Chapter 1 "Your Highness, this old servant is useless, still needing Your Highness to look after me, cough cough cough… This old servant is fine, just having Chen-shifu taking care of me is enough, Your Highness need not worry."

Grand Eunuch Zhang lay on the bed, coughing several times after every few words, looking like a frost-bitten eggplant, completely withered.

Chen Guangting stood beside him, holding a basin just as Zheng Fan and the Sixth Prince entered. Inside the basin was a towel, as he was about to wipe the old eunuch's body.

"It's good that Grand Eunuch Zhang is alright. Grand Eunuch Zhang knows the situation in my residence. Talented individuals and unusual people wouldn't submit their names to my residence. Fortunately, Grand Eunuch Zhang is here to watch over things; otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully at night."

"Your Highness jests. To serve Your Highness is a blessing this old servant has cultivated for several lifetimes."

"Chen-shifu, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Grand Eunuch Zhang. We'll set off on our journey back to the capital when Grand Eunuch Zhang's injuries have healed enough for him to travel."

"Your Highness is too kind. This is what I should do. Grand Eunuch Zhang was injured protecting Your Highness, and also protecting me. I cannot shirk my responsibility."

"Mm."

The Sixth Prince didn't linger there, turning to leave the room. Seeing that the Sixth Prince hadn't introduced him, Zheng Fan didn't speak to the two and followed the Sixth Prince out.

"Ah, was that the fellow who saved His Highness?" Grand Eunuch Zhang asked.

"Yes, they say he's a Commandant from the Zhenbei Army."

"Thank heavens for him. Otherwise, if anything had happened to His Highness at the hands of the barbarian bandits, you and I would have had no choice but to die to atone for our sins, and perhaps even our families would have been exiled to the frontier."

"You should talk less. Let me wipe your body down. I know you like being clean."

"Heh, I've really got some good fortune shining on my ancestral grave, to have a literary seed of Great Yan serve me. Hehe, this injury was worth it."

"You are a rootless person, and I am a rootless weed, so we are in the same boat."

"Heh, indeed."

…

"Can you still walk?" the Sixth Prince asked Zheng Fan.

"It's not a big problem anymore."

The wound on his abdomen naturally wouldn't heal so quickly, after all, he hadn't been bitten by A Ming.

But with the combination of good wound medicine and his control over his Qi and blood, unless he got into a fight, walking normally wasn't a problem.

"Alright, then let's go out to eat."

"Doesn't the residence have a cook?" Zheng Fan asked curiously.

"We do, but the meals in the Zhenbei Marquis's residence are all supplied collectively. Except for the womenfolk and the wounded in the residence, everyone eats the same thing as the soldiers. The meals are all delivered from the army's cooks.

Eating that in front of others is fine, to flatter them, but in private, there's no need for us to wrong ourselves like that."

"Alright."

The location of the Zhenbei Marquis's residence didn't have city walls. Besides the tall buildings of the Zhenbei Marquis's residence itself, the surrounding area was full of flat houses and even tents.

It was more like a large military camp than a city.

However, the outside was quite lively, with marketplaces as well.

This situation was very similar to how some regions in later generations could evolve into a city by relying on a single state-owned enterprise. Soldiers who received their military pay had to spend it, and the soldiers' families also needed to live, so slowly, the prototype of a city was formed.

"Doesn't Your Highness want to bring some guards?"

After coming out, Zheng Fan saw that the Sixth Prince only had him by his side and couldn't help but ask.

"It's fine. This is already within the Marquis's residence area. We've already entered the paifang (decorated archway). No one would dare to cause trouble here."

It could be seen that the Sixth Prince was very confident in the security here.

Since that was the case, Zheng Fan wouldn't say much. At worst, if they encountered danger, he would escape first. It would be fine if this Sixth Prince died…

The Sixth Prince chose a mutton restaurant and sat down, ordering two portions of mutton soup plus four flatbreads.

The mutton soup was quickly brought up. The Sixth Prince tore the flatbread and threw it into the mutton soup while saying to Zheng Fan:

"Do you know that a few months ago, the Marquis was urgently summoned to the capital by several imperial decrees?

And on the first day of entering the capital, the Marquis went to Quande Restaurant in the capital and ate five roast ducks all by himself."

"Was that to deliberately show that he could still eat and was still strong?"

"You're overthinking it. It was purely because he was stifled by the bland food in the residence. He could finally leave the Marquis's residence and eat and drink freely. The founding Zhenbei Marquis set too many rules."

"With rules, there can be standards."

"Don't speak so pretentiously. It's enough that I have to listen to Chen Guangting droning on about it all day long. Do I have to listen to you say it again?

I'm not sure about the rules, but Quande Restaurant wasn't originally an old brand in the capital, and it wasn't very famous. It was purely because it was close to the north gate. The Marquis couldn't wait to eat meat as soon as he entered the city, so he chose their place.

Now it's good. This roast duck restaurant is popular, and the price of each duck has increased fivefold compared to the past and is still in short supply."

"The boss is lucky," Zheng Fan said enviously.

Celebrity endorsements are common in any era. A celebrity drinking soy milk, eating fried dough sticks, or peeing under a telephone pole can become a pilgrimage site for fans.

"The owner of that roast duck restaurant is me."

Zheng Fan smiled upon hearing this and said, "Then it's not just as simple as luck."

"That's natural. I had Grand Eunuch Zhang give the soldiers guarding the north gate some rewards in advance, so that they would shout several times when the Zhenbei Marquis entered the city that Quande Restaurant's ducks were fatty but not greasy, the most fragrant and delicious, and one could not forget it for a month after eating one, hehe."

"Your Highness is very talented."

"It's just a small business trick. It can't be considered great talent."

"If a merchant does well, he can also govern the country."

"Heh, throughout history, I have never seen a great merchant successfully establish a country."

Well, there weren't any before, but there might be in later generations.

"I'm going to start eating."

"Please, Your Highness."

Zheng Fan also picked up the large bowl and took a sip of the soup. The soup was very fragrant, and pepper should have been added. At this time, the sun was gradually setting, and it was the time when the north wind was rising and the temperature was dropping. After a few sips of this mutton soup, his body felt a lot warmer.

After half a bowl of soup, Zheng Fan put down the bowl and began to look around.

"Just eat. Don't be so vigilant and scare yourself. Here, who dares to be presumptuous and make a move? No matter which family you are from, you won't be able to bear the consequences."

The Sixth Prince thought that Zheng Fan was being vigilant around him to protect his safety and felt a little moved.

But Zheng Fan was just looking for Si Niang's whereabouts.

Immediately, he couldn't help but ask:

"Where are the soldiers from Tiger Head City who escorted the birthday tribute now?"

"They should be camping outside the city. What's wrong? Missing your subordinates?"

"A little."

"Tsk tsk, you're not at ease without soldiers in your hands, are you?"

"That's natural."

"I really envy you. You can legitimately command troops. However, if I show the slightest intention of wanting to get involved in military power, I will immediately fall into eternal doom!"

"But without soldiers, life is not secure, especially for someone like you."

"Young man, your words are dangerous."

"Words from the bottom of my heart. Even a grass chicken commandant like this humble servant, in that small Tiger Head City, just because I didn't have any soldiers, even the city guards dared to look down on me, let alone you."

"Hehe, what exactly do you want to say? I'm curious. Is the mutton soup not good enough, or the flatbread not fragrant enough, that you can't stop your mouth?"

"Since ancient times, political power comes from the barrel of a gun."

After hearing this, the Sixth Prince's lips moved slightly, as if he was silently reciting this sentence in his heart,

and said:

"Insightful, incisive, and enlightening.

Your level of speaking is indeed not bad.

However, the imperial guards in the capital are controlled by my second brother, the county soldiers of Tiancheng County are held by my eldest brother, and among the outer vassals, the Zhenbei Army is the best in the world, but it is regarded as the private property of the Li family.

I was able to leave the capital this time because I got a mission. Usually, I am not allowed to leave the capital at will. Tell me, where am I going to get soldiers? Well, don't tell me to rely on you?"

"Precisely this humble servant."

"I say, old brother, can we be a little more subtle? You've directly carved the words 'treacherous official' on your forehead."

"My good brother ah..."

"Stop, cut it out! I was wrong, I shouldn't have given you the opportunity."

"Your Highness, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier, and a subject who doesn't want to be a treacherous official is not a good subject."

"Where did you get so many aphorisms?"

"Felt inspired."

"Alright, boss, check out."

"Uh, Your Highness, this humble servant didn't bring any money."

After waking up from the injury and lying in bed, this set of clothes was given to him by the Sixth Prince. Where would he have had the chance to put money in them?

Unexpectedly, the Sixth Prince took out his purse,

and said:

"Don't panic, I always bring money when I go out."

Looking at the Sixth Prince's skilled money-taking movements, Zheng Fan suddenly felt a little sorry for this kid.

After paying the bill,

the Sixth Prince didn't seem to plan on returning to the Marquis's residence and continued to stroll around the streets with Zheng Fan.

Strolling here and strolling there,

they strolled to the entrance of a dark brothel.

On both sides of the door, red curtains were hung.

This was a custom in the north,

just like those small shops on many streets in later generations that had a barber shop sign but didn't even have a pair of scissors inside.

"This... Your Highness."

"What's wrong? It's not easy to come to the north, and Chen Guangting is taking care of Grand Eunuch Zhang and didn't come out with us. Can't I go hunting for some wild game?"

"This humble servant thinks that Your Highness doesn't seem to lack women, right?"

"I don't lack women, but men, how can they not be unfaithful? Besides, there are many good goods in these red tents, some from the Western Regions, some from even further west, tsk tsk, that figure, that figure."

"This humble servant admires you."

"Hmm? What do you admire about me?"

"I admire Your Highness's spirit of daring to make progress and daring to challenge."

"This flattery is irrelevant and doesn't match your previous level of speaking."

"Your Highness, not everyone has this kind of courage."

"Pfft... Hahahaha!"

The Sixth Prince bent over with laughter.

"I said, treacherous official..."

"............" Zheng Fan.

"Oh no, sorry, Zheng Fan ah, I like being with you, I like you accompanying me to talk, why don't you come back to the capital with me, just live in my residence, and be responsible for chatting with me every day."

"Isn't that inconvenient?"

"There's nothing inconvenient about it. I can even have Grand Eunuch Zhang take you as a disciple. Many people are envious of his hand of Qi Refiner."

"Your Highness, you can't make such jokes."

"Alright, if you don't want to cut off a piece of your flesh, then accompany me inside, let's go explore and make progress together!"

"Your Highness, this humble servant is still injured."

"It's okay, just let her be on top."

Saying that,

the Sixth Prince pulled Zheng Fan into the dark brothel.

The layout inside was a bit narrow. A passageway barely wide enough for two people to pass through, and on both sides of the passageway were small cubicles with red curtains hanging.

You could lift the red curtain and see the woman sitting on the blanket inside.

The woman would wink at you, or pretend to be dignified, in short, changing her ways to let you come in and choose her.

This was also the origin of using red curtains to refer to this kind of business.

In Zheng Fan's opinion, this was indeed avant-garde enough, and the people of this era really knew how to play, with a bit of a Tobita Shinchi feel.

"Hey, I've chosen, I'm going in first."

Zheng Fan turned his head and looked at the blonde, blue-eyed woman sitting in that tent. This vat was not ordinary.

This woman, even among Western women, was a tall and large size.

Zheng Fan continued to walk inside. To be honest, he really didn't have that kind of thought, after all, Si Niang usually helped him accelerate.

In the past, Zheng Fan thought that modern people were being pretentious when they wrote "soft hands," but only after truly experiencing it did he realize that the ancients did not deceive him!

Suddenly,

a fragrant wind rushed into Zheng Fan's arms,

and a plump Hu woman hugged Zheng Fan's waist.

This fragrance,

in an instant,

Zheng Fan identified the woman's identity!

"Sir, come play with this servant, this servant guarantees to serve you well, come play, my lord."

Zheng Fan snorted coldly,

pushed the Hu woman in his arms away,

and said coldly:

"Get lost, I have a woman I like."