That afternoon, Fan Xian cordially received the relevant officials of the palace treasury transport company in his temporary residence. The other officials of Jiangnan Road were scared by him and didn't dare to get close, but these palace treasury officials were his direct subordinates. They couldn't hide, so they could only brace themselves and come see him. Fortunately, Fan Xian had long shed his skin and bones as cold as by the riverside. He laughed and said a few words. He then set a date for departure and amiably saw the officials out of the manor. For a moment, the officials of the palace treasury were confused.
In the evening, there was a welcoming banquet prepared in Jiangnan Restaurant. Due to the same reason, the officials of the counties along the Jiangzhou side only sat for a while and then retreated. In any case, they had performed their etiquette. Furthermore, the rules of the court did not allow them to stay in Suzhou forever. It was easy to find a reason to stay as far away from Commissioner Fan of the Overwatch Council as possible. Only the officials of the Suzhou government could not go. They looked at the head seat with fear.
In the head seat, Fan Xian, Jiangnan Governor Xue Qing, and the inspector drank and chatted merrily. The atmosphere was harmonious. The Suzhou Zhizhou present had a pained expression and forced a smile. It was the Hangzhou Zhizhou who knew that the imperial envoy would be stationed in Hangzhou in the future, so he thickened his face and stayed behind. Under the murderous gazes of the Suzhou officials, he endlessly flattered Fan Xian and the governor. This Hangzhou Zhizhou was truly a shrewd person. He was not afraid of Fan Xian's methods of turning his back on him. He was certain that currying favor with his superiors, no matter when or where, it would not be wrong.
After the banquet, they first sent the governor onto the official sedan. The two of them then decided to go to the Xue manor to harass him. Only then did Fan Xian raise his hands in farewell to the officials in the building and climb into his own carriage.
His personality was still the same as before. He liked to sit in carriages and not in sedan.
The curtains in front of the carriage were not blocked. Suzhou's night wind blew in, and the clear sound of silk and bamboo entered his ears. Jiangnan was rich and populous. The rich merchants kept many excellent performers. The brothels in Suzhou and Hangzhou were also famous for doing well.
Fan Xian gently slapped his cheeks and allowed the night wind to blow away the slight warmth on his face. Although the zhenqi in his body had recovered a lot, his alcohol tolerance had not returned. After being advised by the officials, he felt a bit dizzy.
"The Hangzhou address has been decided. What about Suzhou?" he asked quietly as he half-closed his eyes to rest.
Shi Chanli sat beside him and thought for a while before saying, "Sang Wen won't arrive until the middle of the month … student … student."
Fan Xian smiled. He opened his eyes and sighed. "It's really hard on you to do all this. Endure it for another year or two. You know I don't have many trustworthy people around me."
He and Shi Chanli were talking about Baoyue Brothel's grand plan to go south. The business of the brothel was not only the fastest way for money to flow back, but it often had unexpected uses, such as intelligence. While Fan Xian was in Jingdou, he had already decided to open his family's brothel in Jiangnan. Although he would certainly encounter a great deal of resistance, given his status and power, it should not be a problem for him to make a name for himself within a year.
Shi Chanli asked, "Sir, can this matter be delayed? After all, you are leaving for the palace treasury the day after tomorrow. There is no backbone in Suzhou. If you want to choose a location to buy a building and a girl at this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to control the situation. "
"If I'm not here, there is still the Third Prince …" A naughty smile flashed through the corner of Fan Xian's eyes. "Tomorrow, I will pick a few old teachers for the Third Prince. Although he will always come with me to Hangzhou, he will still stay in Suzhou during this time. Don't forget what kind of business this Prince does in Jingdou. Don't look at how young he is, he is very clear about the ways inside. With the Prince coming out, the governor can't say anything. You can buy whichever building you want. As for those popular girls … throw some more silver at them. How can they not succeed? With the Prince supporting you from behind, you don't have to worry about the brothel owners in Jiangnan playing dirty with you. Since they are playing in the open, it is just a show of throwing silver at people. Are you still worried that you don't have silver? "
Shi Chanli was dumbfounded. He thought to himself, The Emperor wanted you to educate the Third Prince. Did you … originally want to use the Third Prince to open a brothel in Jiangnan? This was too disgraceful and unfilial!
Immediately after, he thought of another thing. Why did Sir have so much silver on him? The 138,880 taels of silver in the chest could not be moved. Then, he must still have a lot of silver notes in his pocket for him to speak like this earlier. Thinking of this, Shi Chanli said worriedly, "If we were to sell it openly, the Jiangnan brothel would certainly take the opportunity to raise the price … the money spent would be like flowing water. Who knows how many days it would last?"
At this time, the carriage rolled along the clean stone path in Suzhou. Passing through a door, it came to a bustling commercial area during the day.
Even at night, the shop signs on this street were still incomparably bright. Suzhou was the largest port for the palace treasury's products to be exported. In terms of prosperity and commercial development, other than Dongyi, there was no other city in the world that could compare to it. Buying glass here was four-fifths cheaper than buying it in Northern Qi, but Fan Xian knew the cost of something like glass. He knew that the Suzhou merchants had long earned their fill over the decades.
Other than the various shop signs, the most eye-catching thing was a green cloth that would pop up not far away. What was eye-catching was not that the green cloth was dyed with a fluorescent material that glowed in the night. Rather, it was that the place where the green cloth was displayed was not a restaurant. The green cloth was painted with a pattern similar to the Fan family crest.
On this street, there were eight or nine money houses.
Fan Xian's carriage slowly moved along the quiet street. When it passed by a slightly new piece of green cloth, he pointed at the door of the money house and said in a low voice, "Even if you die of poverty, don't come to this money house."
Hearing these words, Shi Chanli went to take a look. He only got a general idea. After thinking for a while, he said curiously, "Merchants? Never heard of it … it's not Taiping money house, who would dare to have dealings with them? "
Fan Xian smiled and didn't say anything.
At that time, the world's commerce was gradually developing. It became difficult for large transactions to use silver to do so. Thus, banknotes gradually became something that merchants liked. Organizations such as banks and money houses also began to show their importance. However, for an existence like a money house, the most important thing to people was credibility and confidence. Thus, in this jianghu, there was no problem of big fish eating small fish. After decades, there were still only a few big fish in the world.
The three biggest fish were called the Qing Kingdom, Northern Qi, and Dongyi.
The banknotes issued by the Qing Kingdom and Northern Qi were official banknotes. Of course, they were the most trustworthy. However, the officials in court did not realize the importance. Exchanging official banknotes was very troublesome, and the flexibility was appalling. Thus, other than storing money in coffins, most merchants would choose the Taiping money house that Dongyi had opened.
Although the Taiping money house was Dongyi's capital, it was rumored that some nobles in Northern Qi and the Qing Kingdom had also invested in it. Thus, no matter how the three countries fought and killed each other, miraculously, the money house itself was not affected. After 20 or 30 years, the Taiping money house had a first-rate reputation, abundant capital, and thorough service. It also had the secret protection and protection of the upper echelons of each country. Naturally, it became the largest money house in the world.
There was no other. The Taiping money house was the largest in the world.
…
…
Even on this street, the Taiping money house had opened three branches. Fan Xian glanced coldly at the green cloth floating by outside the carriage and said, "Withdraw money from the Taiping money house."
Shi Chanli made a noise of acknowledgement.
"Withdraw as much as you want," Fan Xian calmly said. "Before I leave, I'll give you my seal and number. Don't be so stingy and reluctant to spend money."
Withdraw as much as he wanted? How could there be such a good thing in this world? Shi Chanli smiled and said, "Is this Taiping money house opened by you?"
Fan Xian scolded with a smile, "If I had that much money, everything would be easily solved. Why would I need to interact with those people?"
Shi Chanli was his trusted aide and knew he was talking about Northern Qi. After a moment of nervousness, he didn't reply. However, he immediately thought of Northern Qi and the palace treasury. He didn't expect the palace treasury to open in a few days. If Fan Xian wanted to help Xia Qifei and the Ming family win the bid, then he would need a terrifying sum of money. He furrowed his brows and said, "Sir, the palace treasury urgently needs money. If it's not convenient, I think we should delay the matter of opening the shop."
Fan Xian shook his head. "The amount of silver you need to transfer and the amount of silver the palace treasury needs to win the bid are not of the same order of magnitude, so you don't have to worry. As for opening the shop, it needs to be done quickly. First, it is to take advantage of the fact that the Prince is still in Suzhou. He is probably also interested, so it will be convenient. Secondly … "
He thought of his father who was still in Jingdou and couldn't resist smiling. "Secondly, the Jiangnan girls are still waiting for the Fan family to save them. The earlier we can do it, the better."
These words were not false. Ever since he had set the rules for Baoyue Brothel in Jingdou and Lady Shi Qing'er had supplemented them, although the girls of Baoyue Brothel were still in the flesh business, their lives were much better than before. Their commission was less, and there were regular visits from doctors. They had also signed a new "labor contract". The girls of Baoyue Brothel were truly grateful to Fan Xian. Once the influence spread, the entire brothel industry in Jingdou began to show a healthy and upward feeling of the rising sun.
If Baoyue Brothel could truly open a chain in Jiangnan, presumably the Jiangnan ladies would also be very happy with the arrival of imperial envoy Fan.
— — —
Returning to the Hua Garden that the salt merchant had happily given up, Fan Xian accepted the hot soup Sisi handed him and drank it. Other than sobering up, it also warmed his body. He bent over the table and read a few Council reports from the Council. He found that the world was peaceful and relaxed. He first let Sisi go into the inner room to sleep while he walked out. Putting on a thick jacket, he rubbed his hands and knocked on the door of another room.
Not far behind him, the Tiger Guards and Sixth Bureau swordsmen quickly hid in the darkness.
The door opened with a creak, revealing Haitang's still sleepy face.
Without waiting for Haitang to speak, Fan Xian said in surprise, "Sleeping so early?"
Haitang smiled slightly and invited him into the room. She turned the smokeless oil lamp a little brighter and quietly said, "This merchant's family is very extravagant, and this bed is also very comfortable. I thought that you would probably get drunk at the welcoming banquet tonight, so I went to sleep first."
Fan Xian focused his gaze and found that the clothes the girl was wearing were not very thick. It was only a very plain robe. He furrowed his brows and said, "Wear more. Although your realm is high, the natural cold is not something to be trifled with."
Haitang couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him. She yawned and half propped her chin up on the bed. "What's the matter? Hurry up and say it."
Fan Xian paused and forgot what he had come to say. Last night, after he had boarded the Jingdou ship, Haitang had disappeared without a trace. It wasn't until the afternoon that she mysteriously appeared in the garden. Had he just come to confirm whether or not she was there? Or was he already used to chatting with this Northern Qi saint girl like an old friend?
"It is very difficult for me to get drunk." Fan Xian was a quick-witted person. He smiled slightly at Haitang's first words. "You know I am afraid of death and cowardly. Other than in front of people I can completely trust, I won't get drunk."
"So you can only get drunk at home?" Haitang opened her bright eyes and asked curiously.
Fan Xian shook his head. "Other than being able to completely trust myself, I also have to trust that when I get drunk, the people beside me have enough power to protect my safety."
Haitang smiled. She knew what he meant. She immediately pitied him and said tenderly, "Don't tell me that in your entire life, you've only gotten drunk in Shangjing's Pines and Cranes Tavern … once."
That time in Shangjing, Northern Qi, in front of Haitang, Fan Xian had gotten wildly drunk until he passed out. He had also been drugged with an aphrodisiac and fallen into the greatest trap since his rebirth.
Fan Xian said angrily, "You still have the face to bring it up … of course." He couldn't see the sympathy in Haitang's eyes. He said coldly and arrogantly, "When I was young, I often got drunk. Don't think too highly of yourself."
Haitang smiled. "At that time, that … blind master was always by your side?"
Fan Xian didn't reply.
Haitang suddenly furrowed her brows. "Then … the legend of you getting drunk and writing thousands of poems in the Qing Royal Palace … was that also false?"
Fan Xian waved his hand. He didn't want to continue this uninteresting topic with her. He directly asked, "Has the silver arrived yet?"
Haitang uninterestedly sighed and sat up. She looked into his eyes and nodded seriously. "Since August, His Majesty has already begun making arrangements. You don't have to worry."
Fan Xian laughed at himself. "What can I do if I don't worry? I can't have the old man take out the silver from the national treasury for my own use. "
"Speaking of which," Haitang furrowed her brows, "you actually brought over a hundred thousand taels of silver with you … isn't that too stupid? I don't believe that you're just trying to show off at the riverside. "
Fan Xian thought that he had no choice but to make this arrangement. How could he tell her the inside story? He couldn't tell anyone about it.
"It's just some useless silver. What's there to be afraid of?"
"You've been an official for less than two years, and yet you have so much silver with you." Haitang smiled faintly. "Including you and your father's salary, I'm afraid it would take over a hundred years to save up so much silver. How do you explain this to the officials?"
Fan Xian shook his head. "Don't forget, the Fan clan is a large clan. The clan property is where the money comes from."
"Oh? A large clan that can easily take out so much silver … Don't tell me they don't run amok? Be careful, or the Imperial Censorate will report you. "
"So be it." Fan Xian smiled. "Even if the clan doesn't have that much money, the palace knows that my business has been big these past two years. They won't suspect me of anything."
"A brothel and a dozen bookstores … can you make that much silver?" Haitang asked doubtfully.
"Don't look down on my second son's ability to amass wealth … of course, I've been an official in court for two years and have received a lot of benefits. Basically, it's all buried in that chest. You have to say, if I didn't have the old man to help me move it out of the treasury, I really wouldn't have been able to exchange it for such an orderly amount of silver when I leave the capital." Fan Xian smiled. "After the matter is over, the so-called bribe silver will be mixed with this clean silver. The court won't be able to say anything about me. In order to gather enough silver, I searched all the liquid silver in the businesses under my name clean. Right now, Jingdou is really an empty shell."
Only now did Haitang know that he had this plan. She couldn't help but feel a bit disdainful. "Given your position, why are you so concerned about cleaning up the bribe silver?"
"Mountain people … have their own uses."
"Then you put all the silver in the chest and can't move it in front of everyone's eyes. What will you do when you need money in the future?"
Fan Xian smiled slightly. "Don't I have you? Furthermore, there is also that adorable Emperor. This time, the silver he sent into Taiping money house is not a small amount. I'm sure he won't mind if I take a few to spend. "
Haitang paused. Only now did she know that when it came to fighting and scheming, she was not below Fan Xian. It could be said that when it came to stealing and playing tricks to earn money, there was a large gap between them and the Fan family. In the next few days, she would have to keep a closer eye on them.
The scene was truly ridiculous. Fan Xian and Haitang, two figures recognized by the world as elegant and otherworldly, were quietly talking about silver, banknotes, money houses, money laundering, and other topics that reeked of money on a gloomy night in their room.
In the main hall of the manor, bright candles hung high. The large chest of silver that represented the spirit of Fan Xian's Jiangnan political declaration was openly displayed there.
The people walking by couldn't resist glancing at the chest. However, there were guards everywhere and swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau protecting it in the dark. Although hundreds of thousands of liang of silver was enough to make one's eyes drool, if one wanted to steal this chest of silver, the great bandits or greedy thieves might as well just charge into the government treasurer's office and steal the official silver. That way, the chances of success would probably be higher.
The chest was open like this, naked and exposed in front of everyone. Inside the chest was a snow-white silver ingot. It gave off a soul-sucking and soul-devouring light. Faintly, a dangerous coldness seeped out from inside.
… …
After a few more days, the imperial envoy Fan Xian, who had stirred up all of Jiangnan Road, finally left Suzhou. Taking his people and subordinates, they traveled on the official road toward where the palace treasury transport company was located in the southwest. Although the Third Prince was still in Suzhou, the officials all let out a big breath. They thought that as long as Commissioner Fan was not there, how difficult would it be to fool a child?
The Third Prince did not know what these officials were thinking. Otherwise, given his sinister nature and his temper that was about to explode, who knew what new tricks he would come up with.
These two days, he had been angry in his heart because Fan Xian had not taken him to the palace treasury. The palace treasury was once the property of the Ye family. It indirectly supported the Qing Kingdom's stability and ability to expand. It could even be said that the Qing Kingdom relied on the palace treasury to support itself. Thus, that place naturally became the most heavily guarded place in the Qing court. The restrictions were even stricter than in the Royal Palace. In the legends of the people, it was as if the Five Thunders patrolled the outside and the gods guarded the center. To be able to go to the palace treasury to see the scenery was the lifelong wish of countless commoners. Although the Third Prince had the honor of a prince, he was still very curious about the palace treasury. Without the Emperor's special permission, a prince did not have the right to go to the palace treasury. He had thought that following Fan Xian to Jiangnan this time, he would be able to fulfill his wish. Unexpectedly, Fan Xian had left him in Suzhou.
With a slap, a middle-aged scholar, who looked like a learned scholar, crawled out in a wretched state, crying and howling uncontrollably. The Third Prince followed him out and cursed viciously, "Father wants Fan Xian to be the teacher! He dares to run! I dares to kick people! "
The servants in the manor were as silent as cicadas in winter. The imperial envoy had left. Who would dare to offend this young master? He even dared to kick the teacher the governor's manor had carefully invited. If they said a few more words, wouldn't they be dead for sure?
The Third Prince was angry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a person sneakily walking down the corridor. He quickly stopped him and walked over to take a look. He found it was Fan Xian's trusted disciple, Shi Chanli.
Although he was arrogant and ruthless, for Fan Xian's sake, he couldn't do anything to Shi Chanli. Curious, he asked, "Where are you going, Sir Shi?"
Shi Chanli seemed to jump in fright and said fawningly, "Greetings, Your Highness. I'm going out for a walk."
The Third Prince paused and said, "I haven't seen any fun places in Suzhou. You have to take me."
Shi Chanli begged for mercy. "Your Highness, the teacher has strict orders. He has assigned all the homework for the next few days. If you don't finish it, what will happen? … Besides, letting Teacher know that I brought Her Highness out to play is a great sin. "
The Third Prince furrowed his thin brows and huffed coldly. "If you want to do it, then do it. Only …" He looked at Shi Chanli's flickering gaze and smiled. "I have to tell you, if you're not going with the teacher to the palace treasury, what are you doing in Suzhou? And where are you planning to go at this time?"
Shi Chanli was stumped by these words. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something but then stopped. A moment later, he lowered his voice and smiled bitterly. "It's not like Your Highness doesn't know. I am a pitiful student to be ordered by my teacher to do that trade."
The Third Prince's eyes lit up. Probingly, he asked, "Is Baoyue Brothel going to open in Suzhou?"
Shi Chanli covered his mouth in surprise. It was as if he was annoyed that he had spilled the beans.
The Third Prince chuckled coldly, but his heart was blooming with joy. He thought to himself that if he could resume his old trade in Suzhou, it would be much happier than sitting in this manor. His shares in the brothel in Jingdou had been forcefully taken by Fan Xian. Now that he knew Fan Xian was a practical person with a superficial sense of morality, how could the Third Prince miss this opportunity?
Shi Chanli looked at the Third Prince's reaction and admired his teacher's meticulous planning.
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