Chapter 1 Imperial City Outskirts

The imperial city gate, with its red walls and yellow tiles, had three arched doorways. Above hung a plaque with the words "Da Ming," and ten more words: "The sun and moon illuminate virtue, the mountains and rivers strengthen the Emperor's residence."

The Da Ming Gate was never opened, so one could only pass through the small side gate. Leaving the imperial city, one was met not only by the morning sun, but also by a cacophony of bustling noise.

This was Small Sky Street, a place of thriving business and extraordinary liveliness.

People selling food, peddling goods, and performing operas passed through here.

"This is Chaoqian Market. Outside the Da Ming Gate, within the inner city, there are many such markets."

"In this Shuntian Prefecture, the inner city is mostly inhabited by nobles, officials, scholars, and great merchants. However, most of these people are concentrated in the eastern district, near Chongwen Gate and Zhengyang Gate, closest to the canal docks. Therefore, wealthy merchants and foreign visitors frequently come and go."

"Among them, there are about one hundred industries with high profits, such as pawnshops, cloth shops, and grain shops; and thirty-two industries with small profits, such as net-making, vegetable selling, tofu making, and tailoring."

"There are also more than one hundred and forty various guild halls."

"From the inner city to the outer city, the eastern district is a place for buying and selling. Palace servants sell palace utensils or buy things from outside, all in the eastern district. These are all legal transactions."

"As for Chaoqian Market, it is the first market in the southern city, although not particularly large, but it is a necessary market for goods. All goods from the east and west of Shuntian Prefecture must pass through here."

"Lord Ji, follow me. The Han Jing Factory we are going to is in the western city."

Ji Xiang looked at everything before him.

Within the Forbidden City or the imperial city, unless there was a major event or a court session, one would not see so many people.

But once outside the imperial city, the mortal world of rolling red dust, with its riot of colors blurring the eyes, was filled with a smoky atmosphere that was addictive. In this Shuntian Prefecture, from the Jiajing to the Wanli reigns, the active population had long exceeded eight hundred thousand.

A hundred palaces were transformed into ten thousand thatched huts.

From the height of the temple, it was difficult to hear the thunder and rain of the martial world.

Ji Xiang also saw many swordsmen. At least from their appearance, they looked like veterans of the Jianghu.

Perhaps some of them were thinking of taking the Emperor's head in the Forbidden City, but when they saw the government troops patrolling Tianjie, they silently shrank their necks, baring their teeth in dissatisfaction.

The Ming Dynasty's urban life flourished. From the Jiajing Emperor to the Longqing Emperor, and then to the Wanli Emperor, three generations had rarely attended court for many years. One was obsessed with cultivating immortality, one was hollowed out by beauty a few years after ascending the throne, and the current one was a self-proclaimed recluse.

For the country, the actions of the three emperors, although completely useless, had inadvertently become "governing by doing nothing?"

In short, because the central departments were not in charge, the lives of the people and the state of the common folk became increasingly prosperous.

Especially at this time, during the Wanli reign, perhaps thanks to Zhang Juzheng's Single Whip Law and the inflow of silver from foreign trade, prices began to become very low.

A pound of rice cost only two or three Wen, a pound of salt was four Wen, and a pound of mutton, converted to later generations, was nine yuan and fifty fen.

A woodcutter could chop a load of firewood on the mountain every day, sell it at the market, and exchange it for two pounds of meat, enough for his family to be warm and fed.

Compared with the famous Ming Dynasty unit of measurement, "the Chongzhen Emperor," a pound of rice during the Chongzhen reign normally cost more than twenty Wen.

Of course, these were during times of peace. If a disaster occurred in a certain area, it would be a different story.

But thanks to this brief period of peace, urban culture, folk novels, and opera arts were born in large numbers at this time.

This Small Sky Street, on the road leading to the western city, was a scene of great hustle and bustle.

Scholars came to the capital, merchants sold goods, official documents were delivered, officials shuttled back and forth, and soldiers patrolled.

There were many inns on the main road, and they were fully equipped. These inns provided both food and lodging, and even some colorful services.

Of course, Lei Xuan's old man's inn was also nearby.

Someone was busy behind the stove, chopping meat and vegetables with a kitchen knife, smoke curling up. It was almost ten o'clock in the morning, the time for the first meal in the Ming Dynasty. This was when there were the most customers. He shouted loudly, calling his apprentice to serve tea and water everywhere. Soon, he prepared the food himself, and a steaming bowl of meat noodles was brought to the table.

Someone was smiling, displaying a box of goods, peddling lotus-shaped mutton horns, hanging lanterns even in broad daylight, and selling bronze and porcelain bowls, allowing people to choose. When encountering difficult customers, bargaining was inevitable, and then they would pretend to be in pain, saying they were making friends.

Someone was shouting hard, holding brocade silk in his hand, and soliciting customers whenever he saw someone, causing people around him to wave their hands repeatedly, claiming that they couldn't afford it.

Someone lowered his head, like an ox working hard without complaint, carrying two loads of rice, swaying through Tianjie, looking at this and that, then shaking his head repeatedly, continuing to run around for a living.

Tall horses walked in the middle, and donkeys carrying goods walked slowly.

Someone was focused, dyeing headscarves on the street, applying large swaths of color before carefully outlining and detailing, not daring to be distracted in the slightest. Someone next to him shouted at him, but he didn't even dare to shake his head, only pretending not to hear.

Someone was sitting at a street food stall, holding a book in his hand, a bite of cake, a glance at the story, eyes unblinking. When he saw something particularly wonderful, he spluttered cake crumbs from his mouth, slapped his leg with his hand, and shouted that it was great. Such uncivilized behavior naturally caused the other diners at the same table to beat him up, but soon they all gathered around his storyteller, beginning to freeload.

In front, someone was performing opera on stage, the sound sometimes high-pitched, sometimes melodious, sometimes as if weeping, attracting loud cheers from the surrounding people.

The smoke and fire of the human world, the blue clouds of heaven.

Many common people, thousands of ordinary folks, their expressions, appearances, movements, and spirits were all different! Everyone was working hard to live, even though the day before, the court had carried out a large-scale search for Yellow Turban rebels in Shuntian, but once things calmed down, life had to go on.

In this world, there was nothing greater than "living"!

"Listen, they're singing 'The Purple Hairpin' again. This play is very popular in Yingtian Prefecture. When it comes to Shuntian, you see, these people just like to listen to this kind of story."

"What's the story about?"

"Hey! A scholar, a girl, in love with each other, but then, an old grand tutor from a wealthy family and his noble daughter insisted on pursuing him. When they couldn't succeed, they sent people to use various treacherous schemes to hinder the lovers, killing several people..."

The Eunuch Director of the Department of Imperial Accoutrements also showed a look of sadness at this time:

"Thinking about it, before I entered the palace, I also had someone I loved! If I hadn't been unable to survive, why would I have come to the palace to be a eunuch! This play always reminds me of a night many years ago, a spring with fluttering catkins. I was holding a cake in my hand, and the girl I liked was holding a stick in her hand. I.... I! I still remember, she called me 'Stick', wanting to hold me in her palm..."

Hearing this, Ji Xiang really wanted to ask, "Where is your hometown, sir? The woman's accent is so heavy?"

The Grand Eunuch Director of the Department of Imperial Accoutrements sighed sadly: "Forget it, if love lasts long, how can it be just in the morning and evening...."

"...By the way, Lord Ji, do you belong to Zhengyi or Quanzhen?"

Ji Xiang smiled: "In terms of lineage, I am from Zhengyi. Sir, do you want to ask if I can marry?"

"But we cultivators, take becoming an immortal as our ultimate goal. How can mortal women enter the eye of the Dharma?"

"...I reach into the river and scoop, do you see the sand slipping through my fingers? That is time."

"Therefore, a decade or two pass in the blink of an eye. What is seen in the mortal eyes is actually a scene of absurdity and strangeness, like floating clouds."

"The human world is like a yellow beam dream, this is just a dream."