The diplomatic mission's itinerary in Shangjing, Northern Qi, had been set long ago. Logically speaking, someone of Fan Xian's status in Shangjing would be accompanied by a corresponding attendant, but Fan Xian was wary of this arrangement. Although there were already officials stationed there to negotiate, he still went to the Ministry of Rites with the permission of the Northern Qi royal family.
In the secret agreement, Yan Bingyun was exchanged for Xiao En and Si Lili. The Kingdom of Qing had already suffered a great loss, so Fan Xian was anxious to find the other side's hidden executor. But unexpectedly, the nominal Minister Shuyi of the Ministry of Rites, the real vice-provost of the Northern Qi Brocade Guard, was hiding from him!
It seemed that they wanted to delay for a few more days. Fan Xian was furious. He waved his sleeves and walked out of the Ministry of Rites, ignoring the Qi officials. At the entrance of the Ministry of Rites, Ling Jing had already hurried over from the Chamberlain of Dependencies. He quietly shook his head at Fan Xian.
The four of them got back into the carriage. Ling Jing said, "Vice-Minister Wei Hua disappeared after leaving the palace. We don't know where he went."
Fan Xian sighed. "It's probably the same elsewhere. The Qi people want to delay for a few more days."
"What's the point of delaying for a few more days?" Wang Qinian frowned. "They're going to hand him over anyway. I don't believe they can keep delaying."
Fan Xian shook his head. "We need to get Yan Bingyun out as soon as possible."
"How?"
"Go to Wei Hua's house."
"Chang Ninghou's house?" Ling Jing said awkwardly. "That's the empress dowager's brother. For us foreign ambassadors to rush over is a huge taboo. It's against the system, and I'm afraid it will cause a lot of trouble."
Fan Xian laughed. "It would be best if the Northern Qi Emperor's imperial censors could go to court tomorrow to accuse Chang Ninghou of colluding with a foreign country. That would be even better."
After the plan was decided, the carriage left the Ministry of Rites. The imperial guards followed, and in the distance, there were spies who looked like passersby. Wang Qinian sat in the carriage, but he could smell them from afar. He whispered to Fan Xian, "Commissioner, it should be the Brocade Guard following us."
"In any case, the imperial guards are with us. Are they afraid we'll get lost?" Fan Xian whispered. "Ignore them. Most importantly, don't be in a rush to contact the Council's people in Northern Qi. It's not good to bring unnecessary danger to those spies. "
The secret agents of Northern Qi, who had been ordered by the court to keep an eye on the diplomatic mission, were also curious. After leaving the Board of Rites, these envoys from the south were interested in going shopping, especially on Shangjing's most luxurious and extravagant street, Xiushui Street. The street sold luxurious items such as glassware, which was not something the common people could afford.
A secret agent frowned and asked, "Why are these southern barbarians strolling around Xiushui Street?"
The subordinate beside him replied, "It's rare for us to go abroad, so of course we have to buy some good stuff back. These southern barbarians are filthy rich now. If we don't buy some glasses, how are we going to explain to our families? "
"Idiot!" The spy in front cursed, "All the glass in the world is produced by the Qing Kingdom. Why would they need to come to Shangjing to buy it?"
— —
There weren't many people on Xiushui Street, but the people walking there were all potbellied people. Women with beaded hairpins all over their heads looked like they didn't have much silver in their pockets, but the banknotes were definitely much thicker than the books at home. The shops lined the street, and there was some distance between them, not too far away, not too close, just right.
The signboards were even more eye-catching, placed vertically outside the shops. They were painted black with gold characters, but some of the gold characters had gradually faded. The rich owners didn't seem to want to change them. Upon closer inspection, one would realize that the signboards were very old, and the inscriptions were often made by famous people from a hundred years ago, or even hundreds of years ago. The reason why the gold characters had gradually faded was that these merchants wanted to deliberately create an old-fashioned, honest atmosphere, and flaunt the aura of a century-old shop.
Only the seven shops in the center of Xiushui Street were different. The signboards were all horizontal, and although they weren't brand new, compared to their surroundings, they seemed much younger. Some of these shops sold glassware, some sold soaps, some sold perfume, some sold cotton cloth, and some sold alcohol. The strangest thing was that there was one shop that specialized in selling toys.
A few carriages stopped at the end of the street. They were escorted by soldiers of the Imperial Army, and their stance was even more impressive than that of a first-rank noble. But all the merchants on Xiushui Street maintained their arrogance. No one came out to welcome the guests. They just waited for the four people who got off the carriages to walk past one by one.
The four of them walked all the way into Silk Street and finally stopped in front of the door of the shop that sold cotton cloth. The young man with the most delicate features scratched his head as if he didn't understand why cotton cloth was considered a luxury item.
After entering the shop, the owner explained to the few unfamiliar guests, "Speaking of growing cotton, legend has it that there was a genius with the surname Wang who did it hundreds of years ago. However, the method was gradually lost, and no one used it anymore. It wasn't until twenty years ago, when our old boss was gifted by the heavens, that he was able to pick up this method again. Everyone, please take a look. This cotton cloth is warmer than silk, and it's cheap. It's of good quality, and it's not much worse than the South Qing's capital. "
The handsome young man seemed to be very interested and said, "Let me try one foot."
The owner's face darkened. He recognized the young man's Qing accent and cursed, "So it's a fellow countryman. I say, sir, how can we Qing people come to Northern Qi to buy cotton cloth? Furthermore, other people buy them in bundles. You, on the other hand, try one foot."
The young man chuckled and cupped his hands in apology. He left the shop and raised his head to look at the words on the horizontal signboard. He furrowed his brows and said, "This handwriting is really ugly."
The owner was furious and scolded, "This was personally written by our old owner. You don't know what's good for you. Get out of here!"
The young man chuckled and led his three subordinates to another shop on the side. This young man was, of course, Fan Xian. The ugly words he spoke of were written by his mother many years ago. The handwriting was not much different from the handwriting on the letter in the box — it was exactly as ugly as the handwriting on the letter!
After walking for a while, Fan Xian realized that these shops were all businesses of Qing royal merchants in Northern Qi. Of course, many years ago, they were all businesses of the Ye family. Just by looking at the things they sold, he knew that his mother must have made a lot of money from the hands of the world's nobles.
Walking on Xiushui Street, among the signboards his mother had written, Fan Xian was a little dazed. It seemed that he didn't want to go any further.
"Sir, what are we doing here instead of going to Chang Ninghou's manor?" Lin Jing asked worriedly.
Fan Xian was a little surprised. He came to his senses and smiled. "Of course we're here to buy a gift. There's no reason to come empty-handed."
As he said this, he had already lifted the corner of his robe and stepped into the largest glass shop. There were all sorts of glass products on display in the shop, all of them extraordinarily beautiful. There were flat wine cups, double-eared cups, and transparent jade pots. They were mainly wine utensils, but there were also all sorts of small utensils, including glass insect boxes, all sorts of chess sets, and even a crystal clear oil lamp.
The whole shop was as dazzling as crystal. Fan Xian felt a faint sense of pride. Although he seemed to have spent most of his time in this world and hadn't done anything earth-shattering, looking at the things his mother had left behind, he couldn't help but think: if someone had already done it, what was there left for him to do?
The shopkeeper had already heard their conversation and knew that they were fellow southerners. He smiled. "Gentlemen, it's not that I don't want to do business with you, but if you were to buy glass in Shangjing, it would be a bit of a loss."
Fan Xian smiled. "I know. Shangjing must be a lot more expensive than here in the Kingdom of Qing. But I see that Northern Qi's palace uses a lot of glass. Don't they think it's expensive?"
The shopkeeper beamed. "Who's the stupidest customer in the world? Of course it's the Emperor. I heard that the deal with the Northern Qi palace was the biggest deal our old master ever made. That amount scared the rest of the world's rich merchants silly. "
Fan Xian smiled proudly. "You're quite bold to say that. You're in Northern Qi. Aren't you afraid that the officials will catch you?"
"I'm not afraid. As long as the Kingdom of Qing remains the most powerful country in the world, we merchants will not be bullied wherever we go." Even so, the shop owner still lowered his voice and continued, "The phrase 'the dumbest customer in the world' … isn't something I can say. I heard from my master, and it was also said by my old boss back then."
Fan Xian smiled and suddenly asked, "Is your master a Big Leaf or a Few Leaves?"
The shopkeeper was startled. He raised his head to look at Fan Xian, as if he couldn't believe that this handsome young man knew so much. For a moment, he forgot to answer.
Lin Jing smiled. "This is Master Fan Xian, the head envoy of this diplomatic mission. Although you're far away in the north, I'm sure you know who Master Fan is."
Master Fan? That was the shopkeeper of all the royal merchants in the coming years! The shopkeeper paled. He quickly lifted his robe and knelt before Fan Xian.
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