Pick up a princess to be your wife

"Miss, guess what Li Mu went off to do?" Xiao Lan ran up from downstairs, looking somewhat angry.

"What?" He Xianzhi asked.

"Didn't that guy Li Ertie open a new pawnshop? Li Mu is actually working there as a pawnbroker. Miss, isn't he looking down on you a bit?" Xiao Lan asked.

"Is it possible that Young Master Li is the real owner of that pawnshop?" He Xianzhi asked with a smile.

"what?"

Xiao Lan was immediately taken aback, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that what the young lady said was right.

"I see. But Miss has been kind to him, yet he's doing business right across from hers. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Xiao Lan asked.

“Jubao Pavilion has never stipulated that others are not allowed to do antique business,” He Xianzhi said with a smile.

Jubao Pavilion has continued for so many years without ever hindering other businesses from doing antique business.

"That seems to be true," Xiaolan nodded.

“Perhaps antiques play a greater role in his hands,” He Xianzhi said.

She hasn't figured out who's behind Li Mu yet.

The person behind him seems to be very mysterious; no matter how hard you investigate, you can't find a single clue.

“Xiao Lan, I reckon that after Young Master Li acquired the antiques recently, he will exchange them for resources with his backer. So, you should secretly follow Young Master Li recently and see who he meets with,” He Xianzhi said.

"understood."

Today, since the business opened all day, and because about a dozen of his brothers have been out and about, almost half of Luyang County knows that Li Ertie has opened a pawnshop.

Over at Zero Money Exchange.

Ge Desheng compiled a summary of recent events, both big and small, in the city.

The most significant event that recently occurred in Luyang County was the sudden death of Zhou Wanfu after he sold his grain.

So Ge Desheng focused his investigation on the whole story and finally discovered some clues.

Zhou Wanfu was originally promoted by the county magistrate Yu Rong to exploit the people.

However, Zhou Wanfu recently had a conflict with some people, and then Jubaoge suddenly jumped out to sell grain, driving down the price of grain. Zhou Wanfu then dumped all of his grain at a low price.

Then Zhou Wanfu led his men in a battle against a group of people, and suffered a crushing defeat.

Afterwards, Zhou Wanfu was killed. His son's whereabouts remain unknown.

Ge Desheng discovered that Zhou Wanfu's rival was a petty thug named Li Ertie.

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Li Ertie had appeared around the same time as Zhou Wanfu three years prior, and it seemed he had come from outside the city.

In the past three years, Li Ertie has only had thirteen subordinates.

He lived a comfortable life, supporting himself and his family through his woodworking business.

It was common for local thugs to fight each other and vie for territory.

But why did Jubaoge get involved?

Could it be that Li Ertie is a member of Jubaoge?

Li Ertie, along with his thirteen men, had a total of fourteen people. Xiao Yunfei, however, said that the group of masked men numbered fifteen, which didn't match up either.

But after gathering all the information, he concluded that Li Ertie was the most suspicious.

Perhaps Li Ertie is the masked man, but he is not the leader; there is someone else behind him.

In the past two days, Li Ertie opened a pawn shop and started an antique recycling business.

Li Ertie made a lot of money, but whenever he had a few coins in his pocket, he would take his brothers to brothels, restaurants, and eateries, spending money like water.

If he hadn't robbed a sum of money, how could he have been in the antique business?

This is a business that requires a lot of capital.

Soon after, a man came to Ge Desheng's side.

"Shopkeeper, we've found out. Li Ertie was a bandit in Lingnan Road for a few years three years ago."

"Bandits? Are you sure?"

"determine."

Li Ertie was a bandit, so it's more likely he's the masked man.

Was it he who colluded with Tiger Head Stronghold to rob Zero Bank of its tickets?

Tiger Head Village, Masked Men, Treasure Pavilion. What is the connection between these three?

There is also a masked leader whose whereabouts are unknown.

"Send more people to keep an eye on Li Ertie and his group, especially Li Ertie. No matter who he's been associating with lately, we must investigate thoroughly," Ge Desheng instructed.

"Yes."

The next morning, just as Li's Pawnshop opened, Liu Qian arrived.

He waited on the second floor for a while before Li Mu arrived.

Liu Qian took out a package and placed it on the table.

Li Mu was about to inspect the goods when Liu Qian stopped him from entering.

"Why?"

"I fear two things: first, that you, sir, may not recognize the value of my goods; second, that you may not have enough capital. Now that you have seen my goods, you must offer a price," Liu Qian said.

"What kind of rule is this?" Li Mu asked.

This was the old rule in Liu Qian's past. In the Great Yan Dynasty, all pawnshops accepted illicit goods, including Jubaoge. And pawnshops had to set prices; it was an unwritten rule in the buying and selling of illicit goods.

After all, the profit margin on black market goods is several times, or even dozens of times, greater than that of genuine goods. Sellers are also afraid of being reported by buyers, so once a seller sets a price, regardless of whether it's high or low, it means they won't leak the information.

“What I mean is, even if you can’t afford it, you can name your price,” Liu Qian said with a smile.

Seeing Li Mu's reaction, Liu Qian knew that Li Mu was still a hothead.

"Okay." Li Mu agreed, and Liu Qian then let go, allowing Li Mu to inspect the goods.

There are only two antiques in this package.

One item is a sword, and the other is a piece of clothing.

Li Mu focused his gaze on the clothes, and the subtitles immediately appeared.

[The Ice Silkworm Jade Robe, woven from three thousand strands of ice silkworm silk, was crafted by Zhao Lan, the greatest weaver of all time. Its material is incorruptible for millennia, repelling poisonous insects, providing warmth in winter and coolness in summer, nourishing yin energy, and longevity is granted with prolonged wear. It is valued at 100000 taels of silver and can be exchanged for 100,000 points.]

Li Mu's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a glint of light.

Not only is it collectible, but wearing it also has health benefits.

Sure enough, the ancient times in this timeline were quite different from the ancient times that Li Mu understood.

Li Mu turned his attention to another antique.

The Qin King's Sword, forged from black iron by the master craftsman of the Sword Tomb, ranks eleventh among the twelve famous swords in the sword manual. It accompanied the Qin King in unifying the world. It is worth 200000 taels of silver and can be exchanged for 200,000 points.

The system's authentication is accurate, so both antiques are genuine.

Li Mu felt that this rare treasure was completely beyond the category of antiques.

He sized up Liu Qian, this short man who looked somewhat sleazy and cunning. It was already quite outrageous that he could get his hands on an ice silkworm jade suit.

But he never expected that the sword was even more outrageous; it was actually the personal sword of the founding emperor of the Qin Dynasty.

Where did he get these two rare treasures from?