I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 14 Ling'an County

When entering the county town, each person paid two coins. Ox carts and donkey carts carrying goods paid five coins, while empty carts paid three coins.

Gu Chenglin parked the oxcart at the storage area and paid five coins when he retrieved it. If it was past noon, he had to pay an additional five coins.

Next to the storage area, there were many oxcarts and donkey carts waiting there for those who hired them.

After listening, Dongfang Jin thought that people in ancient times were quite wise. Wasn't this a gathering place for taxis?

Gu Chenglin said they needed to leave the city before noon and rush back to cook for their child.

Dongfang Jin then realized that they hadn't prepared food for the child when they came out.

Carrying a basket on her back, she walked beside Gu Chenglin, looking at the surrounding environment, which resembled an ancient city on television.

An ancient county town! She was already stunned by the scene of the queue when she entered the city gate.

The lower half of the city wall was made of long, rectangular stones, while the upper half was made of blue bricks, which were thicker, larger, and wider than the red bricks used to build our houses.

Now, let's call this commercial street the commercial street. The tallest building is only three stories high.

Each shop had a flag stuck in the corner of its doorway; some had a single character written on them, while others were embroidered with various patterns.

For example, pawnshops have the character "当" (pawn) written in the middle of their flags. Pastry shop flags are embroidered with a plate of pastries, and the embroidery is incredibly realistic and exquisite…

These shops look like they're backed by residential buildings, but where is Xuanbao Pavilion?

“Xiao Jin, the market is over here,” Gu Chenglin called out to Dongfang Jin as she walked toward another street.

Dongfang Jin didn't turn around: "Brother, let's split up." She had important things to do. If she couldn't stay with him, it would be difficult to explain if he asked.

Gu Chenglin shook his head helplessly. This person was really impatient. He chased after her for a few steps and said, "Xiao Jin, you can't buy that house now. Wait until Uncle Village Head reports your household registration before you buy it."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jin froze, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, his heart sinking into a deep chill.

She forgot, but how did this person know what she was going to do?

She turned around and glared angrily at Gu Chenglin: "I'll write your name!"

Before Gu Chenglin could speak, several scholars walked past them.

As he walked, he said, "Today, the notice board has five characters written on it. Each character costs ten taels of silver. If you can guess all five, that's fifty taels."

"It's not that easy to guess, but this time we should get there early and take a good look at what the character is. It's best to write it down."

"That's right, I heard that Ma Wencai has already recorded more than twenty words."

“There are others who have more than him.”

"What is that?" Dongfang Jin walked to Gu Chenglin's side, her hand involuntarily hooking onto his arm, and looked up to ask curiously.

Gu Chenglin stared at the hand on his arm and pursed his lips: "It's a word guessing game in the notice area at the entrance of the county government office. Sometimes there are also pictures of animals and some medicinal herbs."

They would have people guess their names, and those who guessed correctly would be rewarded; the county government would give those who guessed the names anywhere from five to one hundred taels of silver.

Dongfang Jin was surprised: "Is there really such a good thing? Why would you do this?" She thought to herself, "Isn't this just giving money away for nothing?"

Gu Chenglin looked at her suspicious face and eager eyes, and said, "I heard it was during the war in the previous dynasty. At that time, this area was called Cang Sheng Kingdom."

At that time, there was only one country on this land; all other countries were vassal states of the Cang Sheng Kingdom...

Before the enemy entered the city, the last emperor of the Cang Sheng Kingdom ordered his trusted confidants to burn down everything in the palace, including the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) and the residences of all the princes...

Finally, the territory belonging to the Cang Sheng Kingdom was divided into the four kingdoms we know today, which has led to the incompleteness of many written records, pictures, calligraphy, paintings, and medicinal materials.

Dongfang Jin frowned. This was a complete disruption, like the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries)! That was ruthless!

You're saying there are four countries on this continent?

"It's not this continent, it's this region. South of our Ling'an County, beyond the border of Huzhou, lies the Southern Qiang Kingdom, and further south is the Cangli Kingdom."

There are many island nations surrounding Cangli Kingdom, but the countries on Cangli Kingdom rarely have any contact with this side.

To the north of here lies the neighboring country to the east, which is also the country we live in.

Further north lies the Eagle Tribe beyond the Great Wall, a region comprised of hundreds of tribes.

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jin thought to himself, "The Eagle Clan? Isn't that a minority area?"

Gu Chenglin looked at her and said, "To the east of Donglin Kingdom are mountains and a vast sea. To the west are the Oirat Kingdom, the Wada tribe, the Xiongnu, the Western Liang Kingdom, and the Cangmo Kingdom."

"So many countries to the west? Which country did you join the army in?"

"Yes, the place where I joined the army was Longhu Pass, which is located between the Xiongnu and the neighboring country to the east. The southwest of the Xiongnu and the Western Liang Kingdom is the Western Regions and Loulan."

"Then tell me, what's going on with the four countries?"

"These are the Western Liang Kingdom, the Southern Qiang Kingdom, the Cangmo Kingdom, and the Eastern Lin Kingdom. These four countries are the ones that emerged after the Cang Sheng Kingdom split apart."

The general trend of the world, the long-term division must be united, and the long-term unity must be divided.

normal!

As they walked and talked, Dongfang Jin saw that a large crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the government office.

Their attire clearly identified them as students, each wearing the country's distinctive student robes (with a bun on their head, similar to a topknot, and their hair wrapped in a light blue square scarf matching their robes), and two white ribbons dangling down from their sides, giving them an exceptionally refined appearance.

They were in groups of five, and there was no noise. They spoke in hushed tones, whispering to each other in very low voices.

There were several pieces of paper pasted on the sign, with a large traditional Chinese character in the center of each piece of paper.

Even standing outside the crowd, Dongfang Jin could see what was written on the paper.

"Don't go," Gu Chenglin said, pulling back the person who was about to rush forward.

Dongfang Jin turned her head: "I'm going to earn money."

"You know him?" Gu Chenglin asked in surprise.

"What else? Let's walk together." After saying that, Dongfang Jin pulled Gu Chenglin forward.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Do you know where you are?" A scholar looked at their clothes and shouted with disdain.

His shout drew everyone's attention.

Dongfang Jin looked at the fat man blocking her way and pointed in the direction of the notice board: "Guess the word?"

Ma Wencai looked at them with disdain: "You? Do you know a little girl? Did you attend a private school? Who was your teacher?"

Dongfang Jin mimicked his expression, looking at him with disdain: "You live by the sea? You're really nosy, aren't you? Does this place say we can't come? Where's it written? Point it out to me!"

Ma Wencai was so angry he couldn't refute her, pointing at her and saying, "You...you...you..."

At this moment, another man dressed as a scholar walked over. He was polite to Dongfang Jin and Gu Chenglin, but ignoring the disdain in his eyes, he bowed to Gu Chenglin and asked, "Brother, would you like to guess words?"

Dongfang Jin looked at him. His superficial manners were quite impeccable, but he was more like a businessman in his smoothness... unlike the fat man's genuine nature.

Gu Chenglin thought for a moment and said, "My younger sister is mischievous; please forgive her."

He cannot speak of his wife now, because Dongfang Jin has not styled her hair like a married woman.