery, what's wrong with that?

  The purple ink self-comforting story has been honed to perfection through the training of Qiu San Niang, and now she can put aside her worries and focus on showing gifts to the sisters.

  "Isn't this Mexico?"

  Mozi turned around and saw a familiar person standing at the entrance of the store with a smile like Maitreya, above him was a sign with three big words -

  Jade and Pearl Record