(Yesterday, I wrote about Si Si, who is Yun Zhilan's disciple, the female swordsman Lu Si Si from Dongyi City. She appeared in Hangzhou in the first volume, just a minor character...not the same person as Fan Xian's family member. Whew, how could that Si Si, with her pregnant belly, kill people?)

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Ming Qingda glanced at her indifferently and said coldly, "Mother doesn't know you used to be a palace maid of the Eldest Princess, but you know I'm very clear about that...so there's no need to deliberately remind me of anything. The Eldest Princess and I are on the same boat to begin with, and I don't plan to get off."

He paused and, feeling that there was no need to vent his anger on this woman, shook his head and said, "The letter has already been sent to the palace. The Eldest Princess will definitely have a way to hold back Fan Xian's hand."

If the Eldest Princess had free time, she would certainly have enough schemes and intrigues, court debates, to delay the Supervisory Council's advance on the Ming family.

The problem was that everyone was very busy right now.

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The head manager of the Zhaoshang Qianzhuang (Merchant Bank) sat coldly in the Ming Garden's luxurious flower hall, not touching the tea beside him. His right hand was bandaged, and it was unknown whether he was injured in the fighting the night before.

Times were different now. The day before, it was the Zhaoshang Qianzhuang that had proactively sought out the Ming family to discuss business, but today, after the Ming family's underhanded tactics proved ineffective, they had no choice but to take the initiative. Therefore, the head manager's attitude was obviously different.

Ming Qingda secretly watched the other party's expression from behind, thinking that although this head manager was angry, he had still come, presumably because the bank's behind-the-scenes owner was unwilling to let the incident of the day before affect the large business between the two sides.

He was just about to lift the curtain and go out when he found his sleeve being pulled. He turned around in astonishment and saw that his most beloved son, Ming Lanshi, looked pale and hesitated to speak.

Ming Qingda frowned and scolded in a low voice, "What time is it now? Speak if you have something to say."

Ming Lanshi glanced into the hall, his face even more unsightly. He tugged at his father's sleeve, led him into the back hall, and then, without a word, knelt down in front of him with a *putong* sound.

"This unfilial son...begs Father to kill me..." Ming Lanshi mustered his courage, raised his head, and said, "We must not let Zhaoshang Qianzhuang use that cash transfer for shares!"

Ming Qingda was silent for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Ming Lanshi lowered his head in shame and said, "This son...privately transferred a batch of silver from Zhaoshang Qianzhuang, using half a share of the family's stock as collateral."

Ming Qingda gasped, his face turning extremely ugly, but he quickly regained his composure and urgently asked, "When can the silver be returned? What kind of contract was signed? Can Taiping handle the transfer?"

These were several key questions. Because it involved the important matter of the Ming family's shares, Ming Qingda didn't have time to scold his son. He asked first, hoping that Zhaoshang Qianzhuang wouldn't gain another half a share.

"A dead contract..." Ming Lanshi said with a mournful face, "As for returning the silver...I originally thought it would be three months, but now it seems that not even a single cent of the principal can be returned. Taiping probably knows about this too, and they won't accept the transfer."

It turned out that the Ming family had been in the wind and rain all year round, almost suffocated by Fan Xian's reliance on the Neiku (Internal Treasury) production. The young master of the Ming family, as he had said to his father that day, had always believed that the Ming family's business operations should be adjusted in a major way. Only in this way could they avoid being manipulated by Fan Xian forever.

Because of Ming Qingda's insistence, Ming Lanshi had to carry out his own attempts in secret. At the end of last year, he used his half a share of the Ming family's stock to exchange for cash support from Zhaoshang Qianzhuang. He had thought that this attempt would generate a great profit in a very short period of time, persuading his father, but he hadn't expected...

Ming Qingda's mind buzzed, and he almost fainted. After a long while, he gasped and asked, "What kind of business is it? And how is it that not even a single cent of the principal can be returned?"

Ming Lanshi looked at his furious father and, after hesitating for a long time, trembled and said, "It's...smuggling salt."

Ming Qingda was stunned and didn't say anything for a long time. The most profitable businesses in Qing Yu Nian were always three: brothels, the imperial merchants of the Neiku, and the large households that sold smuggled salt. And among these three, selling smuggled salt was the fastest way to recover capital, and the profits were also the highest.

"Why can't you recover the capital?" Ming Qingda stared at his son's eyes with a cold gaze, saying each word clearly, "I know you are a steady person. Even with the risky smuggled salt, you must have a way to protect the capital... Tell me, why can't you recover the capital?"

"Because..." Ming Lanshi wanted to cry but had no tears, "A few days ago, the Salt and Tea Office suddenly investigated, and I don't know how they knew the news. They confiscated all twelve ships of smuggled salt... I went to look for people, but there was no way."

He didn't notice his father's increasingly iron-blue face and kept explaining, "Those related checkpoints and government offices have always been well-maintained by the family. I never thought they would suddenly take action. Besides, Yang Jimei has always taken that route. He assured this son that there would be no problem..."

With a crisp *slap*! Ming Qingda landed a fierce slap, sending Ming Lanshi sprawling to the ground!

Ming Lanshi covered his numb face, half-lying on the ground, feeling blood flowing from his mouth. Looking at his father, who was as furious as a sick lion, he couldn't say a word.

"Government office? Government office! You even know it's a government office! The Salt and Tea Office doesn't dare to investigate the Ming family...but wouldn't the Supervisory Council force them to investigate!" Ming Qingda roared in a low voice, his eyes filled with unbelievable frustration and rage, "Yang Jimei! Did you get water in your brain? That salt-selling coolie is a dog of Xue Qing! Fan Xian stayed in his garden in Suzhou!"

A chill ran through Ming Qingda's chest. He kicked his son and cursed through clenched teeth, "How could I raise such a stupid spendthrift like you!"

It took him a long time to calm down and he said weakly, "Can this salt business leave evidence? Be careful the Supervisory Council uses this crime to execute you."

"Please rest assured, Father." Ming Lanshi struggled to kneel in front of him, "That batch of silver came directly from Zhaoshang Qianzhuang. Although that dog thief Yang Jimei knows it's me, the government can't find any evidence."

"If Zhaoshang Qianzhuang takes the contract between you and them to court...the government will have evidence." Ming Qingda sighed helplessly.

Ming Lanshi suddenly felt a chill in his heart: "This bank...could it be Fan Xian's?"

Ming Qingda's body trembled, and after a moment, he shook his head silently: "It's impossible for it to be Fan Xian's. The Eldest Princess investigated the Ministry of Revenue in the capital, and we've been keeping a close eye on Fan Xian. He doesn't have that much silver to create this scheme."

This sentence was simple, but the effort behind it was enormous. If the Ming family wanted to do business with Zhaoshang Qianzhuang, they would of course investigate the background of Zhaoshang Qianzhuang clearly, confirming that Fan Xian had nothing to do with Zhaoshang Qianzhuang. However, Ming Qingda didn't expect that the results of his investigation were good. The owner of Zhaoshang Qianzhuang was indeed not Fan Xian...that owner was the Little Emperor of Northern Qi!

"Act with caution in everything." Ming Qingda raised his head, barely controlling his emotions of failure: "Giving up thirty percent...I'm sorry to the ancestors, but it can allow us to drag on for a while, waiting for the back-up in the capital."

However, the Ming family gradually declined and eventually collapsed in these two years, in fact, because of...this word "delay"!

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After a long time, as the head manager of the Zhaoshang Qianzhuang sitting in the hall let out his twentieth yawn, Ming Qingda, the current owner of the Ming family, walked out with a gloomy face.

The head manager smiled slightly and said, "Master Ming has kept people waiting."

Ming Qingda didn't cup his fists in greeting, nor did he say anything else. He coldly asked, "Bring the contract for Lanshi's half a share and destroy all the books. I will then agree to your owner's request."

"Yes, Master Ming." The head manager's expression remained unchanged, and he took out a document from his arms and handed it to Ming Qingda. It was the contract that Ming Lanshi had left behind when raising silver for selling salt. It seemed he had been prepared for this.

Before Ming Qingda could speak, the head manager said softly, "That one, destroy it after you get back."

Ming Qingda nodded weakly.

In the afternoon, the accountants of the Ming family and Zhaoshang Qianzhuang entered in succession. The wealthy merchants who were strongly requested by the head manager to observe the ceremony also sat aside. The government notary sent by the Suzhou Prefecture was also ready.

Three sheets of white paper were spread on the table, and an ink brush danced with vigor. In a moment, three documents for transferring debt to shares were written. The wealthy merchants from the Sun, Xiong, and Zhu families who were observing the ceremony, along with the elderly people in Suzhou City, looked at them for a long time before they understood what was written on them. They couldn't help but gasp repeatedly, speechless with shock!

Zhaoshang Qianzhuang invested in the Ming family, taking up thirty percent of the shares!

Although the big figures in Jiangnan had long seen the Ming family's plight, no one had expected that the wealthy Ming family would be in such dire straits. It couldn't be called a dead end, but to exchange a loan of four million taels of silver for thirty percent of the Ming family's shares?... The merchants thought about it again, and when they thought that the Ming family's current predicament was mainly focused on revolving funds, they immediately understood this point. Instead, they felt that Zhaoshang Qianzhuang's asking price was very fair.

Ming Qingda picked up the brush, pondered for a moment, didn't pretend, and signed his name very calmly, pressing his fingerprint on it.

The crowd watched this scene silently. Whether they were friends or enemies of the Ming family, they were all filled with admiration for the Ming Old Master's city and courage. For a century-old family to give up thirty percent to outsiders, only an extraordinary person could make such an extraordinary move.

The person who signed, drew, and pressed his fingerprint on behalf of Zhaoshang Qianzhuang... was a young man, a young man with a beautiful face who always stood behind the head manager of the bank.

The crowd hadn't noticed his existence until now, when they finally woke up and cast surprised glances, wondering if the mysterious owner of Zhaoshang Qianzhuang was this unknown young man?

Ming Qingda finally frowned at this time and said, "So you are the owner of the bank. I was rude the other day, please don't take offense."

It wasn't his fault for not seeing it, because Wang Shisanlang had a free and easy air about him, and he really didn't look like a business tycoon, not even a hint of being in a superior position.

Wang Shisanlang was slightly stunned, not knowing if he should admit it, because he didn't know if Fan Xian would still remain behind the scenes at this moment.

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At this moment, there was a commotion at the entrance of the Ming Garden, followed by the sound of the middle gate being opened wide, then the second gate, and then the third gate. The commotion spread directly to the signing hall. The hurried footsteps came extremely quickly, faster than the voice of the master of ceremonies, revealing a hint of dominance and arrogance.

Ming Qingda frowned and looked out of the hall, not knowing who was coming.

The footsteps were extremely light.

Because the owner of the footsteps was in an unusually cheerful mood.

Fan Xian, wearing a black Supervisory Council uniform, stepped over the long threshold and walked in, wearing a delighted smile on his face. Behind him were Hong Changqing and other Supervisory Council officials, as well as Xia Xifei, the seventh young master of the Ming family.

He didn't greet those officials and merchants, but walked directly to Ming Qingda and looked at the old man with a rather inscrutable gaze.

After looking for an unknown amount of time, Ming Qingda frowned slightly, looked at this imperial envoy who was rumored to be still in the Shazhou area, and asked, "Imperial Envoy, you have honored us with your presence. We have failed to greet you properly."

Fan Xian smiled and said, "Such a grand event, how could I not come? Especially since this official also wants to thank Master Ming."

"Thank?" Ming Qingda's heart trembled slightly.

"Thank you for your thirty percent of the shares." He leaned close to Ming Qingda's ear and said in a voice that only the other party could hear, "Zhaoshang Qianzhuang... is mine."

Ming Qingda frowned slightly, wondering if he had heard something wrong.

Fan Xian looked at the documents on the table, the ink on which was not yet dry, and a happy smile bloomed on his lips. After planning hard for a year and enduring for a year, he had finally achieved results today. How could he not be happy?

Although he knew that revealing his identity would make it impossible for Zhaoshang Qianzhuang to avoid the court's attention any longer, this was inevitable. He also needed to use this opportunity to let the Little Emperor of Northern Qi make enough money and stop... Although Fan Xian might have to bear a loss of more than a million taels of silver under the Emperor's gaze, he didn't care about that.

The Ming family, which had dominated Jiangnan for a hundred years, controlled the court and the Jianghu, and held the lives of countless people in their hands... was changing hands today! How could Fan Xian miss such a grand show? Spending one million taels of silver to buy a ticket to be able to witness this scene was really worth it!

He looked at Ming Qingda, whose expression was constantly changing, and thought wickedly, if Ming Old Master suddenly fainted, then this ticket would be even more worthwhile.

It seemed that the heavens had heard his heart. Ming Qingda looked at the head manager of Zhaoshang Qianzhuang standing behind Fan Xian, watching the young man hand the contract to Fan Xian. He finally understood everything, but he still couldn't understand... It was impossible for the Ministry of Revenue to move the entire national treasury... Where did Fan Xian get so much silver to start a bank?

Ming Qingda trembled, his eyes were slightly red, and he gurgled twice in his throat but couldn't say a word. His Qi and blood attacked his heart, his body stiffened, and he fell down!

Fan Xian cupped his fist at the crowd who were looking at each other in dismay, and laughed loudly in this empty and luxurious Ming Garden hall.