Working Emperor of the Northern and Southern Dynasties

There is a place called Linqing Wharf in the west of Jiangling City. There are two locks here to save water. Public and private ships come and go, business is bustling, merchants are busy, inns and shops are lined up, and there are many prostitutes and prostitutes.

The pier was crowded with people. In the teahouse, a short, fat man dressed like a merchant was sitting in the corner by the window. The sunlight shone on his face, making his face look even more tired.

The man picked up the teacup. The teacup in his hand was different from the ones provided by the teahouse. It was a Xiaoxiang teacup with exquisite workmanship. Even the teapot was not an ordinary large coarse porcelain teapot, but a very delicate flying cloud.

The jade teapot, illuminated by the sun, looks particularly dazzling.

The man was sipping tea and looking outside.

Not long after, another man dressed as a scholar slowly walked into the teahouse. It was Xiao Lang, Shan's mistress.

The teahouse was almost full, and only the desk of the man before was empty.

Xiao Lang seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll without even looking towards the window.

The short and fat businessman slowly raised his head, his eyes suddenly brightened, and then dimmed again. At this time, Xiao Lang had already walked up to the businessman and knelt down.

"It's all a good thing you did!"

Xiao Lang scolded in a low voice, but his eyes were looking out the window, as if he didn't know the businessman.

His clothes are not silk and satin, but he looks like he comes from a well-to-do family.

However, his waist was always slightly bowed, like a cheetah waiting for prey to appear at any time. His eyes were like blades. The short and fat businessman did not dare to look at him anymore and turned his head elsewhere.<

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Xiao Lang's voice suddenly became serious: "Tell me, where is he?"

"We didn't see anyone at all. When the brothers arrived at the river, they found that the driver had died long ago!"

"What?" Xiao Lang's mouth curled up, and the expression on his face became even colder.

"That's true. The brothers were a step late and didn't see the woman named Lou!"

"Idiots, you must have been drinking and causing trouble!"

The pudgy businessman didn't dare to argue. In fact, they did drink yesterday, which was why the departure time was a little later than planned.

"It was my subordinate who messed up the matter, and I am willing to accept any punishment from the young master!"

"Humph, will punishing you be able to undo all of this? Now follow me to the forest to the east. I can't tell you what's going on here!"

The two of them were very familiar with the terrain here. After leaving the pier, they walked towards the east forest one after another. After walking for more than two miles, they encountered rolling hills and dense forests. The official road cut straight through the dense forests.

In the past, Xiao Lang entered the dense forest without hesitation.

After about a stick of incense, the short and fat merchant walked into the forest with his fat ass. The walk made him sweat profusely, but cars drove by on the official road from time to time, and his whole body was covered in dust.

It’s simply miserable.

Entering the forest, this guy didn't bother to catch his breath and knelt down in front of Xiao Lang with a plop.

"Young Master, it's all the fault of my subordinates and their inability to do things well!"

"Hmph, not only did you make a mistake, you also destroyed all my hard work over the years! Bring it here!"

The merchant was stunned and asked blankly: "Young Master, what?"

"Your teapot and tea cup!"

The merchant didn't know what kind of medicine the young master was selling in the gourd, so he reached into his arms and took out the Xiaoxiangtu tea cup and Feiyun jade teapot, and respectfully held them in front of Xiao Lang with both hands. These two things were his favorite things.

, following him for many years, almost everywhere he went, the tea in ordinary teahouses simply did not suit his taste.

Xiao Lang grabbed the Xiaoxiangtu tea cup and Feiyun jade teapot, and without stopping at all, he threw the man's two beloved things on the trunk of a big camphor tree.

The merchant looked at the Feiyun Jade teapot whose spout had been thrown off and the Xiaoxiang teacup that was broken into seven or eight petals, and his mind went blank.

"Zeng Xu, when will you be able to concentrate on doing things and stop being burdened by these mundane things?"

"Young Master, subordinate..." Zeng Xu said while glancing at the porcelain fragments not far away, his heart was bleeding.

"Stop talking!" Xiao Lang shouted sternly, "Last time I asked you to wait for the man named Chen at the ferry. How did you agree to me?"

Seeing Xiao Lang's sharp eyes, the fat on Zeng Xu's face trembled, but he didn't even dare to move without the young master's instructions.

"Young Master, listen to me, last time my brothers and I waited at the ferry for five days, but we never saw anyone else. The brothers didn't dare to close their eyes for a while, and two of them had already passed away..."

"Shut up! Failure is failure, no excuses. It doesn't matter if you fail. Don't complain to me. What a big deal this is, you fools, ruin my big event!"

Zeng Xu was so scolded by him that he lowered his head deeply and did not dare to argue anymore.

Xiao Lang suddenly clenched his hands tightly and said with a ferocious expression: "So, you really don't know where Lou Qingyi is now?"

Zeng Xu hurriedly explained excitedly: "Yes, when I took my two brothers to the riverside, I was almost frightened to death when I saw the tragic situation where the coachman was killed. I don't know who the hell is ahead of us. It's really disgusting.

..."

"Okay, don't say these useless things. You'd better pray that Lou Qingyi is safe, otherwise I won't be able to spare you!"

Xiao Lang's tone became more and more fierce. In public, he was a gentle scholar who spoke slowly and calmly, but once in front of his subordinates, his royal aura and majesty suddenly burst out.

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"Young Master, I realize my mistake..."

Xiao Lang snorted coldly and said: "You know you are wrong, why are you not careful? You actually show off your broken pot and teacup in a teahouse like that. Wouldn't it be even more suspicious?"

"Don't you use your brain to do things?"

"Huh?"

Zeng Xu was still sweating after being scolded by him, and cold sweat was flowing again, and his big fat face was covered with muddy spots.

Zeng Xu said humbly: "Young Master, this is not my subordinate's fault. The teapot and teacup were left by my late father and have always been with me. I originally used the teapot and teacup from the teahouse, but

Seeing that the place was noisy, and there were other merchants making tea with the tea sets they brought, so thinking that I was not an outstanding person, I took out my tea set, my subordinate..."

Xiao Lang remembered that after entering the teahouse, he did see some tea sets used by merchants that were not provided by the teahouse. The anger in his heart subsided a little, and he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Zeng Xu, your Zeng family is loyal to our Xiao family. I don't care about this."

I know that your father died trying to save me back then, and I will always remember this kindness in my heart."

"However, you must not forget that things cannot be accomplished with loyalty alone."

"What we do is a business on the edge of a knife. If we are not careful, everything will be lost. Now that the world is in chaos, it is a great opportunity for our Xiao family to cause trouble. We must seize this rare opportunity."<

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"You don't want to live in anonymity like this for the rest of your life, do you?"

"Don't you want to stand proudly in front of others?"