Fang Yun smiled and asked, "Brother Daniu, who allowed you to call me Young Master?"
"My parents said that you are different now. I can't call you Little Brother anymore. I'll call you Young Master now, but when you become a High Scholar, I'll have to call you Master," said Fang Daniu.
"We're all family. You don't have to be so formal."
"That won't do. I can't embarrass our Fang family. I'll call you whatever I want. Otherwise, how can I be your attendant? My mother said that it wasn't easy for the Fang family of Ji County to produce a golden phoenix like you. She wanted me to serve you well so that I can bask in your glory in the future. "
Fang Yun didn't say anything. His gaze fell on the three letters in his hand. Fang Daniu was right. His status was indeed different now.
The sun rose, and the weather warmed up. Fang Yun opened the curtains and took out a book, The Book of Rites, and began to read it softly.
Yang Yuhuan looked at Fang Yun quietly. Occasionally, the corners of her mouth would curl up, and her cheeks would blush. It was unknown what she was thinking.
As the carriage moved forward, Fang Yun would close his eyes to rest when he was tired. After resting for a while, he would continue to read softly.
After an unknown period of time, the carriage was getting closer to the Grand Yuan Residence. Fang Yun was reading, "A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen." Suddenly, a white shadow darted in through the window.
Fang Yun was caught off guard and jumped in fright. A snow-white fox pounced on his leg. It had a fragrance and a faint smell of blood. It didn't have the stench of an animal.
Yang Yuhuan looked at the fox curiously and revealed a look of pity. However, Grandma Jiang's expression changed drastically. She shouted, "Young Master Fang, be careful. It might be a demon!"
Fang Yun was shocked and was about to throw the fox away, but the fox suddenly raised its head and looked at him with its pitch-black eyes, revealing a pleading expression. Then, it closed its eyes, cried out softly, and fainted.
If it were any other time, Fang Yun might have just thrown it away. However, he hesitated when he read the phrase, "A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen."
"A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen" also appeared in "Mencius". This sentence did not mean that people looked down on the kitchen, but it meant that people had compassion. If one was not a chef, they would not have the heart to kill living things in the kitchen. Therefore, it was best not to see such a scene and not to hear the mournful cries of living things before death. Therefore, a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen.
However, in the era when scholars went into battle to kill the enemy, the original meaning of these words was somewhat inappropriate. Thus, it was extended and interpreted to mean that everyone had the right to eat meat, but they could not kill living creatures for pleasure, and they could not torture them to death.
Yang Yuhuan whispered, "This should be an ordinary fox. Even if it's a demon, it hasn't killed anyone before. If demons kill humans, their eyes will turn red and their bodies will emit a fishy smell similar to rotten fish. I've smelled it before. "
Fang Yun pondered for a moment and lowered his head to observe the little fox's wound. It seemed to have been scratched by an animal's claws. The blood near the wound had already dried up and the wound had already scabbed over. This meant that the battle had been going on for at least a few hours. The possibility of it being tailed by the enemy was very low, so there was no danger in taking it in.
Fang Yun did not let his guard down. He stuck his head out of the window and saw that there was no movement in the forest by the roadside. There were other carriages a few hundred feet away. He then looked in the direction of Great Origin City and could already see the outline of the Great Origin Residence's city walls. No matter how bold a demon beast was, it would not dare to behave atrociously here because the Sacred Temple in the Wen Institute was constantly on alert.
"Little Yun, what should we do with this fox?" Yang Yuhuan asked.
Fang Yundao replied, "Ask the guards when we pass through the city gates. If they think it's not a harmful demon, we can bring it in. If it is, we can let the soldiers deal with it."
"Oh." Yang Yuhuan wanted to save the little fox, but Fang Yun's attitude was more important. Therefore, she did not say anything.
Fang Yun took another sniff and found that the fox was especially fragrant.
Fang Yun immediately used Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth to search. Soon, he found a travelogue written by Half-saint Chen Guanhai. The travelogue mentioned the most precious Fragrant Fox of the Fox Race. It only mentioned that it had an "exotic fragrance" and "rarely seen in the world".
Fang Yun suspected that this fox was the priceless Fragrant Fox and that its fur could be used to make a Fragrant Fox Brush.
A Fragrant Fox Brush could be sold for more than 10,000 taels of silver because using it to write battle poems could increase one's strength by at least 10%. If it was paired with ink made from the blood of a demon beast, one's strength would increase by 20%. The bigger the Fragrant Fox, the better the effect.
Fragrant Foxes were extremely rare and it was said that there were less than ten of them left in the world.
This fox was too small. Its tail was as long as its body, but its tail was only as long as Fang Yun's palm. It looked like a small squirrel.
Fang Yun carefully checked the little fox's wounds. They had already formed scabs and did not need any special treatment.
When they arrived at the city gates, Fang Yun asked Fang Daniu to stop the carriage. He then carried the little fox and got off the carriage.
The city walls of the Great Origin Mansion were four feet tall and were stacked with bluestones. They were impregnable and looked very safe. It was said that a great scholar was in charge of the construction.
There were five armored soldiers on both sides of the city gates. They did not check the passing carriages or collect taxes.
Fang Yun walked in front of one of the soldiers and asked, "I picked up a fox on the way and want to raise it myself. However, I don't know if it's a demon beast. Is there any way to test it?"
When the soldier saw that Fang Yun was wearing a child's robe, he replied, "This place is enveloped by the power of the Sacred Temple. If there's something wrong with this fox, the Sacred Temple will immediately suppress it. You can bring it in at any time. "
"Thank you." Fang Yun thanked the soldier and returned to the carriage.
Fang Daniu continued driving the carriage to the residence that Liang Yuan had chosen.
Fang Yun had never been to the Great Origin Mansion before. However, no matter how prosperous it was, it couldn't be compared to the world of commerce. Therefore, he wasn't interested. He was thinking about how to set up a bookstore and what books to sell first.
Yang Yuhuan was different. She opened the curtains and looked at the Great Origin Mansion curiously. It was much bigger than Ji County and there was an endless stream of people coming and going.
The Great Origin Mansion was the capital of Jiang Province and was also the political center of Jiang Province. However, the military and commercial center of Jiang Province wasn't in the Great Origin Mansion. Instead, it was in the Jade Sea Prefecture 250 kilometers away. It was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and just outside the city was the Eastern Sea. It was a place of trade between Jingguo and the people of the sea. It was extremely prosperous.
Liang Yuan had arrived at the Great Origin Mansion five days ago. He had sent a letter to Fang Yun yesterday and helped Fang Yun choose a cheap single-family courtyard to rent for three months at five taels of silver per month. At the same time, he also chose a bookstore that was ready to be sold. Once Fang Yun arrived, he could go to the authorities to complete the procedures.
According to the address on the letter, the carriage arrived at the Old Stone Alley where Liang Yuan was waiting.
Fang Yun alighted from the carriage and exchanged pleasantries with Liang Yuan. As they walked, they discussed in detail about the residence and the bookstore.
The residence was slightly smaller than Fang Yun's residence and was a very ordinary small courtyard. However, Fang Yun didn't mind. When the bookstore became profitable in the future, he would buy a bigger courtyard to live in.
After a little tidying up and having lunch, Fang Yun left with Yang Yuhuan and Liang Yuan to sign the rental contract before heading to the Great Origin Mansion's Fang Residence. He had promised to give the Great Origin Mansion's Fang Family 10% of the shares and wanted to use the Fang Family's name to prevent others from finding trouble with him, especially the Liu Family.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Fang Residence. The door was wide open, and the signboard above the door had the words "Fang Residence" written on it.
Fang Yun looked inside and saw that it wasn't a large courtyard with many entrances and exits, but a garden.
Behind the door was a cobblestone path with gardens on both sides. The cobblestone path separated when it reached a fake mountain, behind which should be the main garden.
Two black-clothed servants stood at the door. However, one of them had no left arm, while the other had an eyepatch covering his right eye. Both of them had firm expressions and seemed to have served in the army.
Fang Yun felt even more respect for Fang Shouye. No wonder people said that Fang Shouye was the number one hero of the Great Origin Mansion.
Fang Yun cupped his hands and said, "Greetings to the two of you. I am Fang Yun from Ji County, the nephew of Uncle Fang Shouye. I have agreed with Uncle to discuss the matter of the bookstore becoming a shareholder."
One of the servants immediately said, "The general received an urgent report yesterday and has already returned to Jade Sea City. The First Madam has instructed us to bring the proposal to her directly. Please follow me."
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Thank you." Then, he indicated for Yang Yuhuan and Liang Yuan to follow.
The servant brought the trio around the fake mountain and arrived at the second courtyard. However, there were no houses in the second courtyard. It was still filled with fake mountains, flowing water, flowers, and trees. Apart from the door they came from, there were three arched doors in the east, west, and north, each leading to a different courtyard.
Moreover, there were two courtyards in the east and west, and even more doors and courtyards.
'The legendary nouveau riches are indeed worthy of being from a prestigious family.' Fang Yun thought to himself.
After arriving at the third courtyard, Fang Yun finally saw the main hall of the Fang Residence. That hall was even bigger than Fang Yun's courtyard combined.
In the innermost part of the main hall were two armchairs, with six square tables on the left and right, and chairs on both sides.
However, there was no one in the main hall.
The servant had Fang Yun sit in the main hall before telling him to go look for the First Madam.
Liang Yuan looked around furtively and whispered excitedly, "Fang Yun, it seems like the Fang family values you. They brought you straight to the main hall. If it were anyone else, they would have to wait in the side hall. This is a prestigious family. Even a normal High Scholar would have to wait in the side hall. "
Yang Yuhuan nodded her head as she placed her hands on her lap, looking very uncomfortable.
Fang Yun, on the other hand, generously sized up the main hall. As expected of a prestigious and scholarly family of two generations. There were ancient vases, calligraphy treasures, potted plants, mountains and rivers in the main hall. It was elegant and simple, without a trace of extravagance.
On the wall, there was a couplet:
Grey mountains like dusk, still rely on the red sun to look down on the wind and clouds.
The setting sun dripped with blood, still looking at the green heart.
Fang Yun couldn't help but nod his head.
"Xiao Yun is here? Your uncle has always praised you. Let Auntie take a look at our Fang family's Qilin. "
Before she arrived, her voice could be heard. Her tone was filled with surprise and enthusiasm.
The three of them stood up immediately as they heard the jingle of jade ornaments. The beaded curtains on the east side of the main hall were pulled open by two young maidservants. A graceful and elegant middle aged woman walked in.
This woman was wearing a long red dress. Although she wasn't very beautiful, her eyes were delicate and pretty. Her smile was very kind.
Behind this person was a younger middle aged woman. She was wearing a green dress and had a smile on her face. However, her smile was fake.
Fang Yun wasn't sure who the person behind the First Madam was. He clasped his hands and said, "Nephew greets Auntie."
Yang Yuhuan and Liang Yuan hurriedly bowed as well, but didn't speak.
The First Madam smiled, "What a handsome young man. No wonder Shouye praised you so much. Come, let Auntie take a good look. Oh right, this is your second aunt. We were just talking about you. "
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