The hall suddenly became quiet. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Shopkeeper Ye was shocked. The palace treasury? He had personally taken care of that place … everything that the Lady had left behind. How many years had it been since he had gotten close to it? But how could the court allow people like him to get close to that property again?
As if guessing what he was thinking, Fan Xian smiled. "I have read the edict summoning you to the capital. You are not allowed to invest in the business, but no one has said that you are not allowed to take over the Ye family."
The temptation was too great. For the shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall, managing the properties of the manors and controlling the copper mines and salt fields was not enough for them to show their true abilities. And the palace treasury … in the eyes of the shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall, it was their property to take care of! Just look at what the Eldest Princess had done to the property left behind by the Lady! Every time they thought of this, these professional "managers" felt their teeth itch with hatred.
Master Fan's invitation represented the opinion of Fan Manor, and Fan Manor had a special relationship with His Majesty. Could it be … that His Majesty had finally thought it through?
Fan Xian stood up and smiled. "This is only a suggestion. There is still a long time. You can take your time to think about it, shopkeeper."
Having said that, there was nothing more to say. After Fan Ruoruo returned from her boring stroll, the people of Fan Manor took their leave. Shopkeeper Ye respectfully saw them out the door and watched them get into the carriage. Only then did he wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
Fan Xian suddenly poked his head out of the carriage. His beautiful face was as bright as the sun. He called out loudly, "Shopkeeper, if you have really thought it through, remember to call someone to the manor. I will bring my second brother and some cured meat to pay respects to you."
Shopkeeper Ye heard him call out, thinking that Fan Xian was going to talk about taking care of the troublesome property in front of everyone. He was startled, but when he heard that it was about that matter, he calmed down. He knew that Fan Xian was reminding him that if he was willing to accept the conditions, he would have to become Fan Xian's teacher. But Shopkeeper Ye didn't understand. Why did he have to bring cured meat to become a teacher? He frowned. It seemed that many years ago, it was either Ninth Ye or Twenty-Third Ye who had mentioned cured meat … Why did Ninth Ye and Twenty-Third Ye bring it up? He slapped his forehead and returned to Qingyu Hall, somewhat sorrowful that his memory had indeed deteriorated.
On the carriage back to the manor, Fan Xian was also a bit tired. He had never been a person who liked to scheme. However, for himself, for the Fan family, and for many, many people, he had to do something. In his plan, the original Ye Family's business would be slowly taken over by his second brother. After all, his talent in business was not as good as that kid's. As for the rest … he would take his time.
Only now did he understand what Teacher Fei Jie had told him in Danzhou.
"The matters of your family are far more complicated than you can imagine. It involves not only your own survival, but also the lives of many others, so you must be careful. In the years before you grow up, you have to learn how to protect yourself. Only then will you have the ability to protect others in the future. "
"In the future … who will I protect?" Fan Xian was puzzled.
Fei Jie smiled and pointed at his own nose. "For example, people like me, who are already inseparable from you."
So Fan Xian had to do something to protect … people like Ruoruo, Wan 'er, and the Fan family, who were already inseparable from him. At the same time, he wanted his mother's old subordinates in Qingyu Hall to live a little happier. Of course, at this moment, he still did not think that there would come a day when Teacher Fei Jie or those old monsters like Chen Pingping would need his protection.
— — —
Master Fan's visit to Qingyu Hall was a big deal, at least for the many people in Qingyu Hall with the surname Ye. Business was, after all, the end of the road. Although these shopkeepers had earned who knew how much money for the prince's manor and the officials' families, they still could not show their faces in public. So very few people of status would personally visit Qingyu Hall. In the secret meeting in the back garden, when shopkeeper Ye revealed the purpose of Master Fan's visit, the people sitting around the round table turned pale with fright. Some of them began to recall the glory of the past, while others paled at the ruthlessness of the palace.
"There is no need to think too much about it. Since Master Fan dared to make this suggestion, he will certainly find a way to persuade the palace." Shopkeeper Ye looked at the other council members and frowned. "It depends on what everyone thinks. There are five of us, and according to the old rules, everyone has one vote, and I have two. However, Old Six is currently doing business with Fan Manor, so I asked him to give us some advice."
The other shopkeepers turned their gazes to the Seventh Ye of Danbo Bookstore. He lowered his head in thought, then said, "The relationship between Master Fan and Master Fan is much better than we imagined. Master Fan may seem indifferent, but in reality he is extremely ambitious. Everyone knows that he has made a name for himself in the capital. From what I see in his daily actions, it seems as if he doesn't care about Count Sinan's estate. Furthermore, the people he associates with are all powerful people like Crown Prince Jing."
Shopkeeper Ye nodded. "It is still early, but we must prepare early."
One of the council members raised an objection. "Why take the risk? It was not easy for everyone to keep their lives, and these years have been smooth sailing. "
"It's not really a risk. After all, so many years have passed. I think the palace should be relieved of us. Besides, we don't leave the capital, and our lives are in the hands of the court." Another person shook his head. "We are only merchants, and we cannot rebel. What is there to be afraid of? Ah, I really want to take over those things again. Just thinking about it makes me excited. I haven't blown a glass pot in many years … Back then, I was the best at it among all of you. "
This sentence seemed to tug at everyone's fond memories, and they all laughed. Someone jokingly scolded, "The Lady said you were a big boaster back then."
The man was embarrassed. "I'm not you," he said. "Back then, I liked to blow bubbles in the soap factory."
Ye Da smiled and raised his hand to stop the clamor of these old men. "Do you have any other opinions?" he asked.
The first council member who raised an objection stopped laughing and said calmly, "First, we must confirm that the palace has given us permission before we can do it. Although we all want to return to the place where we started, safety is still the most important thing. The Lady said back then that as long as we are alive, anything is fine."
Eldest Ye frowned. "Fan Manor used to have a good relationship with the Ye family. These years, the Overwatch Council and Count Sinan have taken good care of us. I don't think Count Sinan will betray us."
The council member said coldly, "Don't forget, the Li family used to have a good relationship with the Ye family. In the end, we were still betrayed by them."
Li was the surname of the country, so the Li family was naturally the royal family. As soon as this was brought up, the secret room in the back garden of Qingyu Hall fell silent. The faces of the people around the round table showed uneasy expressions.
— — —
Summoning the old members of the Ye family had always been a risky matter, so Fan Xian was only going to make the first move. Moreover, he was using the excuse of inviting a teacher for Fan Sizhe, so that not many people would notice. After all, he didn't know how long it would be before he actually took over the palace treasury. Before he took over, he had to first prove that he had the ability to do so, and before that, he had to meet the Emperor's definition.
The Emperor's definition of accepting a member of the palace treasury was simple — whoever married Lin Wan 'er would have the palace treasury. Although he didn't know why his uncle loved his fiancée so much, since Fan Xian had chosen to accept this marriage, he naturally chose to accept this challenge.
Before the wedding, he first had to face another kind of challenge.
The Functionary of Taichang Temple had always been a nominal position, similar to an honorary title in a certain world. It was used to give the future son-in-law a more elegant position. Although it was only an eighth-level official, it was noble enough. At first, the custom of the Kingdom of Qing was to make a sixth-level official of the Tongwen School. But later, it was discovered that many son-in-law couldn't even memorize a poem, so the custom was changed to a functionary. In the previous dynasty, the functionary was known as a functionary, and was in charge of the rhythm of the ancestral temple. The royal family always thought that the son-in-law couldn't compose poems, and that they could only hum a few tunes, so it was decided.
Although it was a nominal position, he still had to report to Taichang Temple. So early that morning, Fan Xian sat in his family's carriage with a worried face and hurried to Taichang Temple. At the temple gate, a fourth-level official of Taichang Temple was already there to greet him. Fan Xian was flattered by this display, and hurriedly went down to greet him. After exchanging pleasantries with his colleagues at Taichang Temple, he entered the yamen and sat in a small room, listening to the official explain what he should do.
This official had been personally promoted by the Prime Minister, so it was easy to explain why he was so cordial to Fan Xian. But the official, as well as many officials in the court, still didn't understand — why the illegitimate daughter of the Prime Minister was marrying the illegitimate son of the Fan family, and why everything was done according to the rules of the palace.
Perhaps His Majesty was too fond of the Lin and Fan families, but in the eyes of many officials, His Majesty was too mischievous. And those who knew the true identity of the young lady of the Lin family wouldn't say anything.
Fan Xian thought he was tone-deaf and couldn't avoid making a fool of himself. He didn't know that after sitting there for a whole morning and drinking a bellyful of warm tea, he found that most of his colleagues were the same, only reading the newspaper issued by the palace. His stomach was bloated from drinking too much tea. He sighed, took a newspaper, and entered the latrine.
The newspaper was still full of gossip, but now that Chen Pingping had returned to the capital, the palace editors no longer dared to fabricate stories about the director's first love. Holding up his pants and coming out of the latrine, he unconsciously stuffed the newspaper deep into his underwear. Only then did he come to his senses and laugh. This was a habit he had developed in Danzhou years ago, and all the money he had saved up had been plundered this way.
Just as he was about to go back to drinking tea, he suddenly heard a burst of exclamations from the room. "Victory! Victory! God bless the Qing Kingdom! "
Fan Xian's heart trembled. He knew that the struggle between the imperial court and Northern Qi had ended with the imperial court's victory. After this small-scale battle between the puppet kingdoms, it was likely that more land in the north would be included in the Kingdom of Qing's sphere of influence.
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