I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Wang Yu is a normal young man.

He has all the needs of a normal young man.

Li Yunxiu can forget about it for the time being; Qianqian is clearly good at pulling things along.

Wang Yu wasn't the type to force others; after all, he wasn't the real Zhao Yu, and he didn't want to harm the maids in the mansion without permission.

But brothels are wonderful places!

Buying a courtesan with a great figure, appearance, and talents to bring home can satisfy my own needs and also put some pressure on Qianqian. It's a win-win situation!

Wang Yu snapped his fingers, took a deep breath, and then scolded Zhao Yingjie, "Why are we going to a brothel? We came out to buy perfume for Qianqian!"

Zhao Yingjie: ? ? ?

When did I say I went to a brothel?

Then he saw Wang Yu's eyes, suddenly realized, and nodded repeatedly, "That's right! It's all my fault!"

Qianqian covered her mouth and chuckled softly, giving Wang Yu a charming glance before reaching out and taking his arm, her supple and soft flesh gently squeezing his arm.

"Brother Yu, can you smell something delicious? It's over there at that tent!"

In addition to the fixed shops, the market also has a special square area divided into sections for itinerant merchants from all over to set up tents for trading and to store their goods.

A large group of people were gathered at the entrance of a tent ahead, most of them dressed in fine clothes, indicating that they were of high status.

As Wang Yu led his men inside, four guards immediately split the crowd, two in front and two behind, protecting Wang Yu, Qianqian, and Zhao Yingjie in the middle. Some people in the crowd recognized Zhao Yingjie and, seeing him bowing and scraping beside a young man, their eyes widened and they immediately made way for him.

Upon entering the main tent, the room was filled with fragrance.

Although it was a foreign caravan that had traveled thousands of miles, the tent was clean and tidy. Exquisite Persian carpets hung on the walls, and a long table separated the entrance. Behind it was a display shelf with gems, scimitars, jewelry, and some small metal bottles.

Several men from the Western Regions with high noses, deep-set eyes, and brown curly hair held up small metal bottles with unscrewed caps, emanating a rich, fragrant aroma, and were introducing the perfumes in their hands in broken Chinese.

"This is the latest invention from thousands of miles away in the West!"

"You can carry it with you; just sprinkle a few drops on yourself, and the fragrance will last for a full hour!"

"How it's made? That's a secret, of course, and I don't know either. I'm just a businessman, not an inventor."

"We only brought two kinds of perfume, one lavender and one tulip."

"Ten taels of silver per bottle."

"Hiss—" Wang Yu gasped, "This is so damn expensive! Perfume has always been a luxury item."

Ten taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family of three to live on for several months.

But even though the perfume costs ten taels of silver a bottle, it is actually the cheapest item in this caravan.

The other items, including finger-sized cat's-eye gems, ornate jewelry inlaid with blue gemstones, and a scimitar with a gleaming gold scabbard covered in jasper and ruby, were all more expensive than the last!

Someone glanced at Wang Yu, then saw Qianqian and chuckled, "It's not expensive. Just two or three drops at a time will last for an hour, enough to enhance the experience during 'that' time."

"The fragrance is so strong, even more potent than an incense burner!" another person commented. "How many did you bring? I'll buy them all!"

The leading merchant smiled and said, "Honorable guest, we embarked on this long journey with two hundred bottles, but we only have a little over one hundred and twenty left when we arrived here."

"Cough cough cough! So many! I'll take ten bottles first."

"Twelve ounces a bottle, we'll take it all!" a voice suddenly came from the tent entrance.

"Who is it?! So arrogant!"

"Not only are you not going to negotiate the price, but you're also raising it? Do you have money to burn?"

Everyone turned around and saw a middle-aged man dressed in fine silks strolling in, followed by two thin men who looked utterly intimidating.

But when they saw them, everyone at the scene fell silent.

However, the middle-aged man soon spotted Wang Yu and his group. He paused when he saw Zhao Yingjie, and his gaze toward Wang Yu turned to one of observation and scrutiny.

He nodded amicably to Wang Yu, "We only need one hundred bottles."

Is this considered showing kindness to oneself?

Wang Yu looked at Zhao Yingjie. Who is this? How dare he be so arrogant on my turf?

"This is the manager of the Wang family of Jiangnan in Longshan Prefecture, responsible for purchasing rare treasures from the Western Regions here," Zhao Yingjie said in a low voice. "This perfume has never appeared in the Central Plains before. Jiangnan is prosperous, and after it is sent there, a bottle of perfume can sell for thirty or fifty taels of silver."

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. "Is it that Wang family from Jiangnan?"

Zhao Yingjie nodded. "The Wang and Xie families of Jiangnan, that is, the Wang family of Jiangnan."

Among all the prominent families in the world, those from Jiangnan are the most prestigious, and among the prominent families of Jiangnan, the Wang and Xie families are the most respected.

When Wang Yu lived in Gyeonggi Province, he heard the stories of the Wang and Xie families of Jiangnan. It is said that these two families have been passed down for nearly a thousand years, and can be described as a real-life version of "a hundred-year dynasty and a thousand-year family".

Compared to the rich heritage and wealth of the Wang and Xie families in Jiangnan, his Zhenxi Prince's Mansion could be described as a country bumpkin.

Wang Yu remained expressionless, turned to the merchant standing behind the long table, and held out his hand, "Could I have a drop?"

"Of course!" The merchant put a drop of perfume on the back of Wang Yu's hand and gestured to him, "This fragrance will make you smell nice, and it will last for more than an hour."

Wang Yu brought the back of his hand close to his nose and sniffed it, and then he had a general understanding of the perfume.

"Five bottles will be enough," Wang Yu said. "Three bottles of lavender and two bottles of tulip."

Zhao Yingjie immediately pulled out a silver note from his pocket, a fifty-tael standard silver note from Datong Money Exchange, and handed it to the merchant, saying, "Do you know where to exchange silver?"

"I know!" The merchant snatched it. "The Datong Money Shop in the south of the city has branches not only in Longshan Prefecture, but also in Yumen Prefecture!"

The merchant took the silver note and immediately handed five small metal bottles to Wang Yu.

Everyone present was perceptive enough to see the Wang family steward's attitude towards Wang Yu, so no one dared to object.

But Wang Yu bought five bottles, and the Wang family bought a hundred bottles in total. Now the merchant only has fifteen bottles left. If he doesn't buy them this time, who knows when they will be able to be transported from the Western Regions again.

"I want five bottles!"

"I want ten bottles!"

"I'll take the remaining fifteen bottles!"

Just then, a voice rang out. Although the tone was very soft, it clearly resounded in the ears of everyone in the tent: "I'll buy two bottles, one of each scent."

Everyone turned around abruptly and saw three people standing at the entrance of the tent.

A middle-aged man with three long tufts of beard on his chin carried a wooden box on his back that was four feet long and one and a half feet wide.

To the left of the man stood a middle-aged woman in a purple dress with a purple bamboo flute tucked into her waistband, and to the right stood a young girl in green robes, her face veiled but clearly not very old.

When the Wang family steward saw the three people, he first glanced at the purple bamboo flute at the beautiful woman's waist, and then looked at the wooden box on the middle-aged man's back. Although he looked at the girl in green with some surprise, he clearly recognized the two people in front of him.

The Wang family steward took a step back, bowed respectfully, and said, "Greetings..."

The man waved his hand, stopping the Wang family steward from speaking, and took out two silver notes. "I'll just buy two bottles of perfume to try it out."

The man was gentle and refined, but his demeanor was awe-inspiring. Everyone present was stunned once again, watching in disbelief as the merchant took out two more bottles of perfume and handed them to the man.

……

Stepping out of the tent, Wang Yu asked Zhao Yingjie, "Who are those three people? Can you recognize them?"

Zhao Yingjie said awkwardly, "I don't recognize him, but for the Wang family steward to show him such respect, he must be of high status and must be a famous master in the Central Plains martial arts world."

Wang Yu glanced at Zhao Yingjie. The other party had displayed a unique skill of transmitting sound with internal force, so he was definitely a martial arts master!

Qianqian smiled playfully, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes, followed by a touch of doubt, then a moment of contemplation, before she immediately returned to her innocent and carefree demeanor.

Just then, the sound of a whip cracking and a low scream came from not far to the side, mixed with the clear cry of a little girl, disrupting the relatively peaceful atmosphere of the East Market.

"What's going on?" Wang Yu frowned.

The person wielding the whip was a Western Region man with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and brown curly hair, while the person being whipped was a Central Plains man with black hair and black eyes.

Wang Yu frowned, and immediately two guards stepped forward to pull the Western Region man away. The surrounding people were also making a fuss, and two constables who were maintaining order stepped forward to inquire.

"They, father and daughter, are not from the Central Plains. They are slaves I bought in the Kingdom of Ferghana, and I have their indentures!"

"This slave killed three of my fine Ferghana horses, worth at least five hundred taels of silver!"

"They themselves are only worth five taels of silver!"

The man from the Western Regions was enraged, brandishing his whip, shouting, "They are my slaves, I will beat them to death!"

"Waaah, don't hit my dad! My dad knows how to raise horses, he's really good at it!"

A girl dressed in tattered clothes, who looked no more than ten years old, threw herself at a man, saying, "It was because you were worried about encountering bandits that you urged the horses to travel even though they were sick, which is why they died!"

Although the girl's Mandarin had an accent, it was much more fluent than that of most people from the Western Regions.

Among the onlookers, someone's eyes lit up. After observing the girl carefully for a moment, he squinted and stepped forward to offer a suggestion, "Brother, your three horses are already dead. Killing them would only be a way to vent your anger. Why not sell them to make up for your losses?"

"I don't want that man. His daughter is quite pretty. Even if you send her to a brothel, you can only get three or five taels of silver. I'll give you eight taels, how about you sell her to me?"

"Brother, you have a good eye. Although this little girl is dirty, she has fair and delicate skin. After a wash, she should look quite nice."

"What, you're interested too?"

"We already have three children at home, and we're really struggling to keep up."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing the teasing of the people around her, the little girl trembled. Her father struggled to his feet and tried to protect her behind him, but he was shaking all over and was clearly powerless.

Despair filled the eyes of the father and daughter, and then their gazes met Wang Yu's.

Wang Yu pointed at the man from the Western Regions and sneered, "Making a racket in the East Market and disturbing order, what is the punishment?"

The two constables looked at each other in dismay. Loud noises happened every day. As long as it wasn't about shortchanging customers, selling inferior goods, bullying the market, or committing fraud, they could usually just persuade them to stop.

Zhao Yingjie, however, quickly said, "Loud shouting, violently assaulting others, disrupting order, and affecting other people's business operations constitutes market manipulation and bullying. The punishment is eighty strokes of the cane and a fine of one hundred taels of silver! All stolen goods will be confiscated!"