The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 87 You Want to Be Fan Li, Zhu Yuanzhang Isn't Goujian

Zhao Qing led Li Jinglong through the bustling crowds of flower-viewing people. The two turned from the riverbank into a narrow alley, crossed two stone bridges, and entered the old street along the Qinhuai River.

"Which one?" Li Jinglong asked.

Zhao Qing tiptoed slightly and pointed ahead: "The one in the black robe."

Li Jinglong looked up and saw a burly old man about fifty paces away, his back to them, walking slowly forward.

The old man in black robes paused at the street corner and then went into a teahouse next door.

Li Jinglong touched the glove at his waist and calmed himself down.

Zhang Liangbi.

The eldest of the Zhang family's seven guns was a ruthless figure who fought his way in and out of the Guanzhong battlefield back then.

Li Jinglong was a little nervous, but this was the capital city, and he figured Zhang Liangqiang wouldn't dare to do anything reckless.

"Follow them in," he said in a low voice.

Zhao Qing was also worried: "Young Duke, should we call for reinforcements? He is Zhang Liangbi, who has fought in the midst of thousands of troops."

Li Jinglong shook his head: "Go call him, he's already gone. Let's sit at the next table and not disturb him."

He led Zhao Qing into the teahouse, and immediately saw Zhang Liangbi sitting by the window. He casually strolled towards the window, with Zhao Qing beside him.

As they drew closer, Zhang Liangbi, who was sitting down, suddenly looked up.

His gaze fell on Zhao Qing's face, and he was startled.

The next moment, he suddenly stood up.

Li Jinglong reached for his waistband with his right hand.

"Is it Princess Baihua?" Zhang Liangbi asked in surprise.

Zhao Qing was stunned, and after a long while, she asked, "You—who are you?"

"I never expected to meet you in the capital." Zhang Liangbi smiled. "Have you forgotten? When His Majesty hosted a banquet to entertain the heroes of Guanzhong, you performed a dance! That 'Zhezhi' dance amazed everyone present, and the princess even poured wine for me!"

A look of panic flashed across Zhao Qing's face before she bowed slightly, saying, "So it was Zhang Shuai. I was quite young back then, so I don't remember very clearly."

Li Jinglong, who was standing to the side, smiled slightly.

Zhao Qing hadn't told him about this part; she only said that she had seen Zhang Liangbi once from afar.

"Since we've run into an elder, let's sit down and talk," Li Jinglong said politely.

Zhang Liangbi glanced at him, then turned to Zhao Qing and asked, "Princess, I heard that you and the imperial grandson were captured, and later the imperial grandson was released back to the grasslands. Why are you still here in Yingtian?"

Zhao Qing pursed her red lips and sighed softly: "Sit down and let's talk."

2

After she sat down, she lowered her eyelashes and remained silent for a while before speaking: "After we were captured, the imperial court showed leniency and treated my brother and me well. Later, the court allowed my brother to return to the grasslands, but I didn't want to go back."

"What's left on the grassland? My mother is long gone, the tribe has scattered, and if I go back, I'll just marry into some thousand-household tent and be trapped in a yurt for the rest of my life, smelling the mutton."

"Before my younger brother left, he left me all the silver he had with him. I thought I couldn't just sit around and do nothing, so I used the money to rent a shop in the south of the city and started a silk business."

"I'm a woman who grew up on the grasslands, how would I know anything about the silk business? I couldn't even tell the difference between Shu brocade and Song brocade, and I got ripped off."

After six months of operation, the shop not only lost all its capital but also incurred a debt of five hundred taels of silver.

Zhang Liangbi stared intently at Zhao Qing with his old eyes, his brows furrowed.

Zhao Qing raised her hand and pointed to Li Jinglong beside her: "Later, it was Young Master Li who bought me back and paid off my debts. Young Master Li's name is Li Chongliu."

"Li Chongliu?"

Zhang Liangbi's eyes narrowed. "So you're Li Chongliu, the new chief beggar?"

"Senior, you've actually heard of me?" Li Jinglong asked in surprise.

Zhang Liangbi said casually, "I heard about it from an old friend when I went to the capital to do business."

"Does Zhang Shuai still have old friends in Beijing?" Li Jinglong feigned surprise.

Zhang Liangbi glared at him: "Boy, don't go asking me any more questions. People who make a living in the underworld know the rules. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't inquire about what you shouldn't inquire about."

"Zhang Shuai, are you in business now?" Zhao Qing asked curiously.

Zhang Liangbi nodded, then sighed: "We all need to have a way of making a living."

"General Zhang, if the government knew your identity, would they dare to give you a business license?" Li Jinglong was genuinely puzzled this time.

The Ming Dynasty imposed strict regulations on merchants, requiring them to possess a government-issued trading permit for travels exceeding one hundred li (approximately 50 kilometers). This permit specified the merchant's name, place of origin, and destination.

Goods and deadlines—if either is missing, the goods won't pass through checkpoints. Zhang Liangbi was a former Yuan general; which local official would dare issue him a travel permit?

Zhang Liangbi scoffed, "Hmph, although the world belongs to the Zhu family, outside of Yingtian Prefecture, which place isn't far from the emperor's reach?"

"So, you dare to come to the capital, aren't you afraid of being arrested?" Li Jinglong asked again.

Zhang Liangbi remained silent for a while, then said, "I have lost the battle for the world, but I am not discouraged. There was Fan Li in ancient times who helped King Goujian of Yue destroy the state of Wu. After the deed was done, he left home, sailed on the Five Lakes, and became a merchant, eventually becoming Tao Zhugong. I am not talented, but I also think of following Fan Li's example and becoming a merchant to live out the rest of my life in peace."

Li Jinglong smiled slightly.

You want to be like Fan Li, you want to learn from Tao Zhugong, but Zhu Yuanzhang is not King Goujian of Yue.

"But no one in the capital dares to do business with you," Li Jinglong said, shrugging.

Zhang Liangbi narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "I've heard there's a big manager in the capital who runs a large business and has a wide reach. I've come to the capital to see him. Putting aside everything else, I still have some old friends in Guanzhong, and I can run a business there with the big manager."

Li Jinglong frowned.

The top shopkeeper in the capital?

Who is it? Someone with such a big background? There's such a person in the capital?

"Do you know the head manager?" he asked.

Zhang Liangbi shook his head: "I haven't met him yet. This person is quite mysterious. I have to send him my invitation first and wait."

""

Li Jinglong nodded slowly.

Judging from the conversation so far, Zhang Liangbi seems to be genuinely doing business, rather than making it up.

It seems that this Liangbi is not the Darughachi of the Scout Army.

"Princess Baihua, it seems we are destined to meet." Zhang Liangbi looked at Zhao Qing like an elder. "Back in Dadu, His Majesty hosted a banquet, and you poured wine for me. At that time, you were just a young girl. Now you've fallen to this state, and it pains me to see you like this. How about I redeem you from your servitude? You can follow me into business, which will give you a way to make a living, and you won't have to be someone's servant anymore."

Li Jinglong glared angrily: "Hey, trying to steal someone right in front of me?"

Zhang Liangbi turned his head and said coldly, "Look at you, you're too handsome, always smiling and never serious. You don't seem like a good person."

"Can the princess have a good life with you?"

"Do you think you, Zhang Liangbi, are a good person?" Li Jinglong sneered. "You've killed more people than I've eaten salt."

Zhang Liangbi: "————"

"Zhang Shuai, thank you. But I'm doing just fine with Young Master Li, and I don't want to wander around anymore," Zhao Qing said earnestly.

Zhang Liangbi nodded, did not try to persuade him further, and stood up: "Very well, I will be leaving the capital in a few days."

Zhao Qing stood up and bowed slightly to him: "Take care, Commander Zhang."

"Princess, take care!" Zhang Liangbi bowed.

He strode away, and Li Jinglong did not get up to follow.

This matter must be reported to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He thought to himself.