In Weiyang City, it is said: The weaknesses of humanity, vulnerability, fear and greed, are a merchant's treas…
In Weiyang City, it is said: The weaknesses of humanity, vulnerability, fear and greed, are a merchant's treasury. Thus, the more turbulent the times, the greater the opportunity.
As rumors of "The Military Inspector Shall Be Emperor" spread, it was only a matter of time before Zhao Kuangyin seized Kaifeng. The city's residents, traumatized by repeated upheavals, panicked at the news of a new ruler. But Wen Wuque deduced that Zhao Kuangyin was unlikely to massacre the city to assert power. She hatched a plan: bribe the Unbound Cavern to spread rumors of an impending massacre, then buy up citizens' assets at rock-bottom prices as they fled, only to resell them at a premium when order returned. She believed this windfall would let her repay Granny Turtle, who'd saved her, and perhaps even reclaim her place in Weiyang City. What she didn't know was that Granny Turtle, terrified of another massacre, would become a pawn in her own scheme.
As Granny Turtle frantically sold her possessions, her disjointed words revealed the truth: her daughter had died in the last massacre. Unable to bear the loss of her children, she had grown delusional, treating every young girl as her "Yingying", until she'd found Wen Wuque, bloodied and broken, resembling her daughter in her final moments. As Granny Turtle sobbed uncontrollably, Wen Wuque could only pacify her by fleeing the city with her. That day, Kaifeng snowed. Standing among the filthy, desperate refugees fighting over scraps, Wen Wuque finally saw the bloody reality behind the term "merchant's treasury".
She recalled a distant memory: riding in a golden wagon outside Weiyang City, she'd tossed a lost jade pendant into the crowd. Like feeding fish, it had sparked a brutal scramble among ragged beggars, which she and her servants had laughed at, calling them "vicious hounds."
Only when the granaries are full do people observe morality. But in hunger, who is not a vicious hound? She realized her life of profit-driven commerce had been a litany of sins.
Wen Wuque wasted away. Returning to Weiyang City would only lead to more bloodshed, she felt her old ambition draining away. Dragging her injured body, she accompanied Granny Turtle daily to sell trinkets on the street, resigning herself to a quiet end. But gradually, she saw a different kind of commerce in the hawkers around her.
They toiled both for their own gain and to meet others' needs. Merchants could bridge gaps, bringing goods to those who lacked them, smoothing supply and demand. Perhaps they aided people more than exploited them. She'd always thought profit required creating problems, but the world was full of genuine needs waiting to be solved.
Her vitality returned, and she even saved a scarred stray cat.
Once obsessed with conquest, she now found joy in kindness. Granny Turtle, delighted by her smiles, knitted a cap with cat ears and attached braids, so "Yingying" could sell her wares without drawing stares for her golden hair.
The Ember of East became a beloved peddler in Forsaken Quarter, poor, but content. This life could be enough, Wen Wuque sometimes thought.
But chaos endures, and human greed never sleeps. When the Tang Dynasty's coin confiscation policies began, even a simple, peaceful life became a luxury.
The world should not be like this, Wen Wuque thought.
One clear night, resting on Granny Turtle's lap, she announced she must leave.
"I'm going to make the biggest deal of my life."