Chapter 6

Seeing that Gao Qiu was about to leave, Wu Haogu did not try to retain him as a guest but personally saw him off. When he returned to the painting studio, the crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion had already dispersed. Only Liu Wujie was helping Wu Haowen prepare for the opening of the shop. Seeing Wu Haogu return, Wu Haowen said with a hint of resentment, "Big Brother, why did you agree to Zhao Sanhei’s demand for 7,200 strings of cash?"

"Sanhei" was a nickname for Zhao Tieniu, meaning he had a dark face, a dark heart, and dark hands.

"Do you still ask this knowing he is Sanhei?" Wu Haogu smiled awkwardly. "Besides, 7,200 strings of cash is not a huge sum; we can always find a way to raise it."

Indeed, 7,200 strings of cash was not a large amount, but that was before the Wu family fell into trouble. Now, even 720 strings of cash would not be easy to come by.

"You make it sound so easy!" Wu Haowen glared at his brother. Although they were brothers, they were not from the same mother and had not been particularly close in the past.

Moreover, Wu Haowen was studying Confucianism. Despite being only 16 or 17 years old, he had already entered the Kaifeng Prefecture School. Even if he did not pass the imperial examinations, he still had a good chance of entering the Imperial College. The current Song Dynasty implemented a dual system of "Three Halls Selection" (i.e., Imperial College selection) and "Imperial Examination Selection." As long as one could enter the Imperial College, there was a good chance of becoming a civil official. Therefore, the promising Wu Erlang did not look up to his brother, who could only be a painting and calligraphy merchant.

After all, in the Song Dynasty, all professions were considered inferior except for scholarship!

"Erlang, the people from the imperial son-in-law Wang Cishi’s household have come forward," Liu Wujie said, noticing the tension between the two brothers and wanting to leave. Before he left, he couldn’t help but add, "Erlang, can that Gao Daguan help us?"

Upon hearing this, both Wu Haogu and Liu Wujie shook their heads. Although Wu Erlang’s Confucian studies were good, his life experience was severely lacking, and he still did not know what the Wu family had done wrong.

"Which Gao Daguan?" Wu Haowen asked.

Just as Wu Haowen finished speaking, a clear and pleasant female voice came from outside. The door opened, and a fragrant aroma filled the room. Accompanied by the rustling of her skirt and the jingling of her jewelry, a beautiful and charming woman walked in.

"Ah, Mother."

"Little Lady."

"Wujie greets Wu Madame."

The three people in the room bowed to the woman, with Wu Haogu and Wu Haowen addressing her as "Mother" and "Little Lady," respectively.

This woman was the wife of Wu Cheng, the Wu Daguan who was imprisoned in the Kaifeng Prefecture Jail, known as Feng Erlang. However, "Little Lady" in Wu Haogu’s mouth did not refer to her given name but meant "stepmother."

This woman was not Wu Haogu’s biological mother but a beautiful courtesan whom Wu Cheng had redeemed from a brothel 18 years ago. She started as a concubine, later gave birth to Wu Haowen, and after Wu Haogu’s biological mother, Lady Wen, passed away, she was elevated to the position of wife. However, Wu Haogu still called her "Little Lady" instead of "Mother."

Today, Feng Erlang seemed anxious and urgently asked her biological son, "Erlang, you mentioned Gao Daguan? Who is he?"

She called her son "Erlang," which might sound strange to modern ears, but it was a common way for Song people to address their children.

"Mother," Wu Haowen replied, "Gao Daguan claims to be a minor official from the household of the imperial son-in-law Wang Cishi."

"Is Wang Cishi also involved?" Feng Erlang frowned in thought and then smiled at Liu Wujie, saying, "Xiaoyi, please take Haowen out to find some food."

"Mother..." Wu Haowen showed dissatisfaction when he heard his mother wanted to send him out and added, "Just now, Zhao Sanhei came to extort us, demanding a refund of 7,200 strings of cash. Big Brother agreed and asked Gao Daguan to be the guarantor..."

"Go on, go on. 7,200 strings of cash won’t be a problem for your brother," Feng Erlang waved her hand. "Just bring some food back for me and Big Brother later."

...

After sending Wu Haowen and Liu Wujie away, only Feng Erlang and Wu Haogu, the "mother and son," were left in the Wu family painting studio.

Wu Haogu closed the doors and windows, carefully lit two white candles, and then sat opposite Feng Erlang in the shop.

Although Wu Haowen was not heavily involved in the Wu family’s painting and calligraphy business, his biological mother, Feng Erlang, had always helped her husband in the market. This was because Neo-Confucianism had not yet become prevalent in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the social climate was far less conservative than in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Women had a place in the painting and calligraphy market.

Not only were there noble and scholar families’ women who enjoyed collecting paintings and calligraphy, but there were also many female painters, such as Song Yan, known for her skill in painting flowers, insects, and butterflies, and Wang Furen (wife of Chao Yidafu Wang Zhicai) and Li Xiaomei (sister of Li Gongze and Li Gonglin), who were famous for their ability to forge and deceive even experts like Mi Fu.

With female collectors and painters, there was naturally a place for female intermediaries in the painting and calligraphy market.

Therefore, Feng Erlang had been involved in her husband’s painting and calligraphy business since she followed Wu Cheng, and she continued to do so.

"Little Lady," Wu Haogu asked, "How is Father in the Kaifeng Prefecture Jail?"

Today, Feng Erlang had visited the Kaifeng Prefecture Jail. She smiled bitterly and said, "He is still fine. We have spent the necessary money, and the jail officials and guards have received their share. Therefore, he hasn’t suffered much, but I am worried about the family and the painting studio... When I returned from the government office, I went to Jieshen Alley to ask Pan Daguan to help us."

Jieshen Alley was located south of Panlou Street and was a relatively short street, but its importance was no less than that of commercial streets like Panlou Street and Macheng Street. It was the financial center of the Song Dynasty, akin to Wall Street in the 11th century.

Considering the Song Dynasty’s economic dominance in the world, Jieshen Alley was almost the global financial center, where the real financial giants gathered!

The reason Panlou Street became the largest painting and calligraphy market in Kaifeng was also related to the existence of Jieshen Alley.

Because transactions in the painting and calligraphy market often involved thousands or even tens of thousands of strings of cash, such large-scale transactions could not be conducted using copper coins, which would be too cumbersome to count and transport. Therefore, high-value silver ingots, gold ingots, salt certificates, and tea certificates were the main "currencies" used in the market. To conduct transactions with these, the process of exchange and settlement was necessary.

Thus, the painting and calligraphy shops on Panlou Street were just the starting point for large transactions, while the completion of these transactions usually took place at the gold, silver, silk, and certificate exchange shops in Jieshen Alley.

Moreover, the painting and calligraphy business often required large amounts of capital, and storage and credit were also essential.

Pan Daguan, whose real name was Pan Xiaofan, was a descendant of the founding hero Pan Mei and a "tiger son" of a military family. He held the military rank of Bingyilang and was also a major merchant. The Pan family’s gold, silver, silk, and certificate exchange shop in Jieshen Alley (equivalent to a bank) was his business.

Previously, to raise funds to return to the palace, Wu Cheng had pledged two paintings by Wu Zongyuan, two paintings by Huang Jucai, and a copy of Wang Xianzhi’s "Mid-Autumn Festival" by Mi Fu to the Pan family’s pawnshop. After Wu Cheng and Wu Haogu were imprisoned in the Kaifeng Prefecture Jail, Feng Erlang had repeatedly sought Pan Daguan’s help to rescue them.

"What did Pan Daguan say?" Wu Haogu asked urgently.

"I didn’t see Pan Daguan, only his sister, who is a widow."

Upon hearing Feng Erlang’s words, Wu Haogu immediately pictured a charming and delicate woman with fair skin, a tall and slender figure, a beautiful oval face, a small red mole on her white chin, and a preference for white clothing.

This woman was named Pan Qiaolian, also known as Pan Shiba (the 18th in the generation of women in the Pan family), the biological sister of Pan Xiaofan. She was only 17 years old and had been betrothed to someone from the Zhao imperial family a few years ago. However, her fiancé died of illness before the wedding, making her a "widow" before marriage.

However, in the Song Dynasty, there were few chaste widows, and Pan Qiaolian would eventually marry. It was just that she had not yet found a suitable match—marriages for daughters of military families were often to members of the imperial family, and Pan Qiaolian had already used up her quota, so she would not get another chance. Now, she could only wait until the spring examination in the third year of Yuanchu to find a husband among the newly passed jinshi scholars.

Oh, in the Song Dynasty, jinshi scholars were always the preferred choice for marriage by powerful and noble families. As long as they did not have a wife, they would likely receive both a "golden house" and a "beautiful wife" as a package deal.

Therefore, many talented young men aspiring to pass the imperial examinations chose to marry late, so they could immediately marry a wealthy and beautiful woman after passing.

And Pan Qiaolian was not just an ordinary wealthy and beautiful woman; she was a capable and business-savvy one. After becoming a "widow," she learned business from her brother, Pan Xiaofan, and together they managed the gold, silver, silk, and certificate exchange shop in Jieshen Alley. Whoever married her would have a capable and virtuous wife to manage the household.