Chapter 2: The Lecherous Shopkeeper
These people were young and old, but without exception they were all men.

Although they were wearing thin clothes and shivering in the cold wind, they looked happy and were chatting and laughing with each other.

With the help of Wang Chengen, Chongzhen jumped off the carriage by stepping on a horse stool and walked towards the crowd curiously.

Those who lived outside You'anmen were lower-class people who could not afford to buy houses in the city. Most of them worked as laborers, chores, vendors, or even thieves and prostitutes, covering all walks of life.

Chongzhen wore a fox-skin hat, deerskin boots, and a sable-skin cloak. He was guarded by seven or eight sword-bearing guards in front and behind him, and a man who looked like a butler was following him. It was obvious that he was either rich or noble.

When the people saw him coming, they couldn't help but stop talking and became a little nervous.

Chongzhen smiled and walked towards the nearest lame young man and tried to start a conversation. However, before he could open his mouth, the board door of the herbal medicine shop not far away suddenly "clicked" and a panel was removed.

The people gathered in front of the gate no longer cared about Chongzhen and all rushed forward.

A handsome man's face appeared behind the door. He was holding a basket of porcelain bottles in his hands and placed it at the door. He shouted at everyone to line up while stretching his hand forward.

The commoner at the front of the team grabbed a purse from his arms and handed it over, "Little Doctor Wang, ten bottles of moisturizing glycerin are still too little, can you give me a little more?"

Before the handsome man opened his mouth, the people in the queue started to make a noise.

"The amount of glycerin that the little doctor has is limited. If I give more to you, wouldn't we have less?"

"Zhao Erlangzi, you are too greedy!"

"Your wife has been following the young doctor for a living. The couple has made a lot of money. What else do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen and was greatly surprised.

"What is this moisturizing glycerin and why is it attracting people to bid for it?" Chongzhen asked in surprise.

Wang Chengen thought hard and shook his head in shame: "I am so ignorant that I have never heard of it."

It was obvious that these people were starving, yet they were able to take out a lot of copper coins to buy the so-called moisturizing glycerin, and even ten were not enough.

Chongzhen was puzzled as to what this thing was used for.

However, the crowd was still clamoring. After being accused, Zhao Erlangzi was unwilling to give in. He pointed his finger at the people in the queue and cursed: "You, you, you, and you, aren't your wives and daughters in Doctor Wang's backyard? How dare you say that to me?"

Chongzhen was shocked when these words came out. His young face was stunned and he stammered, "One, two, three, four, five... eight, eight?"

Wang Chengen showed disgust on his face and scolded: "In broad daylight, so many decent women gathered in the backyard. What does the owner of the herbal medicine shop want to do?"

Earlier, someone had said that the wife of the common people was following the young miracle doctor for a living, and Chongzhen didn't know what that meant. But when that person pointed at other people and fought back, Chongzhen suddenly came to his senses.

At that time, most of the shops on the street had a front store and a back yard, with the front being the store and the back being the yard, which could be used as a workshop or warehouse, as well as a residence for the shop owners.

This small herbal medicine shop was dark and gloomy, and it seemed that there was no other man except the shopkeeper known as Doctor Wang.

What do those eight women in the backyard do?

Thinking of his father Guangzong who accepted eight beauties from Xi Li at once and died in less than a month due to exhaustion, Chongzhen seemed to understand something. At that time, there was still a saying that single men and single women should not be in the same room. Chongzhen was also a last emperor with extremely high moral standards, so he naturally could not stand such absurd things.

Moreover, in his eyes, there was absolutely no reason in this world for one to voluntarily offer his wife and daughter to others for pleasure. It must be that the owner of the herbal medicine shop in front of him had played some tricks.

Looking at the unknown substance of glycerin, and remembering the White Lotus Rebellion in Shandong during the Tianqi period, which seemed to have used evil things like "holy water" to deceive people, and called it "Queen Mother's Lamp Oil" to make people willing to donate their money and their wealth, Chongzhen's handsome face suddenly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"I didn't expect that when I ascended the throne at such a young age, such a monster would appear under the feet of the emperor!" Chongzhen said angrily, gritting his teeth.

Wang Chengen understood what he meant and asked in a low voice, "Should I let this servant take down this thief?"

The guards behind him immediately put their hands on the hilts of their swords, determined to show their bravery as long as the new emperor gave the order.

Just as Chongzhen was about to issue an order, he heard the herbal medicine shop owner scolding helplessly: "Zhao Erlangzi, just shut up! Why does everything I hear from your mouth always sound wrong?"

Zhao Erlang smiled and said, "Little doctor, your glycerin is really useful. The rich girls and prostitutes can get a radiant complexion just by applying it on their faces. The demand is really insufficient. Please be kind and give us more so that the people in Doujiafang can earn more money for the festival."

Wang An touched his chin and sighed after a moment: "The production capacity can't keep up."

Zhao Erlangzi wanted to persuade him again, but Wang An waved his hand and said, "Take it and leave quickly. I have something else to do here!"

Zhao Erlangzi didn't dare to say anything more. Everyone in the neighborhood of Doujiafang knew that although the shopkeeper was young, he was a man of his word. If anyone offended him, he would smile on the surface but be a jerk in reality.

From now on, forget about buying glycerin from Wang An, and I'm afraid his wife will be kicked out of the backyard.

This year is particularly evil. The accession of the new emperor to the throne does not seem to have brought any good omen to the Ming Dynasty. The weather is much colder than in previous years. If you don't hold on to Wang An's thigh tightly, I'm afraid that the whole family will freeze to death or starve to death.

More than a dozen people lined up obediently to pay, then each took a dozen porcelain bottles and bowed to Ye Xuan before retreating.

But when he turned around and saw Chongzhen and his gang again, he looked fearful but couldn't help feeling curious.

Wang An also looked over curiously.

Doujiafang outside You'anmen is not even in Beijing. It is inhabited by a group of poor people who cannot afford to buy houses in the city.

The young man in front of him was dressed in gorgeous clothes and was surrounded by people. The exquisite workmanship of the carriage behind him alone was enough to buy out the family business that Wang An had built with the hard work of two generations.

How could one not be surprised when such a young man in fine clothes and horses appeared here?
Chongzhen originally wanted to have the guards arrest Wang An and send him to Shuntian Prefecture for trial. However, it now seems that this so-called glycerin is not an evil substance that can bewitch people, but some kind of facial powder.

If he was not a traitor of the White Lotus Sect, how could he make so many people willingly send their wives and daughters to his home?
At this moment, Chongzhen's young heart was filled with curiosity.

Although he had four or five concubines in his palace, and the Ministry of Rites would send a large number of beautiful girls to him as long as he showed the slightest interest, that was all because he was the emperor.

Wang An has no power or influence, so it is not necessarily true that he achieved it by spending money.

After all, the women's husbands and fathers were present, and they even looked happy.

(End of this chapter)