Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

"What kind of joke is it? Tell me."

"These are poems by Shi Siming..."

Li Ji finally became interested: "That roughneck can also write poetry?"

Yin Shen smiled and said, "Not everyone can write poetry, but everyone wants to. It is said that a prefecture once presented a basket of cherries as tribute. Shi Siming divided them among his son Shi Chaoyi and his important minister Zhou Zhi. So he wrote a poem on colored paper: 'A basket of cherries, half red and half yellow. Half for Prince Huai (Shi Chaoyi), half for Zhou Zhi.'"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji couldn't help but chuckle—this isn't even a proper rhyme!

Yin Shen continued, "His attendants advised that the last two lines could be changed to 'Half for Zhou Zhi, half for King Huai,' which would then rhyme and sound harmonious. Shi Siming flew into a rage, shouting, 'What is rhyme? How can you place my son below Zhou Zhi?!'"

Li Ji finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, saying, "Jiulang is truly a wonderful talker!"

Yin Shen was a key figure in Cui Guangyuan's secret service—otherwise, he wouldn't have been the only one to be appointed to an official position. Unlike Cui Cuo, who relied on her agility and swordsmanship to often carry out missions alone, a true "lone wolf," Yin Shen had long served as Cui Guangyuan's leader in the capital, overseeing various covert operations and holding a managerial role. Therefore, Li Ji had specifically summoned him to test his ambitions and understand his character—and now it seemed this man was capable.

He thought to himself, "I can't just assign every single superhuman to me. My wife may have inherited the entire spy group, but she might not actually have leadership skills. If I can capture Yin Shen, it will be easier to manage him in the future."

After dinner, having dismissed everyone else and leaving only Cui Cuo to sit with him, Li Ji finally got to the point, asking Yin Shen, "Are you familiar with the affairs of Li Fuguo's household?"

Yin Shen shook his head and replied, "When Lord Cui was alive, he never asked us to secretly observe the movements of Prince Bolu..." The reason is self-evident. At that time, Li Fuguo was extremely powerful. If we were to secretly investigate information about him, Cui Guangyuan would be in deep trouble if discovered. "Besides, he usually lives in the palace and rarely goes home, so it would be useless to investigate."

Seeing the slight regret on Li Ji's face, Yin Shen quickly added, "However, things are different now. Since the Prince of Bolu has been expelled from the palace, it is not difficult to investigate the affairs of his residence. Please give me half a month... no, ten days, and I will have a detailed report."

Li Ji said, "Alright, I'll give you ten days." He then patted Yin Shen on the shoulder and said, "Although Jiu Lang cannot take the imperial examination, he is truly talented. He is more than just a 'loyal servant.' In my opinion, he can be a minister who plans for the country. It's a pity that he is only a ninth-rank official. I will find a way to help him get promoted."

Yin Shen was overjoyed upon hearing this and hurriedly bowed in gratitude.

Ten days later, he came to visit Li Ji again, handing over a whole scroll of documents. Li Ji unfolded it and glanced at it, thinking to himself that the handwriting was not bad at all, and it was indeed a pity that he was only a minor official.

The documents detailed Li Fuguo's current wives, concubines, servants, and even the number of bodyguards, with many people's names, ages, backgrounds, and resumes noted. Furthermore, they meticulously recorded everything about Li Fuguo's daily life at home, including his favorite foods, hobbies, and even who he had met and spoken to in the past few days.

Li Ji didn't pay much attention to the details, but his curiosity was piqued when he looked at the parts about Li Fuguo and his wives and concubines' evening activities...

At the end of the scroll, there is also a detailed structural diagram of the Prince Bolu's mansion.

The information was far more detailed than Li Ji had expected, which made him value Yin Shen even more. Therefore, after closing the scroll, he asked Yin Shen directly, "Under these circumstances, is it possible to sneak into his bedchamber?"

Yin Shen replied, "I cannot, but someone else can."

Li Ji nodded, leaned closer, lowered his voice, and asked again, "Is it possible to take his head?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Shen was taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure and replied without hesitation, "What is the meaning of this matter—Does Erlang intend to poison him, strangle him, or truly behead him?"

Li Ji waved his hand: "No rush." ​​After a pause, he asked again: "If he is on guard, can we still do it?"

Yin Shen thought for a moment and replied, "It's a little difficult, but not necessarily impossible. After all, they've already lost their footing and can no longer command the Imperial Guards. They can only rely on some strongmen they recruited before, about fifty men, to guard the gate and the courtyard. However, our secret investigations show that they are all dissolute men from the capital region. They may have learned a few days of martial arts and fighting, but they have absolutely no knowledge of江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) skills or cunning schemes..."

To put it bluntly, those bodyguards lacked real experience in protecting important figures. They might be quite capable in face-to-face combat, but they were simply no match for martial arts practitioners who could leap across rooftops and ridges.

Li Ji questioned, "I recall something. Back in Ding'an, when Zhou Zhi sent assassins, Li Fuguo also kept some extraordinary people from the Jianghu..."

Yin Shen smiled slightly: "I am quite aware of this matter. Li Fuguo is usually in the palace and rarely goes outside. Where would he recruit martial arts masters? At that time, he borrowed some people from Cui Gongshang, such as Jia Huai, whom Erlang is familiar with..."

Li Ji nodded, listening to Yin Shen continue—

"Jia Huai and the others went with Erlang, and the rest of the followers scattered over the years. Especially now that Li Fuguo has fallen from grace and is in dire straits, who would be willing to follow him? In fact, if there were followers, it would be easier for us to take action..."

The implication is that they can be won over at any time and used as counter-espionage agents.

Li Ji was relieved and then ordered Yin Shen: "You are to assign men to monitor Li Fuguo's residence and await my orders..."

Yin Shen bowed and withdrew. He had just stepped out when a servant came to report, "Mr. Qingyuan requests an audience."

Li Ji raised his hand: "Please come in."

Before long, a sorcerer carrying a banner with four large characters on it, "Skillful in Judging Fortune and Misfortune," stepped into the hall, bowed to Li Ji, and paid his respects.

This sorcerer was named Chang Heng, with the Taoist name Qingyuan. He was one of the martial arts masters recruited by Cui Guangyuan in the past. He originally hid in the Cui residence, pretending to be a servant. A few days ago, Li Ji ordered Cui Qi to bring all the sorcerers from the Cui residence—before Cui Guangyuan died, he handed over all the contracts to Cui Cuo—to personally interview and verify them. Then he felt that this Chang was not suitable to stay in the residence.

Because Chang Heng claimed to possess magical abilities, but in reality it was nothing more than some江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and outlaws) tricks, using words to match hand gestures. He then performed a few tricks on the spot—actually, he performed a few magic tricks—which left Li Ji quite dazzled. Li Ji didn't understand how the guy did it, so he asked him directly. Knowing that he had changed masters and was afraid of not winning Li Ji's favor, Chang Heng didn't dare to hold back and slowed down his movements, explaining the tricks he used one by one. Li Ji couldn't help but exclaim, "Truly impressive skills!"

Many magic tricks, when you put it bluntly, are often worthless, but there are also some that, without long-term hard practice and the addition of psychological suggestion, are definitely beyond the reach of ordinary people. Chang Heng's magic tricks are mostly like this. His verbal skills are fine, but the dexterity of his hands and the speed of his movements cannot help but make Li Ji admire him while also feeling somewhat apprehensive.

—If we keep this guy at home, he might not be so bad as to secretly keep an awl or dagger close to his body, but he could easily steal money or other important items from the house every few days, which would be impossible to guard against!

So Li Ji temporarily took all the others who came with him as his servants, but for Chang Heng, Li Ji found a different way out. He ordered Cui Cuo to pay for two rooms to be rented for Chang Heng near Xunqiang in Pingkangfang, so that he could resume his identity as a fortune teller before he joined the Cui family, and go through the streets and neighborhoods to gather all kinds of information for him.

As a result, the Li family took in one less servant, but a new man named Qingyuan, who claimed to be able to make infallible predictions, appeared in Chang'an.

Now, Chang Heng came to pay his respects to Li Ji today, and privately reported, "The matter that you sent me to investigate, sir, has been confirmed..."

What did Li Ji ask Chang Heng to find out? It turned out that just a few days ago, more than twenty nominal "former servants of the Cui family" had been recruited. Soon, someone eager to make a contribution secretly reported to Li Ji that the servant Kang Lian had taken advantage of going out to buy things to sneak into a gambling den and gamble with people.

Kang Lian had been a gambler since childhood, and it was through gambling that he met Yuan Jing'an. However, after his family was ruined and he was temporarily taken in as a slave in the Li family, he had no choice but to put away his bad habit. In particular, Li Ji did not hide anything from Kang Lian and told him openly that his family had been implicated because Li Fuguo wanted to seize financial power, demoted Liu Yan and appointed Yuan Zai. When Kang Lian heard that the old eunuch was involved, he was terrified and begged Li Ji not to abandon him. From then on, he behaved himself and seemed to have completely changed his ways and become a new person.

But now that Li Fuguo has fallen from grace and been demoted, Kang Lian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news. He even begged Li Ji to grant him a day off to sweep the graves of his father and brother. After Kang Qian and his son were executed, it was Li Ji who paid for and found people to collect their remains, which were then hastily buried outside Qixia Gate.

It was probably only when Kang Lian relaxed that he finally reverted to his old ways.

Originally, with Kang Qian entrusted to him, Li Ji didn't treat Kang Lian as his own servant—of course, to avoid suspicion, most of the people in the household were unaware—and was generally quite lenient with him. Therefore, Kang Qian running off to gamble was considered a minor matter. The problem was that a servant reported that Kang Qian had lost a whole thousand coins in just half a day!

Upon hearing the report, Li Ji was astonished. Kang Lian had been brought directly from the Dali Temple prison to the Li residence, penniless and even his clothes were torn. It was only thanks to the Li family that he was given clean new clothes. Although the servants also received monthly stipends, the amount was extremely small. Even in two or three years, they probably couldn't save up a thousand coins. So where did Kang Lian get the money he lost?

Stealing from home? Impossible. Qingluan is very strict with money. Even if Cui Cuo were in charge now, it wouldn't be easy for someone to steal so much money right under her nose. Besides, Kang Lian isn't like Chang Heng, who has such clever methods.

So Li Ji didn't reveal the truth for the time being, but ordered people to keep a close eye on Kang Lian and secretly observe his movements—there were countless spies in the mansion, and as for those outside the mansion, that would have to be done by Chang Heng.

Chang Heng reported to Li Ji that Kang Lian had gone out gambling again today. However, before entering the gambling den, he first circled around the East Market and went to a certain shop on a certain street. When he came out, his waist was bulging, probably with copper coins tucked in. Of course, that guy was too unlucky and lost it all again.

Li Ji felt a headache coming on. He wanted to summon Kang Lian directly for questioning, but he feared that without evidence, the man would refuse to admit it. If he were to be punished according to family law, he would be failing Kang Qian's trust... So that night, on the bed, he brought up the matter with Cui Cuo. Cui Cuo said, "Young master is destined for great things and spends his days in the yamen, so there is no need to concern yourself with such trivial matters. If you trust me, just leave it to me."

Li Ji embraced his wife and smiled slightly, "Of course I trust you, but..." He hesitated for a moment, then clicked his tongue, "Old Hu Kang entrusted his son to me, so it's not appropriate to be harsh on him."

Cui Cuo curled his lip and said, "Old Hu almost wiped out his entire family because his son was incompetent and committed illegal acts. So he entrusted his youngest son to you, sir. How can you not keep him in check? Moreover, Old Hu has a backup plan, but he hasn't revealed a word to you. He was unfaithful first, so why shouldn't you break your promise later..."

He paused for a moment, then added, "And that fine wine, hasn't it been several months since it was delivered?"

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Chang'an Gambling House

On this day, Kang Lian was once again ordered to go to the market to buy some cloth to make clothes.

When he first entered the Li household, he absolutely dared not go out, fearing that if he took a single step, the officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture or the Dali Temple would rush out and tie him up with ropes. It wasn't until Li Yu ascended the throne and Li Ji was promoted to the fifth rank that he figured no one would dare to arrest his slaves privately anymore. Only then did he take the initiative to make a request, saying that he was, after all, the son of a merchant and was familiar with the market and prices, so why not let him handle the purchasing in the future?

Li Ji knew that he was a dissolute young man who not only served as a slave but also rarely left his home. He must feel stifled and probably wanted to go out for a walk, so Li Ji granted his request.

Therefore, all the purchasing tasks of the Li family—except for small businesses like calling vegetable farmers or peddlers to the door—were handed over to Kang Lian. He always completed them perfectly, and the things he bought, whether Qingluan or Cuicuo, were all satisfactory. Moreover, even if he pocketed some of the money, it was probably not much, and everyone turned a blind eye and let it go.

On this day, Kang Lian took two hundred coins to buy cloth. Since it was just coarse cloth for making clothes for servants, it cost less than one hundred coins per piece at the time. He needed to buy two pieces. Even though Kang Lian was weak, he could carry it back by himself, so no one else went with him.

In recent months, prices in Chang'an have fallen slightly, but the Li family, in particular, has suffered a loss. This is because, after discussing with Yuan Zai, Li Yu, on the one hand, to show his benevolence to the people, and on the other hand, to stabilize prices, immediately issued an edict changing the currency system, making all Qian Yuan coins and Chong coins equal in value to Kai Yuan Tong Bao. Prices have thus stabilized, and even fallen, but the Li family has a considerable collection of Qian Yuan coins and Chong coins—most of which were delivered to their door in wine jars—and after accounting for everything, they have suffered a slight loss.

This was also Li Yu's original intention, because only middle and upper-class families would collect coins worth ten cash, while ordinary people only had coins of the Tongbao denomination. This meant that the wealth of the rich was devalued and the benefits were given to the common people.

As soon as Kang Lian left the Li residence, he strode quickly towards the East Market. After entering the market, he looked around to make sure no one was watching him, then slipped into a teahouse—not a tea shop, but a tea-selling establishment, a luxury store. He didn't see Chang Heng holding a banner pole, watching from the street corner, then sticking the pole in and starting his business of gossip.

Not long after Kang Lian entered the shop, he came out beaming, his hands clasped below his waist, his purse bulging—definitely more than two hundred coins. He then turned two corners and came to the door of a small shop without a sign. A burly man leaned against the door, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth. Upon seeing Kang Lian, he grinned and said, "Sanlang, you've brought money again?"

Kang Lian patted his lower back, raised his head and puffed out his chest, saying, "I will definitely pay back what I owe you today!"

"Then please come in. I wish you great success, Sanlang."

He then lifted the curtain and let Kang Lian in. Inside was a small, narrow, and long courtyard, with three rooms at the far end. The doors and windows were tightly closed so that the sounds of gambling and fighting would not be heard outside.

In fact, as early as the Zhenguan era, the imperial court issued an edict to ban gambling and subsequently incorporated the relevant provisions into the Tang Code. It stipulated that those who set up gambling dens or harbor gamblers would be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane if they obtained money or property, and would be punished for theft if they obtained money or property. Winners who obtained less than five bolts of cloth would be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane, and those who obtained more than five bolts of cloth would be punished with one year of penal servitude. Even losers would be punished as accomplices.

However, in order to promote a martial spirit, it is not illegal to gamble with martial arts such as archery, no matter how much the bet is; it is also not a crime to gamble with food or drink, or to exchange all the winnings for food or drink.

However, gambling is difficult to curb, because Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, himself was a gambler, and subsequent emperors and powerful officials often gambled together. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked as well. How can it be possible to ask ordinary people to stay away from gambling?

According to rough estimates, there are now no fewer than a hundred gambling dens in Chang'an. As long as one has a powerful backer, pays tribute in a timely manner, and does not publicize it too much—for example, by raising gambling flags at the entrance or making noise that disturbs the neighbors—the Jingzhao Prefecture and the two counties of Chang'an and Wannian will simply pretend not to see it and will not investigate or crack down on it.

Kang Lian, familiar with the area, went straight to the end of the courtyard, pushed open a door, and slipped inside. The room was filled with smoke—because they rarely opened doors and windows—and there were four or five tables, all crowded with people. Kang Lian scanned them one by one, finally identifying a table with a "money stand" and shoving his way over.

"Tanqian" is a new type of gambling game, also known as "Baidaqian". First, four coins are laid out on a table as markers. Then, the dealer randomly takes a handful of coins and puts them into a bamboo tube, shakes it to make a sound, and then invites gamblers to place their bets. The coins in the tube are divided by four. If there is a remainder of one, the person who bet the first coin wins; if there is a remainder of two, the person who bet the second coin wins... If the remainder is zero, the dealer wins all bets.

There are many types of gambling, such as the traditional "Liubo" and "Chupu", as well as "Canggou" and "Guibeixi", and the newly emerging "Yezipai". In the countryside, there are cockfighting and goose fighting, but they require too large a venue, so it is not convenient to hold them in Chang'an City. It is said that insect fighting is popular in the south, but it has not yet become popular in the capital region.

In comparison, "split money" is the fastest and requires no skill; anyone can play it. Kang Lian was originally ordered to buy cloth and couldn't possibly indulge in this all day, so he chose this form of gambling—in the previous few times, he had also played "split money," and each time he was utterly defeated and lost big by the house.

However, the gambler's psychology is such that the more they lose, the more they want to win back their losses, especially since they always feel that statistically, after losing so many times, they should finally win once... The problem is that gambling often doesn't depend on probability, but on the house's tactics. Specifically regarding "coin distribution," gamblers don't need any skill, relying purely on luck—although the house will always shake the bamboo tube to make the coins inside clink together, out of a million people, not even one could truly discern the number by sound—the house, on the other hand, needs skill. Not only does their so-called casual grab actually know whether it's a lot or a little, making it incredibly easy to win big, but the amount poured into the bamboo tube may not be the same amount poured out again...

Thus, Kang Lian gambled relentlessly, winning only two rounds before losing more than ten, handing over all the money he hadn't even had a chance to enjoy to the gambling den. His face was flushed red and his features contorted with rage. Though unwilling, he could only slam his fist on the table and say, "The feng shui of this table is terrible for me—and I'll change its location another day, then I'll come back and win big!"

As he spoke, he turned to leave.

Normally, gambling dens wouldn't let anyone leave so easily. They would always have to win all the gamblers' coins, or even strip them of their clothes to pay off their debts, before allowing them to go. However, gambling den owners, who valued keeping their gamblers loyal and seeking long-term business, were also reluctant to cause trouble. Since everyone knew that Kang Lian was originally Kang Lao Hu's son and was now a slave in Li Erlang's household, it was inconvenient to force him to stay.

But if the gambling den doesn't keep him, someone else will. Kang Lian had just taken a step when a hairy, thick arm reached out from the side, grabbed his neck, and burst into laughter: "Kang Xiaosan, haven't seen you for a few days, you've been gambling again. Win or lose?"

Kang Lian stared intently and couldn't help but shudder slightly. It turned out that this person was none other than "Overlord" Yuan Jing'an.

He had a long-standing friendship with Yuan Jing'an and wasn't originally afraid. The problem was that Yuan Jing'an had also previously curried favor with Li Ji, running around doing everything for Li Ji's marriage. He was worried that Yuan Jing'an might leak his gambling to Li Ji. Startled, he hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "I lost, I lost… I have to go now. I'll treat you to a meal another day, Old Yuan…"

He tried to break free from Yuan Jing'an's embrace, but with his small stature and meager strength, how could he possibly defeat Yuan Bawang? Yuan Jing'an sighed, "I've lost too—Kang Xiaosan, lend me some money, I'll pay you back once I've recouped my losses."

Kang Lian said with a bitter face, "I already told you I lost, how could I possibly lend you money?"

Yuan Jing'an patted Kang Lian's waist and exclaimed, "Isn't this money?!"

Kang Lian hurriedly said, "You know I've been following Li Erlang lately. This is money from my master to buy cloth. How can I lend it to you? Quickly let go of my hand. I still need to go shopping. If I delay Erlang's business, you'll be in deep trouble..."

Yuan Jing'an glared at him: "I'm asking you for money, what's it to you, Erlang?" He raised his fist and demanded: "Are you going to lend it to me or not?!"

Someone nearby advised, "Yuan Bawang, don't cause trouble. If you have something to say to Sanlang, go outside and talk it out, so as not to disturb our business."

This is also a rule of the gambling den: gamblers should resolve their own disputes, and the gambling den will not interfere.

Of course, gambling dens also often hire people to impersonate gamblers, either to guide betting or to lend money under the guise of gambling, but that's another story...

At this point, Yuan Jing'an grabbed Kang Lian by the collar, lifting him like a chick—"Fine, let's go outside and talk!"

He was tall and strong, while Kang Lian was small and thin. With that pull, Kang Lian's feet left the ground, and no matter how much he kicked and struggled, he couldn't break free. Thus, Yuan Jing'an dragged him out of the gambling den and onto the main street.

Kang Lian urged, "Let go! Let go! It's not good for your appearance!"

Yuan Jing'an pointed to the side: "There's a tavern over there. You either lend me gambling money or buy me drinks today, or don't even think about getting away!"

Kang Lian pondered that he only had two hundred coins left in his pocket, which his master had given him. If Yuan Jing'an found them, he would definitely take them all and leave him with not a single coin. Moreover, Yuan Jing'an's gambling luck seemed to be even worse than his own. Even if he were to win by chance, given his nature, he would definitely not be willing to pay back the money. It would be better to lead him to a tavern and get some cheap wine. Twenty or thirty coins would be enough to get him drunk.

I'll go haggle with the cloth merchant later. With my silver tongue, I should be able to get it down by twenty or thirty cents...maybe.

So he pleaded, "Let go, and I'll buy you some wine."

Yuan Jing'an let go of Kang Lian's grip, not afraid that Kang Lian would escape. Last time at Miaosheng Temple, it was Kang Laohu who instructed him to pretend to chase and beat Kang Lian, putting on a show in front of Li Ji. If he really wanted to deal with him, how could this guy have run so far? He followed behind and escorted Kang Lian into the tavern.

The tavern was small, with only one floor. As soon as Kang Lian entered, he shouted, "Bring me a pot of wine..." Yuan Jing'an poked him in the ribs and said, "What's the rush? Just sit down." Then he shoved him on the back, and Kang Lian stumbled forward and crashed into a small room with a curtain hanging over it.