The Kingdom of Yi was vast, its territory stretching endlessly. Under the reign of Emperor Wu Yi, Yi had become increasingly aggressive, constantly engaging in wars and expanding its borders. It resembled the Qin Dynasty of Mo Yi's past life.
Fortunately, the capital city was located not far from the border. Otherwise, it would have taken Mo Yi and Mo Luo Xue a month of relentless riding to reach the border, even with their swift steeds. As for why the grand capital city, where a thousand nations paid tribute, was built so close to the border, it was all because of Wu Yi Wang's original intention. He wanted to suppress the border, placing the entirety of Yi's fortune and luck upon the capital city, intimidating neighboring countries and instilling fear in their hearts. But the real reason was that Wu Yi Wang preferred the capital to be close to the border so that he could easily attack other countries. After all, it was much more convenient to lead a personal campaign and bully the weak.
Yu Family Village, Market.
Yu Family Village was a mid-to-upper-class village. Technically, it was a conglomeration of several smaller villages. The residents here had a strong business sense. They leveraged the local economic advantages and opened up trade routes with nearby cities, leading to Yu Family Village’s increasing prosperity. Villagers were able to buy oxen for plowing and build tiled roofs for their homes. This was also thanks to Yi's Grand Emperor's policy of nine years of compulsory education. Everyone's thinking became more open and their knowledge expanded, giving them the wisdom to improve their lives.
Walking through the bustling and lively market, Mo Yi felt a sense of deep understanding. Today was the market day, a regular event in Yu Family Village. It took place either every five days or every seven days. On market day, all sorts of goods gathered in the market. People came in groups from their villages, some to sell their surplus, some to buy what they needed, some to meet friends and family, and some just to enjoy the lively atmosphere.
These vigorous commercial transactions further promoted the circulation of goods in Yu Family Village.
The sun felt warm on his skin. One or two stray white clouds drifted across the sky. The weather had been good recently. Mo Yi had specifically chosen today, when the weather was at its best, to take a break from his busy journey and buy some necessities in Yu Family Village.
He and Mo Luo Xue had been on the road for four days, both covered in dust and grime. They rode their sweat-blooded steeds every day, often reaching an inn at one or two in the morning. Mo Yi felt like his bones were going to fall apart from the relentless riding, but seeing Mo Luo Xue, an ice maiden, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Finally, finally! Mo Yi had convinced Mo Luo Xue to stop their relentless journey. They were about to enter the uninhabited regions along the border. They needed to buy some supplies... and satisfy Mo Yi's urge to play.
“Boss, a skewer of candied hawthorn, the biggest one!” Mo Yi pulled out a Yi coin with a face value of one hundred and threw it at the old man selling candied hawthorn. Seeing the bright red candied hawthorn in the old man's hands, his mouth watered uncontrollably.
Mo Luo Xue, for some unknown reason, had been choosing the most convenient and closest inns for the past three days. Usually, they were cheap places where you paid and slept, slept and left, and the food was awful. Mo Yi had been woken up countless times by the painful wooden bed, but Mo Luo Xue was always refreshed when she woke up early. She would even practice her swordplay on the spacious lawn. Every resident of the inn was drawn to the ethereal girl, so every morning, the inn windows would be flung open, and heads would pop out like bamboo shoots after a rain, all staring intently downstairs. The sunlight flickered with the dancing girl, everything seeming transparent. Every man could say with confidence that for a moment, they had fallen in love with her! In just three days, Mo Luo Xue had attracted enough admirers to form a reinforced company.
Mo Yi was depressed about it, but now he was in high spirits, strolling through the market. He would throw money around like it was nothing, buying whatever looked delicious or fun. He even spent half an hour trying to catch goldfish with a net.
“Damn it, your net is definitely shoddy!” Mo Yi said in frustration, looking at the large hole in his fishing net. Perhaps he just had no talent for catching goldfish. He had thrown away a hundred coins but had nothing to show for it. The goldfish in the pool seemed to be mocking him as they swished past his net.
"Sir, you can't blame us!" The straw-hatted owner said with a sigh. He held the hundred-Yi coin that Mo Yi had given him, his eyes filled with uncontrollable amusement. This was a big spender! Although he was a little silly, his brain seemed to be a bit slow, but he was still a big spender!
"Why haven’t I caught any?" Mo Yi argued, "You're ripping off customers! I'm going to complain to the Consumer Protection Association... or to the government!"
"Ah! Mother, I caught one again!" Beside Mo Yi, a little kid was holding his fishing net with a silly smile. A woman in blue clothes gently wiped the sweat off the child's face.
"…" Mo Yi put down the net and walked away silently. The owner, with a look of delight, said, "Sir! Welcome back anytime!"
"Play you, my ass!" Mo Yi muttered in despair.
"Hey, go to East Market. There's a commotion there."
"East Market? The place where they sell horses? What happened there?"
"I don't know. It seems like a beautiful woman stole someone's sweat-blooded steed and is now being surrounded. But that woman is really beautiful, like a fairy descended from heaven!"
"What? A beautiful woman? Let's go, let's go, let's go to gawk."
…
Mo Yi, who was trying to haggle over the price of a tent with the shopkeeper, suddenly froze. He glanced around at the people buzzing with conversation, and the things they were saying sounded familiar.
He pondered for a moment, then tossed a stack of bills onto the counter, saying, "Boss, no need for change. Just pack the best, lightest tent for me."
"Alright!"
East Market, Horse Market.
When Mo Yi arrived, the place was already packed with people. Everyone had formed a circle, and from the center, a man's angry shouts could be heard.
Mo Yi found it difficult to squeeze through the crowd. He thought for a moment, then pulled out a hundred-Yi coin and slipped it into the hand of an old woman selling oily cakes nearby. He grabbed the greasiest cake and shoved it into his mouth.
With a half-person-high package on his back and an oily cake in his mouth, Mo Yi pushed his way into the crowd. The onlookers were afraid that the oily cake would stain their clothes, so they continuously made way for Mo Yi, and he easily squeezed into the innermost circle.
A rough, farmery man was struggling with a tall, magnificent red horse, his face flushed red. He was using all his strength to pull the horse, but it wouldn't budge even an inch.
On top of the chestnut steed, an ethereal, stunning woman held a riding whip, looking at the farmer calmly. Her face was expressionless, but her beauty was breathtaking.
Mo Yi poked a scholar-like figure who was watching nearby, "Brother, what's going on here?"
The scholar subtly distanced himself from Mo Yi, his face showing a hint of awkwardness when he saw the cake in Mo Yi's mouth. He said, "Nothing much. The farmer claims that beautiful lady stole his horse... It's nonsense! How could a beautiful woman like that steal a horse?"
As he spoke, the scholar's face was filled with righteous indignation, his eyes gleaming with a sense of justice.
Mo Yi looked at him with a sideways glance, "Then why aren't you going up to uphold justice? The beautiful fairy is waiting for you to rescue her! Maybe you two will fall in love at first sight."
The scholar's face flushed with embarrassment. Under Mo Yi's gaze, he took out his folding fan and opened it to cover his face, "This humble scholar is a man of letters, I cannot involve myself in such disputes."
Mo Yi raised an eyebrow and took a bite of the cake, "Bah, too greasy, too hard to eat. Did the old lady who made the dough use pig fat?"
The bitten cake flew out from the crowd and landed squarely on the farmer's face as he was straining to pull the horse. The chestnut steed reared up, startled, and kicked the farmer away! The onlookers all gasped in surprise.