Jinting Han people

After killing someone, Liu Xian did not stop and led his assassins into the Taifu Mansion in the south of the city to prepare for the next assassination.

The Grand Tutor at the time was none other than Liu Shi, the former tutor of Prince Guangling and the earliest teacher of Crown Prince Sima Yi. He had already sent his eldest son, Liu Ji, to wait at the side door. When Liu Xian and his men arrived, he immediately ushered them into the backyard, which had been vacant for many years.

To prevent leaks, Liu Ji didn't wake any servants and walked very quietly, fearing that others would overhear him. Throughout the entire process, he didn't have much conversation with Liu Xian. While confirming the prince's token, he whispered, "Everything is ready and in the storeroom. Here's the key to the back door. Remember to lock it when you leave, and don't make too much noise."

After Liu Xian took the key, he immediately tiptoed away.

Without Liu Xian's orders, the assassins quickly stripped off their armor and piled them into the backyard storeroom, covering them with straw. Those with blood on their bodies fetched water from the basin to wash away the bloody smell. Then, they gathered in the side rooms, changed into the common cloth short-sleeved robes that could be seen everywhere, and silently ate the pancakes prepared by the mansion.

Because they had been prepared for dinner yesterday afternoon, the pancakes were already cold. The backyard was messy and covered in dust, making them taste like chewing wax. Fortunately, everyone was too excited to care about these things. After all, they had just completed their first assassination attempt, and they were within easy reach of the palace.

If nothing unexpected happened, those bodies would have been discovered by now. The thought that some important figure might be awakened by this incident and would be busy with it filled the assassins with a sense of satisfaction. With this sense of accomplishment as a side dish, even the tasteless cold food in their mouths seemed to have become a delicacy. The assassins finished their meal quickly, even feeling a little tipsy, as if they had drunk wine.

But this was just the beginning. Liu Xian said to them, "Go to bed early. We will be busy after the daybreak."

It turned out that according to Liu Xian's plan, from the time the Houdang learned of the first murder case, to the time they began investigating and conducting a large-scale search, it would take an estimated two to three days. This period was Liu Xian's prime time for committing crimes. As long as he could continuously exert pressure and assassinate enough Houdang members during this period, he would be able to overwhelm them and completely paralyze their investigative system.

Therefore, although he had just assassinated four people, Liu Xian was about to carry out the next assassination after dawn.

The assassins also knew Liu Xian's plan and began to rest. However, few could sleep peacefully. Firstly, due to the haste of the situation, there were no beds prepared in the backyard, so everyone could only rest on straw mats, which was difficult to get used to. Secondly, it was a humid summer day, and the mosquitoes were active, biting people and making them itch. Thirdly, there was another assassination after another, so everyone was inevitably tossing and turning.

However, this did not include Liu Xian. During his years in Guanxi, he had not always been able to rest in his tent. Sleeping in the open air was normal for him. If he could keep up with the journey, he could even sleep on horseback. The current environment was obviously not bad.

As for the assassination plan that was about to be carried out, he had designed it himself. He had deduced the details dozens of times and knew it by heart. Whether it succeeded or failed, he had a prepared plan, so naturally he didn't worry about it. Therefore, within a quarter of an hour, he quickly fell asleep on the straw mat.

Seeing him so calm, the Huainan warriors were all filled with admiration. The anxiety in their hearts gradually subsided and they all fell asleep.

Following a clear rooster crow, Liu Xian opened his eyes and immediately sat up from the straw mat. At this time, the sky was still dark, with only the east beginning to brighten. The ten accompanying death warriors were still in a coma.

Liu Xian dusted himself off, stood up, scooped a spoonful of water from the water tank, and washed his face. The curfew had been lifted, and he listened. He could hear footsteps on the street. Though few, they were especially crisp in the early morning. Liu Xian searched for the footsteps of the city guards, but fortunately, there were none. It seemed the first assassination hadn't spread far enough, at least not to the south of the city.

It looked like everything was going according to plan. Liu Xian turned back to wake his warriors. After a quick packing, they grabbed the bags and loads they had prepared, locked the door, and left the Taifu Mansion as quietly as they had arrived. Of the more than a hundred people in the Taifu Mansion, no one except Liu Shi and his son knew that such a group of strangers had even visited.

By this time, the assassins had split into two teams. One team of seven, disguised as bricklayers, went to the Yinle Guangfu in Henan to repair tiles. After a brief period of deception, they took the opportunity to escape from the city. They did not participate in the subsequent assassination. The remaining three disguised themselves as merchants and servants, carrying hundreds of rolls of silk and heading straight for the gold market west of the city.

Luoyang's gold market, also known as the Grand Market, was the most prosperous in the world. When Liu Xian arrived, the sky was barely light, but the vendors were already at their respective booths, displaying their wares, drawing a considerable crowd. The merchandise was dazzling, ranging from the most luxurious coral and ivory to the most trivial clothing and food items, from rare treasures from the Western Regions to even the imperial utensils. It was truly a place where you could have everything.

But today was different from the past. There were more imperial guards patrolling the Gold Market entrance, questioning the vendors. From the outside, it became clear that these guards were soldiers from the Sili Xiaowei's residence. They were asking if anyone had heard anything unusual the previous night. It seemed they were investigating the assassination, as the assassination site wasn't far from the Gold Market.

However, because the city implemented the Fangshi system, that is, only goods could be sold in the market and people could not live in the market like in the Minfang, the Jinshi was bustling during the day but deserted at night. Therefore, even if the Jinshi burned down overnight, no one would know about it that night, let alone if it was just a murder.

So the soldiers got nothing, and even if the real murderer came to them with three followers, they would know nothing.

Liu Xian's turn soon came for questioning. He was dressed like a cloth merchant, his face powdered to hide his scars. He also tried to make his complexion appear as sallow as possible, and he even painted a black mole under his eye. He feigned ignorance in response to the soldiers' questions, speaking in a Guanxi accent. He claimed to have come to Luoyang to ask for help and that he intended to sell the Guanxi silk he had brought for gold and silver. He had no other ulterior motives.

His Guanxi accent sounded quite similar, and since his followers showed no signs of anger, the soldiers could not find any fault with him, so they let Liu Xian enter the gold market.

Liu Xian heaved a sigh of relief. After a night of observation, he felt these three men had the mental fortitude to succeed, which was why he had brought them along as his followers. It seemed his vision was sound. If they had revealed a flaw and drawn the soldiers' attention, it would have been disastrous.

The group went straight to a cloth shop. Liu Xian bargained with the owner for half a day, and finally sold the 340 rolls of silk he had brought to the cloth shop at the price of one gold piece for ten rolls of silk, earning 34 gold pieces. When he came out again, it was already daybreak.

Liu Xian immediately booked a room in a tavern not far away, ordered some banquets, and looked down at the streets of Jin City from the attic.

It seems that even if a homicide occurred around Jin City, it was still not enough to affect the normal operation of Luoyang. The streets of Jin City were still crowded with cars and horses. This was normal. There were at least forty homicides to be reported in Luoyang every year, and there were countless unreported cases. Now it was just a special person who died in the middle of the night, and even his identity was difficult to prove. It was normal that there was not much impact.

However, what Liu Xian is going to do next will not be as quiet as before.

Around noon, a middle-aged man dressed as a clerk walked onto the street. He was swaggering and arrogant, and was flanked by seven sword-wielding guards. Everyone around him retreated as if he were the plague.

Liu Xian's eyes lit up. He immediately summoned a soldier, handed him a gold cake, and ordered him, "Go and give this gold and silver to him. Tell him that I am a merchant from Guanxi and I have something to ask of Sun Jincao."

Liu Xian then observed the situation from the window. The clerk had obviously received too much bribe and fell into the trap easily. He brazenly led a group of guards upstairs, walked up to Liu Xian, looked at him for a moment, and then said:
"I do not know you."

Liu Xian smiled broadly and said, "I'm new here, so of course Sun Jincao doesn't recognize me." "Then how do you recognize me?"

"If you want to do business in Luoyang Gold Market, you have to look at the faces of Sun Ge and Sun Jincao. Who among the merchants here doesn't know this?"

This statement clearly satisfied Sun Ge. He chuckled twice, sat down next to Liu Xian, and said nonchalantly, "What do you want to buy from me? In the Gold Market, let me tell you, every inch of land is worth a fortune. The smallest shop is worth twenty gold a year. If you still want to do some unusual business, as long as you give me a hundred gold a year, I can take care of it for you."

What a high price! And from what he said, the money here was all donated directly to him, not including the market rent. But according to the market rent set by the government, a merchant occupying an area as large as the Anle Mansion would only collect seven gold coins. Yet, Sun Ge, an eighth-rank official, more than tripled the commercial tax.

Liu Xian lowered his voice and said, "Sun Jincao, you are too polite. I do have something to ask of you, but I am not doing business in Luoyang."

"Oh?" Sun Ge looked rather unhappy when he heard that it had nothing to do with his job, but for the sake of Jin Bing, he did not leave but waited for the next part.

Liu Xian continued, "I would like to meet your uncle, Emperor Sun."

Sun Ge's expression changed again. It turned out that the "Sun Huang Men" Liu Xian was referring to was none other than Sun Lu, the Empress's favorite. It was thanks to his uncle Sun Lu's connections that he became the Luoyang Jin Cao. He asked, "What's your business?"

Liu Xian first offered ten pieces of gold and moved closer to Sun Ge. He whispered in Sun Ge's ear, "I am the nephew of Suo Jing, the Internal History of Shiping. I want to buy an official position from Sun Huangmen."

After a brief pause, Liu Xian gave Sun Ge a look and said, "It's noon now, Sun Jincao, let's talk while we eat."

Sun Ge suddenly realized what was going on. He waved his hand and ordered the guards downstairs to patrol. Liu Xian also ordered his assassins to go down with him. When the area was clear, Sun Ge smiled and said, "So it's Lord Suo's men. I don't know what they want from my Third Uncle?"

Liu Xian responded respectfully, "My master is old. Despite his contributions in suppressing the rebellion in Guanxi, he is still serving as an official in a foreign post. His health is failing. He used to be too aloof and arrogant, and he didn't have many friends. I have no way to ask someone to intercede with the Empress, so I thought of Emperor Sun. I hope he can put in a few good words for my master."

"Oh, so that's how it is!" Sun Ge weighed the gold beside him and said to Liu Xian, "You have enough money to meet me, but it's still far from enough to meet my third uncle."

"Of course I know that. I'm asking to see you today because I know you and Huang Men are like father and son. Would you please introduce us?"

"Ah, let me think about it." When Liu Xian presented the remaining ten gold coins, Sun Ge's smile widened. He then said mysteriously, "Of course, the money is not small, but you'd better buy two or three women, the kind that can be wet nurses, and send them to my house as slaves."

"Wet nurse?"

"To be honest, ever since my third uncle visited Wang Ji's residence, he's become obsessed with goose gizzards steamed with human milk. He says it's a delicacy, and he can't get enough of it! So he often buys wet nurses for our family."

"It's been so long, so your family should have many wet nurses, right?"

Sun Ge said sullenly, "Don't mention it. My uncle got mad at me because the food wasn't good, and then he cut off the breasts of those bitches and steamed them for cooking... You know what, it tastes pretty good this way."

"Oh, I see..." Liu Xian looked thoughtful, actually calculating in his mind how far away the guards were.

"By the way, what else do you like?"

At this point, he chuckled again and said, "Unlike my uncle, I'm not very picky. Find me two ten-year-old virgins, and I'll take care of the rest for you."

After making sure that no one was around, he whispered to Sun Ge, "I have another treasure to present to Jin Cao. Please ask Jin Cao to speak well of me."

"Okay, okay." Sun Ge was very happy. He watched Liu Xian's right hand reaching into his arms, then he clenched it into a fist and took it out, handing it to him. What could this be?

The answer was nothing. Liu Xian suddenly opened his hands and instantly grabbed Sun Ge's neck. His left hand covered Sun Ge's mouth, muffling his terrified voice. Before he could even struggle, Liu Xian gripped his skull tightly and twisted it hard.

With a snap, Sun Ge's neck was broken, and he fell on the seat without even being able to utter a word.

Liu Xian regained his composure a bit, and covered Sun Ge with the white and yellow cloth he had prepared beforehand. He then walked downstairs with a calm expression and said to the owner, "Sun Jincao wants to use your shop to rest for a while. Please don't disturb him."

As Sun Lu's adopted son, Sun Ge was used to bullying others in the Gold Market. All the shopkeepers in the Gold Market were afraid of him, so naturally they agreed.

Liu Xian then summoned the three lookouts and joined the bustling crowd in the Gold Market, quickly disappearing. A quarter of an hour later, they changed into Taoist robes, dressed as Taoist priests and Taoist children, and left the palace through Guangyang Gate in a dignified manner.

An hour later, the Luoyang Gold Market was in an uproar. (End of this chapter)