In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

Yang Xuan sized him up a few times and got straight to the point.

"In the old case of the warehouse clerk, you took the blame for your superior's messy account, received twenty lashes, and had your scribe's name removed. Now, when you write contracts to sell your work, you can hardly even get two full meals a day."

Cui Shen's expression suddenly changed.

Not many people know about this.

Because it wasn't something worth mentioning about one's innocence; it was a rotten lawsuit that wouldn't even get you a chance to defend yourself.

"Did you summon me here just to dredge up old grievances and humiliate me?"

"no."

Yang Xuan looked at him.

"It's to tell you that you won't have to take on these kinds of debts for others anymore."

Cui Shen remained silent.

Yang Xuan added, "I will leave Chang'an for Yaozhou tomorrow, or at the latest the day after. The journey is long and the terrain is dangerous, so I need someone who can read accounts, write documents, calculate grain, and draft contracts."

"Come with me."

That's too blunt.

Even Afu stared wide-eyed at this.

Cui Shen was taken aback for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

"My lord, you're in dire straits yourself, yet you're thinking of saving me?"

"It's not about rescuing you, it's about using you."

Yang Xuan spoke in a very flat tone.

"When I employ someone, I don't look at whether he's sitting in a hall or crawling in the mud. I only look at whether he's worth it."

Cui Shen raised his head.

Yang Xuan met his gaze and slowly said, "You're worth it."

These two words carry more weight than silver.

Cui Shen stood there, speechless for a long time.

Just then, a series of heavier and more chaotic footsteps came from outside the door, as if two people had been chased all the way and dragged to the courtyard gate.

Afu turned around and his eyes lit up immediately.

"Young master, the other one has arrived!"

The next moment, a tall man with slightly hunched shoulders was brought in.

The man was in his thirties, with dark skin, an old wound on the corner of his mouth, and a horizontal scar across the web of his left hand.

He still reeked of alcohol, but his eyes were like a wolf's. After entering the room, he scanned the room before finally fixing his gaze on Yang Xuan.

"Pei Zhao?" Yang Xuan asked.

The man didn't answer, but instead asked, "Did you want to see me?"

"Yes."

"Do you know who I am?"

"A former soldier of the Hexi Army, who had made the greatest contribution during the garrison change in Anxi, but because he stood up for his comrade and argued with the grain transport captain, he lost his military rank and his merits, and was left with only injuries."

Yang Xuan paused here.

"You're not convinced, that's why you're still staying in Chang'an and refusing to leave."

Pei Zhao's pupils suddenly contracted.

This time, even Cui Shen couldn't help but glance at him.

This eldest son of the Yang family has only just escaped death from the court flogging today, yet he seems to be rehashing all their past messy affairs.

Yang Xuan didn't give them time to think.

He only looked at Pei Zhao and said calmly:

"Haven't you always wanted to wield a knife again, eat military rations again, and earn a decent living again?"

"I'll give it to you."

Pei Zhao stared at him, his chest heaving twice, and suddenly laughed, but the laugh carried a hint of hostility.

"Young Master Yang, you yourself are about to be driven out of Chang'an, and you're still talking about my future?"

"Yes," Yang Xuan said, "because the place I'm going to is in dire need of a knife that dares to kill."

The room fell silent for a moment.

The person on the bed was clearly so badly injured that he couldn't even sit up steadily, yet when he spoke these words, there was not a trace of bluffing.

It's as if he wasn't banished to some desolate, pestilential place, but rather to a new territory waiting for him to rise to prominence.

Yang Xuan's gaze shifted from Cui Shen to Pei Zhao, and finally he only said one sentence:

"I will leave Chang'an tonight, or at the latest tomorrow."

"If you two are willing to follow, then come with me to see a new path."

"If you don't want to, leave now, I won't stop you."

"But once you're out of this door, the price won't be the same if you want to get in my car again."

The words were spoken.

The room was so quiet that only the lingering bitterness of the still-warm medicine soup remained.

After a moment, Cui Shenxian lowered his head and bowed deeply.

"Cui Shen is willing to follow you out of Chang'an."

Immediately afterwards, Pei Zhao also grinned.

"I've had enough of being a scoundrel in the West Market."

"Since you're willing to gamble your life for your future, I'll go and see what you can gamble your life for."

Yang Xuan slowly leaned back against the pillow.

Only at this moment did he truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Money, now there's a starting point.

With roads, carriages and horses could travel.

Finally, the first group of people arrived.

Yang Xuan raised his eyes and looked at the two down-on-their-luck men who had entered the side courtyard. The corners of his lips slowly lifted.

"very good."

"From now on, none of you should even think about how to survive in Chang'an."

"What we need to think about is how to get out of this city with our lives, our people, and our money."

After Yang Xuan finished speaking, the side courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Cui Shen lowered his head, but his hands clenched tighter and tighter inside his sleeves.

Pei Zhao stood there, the carefree arrogance in his eyes fading somewhat, replaced by a long-lost brightness, as if he were finally being treated like a knife again.

Yanhe didn't speak, but just glanced at Yang Xuan.

She knew that now that he had taken her into the side courtyard, the next step would definitely not be just to be driven out of Chang'an with only a few boxes of valuables and two cars.

He's leaving.

But it wasn't about being chased away.

Instead, they needed to preserve everything they could still get from the Prime Minister's residence and Chang'an City, right under Yang Guozhong's nose, and then leave with their people, their carriages, and their dignity intact.

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard.

This time it wasn't one person, nor two, but several sets of footsteps, mixed yet orderly, walking very steadily.

Cai Fan went out to check first, and returned shortly afterward, her face slightly tense.

"Princess, someone else has come to the front hall."

Yang Xuan leaned against the couch and raised his eyelids slightly.

"Who?"

"It's still Steward Zhou, but this time he brought four servants and a head maid. He said he was sent by the Prime Minister to inventory the items in the courtyard to prevent any items belonging to the Prime Minister's residence from being mistakenly taken out of the mansion."

The expressions of the people inside the room all changed.

Cui Shen frowned subconsciously.

Pei Zhao simply gave a cold laugh.

"They started ransacking the house before the person even left the house?"

This may sound harsh, but it hits the nail on the head.

Yang Guozhong cut off the imperial documents last night, sealed the treasury in the mansion this morning, and ordered people to come to the side courtyard to "inventory the items." To put it bluntly, he wanted to shut down every possible loophole before Yang Xuan left the mansion.

Don't bring too much money.

People should not linger.

Carriages and horses should not be occupied in excess.

Even the last shred of dignity that can save face should ideally be something he can't take with him.

Yang Xuan laughed after hearing this.

"You've come at the perfect time."

Yanhe looked at him: "You can still laugh?"

"I would be worried if he didn't come."

Yang Xuan raised his hand and pressed his back. A sharp pain crept up his spine, causing the veins on his forehead to throb twice.

He paused for a moment before saying:

"It would be strange if Yang Guozhong had just driven me away without clearing the courtyard or silencing me. The fact that he's here shows he's in a hurry."

"The more anxious he is, the more it shows that the thorn left in his heart by the commotion at Hua'e Xianghui Tower last night has not been completely removed."

"What is he afraid of?" Yanhe asked.

Yang Xuan glanced at her, his smile faint.

"I'm afraid I'm not going out to wait to die, but that I can actually survive."

"What I fear even more is that I won't leave empty-handed, but with people, power, and the last breath of life."

At this point, he looked up at Uncle Wen.

"Uncle Wen, are the things that were just moved out still secure?"

"It's safe." Uncle Wen cupped his hands and said, "The most valuable items have already been put into the secret vault of the storeroom. One of the carriages has also had its exterior repainted and is parked outside the storeroom, not on the Prime Minister's register."

"it is good."

Yang Xuan nodded.

"Then please let them in."

Cai Fan was taken aback: "Please come in?"

"If we don't invite them, are we going to let them stand outside the courtyard yelling and shouting, letting the whole mansion know that we're still robbing people here?"

Yanhe understood.

She turned to Caifan and instructed, "Please come in. Also, move those boxes that aren't sealed yet outside to the porch, so they won't rummage through the house if they really want to check later."

Cai Fan responded and went out.