(Let me say a few words before I write: With the arrival of the disaster, the situation in Wenchuan may be better than I thought yesterday … but I have finally confirmed that the epicenter of the earthquake is near Yingxiu. Of course, I am completely fine in Hubei. I am just very worried over there and my emotions are very unstable.
Many people know my feelings for Yingxiu. At the turn of the century, I lived there for half a year. Even now, I cannot forget the town and its amiable people. Today, at noon, I finally received news that the army had broken into Yingxiu. In that instant, my feelings were complicated. The rims of a man's eyes immediately became wet.
There is a brother called Gao Yuanjing. At this time, he should still be in the Futang factory. For some reason … he put his hands together and prayed, hoping that everything is safe, hoping that Yingxiu can turn misfortune into fortune, hoping that Wenchuan can bring people another pleasant surprise, hoping that the people suffering in the disaster area will suffer less … Sichuan is safe, the entire country is safe, everyone is safe.
A book friend suggested a donation. Please choose your own way to express your love. The Red Cross donation channel is very easy to find, so I won't go into detail. Here, I wish the book friends in Sichuan and their families good health. In the near future, if there are willing friends, please go donate your blood and help those who are injured. Thank you.)
…
…
The laughter did not continue for long before it stopped. Fan Xian suddenly realized that he had been too proud and arrogant. It was not a good sign.
The unconscious Ming Qingda also woke up. The large robe under the silk and cotton coat moved without any wind. His fists were tightly clenched. His eyes were slightly red as he stared fiercely at Fan Xian's face.
The laughter stopped, and the unconscious person woke up. It was as if the earlier scene had not happened. In reality, everyone knew that 30 percent of the Ming family's shares had already fallen into Fan Xian's hands.
If it was only 30 percent, it was still far from enough.
Ming Qingda looked at Xia Qifei standing behind Fan Xian and thought of the 10 percent in his hands. He then thought of the Fourth master of the Ming family, who was gradually distancing himself from the family. His heart grew colder and colder, but he still held a glimmer of hope.
"See the guest out," the old man said tiredly and weakly as he glanced at the documents in Fan Xian's hands.
Fan Xian did not move. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the beautiful buildings in Ming Garden with a face full of admiration. It was as if this garden had already become his.
Ming Qingda's expression changed again.
Xia Qifei flashed out from behind Fan Xian and glanced at his brother. In a quiet voice, he said, "See the guest out."
It was the same two words of farewell, but they came from two people's lips. This represented the ownership of the Ming family and the identity of the Master of the Ming family. Xia Qifei had already formally stood out and began to challenge Ming Qingda.
The guests in the hall knew that today's matter had blown up. Furthermore, they didn't know what would happen next or what the old Ming master would do in his anger. In order to protect themselves, everyone quickly broke away and left. They didn't even care about etiquette. Including the Suzhou government officials who were witnesses, they quickly bowed to Fan Xian and fled the garden.
…
…
The hall immediately fell silent. The people left included Fan Xian's people, as well as the men of the two branches of the Ming family. Although there were many people, they knew they were about to reveal their cards, so no one dared to make a sound.
Ming Qingda glanced at Fan Xian coldly and took out a contract from his clothes. He slowly tore it apart. "Why don't you be shameless and take Lanshi's 5% share as well?"
Fan Xian glanced at him and shook his head. "I am an official of the court, not a merchant. Why would I want your son's shares?"
He walked to the back of his group and sat down in a chair. He didn't say anything more. He only quietly admired this scene.
He had rushed to Suzhou today to see this great show. He also wanted to support Xia Qifei. The Ming family had been in Jiangnan for a long time and had thousands of private soldiers under their control. If they really wanted to do something big, Xia Qifei's Jiangnan water bandits might not be able to stand up to them.
Xia Qifei stood in front of Ming Qingda and smiled slightly. "The owner of Zhaoshang money house had written a letter ahead of time saying that the 30% of shares in his hands was for me to speak for. Last year, the Suzhou government ordered you to compensate me according to your discretion. You were generous and gifted me 10% of the shares. I am eternally grateful. In the future, when you die in Ming Garden, I will definitely serve you with all my heart. "
With his son's support, Ming Qingda barely managed to stand in the hall. He glanced at the Ming clan men behind him and a wretched smile rose to his face. "Looks like a number of people have secretly thrown themselves to your side. Otherwise, you wouldn't speak with such confidence … speaking of which, during this year, the Ming family's energy has been used to deal with Sir Fan junior and neglected you."
After these words were said, the expressions of the Ming clan men were complicated. Those who had already secretly thrown themselves at Xia Qifei were ashamed, while those who did not know the inside story were shocked. Only the Fourth Ming master looked at the sky with an indescribable indifference.
Ming Qingda took a deep breath. His face appeared incomparably old. He knew that since the other party dared to steal the position of Master of the Ming family, he must have complete confidence. However, he still held onto the thought of a final struggle.
He turned his head and stared coldly at the Fourth Ming master. Enunciating each word, he said, "You also gave him the shares?"
"A wise man submits to circumstances," the Fourth Ming master slowly said.
Ming Qingda laughed wretchedly three times and pointed at his nose as he scolded, "Idiot! The death of the Ming family is all because of you! I want to see how you meet the ancestors of the Ming family after you die and how you will face your mother in a moment! "
The Fourth Ming master trembled slightly and immediately smiled coldly. His smile appeared very vicious. "Big brother, I don't have the face to meet? Last year, I was captured and thrown into the Suzhou government prison. It's fine that you didn't have people come to rescue me, but you actually sent people to assassinate me … do you have the face to meet such a brother? "
Ming Qingda stared into his eyes and said, "At the time, the situation had to be like this …"
"I understand." The Fourth Ming master smiled crazily. "You want the Jiangnan aristocrats to sympathize with the Ming family, so you want me to die in prison … but have you thought about it? I am also a son of the Ming family! Why should I die? Why don't you go and die? "
Why don't you go and die?
Ming Qingda's entire body trembled. He turned his head and roared at Xia Qifei in a sharp voice, "Show all your cards! Even if the Third and Fourth brothers, these two sons of concubines, have voted for you, it's still not enough! "
Xia Qifei glanced at him and slowly opened his mouth to say, "Zhaoshang money house has more than 30 percent."
"More than 30 percent?"
"Yes." Xia Qifei calmly said, "You know how much silver the Sixth Ming master has owed outside these years … he is the matriarch's favorite youngest son. You have always been afraid of him, so you have been very stingy with his use and strictly forbade him from meddling with the family property. However, he is playful and is someone who likes to use silver … so he could only stretch out his hand to borrow from outside. He doesn't have any property, so he could only use the shares the matriarch left him as collateral."
"Sixth?" Ming Qingda's eyes widened. He had never thought that the key to the change in ownership of the Ming family would come from his own younger brother. He turned his head in shock and looked at the terrified Sixth master in the crowd, who kept retreating backward. In a daze, he said, "Sixth … are you crazy?"
At this moment, the Sixth master's face was mournful. He half curled up and hid behind the crowd, avoiding his elder brother's murderous gaze. Under Ming Qingda's accumulated might as the master of the family, the men in the family were all scared half a step back by his murderous gaze.
"It's not that he's crazy, it's that everyone in the Ming family has gone crazy," Xia Qifei said coldly. Xia Qifei said coldly, "Look at this garden. The people inside all have their own thoughts and are full of evil tricks … Including me, everyone with the surname Ming is born with selfishness and indifference. When disaster strikes, who would remember this surname? When all is said and done, the cause of the Ming family's defeat is still you. You guard against everyone in the family, yet you blindly retreat to outside pressure … how can you not lose when you do things like this? "
There was silence in the hall.
Ming Qingda suddenly laughed, but his laughter was filled with unspeakable despair and anger. He pointed at Xia Qifei and said, "Do you think that just because you have more than 50 percent of the shares, you can speak in the Ming family? Don't forget, there are shares in the Palace and military shares in the Ming family property. What you can control … is still not enough! "
Fan Xian, who had been silent for a long time, finally opened his mouth and quietly said, "Those are dry shares."
The two words "dry shares" made the situation clear.
Fan Xian looked at Ming Qingda, who was about to sink into a state of madness, and said, "Can shares that are not on the books be openly taken out to fight a lawsuit?"
Ming Qingda stared at Fan Xian's hateful and beautiful face and said, "Sir Fan junior, do you … really dare to take the Eldest Princess and old Qin Master's shares?"
Fan Xian stood up and tilted his head slightly. He thought for a moment and then smiled warmly. "If I don't dare to take it, then what am I doing here today?"
…
…
In a quiet and secluded little courtyard in Ming Garden, Ming Qingda sat alone in front of a desk. His face no longer had much luster. It was like a copper lamp that had been boiled dry of oil. He was unspeakably haggard. This afternoon, Xia Qifei had used the shares in his hands to chase him down from his position as the master of the Ming family. At the same time, under the double notarization, or surveillance, of Jiangnan Road and the Overwatch Council, all of the account books had been sealed. All of the people in the garden had been completely changed.
The previous master of the Ming family, Ming Qingda, who had endured silently for a year, could not even send out his orders. Although it had only been half a day, he knew that once he sank into this situation, it was only a matter of time before he was forgotten by the people of the Ming family and Jiangnan.
"Why … does Fan Xian dare to do this?" The old man could not understand it no matter how he thought about it. The deep wrinkles on his forehead were the color of dead ash. He muttered to himself, "The Eldest Princess will help me."
"Don't you think so?" he asked blankly.
A glimmer of fear also appeared on the concubine's face. She had originally been the Eldest Princess' personal serving girl and had been sent to the Jiangnan Ming family. One reason was to monitor and the other was to be in charge of communication. Last year, when Ming Qingda strangled his own mother, it was through this old Ming matriarch's serving girl that he had obtained the approval of the Palace.
"I don't know … there has been no reply from the Palace. Could something have happened?"
Ming Qingda smiled bitterly. "No wonder … no wonder Fan Xian is so confident. He knew long ago that the Palace would not be able to help us … if even the Eldest Princess is in trouble, then I am just a fat piece of meat in his mouth that he can eat at any time. For him to have come up with so many tricks, it can be said that he thinks highly of me."
"It's not that he thinks highly of you."
Fan Xian led Xia Qifei in as he pushed open the door. Rubbing his slightly cold hands, he sat across from Ming Qingda and said, "From the beginning, you and I both knew that it would be too easy for the court to destroy the Ming family … the problem is, the court does not want to destroy you."
Ming Qingda glanced at him.
"What the Emperor wants is an intact Ming family, not a Ming family on the verge of bankruptcy, on its last breaths, and finally broken up and dead. Thus, it is indeed not easy to eat you," Fan Xian said. "Furthermore, it is best if this matter can be resolved peacefully so as not to cause too many deaths and disrupt the lives of the people in Jiangnan … you know that the Ming family is a giant beast. It is not easy to tame it."
He continued, "I gave you a chance, but you didn't take it."
Ming Qingda took two heavy breaths and said, "What will you do next? You have to know that I still have nearly half of the shares in my hands. "
"From now on, you no longer have the right to speak in the Ming family," Fan Xian said. "From today onwards, Xia Qifei will be in charge of the Ming family."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
