My husband, please respect yourself. The princess is here to grab the bride.

Qian Da, the manager of Jubao Money House, witnessed all this from his private room on the second floor of the house.

There was also a middle-aged man in his forties in the private room with him.

He is...Ge Gang, the defender of Xiling City!

"Master Ge, do you understand Master Bai's wisdom now?"

Shopkeeper Qian sat down, poured tea, and handed him a cup. He added, "This maneuver has perfectly diverted the blame away from him and removed him from this gambling affair. Now the greatest enemy of the people of Xiling City has become Song Zigui."

"With just a few words, he will no longer be the target of hatred by the people of Xiling City. This is more effective than what the prince intended, asking him to compose a poem or hold a competition in front of all the people."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk,"

Shopkeeper Qian shook his head and laughed, "The words of a scholar are indeed like a knife that kills without bloodshed!"

"Master Ge, just based on Master Bai's ability to turn clouds and rain with a flip of his hand... do you still doubt his talent?"

Ge Gang held the teacup and pondered for three breaths without answering the question. He opened the lid of the teacup, blew away the tea foam, and said:

"Her Highness the Ninth Princess came to the City Guard's Mansion before leaving."

He looked up at the shopkeeper Qian and smiled, "Your Highness is here to warn me. My son was injured by Bai Shaoqiu, and Your Highness is worried that I will do something bad to Mr. Bai in secret..."

"How dare I do anything bad to Mr. Bai!"

"Your Highness is worrying too much."

"My son, that's all his own fault. He deserves it!"

"Actually, I have to thank Master Bai. He was very measured in his actions. He only broke my son's elbow, which was easily reattached without any sequelae."

"I came here today not to ask you whether this gambling game is related to Mr. Bai,"

Manager Qian smiled slightly and asked, "What is the purpose of your visit, Lord City Guard?"

Ge Gang leaned over and asked in a low voice:

"I just want to ask you about the relationship between the Ninth Princess and Mr. Bai."

Shopkeeper Qian also picked up his teacup and said calmly, "Master Ge, you're overthinking it."

"Her Highness the Ninth Princess is a princess, and Mr. Bai... is just a son-in-law of the royal family."

"As for the connection, it's not that there isn't one. The Ninth Princess admires Mr. Bai's talent."

"He's a talented man, a rising star at that. It's no surprise that the Ninth Princess admires him. As for the Ninth Princess going to the City Guard House... in my opinion, it's just a little worrying."

"Master Ge, don't worry. As long as you don't harm Master Bai... Master Ge had better not have such thoughts, because the palace's attitude towards Master Bai has also changed!"

The shopkeeper Qian took a sip of tea and said:

"The prince spoke to the people of Xiling City at the City Guard House yesterday. This is the prince's attitude!"

"Master Ge is a smart man, he should know this!"

Ge Gang pondered for three breaths, then smiled:

"Of course I know. Not only will I not bear a grudge against Mr. Bai, but I will also ask him to come and apologize after his injury heals!"

Shopkeeper Qian gave Ge Gang a meaningful look and said, "That's the best."

Ge Gang raised his eyes and suddenly said:

"I came here today, but I didn't expect to see Mr. Bai. I came here to ask you something."

"What's the matter?"

"Before Bai Changgeng and his wife left Xiling City, Manager Qian and Bai Changgeng were close friends."

"That spring three years ago, before the winter snow had even melted, Bai Changgeng and his wife left Master Bai in a hurry and disappeared... The reason was that Master Bai was truly unbearable and had driven them to despair."

Ge Gang leaned over again, put down the teacup, tapped his fingers on the table, and his face became extremely serious:

"This reason is very far-fetched!"

"Manager Qian is most familiar with Bai Changgeng. I just want to ask...what exactly caused Bai Changgeng to leave?"

Shopkeeper Qian slowly put down the teacup, raised his eyes and looked into Ge Gang's eyes. After three breaths, he grinned:

"Why is Lord Ge interested in this?"

"Brother Chang Geng placed all his hopes on Master Bai, but those ten years were undoubtedly the most difficult for Master Bai. Brother Chang Geng poured so much effort into Master Bai... only to be met with immense disappointment."

"What can he do?"

"The only option is to leave."

"Put Mr. Bai in a difficult situation."

"He said... this might make Mr. Bai wake up."

"Look, Master Bai has come to his senses now. If Brother Chang Geng knew, he would probably come back soon."

Ge Gang frowned slightly, staring at Manager Qian without making any response to these words.

Just like this, ten full breaths passed!

He sat up straight and smiled: "I hope what Manager Qian said is true!"

"Someone's been sent from above, from the Xuanjing Division!"

Shopkeeper Qian's pupils shrank slightly: "What does this have to do with Chang Geng?"

"They live in the Bai Mansion!"

Manager Qian was stunned: "So, the Bai Mansion was bought by someone from the Xuanjing Division?"

Ge Gang nodded: "Exactly!"

He stood up and suddenly said, "I'm afraid it has something to do with the account book that Bai Changgeng once took away from Kyoto!"

Manager Qian slowly raised his head, his brows furrowed. "Ledger? What ledger?"

Ge Gang smiled slightly: "It's best if Manager Qian doesn't know."

"Farewell!"

"Master Ge, take care!"

Ge Gang left Jubao Money House. Manager Qian stood in the private room on the second floor, looking at the streets, and stayed there for half a day.

Bai Shaoqiu left Jubao Money House earlier than Ge Gang.

He deposited 50,000 taels of silver in a money shop, exchanged it for 6,000 taels of silver notes, and headed towards Xishi with Dongfang Meng.

There is only a West Market and no East Market in Xiling City.

At this time, the West Market was extremely lively. Bai Shaoqiu and Dongfang Meng were just walking along, looking around. Suddenly, he stopped and said:

"There's a blacksmith shop!"

At the southwest corner of West Market, at the end of the alley, a small triangular flag is hung in front of the shop.

Inscribed on the small triangular flag were five large, scrawled characters: "There is a blacksmith shop."

Bai Shaoqiu immediately laughed.

The door of the blacksmith's shop was ajar, and the sound of iron hammering could be heard from inside.

He pushed open the door and walked in with Dongfang Meng.

There is a shop at the entrance, with a counter on one side and some ironware hanging on three walls.

Mostly used for agricultural purposes, such as hoes, plowshares, or rakes.

There was a weapons rack against the left wall, with a knife, a gun, and a sword lined up on it.

Bai Shaoqiu came to the weapon rack, took down the sword, touched it and flicked it. It was just an ordinary iron sword.

It seemed like it had been stored for a long time, and the sword was already rusty.

This material is not good.

He walked towards the back door, pushed it open, and inside was a small courtyard.

The sound of iron hammering came from the west wing, so he walked into the west wing again.

A dark and burly man was hitting the iron on the anvil with a hammer.

Sparks flew.

The man just looked up and continued to forge iron.

Bai Shaoqiu didn't say anything either, just watched him hammering the iron one by one.

Half a cup of tea later, the man put down the hammer and looked at Dongfang Meng.

Dongfang Meng was too tall and strong, and a hint of surprise flashed in the man's eyes. He then looked at Bai Shaoqiu and asked calmly:

"What do you need, sir?"

Bai Shaoqiu came to the chopping block, looked at the iron sheet on it, and shook his head:

"I want you to fight."

After saying this, he turned and left.

The man was stunned and shouted in dissatisfaction, "If I, Wang Sanchui, can't break anything, then no one in the entire Xiling City can!"

“But the price has to be right.”

Bai Shaoqiu stopped, turned around, thought for a while, took out the stack of drawings from his arms, pulled out one and handed it to Wang Sanchui.

"Can you beat this thing?"