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“When the Great Prince killed Hu Ma, do you know how they invented the bronze wire with thorns they pulled?”

“Hmm? Isn’t that iron?”

“The difference isn’t that big. Do you know how?”

Honestly speaking, Northern Qi actually did not have this thing. The Northern Qi ruler and officials were the most interested in the military equipment the Third Workshop produced in the Qing Kingdom palace treasury. It was with great difficulty that the speaker voluntarily brought this up, so the girl of the other party naturally felt a thread of joy. She sincerely said, “I don’t know.”

“Oh, copper wire is difficult to pull out,” the gentle voice sighed and said. “I heard it was the Jiangnan merchants fighting for a piece of copper board and pulled it out through with sheer force.”

This joke was originally rather amusing. Coming from his mouth, it seemed rather cold.

The corners of the girl’s mouth only twitched.

He asked again, “Do you know how the dike passage in Shazhou from Sha Lake into the river was dug?”

The girl shook her head. She didn’t really want to play these games with him.

He waggled his head and said, “Because the Jiangnan merchants dropped a piece of copper into a mouse hole on the dike.”

...

...

Haitang looked at the joking Fan Xian. She silently stared at him for a while before saying, “I understand the two jokes. I don’t understand what you are trying to say.”

Fan Xian rubbed the hair on his slightly itchy and sore neck. Sisi had not been in a good mood recently. Every day she was overly aggressive. She brushed his hair and pulled too hard at the back of his head, so there were little red spots. As he rubbed he said, “These two jokes tell us that for merchants, being miserly is always the virtue most worth praising while benefits is a temptation they can never defend against.”

These were two jokes he had heard about Jews in his previous life, and they seemed fitting to use it on the Jiangnan merchants.

He turned his body and pointed his back to Haitang. He had begun scratching an itch himself, but the area of the itch had rapidly grown and immediately run to the center of his back. Although Fan Xian’s palm could easily reach there with little tricks, the sensation was not very good. So, he pointed to his back.

Haitang gave him a glare. Her hand had already extended out and gently scratched his back through the clothing.

Feeling the clever hands that could easily defeat the Second priest scratching on his itch with no ulterior motives, Fan Xian felt his whole body relax. He gave a groan of comfort before continuing to say, “Being miserly is part of a merchant’s nature. It is a little unexpected that Ming Qingda was so willing to cut himself. Furthermore, relating to profits, next year, I’ll have to comfort the Quanzhou Sun family and the other families who were empty-handed this year. I’ll have to trouble you to let your Emperor know that at most next year I can maintain this year’s portion. Any more will be very difficult.

Haitang hmm’ed in acknowledgement.

Closely following this she asked again, “How are you preparing to deal with the Ming family? It seems like you are very pleased with Ming Qingda’s attitude.”

Fan Xian shook his head and said seriously, “His attitude cannot represent the attitude of the Ming family. The incident that night has not yet been wrapped, and I cannot pull back. Right now, all of the Ming family’s injury is financial. In the next year, using just the goods shipped out of the palace treasury to block him, I can keep his family bleeding...but the Ming family as a whole is still pretty healthy. It is impossible to swallow them whole. So as long as I am in Jiangnan, I will go slice off a piece of meat every few days.”

The so-called nibbling away perhaps followed this logic. Only, Haitang could not help feeling sorrowful for Ming Qingda as she listened to this. That old Ming master had sufficiently lowered his position, but he was still unable to stop Fan Xian from carrying out his aggressive plan.

Seeming to guess what she was thinking, Fan Xian explained, “The Ming family won’t be resigned to their fate. The problem is that the plan Xiao Yan set this time is not the same as defeating the Cui family. The methods of the Overwatch Council have to be completely above board. Everything I do must adhere to Qing laws. This isn’t a shadowy plot, this an overt plot. Facing a difference in power, the Ming family will not carry out direct counterattacks. Don’t think that Ming Qingda wants purely to keep the peace. He is also wasting time to wait for the situation in Jingdou to change.”

His tone became heavier. “For the Ming family, the situation has to change in Jingdou, otherwise they can only wait to be eaten by the court.”

Haitang continued quietly, “So you will not let them wait quietly and peacefully, rather, you will try your best to weaken them as much as possible before the situation in Jingdou changes.”

“Correct,” Fan Xian said expressionlessly. “Everything has to be done by the rules. My only worry is that the Ming family’s reputation is so good, it is difficult to understand. There are no problems at all in the palace treasury transport company accounts. The other party’s ability to cover their tracks is too powerful...currently, there has been no other news from that island. It seems like someone is helping them cover it up. Faced with such a seemingly warm and virtuous large family like this, if I, or the Overwatch Council, pushed the Ming family too hard and they put on an overly pitiful appearance, there might be negative repercussions from the people of Jiangnan.”

“You are not one who cares about others’ opinion,” Haitang chuckled and said.

Fan Xian also smiled, “That is true. However, although I don’t care, that doesn’t mean the Emperor doesn’t care. He wants to leave his name in history and hold power forever. This was already a difficult matter. If it wasn’t because of this, why hasn’t the court moved against the Ming family and used one of their many methods to flatten them? It is because they are afraid of leaving the impression that the Emperor lacks grace and the court is shadowy and oppressive in the hearts of the people, which would leave a dishonorable mark on the history books.”

“Is the Qing Emperor this kind of person?” Haitang asked doubtfully.

“Believe me,” Fan Xian smiled bitterly and said, “the Emperor is indeed someone who cares about their reputation. Otherwise, why would he be so determined not to fall short of your Emperor when the auspicious signs came from the heavens last time? This time, the Emperor sent me to Jiangnan because he hopes that I will be able to handle everything beautifully, both crush the Ming family and not end up with a bad reputation. If the Jiangnan people, or even all those under heaven, at that time are outraged by the injustice the Ming family has suffered...if the powers in Jingdou make another ruckus, then even if the Emperor is heartless enough to want me to be the black dog, he would still be forced to summon me back to the capital.”

“Since that is so, today is already the fourth day after the palace treasury bidding. Why have you done nothing?” Haitang asked.

Fan Xian smile and said, “Who said I haven’t done anything? I have spent a great deal of effort on the Baoyue Brothel matter.”

Haitang felt it was a bit strange to bring up Baoyue Brothel. She sighed and said, “You borrowed silver from me to use in river works, and that is fine. But you are using the silver of the Northern Qi court...to open a brothel. If this news gets back to Shangjing, I’m afraid the Emperor is going to laugh himself to death at me.”

Fan Xian knew that this Northern Qi sage girl had always felt a bit uncomfortable with him running a brothel. He said seriously, “The river works are a good work, you know that. I am about to begin to arrange for refugees to work. That is also doing good works. But you don’t understand, opening a brothel...is also doing good works.”

Haitang was doubtful. Brothels force women to do such pitiful things, how is that connected to doing good works at all?

“The two oldest professions of mankind are the assassin and the prostitute.” Fan Xian snapped his fingers and pointed to his back again to indicate for Haitang not to stop the scratching action. “You cannot change this. I cannot change it. Even my mother couldn’t change it. Since it is, this profession will certainly always exist. Why don’t we control this profession in our hands, set down some rules, and do our best to protect the interests of those poor women?”

First he said Gu Long’s famous words, and then he repeated the words he used to persuade Shi Chanli. Fan Xian summarized seriously, “I run brothels to protect those prostitutes. Those who blindly wear virtuous hats and cover up their eyes to pretend there are not such things in this world, those are the people how truly have no humanity and don’t consider those prostitutes as people.”

By the time Fan Xian talked about the specific “new rules” in Baoyue Brothel such as bringing in doctors, having monthly leave, and such, the hand Haitang had been using to scratch Fan Xian’s back had stopped. She gazed with shock at the back of his head. It seemed she hadn’t expected Fan Xian to have more than empty words.

By the time she had heard the last words, the admiration on Haitang’s face had already been hidden. She quietly said, “What you say makes sense.”

“Hmm?” Fan Xian raised his head in surprise. He didn’t think the other person would reply so seriously. This did not feel good at all, like Xu Ziling convincing a nun.

He shook his head and chased this sorrowful thought out of his mind. He said, out of the blue, “Duoduo, sorry.”

This time it was Haitang who hmm’ed in surprise.

Fan Xian said, “A few days ago, you and I had been distant. I thought about it afterward. It was mainly my fault. Of course, there is also your fault, but at the root, it is my fault.”

Although Haitang wasn’t sure about what he wanted to say and did not understand this strange convoluted and verbose sentence structure. She still easily connected it to thoughts like that of standing beside the old road in Shangjing, Northern Qi, and this young man in front of her saying “morning sun, the world is yours and mine,” and such things.

A faint smiled rose to the corner of her mouth.

Fan Xian clapped his hands and stared at her eyes. “I desire honesty between friends. I have not been honest enough with you, so that is my fault. Ever since you left Northern Qi and arrived in Jiangnan, you have been watching all that silver every day and worrying about how I am. You have too much pressure, and it is making it difficult for your state of mind to be calm. To not have acted earlier to successfully resolve this pressure is your fault. However, your pressure, my pressure, in the end, these pressures are both caused by me, so the fault is also mine.”

Haitang smiled. She covered her mouth and only revealed that pair of bright and clear eyes.

Fan Xian was slightly startled and unconsciously said, “Your eyes are very pretty.”

“Hmm?” It was the third hmm between the two of them.

Fan Xian chuckled and said, “I never thought you had a girly side to you...but in the end, you still haven’t told me how old you are.”

Seeing Haitang slightly angry expression, he noncommittally waved his hand and said, “Change of topic! Weren’t you asking earlier why I haven’t acted against the Ming family these few days?”

“You said you’re busy with the brothel renovations.” Haitang also knew how to joke, but was usually more tart.

Fan Xian nodded and smiled. “This is one reason but, of course, the main reason is...I am waiting for Xia Qifei to recover.”

...

...

On the night of March 26th, in the west side of Suzhou where the salt merchants and royal merchants all gathered, red lanterns were strung up, firecrackers filled the sky, and the atmosphere was joyful. Xia Qifei, the leader of the Jiangnan water bandits who had, in recent days, stolen the limelight in the palace treasury matter had officially set up a courtyard in Suzhou. Today was the first time the doors had opened to welcome guests.

In reality, the true tycoons all had their own large gardens outside of Suzhou in the waterways. They usually lived in their own manors and rarely stayed in the city. However, each family also had an extravagant residence on the west side of Suzhou because it was a symbol of their status and a demonstration of a their power.

The price in the west side of the city was expensive, and no one ever wanted to sell property; not everyone had the right to live there. Yet, Xia Qifei was able to successfully open his own courtyard. This meant that after the palace treasury case, Jiangnan had acknowledged his right.

The Xia Qifei that moved into Suzhou had to wash himself clean and not leave a trace of his criminal ways on his face. Thus, he could not move in with the identity of the leader of the Jiangnan water bandits. His current identity had been changed. He was now master of Xia Mingji.

Xia Mingji was, naturally, also a newly opened business. The secret meaning behind the name was clear to all the merchants who had come to offer their congratulations. The Ming family was eye-catching, but no one knew whether or not the Ming family would send someone. Rumors said that after old master Ming Qingda had fainted, it took him two whole days to wake up, and he was still very weak.

A carriage stopped outside of the Xia manor. The carriage was completely black and did not have any crests. The sharp-eyed Tiger Guards surrounding it and sudden increase in strangers on the street made clear the identity of this carriage. The merchants around the door of the manor quickly walked over and bowed toward the carriage, then warmly prepared to welcome the person in the carriage.

In the carriage, Fan Xian said to the Third Prince in an even voice, “You Highness really wants to join in this ruckus? It does not seem proper.”

The Third Prince smiled sweetly and said, “I know what teacher is worried about. Since the teacher is here today to help Xia Qifei without trying to avoid arousing suspicion, adding me won’t count for much.”

Fan Xian smiled and knew that this child had never forgotten Yi Guipin’s teaching. No matter what, he was going to tie himself to Fan Xian, not only mentally but more so in public opinion.

One big and one small, the two nobles in Suzhou held themselves aloof as they dismounted the carriage. They drew cheers from outside and repeated calls to rise.

...

...

Fan Xian stood and used his hand to touch the clearly new study desk. Smelling the light scent of fresh wood, he thought that this world wasn’t very good but it was enough that newly renovated houses didn’t smell like methane. Suddenly he felt a shock in his heart and found that he hadn’t thought about things in his original world for a long time. He didn’t know what that meant.

Perhaps he was becoming more and more accustomed to this world. Why did he feel an unnamed desire in his heart that always burned and itched, yet he didn’t know what he wanted?

It wasn’t tobacco. It wasn’t porn. He didn’t know what it was.

He shook off his daze and found that Xia Qifei and the Third Princess were both staring at him. He couldn’t help smiling self-deprecatingly and said, “Qingcheng, you’re injured, have a seat. Don’t mind me, I am often absent-minded.”

Knowing that the imperial envoy had arrived with the Third Prince, the Jiangnan merchants in the front yard, who had come to offer their congratulations, were, on one hand, jealous of Xia Qifei’s good fortune, and startled by the imperial envoy and the Third Prince’s action, which did not try to avoid gossip. On the other hand, they did not dare to be overly noisy. Thus, the sounds of drinking and music from the front did not disturb the conversation in the study in the back garden.

Xia Qifei was actually shocked by Fan Xian’s arrival, furthermore, the Third Prince had come with him.

Fan Xian shook his head and said, “In Jiangnan, everyone knows of our connection, I think Jingdou probably knows too. Since this is the case, why bother hiding?”

Xia Qifei glanced at the Third Prince, suddenly remembering a rumor. He didn’t avoid the taboo subject and said directly, “Commissioner, I have brought you trouble.”

“What trouble?” Fan Xian gazed at him warmly and said. “You’re working for the court. Recently, you appeared to be impressive but in reality, you’ve lost quite a lot.”

Xia Qifei thought of the brothers who had died that night and his face became dark.

“Has your injury gotten better?” Fan Xian asked.

Xia Qifei replied respectfully, “It’s much better.”

“Hmm.” After a short silence, Fan Xian slowly said, “You don’t have to worry too much. For the Ming family, my attitude is very firm. Perhaps the progress will be a little slower, but...don’t think that I have been fooled by someone’s act.”

The master of this generation of the Ming family, Ming Qingda’s kneeling in the palace treasury courtyard and his fainting after winning the bid had spread throughout and outside of Suzhou in the last few days. Thus, Xia Qifei, as the knife in Fan Xian’s hand, was most worried that the hand holding this knife would suddenly change its mind. Hearing Fan Xian make his promise right now, although Xia Qifei’s body was injured, his mood was lifted—revenge and taking back the Ming family were the greatest dreams of his life. If he didn’t have Fan Xian’s help, he would never be able to achieve it.

Fan Xian looked at his expression and said seriously, “You work for the court, so the court will support you. More bluntly, since you are mine now, I must publicly announce it to the world. This connection does not need to be removed, and there is no need to hide it. When you do things in Jiangnan in the future, send goods to the North, this layer of influence will make it much easier.”

Xia Qifei’s expression appeared to be moved, but he felt some fear in his heart. He didn’t know why the commissioner was so anxious to make this matter clear. Xia Qifei thought he was working for the court, so he did not understand that Fan Xian using him did not mean that the court was using him.

Xia Qifei would send the goods to the North along the route the Cui family once used to connect with Fan Sizhe in the Northern territories. In the South, Fan Xian, under the protection of the Emperor in the North, reopened that smuggling route. This was Fan Xian’s true purpose.

The South was secretly managed by the Overwatch Council, and the North had the Provost of the Discipline Commission, Wei Hua. Since he was an old friend of Fan Xian’s and someone the young Emperor of Northern Qi trusted, this route was already flawless. The only thing that still needed to be hammered out was...Xia Qifei, the beginning of the line.

Fan Xian coming to talk was for nothing else but to use the words of the people to bind Xia Qifei tightly to his side. After today, no one would believe that Xia Qifei was not Fan Xian’s trusted aid. In the future when the smuggling started, if Xia Qifei wanted to betray Fan Xian, there probably wouldn’t be anyone who dared to trust him. Furthermore, Fan Xian’s enemies would also target Xia Qifei. Before at the Jiangnan Restaurant was an excellent beginning. This would only have Xia Qifei hold onto Fan Xian even more tightly.

Using external threats to lock down his heart, the Third Prince had pestered his way aboard, but Xia Qifei had to come onboard whether or not he wanted to.

...

...

Before Fan Xian left the Xia manor, he gave Xia Qifei one more warning, “The day after tomorrow, all the necessary paperwork will be done. At that time, it will be your time.”

Xia Qifei felt slightly excited. Although he knew the commissioner only needed him to attract the Ming family’s attention, he was still able to make some noise in the Suzhou government. It seemed that he was getting closer and closer to his life’s goal.

“But you have to understand,” Fan Xian sighed and patted his shoulder, “there is no precedent for such a thing in the Qing law. The other party is the eldest son of the wife. According to the law, he has an advantage. Even if the Council helps, it would be impossible to obtain the ideal result...there are many ways to take back what has been lost. Don’t be anxious, and don’t be overly disappointed.”

Xia Qifei’s heart jumped. He always felt Fan Xian was not only talking about the Ming family matter. Between their two levels, it seemed that the words “family business” had created some kind of agreement and harmony. He wrapped one hand around another and said with emotion, “I dare not accept the honor for you to trouble yourself over my matters.”

“You can accept it,” Fan Xian said tenderly, “From the beginning, I have been clear. I am also one do things for my interest. You shouldn’t think too much of it.”

The more he emphasized personal interest, the more honest Xia Qifei believed him to be. He bowed many times and saw him and the Third Prince out of the manor. Accurately speaking, Fan Xian and the Third Prince had only stood for a while at the Xia home before leaving. Altogether they were there for less time than it took to drink a cup of tea, however, the attitude and determination revealed by this would certainly travel throughout the merchants’ mouths into the ears of the Ming family.

After the carriage left Xia manor, it did not hurry back to Hua Garden. Instead, it dove toward the east part of the city. In the east side of Suzhou, there were many jianghu heroes, so the guards beside the carriage became nervous.

“What day is the day after tomorrow?” The Third Prince opened wide his innocent eyes and asked Fan Xian.

Fan Xian replied, “The day Xia Qifei enters the Suzhou yamen to sue the Ming family for stealing the family business.”