Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

032: The Strange Case of Youzhou

Li Xingguo nodded and replied, "I see!"

Su Wen asked, "What time does the ghost market open tonight?"

Zhao Qing said, "It will begin at 3:45 PM!"

Su Wen responded, "Zhao Qing, go and fetch the stabber Ji Ming!"

Zhao Qing bowed and responded.

......

To avoid attracting too much attention, Zhao Qing did not come this time; instead, Su Wen, Ji Ming, and Li Xingguo went instead.

Around 7:45 PM, the three left Youzhou City and arrived at a former abandoned village not far outside the city, which was the Ghost Market.

The so-called "ghost market" is actually just a street market, similar to the night streets formed by pushcarts nowadays. In essence, it's just a street market.

Because it only opened for business after curfew, it was named the Ghost Market. However, fearing government intervention and crackdowns, it was later reorganized and opened on the 15th and 16th of each month, which is equivalent to a modern-day market.

The government only had two days, so they didn't take any action and left it to the people.

The ghost market is filled with all sorts of things for sale. In addition, there are bodyguards who are specifically responsible for protecting the vendors and sellers. These people are called "Night People," which are actually thugs and gangsters, the nighttime version of the Bad Guys. Many of them are Bad Guys who come out to earn extra money as a side job.

As Su Wen walked along, he saw vendors selling food, drinks, toys, clothes, hidden weapons, poisons, and even swords.

During the Tang Dynasty, the control over swords was not strict. Of course, you couldn't buy armor in the ghost market either, because if you dared to sell such a thing, your whole family would really die!

"Ji Ming, where is that thing sold?"

Ji Ming deliberately lowered his voice and said, "It's next to the small earth god temple up ahead!"

Although the government turned a blind eye to the existence of this ghost market, everyone was afraid of being reported or implicated, so almost everyone who came to the ghost market wore a mask or a veil, or painted their faces all over, making it impossible to see their true appearance.

A moment later, the three arrived at the small earth god temple, which was much more desolate and quiet than the main road of the ghost market.

Apart from the three of them, they didn't see anyone else there.

There weren't even any street stalls. Ji Ming said, "He always arrives close to midnight, so we'll have to wait a little longer!"

Su Wen responded and then looked at Li Xingguo, saying, "Then let's wait here. I want to go to the ghost market and see if there's anything useful I can buy!"

After saying that, Su Wen left the small earth god temple and strolled along the main road of the ghost market.

Su Wen bought some food on the main road and strolled around while eating. Although there were many things, he couldn't find anything he wanted. Finally, he bought a set of hidden weapons at the place that sold concealed weapons. These things could be used for self-defense when necessary, and they weren't too expensive, only three hundred coins.

After making the purchase, Su Wen felt his pockets and found he had a little over a hundred coins left. He couldn't help but sigh. You see, his predecessor was a coroner who was lazy and didn't save a penny. After Su Wen arrived, he received a lot of reward money and was transferred to Youzhou, where he also received a sum of money, not much, only three thousand coins.

It took one or two months to travel from Anle County to Youzhou. Although he saved every penny, he finally arrived in Youzhou. The Youzhou County government gave him a small reward, but food and lodging cost money. Everywhere cost money. Thinking of this, Su Wen couldn't help but sigh.

However, officials in the Tang Dynasty were not allowed to engage in commerce, otherwise they would be registered as merchants and would never be able to serve as officials again. Therefore, even if Su Wen had some idea about engaging in commerce, he dared not use it!

Looking at his nearly empty wallet, Su Wen couldn't help but sigh. He had only officially received his official position and salary yesterday, but he wouldn't be able to receive it until next month at the earliest. The thought of having to spend the hundred-odd yuan he had for a month made Su Wen sigh again.

No wonder most officials are corrupt. If this guy isn't corrupt, he must be really poor!

When they returned to the small earth god temple, Su Wen offered the food he was holding to Ji Ming and Li Xingguo, but both of them shook their heads and politely declined.

Su Wen sat alone on one side, eating.

In ancient times, there were no cell phones. The third quarter of the hour of Xu (戌时) is 9 pm. After going around for a while, it would take at most a quarter of an hour to get back. The hour of Zi (子时) is from 11 pm to 1 am. In other words, the three of them would have to wait for at least an hour.

In ancient times, there were no cell phones, so the three of them just sat there waiting. As they waited, Su Wen fell asleep leaning against the earth god temple!

In a daze, Su Wen was shaken awake. He saw Ji Ming standing before him and heard, "Brother, they're here! Get up!"

Su Wen rubbed his eyes and stood up. He saw a person dressed in a black robe, with a black veil on his face and a black hood on his head. There was no other color on his body except for his two eyes.

Ji Ming introduced Su Wen: "Brother, this is the Hermit of Xuandao Mountain!"

Su Wen bowed to Xuan Dao Shanren and said, "My name is Chen Qing. I have come here to purchase some Gastrodia elata powder from you!"

"There's a limited supply of Gastrodia elata powder this month, so we're only selling a small quantity. If you both want it, we'll give it all to you, but the price will be doubled!"

Su Wen said, "Ah, the price isn't the problem, but why is the quantity so small? My second brother and I have been doing better and better at our shop these past few months, I'm afraid this won't be enough to last until next month!"

"Gastrodia elata powder requires extremely special herbs. The weather has been bad for the past month, resulting in a poor harvest, so this is all we have. You can buy more to store later when you have more. This is all we have for this month!"

After saying that, the man took out a jar of gastrodia powder from his pocket. The jar was not very big, only about two fingers wide and the size of a thumb.

Su Wen looked at the jar of gastrodia powder and sighed, "Just this little bit, this..."

"There's nothing I can do, that's all I have for this month. Please make do with it for now!"

Su Wen sighed and looked at Ji Ming, saying, "Give me the money, second brother!"

Ji Ming responded and took out two silver ingots from his pocket and handed them to the man. After the man took the silver, he turned and left. Su Wen hadn't even reacted when he saw him leave before he looked at Ji Ming with wide eyes.

Two silver ingots, one silver ingot, that's a full ten taels!

Twenty taels of silver! This gastrodia powder is so expensive, it's outrageous! It's almost as expensive as...

Ji Ming saw through Su Wen's thoughts and nodded, saying, "It's usually ten taels of silver, but this time it's doubled, so it's a bit expensive!"

"This is more than just expensive, it's outrageously expensive!" Su Wen couldn't help but complain.

Ji Mingdao said, "Director Su...Director Su, do you have any leads?"

Su Wen watched the black-clad man's retreating figure and said, "He's in Li Xingguo's care now. From our conversation, I learned something: he said the weather's been bad lately, resulting in a smaller harvest. We'll find out when we get back!"

Ji Mingchao bowed to Su Wen and said, "The Grand Director truly possesses the heart of a tiger, yet sniffs out a rose!"