Outside the city of Chang'an, there was a shabby little house. Tiny snowflakes were drifting down sparsely again, but the temperature was extremely low.
As the cold wind blew, Liu Laosan immediately tightened his clothes, yet it didn't help much. His face was flushed red by the wind, and his feet and several fingers were numb with cold. He quickly rubbed his hands to generate a bit of warmth and then hurriedly carried his wife off the cart.
"Wait a while. Once I light the charcoal, our home will get warm," Liu Laosan murmured constantly. It was hard to tell whether he was comforting his wife or himself.
There were three rooms in total in their home, where eleven of them lived. Their three dull sons all rushed out to help unload the coal.
They were dressed even thicker than the old couple, but their clothes were dirty. After carrying the coal, they got even dirtier. They piled all the coal in the old couple's room.
Liu Laosan and his second son carried the stove and returned to the room.
Liu Laosan's wife, Dou Liushi, unlocked the door of another room. The other siblings gathered around, curiously looking at this new thing they had never seen before.
Soon, he lit the coal.
A long - awaited warmth enveloped these small rooms.
The whole family gathered around the stove, getting their hands and feet closer. A warm current gradually surrounded them.
Liu Laosan's youngest son leaned closer to the stove. Unexpectedly, his hair caught fire.
He grabbed the burning lock of hair and yanked it hard. Letting out a howl, the burned part was pulled off, and he was in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes instantly.
Liu Laosan felt so heart - achy that he slapped him, "Don't pull it with your hands!"
"Then what should I use?" the youngest son looked up at him.
Liu Laosan's action paused. Right, there didn't seem to be any other way. There wasn't even a pair of scissors at home, and it was unrealistic to ask others to help.
"Haha, it's so warm!" The youngest son didn't dwell on this matter. He leaned his face closer to the stove, wishing he could just sleep next to it.
The others were all chattering and sharing their joy, using words like "It's really warm!" and "If only it could be this warm every day."
Liu Laosan looked up at the shabby window. Tiny snowflakes were drifting in, but they turned into water as soon as they got near the stove.
His eyes were slightly moist. "If it weren't for the kindness of the little princess, who lowered the price of coal so much, we would have to endure the cold again this winter."
"That's right, husband. The little princess is so kind. Shouldn't we make a memorial tablet for her to offer sacrifices?" Dou Liushi asked.
"Okay. I'll go cut a piece of wood later and carve one myself," Liu Laosan nodded, his eyes looking through the window at the bare forest outside.
They didn't care about the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Before, they couldn't even afford charcoal, so they didn't even have the chance to be poisoned.
At this moment, in the Yang family's mansion.
In the magnificent house, Yang Yuzhi and Yang Shuzhi were sitting together. Opposite them was Yang Sizhi, and in front stood Wu Yuanqing and the others. There was a cup of freshly brewed, warm milk tea beside each person.
The top - grade charcoal in the stove was crackling. A woody fragrance mixed with the sweetness of the milk tea filled the air.
Each of them was wearing the finest fox - fur coats. Even the walls were painted with Chinese prickly ash, making the room as warm as spring. A little dog was lying on its back beside Yang Shuzhi's feet, soundly asleep.
There was also a pot of blooming flowers in the corner.
However, these people all looked very solemn. Yang Yuzhi, in particular, looked as if he was about to grab his sword and fight Li Ke and Li Jingyun right away.
Yang Shuzhi had always been the brain of their group and had never failed. The idea of raising the price of charcoal temporarily was his, and what Yang Sizhi said in the court meeting was pure nonsense.
"Gentlemen, I have an idea," Yang Shuzhi took a sip of the milk tea and said softly.
Everyone immediately looked up, and several pairs of eyes stared at Yang Shuzhi.
Yang Yuzhi was playing with a smooth and delicate jade thumb - ring. He nodded slightly. "Go ahead, Shuzhi. What should we do?"
"Coal is poisonous, and it's even more toxic than charcoal. Why don't we make an issue out of this? Let a few people die and make a big fuss. Make the common people afraid of coal at the mere mention of it. Then Li Jingyun won't be able to sell her coal," Yang Shuzhi explained his plan in detail. At the end, he even couldn't help smiling, as if he had already seen the scene where coal couldn't be sold.
"It's a matter of human lives. This might not be a good idea," Yang Sizhi tried to stop him.
He had been taught the teachings of Confucius since childhood and believed that human lives were of utmost importance.
"Compared with our great business of making money, what are human lives? Brother Sizhi, as the saying goes, a man without poison can't achieve great things," Yang Shuzhi persuaded.
"This is a great idea. We'll follow your suggestion. Brothers of the Wu family, this matter will be entrusted to you two," Yang Yuzhi smiled. "After it's done, I'll give you two a 10% share of the profit. How about it?"
This settled the matter. Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang were initially hesitant, but the sudden offer of a 10% share made them dizzy, and they immediately agreed.
Since the conversation had turned to them, Yang Sizhi was particularly curious and asked, "In the morning court meeting, we just asked you two to hire someone to throw rotten vegetables at Prince Wu's carriage. How did you get caught?"
"We misjudged the person. The one we hired had mobility problems and was caught by Prince Wu's subordinates. He was so cowardly that he betrayed us as soon as he was threatened. So what? Prince Wu, as a royal prince, still didn't dare to blame us. He was afraid of the power of the Hongnong Yang family," Wu Yuanqing quickly organized his words and analyzed the situation bit by bit. He argued cunningly, trying to absolve himself and his brother of all blame, as if they had done nothing wrong.
Finally, he flattered the Yang brothers vigorously.
Obviously, his words pleased Yang Yuzhi and the others. They took a big sip of the milk tea contentedly, looking as dashing as if they were drinking wine.
"The Hongnong Yang family does have some foundation. My father is highly trusted by the emperor. Even in the court debate this time, the emperor didn't want to punish my father. People say that the emperor relies on Chang Sun Wuji, but I don't think so. My father is obviously more capable," Yang Yuzhi boasted, eager to list all of Yang Shidao's political achievements.
Yang Shuzhi quickly interrupted him. "Cousin, I have something else to say. We must keep this matter from Uncle. Otherwise, with his character, our business will definitely fall through. Also, the price of charcoal should be lowered."
"Lower it? Why should I? I'd feel heart - broken even if I reduced the price of charcoal by one wen per jin!"
Yang Yuzhi was so greedy for money now that he couldn't listen to any advice about price reduction.
However, he was very concerned about keeping this from Yang Shidao.
He had never let Yang Shidao interfere in the charcoal business, and of course, he wouldn't let him know now.
"How dare Li Jingyun lower the price of coal so much? Doesn't it cost money to transport coal? We need to investigate this," Yang Yuzhi continued.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Yang Shuzhi originally wanted to say that maybe the little princess really didn't intend to make money from coal. But seeing Yang Yuzhi so excited, he swallowed his words.