My Emperor Father Can Read Minds

Chapter 304: The Wealthy Idler Liu Wenzhou

The name Liu San is not really a name, it just indicates Liu Wenzhou’s ranking in his family.

The Liu family has been rooted in the Great Liang capital city for over a hundred years.

Liu Wenzhou’s grandfather was the imperial tutor of the current dynasty, his father was an official at the Department of Foreign Affairs holding the rank of Shaoqing (a mid-level official), and his elder brother also worked in the Ministry of Revenue. Several generations of the family have been government officials, all known for being upright and honest supporters of the emperor.

Liu Wenzhou, being an illegitimate son, had always lived idly at home.

The Liu family is very strict about family rules, which state that every Liu family member would rather be a wealthy idler than engage in any criminal or unethical acts. So for the lazy Liu Wenzhou, these rules have been his lifelong shield of nobility and comfort!

But that was in the past.

His grandfather was a senior official spanning two dynasties and had once even instructed His Majesty, the current Emperor, who trusted and respected him greatly. Whenever there was an important matter, His Majesty would discuss it with Liu Wenzhou’s grandfather.

Therefore, when Liu Wenzhou received an order from his grandfather to follow a merchant caravan, Liu Wenzhou’s first reaction was that this must be a directive from His Majesty himself.

Even Liu Wenzhou could understand that this was His Majesty’s way of finding out the true situation of the merchant caravan.

A caravan carrying many valuable goods coming all the way from Great Wei—if the items they brought were only rare treasures affordable by noble clans, that would have been one thing. But what did the caravan actually bring?

They brought some everyday necessities that even common people could use!

Gold, silver, jade, antiques, and paintings are things the noble families do not even pay much attention to because those are all commonplace objects in their daily lives; ordinary commoners may spend their entire lives without owning even one of those items.

However, for the common people, these seemingly elegant or useless items in noble families are not highly prized. Besides exchanging money for survival necessities, people don’t show much interest in those luxury goods; after all, the livelihood of the people is what matters most!

The Great Wei merchants had brought things like soap, scented soap, toothpaste—items that ordinary folks can use, and that’s truly about the people’s livelihood.

And the fact that the merchandise could be brought from Great Wei to Great Liang indicates what?

It shows that such things must have already been commonplace in Great Wei!

Both countries had been neighbors for many years; they had fought and quarreled, and had even planted spies in each other. What affairs would neighbors not know about each other?

So clearly everyone’s level was roughly the same. Even if not starting from exactly the same place, with some effort, one could catch up.

But why suddenly is Great Wei overtaking on a curve—especially in the area of people’s livelihood?

Governing a country, nothing is more important than the people’s livelihood.

Liu Wenzhou, coming from a noble family and having been immersed in that cultural heritage even while living idly at home, naturally could see how important the matter was. Although he sighed because spying on such information was a risky errand—one careless moment and he might be caught by Great Wei as a spy—he nonetheless came without hesitation.

Who wouldn’t think about the country’s interests?

Of course, Liu Wenzhou wouldn’t admit he himself was quite curious about visiting Great Wei.

—

Deng Zhengde’s caravan hurried along for two days and finally arrived at the border gate at noon.

At the Great Liang checkpoint, Deng Zhengde went to meet the few people who had been following them—Liu San and others.

“Gentlemen, my part in this journey has ended. Beyond this checkpoint lies Great Wei. You are all Great Liang people; do you still intend to proceed with us?”

Deng Zhengde smiled as he spoke to them but did not look at Liu San standing at the side.

The few people standing before Deng Zhengde were dressed just like ordinary merchants; they blended into the caravan without drawing attention. The only thing noticeable was Liu San’s smooth fair skin and rather handsome appearance.

The person standing in the center was not Liu San but a man with a square face, solemn look, and serious black expression.

However, he clasped his fist toward Deng Zhengde, gave a hearty laugh, and said in a grand tone: “Thank you, Brother Deng, for your kind reminder. But since we are all merchants, if we knew there was money to be made up ahead and avoided it because of fear, what kind of merchants would we be?”

Deng Zhengde smiled and nodded, “Brother Liu speaks rightly. It seems I asked unnecessarily.”

“Not at all, Brother Deng, you are looking out for us. I, Liu Shan, am not ungrateful!” Liu Shan waved his hand, then wore a slightly troubled expression and asked: “But Brother Deng, this is our first time going to Great Wei. Do you think the officials at the checkpoint will stop us?”

Deng Zhengde looked at him meaningfully and said, “The way we came to Great Liang was the same way Brother Liu will use to enter Great Wei. We are ordinary people, not soldiers or generals. We are just trying to make a living. As long as we don’t cause trouble, the officials at the border usually turn a blind eye.”

There are unspoken rules everywhere, and the border is no exception.

Those unfamiliar with the truth, seeing the checkpoint for the first time, would naturally be intimidated and avoid approaching it. But in reality, as long as you don’t cause trouble and pay a little extra silver, passing the checkpoint can be quite easy.

Border cities like this have many people married between the two countries.

With many intermarriages, even their descendants often don’t know which country they truly belong to, only relying on personal feelings to claim their national identity.

After speaking, Deng Zhengde looked at the expressions of the others, then glanced at the caravan’s organized formation. Seeing everything was ready to cross the checkpoint, he said to Liu Shan, “It’s getting late; we should move on soon. Otherwise, when we enter Great Wei, we might not find a good place to stay.”

Liu Shan understood and quickly replied, “Thank you, Brother Deng. You may attend to your affairs first. We will discuss a bit more.”

“Good.”

After Deng Zhengde left, Liu Shan took the group to a less crowded corner.

Three people stepped forward to form a human shield, blocking views from outside and leaving Liu Shan and Liu San to talk.

Liu Shan said, “Third Young Master, this border region is new to me as well. Honestly, I don’t quite understand the ins and outs here. But the old man gave us a lot of silver on the way out, and according to Deng Zhengde’s meaning, if we give the checkpoint a little extra silver, we might get through.”

Liu San thought for a moment and said, “We are just going to Great Wei to trade. As Deng Zhengde said, we are not soldiers going to war. We have valid travel permits to enter Great Wei. If we behave ourselves and hand over a little extra silver, it should be no problem. Look how many people Deng Zhengde brought into our Great Liang without issues.”

“So Liu Shan, aren’t you a bit too nervous?”

Liu Shan: “…You are right.”

Having lived as a wealthy idler for a long time, Liu San was rarely nervous or fearful. Sometimes he could calmly think through problems and feel that nothing was a big deal.

As long as you don’t commit crimes, why would the authorities arrest you?

It’s not as if there’s nothing better to do.

Actually, the main reason was Deng Zhengde himself had taken the lead coming to Great Liang boldly and making an example for Liu San, which is why he did not feel uneasy about this.

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