The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Such a prosperous and magnificent scene made Li Xiang's heart leap with joy.

"It is said that the common word 'buying things' originated from the East Market and West Market of Chang'an. The East Market of Chang'an was so prosperous, no wonder the word has become so deeply rooted in people's hearts and has been passed down orally in our China for more than a thousand years."

Since his transmigration, he has lived in the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty with the mindset of a passerby, a time traveler, and a sense of alienation, unable to fit in.

Seeing those magnificent palaces and those emperors and generals who were famous in history books, he approached it with a mindset similar to watching game graphics, movies, or watching NPCs go through the plot.

Only now, having witnessed the diverse array of people in the East Market and truly smelled the vibrant atmosphere of Chang'an during the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, did Li Xiang feel a slight connection between himself and this era.

Even though it was only a trace...

"Lightly brewed sake, paired with spring vegetables, passersby, please buy some and have a taste!"

"Hot baked flatbread, freshly cooked mutton jelly—it's delicious while it's hot! Young man, would you like a bowl of mutton jelly?"

"Pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and fine pine soot ink! Young man, Huangshan pine soot ink! Shall we take a look?"

Li Xiang strolled around the various shops in the East Market, looking around and thinking about whether he could find any business opportunities to get rich quickly.

I thought that as a transmigrator who had read all kinds of transmigration novels, after investigating in this East Market, he should at least come up with some ideas to find bargains and make a lot of money quickly.

However, after wandering around for a while, he found that the East Market was a bustling commercial hub, covering all aspects of life, and highly competitive, so there really wasn't much of a bargain for him to find.

People in ancient times weren't fools either.

After wandering around for a while, Li Xiang's homesickness was stirred up again: Damn it, before I transmigrated, I was a laborer, and all I could think about was making money.

I finally won the lottery and was just reaching the pinnacle of my life when I inexplicably transmigrated and now I have to make money...

The urge to curse Li Er for courting death reached its peak...

"Are there any pawnshops in this East Market? You know, the kind of shops where customers can pawn their things?" Li Xiang turned his head and asked the soldier with a sword who was standing guard behind him at a distance of about ten steps.

"A pawnshop?" The soldier pondered for a moment. "Is the young master referring to a pawnshop?"

"Those who do this pawnbroking business are mostly temples and Western merchants from the West Market. The East Market has always been frequented by high-ranking officials and nobles, and I have never heard of any merchants opening pawnbroking shops here."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "In this East Market, there is a gambling den that takes on business involving these kinds of pawned items."

"Boshe?" Li Xiang asked, puzzled.

"It's all about games like dice games and leaf games. After we soldiers finish our duties, we often go to the gambling den to drink and try our luck," the soldier said.

"Oh, so it's a casino!" After he explained for a few minutes, Li Xiang finally realized.

The gambling culture among the people of Guanzhong has existed since ancient times. After all, since the Han Dynasty, the old rogue Liu Bang had a fondness for cockfighting. During the Zhenguan era, gambling was called "Bo Xi".

It includes various games such as cockfighting, backgammon, leaf games, and pitch-pot, which already have the prototypes of later dice games, chess games, and mahjong games.

Although the laws of the Tang Dynasty prohibited gambling, games such as pitch-pot, leaf games, and backgammon were still widely popular in the form of "banquet entertainment," and the court's repeated prohibitions were difficult to stop.

Since there are casinos, it is natural that gamblers can pawn their personal belongings to pay off their gambling debts.

Li Xiang immediately became very interested and asked the soldier to lead the way so he could visit the temple from the Tang Dynasty.

Although the soldiers were unwilling, they had already spoken and were already in Li Xiang's control, so they had no choice but to lead the way and show Li Xiang the place.

When they arrived at the so-called "Boshe", it turned out to be a small two-courtyard house with wine flags hanging outside. The front yard did indeed sell wine and food, with three or five square tables set up, and people coming and going to buy wine and eat food.

The soldier knew the way well, and Li Xiang followed him as he lifted the curtain and went around to the backyard. The scene changed abruptly, revealing a completely different world.

The backyard was small, but it was tidied up. Low wooden tables were placed on the four walls, and coarse linen was laid on the tables. Three or five people sat around each table, some holding their breath and some shouting loudly, creating a noisy atmosphere.

The air was filled with the smells of alcohol, sweat, and the smoke from burning wine while it was being warmed, a stark contrast to the front yard.

Upon seeing the soldier and Li Xiang enter, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the shopkeeper quickly stood up to greet them, first glancing at the soldier who was wearing the Imperial Guard uniform and had a sword hanging at his waist.

He immediately looked away, focusing only on Li Xiang, and said, "This young gentleman seems to be visiting my humble abode for the first time... May I ask which family's distinguished guest you are?"

"Don't ask too many questions." Li Xiang pretended to be profound and took out a jade pendant from his pocket.

"How much can I get in return for this substance as collateral?"

This is a jade pendant he secretly kept when he left the Eastern Palace. During the Tang Dynasty, wearing jade had become a ritual, and nobles were required to wear sets of jade belts and jade objects on their waistbands.

The jade pieces make a sound when they are struck together while walking, which is both in accordance with etiquette and demonstrates dignity.

Therefore, places like the Eastern Palace naturally contained many jade pendants and artifacts. Although most of them were confiscated by Li Er, Li Xiang still managed to keep a few for future pawning as a precaution.

What he didn't know was that these jade pendants used as ritual objects each had their own set of regulations.

The shopkeeper took the jade pendant, but before he could even examine it properly, he was so frightened that his legs almost went weak: the jade pendant in front of him was of excellent quality and had a dragon pattern in the background. It was clearly a royal ceremonial object that should never fall into the hands of the common people!

Moreover, judging from the water content and the texture, it is at least of the level of a prince or royal!

Seeing that this young man was accompanied by a guard from the Imperial Guard with a sword, I already guessed that he was some important figure from some family.

Now look at this jade pendant... it clearly belongs to a noblewoman who came from the palace!

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Li Xiang asked, puzzled, seeing the shopkeeper suddenly standing there, sweating profusely.

Little did he know that jade pendants were used as ceremonial objects and had a strict hierarchy, so ordinary merchants would never dare to take them on... He only knew that this thing must be extremely valuable.

The shopkeeper was practically begging Li Xiang for forgiveness. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "Young...young master, please forgive me. My shop is small and my profits are meager, it's really..."

"I simply cannot bear to part with such a valuable item..."

"It's alright, I'll leave it with you for now. I'll wander around for a bit, and if I lose any money, you can keep it." Li Xiang waved his hand and walked inside with great interest.

He already had a money-making idea: the gambling methods of the Tang Dynasty were simple, how could they compare to his old-fashioned way of playing mahjong with his family every year during the New Year?

If you gamble with these primitive Tang Dynasty people, wouldn't you win big?

The shopkeeper was unable to stop him, nor did he dare to. He could only carefully hold the jade pendant and follow behind Li Xiang with trepidation.

"Why are you following me?" Li Xiang frowned when he saw the shopkeeper following him.

"Hehe... Let me introduce you to the young master." The innkeeper was only worried that some ignorant person in the gambling house might offend an important person, so he followed him closely.