With all sea routes controlled by the Guilin County and Prince's Palace, the Silk Road has become the only trade channel for other merchants that is not controlled by the Guilin County and Prince's Palace. Although the Fan family is the largest merchant on the entire Silk Road, it is much more low-key than the Guilin County Prince's Palace, and it is not as domineering as the Guilin County Prince's Palace. Therefore, this Silk Road is still extremely prosperous today.
At this time, the entire East Market was full of people speaking with various accents. Merchants with different colors of eyes and hair, different body lengths and different clothing, bargaining. Shu brocade from the center of Shu, silk and tea from the south of the Yangtze River, porcelain from the kilns in the north of the Yangtze River, medicinal materials from the two Sichuan rivers, and rare and exotic animals from Qinghai. Of course, there are also glassware from Western countries, various gemstones, clothing, and other merchandise.
This also includes those who trade slaves and beauties from all over the world. It can be said that there are all kinds of strange things. Along the way, Huang Qiong looked at it with great interest. To be honest, he has been in this era for almost twenty years. But this was the first time he had seen such an ancient large-scale wholesale market. Although he didn't have much interest in the jewelry, jade, silk and tea in Dongshi.
But he was still very interested in things brought over from the far western countries, such as Dashi and Persia. Especially those glassware, and Western wines. Of course, at this time, Western glassware was not too sophisticated. Those glasswares called colored glaze still look a bit rough. Huang Qiong spent a long time selecting a set of glass wine sets and wine.
After sending someone back, Huang Qiong continued shopping with her hands behind her back. Huang Qiong only took a few glances at those exotic beauties. Huang Qiong was just strolling around the East Market with great interest, but he didn't know that he had been targeted by several people. Huang Qiong strolled slowly, and the few people behind him followed him leisurely. Dongshi is not far from Xingqing Palace, it can be said to be right next to the original Xingqing Palace.
After wandering around for a long time, Huang Qiong turned to Xingqing Palace after taking a look at Dongshi. The original Xingqing Palace was destroyed long ago during the reign of Taizu. Today's Xingqing Palace only has some repairs to the original layout on its site, relying on the surviving Huaxianghui Building, Jiaotai Hall, Qinzheng Principal Building and other pavilions to form a new structure. It is a small royal garden.
Xingqing Palace was originally the smallest of the three palaces in Chang'an. Although it has been repaired and renovated many times, the area is still small. There are only five floors of courtyards, one main hall, and more pavilions. The current area is much smaller than the original Xingqing Palace. After the old man regained power, at the request of the former prince, certain improvements were made here.
But the main thing is to improve some minor details and completely renovate and renovate the original building. Others, there are no major changes, let alone expansion. Compared with the majestic and gorgeous Daming Palace and Taiji Palace, the Xingqing Palace, which was transformed into a separate courtyard, is much smaller and more elegant. Maybe it was to avoid the old man so that he could do some conspiracy.
Maybe he felt that the old man was an eyesore and prevented him from doing some private things. After all, the old man must not let the old man know that he favored his male favorite, let alone spread it. Therefore, after the renovation here, every time the former prince and the old man came to Xijing, they never lived in the East Palace of Taiji Palace, nor in other places, but in the Huacalyx Xianghui Building here.
After the former prince was deposed, this place was basically empty. In addition to the ten guards, there were only thirty eunuchs left, responsible for cleaning and guarding the royal courtyard. After several annexes of the East Palace and the Prince's residence in the capital were raided, this place was also ransacked from top to bottom. The prince's people had already been escorted to the capital. Therefore, although the elegance remains, it appears empty.
With Huang Qiong's identity, there will naturally not be any obstruction when entering here. Although the guards and eunuchs here did not recognize him, they still knew the eunuchs around him. After Huang Qiong, the personal eunuch, revealed Huang Qiong's identity, the eunuch in charge knelt down as soon as his legs went weak. After raising her hand to signal him to get up, Huang Qiong walked in directly.
After walking into this elegant courtyard, Huang Qiong fell in love with it almost at first sight. Compared with the depression in Taiji Palace and Daming Palace, the small and elegant place here caught Huang Qiong's eyes more. Standing on the ground floor of the Qin Zheng Affairs Office, you can have a panoramic view of the entire courtyard. Although it is the severe winter season, the lotus flowers in Longchi have withered. But you can imagine the scenery of the pond full of lotus flowers in midsummer.
Following him cautiously, the eunuch in charge of the other courtyard introduced the buildings in this courtyard to Huang Qiong. That one is Xinshe Hall and Jinhualuo Hall left by the former Tang Dynasty, and that one is Jiaotai Hall and Nanxun Hall. There are the Datong Hall and Xingqing Hall that were destroyed during the reign of Emperor Taizu, where they were originally supposed to be. From this eunuch, Huang Qiong learned that the current courtyard is only half the size of Xingqing Palace.
Listening to the eunuch's duck-voiced introduction, Huang Qiong kept nodding. In addition to listening to the introduction of the eunuch in charge, Huang Qiong also asked some questions about how the former prince lived here. To Huang Qiong's expectation, every time the former prince came to Xijing, except for the old man's summons or attending court meetings, he almost stayed behind closed doors the rest of the time. Basically, he is a hands-off shopkeeper.
Because the old man would not ask him to handle any government affairs except occasionally to meet with foreign envoys or to meet with Dangxiang, Tubo, and Uighur leaders who came to Xijing for pilgrimage, so his days in Xijing were very leisurely. very. However, although the former prince stayed behind closed doors in Xijing all day long, the pomp and circumstance behind closed doors here was not as grand as usual.
Every meal requires more than eighteen dishes, and is served by at least twenty palace maids and eunuchs. As for the specific details, because the people who served him here were all the maids and eunuchs he sent from the capital, others were not very clear about it. He, the eunuch in charge, was transferred from the Taiji Palace after the incident involving the former prince to replace the prince here who had been escorted to Jingzhao.
He had only heard a few things about the former prince. The former prince never used people from the two palaces of Chang'an. Whether they were eunuchs or maids, including the guards here, he brought them from Jingzhao. Even the various utensils used by the people who made his meals were brought from Jingzhao. So he didn't know exactly what the former prince was doing here on weekdays.
Regarding the eunuch in charge's answer, Huang Qiong frowned slightly and did not dwell too much on this aspect. As for why my "good big brother" only used people brought here from Jingzhaodong Palace, is there any need to continue asking? One is that his good masculinity must never be spread out. Secondly, he didn't dare to reveal even a single bit of the things he had done.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that he does not trust the people in the two palaces of Chang'an. Because he knew that among the eunuchs in the two palaces of Xijing, there must be the old man's eyes and ears. As for the things he has done, even one single thing is enough to dethrone his position as crown prince. As for even the cooks who prepare meals for him were brought from Jingzhao, the reason is even simpler.
He is a person who spends all day thinking about how to deal with others. Naturally, he is worried that others will copy his methods on him. As a cook, if you want to prepare something for him in the meal, it is too simple, and it is also the easiest one to succeed. Those silver chopsticks used to test for poisons can at most detect the most low-level drugs like Hedinghong.
If he had been poisoned by the same kind of poison when he was assassinated, he probably wouldn't be able to test it out. The cook he brought specially from Jingzhao must be his absolute confidant and would never poison him. Thinking of this, Huang Qiong's mouth showed a sneer. This elder brother who has done so many good things and never takes other people's lives seriously turns out to be really not afraid of death.
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong's mouth showed a hint of sneer. As for the luxury that the eunuch said, Huang Qiong had no interest at all. Aren’t my brothers living a luxurious life? The King of Shu's other palace in the capital was almost twice as big as his original palace of the King of England. The Prince Jing's Mansion he saw in Zhengzhou was not even much simpler than the imperial palace.
With a meal of eighteen dishes, among my brothers, I am afraid that it is at best an average level. I heard Lin Hanyan say that when his second brother was alive, every meal had twenty-eight dishes. Every day in Prince Jing's Mansion, more than a hundred chickens and ducks are killed. Yu Mingyuan, a third-grade official, was so excited to buy this kind of top-quality tea that cost hundreds of dollars for one ounce or two.
When I was in King Jing's tent outside Hulao Pass, I weighed several kilograms. Not to mention, in this era, those fruits from Guangdong and Guangxi are basically unavailable in the north. The wine and meat in the rich families stinks, and the roads are frozen to death. From the beginning of history, which prince, grandson, or son of any dynasty or generation would cherish the wealth of the people? Although I dare not show off my wealth openly, but in my own territory, isn't that one domineering and living a luxurious life?
Huang Qiong, who is now accustomed to the various luxurious lifestyles of the children of the Tian family in this era, is not too concerned about the so-called luxurious life of his eldest brother. But if he knew, what were the eighteen dishes of the former prince. If he knew that his eldest brother would eat puffer fish and crabs every day. The puffer fish and crabs were all alive, but he wouldn't eat any of the dead ones.
In this era, live crabs and pufferfish were transported thousands of miles from distant seasides and rivers to Xijing, which is located in the northwest corner. Can you imagine the manpower and inability to do this? In addition to these two things, Huang Qiong, the eldest brother, also particularly likes venison and deer meat, which he uses every day. Moreover, he only eats deer and deer that are freshly killed, and will never eat the so-called dead meat sold in the market.
In addition to venison and deer meat, the former prince almost never eats even mutton, which is the most common food in the family. Because in his opinion, if he eats the same thing as anyone else, he will lose his demeanor as a prince. But even in this era, deer and deer are not unusual things. These two animals are found in the mountainous areas around Chang'an Prefecture, and there are quite a lot of them in quantity and variety.
But although this thing is not unusual, no one cares about it. However, it is not easy to see alive ones. Usually those brought to the market for sale are shot by hunters with bows and arrows. But this man never eats dead things. In order to satisfy his desire, the live deer and deer were guaranteed to be provided for him every day. A deer farm was specially set up to provide him with live deer and deer.
Every spring, this deer farm sends people to Taibai Mountain and Huanglong Mountain to the north to capture deer and deer calves, and then put them in the fenced deer farm on Bailuyuan outside the city for free rein. There was a group of people there who raised deer and deer specifically for the former prince, and they spent at least ten thousand dollars every year. And the pasta that this prince eats is even more special. He never eats water or noodles to make pasta.
