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Chapter 345: The Money House And The Brothel

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

That afternoon, Fan Xian received the officials related to the palace treasury transport at his temporary residence. The other Jiangnan officials had been scared off by him, but these palace treasury officials were his direct subordinates and unable to hide; they could only tough it out. Fortunately, Fan Xian had long shed the dark and cold facade he wore beside the lake and was able to laugh with them a little as they talked. He also set their departure date and saw them out of the manor in an amiable manner, which momentarily confused the officials.

The welcoming banquet that night was prepared by Jiangnan Inn. For similar reasons, the officials of the counties and provinces along the river all just sat for a little while before leaving. They had met the requirements dedicated by etiquette and, furthermore, court regulations did not allow them to stay in Suzhou for long. It was easy to find reasons to be as far away as possible from Commissioner Fan.

Only the officials of the Suzhou government could not leave. They sat trembling with fear at the head table alongside Fan Xian, Jiangnan Governor Xue Qing and inspector general Dai Sicheng, who were drinking and talking merrily. The atmosphere was very harmonious.

The seated Suzhou Zhizhou had a bitter face and gave forced laughs. The Hangzhou Zhizhou knew that the imperial envoy was staying for the long-term in Hangzhou. He had toughened his skin and forced himself to stay. However, from the perspective of the Suzhou officials' murderous gaze, he was constantly fawning on Fan Xian and the governor. This Hangzhou Zhizhou was truly a man with extensive experience, and he wasn't too afraid of Fan Xian's method of falling out and becoming hostile. He was set on the fact that currying favor with his superior, regardless of time and place, was never the wrong thing to do.

After the banquet, Fan Xian first saw the governor into his official carriage. The two of them determined that Fan Xian would come visit the Xue Manor the next day. Only after this did Fan Xian raise his hands toward the officials in the restaurant in farewell and boarded his own carriage.

…

…

He was still the same as ever, he liked to ride carriages not sedan chairs.

The curtain at the front of the carriage had not been drawn, so the night air of Suzhou City blew in. Light and clear music also drifted into his ears. Jiangnan was wealthy and populous. Wealthy merchants owned many talented performers, and the brothels in Suzhou and Hangzhou were famously good.

Fan Xian gently slapped his own cheeks and allowed the night air to blow away the light flush. Although a lot of the zhenqi in his body had recovered, his alcohol tolerance had not yet returned. Under the pressure of the officials, he was actually feeling a little dizzy.

"The Hangzhou address is set. What about Suzhou City?" He asked lightly as he half closed his eyes to rest.

Shi Chanli sat beside him and he thought for a while before replying. "Sang Wen won't arrive until the middle of the month…I…I…"

Fan Xian smiled, he opened his eyes and sighed. "I know it's not fair to have you do these things, just bear it for another year or two. You know that there are not that many people I trust beside me."

He and Shi Chanli discussed the plan to start a Baoyue Brothel down south. The brothel business was not only the quickest to see profits, but also often had unexpected uses such as intelligence reports. When Fan Xian was in Jingdou, he had decided to move his brothel to Jiangnan. Although there would be much opposition, given his identity and power, it wouldn't be a problem to have a little success within a year.

Shi Chanli asked, "Sir, can this matter be postponed? After all, you are leaving for the palace treasury the day after tomorrow. Without a pillar in Suzhou, when it comes to choosing a location, buying a building, and buying girls, I'm afraid I won't be imposing enough."

"I'm not here, but there is the Third Prince…" A dark smile flashed through Fan Xian's eyes. "I'm going to pick out a few teachers for the Third Prince tomorrow. Although he will go with me to Hangzhou in the future, this time he will stay in Suzhou…don't forget what business this prince runs in Jingdou. He might be young, but he is knowledgeable of how things are done. With the prince making an appearance, the governor will not be able to say much. You can buy whichever building you want. As for those popular girls…spend more money. What cannot be solved? With the prince supporting you, you won't have to worry about the Jiangnan brothel owners playing dirty with you. Since it's all above board, it's just a matter of throwing money at their games. Are you worried that you won't have enough silver?"

Shi Chanli stared dumbfoundedly and thought: The Emperor wants you to educate the Third Prince, are you…did you think from the beginning to use the Third Prince to open a brothel? That is too disgraceful!

He also thought of another matter. Why did he have so much money on hand? The 138,880 liang of snowy white ingots could certainly not be touched. Considering what he said earlier, he must be carrying a lot of banknotes. Thinking of this worried Shi Chanli. "If we are buying openly, then the Jiangnan brothel business will certain take the opportunity to raise prices…money will flow like water. I don't know how many days we can keep it up."

At this moment, the carriage rolled across the clean stone paths of Suzhou. They passed through a gate and arrived at a place commercial district bustling during the day.

Even at night, the signs of the stores on the street remained brilliantly lit. Suzhou was the biggest port from where the palace treasury productions were sent out. Thus, just speaking of the degree of wealth and business development, other than Dongyi City, there was not another city in the world that could compare to it. The glass sold here was four-fifths cheaper than in Northern Qi. However, Fan Xian understood clearly the production costs of things like glass and knew that the merchants had made bank over the last decades.

Other than the shop signs of the various merchants, something that stood out was that every little while there was a hanging green cloth. What was noticeable was not the glow-in-the-dark material that were dyed into the cloth, but the fact that these green cloths were not fluttering in front of restaurants. Drawn on these green cloths was an image similar to that of the Fan clan crest.

On this street alone, there were eight to nine money houses.

Fan Xian sat in the carriage as they slowly drove in silence on the street. When they passed a somewhat new green cloth, he pointed at the door of this money house and lowered his voice, saying, "Even if you are completely broke, do not come to this money house."

Hearing these words, Shi Chanli had a look but didn't see clearly. He thought for a while then asked, "Zhaoshang? Never heard of them. It's not like it's the Taiping money house. Who will dare do business with them?"

Fan Xian smiled and didn't say anything.

As businesses gradually expanded, it became a difficult matter to complete big deals with cash. Banknotes had gradually become something merchants liked, thus organizations such as money houses and money exchanges began to show their importance. the existence of organizations like money houses were most valued based on their creditability and confidence. Thus, in this part of jianghu, there does not exist the situation of the big fish eating the small. After decades, the only big fish remained the same ones.

The three big fish were South Kingdom, Northern Qi, and Dongyi City.

The banknotes that South Kingdom and Northern Qi distributed were also known as official notes, and, of course, they had the best creditworthiness. However, the officials in court were simply not aware of their importance. It was troublesome to exchange official notes. Their lack of flexibility made one's hair stand on end in frustration. So other than saving for a coffin, normal merchants would choose the money lending operation opened by Dongyi City, Taiping.

Although Taiping was built on capital from Dongyi City, rumors said that some of the royalty and nobility from South Kingdom and Northern Qi had also bought shares. Thus, no matter how the three countries fought and killed each other, the money house itself was, miraculously, not impacted much. After 20 or 30 years, the reputation of the Taiping was first rate, with deep funds and considerate service. With the secret protection of the upper echelons of each country, it naturally became the world's biggest money house.

Just on this street, the Taiping money house had three branches. Fan Xian look coldly at the green cloth fluttering outside and said, "If you need to withdraw money, do it from Taiping."

Shi Chanli made a sound of agreement.

"Take out as much as you want," Fan Xian said calmly. "Before I leave, I will give you the stamp and numbers. Don't be petty and afraid to spend money."

Take out as much as you want? How could there be such a good thing in the world? Shi Chanli paused and said, "Is this Taiping money house owned by you, Sir?"

Fan Xian smiled and scolded, "If I had that much money, everything would be easily solved. Why would I bother with those people?"

Shi Chanli was his confidante and knew that he was talking about Northern Qi. Feeling slightly nervous, he didn't comment. As he thought of Northern Qi he considered the palace treasury and matter of it opening in a few days. If Fan Xian wanted to fund Xia Qifei to compete against the Ming family for the bets, then he would need a terrifyingly large amount of capital. He furrowed his brows. "Sir, the palace treasury desperately needs money. If it isn't a good time, I think we should postpone opening shop."

Fan Xian shook his head. "The money you need and the money the palace treasury needs to bid with are at two completely different levels, so you don't need to worry. As for opening shop, it should be done quickly. First, we have to act while the prince is still in Suzhou. He is probably interested, and it would be easier. Second…"

He thought of the father he left in Jingdou and couldn't help laughing. "Second, these Jiangnan girls are waiting for the Fan family to rescue them. One day earlier is still one day earlier."

These words were not false. Ever since Jingdou set rules for Baoyue Brothel and was supplemented by that Shi Qing'er girl—although the girls of Baoyue Brothel were still in the flesh business—their days were much better than before. Less was taken from their share. There were regularly scheduled doctor visits, and they signed a novel labor contract. The Baoyue Brothel girls were deeply grateful to Fan Xian. The momentum and influence spread, and now all of the brothels in Jingdou demonstrated a sense of healthy advancement and being in the sun.

If Baoyue Brothel could really open a branch in Jiangnan, the Liu Rushi's of Jiangnan would probably be very happy about the arrival of the imperial envoy Fan.

…

…

After they returned to the manor the salt merchant had happily offered up, Fan Xian accepted the bowl of hot soup Sisi handed over. Besides sobering him up, it also warmed his body. He leaned on the table to read a few reports from the Council. Seeing that the world was peaceful, he relaxed. He had Sisi go to the inner chambers and sleep while he went out. Wearing a thick coat, he rubbed his hands and knocked on the door to another room.

The Tiger Guards and Sixth Bureau swordsman behind him quickly hid in the darkness.

The room door opened with a squeak and revealed Haitang's sleepy face.

Without waiting for Haitang to speak, Fan Xian uttered in surprise, "It's so early, are you already sleeping?"

Haitang smiled slightly and let him into the room. She turned up the brightness slightly of the smokeless oil lamp and said quietly, "This merchant's house is incredibly extravagant, and this bed is very comfortable. I figured you might be drunk after tonight's welcoming banquet, so I washed and slept."

Fan Xian stared and realized that the girl's clothing was not very thick, just a very plain short coat. He furrowed his brows and said, "Wear more clothes. Although your realm is high, the cold is nothing to laugh at."

Haitang didn't bother acknowledging him. She yawned and half propped her chin up on the bed. "What do you want? Speak quickly."

Fan Xian paused. He had forgot what he had come to say. Last night, after he had boarded the ship from Jingdou, Haitang had disappeared without a sound. It wasn't until later that she mysteriously appeared in the garden. Perhaps he was only here to confirm whether she was back or not Or perhaps he had grown accustomed to chatting with this Northern girl sage like an old friend?

"It's difficult for me to get drunk." Fan Xian was a quick-witted person. He smiled slightly and replied to her first sentence, "You know I'm a coward, so I don't get drunk unless it's with someone I completely trust."

"So you can only get recklessly drunk at home?" Haitang opened her bright eyes and asked.

Fan Xian shook his head. "Other than being completely trusted, I have to believe that when I'm drunk, the person beside me is capable of protecting my safety."

Haitang smiled and understood what he was saying. However, she immediately felt sorry for him. "Don't tell me, you've gotten to this age and have only gotten drunk once at the Songhe Inn in Shangjing City?"

In Shangjing, Northern Qi, Fan Xian had drunk recklessly in front of Haitang until he became dazed and lost consciousness. He had also been drugged with an aphrodisiac and fell into the biggest trap of his life.

Fan Xian said with annoyance, "You have the face to mention that…of course." He couldn't see the sympathy in Haitang's eyes and said coldly and proudly, "I used to get drunk a lot when I was young, so don't think too highly of yourself."

Haitang smiled. "At that time, that blind master was always beside you?"

Fan Xian didn't reply.

Haitang furrowed her brows. "Then that legendary story of you being poetically inspired after getting drunk and composing a thousand poems in the Qing palace…are those all lies?"

Fan Xian waved his hand. He didn't want to continue this boring topic with her. "Has the silver arrived?"

Haitang sighed in resignation and sat down. She met her eyes and nodded. "His Majesty has been making arrangements since August. You don't need to worry."

Fan Xian smiled self-deprecatingly. "How can I not worry? In this matter, I can't have my old man move silver from the national treasury for me to use."

"Speaking of which," Haitang said as she frowned, "you actually brought hundreds of thousands of liang of silver with you. Are you stupid? I don't believe it was only for the purpose of showing off your might at the riverside reception."

Fan Xian thought this was an unwilling arrangement. How can I tell you inside information? I can't tell anyone about this.

"It is only some useless silver. What's there to be afraid of?"

"You've served as an official for less than two years, yet you have this much silver with you." Haitang gave a not quite there smile. "Including yours and your father's official salaries, you will still probably need more than a hundred years to save up this amount of silver. How are you going to explain this to the officials?"

Fan Xian shook his head. "Don't forget, my Fan clan is a big clan. Family estates are where the money truly comes from."

"Oh? A family that is able to easily take out this much silver…are there not any illegal activities? Be careful, the Imperial Censorate will probably write you up for this."

"So what?" Fan Xian smiled. "Even if my family doesn't have this much money, the palace knows my business has done well these two years. They won't be suspicious of me."

"One brothel, a dozen bookstores…can earn this much money?" Haitang asked doubtfully.

"Don't underestimate second brother's ability to accumulate wealth. Of course, having been an official in court for two years, I've received plenty of benefits, most of which are buried in that chest. I had to change all this into tidy ingots before I left the capital. If I hadn't had my old man's help in bringing in some from the treasury, I would have really been stuck. Once all this is over, the so-called bribes will have mixed in with this clean money, and the court won't have anything to say. Although, to gather enough silver I had to put as much silver in the businesses under my name as possible. What is in Jingdou is just an empty eggshell."

It was only now that Haitang knew he had such plans and couldn't help feeling a little disdainful. "Given your position, why do you care so much about cleaning the bribery money?"

"I…have my uses."

"Your silver is all in the chest and not easy to move with thousands of eyes on it," she said. "What are you going to do when you need money in the future?"

Fan Xian smiled slightly. "Don't I have you? And there is that loveable Emperor. The money he's put into the Taiping money house this time is not a small sum. I think he won't mind if a grab some conveniently to use."

Haitang paused. She realized that when talking about fighting and plotting, she was certainly not beneath Fan Xian. In the area of sneakily earning money, she and her people were too far from the Fan family. In the following days, she needed to keep a close eye out.

The scene was indeed absurdly funny. Fan Xian and Haitang were both figures that the world considered elegant and removed, yet in a room on a gloomy night, they talked about silver, banknotes, money houses, and money laundering—topics that stank of bronze.

In the main hall, the candlelight burned tall and the big chest of silver that represented the spirit of Fan Xian's Jiangnan affairs sat openly.

Everybody who passed by couldn't resist having a look. There were guards everywhere, as well as swordsman of the Sixth Bureau hiding in the shadows protecting it. The hundreds of thousands of liang of silver brought greedy looks into people's eyes. If they wanted to steal this chest of silver, the infamous bandits and petty thieves were better off going straight for the government warehouse and stealing government silver. Their chances of success there were probably higher.

This chest was just open widely like this, lying in front of everyone. Its belly of snow-white silver ingots exuded a brilliance that lured in and devoured the soul. A faint and cold sense of danger emitted from the chest.

…

…

After a few more days, Fan Xian, who had caused such a ruckus in the entire Jiangnan Road, finally left Suzhou. He and his men followed the official road southwest heading for the palace treasury transport. Although the Third Prince remained in Suzhou, the officials all let out a big breath. They thought as long as Commissioner Fan was not here, it would be simple to fool a little kid.

The Third Prince did not know what the officials were thinking, otherwise given his ruthless personality and hot temper, who knew what kind of new trouble he could cause.

These days, he was already feeling angry. Fan Xian went to the palace treasury and had the audacity not to bring him. The palace treasury was once the property of the Ye family and indirectly supported the Qing Kingdom's ability to stabilize and expand. It could even be said that the Qing Kingdom depended on the palace to live, so naturally it had become the place in the kingdom most heavily guarded. The restrictions were even stricter than those of the palace. In the legends of the people, it was out of the realm of the Five Thunders and controlled by the gods. To be able to visit the palace treasury and have a look was the desire of countless commoners.

Although the Third Prince had the honor of a prince, he was still curious in his heart about the palace treasury. Without the special permission of the Emperor, even princes had no right to go to the palace treasury. He had thought that coming with Fan Xian to Jiangnan would give him a chance to fulfil his wish, but who would have thought that Fan Xian would leave him in Suzhou.

With a slapping sound, a well-learned middle-aged scholar crawled out looking battered and exhausted, and couldn't stop howling and crying. The Third Prince followed him out and fiercely cursed, "Father wanted Fan Xian to be the teacher! If he dares to run, then I dare to kick people!"

The servants in the manor all kept quiet out of fear. Now that the imperial envoy had left, who dared to offend this little master? He even dared to kick the tutor the governor had carefully selected. If they said too much, wouldn't it mean certain death?

In the midst of his anger, the Third Prince noticed, from the corner of his eye, a man moving sneakily along the corridor heading out. He quickly yelled for them to stop and walked over to have a look. He found it was Fan Xian's confidant, Shi Chanli.

Although he was arrogant and ruthless, he couldn't do much to Shi Chanli for Fan Xian's sake. He asked, "Where are you going, Sir Shi?"

Shi Chanli leaped in fright and said, to curry favor, "Greetings, Your Highness. I am going out for a walk."

The Third Prince paused briefly and then said, "I haven't seen the fun parts of Suzhou. You have to take me with you."

Shi Chanli begged for mercy. "Your Highness, teacher has left strict orders and homework for you these few days. If you don't finish it, then what will we do? Besides, if teacher knew I had taken Your Highness out to play, that is also a big offense."

The Third Prince drew together his thin brows and sneered, "I'll do the work, only…" He looked at Shi Chanli, and his twinkling eyes smiled. "You have to tell me. Why have you not followed teacher to the palace treasury and stayed in Suzhou, and where are you going at this time?"

Shi Chanli was blocked by this question. He hesitated for a while, then began to speak only to stop again. Finally he lowered his voice and gave a pained laugh, "It is not like Your Highness does not know that I, poor me, have been ordered by teacher to do that profession."

The Third Prince's eyes lit up. "So…Baoyue Brothel is going to open in Suzhou?"

Shi Chanli was slightly startled and covered his mouth, like he was extremely vexed at himself for having let it slip.

The Third Prince chuckled coldly a few times, but he was overjoyed. If he could go back to his old trade, it would be much better than just sitting in this garden. His shares in the Jingdou branch had been forcefully taken by Fan Xian. Now that he knew Fan Xian was a man of practical morals and learning on the surface, how could he pass up this opportunity?

Watching the Third Prince's reaction, Shi Chanli felt admiration for his teacher, who was able to take into consideration every possibility.

Chapter 346: The Way A Gentleman Obtains Wealth

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The sky was big, and the earth was big, but none were greater than a gentleman. Without the gentleman, the teacher was leader. If the teacher traveled far, then the gentleman[JW1] was the greatest leader. The so-called gentleman was not the opposite of the mean man[JW2], rather it was the proper son of the gentleman. That is to say, the person who was still small, the Third Prince, was currently the biggest leader in Suzhou. Thus, Shi Chanli was not worried about much. After pretending to be distressed for a moment, he finally agreed to the prince's requests.

The Third Prince fiercely ordered the housemaids and eunuchs, who had just been chased out of the palace, to stay in the manor. He then casually took Shi Chanli and a few guards and left the manor. Seeing the little master disappear beyond the door, the eunuchs and housemaids began to shake with fear. They thought that without the commissioner present, everything had turned on its head. They couldn't resist offering up a prayer for the commissioner to hurry back. How could they guess that it was originally Fan Xian who wanted to borrow the Third Prince's identity to put pressure on people?

It was rare for the Third Prince to have an opportunity like this to play, so he was not in a rush. The group of people changed their outfits, disguising themselves as the young masters of a wealthy family. Shi Chanli, with fear, accepted the role of older brother. The Third Prince was naturally the younger brother. Sitting in the carriage, they went around Suzhou and saw many scenes. They also saw a few pleasure boats on the lake. Only then did the Third Prince's interest begin to wane.

"The weather is too cold, and the girls are wearing too much. How can we see the romance?" With an air of nobility, the young master furrowed his brows. "Let's choose the place first. I'll have to put some effort into the business Fan Xian wants to do, otherwise if I tell him you just took me around randomly he will probably be angry."

Shi Chanli secretly celebrated. It should have been like this long ago.

The problem of choosing a location was easily solved. They just had to find where in Suzhou was the liveliest. The group of people pushed their way in and found the busiest street in the area. They then looked around a bit and found there were already many brothels; this was already a developed hot area. With this, they set their general direction.

In this large area of the city, they examined whichever building had the best appearance and looked into whichever building appeared the most impressive. This group easily found their match. It was a restaurant that took up the best location on the street. It was a spacious and extravagant three-story building. The yard wall could be faintly seen in the back, and it took up a lot of land.

The Third Prince waved his little hand. "No need to keep looking. I think this one is the best."

Shi Chanli was unspeakably delighted. Managing Baoyue Brothel in Jingdou, he had been in business for a little while, but he had never thought that taking the prince to pick an address could be efficient to this extent. When doing things with money and power, it was indeed clean and tidy.

However, as he stood in front of the restaurant, he had a thought and said in a small voice, "This place is too conspicuous. I think there has to be some background to this."

The Third Prince paused and asked, "Whose family background is bigger than mine in this world?"

Shi Chanli opened his mouth wide and couldn't say anything for a while. He forced down a mouthful of blood and carefully spoke, "What if the governor has shares or the inspector general? Although I don't care, we do need to give these officials some face."

Although the Third Prince was young, he was not a foolish person. He realized this was indeed the case. Governor Xue Qing was not someone he could lightly offend. Besides, he and his people had come all the way from Jingdou, it would not look good to take face away from major Jiangnan officials.

As he looked at the location of this restaurant, the more he looked, the more he wanted. The more he gazed, the better it looked. He furrowed his thin brows and thought for a while before saying, "We should still ask. If we let such a perfect location pass, even if Fan Xian won't feel bad about it, I'll feel heart sore for days."

This group had been standing outside the restaurant for a while. They had only been paying attention to the structure and were blocking the entrance. They weren't buying, only looking. As they stood outside the door pointing and whispering secretively, they immediately drew the attention of the people on the street. The people saw that their clothes were bright and guards were strong. They didn't look like people of the jianghu, so the merchants on the street restrained their gossip-loving hearts.

However, the shopkeeper of the restaurant was forced to go out. Pushing a professional smile on his face he asked, "Sirs, would you like to come in to try our restaurant's signature dish? This is the Zhuyuan Restaurant. Along with the Jiangnan Inn, we are known together as the Suzhou Two. We do have some very good food."

He saw that the group in front of him came from somewhere else. Their identities shouldn't be vulgar, thus he treated them carefully. Naturally, the Zhuyuan Restaurant had a background, but this merchant had a clever and nimble heart. He only talked business. Nothing in his speech showed any sense of accusing them of blocking the building.

Shi Chanli was startled and said with a warm smile, "We are really very sorry. We weren't paying attention just then. Please don't take offense."

The shopkeeper quickly replied that he was too kind. The Third Prince did not have the patience for the slow pace. "Let's go in and sit down before we talk." He then led the group of people in to the building. At the end he tossed out another order, "Shopkeeper, arrange for a quiet room. There are some things I would like to inquire about."

The shopkeeper paused, thinking the older brother hadn't spoken, so how come he rushed ahead? Shi Chanli coughed a few times to cover it up and followed him into the building.

The group had not yet taken their seats in one of the room before the shopkeeper entered to personally look after them. The Third Prince didn't waste words. "Shopkeeper, are you selling this building?"

The shopkeeper had been surprised many times today. He thought that this young master's attitude was not small, but he had dealt with countless difficult situations in his life and so he smiled respectfully. "Young master, at the moment, this building is doing good business. It doesn't seem like the owner has thoughts to sell it."

"Pray ask, what is the owner's surname?" Shi Chanli was quietly angry at His Highness' impatience and asked in a warm, even tone.

Neither servile nor overbearing, the shopkeeper replied, "The owner's surname is Qian."

…

…

After the shopkeeper left, Shi Chanli frowned and said, "This is our first trip to Suzhou. We don't know anything about the connections in Suzhou. We have no idea who this Qian person is."

The Third Prince stood up and pushed open the window in the room. He started unconsciously, as if he had seen something strange.

Shi Chanli felt curious and stood behind him to see out the window. He was momentarily stunned in place.

They saw the back garden of the Zhuyuan Restaurant. Incredibly there was a flat lake in the garden. Although the lake was not wide, it was quiet and secluded. The two walls of the garden separated it from the noisy market. The grass in the garden was not yet green, but it was easy to see how beautiful the scene would be in spring.

"It's like…"

Both of then sighed at the same time. The comparison here was of course between the design behind this building and that of the Baoyue Brothel in Jingdou. If they built a few quiet and secluded yards on the grass, it would a twin of the Baoyue Brothel in Jingdou.

Seeing the back garden of the Zhuyuan Restaurant, both the former and later managers of the Baoyue Brothel were swayed enormously—they had to buy this building.

"Buy it!"

With great mutual understanding, the Third Prince and Shi Chanli both spoke at the same time again. They laughed out loud. The rest of the matter was simple. After they went back, they would think of a way to investigate the Zhuyuan Restaurant's background. They only hoped there wouldn't be anyone too strong in the background. If it involved officials who were too high ranking, things would become rather complicated

The Third Prince was so young, so where did all his sighs come from? "If Fan Sizhe was here, he would probably sue the owner of this restaurant. He would point his finger at their nose and say the other person shamelessly copied his design."

Shi Chanli thought for a bit. The second young master Fan did indeed have that kind of personality. He couldn't help huffing out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" The Third Prince gave him a glare. "That cousin of mine is even darker than the older cousin…of course, neither of them are kind souls. They forcefully used a crafty escape plan, bullying me because of my youth, and cheated me of my shares. Don't forget, you played a part in this too!"

Shi Chanli shrank back and did not dare comment.

The group of people had a meal in the room. They greatly approved of the chef's abilities. It inspired the Third Prince to want to take the chef along with the building.

After they finished eating and were about to leave, the shopkeeper had urgently come back to their room. With a face full of sweat, he saluted them again. As he wiped away sweat he said in a small voice, "Sirs, could we discuss your earlier offer to buy the building again?"

The Third Prince and his group were curious. It was clear that this building's business was booming. Furthermore, when this topic was brought up earlier, it was clear that the other party had defenses. How come his attitude had changed so much?

Shi Chanli asked, "Shopkeeper, what do you mean?"

The shopkeeper laughed hollowly and said, "The owner heard of this matter earlier and thought that since the business has not been as good as previous years, he might as well let it go if there were guests offering a price. He only hoped that the guests would give an appropriate price. The other thing was…he hoped that after this building changed hands, the guests would manage it well."

Shi Chanli found it strange and was just about to ask more questions, when the Third Prince got ahead and smiled sweetly, "Naturally. We are also business people. Of course we will manage this building well. Only, you mentioned an appropriate price earlier. I wonder what price would be considered appropriate?"

The room immediately became silent.

The shopkeeper froze. He wondered if this young master was asking him to set the price. The owner hadn't given instructions. How could he give a price? It seemed the owner intended to offer it up with both hands, but the other party didn't seem to realize this.

The sweat on his forehead came faster, and his face reddened as if the chill of spring had turned into the hottest months of the year. After a long while, the shopkeeper finally gathered enough courage and extended four fingers.

Shi Chanli paused. The guards in the room paused too, thinking, 40,000 liang? No matter how famous the lion heads[JW3] were here, no lion opened its mouth that wide.

Seeing the other party didn't comment, the shopkeeper felt a bit scared and quickly drew back three of the fingers, leaving just one solitary finger standing.

Shi Chanli almost spat again. This price drop was truly strange. He didn't have to say anything and the price dropped from 40,000 liang to 10,000 liang in the blink of an eye. After some thought, he felt that this price was pretty good. He nodded and said, "Although 10,000 liang isn't much…but…"

The shopkeeper's legs went soft and he almost cried, "Sir, you have it wrong, wrong."

Shi Chanli was surprised, "Wrong about what?"

"It's…1,000 liang," The shopkeeper managed to squeeze out an innocent smile. "Not 10,000 liang."

Shi Chanli swallowed back his third mouthful of blood today. Before he had time to say anything, the Third Prince said, "Bring the contract." Looking at his expression, he seemed to have come prepared.

The shopkeeper immediately went out to invite in the government-approved middleman into the room and began to write the contract. When it came to write the price of the deal, the Third Prince smiled sweetly and said, "16,000 liang. I won't take advantage of you. I'll give you two-tenths of the silver because I think the owner probably doesn't want to sell. Consider the two-tenths a comfort fee."

Although the Third Prince wore common clothing today, he naturally showed a noble air. The shopkeeper was greatly surprised, but he didn't dare comment further. Having finished writing the contract, both sides put their fingerprints to it and agreed to deliver the goods and settle the bill tomorrow at the bank.

After carefully seeing this group of people out of the restaurant, the shopkeeper let out a breath. He wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead with some fear and walked into a quiet room on the third floor after he head steadied his spirit. He then handed the contract to a young man.

This young man's face was upright and honorable. His eyes were warm and spirited. It was indeed the young master of the Ming family who had appeared at the Loushang Tower beside the West Lake, Ming Lanshi.

He received the contract and scanned it, hatred and disappointment flashed through his eyes before he turned his hand around and slapped him. With a clap, the shopkeeper covered his face with his hand and looked fearfully at the young master, not knowing what he had done wrong.

"Useless bastard!" Ming Lanshi's heart was filled with anger, although his face stayed calm. A chill crept into his words. "You can't even manage to give away silver!"

He was here by a happy coincidence today. After the family meeting, Ming Shilan had remained in Suzhou. Hearing that the shopkeeper said that someone wanted to buy the building, and hearing the descriptions of their appearance and clothing, this heir to the Ming family hazily guessed a few things. Afterward, a busboy overheard the name Fan Sizhe. He immediately confirmed their identities. He reacted quickly and prepared to offer Zhuyuan Guan with both hands.

Unexpectedly, the other party didn't take any advantages. 16,000 liang of silver was not a small sum.

Not only did this sum not take any advantage, it was actually quite a bit higher than the market value. How could this sum make a difference for the Ming family? Ming Shilan had wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Third Prince did not yet know who the owner was to first give away the building, even if it was at a low price.

His main purpose was, of course, to curry favor with the other party. If the other party didn't acknowledge this favor in the future…with this one contract sent to Jingdou, it would be evidence of Fan Xian and the Third Prince forcefully buying public property. When the Eldest Princess wanted to make a case before the Emperor it, would be easy to find an excuse.

Unexpectedly, that young Third Prince refused to take this advantage. Were the rumors from Jingdou wrong? This prince was not as greedy and ruthless as they said.

Ming Shilan sank into deep thought. He once again realized that the people his family had to face this time were hard to fathom. He closed his eyes and thought deeply for a while before quietly ordering, "Sir Fan's intentions are simple. We wants to open a brothel. Send the order down no one is allowed to sell girls to him, no matter how high the price!"

The shopkeeper made a sound of acknowledgement. Shortly after he gave a pained smiled and said, "Young master, if it is only our family that doesn't sell girls…there are many in this line of business in Suzhou. Those people will for sure not want to offend Sir Fan."

"Do they have any good girls on their hands?" Ming Shilan asked. "The good girls are all in our hands…let them go buy. How can a few leftovers attract customers?"

…

…

A carriage left the Zhuyuan Restaurant. The merchants around did not know that the Ming family had suffered such a loss. The most famous restaurant in Suzhou was about to change hands tomorrow. Although Shi Chanli rarely did shady things, at this moment he finally realized, and furrowed his brow to say, "Your Highness, it seems like the other party knew of your identity."

A look of annoyance flashed across the Third Prince's face that was still childishly innocent. "They're somewhat smart then."

Shi Chanli thought about it and couldn't resist opening his mouth to ask, "Your Highness, the price they asked for earlier was 1,000 liang, why…"

"Why would I raise the price myself?" The Third Prince smiled coldly. "Anyone who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions. Having guessed my identity, they were happy to offer this building with both hands, but what about the future? What they request will probably not be as simple as this building. If others bring their smiling face close, of course we cannot turn out hands and strike, but we also do not have to put our face close to join them. How many people in this world have the right to try and gain my friendship?"

Shi Chanli shook his head. "I wonder who the owner behind that restaurant is; they saw an opportunity very quickly."

The Third Prince replied, "Who cares who the other party is? If they want me to take advantage of them, then they certainly want to take advantage of me. You have to remember this, when you go out in the future don't randomly take advantage of other people, be careful of causing trouble for Fan Xian."

Shi Chanli felt incredible admiration in his heart for this little prince, he praised, "Your Highness' words are simple, but carry deep meaning."

In a clear and young voice, the Third Prince cursed, "Don't fawn on me. I finally had the chance to dress as a commoner and I was recognized."

Shi Chanli thought the prince was so young, yet he wanted to buy the building from the first step in. How was this the attitude of someone who wanted to conceal their identity? He also considered how the prince could resist taking an advantage worth tens of thousands of liang. It seemed very different from the initial ruthless personality he dealt with at Baoyue Brothel. Involuntarily, suspicion flashed through his eyes.

He didn't know if the Third Prince had seen his expression, so he continued to speak, "Fan Xian once said, if I take advantage of the people in this world, the people will eventually take advantage of the court, and if I let people take advantage of the court, then I am a huge idiot who willingly gives out silver for other people to spend."

Shi Chanli was silent. He was secretly worried for his teacher. As a prince, to have this kind of belief indicated that the interests of the court would be the prince's own interests in the future. What did this represent?

The Crown Prince was still in place.

…

…

Not noticing Shi Chanli's internal alarm, the Third Prince smiled shyly and said, "Teacher has said before, gentlemen[JW4] love wealth and have their ways of obtaining it, but the wealth of a ruler is stored under heaven. What need is there to obtain it?"

Shi Chanli swallowed back his fourth mouthful of blood from an internal injury. His eyes were fixed on the constantly fluttering banners. He forcefully repressed the faint fear in his heart, pretending he had never heard these words.

"Doing business can be a hobby." The Third Prince chuckled. "Old Shi, your boldness is much less than that of my two cousins. You're not suited to doing business."

Shi Chanli moved his body slightly, allowing the damp cloth on his back to air out a little. He gave a pained smile and said, "Your Highness is right."

The Third Prince called for the carriage to stop. "We've arrived at the money house. You go and do your business. I'll go back to the manor first."

A sinister smile rose on the child's face. Who knew what he was pleased about?

Watching the carriage drive away, Shi Chanli quietly let out a breath. He called for the two guards with him to wait outside while he tidied his clothes and walked into a branch of Taiping money house.

Although the doorway of the new money house was desolate, it exuded an air of new nobility. That brand new green banner seemed to be mocking Shi Chanli's inflexibility and ignorance.

…

…

Far away from Suzhou, a large group of carriages with hundreds of people were making difficult passage in the dark and cold rainy days of the beginning of spring.

The department of palace treasury transport was not the same as the department of salt or department of tea. It had more business and bigger profits, furthermore, it was the only department with an actual transport department. All of the palace treasury production came from workshops and needed a vast area. Many years ago, the court marked out a piece of land to the north that gradually became a special zone. Its size was bigger than a small province, and its position was very special. Due to worries that the industrial arts of the production in the palace treasury would flow outside of the country, the Qing court put down blood capital on the work of protecting the palace treasury.

For the palace treasury territory, Qing Kingdom went with a completely sealed management technique. There were five blockade lines. The outermost one was the local Jiangnan navy and sailors. Of the inner four, the Qing Kingdom army and Overwatch Council each devised two. They supervised each other, layered like a multi-level fruit cake.

Other than the visible strict supervision on the outgoing transport line, there were numerous spies scattered along the way. Countless pairs of eyes watched the light from the shadows wondering if they watched the Ming family, the Cui family, or the representative of some other giant merchant.

Even though the Qing Kingdom had gone to such lengths, they still could not prevent the greedy gazes of other countries. In these decades, the palace treasury had countless incidences, and the Qing Kingdom had paid a great price for them. First and foremost was the silver needed to feed the army and guards each year. Of lesser note were the thousands of lives that had been lost for the wealth and glory of the Qing Kingdom—stealing intelligence reports and the fight of counter commercial spying was unusually bloody in this world.

This battle seemed like it would never end, and the Overwatch Council was the organization that paid the most in the battle. Who knew how many spies died in the darkness of the night? At least they ensured that up to today the palace treasury was safe.

The previous organizer of the Fourth Bureau, Yan Ruohai, and the older brother of the current Jingdou garrison Qing Heng, Qing Shan, were the two major people behind the arrangement of the original defenses. The two had once boasted that given the strength of the palace treasury, other than being unable to stand up against a great grandmaster, even a mosquito stained with perfume wouldn't be able to fly out.

The group of carriages were being checked through the last inspection. Fan Xian opened the curtain on the window and saw the hydraulic machine not far away beside the flowing river. He narrowed his eyes. Although it was only the rough beginnings of work, it was clear that the power of its movement could not leave the water.

A slight coldness appeared in his narrowed eyes. Without turning around he said warmly, "I have brought you here only for my personal safety. I do not wish for you to go to each workshop to see what is happening. If you are discovered by someone, I shouldn't have to tell you how serious the consequences will be. Even though you are a super powerful martial artists above the ninth-level, you may still not escape if the powers here give chase. Furthermore, although my injury has only half-recovered, I will also strike."

Behind him, Haitang, disguised as a servant girl, smiled slightly. She looked at Sisi beside her and didn't say anything.

[JW1]"君子" which translates, usually, into gentleman, however, it can also be translated more literally as "the son of a gentleman," which is a pun coming up.

[JW2]"小人" usually translates to "mean man" or "base man" (in comparison to the gentleman), but also literally translates to "small man/person," hence the pun that the Third Prince is a small person.

[JW3]狮子头– lion's head. A kind of gigantic meatball, and "to open one's mouth wide" is to ask for a lot.

[JW4]"君子"– gentlemen

"君"– ruler. A clever play on words in Mandarin. It doesn't affect meaning.

Chapter 347: Arriving At Shunde

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Fan Xian's gaze swept over the trees beside the road. Behind them were endless fields, and not far away was the sound of a flowing river. He looked further and further through all of this until his gaze landed on a big workshop some distance from the river. There were faint spirals of smoke rising from it. They were not the clear smoke of a rural family, instead it was black smoke that carried a familiar smell.

Was it a blast furnace?

The commoners in this large piece of land had all been taken into the palace treasury to do work. Their wages were much higher than planting grains, thus their focus on maintaining the fields had lightened. In the midst of this swathe of fertile land, wild weeds and new grains fought for growth. It looked very mixed and chaotic.

Fan Xian took a deep breath, smelling the freshness in the air, and felt himself feeling assured. It looked like the environmental pollution here was not as bad as he had imagined. The environment further out in the mines was much worse.

Looking at the scene before him, it seemed that a feeling he had lost long ago was returning. The feeling was coming warmly and not turbulently, and it made him a bit confused. Last year in September, he had felt there was something he craved from the depths of his heart, but he never found it.

Seeing him being absent-minded, Haitang put her hands in her sleeves like an old man and watched the handsome face by the window with furrowed brows. She also sank deep into thought. This young and powerful official—what exactly did he want to do?

"How do you feel?" she asked, seeing that Fan Xian's state of mind was unsettled.

Fan Xian replied quietly, "It should be me asking you that."

Haitang smiled. "It is indeed a rarely seen sight. I never thought that the palace treasury of the Qing Kingdom was so large. Those things I saw earlier, I couldn't even put names to them."

Fan Xian replied, "Just look. I imagine you won't be able to go back and make one like it."

A strange light appeared in Haitang's eyes. "You have such confidence in the palace treasury?"

Fan Xian paused slightly then quietly said, "It's not that I have confidence in the palace treasury.Instead, it's that if you could only look at the outside of these things that originally shouldn't have existed in this world and learn how to make them…That would be unbelievable."

Not knowing what she had thought of, Haitang was quiet for a while. She then said, "The people in the palace treasury these days are all trusted aides of Xinyang. How do you plan to take over?"

Fan Xian's eyebrow arched and a light smile appeared on his face. "Who cares whose people they were. Now, they are all mine."

Haitaing looked at him suspiciously. "You really plan to go to the death against them?"

Fan Xian quieted down and became serious. "This question of yours seems to have come a bit late."

Haitang furrowed her brows tightly. "I trust that your mother-in-law is not a muddled person and not able to see clearly the current situation. Logically speaking, no matter if it is you or her, you both have the desire to discuss anew and not get violent. Furthermore, for your own interests, neither you nor her want to see you two have a falling out."

"If I don't have a falling out with her, I suspect that is not something you and the Northern Qi Emperor wants to see." Fan Xian smiled cynically. "Don't worry, I won't make a new alliance with my mother-in-law and bully the orphans and widows in your North."

Haitang was silent and didn't know if she believed him or not.

Fan Xian was not concerned about the attitude of Northern Qi. As long as there was the palace treasury, the Northern Qi people had to take him seriously. As to what Haitang said earlier, it did make sense. In the eyes of the big players in politics, any and all hatred and desire for revenge could be discarded in the face of a bargaining chip that offered a sufficiently large benefit. Since Fan Xian and the Eldest Princess had Wan'er in the middle to smooth the way, in eyes of the people, Fan Xian didn't have any reason not to accept a truce—as long as the Eldest Princess was willing to compromise.

In reality, the Eldest Princess had already made a compromise. After the assassinations in Cang Mountain, she truly felt Fan Xian's great power and had written a number of letters to try and reach this effect. Fan Xian had not accepted them.

"To reassure you further," Fan Xian drew back his gaze from out of the window and said quietly, "the Eldest Princess is already willingly to accept the reality that I am managing the palace treasury, but I did not acknowledge her."

Haitang suddenly raised her head. Her bright eyes stared at Fan Xian's back. She didn't know why he would reject a compromise from Xinyang.

Fan Xian quietly explained, "She wanted three-tenths of the shares, and then she would cooperate with me to easily take over the palace treasury. This condition was not demanding."

After a moment of silence, Haitang furrowed her brows and said, "Not only is it not demanding, it could be considered a very sincere condition. Originally…from the perspective of my Qi court, the worse your relations with the Eldest Princess the better it would be for us. However, from the perspective of being your friend, I want to give you some advice. Ultimately, you power is given you by the Qing royal family, and she is, after all, your mother-in-law. There is no reason not to accept such a good condition."

Fan Xian smiled self-deprecatingly. "Is it? I don't believe so. Perhaps it is because I believe, from the marrow of my bones, that I will not allow anyone to fight against me on the matter of the palace treasury."

"Why?" Haitang still did not understand his thoughts.

"This is the business my mother left behind." Fan Xian smiled warmly. "I am not as capable as her, so I can only be a second generation, but I cannot let this family fail."

Inside the carriage it became silent.

After a while, Haitang quietly said, "But the current treasury is now that of Qing court."

"The court is only an illusory image," Fan Xian said. "What is the court? The Emperor? Officials? The empress dowager? The people? Most importantly is what I can do with the palace treasury in my hands and on what will the money be used. If…if the court cannot use it well, then I will use it in the court's stead to change this illusory image into two solid words 'the people.'"

Haitang smiled slightly and said, "You're playing the sage out of habit again."

Fan Xian replied, "I have told Yan Bingyun before, to occasionally be a sage is a very good supplement for the spirit."

After making clear the discussions he had in secret with the Eldest Princess and thus reassuring Haitang, Fan Xian sank into silence, absentmindedly watching the scenes outside of the window. The watermills by the river, mechanical sounds from the workshop, and black smoke from furnaces in the distance were all fanning that unnamed desire in his heart.

…

…

"Sir, we have arrived."

The humble voice of the palace treasury transport official woke Fan Xian from his thoughts. He looked with some confusion at the two women in the carriage and realized they had already reached the palace treasury transport. He quickly tidied his clothes, lifted the curtain, and jumped down—rather than maintaining the appearance an official should by slowly and steadily coming down. This one movement showed the strange nervousness and excitement in his heart. After all, he had finally arrived at the palace treasury where his mother had started the family fortune. How could he maintain his usual calm?

Planting both feet on the hard earth, Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and considered everything around him. He found that on the side of the street was a normal yamen. It looked nothing like the Great Leap Forward scenes buzzing with activity he had imagined. It was a little cold and cheerless on the streets, although the buildings were new and beautiful. It didn't look like a worksite.

The official responsible for bringing them from Suzhou to here had probably seen plenty of Jingdou officials with this kind of expression. He carefully explained, "The three workshops are still some distance from the yamen. Sir, please rest for today, and go down to inspect tomorrow."

Fan Xian was disappointed. He had originally planned to blow some glass, weave some cloth, and shake hands with fellow workers and colleagues today, but unexpectedly he had to wait another day.

The doors to the yamen were open wide. The palace treasury transport officials, as well as those of the Overwatch Council responsible for protection, split into two lines and welcomed the imperial envoy.

Fan Xian walked in first, with Gao Da and a few Tiger Guards following silently behind. The group of about a hundred people were settled down in a short span of time, it looked like the palace treasury worked quickly. Haitang and Sisi were taken to the back residence, along with the girls they had bought along the way. The long, cold and silent transport department manor became lively.

After the various officials had greeted Fan Xian, they sat in the yamen in order and waited for Fan Xian to speak to them.

Fan Xian was not familiar with the situation of the palace treasury, and this was his first time holding court. He found it very strange. He indicated for Su Wenmao to say something superfluous on his behalf before dismissing them all until the official opening the next day.

After returning to the back residence, he didn't even have time to familiarize himself with the manor before he summoned the leader from the Overwatch Council stationed there permanently. The official, Dan Da, was about 40 years old and had a head of white hair. It seemed like the defense work of the palace treasury drained the spirit.

He indicated for the other party to take a seat. Without being superfluous, he directly said, "Tell me about the situation."

Dan Da was under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Bureau. Since autumn, he had received a secret letter from the Yan father and son, and had long made preparations. Hearing Fan Xian's question today, he quickly told everything he knew.

He understood that as this was Commissioner Fan's first trip to the palace treasury, he didn't have any trusted aides. If he wanted to quickly control the situation, then Commissioner Fan needed to find someone he could trust. Since Dan Da was an official of the Overwatch Council, he was close to the center of power and naturally had to climb quickly so as to not waste the opportunity heaven had given him.

Fan Xian listened and nodded. Dan Da spoke and did things well. He clearly explained the current situation of the palace treasury, main duties of the three big workshops, and faction each treasury official treasury belonged to. He left out nothing.

"Why has the palace treasury suffered so many losses these few years?" Fan Xian was born with audaciousness. He dared to ask this kind of question in an open way, not at all acknowledging the fact that it was not convenient for the Overwatch Council official in front of him to talk.

Dan Da did not dare to be so bold in front of Fan Xian. As a lower ranking official, how could he properly explain the matter of the palace treasury in just a few sentences? However, he spoke with consideration. "In reality, it can't be considered a loss. It is only that the taxes going to Jingdou have decreased by a few levels."

Fan Xian gave a pained and helpless smile. "This golden egg-laying old hen earns less each year. How different is that from suffering a loss? I wonder how my predecessor managed it."

The previous head of the palace treasury transport was Huang Yuanshu. His cousin, Huang Yi, was the leading strategist of the Eldest Princess in Xinyang. When Fan Xian took over the palace treasury, he didn't meet with Sir Huang. The two parties mixed like fire and water and were too lazy to complete the superficial exchange of power paperwork. Indeed, they were both typical bachelors.

Dan Da didn't dare comment and disparage the Eldest Princess. He said sincerely, "As to why the profits are decreasing each year, one reason is because the costs of the three big workshops are growing larger and larger. Including the head of the workshops, those treasurers are taking too much. Second, the channels for export have had problems these years. The pirates on the seas have gone wild. Not to say too many, but at least one or two ships out of then are captured on the seas. Third is the problem of supplying goods to Northern Qi. A few years ago, the accounts were too much of a mess, so no one knows how much the Cui family smuggled out. No one dared to investigate these things. Fortunately you acted and found evidence against the Cui family. With this one act, you redeemed much of the loss for the court."

Fan Xian listened with great interest, but already he knew exactly what was going on. What pirates? It was just all a show of the Ming family stealing their own goods. He saw that Dan Da spoke then stopped, and asked curiously, "What other reasons are there?"

Dan Da glanced at him and gave a pained smile. "Another reason is…the expenditures for the Council have grown too quickly these years. You know that all of the expenses of the Council come directly from the palace treasury. The expenditure of the palace hasn't grown in recent years. Rather, it is the Council who is spending too much. Adding to the previous reasons, with these expenses…no matter how much the palace treasury can make for the court, if it's needed everywhere, it is nowhere near as grand as it once was."

Fan Xian sucked in a cold breath. He hadn't expected that his own Overwatch Council was one of the vampires sucking the palace treasury dry. He turned the information over in his head and thought of the disciples in the Third Bureau who developed large-scale killing weapons every day and of the Second Bureau's crows that scout out messages everywhere. No matter how they were outfitted, they always needed financial support. The Fifth and Sixth Bureau were even worse. They were completely unconstructive and were only for destruction and a black hole yamen for sucking in gold. Even if none of these Council businesses were counted, he had visited Chen Garden many times. That old cripple kept many beautiful girls and lived a life of extravagance beyond that of emperors. All this money was from the palace treasury.

He shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Don't mention the Council stuff for now. If it gets out, that would be embarrassing. Just investigate the other reasons."

Su Wenmao, behind Dan Da and Fan Xian, couldn't help smiling, thinking that the commissioner spoke very straightforwardly.

…

…

"I'll handle the export channel problem and the pirate problem, which removes two of the four problems." Fan Xian stared into Dan Da's eyes. "I don't understand how the treasurers of the three big workshops could have such corruption. These officials stay for a long time in Jiangnan and can't leave without permission. It is indeed difficult work. They deserve the slightly higher official salary the court gives them."

Dan Da did not dare meet his eyes. He lowered his head and said, "The three workshops are responsible for all of the production in the palace treasury. Those items are all made by their hands, so…so…"

"So what?" Fan Xian's smile was cold. "Do dare they to use that as a threat?"

"Naturally, they dare not to threaten." Dan Da gave a pained smile. "The court manages the palace treasury strictly. All processes, materials, and methods are only known to the top-, middle-, and low-level officials. The things in their heads are like the court's silver-producing machines. If they have any desire to do so, they could reduce the production of the palace treasury. Thus, their position in the palace treasury has been somewhat special. Even the court turns a blind eye. They've gotten a bit arrogant."

"Oh?" Fan Xian narrowed his eyes with a hint of humor. Those were once little helpers of the Ye family; now are they wealthy technocrats through monopoly?

"What is this if not threatening?" Fan Xian found this to be absurdly funny. He chuckled and said, "How did the Eldest Princess deal with these departments?"

Dan Da thought about it and furrowed his brow before answering. "The Eldest Princess only asked that production levels not drop. As for the demands of the treasurers, she did her best to satisfy them. Furthermore, she greatly raised their statuses. Of course, if the treasurers stepped too far out of bounds, the Eldest Princess had her methods. Six years ago, she killed seven trouble making treasurers in one go. From then on, the treasurers learned to become wealthy through keeping silent. Although they have little respect for us normal level officials, they dare not be disrespectful against the court."

Fan Xian smiled coldly. "Arrogant? Extremely high statuses…then I'll have to make it my first order of business to bring them down to the dust."

He felt angry. It was clear that his mother-in-law was not one for management to be able to turn a supersized enterprise into something like this. No wonder the Emperor complained every day, and his father worried about the emptiness of the national treasury.

Dan Da was startled. The commissioner was young. If he introduced vigorous new policies, and thundered down his anger, then he would offend all of the treasurers. Never mind the export channels of the palace treasury, they might not even be able to ensure their own production and quality of products.

He stacked his hands and with seriousness said, "Please consider it carefully, sir. It won't hurt to tackle it gently with a gradual approach."

Fan Xian smiled and shook his head. "We cannot go slowly. Ten thousand years is too long. We must seize every minute. After 10 days, I must return to Suzhou to organize the matter of welcoming the palace treasury bids. If I don't bring the people under control in the palace treasury within these 10 days, how will you manage things in the future? I don't have the mood to come visit here every day."

With a pained look Dan Da said, "This matter is not easy to solve. Even if you manage to control them on the surface, if they secretly meddle in the workshops, or they may not even need to meddle, they will be able to lower the production of the palace treasury. Investigating won't make things clear. In the end, this responsibility will have to be taken by you."

Fan Xian enjoyed the man's straightforward tell-it-like-it-was attitude of speaking. The atmosphere with an official of the Overwatch Council was much better than those with the Jiangnan Road.

He waved his hand to stop the other party's urgings. "Don't be afraid. If we kill butcher Zhang, will we have to eat pork with hair?"

Dan Da and Su Wenmao were startled. They didn't know where the commissioner got his confidence from. The treasurers were in charge of production. This was not the Overwatch Council's forte. Su Wenmao then remembered that the palace treasury was once the property of the Ye family, and his master was a descendant of the Ye family. Perhaps the commissioner had some ideas.

Fan Xian did not explain anything. He only ordered them to prepare for the proper opening of the yamen and then went to the back garden. Although he was a little upset, he had two bowls of porridge. He then invited Haitang to join him for a walk to the three workshops.

His subordinates had prepared him a pass. Even if he didn't reveal his identity, there shouldn't be a problem. He was also bringing Haitang with him, and not because he was being kind and wanted to extend the glory of the palace treasury to Northern Qi. He needed Haitang, his strong bodyguard.

…

…

The chickens crowed, and the belly of the sky was white.

A shadow flitted across the back wall of the transport department's manor. Fan Xian and Haitang ended a night of investigation and returned to the study.

Fan Xian had a serious expression and frowned. "Nightly, there is song and music. The management is corrupt. These two lines are right, correct?"

Haitang was still immersed in her shock. She had accompanied Fan Xian's wandering around the three large workshops. Although she didn't come into contact with anything military related, what she saw still stunned her. So that was how cloth was made. It wasn't even done with manpower. Instead, they used some kind of water power. How could the power of the river water be tamed like this? Thinking back to what she saw, she felt admiration for the Ye mistress who had long since disappeared into the waters of history. The gaze she gave Fan Xian intensified.

Wasn't Fan Xian the son of that Ye mistress?

Fan Xian was not as shocked as her. The initial novelty had worn off. Although he still felt pleased about what his mother left behind, the palace treasury of the Qing Kingdom could not compare to a village company from his previous life. There were only some basic things. If it weren't for the fact that the Qing Emperor was clever and closely guarded the production, these things probably would have lost their value long ago.

Fan Xian could not be so shocked by a small Shunde village that couldn't produce electric refrigerators. What shocked him was another matter. The treasurers of the palace treasury lived an extravagant life. If he could take the silver they were using, how much more money would go into the accounts?

What the Eldest Princess was worried about didn't worry him too much. What technological monopoly? What they did wasn't that difficult. Although he was not born into the sciences, blowing some glass wasn't too much of a problem. Most importantly, it was not his fault that he had people behind him.

Knowledge was power. Knowledge was confidence. Knowledge was money. This was what Fan Xian had come to acknowledge on his first day in the palace treasury.

Chapter 348: Very Tyrannical, Unable To Tolerate Trouble

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Qing Kingdom's palace treasury transport was the most famous independent kingdom within it. Its officials were sent from Jingdou because Jiangnan was so far away. There were many temptations within the company. No matter what level an official was from the outside, they would always, in the end, be assimilated by this enormous and alluring golden nest. Overwatch Council officials were perhaps slightly better, but internal officials of the transport had long become a supporting column of the independent kingdom. No one wanted anything to change in the palace treasury.

Even though the Emperor had sent down an edict for the palace treasury to change from the hands of Xinyang's Eldest Princess to Fan Xian, these officials—who had been the Eldest Princess' trusted aides for a dozen years—were not at all afraid of Fan Xian's arrival. They thought that as long as they put in the effort at the surface level, Sir Fan junior would probably not touch the root of the palace treasury. Surely the drama of a new chief bringing in his own aides wouldn't play out.

What was the root of the palaces treasury? It wasn't the mountains of gold and silver, hard-working laborers, or the merchants on the outside, but rather the high level artisans and treasurers of the three big workshops.

The workshops were between the Jiangnan provinces. The first was responsible for producing glassware, handicrafts that required a high standard of delicacy, porcelain goods, expensive perfume, famous liquor that had been steamed again and again, among other things. Those like the glassware section could be expanded into countless products. In general, it could be considered responsible for the production of luxury goods.

The second was responsible for producing large quantities of cotton cloth and gauze, researching different grains, creating good steel, and mass producing combinations of the first and second industries. Its main focus was producing living resources.

The third workshop was the one most closely guarded closest. It was responsible for the production of boats and other advanced military weapons needed by the military. For example, the light, repeating crossbows the Black Knights used were provided by this workshop. Further away, the Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council and the research department of the palace treasury worked nonstop to develop fire powder. However, since the Ye family had opened the workshop, it seemed that the fire powder production had gone on a wrong road, causing the current Overwatch Council to only use a cart of fire powder as a cannon and and not invent firearms.

Who knew if it was because the Qing Kingdom people were not clever enough or if that Ye woman had once done something?

The three workshops were a rough estimate. Similar productions could not be counted. They were densely spread out to the north of Min, continuously producing goods that were then picked up by common merchants and exported to Northern Qi, Dongyi, other smaller countries, and the uncivilized lands beyond the sea. The palace treasury greedily and turbulently plundered the world's grain and money. At the same time, they spread a better standard of living and enjoyment of luxury around the world.

After the Ye family was absorbed into the palace treasury, which gave each industry a great boost, what was left behind remained. The treasurers of various levels had brought significant intelligence and made the Ye family industry bigger and brighter. This trend peaked 17 years ago. Four-tenths of Qing Kingdom's income came from the palace treasury. It was only in recent years that this number had slightly declined. However, it still remained the Qing Kingdom's largest source of revenue. Taking a common saying from some generation, the palace treasury was the motor of desire that pushed the Qing Kingdom forward.

These non-conforming officials, the treasurers, played an important role in the palace treasury's production. In addition to the fact that the Eldest Princess was a woman with plots spread everywhere under heaven and was not good at nor condescended to using the mountain-splitting sword to carry out management, all kinds of situations stacked on top of each other through the years that allowed the treasurers to become a special bureaucrat.

The bottom-most workers did not earn much money. Even the officials responsible for management were not that arrogant. It was only the treasurers who, other than their ample official salary, received all manner of allowances and bonuses. It was said that this was the result of the Eldest Princess paying well to raise the wolf, as well as the chaotic management of the court.

The treasurers were truly like local tyrants. Although they were not arrogant on the surface, they secretly confiscated food and took silver, exploited the workers, and had outside money houses spread the money they obtained. They had already bought significant amounts of land in the large provinces around them. As to how many shameful methods they used, that was unknown. Furthermore, these treasurers did not hold back on bullying the lower-level workers and acting tyrannically.

The slightly higher ranking treasurers still paid attention to face, but those mid-level 30-something-year-old treasurers were completely shameless. At night, Fan Xian found a treasurer who had an astounding 12 concubines in his home. How did those concubines, who were not even 20 years old, come to him? Who could say clearly? It was only known that every year the workers would cause a ruckus and report it. Since the palace treasury was special, the victim could not leave. Even if they somehow made it to Suzhou, the court would just go through the motions and end it.

The consensus among Jiangnan Road officials was that it was a small matter to offend the ordinary people, but a big matter to offend the treasurers.

Thus, when the new head official of the palace treasury arrived at the North Min yamen, low-level workers and common people—whose hatred of the treasurers were etched into their very bones—never went forward to bang on the drums and cry out their grievances. They only watched the door of the yamen coldly with dark fire flashing through their eyes.

…

…

Fire flashed as firecrackers sounded off loudly. Red confetti danced through the skies as the main door of the north Min yamen slowly opened. Dozens of officials in uniforms filed through the slightly smoky air and split into two lines. They faced the young official in the center and respectfully greeted him.

The imperial edict was shown and sword displayed, making his identity as the imperial envoy clear. The rules of management were then explained. Fan Xian looked at the subordinates in the hall and pressed down with his hands, palm down, and said, "Please sit."

"Thank you, sir, for the seat." The officials of the palace treasury tidied their clothing. There were not enough chairs in the yamen, so some of the lower ranked officials stood to the back. Everyone saw the warm smile on Sir Fan junior's face and felt their hearts steady, furthermore, they didn't see ruthless Jingdou officials of the Overwatch Council. Their originally wary brains relaxed.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes as he looked down. He easily found among the officials his opponent in his plan to open the mountain and stun the tiger.

About five or six people down there were three people whose faces were of a slightly darker color. They wore normal clothing with their belts tightly tied and sat respectfully. It was clear these three did not have an official post, yet they sat among the officials. Their appearance indicated they were people who often went in and out of the workshops. Thus they were even more offensive to the eye.

Fan Xian's eyes were particularly sharp and could see that although the three people appeared respectful, there was a streak of disregard and trivialization of his person. That was a supremely confident leak of attitude. He smiled slightly and felt deep hatred for them, but he would not allow the other party's attitude to anger him. Since the other party had been nurtured by the Eldest Princess for so many years, he had to scare them a bit to completely control the palace treasury.

He put those three aside and spoke to the officials about the intentions of the court, then he chatted a bit with the military representative sitting to his right. This military official was a distant relative of the Ye family. Although the Ye family seemed to have been forced to the side of the Second Prince by the Emperor because of the existence of the marvelous Ye Ling'er, Fan Xian and the Ye family's relationship was passable. Thus, the Ye family general was particularly respectful toward Fan Xian. He had probably received orders from his family in the capital.

As they finished talking about official matters, Fan Xian became quiet and lifted his tea bowl to take a sip.

The Qing Kingdom did not have the custom of raising the tea bowl to send off guests, so the officials knew that Sir Fan had something important to say. They all quieted down. Everyone knew that Sir Fan junior's inaugural speech by the Yangtze River under the bamboo canopy at the Suzhou dock had stunned the Jiangnan Road officials, so they couldn't help but be curious about his words today.

"The palace treasury is truly an incredible place," Fan Xian said with a smile.

The officials smiled with him. A deputy humorously chimed in. "In such a desolate place there is plenty of banging and hitting. Although noisy, it triumphs in its uniqueness."

Fan Xian smiled and said, "I think it is incredible. Coming down to the South this time by imperial edict, if I revealed by identity and opened the yamen at every place I passed there would always be locals who sounded the drums and cried out their grievances. Many said that their local officials did not deal with matters…unexpectedly, the yamen has been open for a while today. In a place this big, there hasn't been a single commoner who has submitted a petition."

The officials paused and silently criticized. You traveled in disguise all the way to the South? What ridiculous cries of grievance? For Fan Xian to have seen this, he must have something to follow it with. They unconsciously became wary.

Of course Fan Xian's words were nonsense. It was only a lure. "I am very pleased. Under the governance of you all, the palace treasury is very well ordered, without a trace of lawlessness anywhere. It is truly very rare."

The officials flushed, and a string of humble deferrals came out.

Fan Xian's face did not become dark, he only smiled and said, "However, I do have one question. Does the palace treasury truly not have any problems or…are some of the officials too powerful so that even if commoners and workers have grievances they would not dare tell me?"

These words were said too carelessly. It was clearly a ploy to construct a crime for someone. The officials did not have factions. They were all local officials. They felt a chill in their hearts and antipathy grew in them even if you were introducing new vigorous policies. He couldn't can't use such an absurd method, right? With the deputy in the lead, the officials all loudy said, "Sir, there is no such thing…no such thing."

Fan Xian lowered his head. His finger gently rubbed the sleeve Sisi had newly repaired. "No such what things? I have heard that the three large workshops owe a great deal of wages to the workers these years, and there was also a big incident earlier. Is this true?"

The officials were startled. Earlier in the year, because the treasurers had exploited too harshly, the workers in the three large workshops had caused some trouble and two people had died. This incident had always been repressed by low and high officials. Unexpectedly, news of this had traveled to Jingdou. Since Sir Fan had already said it out loud, then he must have received definitive news, so it would be difficult to hide.

The deputy quickly went up from and smiled obsequiously. "Earlier in the year, the return flow of funds were a bit slow. The wages were delayed by three days, but those wicked people took the opportunity to cause problems and halted the production of the three large workshops for a day, which caused irredeemable loses for the court. Thus, after the company discussed it, General Ye was asked to suppress it. Fortunately, not too many lives were lost. We thought since it was near the end of the year and Sir was about to arrive, we didn't need to report it immediately."

In reality, it had nothing to do with delayed wages. It was more accurate to say that the treasurers took too much of the wages that were paid down. Provoked, the people's anger rose, so the workers had rioted. The officials did not want to offend the treasurers or take out silver from their funds to compensate, so they pretended to be blind and deaf until the matter became too big. Only then did they mobilize troops to suppress the situation.

Fan Xian turned and spoke quietly with General Ye behind him. The general's expression was awkward as he quietly responded back. The role he played in this matter was probably not glorious.

Fan Xian furrowed his brows and gently knocked on the table beside him. "Gentlemen, to put it plainly, the palace treasury is a business, but it is the Emperor's business and Qing court's business. Since it is used to make things, then the most important are those who make these things. If you delay workers' wages year after year, who will want to work for you? Even if they do work for you, how would they be willingly to do it carefully? In the end, isn't it still the court that suffers the loss?"

The officials agreed. They all said they would act strictly according to the rules of the palace treasury when handling matters and never again would such a thing like having wages delayed happen again. As to the future, it was the treasurers who would be dealing with Sir Fan junior. These officials just hoped to quickly brush by what was happening now.

It was those three with the darker complexions without official robes, yet still sitting in chairs, whose expressions became a little nasty.

"All superfluous words." Fan Xian shook his head and sighed. "Naturally there will not be delays in the future. What about what was owed before?"

The yamen immediately plunged into complete silence.

The officials did not dare say more out of fear. There were tens of thousands of workers. In addition to food and board, drink and clothing, and a host of other logistics, the numbers reached an even more terrifying level. The court had set an ample amount for the wages of the workers. To siphon from it had already become the main source of wealth for palace treasury officials. If Fan Xian really wanted these officials to cough up all of the money they took from previous years, this would not be a small sum.

The officials knew that they were subjected to the Qing law and investigation by the Overwatch Council, so they never dared to take openly whatever little was left as tribute by the treasurers. The people Sir Fan targeted were probably still the treasurers.

Fan Xian acted like he had not sensed the quiet turbulence and said evenly, "The court cannot owe the people. What was owed over the last few years will have to gradually be compensated. It is a complicated matter, so it cannot be rushed."

Cannot be rushed…the hearts of the officials relaxed a little, but they were scared by the following words.

"Three days." Fan Xian smiled slightly and extended three fingers. Watching the officials he said, "I give you all three days to fill in all of the accounts and compensate the missing wages for the workers. Remember, use Taiping money house's rate of interest as a standard. After three days, if workers come to me to say they have not received their wages, or if it is discovered by my Overwatch Council subordinates, my apologies, but I'll have to show some ruthlessness."

Although he continued to slightly smile, the officials could already feel a sense of coldness beginning to surround them.

…

…

The three men who had sat quietly and still the entire time finally could sit no longer. Wearing a humble expression they stood and one said, "Sir, I have something to say."

"Speak." Fan Xian glanced at him with interest.

"Perhaps there have been cases of being behind on payment, but this number is not large, furthermore, it is often because the accounts are wrong." The man chuckled and said, "Sir, you have come a long way from Jingdou, perhaps you are not aware of how wicked the people here are. Those people bring their families to find work. It is clearly only one person working at the workshops, but he will report three. It is not that we are behind on payments, the reality is that they want to swindle the court's silver."

"Oh?" Fan Xian said. "There are such tricks?"

"Yes." The person clearly did not notice the mocking tone of Fan Xian's voice. Overjoyed, he said, "Sir, these workers are sly and cunning. Banking on the fact that the court loves the people, they dare to open their mouths wide. If any demands are not met, they will passively slack off at work. Some of the even worse ones dare to actually meddle with the process. Who knows how much money they have lost the court all these years?"

The man enthusiastically splashed all the dirty water onto the workers. He thought that no matter how good Fan Xian's reputation was, he was still one of the officials. How could he ever take the workers' side?

Fan Xian laughed coldly in his heart. The way the man put it…pushing all the wrong things he had done onto the worker. His face remained calm. "Ah, who knew that even though the Emperor is so kind, yet these people don't know to be satisfied."

The person laughed along. "It is indeed the case. I, a lowly official, will go back and carefully investigate the matter of the delayed payments. However, those trouble-making workers should not be let off so easily. Sir, don't be followed by their words. Those people are sly and cunning, and really not anything."

Fan Xian looked at the man and suddenly furrowed his brows, "Sir is?"

The deputy quickly interjected, "This is the master of the first workshop, Sir Xiao."

"Sir Xiao?" Fan Xian seemed a little surprised. "The master of the first workshop? Head of the treasurers?"

Xiao quickly saluted and said, "It is I."

Fan Xian stared at him for a moment then suddenly said, "You, a mere master, a little treasurer…the court has given you a non-conforming rank. You don't even have official robes. How dare you refer to yourself before me as lowly official?"

Everyone froze.

His voice suddenly became cold. "Lowly official this, lowly official that…of which department are you an official? The yamen opened for the first time today, and you, a mere master, did not wait outside to be summoned. You dared to brazenly enter the hall and sit among the court officials. That is foolishly daring! Please, may I ask, what kind of scoundrel are you?"

Huh?

The hall was momentarily silent. It was not until a while later that the officials realized Sir Fan Xian was cursing.

Immediately the hall exploded into sound. How can that be? Ever since the palace treasury had been taken by the royal family, this was the first time anyone dared to point at the master of the three workshops and curse him. Even on the Eldest Princess' first visit to the North Min yamen she had been warm and gentle with the three workshop masters. How could Sir Fan dare curse like that?

The master of the first workshop was stunned. He thought that it was fine Sir Fan did not try to win him over, but to not give him any face and curse him so cruelly was unbelievable. He sneered coldly. His expression immediately turned nasty, however, he in front of a proper "prince" he didn't dare say anything. He resentfully raised his hand in salute and returned to his seat to in silence.

"Remove his seat." Fan Xian narrowed his eyes. A delightful little circle appeared between his furrowed brows. He said evenly, "In front of me, there is no seat for him."

"Sir Fan!" That master became very angry. His bottom had not yet touched his seat before he stood straight again, pushing down the anger in his heart. "Don't take it too far."

Fan Xian ignored him. He drank his tea and talked with the awkward looking General Ye and deputy beside him.

As he talked, the Overwatch Council official next to him had gone down and pushed Sir Xiao to the side and removed his seat. Thus, the matter had become serious. The officials below all came out to ask for mercy. Even General Ye lowered his voice and whispered into Fan Xian's ear, "Young master Fan, leave them some face."

"Leave them some face?" Fan Xian smiled. "The purpose of today was to remove their face."

General Ye became melancholy and didn't dare keep talking.

Since the opening of the palace treasury to now, the masters of the three workshops had their own seats. Their position was special, and no one had ever humiliated their existence. At this moment, seeing that the master of the first workshop was being humiliated, the other two masters couldn't keep to their seats anymore. They stood beside Sir Xiao, and said, facing Fan Xian at the head, "Since Sir thinks that there is no seat for us in the yamen, you might as well take them all…after all, the three workshops are nothing but lowly people.

They were not acting in a fit of pique, but using the three large workshops to suppress.

Fan Xian lifted his head and saw the three masters lined up in front of him. "Of course they are going to be taken together. Did you think there would still be places for you? Naturally, not everyone in the three workshops are lowly people, but since you have referred to yourselves as such, I will believe you."

"Sir!"

The three masters had not expected Fan Xian to force them step by step and not leave anywhere to retreat in his words. It was only now they realized the other party was not just establishing his power, he wanted to exterminate them. But what confidence did Fan Xian have? Did he want to see the three workshops collapse?

The tone in which the three masters replied became ruthless. "Sir, how has the three workshops offended you?"

"Exploiting wages, tyrannical behavior, threatening the court through skills, not respecting me…" Fan Xian stared at the three. "You didn't offend me, you offended the workers in the three workshops and the tens of thousands of people under heaven and the court that feeds you."

"A charge can always be made if you want to convict someone," the three masters said in anger. "It is your first visit to the transport company and you act so recklessly and rashly. Does the Qing court not have regulations?"

Fan Xian smiled and thought to himself: Regulations? I am the regulations. Of course didn't say the words out loud. He thought of when Second Fan ran amuck in Jingdou. His favorite thing to do was to say this ruthless line. It seemed that being an official was like being a hoodlum. In an unclear situation, it was always fine to use some force and trickery.

"Come. These three are causing a scene in the hall. Drag them out and give them 10 strikes first."

Fan Xian placed the teacup in his hand gently on the table and ignored the words for forgiveness from the officials in the hall. He smiled and thought about how he could suffer hardships and powerful aggressiveness, but he couldn't stand being alone. Why should he waste his breath on these people?