Chapter 3 Beast

How this was done aroused Chongzhen's curiosity.

He put his hands behind his back, gestured to the guards, and walked towards Wang An.

The guards released their hands from the hilts of their swords and followed Chongzhen closely.

"What's your name, boss?" Chongzhen neither bowed nor greeted, but just smiled in a friendly manner that did not make people feel disgusted.

Wang An replied: "I am Wang An, what is your name?"

Chongzhen was stunned, thought for a moment and said with a smile: "I am Wang Xin."

Wang Xin Wang Xin, conversely, was the title Chongzhen received before he ascended the throne: Prince Xin.

However, he didn't expect that as soon as he said this casually made-up pseudonym, the shopkeeper in front of him widened his eyes and then rushed towards him with his arms open.

The two men were very close to each other. The guards behind them had just taken their hands off the hilts of their swords. They were unable to react in time and had to watch Wang An pounce towards Chongzhen. They were all scared out of their wits.

Damn, could this not be an assassin from the eunuch party?

When everyone came to their senses, Wang An had already hugged Chongzhen tightly.

Seeing that the emperor fell into the hands of the enemy, everyone dared not act rashly for a while.

But Wang An was holding Chongzhen and laughing, "Wang Xin, I am your cousin Wang An!"

"I was wondering how a rich young man could come from such a poor place like ours!" As he said this, Wang An supported Chongzhen's shoulders and took a step back, clicking his tongue repeatedly as if he was meeting Chongzhen again after a long separation and couldn't help feeling emotional.

"As expected of a descendant of my Wang family, he's almost as handsome as me."

Wang Chengen and others almost got their pants wet, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that he is not an assassin.

Chongzhen's heart was also beating in his throat, but before he could calm down, Wang An pulled his wrist and walked towards the herbal medicine shop.

"Come on, come on, let's talk inside!"

Wang Chengen and others were about to step forward to stop them, but Chongzhen waved his hand to stop them.

Since he's not an assassin, there's nothing to worry about. Besides...

Chongzhen was really curious about how Wang An could make people willingly give up their wives and daughters to him.

Maybe, I can learn a few tricks...

As soon as everyone entered the herbal medicine shop, they felt a wave of heat hitting them.

Chongzhen was not too surprised, thinking that the shop had a stove for heating.

With a quick glance, I saw a stove next to an octagonal table in the corner of the room.

But the stove was of a strange design. It was a cylinder with an iron sheet on the outside and a clay mold on the inside. There was also a handle made of thick iron wire on the mouth of the stove, as if it could be carried around.

Wang An pulled Chongzhen to sit down at the Eight Immortals Table, and while asking the others to sit down, he picked up the kettle on the stove and poured a cup of hot tea.

Naturally, the guards did not dare to sit down with Chongzhen, but just stood in the shop vigilantly looking around.

Wang An couldn't help but feel overjoyed when he saw this. This bodyguard is really good!
This month, he should be paid two taels of silver as wages? He hired seven or eight people at once. It seemed that his cheap uncle was much richer than he had imagined.

As soon as Chongzhen sat down, he heard the voices of women talking in the backyard next door. His cheeks turned red and he asked, "Boss, are the women in this courtyard yours?"

Wang An was furious when he heard this. He slapped Chongzhen on the shoulder and said angrily, "What shopkeeper? Call me brother! I am your cousin!"

"Just because you were born to my uncle outside the Great Wall, we can't become estranged from each other without even meeting each other. After all, blood is thicker than water!"

"Come on, call me brother!" Wang An tried his best to bring the two brothers closer together to pave the way for his subsequent plans, but Chongzhen had a look of astonishment on his face.

Seeing this, Wang An sighed lightly and didn't force it, thinking that his little cousin was just shy of strangers.

If you don’t want to bark, then don’t bark. It will bark naturally when you get familiar with it.

Thinking of this, Wang An replied: "Your brother, I haven't got a family yet, where would the women come from? These are the wives and daughters of the neighbors outside."

Chongzhen was shocked when he heard this. You lewd villain actually admitted it yourself!

Moreover, he remained calm and composed, looking nonchalant. How many good families must have been ruined for him to develop such a nonchalant attitude?
Under the feet of the Holy Emperor, how can we allow a lunatic like you to ruin the morals of our Ming Dynasty!
Thinking of this, Chongzhen angrily asked: "Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

Wang An was stunned and said in surprise: "These days, every household is hungry. I am willing to take their wives and daughters. They can't wait to thank me! And they dare to retaliate. They are rebelling against them!"

Chongzhen and others widened their eyes, even more shocked and helpless than when they saw the Donglin Party rush into the palace and snatch his brother from Xili.

Has the people's livelihood in our Ming Dynasty become so difficult that the common people are willing to sell their wives and daughters?
Taking a deep breath with sadness, Chongzhen said with a dead heart, "So, you paid them to sell themselves out willingly?"

Wang An waved his hand and corrected him: "How can this be called betrayal? We just each took what we needed."

"Then...then there is no need for so many people!" Chongzhen shuddered and said sadly.

He never expected that his own people had fallen to this level in order to survive. This was inseparable from the incompetence of the court.

Wang An thought about it seriously and nodded, "I really don't need so much. After all, my needs are not that great."

Chongzhen felt inexplicably comforted in his sadness, because this guy knew that he was not made of steel.

But Wang An said, "It's also because of my kindness. The two girls who came later were only thirteen or fourteen years old. I couldn't bear to see them starve to death, so I hired them. It's okay to hire more girls. It's good to keep them to help out."

"Thirteen or fourteen..."

Not only Chongzhen, but also the guards including Wang Chengen could not help cursing in their hearts: What a beast!
But why do I feel so sour in my heart?

The average life expectancy of people in the Ming Dynasty was only over 30 years old, and although there were not many people getting married at the age of 13 or 14, there were still many.

And from what Wang An said, it seemed that she was just used as a maid.

Generally, wealthy families have this arrangement, where someone will pass a handkerchief or support the child's legs while they are having sex.

A bit beastly, but acceptable.

Therefore, Chongzhen did not get furious or anything. He just suddenly stood up and took a deep breath. He was unwilling to associate with such licentious people anymore. He went back and ordered Shuntian Prefecture to severely punish those who corrupted social order.

Mainly...what's up with that? I'm also a little jealous.

But before Chongzhen could make any move, a fat woman in her fifties came out from the backyard and flattered Wang An, "Little doctor, give me another piece of soap."

Wang An said impatiently, "It ran out so quickly. I told you to save it. Do you really think my soap came out of thin air?"

When Chongzhen and his gang saw this, they couldn't help but gasp.

Damn, bon appetite!
The previous anger had long gone, Chongzhen inexplicably felt a sense of admiration, and for the first time since they met, he clasped his fists and saluted, saying: "Boss, I didn't expect you to be so... not picky about meat and vegetables! I really admire you!"

Wang An waved his hands, looking smug: "Do you even need to tell me that?"

After he finished speaking, Wang An turned to ask in confusion: "Cousin, didn't you just come back? Did you also hear that our herbal medicine shop does the cleanest laundry?"

Herbal medicine shop, laundry?

Where is this?

(End of this chapter)