vChapter 896 - Want to Flee After Causing a Commotion? No Chance!
Want to Flee After Causing a Commotion? No Chance!
Gradually, the wealthy families of Jue Ping City began to “betray their country.” More and more people went to Hundred Herb Fragrance to buy perfume. The people also began to try the sunscreen. When the people realized that Da Shun’s facial cream was more effective than the one produced by Gu Shu, the shop next door never saw any more business. As for the common citizens, how many of them could afford the expensive facial creams? That boss was so angry that he was on the verge of burning down Hundred Herb Fragrance; however, he was also afraid of being caught and beaten to death. He had always been conflicted and nearly fainted from holding it in.
After all, the people were not fools. They were able to differentiate between what items were good and what items were bad. The wealthy families had money, and they only wanted nice things. They did not care about money, and the so-called loyalty to Gu Shu was just something that existed between the hot-blooded men. When it came to the wealthy ladies, Gu Shu and Da Shun were the same. Whichever one allowed them to live a more steady life would be the one that they stayed loyal to. Of course, they also wanted for their own businesses to do well and earn more money.
Feng Yu Heng was very proficient in this. Those wealthy families frequently visited to buy things. Becoming familiar with them, she began to provide them with special deals. For example, they could receive “special passes” that she handed out to leave the city and go all the way to Lan Zhou. They could bring Da Shun’s things from Lan Zhou to be sold in Jue Ping City. They could also bring goods from Jue Ping City to Lan Zhou. Also, with this special pass that she was handing out, they would receive a certain amount of aid from Lan Zhou.
She quickly obtained the hearts of the wealthy families, and brainwashed them, saying: “As a person, you must adapt to the circumstances. How much have you profited from following Gu Shu? Over the years, you are still living in Jue Ping City. Your businesses are just as they are now. But ever since I opened up this alternative path, and your businesses expanded to Da Shun, how much have you earned these days? This is also just from the small area of Lan Zhou. Do you know how large Da Shun is? Da Shun is large and has an abundance of resources. Not to mention being able to get whatever you want, but anyone would admit that the resources for the goods are far more abundant than in Gu Shu. Who would give up a good life to live a bitter one? There are some of you that work with sand. Could it be that you don’t want to bring your business to Da Shun? How many people in Da Shun need houses built. Is this something that Gu Shu can compete with? In the end, this battle was something that Gu Shu started first. As a subordinate foreign land, Gu Shu clearly knew its own military strength could not compete with Da Shun, yet it still carried out an attack. Have you ever wondered if Gu Shu’s ruler had ever been considerate of the lives of the citizens? Our Da Shun can copy Gu Shu’s former actions and slaughters cities, but we spared your lives. Just think about it. Which master is a bit better. Which master would provide you with more benefits.”
To the wealthy people of Jue Ping City, her words were very enticing. The reason that they could get wealthy first was a result of them being smarter. They thought further ahead than normal civilians. They all knew that what Feng Yu Heng had said was correct. Their recent business dealings in Lan Zhou had allowed them to see quite a profit. For some, when they passed by Sha Ping City, they saw that Sha Ping City had improved greatly from before under Da Shun’s governance. Sha Ping’s citizens repeatedly praised Da Shun.
Thus the people’s minds unwittingly became more tolerant. The wealthy families of Jue Ping City had already changed from their initial persistence. They began to become more welcoming of Da Shun. This sort of thinking gradually began to spread with them as catalysts. Those people that had originally been antagonistic toward Da Shun gradually began to change following the lead of the wealthy families.
Feng Yu Heng’s Hundred Herb Fragrance improved even more as a business. The people no longer avoided it, as they directly entered through the front entrance. They were perfectly happy to buy things, but there was still a group of people in Jue Ping City that remained loyal to Gu Shu. They continued to refuse to lower their heads to Da Shun. They would go to Hundred Herb Fragrance every day to stage protests. From time to time, they would even shout slogans and call those that supported Da Shun traitors.
However, the things that happened this day caused the final remnants of Gu Shu’s loyalists to lose all faith.
One of the reasons was that a middle-aged couple kneeled in front of Hundred Herb Fragrance, begging to have Feng Yu Heng treat their daughter’s illness. The two kneeled in front of the entrance and repeatedly said to Huang Quan, who had come out to take care of them: “We heard that Da Shun’s Imperial Daughter Ji An is a divine doctor. Although this matter is not easy to speak about, we came to beg imperial daughter to save a life and save our daughter!”
Huang Quan was puzzled: “Exactly what sort of illness does your daughter have? Does Jue Ping City not have a medical clinic? Also, it’s one opened by the people of Gu Shu. You should go and see them for help. You don’t even buy things from us. Why do you come to our imperial daughter to seek treatment? Have you ever heard of an imperial daughter treating a foreign civilian’s illness? Does your Gu Shu’s imperial daughter do this?”
The couple was rendered speechless. That was right. She was an imperial daughter and was very noble. On what basis could they ask a foreign imperial daughter treat their daughter? Gu Shu’s imperial daughter? Gu Shu’s imperial family does not even take a single glance at its people. How could they possibly provide treatment?
At this time, someone to the side that had come to cause trouble spoke up: “Wasn’t it said that your imperial daughter treats commoners in Da Shun? What is it, can she not treat us?”
Huang Quan snorted coldly: “The one speaking, can you have some dignity? Da Shun’s commoners are our citizens. Not to mention Imperial Daughter, but even if they have something to ask of the Emperor, the Emperor will not sit around and ignore it. But hear me clearly, that’s for our Da Shun’s people! Aren’t you people that refuse to recognize yourselves as people of Da Shun? Weren’t you still claiming yourselves as Gu Shu’s people? Haven’t you come here to cause trouble every day, shouting for us to scram? Why should our imperial daughter treat your Gu Shu’s citizens? We won’t save you! Even if we can, we won’t!” Huang Quan had begun throwing a tantrum. With a flick of her sleeve, she returned inside the shop.
Wang Chuan was left behind. Looking at the couple, she said: “Although it sounds ugly, that is indeed the logic. You here have given us a slap, and now you want us to help you. How could that sort of fool exist in the world?” She said this then looked at the kneeling man and said: “If I am not mistaken, you were among the people that came to cause trouble yesterday, right? What is it, you’ve changed your position today? Go back! Go and find one of Gu Shu’s medical clinics to treat your daughter. Our imperial daughter doesn’t care about your Gu Shu’s people’s problems.”
The couple was dazed. They remained kneeling, not knowing what to do. If Gu Shu’s medical clinics could treat it, how could they have possibly given up face to kneel in front of Hundred Herb Fragrance to beg Imperial Daughter Ji An! The woman became furious, as she stood up and began to curse at her husband: “I told you not to go with them to cause trouble, yet you insisted on coming! So what if you’re one of Gu Shu’s people? Over the years, what sort of lives have we lived? Did Gu Shu give you money or a place to live? The courts mistreat the people; however, the tax rates continue to rise. Over the course of a year, we don’t even make enough to cover the taxes. Say, what exactly are you doing insisting on being a person of Gu Shu for? Our daughter had just gone out to buy some fabric and was kidnapped by Gu Shu’s soldiers. A perfectly good daughter was thrown into a red tent to be a military prostitute. If it wasn’t for Gu Shu’s army being chased off by Da Shun, our daughter would have died in that red tent. Say, what’s the damn point of being loyal to this sort of Gu Shu?”
This woman became fierce and frankly told all of the people that had come to cause trouble about the disgusting things that Gu Shu had done: “Did you not know? It wasn’t just our daughter that was kidnapped and taken to the red tents. From Jue Ping City, there were at least 20! Some of these girls escaped, and some died in those red tents. You…” She suddenly pointed at one of the people sitting on a small stool and said: “You still think that your daughter was taken by the general to be a concubine? That’s not the case at all! My daughter said that your beloved daughter was also sent into a red tent, and she was sent to a tent specifically used to take care of common soldiers. She did not even get to see the general’s face! Three days, just three days after being captured, she died from the rough treatment from the soldiers. Did you know this? You still have the gall to cause trouble with these people? You still have the face to be loyal to Gu Shu?”
With what she had said, these people were all dazed, especially the one that had been called out. That person was completely dazed. He clearly remembered Gu Shu’s soldiers visiting to tell him that his daughter had been favored by the general and was taken to be a concubine. With the army leaving, the general had brought his daughter to Yue Ping City! How…
“Is what you said true?” Someone felt that the situation was severe and asked, “Were there really that many girls that were kidnapped for the red tents?”
The woman nodded: “Every word was true! Also, I will tell you that the girls that could escape have all sorts of illnesses. Their families know what happened, but who would have the face to publicize this sort of thing? Who would have the face to invite a doctor to treat it? Our family hesitated for a number of days. It was only today that we truly could not continue to bear to see our daughter suffer that we came to beg Imperial Daughter Ji An. But with you guys causing this sort of commotion, saying that you want to chase Da Shun out, she refused to treat my daughter!” As she spoke, she began to sob. While crying, she cursed her own husband, as well as these people that rejected Da Shun.
A discussion broke out among the group, as someone recalled something: “Ever since the general’s army entered Jue Ping City, I did hear about girls going missing. They were all girls from normal families, and they all had some decent appearances.”
“Then did the families not go searching?”
“What could be done even if they went searching? They can’t go into the military camp, and they couldn’t be found outside.”
“Right, I also heard people say that their daughters were chosen to enter the general’s tent and became his concubines. It seems that each family was also given some money.”
“Shit for money!” Someone, whose daughter had been captured to be a concubine, finally recovered and stomped their foot, “It was just five taels. The child’s mother and I even had a fight over it. If it really is as that lady said, I… I really let my deceased daughter down!”
Following this man’s suffering, Gu Shu’s final group of “loyal” citizens began to change amidst the curses. Some people arranged for someone to take a look at those girls. If it really was true, they would no longer call themselves Gu Shu’s people. They could not care less about that image! But there were also some people with ulterior motives mixed in. Their goal was to incite the crowd to cause trouble. It was to help Da Shun take over and cause trouble for Gu Shu. At present, when these people with ulterior motives saw the civilians latch onto what that lady had said, they felt that it was not good for them to continue to remain, thus they carried their stools and prepared to leave.
At this time, they heard the crisp voice of a girl come from inside Hundred Herb Fragrance’s shop. Just this one line caused those people that were preparing to leave to freeze in place: “After causing a commotion, you want to leave? Who taught you such shoddy habits?”