Fan Xian did not know what was happening inside the Ming family. For him, the Ming family was a rock. He had to suppress it but temporarily could not crush it. In any case, he had the patience. There was no rush in fishing.
That day, he came to the Suzhou branch of the Baoyue Brothel. The business in the brothel had already picked up. The girls upstairs and downstairs were busy receiving customers. Not many people noticed the male owner and female shopkeeper respectfully protecting a person as they quietly went up to the top floor.
Pushing open the window and looking out, he saw many workers digging mud to expand the lake. To expand a lake, the amount of money and labor needed was not a small amount. He couldn't resist sighing and asking, "Is there a need?"
Shi Chanli smiled slightly and said, "According to Sir's intentions, the plans and layout of the branch were sent urgently to the North. The day before yesterday, the Second young master's intention was that this lake is too small and the terrain is not open enough. The customers who come to play will feel a bit cramped, so it is better to put in a lot of effort and dig the lake a few hundred meters forward …"
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. It looked like Sizhe, who was far away in Northern Qi, still had Baoyue Brothel on his mind. For such a large undertaking, he only had to say one word, yet Fan Xian had to mobilize many people to do it.
"There's sound and smell. Aren't you afraid it will affect business?"
"It's surrounded by green cloth. Customers in the building usually won't notice that side. Although business is good right now, if we want to dig the lake, we can only do it now … otherwise, when spring is at its peak and summer is at its peak, it will be inconvenient to dig at that time. "
Fan Xian nodded and didn't say anything. He trusted his brother's business acumen. Today, he had come to Baoyue Brothel mainly to find out some information. He looked at the file his subordinate had delivered and furrowed his brows. "Where exactly did the Ming family housekeeper escape to?"
The Ming family housekeeper had the same surname as the housekeeper Fan Xian had beaten in Danzhou when he was a child. They were both surnamed Zhou. This person was not simple. After all these years, he had been the old Ming matriarch's trusted aide and was responsible for managing the accounts of the mysterious Junshang Conference. After Xia Qifei was assassinated by the Junshang Conference in front of the Jiangnan Restaurant, the Overwatch Council had begun to secretly investigate the housekeeper's whereabouts. They were prepared to secretly arrest him at any moment and wanted to obtain some key information from his mouth.
However, that housekeeper Zhou seemed to have disappeared within a day and did not appear in any of the Ming family property. No one knew if the Jiangnan Road officials were helping him hide or something. In any case, even the Overwatch Council's methods had not been able to find a trace of his whereabouts.
Deng Zi Yue walked in from outside and reported to Fan Xian the matter of the Fourth Ming master being taken into the Suzhou government. Hearing Fan Xian ask about housekeeper Zhou's whereabouts, he couldn't help but furrow his brows. He was responsible for this matter. After so many days without any progress, he also felt ashamed.
He furrowed his brows and shook his head. He thought for a moment and said, "If he hadn't been silenced by the Ming family, then it should be …"
"There is a high possibility that the other party is openly hiding in the Ming Garden," Fan Xian said. Fan Xian knew that if he really wanted to hide the account master of the Junshang Conference, hiding him in the Ming Garden was the riskiest and safest method. He couldn't resist smiling. "Do I really have to go into the Ming Garden to capture him?"
Deng Zi Yue forced a smile and said, "Without concrete evidence, how can we enter the Palace to capture him? The other party is also someone with a hereditary noble title. Furthermore, if we make the matter too serious, the governor will certainly be forced to open his mouth and pressure you."
Fan Xian sighed and felt that this matter was gradually losing its fun. He waved his hand and said, "If we charge in and can't capture him, it won't be easy to explain to Xue Qing. If we can confirm that there is someone inside, we can try being barbaric for once."
"I just can't confirm it," Deng Zi Yue said helplessly.
The two of them were chatting when suddenly an Overwatch Council spy carefully knocked on the door. Deng Zi Yue glanced at Fan Xian and walked out the door to say something in a low voice. His expression immediately became serious. He gave a few more reminders in a low voice and then quickly turned around. Leaning close to Fan Xian's ear, he said,
"There's news from the island."
Fan Xian's spirits rose. That damned pirate dock had been quiet for so long. He almost thought that he could no longer use that little island to deal with the Ming family. Hearing that there was news, he said with great interest, "Speak."
Deng Zi Yue glanced at him again and carefully said, "The people on the island … are all dead. Completely dead."
…
…
With a slap! Fan Xian slammed his palm against the tea table beside him without expression. The tea table did not shatter, nor did the teacup break. However, this slap clearly expressed his dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction. The Ming family had acted ruthlessly and cleanly. He furrowed his brows and asked, "Where are our people?"
The Overwatch Council had a spy on the island. Fan Xian was worried about his life and death.
Deng Zi Yue said, "His luck is pretty good. He survived. The Quanzhou side found their way to the island and just happened to pick him up."
Fan Xian's expression was slightly heavy. "What is his name?"
"Qing Wa."
"Where is he?"
"Just arrived in Suzhou. He is recovering in a secret residence."
"Let's go."
— — —
Qing Wa felt that he was dreaming. He had been dreaming these few days. After the island had been surrounded by the soldiers, only he had survived. Surrounded by the sky full of pirate gulls and the ground full of dead bodies, he had tried to find the path his leader had once left behind. He had gone to that hidden little cove and found a boat to go out to sea.
He had not thought that the Ming family would be so ruthless in silencing him. All of the boats on the island had been destroyed. Even the three-sail fast boats the pirate leader had hidden had sunk to the bottom of the water.
Looking at the sails that had changed color after being soaked in the water, Qing Wa felt a bit hopeless. The island was isolated beyond the sea. If the Quanzhou side discovered that the situation had changed and took the risk to send people to the island again, it would still take a long time. He had been alone on the island without water or food these days. Could he survive?
The spies of the Second and Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council had to undergo harsh wilderness survival training and intelligence gathering training from the beginning of their admission. It was only because of this skill that the single Qing Wa had managed to survive on the island.
There was no water on the island. Fortunately, it had rained.
There were no wild animals on the island, but there were corpses … there were pirate gulls that ate the corpses, and there were fish and clams in the sea. Thus, he was still strong and disgustingly able to survive.
It was not until his colleagues from Quanzhou took the risk to go to the island again that the extremely weak Qing Wa was finally lifted onto the boat.
The boat floated back to the mainland.
Qing Wa was finally able to have a good sleep.
In his dreams, he thought of the water birds he had eaten and the rotting human flesh in the stomachs of those water islands. Qing Wa still couldn't help but have nightmares.
He slept for a long time, from Quanzhou all the way to Suzhou. When he woke up, he found there was a young and delicate official in front of him looking at him with admiration and pity.
The Overwatch Council official beside him reminded him, "It's the Commissioner."
The Commissioner? Qing Wa was startled and struggled to get up and bow.
Fan Xian quickly stopped him on the bed and narrowed his eyes slightly. Looking at this Qing Kingdom version of Lu Binxun, a sigh and admiration welled up in his heart. Political struggles were not treating people to a meal. It was a matter of life and death. However, it was often the lower-level officials who needed to be sacrificed.
Fan Xian took out a pill and fed it to him. He then used a golden needle to help him circulate his blood. After carefully treating him for a long time, he confirmed that there wouldn't be too many sequelae and that the other party had enough energy to speak. Only then did he begin to ask questions.
In their conversation, Fan Xian obtained a lot of useful information. There was a lot of information that had not been sent ashore in time, such as the connection between the pirate leader and Ming Lanshi's concubine.
He coldly said, "No wonder that concubine would suddenly return home to visit relatives. I'm afraid she has long sunk into the river to feed the tortoises … marrying a tortoise, in the end, she can only feed the tortoises. She is also a pitiful person. Zi Yue, immediately send people to the concubine's home to investigate. I want to see how Ming Lanshi is going to explain. "
Qing Wa had also painstakingly kept a copy of the letter. This was also a very solid piece of evidence. Although the Ming family could still deny it, they could always use this to make an issue of it.
"Do you have any thoughts about the soldiers who came to the island?"
Fan Xian stared into Qing Wa's eyes and asked. Although he knew that it had not been easy for him to survive on the island and he had experienced a long journey once on land and was extremely weak, he had no choice but to ask clearly. This reality was like a thorn in his heart and made him wary.
That group of sailors was clearly a helper for the Ming family and had been sent by the Eldest Princess. Fan Xian wanted to know just who in the military was standing on the Eldest Princess' side. Presumably, the Emperor was also very interested in this matter.
It could not be Yan Xiaoyi. Although Yan Xiaoyi was the Qing Kingdom's Northern Governor with his superior ninth-level status, his military power had always been closely watched by the Overwatch Council. Fan Xian knew that Yan Xiaoyi did not have much power in the navy.
"Back then, the Quanzhou Navy was the strongest naval force of the Imperial Court." Deng Zi Yue glanced at Fan Xian and quietly said, "However, after the Ye family matter, in order to clear away the Ye family's influence in the Quanzhou Navy, the court reduced the Quanzhou Navy into three. Presently, the Jiangnan Navy's nominally main yamen is in Shazhou. You should have met with the officials there. To enter the sea from Shazhou and land on the island to kill people … the distance is too far. Furthermore, the voyage is all on the Yangtze River. It is easy to reveal traces. In my opinion, it shouldn't be them. "
Fan Xian nodded. He did not have any emotional fluctuations because of the words "Ye family." He turned his head to look at Qing Wa.
On the bed, Qing Wa's lips had white bubbles forming on them. He was also trying hard to remember the soldier who had landed on the island that night. He knew this matter was very important and could allow the Council to determine just who dared to be in cahoots with the pirates.
With great difficulty, he opened his mouth and said, "When the official ship landed on the island, it was just before dawn. There were many reefs around the island. Under such a dark sky, to be able to forcefully land on the island, it should be a professional navy and not a soldier on shore borrowing a ship. I once saw the face of a soldier clearly. Looking at the contours of his face, he should be someone from the North."
Fan Xian's brows furrowed. "Could it be Dongyi's navy?"
Qing Wa shook his head with difficulty and reported, "They occasionally opened their mouths to speak, but it was not a Dongyi accent."
Fan Xian gazed at Deng Zi Yue and saw the glimmer of unease in each other's hearts. The Qing Kingdom had three great navies. In the North was the Jiaozhou Navy, stationed near Shandong Road, and had great power. If the other party was a capable general on the Eldest Princess' side, then the power the Eldest Princess held in the military was much more powerful than they had previously imagined.
In Fan Xian's heart, since the Emperor had always been stingy in letting him hold a sliver of military power and had always appeared so confident and arrogant, he believed that the majority of the power of the Qing Kingdom's military was in the Emperor's hands. Under such a premise, Fan Xian would have more confidence when he did things. Now, he had suddenly discovered that the Eldest Princess and the princes' power had increased by leaps and bounds. How could Fan Xian not be wary?
The Ye family would gradually lean toward the Second Prince, the Northern Governor Yan Xiaoyi, and now there was another navy!
"Whose people are the Jiaozhou Navy?" Fan Xian furrowed his brows and asked.
Deng Zi Yue lowered his voice and said, "The admiral of the navy is a first-level military general. Naturally, he doesn't have to listen to Yan Xiaoyi's orders. I've never felt that he has any inclinations. After all, he comes from the Qin family, but his relationship with Ye Zhong's faction is not bad."
Fan Xian gently tightened his fist and shook his head. He didn't say anything more. Looking at the tired Qing Wa on the bed, a faint smile rose to his face. "Recover well. After you recover, follow me and do things."
He greatly admired this young Overwatch Council official who was able to hide on the pirate island and successfully survive. Such an outstanding talent should become his trusted aide.
Qing Wa was shocked. He had not expected that after his narrow escape, he would have such good luck. For a moment, he froze on the bed, not knowing what to say. It was not until Fan Xian led the Qinian Unit out of the room and the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council's Inspection Division stationed in Quanzhou smiled and congratulated him that he came to his senses. He knew he had finally made it … the nightmare had finally woken up.
— —
Fan Xian was a bit angry. Everything he had encountered today was not good news. It looked like he had to quickly send the Council report back to Jingdou and have the old cripple be more spirited and not always stay in Chen Garden looking at beautiful women … if your successor ran into a problem, you had to solve it, right?
"Sir, there's good news."
Just as Fan Xian was silently cursing his bad luck, Deng Zi Yue suppressed a glimmer of joy and respectfully reported.
"What news?"
"That accountant of the Junshang Conference … we have the whereabouts of him."
"Where is he?"
"Sir is wise. The news is accurate. That person is … in Ming Garden."
Fan Xian pressed his palms together and sighed. "Finally, there's something to do."
…
…
(Not in a good mood. Not in a good state. Write less.)
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