Become a founding empress in ancient times with the system

Walking into the city, one is greeted by numerous shops and bustling crowds of people, each one dressed in a way that betrays their wealth.

Sheng Changan frowned. Although he was a little confused, he decided to find an inn first.

However, they finally found an inn. The waiter standing at the door looked the group up and down and said, "Go away, go away. How dare anyone stay here?"

Sheng Changan paused to smile, only to realize that their clothes were the same as the waiter in front of him, and that the people who stayed there were either rich or noble just by looking at their clothes.

"What's going on here?" Li Hui was also a little surprised.

"Let's take another look." Sheng Changan led a group of people and walked along the street. Could it be that this place was divided into rich areas and poor areas like Shangyu?

But wherever they went, passersby would always take a few glances. Even if they wanted to find out some information, those people would immediately walk away with a gloomy look on their faces.

"Sir, sir, I've heard something," Wang Yi ran over breathlessly. "I asked the person registering at the city gate, and he said the inn we can stay in is at the west gate."

"What does this mean?" Li Hui asked.

Wang Yi shook his head. "I don't know. He said that with the clothes we wear, we can only live over there. No one here will pay attention to us."

"Then let's go to the west city gate and take a look." With a direction, Sheng Changan and his group moved much faster.

Qingfeng Inn? Sheng Changan silently repeated these four words in his heart. It seemed that most of the people living here were caravans.

She glanced at the people sitting at the table. They were all big, burly men, and their hands looked bloody. Captain Zhang was quite common with blood on his hands. She was just afraid...

"One tael of gold?" Li Hui raised his voice.

Sheng Changan also came to his senses and walked in. "What's going on?"

Xu Qing followed at the end. With Chen Ze's advice, he behaved much better. After all, this was not Guangping. If he said something wrong, he might have to stay here.

The person who was talking to Li Hui inside had a plump figure, and his clothes were tightly wrapped around his body, which seemed a bit tight upon closer inspection.

He raised his head and looked at Sheng Changan, not looking down on her because of her young age. "This person must be the one you can make the decision for!"

After being here for so many years, he still has some insight. Judging from the direction these people are walking, it seems that this young lady is leading the way.

He smiled and said, "My surname is Sun, and you can just call me Shopkeeper Sun."

Li Hui took a deep breath and emphasized the price of the gold twice, "The shopkeeper said it's one ounce of gold per night, and meals are not included."

Shopkeeper Sun pointed to the sky outside and said, "It's getting dark soon. This is the only inn in the city that can accommodate you."

"And your group of nearly forty people, one tael of gold per night, is a very fair price. Miss, you can go out and ask around. Other inns may also offer similar prices."

Not to mention Li Hui, even Sheng Changan was surprised when he heard the price, and meals were not included.

But seeing the confident look on the shopkeeper Sun's face, she knew that there was probably no other inn where she could stay the night except this one.

"Give me money." Sheng Changan said in a heavy tone.

"Miss, you are so generous. I wonder how many nights you plan to stay. The fodder for your horses is also charged separately."

Shopkeeper Sun calculated quickly, "Including the accommodation for your horses and the fodder, it will cost about thirty taels of silver."

"Stay for two nights, Chen Ze, give me the money." Sheng Changan felt quite sad. The system rewarded a total of one thousand and two taels of gold, and they had to buy a lot of things on this trip.

They left 300 taels in Guangping for circulation, and brought the rest with them. Some were left on the carriage, while the rest were carried separately by Chen Ze and Li Dashan.

The weight of gold is not low, so this time in Shanglian, of course, we have to exchange them all for silver notes. It is definitely not possible to do so by staying for only one night.

Chen Ze stepped forward and took out the money.

"Okay," Shopkeeper Sun said after gnawing at the item with his teeth to confirm it was genuine. "Please step back, everyone. By the way, you have to take care of your goods. If they are lost, our shop is not responsible."

Sheng Changan's eyes darkened and he glanced at Shopkeeper Sun who was walking in front of him.

Even though they spent a year's gold, the place they lived in was extremely simple, with only a wooden bed, a table and a few stools, and there were only ten guest rooms.

And there was only one such room. The other rooms were like the servants' rooms in a rich family's house, with the beds all connected together.

Sheng Changan sat down and said, "I'm afraid this inn is not peaceful. We must arrange for someone to guard it tonight. Dashan, you will guard it yourself tonight."

If the several hundred taels of silver she brought with her were all looted, she would be so angry that she would die here.

It is still unclear how strong the people here are, and she can only feel at ease if Dashan personally guards the place.

"Don't worry, sir. My brother and I will be responsible for the first half of the night, and the other will be responsible for the second half." Li Hui also saw the implication of the shopkeeper Sun's words. He was afraid that not only would there be trouble at night, but also during the day.

"I want to go downstairs and sit for a while." Sheng Changan knocked on the table.

"I'm with the young master." Li Hui frowned.

Sheng Changan nodded. He was unfamiliar with the place and acted alone with his mediocre skills. Isn't this just like saying, "I am a fat sheep, come and kill me!"

As of now, maybe you have been taken advantage of.

-----

Shopkeeper Sun was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the little girl would actually come down. She was quite brave.

Sheng Changan's eyes moved, and all the people who were here before had disappeared. "Shopkeeper Sun, we are new here, and we would like to know some information about the upper company."

Chen Ze pushed over the ten taels of silver.

Shopkeeper Sun smiled and said, "What can you find out with this little money? It's unlikely." He held up a finger and said, "At least this amount."

Chen Ze hesitated a little and looked at Sheng Changan. Seeing her nod, he handed over one or two taels of gold.

This time, Shopkeeper Sun accepted it very neatly. He smiled and walked over to sit opposite Sheng Changan, and poured himself a cup of tea.

"I'm sure you've been ridiculed a lot since you came to the city!" He looked at their clothes and shook his head. "In our company, we respect the clothes first and then the people."

"You must have some outstanding qualities, that's why Old Deng let you in. He was the one who registered you at the city gate." He knew how powerful this man's eyes were.

"Here, those who wear silk are considered middle-class, and those who wear silk are considered upper-class. Those who wear coarse linen clothes should not even have the chance to enter the city."

"I don't know why he let you in, and I don't want to know, but you just need to know one thing: with the low-quality clothes you're wearing, you won't be able to buy anything here."

Sheng Changan was a little puzzled. "Then why are you willing to let us stay overnight?"

"My inn is backed by the government, but I don't do the business of those people. Instead, I serve foreign caravans. I have a little money but not enough to be rich."

"We still need some caravans here occasionally, so we can welcome and send them off and sell some things. Others naturally don't dare to do it, but I do."

"I'm not afraid of you knowing that if you all made clothes out of silk and satin, your group would have to pay about sixty taels of silver at other inns."

"But I didn't cheat you. If you went to other stores to buy clothes, you wouldn't be able to buy them. So naturally, this is the only place you can live in the end."

"So you also sell clothes here?" After saying so much, Sheng Changan also understood his implication.

Shopkeeper Sun laughed loudly and said, "Indeed, if you need anything, feel free to contact me. The price is just a little higher."

This is the only one of its kind, so the price is definitely not a bit expensive. Sheng Changan asked again: "Is there no poor person in the city?"

Shopkeeper Sun smiled complacently and said, "This is the capital city. There are 80,000 troops stationed here. We don't have to worry about bandits or the Xianbei suddenly invading."

"Of course, ordinary people have to pay a price to stay here. Each person has to hand over thirty pieces of silver per month. This money is just enough to cover the army's daily expenses."

"As a result, those without financial resources will naturally have to move out of the city. Those who can stay here are all well-off."

Sheng Changan suppressed his anger and said, "For those who move out, there are people in the city who patrol daily to ensure their safety."

Shopkeeper Sun gave her a strange look. "How can you enjoy such treatment if you haven't paid the tribute? Do you know who the general stationed in the city is?"

"He's the elder brother of the current Imperial Concubine Liu and the legitimate son of the current Prime Minister. With him in our city, we're absolutely safe. That's why so many wealthy families have moved here."

"You should know that here, many people work as slaves for wealthy families. I think you might consider this path."

It's a pity that this young lady isn't pretty enough, otherwise she could be presented to the general, and her age would suit his tastes. However, although she's still pretty, she's a bit dark.

And her figure is not that good, but there are so many beauties at the general's place.

Sheng Changan ignored his gaze and silently calculated in his mind that each person would have to pay thirty taels of silver per month. With so many people in the city, a large amount of money would have to be handed over every month.

Even if it was used to supply the army, there would still be a lot of surplus. What were they planning to do? This behavior only gave her one thought: Could they be planning to give the emperor the surname Liu?

"No one here likes to eat human flesh." This is rare to see.

"General Liu said such vulgar things are absolutely forbidden here."

Shanglian was close to the border, but still some distance away. She remembered that the cooking of human flesh was a matter of the Liu family's proposal, but here there were other rules.

Listening to Manager Sun mentioning General Liu in every word, she felt that the people here only knew General Liu and not the current emperor.

This is truly the Liu family's intention, and almost everyone knows it.

"I don't know who started this whole thing of respecting the clothes before the person."

Shopkeeper Sun thought about it carefully and said, "I'm not sure about this. I've almost said it all. If you want to buy clothes, you can't miss this village or there will be no such store."

Who knows if they will have the money to pay tomorrow.

"Of course." Sheng Changan looked at the people around her, "Call Dashan down and make a set for him and Chen Ze." She was worried about Chen Ze going out alone.

“I wonder how it’s sold?”

"A set of silk clothes costs ten ounces of gold."

Sheng Changan gritted his teeth and said, "Buy it!" It doesn't matter. When the day comes that she wants to rebel, she will start from the upper level and take back double what they have stolen.

"Miss, you are straightforward," said Shopkeeper Sun, beaming with joy.

Sheng Changan watched helplessly as his gold fell into the hands of others, and felt his heart bleeding.

The others stood aside, their faces not looking too good either. This price was almost like robbery.

"Come on, these two little brothers, right? Come with me to pick out clothes." Although I don't know what this lady meant by not picking out clothes for herself but for her subordinates instead?

But this has nothing to do with him. He is satisfied as long as he can make money. He knows that the more money he makes, the faster he will die.

"Sir, this price?" Li Hui said through gritted teeth.

"It's okay, it's a necessary sacrifice." People who achieve great things don't care about trivial matters. It's just a small amount of silver. Sheng Changan comforted himself with an expressionless face.

When she has the strength, she will attack Shanglian first. What a broken place! This is not how you rob people.

Li Dashan was still a little uncomfortable with it. He had been in Guangping County since he was a child, and he hadn't worn such nice clothes for a long time.

Chen Ze adapted well, and after putting it on, he had the aura of a noble young man.

Sheng Changan nodded and said, "You guys can do whatever you want. I'll go back to my room first." If she stayed any longer, she was afraid that she would not be able to resist stripping off their clothes. Clothes cost ten taels of gold!

Li Hui followed up and said, "Sir, why is the shopkeeper talking so much? Is there something wrong?"

"No, you can probably ask anyone about what he said if you go out and ask them." He didn't mention anything he shouldn't have said.

Sheng Changan reminded again: "You must keep a close eye on us tonight, our things must not be lost." Her gold, her toilet paper.

She had already spent over twenty taels today, and would leave as soon as she finished her business tomorrow. She had originally thought of opening a teahouse here so she could stay close to the news.

Now it seems that she is not worthy of it. If she wants to buy a piece of land here and open a teahouse, even if she loses all her wealth, it probably won't be enough.

"Master" Chen Ze and the other two also changed back into their own clothes and followed.

Sheng Changan rubbed his forehead painfully. "You guys will act according to circumstances tomorrow. We will only exchange half of our money. If the silver notes and gold exchanged here are not proportional, we will change places."

If she continued to lose money, she would not be able to bear it. However, if the Liu family really had any intention of rebelling, they would definitely not lower the price.

"I'll wait for you at the inn tomorrow. It would be great if I could find out more news about this place. Regardless of the result, we'll leave here the day after tomorrow morning."

"Yes."

Night fell quietly.