Niao Ni

Chapter 295: Already Enticed Those Traveling Together

After everything was arranged, Fan Xian went to the bedroom, where Liu Shi was lying by the bed, seemingly already asleep. He quietly woke her up and whispered with her in the side room for a while. The tear stains on Liu Shi's face gradually revealed a determined look. She nodded, accepting the arrangement. No one knew what Fan Xian had promised her or how he had persuaded her.

The night deepened, and there were no longer any insects chirping in the Qiu Garden. Ruo Ruo was accompanying Liu Shi. Fan Xian walked to his drowsy younger brother, gazing at his face, which even in sleep seemed to be clenching his teeth in hatred, and at those few pockmarks that seemed ready to burst forth, shouting injustice. He couldn't help but smile and shake his head. He took the inkpad from the desk and retrieved the document drafted by Shi Chanli from his robe, pressing Si Zhe's fingers forcefully onto the document.

Looking at the bright red fingerprints on the snow-white document, Fan Xian nodded with satisfaction. From that moment on, the seventy percent stake in Baoyuelou held by Fan Si Zhe was officially transferred into someone else's hands, and he was officially severed from that brothel made of bones for mud and blood for a lake.

Wan'er knew he was in a bad mood and made a funny face, but received no effective response. Deep down, she couldn't help but feel a little useless. The corners of her lips turned up in a small smile.

Fan Xian also smiled and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. Children always need to go out and venture to become capable." He suddenly asked, "Has Miss Shen been brought back?"

"She's in the West Pavilion," Wan'er explained. "Young Master Yan has already gone there."

"Good." Fan Xian calmly replied. He sat down by Si Zhe's bed, thought for a moment, then stood up again and asked the small kitchen to prepare some dry rations. He himself took a bowl of hot porridge in the side room, blowing on it as he slowly drank, deliberately giving Xiao Yan and Miss Shen some time to rekindle their old feelings, and more importantly, giving Liu Shi some time alone with her son.

He didn’t know how long had passed before Deng Ziyue arrived, led by a servant, and nodded to him.

Fan Xian understood. Not wanting to trouble others, he personally carried Fan Si Zhe to the outside of the side gate in the backyard and boarded the carriage. Fan Si Zhe was still drowsy. Liu Shi bit her lip and leaned forward to caress his cheek, but he didn't wake up. Ruo Ruo also reluctantly stroked his thick ears, and even Wan'er's eyes flashed with a hint of sadness at the separation.

Only Sima Nan Fan Jian remained soundly asleep, seemingly not caring that his youngest son was about to travel to a strange country and didn't know when he would return.

"You go first," Fan Xian said to Yan Bingyun, who wore a frosty expression. "This matter troubles your father. Be careful when leaving the city."

After nightfall, the gates of Kyoto were closed early, and only the people of the Supervisory Council had the power to quietly send someone out of the city.

Yan Bingyun slowly raised his head, looked at him, and asked, "Aren't you coming with us?"

Fan Xian lowered his head and said, "We'll meet at Songlinbao. I have some things to do."

He could clearly see out of the corner of his eye that his younger brother had tears in the corners of his eyes, indicating that he was awake, but he didn't know why he was pretending to be unconscious in front of Liu Shi. Fan Si Zhe's lips twitched, and he must have been very resentful of himself and his father.

In the darkness around them, in addition to the Qi Nian Team, there were also swordsmen from the Sixth Bureau waiting for orders. With this level of strength, unless the Second Prince used the Ye family's Kyoto garrison, there would be no way to confront them head-on.

Fan Xian stood by the carriage with his head down for a moment, then waved his hand.

The carriage slowly started moving, heading out of Kyoto. The three women standing by the side gate of the Fan residence couldn't help but show expressions of sorrow, with Liu Shi's grief being the most intense.

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Several unmarked carriages traveled along the quiet, dark streets of Kyoto. No one knew what means Yan Bingyun had used, but leaving the city was incredibly smooth. They stepped onto the official road outside the city and traveled northwest for a little over half an hour. Using the moonlight, they saw the low forest on the small mountain ahead – they had arrived at Songlinbao.

The convoy stopped here, waiting for Fan Xian.

At this moment, Fan Si Zhe suddenly opened his eyes in the carriage, his eyes still carrying that fierce look: "This is exile. Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"

There were only him and Yan Bingyun in the carriage. Yan Bingyun coldly said, "You are a smart person and naturally know what to do. Fan Xian used so many means for your sake, and it's not just to ensure your safety."

Fan Si Zhe lowered his voice and cursed, "It's just to protect his own reputation."

Yan Bingyun responded mockingly, "If it was just to protect his own reputation, he could have sent you directly to the Kyoto Prefecture. Who could say anything about him then?"

Fan Si Zhe knew it was true, but he refused to admit it, and said shrilly, "That's because my father wouldn't allow such a thing to happen!"

"His Excellency, the Minister?" A hint of mockery appeared in Yan Bingyun's cold eyes. "How could we, the younger generation, presume to guess what His Excellency, the Minister, is thinking?"

Fan Si Zhe said weakly, "Brother Yan, where is my brother... exiling me to?"

"Northern Qi," Yan Bingyun replied.

"Ah?" Despair appeared on Fan Si Zhe's face. He sighed deeply, collapsing with a world-weariness that was extremely inconsistent with his age, and lay flat on his back, only to touch his back wound and couldn't help but let out a scream.

Yan Bingyun watched him with amusement: "Fan Xian's medicine... although effective, is very domineering. Just continue to endure it." Back when he was in Shangjing in Northern Qi, Fan Xian had also tortured him in this way.

……

……

"I used restraint. It looks terrible, but I didn't touch any bones. What are you pretending for?" Fan Xian said coldly, his face grim as he stepped into the carriage.

When Fan Si Zhe saw the expression on his face, he thought of the severe family law he had suffered earlier and shuddered in fear.

"What did you go and do?" Yan Bingyun frowned at him. "Time is of the essence."

Fan Xian put down the person he was carrying on his back and threw her next to Fan Si Zhe. A faint fragrance immediately filled the carriage. Fan Si Zhe was shocked. Looking at the woman's soft, charming face, he was taken aback and roared at Fan Xian, "What did you do to her!"

The person Fan Xian had abducted was Yan'er, the popular courtesan from Baoyuelou.

Fan Xian glanced at Fan Si Zhe and said mockingly, "So you feel sorry for her? It seems that although your temperament is sinister, you have inherited your father's excellent genes of cherishing women... When you opened a brothel, why didn't you cherish them a little?"

Neither Fan Si Zhe nor Yan Bingyun understood the word "genes", but they were even more curious as to why Fan Xian had abducted this girl. Of course, with Fan Xian's skills and use of tranquilizers, Baoyuelou was in a state of panic today, so it was really easy to abduct a prostitute silently.

"She's your first woman, isn't she?" Fan Xian looked into his younger brother's eyes and asked softly.

Fan Si Zhe thought for a while and then nodded, a begging look in his eyes, wanting to ask his brother to let the woman go.

Fan Xian shook his head and sighed, "You are indeed stronger than me. You deflowered someone at fourteen..." Then he laughed loudly, and then said seriously, "I know that your attitude towards this woman is different, and I have also found out that she has some affection for you... although you are only old enough to be her younger brother."

Fan Xian couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips again.

"Baoyuelou will not be peaceful in the future. I don’t think you’d be at ease if this girl called Yan’er stayed there… And I can't possibly bring her to the mansion. Even if father allows it, Aunt Liu will have her beaten to death.” Fan Xian said calmly, "After thinking about it, although your journey north is a tempering experience, it's too lonely and won't be good for your character development, so I brought her to accompany you."

Fan Si Zhe and Yan Bingyun widened their eyes, filled with disbelief. Exiled from the capital, yet he was traveling with a courtesan? Was this exile or a vacation?

"Brother... what exactly do you want to do?" Fan Si Zhe resolutely didn't believe that after causing such a big incident, he could still enjoy the level of travel that even the second young master of the Fan family rarely had! He said somewhat incoherently, looking at Fan Xian's calm face with fear, and even forgot the pain in his body.

Yan Bingyun looked at Fan Xian, feeling inexplicably puzzled. He shook his head, patted Fan Si Zhe's shoulder, and said, "Your brother is really an interesting person."

He got out of the carriage, leaving the carriage to the brothers who were about to separate.

……

……

After a long silence, Fan Xian quietly looked at Si Zhe and said, "Why didn't you say goodbye to your mother earlier?" Without waiting for him to answer, he asked, "Do you know why I'm so angry this time, and why Father and I decided to send you away?"

Fan Si Zhe lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "Sending me away... firstly, I don't have to worry about the Kyoto Prefecture handling the Baoyuelou case. Even if it's fleeing from guilt, there's no downside to it. The family can then let go and compete with the Second Prince and the others."

"Not bad." Fan Xian was somewhat gratified to discover that his younger brother, under his influence, had also begun to refer to the princes by names like "Second Prince" and "Third Prince".

"Secondly... it's a punishment for me." Fan Si Zhe suddenly raised his head, enduring the severe pain in his back and buttocks, and said tearfully, "But I don't want to go... Brother, the people of Northern Qi are very fierce. What can I do there?"

"What to do?" Fan Xian replied very seriously, "Of course, the thing you are best at, doing business."

Fan Si Zhe raised his head foolishly, without any of the demeanor of the owner of Baoyuelou, and asked, "Doing business?"

"Yes," Fan Xian said, "Father asked me to make arrangements. I thought about it and decided to leave you with one thousand taels of silver as capital. After you arrive in Shangjing, I will have someone pick you up, but... I won't give you extra help. If you can turn that one thousand taels of silver into ten thousand taels within five months, then I will truly acknowledge your ability, and then..."

"Multiply it tenfold?" Before his older brother could finish speaking, Fan Si Zhe couldn't help but roar angrily, "I'm not a god!"

"That's your problem."

"One thousand taels of silver is too little capital!" Fan Si Zhe said with shame and anger, "It would be embarrassing to do business with that."

"What kind of bullshit logic is that? When my brother and I opened the Danbo Bookstore, how much money did we spend?

"Bah! If you have the ability to get me another *Dream of the Red Chamber* to sell, I guarantee I can turn one thousand into ten thousand."

"Dream on! That Cao guy has been driven crazy by me forcing him to write... Where am I going to get another one?"

After the two brothers exchanged a round of unbridled insults, the atmosphere became a little more relaxed. Fan Xian looked at Fan Si Zhe's chubby face and couldn't help but sigh, "The wind and rain outside are strong. Father instructed me not to take too much care of you. You have to be careful in everything."

Fan Si Zhe silently nodded, then suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Brother, you said that I am a genius in business. Don't worry."

Fan Xian said again, "I hope you don't resent me for driving you out of Kyoto."

Fan Si Zhe shook his head and didn't say anything.

Fan Xian understood that he must be feeling very uncomfortable in his heart, frowned and said, "Actually, the two reasons you mentioned earlier for sending you out of Kyoto... are all false."

Fan Si Zhe raised his head, looking particularly puzzled.

Fan Xian said softly, "What's there to fear even if you stay in Kyoto? Am I not capable of protecting someone like you? I can hide you anywhere and wait for this matter to fade... I reckon the Second Prince wouldn't dare to do anything to me. Even if the Kyoto Prefecture dares to investigate the Baoyuelou case, would he dare to conduct a thorough search of the capital in front of our old Fan family?"

"The second reason, you said it was to punish you, but that's only partially true." Fan Xian looked at the Baoyuelou top courtesan who was still unconscious and said calmly, "Your journey north may be a bit difficult, but compared to what you've done, it's really a small matter. If I send you back to Danzhou, judging by Grandma's actions, I'm afraid you'll be in even worse shape."

Fan Si Zhe shrank back in fear, not daring to hum even when he moved his back wound, but he was thinking, then why did you have to drive me to the north?

Fan Xian slowly lowered his eyes and said, "I didn't expect you to be so bold and ruthless in what you do... If you still stay in Kyoto, others, for the sake of Father and me, will always have this or that kind of sweet temptation to lead you into the deepest abyss... So I think it's better for you to experience some hardships outside. Perhaps it will be more beneficial for your growth."

He suddenly looked coldly into Si Zhe's eyes and said, "Doing business naturally requires unscrupulous means, but the degree of that must be controlled. Being too sharp and sinister is always easy to backfire. Moreover, being a person in this world, it's always good to be kind to others. You should always try to lean towards the bright side."

Actually, Fan Si Zhe was still not very convinced about the Baoyuelou matter. After all, in his view, Baoyuelou was a symbol of his success, and some of the illegal and dirty things hidden within it were really nothing. He lay on the long carriage bench, humming and saying, "This is said with... a full sense of justice. If people who don't understand see it, they would think that my good brother has nothing to do with the Supervisory Council, and is just a wooden scholar from the Imperial College."

His words were full of sarcasm, but Fan Xian just raised his eyebrows. As a director of the Supervisory Council, his subordinates specialized in doing dark things. A mere brothel, whether in terms of the concentration of darkness and filth, or the degree of ruthlessness, was vastly different, so it was no wonder that his younger brother didn't take his teaching seriously.

Fan Xian smiled and said, "Do you think that I am not standing upright myself, and that using these words to talk to you... seems a little absurd?"

When Fan Si Zhe saw his brother smile gently, he began to panic again, naturally daring not to speak, but the black pupils in his eyes rolled twice, obviously meaning that.

"I am naturally not a saint, and I am not even a good person," Fan Xian said. "But even a complete butcher who has killed ten thousand people, if he really cherishes his family, he would probably have the same thoughts as me... Those of us in this line of work, even if we reek of blood and filth, still want our brothers to be innocent and clean... Perhaps it's because we have come into contact with the most dangerous things in the world that we want you to stay away from these things."

Fan Si Zhe kept hearing him say "we" and was suspicious.

Fan Xian thought about it and lightly told the story of Xiao En and Zhuang Mo Han, smiling and saying, "Xiao En has killed countless people and done countless evil things in his life, but he still wholeheartedly wanted to cultivate his brother into a virtuous gentleman... And in fact, he succeeded. Zhuang Mo Han didn't disappoint him either. Even on the night before his death, he still impressed me... Although your brother is untalented, I want to do what Xiao En can do."

He seemed to be trying to persuade his younger brother, and also to comfort himself: "It's good to be a good person. I also want to be a good person."

……

……

Fan Si Zhe, upon hearing such earth-shattering secrets for the first time, opened his mouth wide and couldn't say a word for a long time. After a long while, he said with a trembling voice, "But... I get a headache when I see the annotated classics and philosophical works by Zhuang... Brother, it's a bit too difficult for me to become a great master."

Fan Xian laughed out of anger and cursed, "With your brains, you naturally can't succeed in reading."

Fan Si Zhe didn't know what to say: "Then you say this story..."

"Do business well and strive to become a merchant who will be remembered for all time in the future." Fan Xian smiled and encouraged him, "Merchants... don't necessarily have to take the insidious path as the world imagines. In this world, there are also some merchants who take the main road and still succeed."

Fan Si Zhe said foolishly, "Merchants value profit... Making money is all that matters. How can they be remembered for all time? Main road? Even if they succeed, wouldn't they still be a piece of fat in the government's mouth?"

"With Father and me, if you do business properly, who would dare to do anything to you?" Fan Xian looked at him with calm and gentle eyes: "And have you forgotten about the Ye family? On Cang Mountain, you told me that the reason you were interested in business from a young age was because when you were little, Father often held you and mentioned the stories of the Ye family's power back then. If that Ye family's female head hadn't died, let alone the government, who among the major countries in the world would dare to do anything to the Ye family..."

Fan Si Zhe's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed: "The brothel business is very profitable, more profitable than anything else." He still felt that what did business need face for? Earning money was the first priority.

Fan Xian said with a smile, "I asked Da Ye of Qing Yu Tang, and he said that the Ye family did all kinds of business back then, but they didn't do these side businesses. First of all, the gender of the Ye family's female head definitely determined that she would hate this business. On the other hand, Da Ye's explanation was that side businesses... since there is the word 'side', then even if they can obtain great profits, they are ultimately not the right path... Just like the clear green water on the banks of a big river, although it is deep and continuous, it is difficult to become a vast state. If you really want to take the discipline of business to the top, it won't work to just play around in these small rivers."

For some reason, the more Fan Xian spoke, the more excited he became. Perhaps it touched the softest part of his heart, and he said loudly, "It's not easy to live a lifetime. Whatever you do, you have to do it to the extreme. Be a merchant? Then you can't be satisfied with being a sly merchant, nor can you be satisfied with being an official merchant, or even an imperial merchant... The way of business still exists. You have to be a merchant of the world, not only rich enough to rival a country, but also respected by the people and remembered for generations."

He said it as if the heaven and earth were eternal, but Fan Si Zhe had a headache. He looked at his elder brother helplessly and said, "The Ye family even sold weapons back then, helping our Da Qing Dynasty break up Northern Wei... The people in the north didn't like her very much... Speaking of business methods, Baoyuelou... I just used some dirty tricks, and Yuan Da Jia just killed a few prostitutes, but the Ye family's female head didn't know how many wronged souls she caused in this world, brother, these words..."

Fan Xian was momentarily speechless and waved his hand uninterestingly, stopping Fan Si Zhe from continuing to compare and said, "In short, bullying the weak is always not very meaningful."

……

……

Fan Si Zhe suddenly said with worry, "Brother, I really don't want to leave Kyoto." He also said, "Father and mother are in the capital. Brother, please be filial on behalf of your child." He knew that only by staying away from Kyoto could the Baoyuelou matter truly subside. The tool used by the Second Prince to win over the Fan family would disappear without a trace. Although Fan Xian had always resolutely denied this, seeing Father's decision, he knew that he had indeed brought some trouble to the family.

Moreover, after Fan Xian's words, the fourteen-year-old boy also felt some impulses in his heart. If he could truly reach the level of the Ye family's female head in his life, what an accomplishment that would be?

Fan Xian nodded, agreed, and then leaned to his ear and whispered a few words, and finally explained clearly the few people in Shangjing City who could be trusted.

Fan Si Zhe was stunned for a moment when he heard his brother's true intentions. The Inner Treasury... smuggling to the north... the Cui family... such a huge amount of silver... Did he have the ability to do it?