Niao Ni
Chapter 298
Therefore, when Shi Qing'er saw this manager from Qing Yu Tang arrive, she immediately abandoned all thoughts of playing tricks on the accounts and even prepared for a complete loss. She gracefully stepped forward and gave an incredibly respectful bow.
The San Ye manager was probably already fifty years old. The whiskers under his chin were dyed with some white like flour. He looked at Shi Qing'er's charming face and repeatedly nodded, his face showing admiration.
Shi Chanli stood to the side, stunned. He wondered what his mentor, Fan Xian, had sent this old lecher to do.
San Ye praised, "This young lady... I presume you are in charge of this establishment? This old man sees that the location, the lighting, and the furnishings of this building are all genius choices. I am truly impressed. If the young lady is willing to continue staying in the building, I will report back to Supervisor Fan. There is really no need for this old bone to interfere."
Shi Qing'er's face flushed slightly. She replied, "Old Manager, you are too kind. Everything in this building is the work of the senior partner, and has nothing to do with this little girl."
The San Ye manager looked regretful and sighed. "This senior partner is indeed a genius in business... How could he... offend Fan..." Luckily, he was old and not yet senile, and he knew that these words had gone too far. He quickly stopped speaking under Shi Chanli's strange gaze. He only kept shaking his head and looking around, his expression filled with the lament of seeing a peak without a master, like gazing at the Eastern Mountain but seeing no lofty figures.
The way of business is reflected in the details. In the eyes of these old managers at Qing Yu Tang who had been immersed in the commercial world for twenty years, although the Embracing Moon Tower was engaged in shady business, the building itself radiated a bright aura. Moreover, there was a lake behind the building, a courtyard by the lake, the waiters and greeters knew how to advance and retreat and understood etiquette, and the girls were neither wanton nor undignified... They had precisely pinpointed the guests' heartstrings. The person in charge of all this was truly versed in the essence of commerce.
The old manager was sighing here, and Shi Chanli couldn't help but shake his head. He thought that the second young master of the Fan family really wasn't a simple privileged youth. It was truly wonderful; the two brothers of the Fan family were quite different from the rest of the world.
No news had come from the palace, so Shi Qing'er naturally didn't dare to make a decision about the Third Prince's money. However, since the takeover team had already moved in, the accounts had to be taken out for both parties to check. Although most merchants in Qing had both overt and covert accounts, Shi Qing'er didn't dare to play any tricks in front of the San Ye manager. In just a few incense sticks' worth of time, the Embracing Moon Tower's financial transactions were clearly calculated, and the three-tenths of the shares, converted into one thousand taels of silver, were temporarily separated, waiting for news from the Third Prince's side. Then, the entire Embracing Moon Tower would completely become... Shi Chanli's business.
After doing all this, Shi Qing'er was fully convinced that the future head manager of the Embracing Moon Tower would be San Ye from Qing Yu Tang. Unexpectedly, the old manager got back into his carriage and left, which surprised Shi Qing'er somewhat.
What surprised her even more was that the new manager of the Embracing Moon Tower who entered from outside was an acquaintance!
"Sang Wen?" Shi Qing'er was dumbfounded, but she immediately woke up. This Sang Wen had disappeared after Supervisor Fan forcibly redeemed her. It turned out that she had launched a surprise attack!
Shi Chanli looked at her expression and said, "That's right. This Miss Sang is the future head manager of the Embracing Moon Tower."
Shi Qing'er reluctantly gave Sang Wen a slight bow. When they were in the building together, Sang Wen, because of her past reputation, always deliberately showed some coldness and strength. She inevitably suffered a lot of difficulties from Shi Qing'er. Now that she saw the other party had become the head manager of the Embracing Moon Tower, she knew that she would not have a good time. She forcibly suppressed the stuffiness in her chest and prepared to return to her room to pack her bags.
Sang Wen was actually a little uneasy. Lord Fan had shown her great kindness. Since he had entrusted her with managing the Embracing Moon Tower again, she must manage it clearly. However, she was also somewhat vaguely afraid of the Third Prince's forces. When she saw that Shi Qing'er intended to step down, she felt relieved.
However, Shi Chanli frowned and said, "Miss Qing'er, you can't leave."
Shi Qing'er sneered, "I didn't sign any contract with the Embracing Moon Tower. Why can't I leave?"
Shi Chanli loosened the fabric button at his collar with some headache. After considering for a while, he said, "I've never done this brothel business before. Miss Sang was only a singer in the past. If you leave, whether the Embracing Moon Tower can still make money... I really don't know."
Only then did Shi Qing'er realize that the other party still needed her. A sense of satisfaction couldn't help but arise in her heart. She said with a smile, "If..."
Before she could finish the word "if," Shi Chanli interrupted, "Lord Fan said that you are not allowed to leave the Embracing Moon Tower unless he speaks."
Shi Qing'er felt bitter. She finally understood that the other party didn't need her, but had seen her through. She was just a woman. Even if she had some relationship with the Third Prince's side, since the Supervisor of the Supervisory Council had spoken, where would she dare to say half a "no"? No official in this world would conflict with the Supervisory Council for a prostitute. Even the princes would not do such a losing thing. If Supervisor Fan wanted to eliminate her, it would be easier than crushing an ant.
"What do you want me to do here?" she asked somewhat distractedly.
Shi Chanli said, "Lord Fan... oh, that's not right. I plan to make some small changes to the Embracing Moon Tower. I think Miss Qing'er should be able to play a role in it. Maybe in the future, the entire Qing kingdom's brothel industry... will need these changes."
Shi Qing'er was stunned. The Embracing Moon Tower's business was doing extremely well, so the senior partner had already withdrawn some capital to open branch buildings in other states. However, at present, she didn't occupy too large a share of the entire Qing kingdom's brothel industry. As for changes... brothel business had always been done like this since ancient times, unless you made some operational adjustments like the senior partner. Did Supervisor Fan really plan to become a poetic immortal and prepare to make all the prostitutes in the world stop selling themselves?
But the problem was... if prostitutes didn't sell their bodies and pimps didn't solicit customers, would it still be a brothel?
Shi Chanli didn't know what she was thinking. He just followed his mentor's instructions and said one thing after another: "First, from today onwards, the girls in the building will have their lifetime contracts changed to limited-term contracts, for a term of five years. They are free to do as they please after the term expires. Second, the Embracing Moon Tower must have a resident doctor to ensure that the girls are free from disease before they can receive guests. Third..."
Before he could finish, Shi Qing'er asked in confusion, "Change to limited-term contracts? What's the point of that?"
Shi Chanli explained, "Sir... cough, I misspoke again. I think that five years is the limit for doing this line of work. You always have to give people something to look forward to. If they think they can only be ridden by others for the rest of their lives, and they are not beautiful enough, and there is no possibility of being redeemed, the girls will naturally not be in a good mood and will not be able to treat the guests well."
Shi Qing'er sarcastically said, "After the five-year contract expires, can we poor women not sell ourselves? Who will redeem them?"
In the Qing kingdom, prostitutes were not registered separately. Once a prostitute entered the lowly class, she could not leave the class for life unless she was redeemed or the imperial court issued a special decree. According to what was said earlier, the Embracing Moon Tower signed a five-year limited-term contract. After those five years, the prostitutes in the building could not leave their class and would still have to do this business. Shi Chanli did not answer this question, because his mentor, Fan Xian, had said that he would naturally handle it in the future.
Shi Qing'er mocked again, "As for the doctor, that's even more ridiculous. The girls in the building have low status, and no doctor is willing to come to the door. It's already extremely difficult to see a doctor on ordinary days. How could there be a doctor willing to reside in the building permanently... Can those men afford to lose face?"
The Sang Wen girl, who had been silent all along, said with a smile, "Supervisor Fan said that he has many nephews in the Supervisory Council's Third Bureau. It's not a problem to invite a few doctors."
Shi Qing'er gave a bitter smile, thinking that the Supervisory Council's Third Bureau was a feared poison yamen. Did they plan to switch careers to become doctors? She increasingly felt that Supervisor Fan was an empty and superficial person. She sarcastically said, "Even if there is a doctor, what good is it? The girls' bodies are clean, but who can guarantee that the guests who come won't have syphilis or something?"
Shi Chanli also had a headache. "I don't have any good ideas about this matter." It wasn't that he didn't have any good ideas. It was clearly that Fan Xian's idea of industrializing the prostitution industry had encountered the major problem that condoms could not be promoted.
"You listen to the last few things first." He coughed twice and continued, "From now on, there can be no more forced buying and selling. If this kind of thing happens again... you will be held accountable."
He stared into Shi Qing'er's eyes until she lowered her head.
"There can be no more virgin prostitutes."
"There should be a fixed rate for the commission, based on the girls' brands and grades."
"The girls should have three days off each month, and they can act freely."
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...
As the "Big Boss Shi" kept talking, not only did Shi Qing'er's face change, but even Sang Wen was a little dizzy and fascinated. Finally, Shi Qing'er couldn't help but open her eyes, gasp, and say, "If you do this... is the Embracing Moon Tower actually a brothel... or a charity hall?"
Shi Chanli glanced at her and said, "Sir said that you were cultivated by Yuan Dajia, and logically you should be punished, but considering your humble origins, I'll give you a chance to atone for your sins... Don't worry about whether the Embracing Moon Tower is a brothel or a charity hall. In short, you honestly do business under the leadership of Miss Sang. If you can really make this happen and gradually promote it to the world, hundreds of thousands of brothel women in the world will owe you a debt of gratitude. It will be considered as repaying the debt you have owed in these few months, and Sir will spare your life."
Only at this time did Shi Chanli finally bring up Fan Xian's name without any avoidance.
Shi Qing'er was silent, not knowing what she was thinking. She looked frightened.
In fact, Shi Chanli's heart was also very frightened at this time. Although the Embracing Moon Tower would be monitored by Miss Sang Wen, who had secretly joined the Supervisory Council's First Bureau, was he, a dignified scholar and a disciple of Lord Fan, doomed to never have a day to serve as an official again and could only stay in the brothel, becoming a brothel owner who shouted for the girls upstairs and downstairs to receive guests?
He glanced at Sang Wen, and found that this woman from a singing background had a trace of calmness and stability in her weakness, and didn't seem to be very troubled.
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In the next few days, there was an autumn rain midway, desolate and shivering, stubbornly turning the clear and crisp autumn into a cold rainy night.
Fan Xian had completely taken over the Embracing Moon Tower, and the Second Prince's side had smelled some ominous signs and began to arrange matters. However, Fan Xian himself seemed relatively leisurely. He didn't go to any court hearings these days, nor did he go to the New Wind Pavilion to eat Jie Tang buns. Instead, he went to the Imperial College, taking a group of young teachers to sort out the cart of books he had dragged back from Northern Qi.
When the autumn wind blew slightly, the water droplets that wanted to linger on the clouds finally fell down, sparse and annoying. Going north from Danbo Bookstore for a distance, you would reach the gate of the Imperial College. A large area here was managed by the Imperial College and the Tongwen Pavilion. Several yamen established during the new policies of Qingli's first year had long been revoked.
Fan Xian held a black cloth umbrella and walked among the students coming and going in the Imperial College, occasionally nodding and greeting the students who respectfully bowed. Although his current status and position were already different from what they were before, His Majesty had not removed him from his fifth-rank Fengzheng position, and had also issued an oral decree, asking him to come to the Imperial College to attend classes when he had time.
Although he didn't like being a teacher and hadn't come to class, he was very willing to come to the Imperial College to read books and hide from the wind and rain outside, based on his official position.
The first day he came to the Imperial College, the students were inevitably a little surprised, because it had been almost a year since Lord Fan had been to the Imperial College. When the students thought of this young lord, who was now working in the Supervisory Council, they couldn't help but feel a little resistance and fear in their hearts, so they were not as enthusiastic as they had been a year ago. It wasn't until after a while that the students realized that Lord Fan was still as easy to get along with as before, and only then did they become active again.
Arriving outside the study reserved for him in the Imperial College, Fan Xian closed his umbrella and glanced at the gloomy weather outside, couldn't help but frown, and pushed the door open.
Inside the room, several teachers from the Imperial College were sorting out Zhuang Mo Han's donated books. For Qing, this cart of books had extremely wonderful symbolic significance. His Majesty attached great importance to it, so the Imperial College did not dare to neglect it, and the work of copying and maintaining the books was proceeding in an orderly manner.
Seeing Lord Fan walking in, these people quickly stood up and saluted.
Fan Xian returned the salute with a smile. These people in front of him were all people who had been unsuccessful for a long time. Because it was difficult for him alone to repair Zhuang Mo Han's donated books, he forcibly snatched them over from the Imperial College Zheng, and they had been getting along quite happily in the past few days.
The black cloth umbrella was placed in the corner and began to seep water onto the floor. There was a hidden stove and kang in the room, and when the two were heated together, Fan Xian suddenly felt that the humidity in the room had increased. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he loosened his collar and said, "It's not good if it's too humid. The weather is not too cold now, everyone, let's bear with it for a while. How about we put out this stove?"
One of the teachers explained, "The books need a certain temperature for storage. It won't work if it's too cold."
Fan Xian knew this and said, "It's not winter yet. It should be fine to put these books in the room. It's also not good if it's too humid."
Everyone responded, and then began to bury themselves in their work again. The Imperial College inherited the consistent style of Qing's court, focusing on practical matters and not on empty talk, which was very different from Northern Qi. Fan Xian also sat back at his desk, but before he had time to start working, he was asked to go out, saying that someone wanted to see him.
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"Why did the University Scholar come back to the Imperial College today?" Fan Xian looked at University Scholar Shu Wu sitting in the chair with some surprise and respectfully saluted.
After his Prime Minister father-in-law stepped down and the Minister of Rites was beheaded, the civil official system in the court had become a mess. Some were vaguely looking at Fan Xian, some were following the East Palace, but the Second Prince, who had been silent in previous years, had the support of the most civil officials because of his many years of management and literary reputation.
The University Scholar Shu in front of him was a student of Zhuang Mo Han in the past and had always had an excellent reputation. Based on his qualifications, he was undoubtedly one of the top figures in the court, but because he had passed the imperial examinations in Northern Wei and was now an official in Qing, there were always some problems. In this upheaval in the fifth year of Qingli, he unexpectedly gained the greatest benefit. Although he was stripped of his position as Imperial College Zheng, after the original Tongwen Pavilion University Scholar was removed from office due to his involvement in the spring examination incident, he was transferred to that position.
The Tongwen Pavilion University Scholar was extremely pure and noble. With the position of Prime Minister being abolished and no new Prime Minister being appointed yet, the Tongwen Pavilion University Scholar had to enter the government to discuss matters, and truly entered the center of Qing's court, equivalent to a Prime Minister. Even if Fan Xian had great power, he was still just a minor official in front of him.
Of course, University Scholar Shu Wu would not be so stupid as to really regard Fan Xian as an ordinary official. If that were the case, he would not have come to see Fan Xian today.
"Supervisor Fan can calmly return to the Imperial College, can't I return?" Shu Wu joked with Fan Xian, who was about the same age as his son, "It's cold and rainy outside. You young people know how to enjoy yourselves, hiding back in the Imperial College... What? Do you think the Supervisory Council's errand is too wet in the rain?"
Cold wind and cold rain outside? Fan Xian didn't know if University Scholar Shu meant anything by his words. He smiled and didn't know how to answer.
After Shi Chanli took over the Embracing Moon Tower, Yan Bingyun's actions began to gradually unfold. First, he used the pressure of the Supervisory Council to force the Ministry of Justice to skip the Kyoto Prefecture and directly issue a wanted notice, biting down on several crimes and starting to investigate Yuan Dajia, Yuan Meng.
However, the Yuan Meng girl really knew how to hide. Under the cover of Prince Jing's heir, Hong Cheng, she didn't know where she was hidden. Fan Xian wasn't worried. Anyway, issuing a wanted notice was to pave the way for the following things. The later Yuan Meng was caught, the better. In Yan Bingyun's procedure, one link was linked to another, as long as he could finally achieve the effect he wanted.
Just two days ago, rumors began to spread in Kyoto, saying that the brothel owner Yuan Meng, whom the Ministry of Justice's Thirteenth Yamen was arresting these days, was actually... the concubine of Prince Jing's heir, Li Hongcheng!
Rumors were originally easy to spread, and what's more, Yuan Meng and Li Hongcheng already had something going on, so for a time, Kyoto was buzzing with discussions. Li Hongcheng's reputation was like fatty meat in the hot weather, and it was visibly stinking day by day.
And it was well known that Li Hongcheng was on good terms with the Second Prince. Before long, rumors spread that the very famous Embracing Moon Tower in Kyoto was actually owned by the Second Prince behind the scenes, and the missing prostitute case investigated by the Ministry of Justice could not be separated from these members of the imperial family.
These rumors were told with great detail, such as Yuan Meng being a popular entertainer on the Liujing River, but she had not been seen receiving other guests except for the heir. Or, for example, on a certain day of a certain month, His Highness the Second Prince had a long conversation with Supervisor Fan of the Supervisory Council outside the Embracing Moon Tower. Although he did not know what the content of the conversation was, the Fan family sold the shares of the Embracing Moon Tower to a mysterious merchant surnamed Shi the next day.
These rumors were naturally the means of the Supervisory Council's Eighth Bureau. Back then, during the spring examination case, Fan Xian was forced to take the position and ultimately became the image engineering of an idol in the hearts of scholars all over the world, which was created by the Eighth Bureau. This Qing dynasty's head of the cultural elites was good at image engineering, and it was even more beautiful to start splashing sewage.
Of course, in the process of spreading rumors, the people of Kyoto also knew that the original senior partner of the Embracing Moon Tower was actually the Fan family's second young master, and the Fan family's reputation was also affected to some extent.
However, after all, the source of the rumors was in the Fan family's own hands. Casually throwing out a few stories about Supervisor Fan teaching his younger brother with a stick, the old Minister of Justice using family law to rectify the family style, the second young master being miserably crippled, and the miserable wailing of evil relatives in the garden... was enough to shock the people of Kyoto. In addition, the Fan family had no relationship with the Embracing Moon Tower on the surface, and it faded away after a while.
Speaking of controlling public opinion, Fan Xian was really very skilled at it. Back then, relying on Uncle Wu Zhu writing thousands of leaflets could drive the Eldest Princess out of the palace, let alone now dealing with a more immature Second Prince. Therefore, the current Kyoto civilians always thought that the Second Prince and the heir Li Hongcheng—these two people who actually had no shares in the Embracing Moon Tower—were the real masterminds behind the Embracing Moon Tower case, and that Fan Xian, Supervisor Fan, was an innocent person, and the Fan family probably had unspeakable grievances.
Yan Bingyun's next step was to target the financial transactions between the Second Prince and the Cui family. Fan Xian wasn't very clear about the specific method. He trusted Yan Bingyun's ability, so he simply didn't bother to care about this piece.
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University Scholar Shu Wu glanced at him and said worriedly, "Do you know that the Kyoto Prefecture has already accepted the Embracing Moon Tower case yesterday... Your second son's crime is not light, abetting violence, killing to silence, forcing women into prostitution... It will be heard today."
Fan Xian said with a wry smile, "It's unfortunate that my family has produced such a rebellious son."
Shu Wu shook his head and said, "The Kyoto Prefecture hasn't gone to your mansion to ask for people yet, and I think they still have other ideas in mind... Lord Fan, the word 'lawsuit' is the most harmful. There is not much room for maneuver in criminal cases. If the Kyoto Prefecture really tries it, and this matter alarms His Majesty, I think it will not end well."
After a conversation, Fan Xian already knew the position of this senior civil official. The other party was expressing opinions on behalf of the civil official system in the court, advising the Fan family and the Second Prince's faction to get along peacefully and not tear each other apart. Not to mention the issue of the imperial court's face, in the view of these senior officials, a struggle between two tigers would inevitably lead to one injury. Fan Xian and the Second Prince were both leaders of the younger generation in Qing, and it would be a loss to Qing's court regardless of who lost power in this struggle.
Of course, most people did not think that Fan Xian had the qualifications to compete with the prince, even though he was the Supervisor of the Supervisory Council. Fan Xian also understood this, so he knew that the University Scholar in front of him was persuading peace for his own sake, and he couldn't help but be a little moved. He smiled gently and said, "Thank you, Old Lord, for your advice... I presume Old Lord has already met His Highness the Second Prince."
Shu Wu nodded. Since Fan Xian returned to Kyoto from Northern Qi, he had been at odds with the Second Prince's faction. The Supervisory Council had arrested many of the Second Prince's officials. If he wanted to mediate, he had to see the Second Prince's opinion first. Unexpectedly, the Second Prince was very easy to talk to, and politely asked University Scholar Shu to speak to Fan Xian on his behalf, willing to have both sides take a step back.
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...
After listening to University Scholar Shu's message, Fan Xian sneered in his heart. The Second Prince's nickname was "Stone," and he was not someone who was easy to get along with. Both sides had already torn each other apart, and he had been forced to send his younger brother to a distant foreign country. The matter of his father-in-law being undermined by the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince always had to have an explanation, right?
Moreover, the spy of the Supervisory Council's First Bureau had long sent a message that the Second Prince's side had taken back to Kyoto the three murderers who had been secretly hidden at the Embracing Moon Tower, preparing to bite Fan Sizhe to death in the Kyoto Prefecture's court.
The Second Prince asked Shu Wu to speak on his behalf, but it was only to temporarily stabilize Fan Xian. Fan Xian was not so foolish. After respectfully serving tea to University Scholar Shu, he said, "This matter has nothing to do with the Supervisory Council, and it has nothing to do with me. I have been staying in the Imperial College these days, just to prevent anyone from misunderstanding."
Shu Wu couldn't help but smile bitterly, and the wrinkles on his face were full of pity: "Why bother fighting with him? Even if you win this time, what then? Winning a thousand times or ten thousand times is not as good as His Majesty being happy."
Fan Xian's heart moved slightly, knowing that these words were true, and he felt even more grateful to the old scholar in front of him. Although he had other ideas in his heart, he still responded gently: "Since you have spoken, what can I say? As long as the Kyoto Prefecture leaves some face for my Fan family, no one will pursue the case of the Ministry of Justice deeply."
In the eyes of Shu Wu, an old and important official, Fan Xian's response seemed a little rash. In officialdom, one always paid attention to covering up the face, how could one speak so clearly and unambiguously about these illegal things in front of a Prime Minister? But he also knew that Fan Xian's temperament was like this, and he smiled contentedly and pondered silently, just looking at the rain outside the window of the Imperial College, falling softly.
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Beside Yushan Road, three miles away from the Kyoto Prefecture Yamen, the autumn rain was falling gently.
The case of the missing prostitutes from the Embracing Moon Tower had been investigated. Although the corpses had not been dug up yet, the Kyoto Prefecture had already grasped the three murderers involved in the murder. As long as these three thugs who personally killed the prostitutes were arrested and their confessions obtained, they could bite down on the Fan family's second young master as the mastermind behind the scenes, on the one hand causing a strong blow to the Fan family, and on the other hand clearing the sewage splashed on the Second Prince's body.
Therefore, these three thugs were really important figures. Until today, the Second Prince's faction did not know why the Fan family would send these three people directly to the Kyoto Prefecture after executing family law. Wouldn't this give them a big handle?
But until the Fan family sold the Embracing Moon Tower and began to investigate Yuan Meng, pointing the finger directly at Li Hongcheng, the Second Prince realized that Fan Xian was just using these three thugs to appease his heart, thinking that he had really chosen peace, and thus reacted a few days slower. However, the Second Prince still felt that Fan Xian was a little unwise. As long as these three people were in his hands, where could your Fan family's fat pockmarked face run to?
Now the Second Prince was really angry. Did you, Fan Xian, really not know how high the sky was and how thick the earth was, and you actually dared to attack him. Everyone knew that you released those rumors in Kyoto. At this time, the heir Hongcheng, although he was also full of depression, was unable to go to the Fan mansion to find Fan Xian to fight, because Prince Jing took the lead in getting angry and, after giving him a beating, locked him up in the royal mansion, which could be regarded as dodging the wind and rain in Kyoto today.
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"Take good care of them and don't let anyone have the opportunity to contact them... You must not give them the opportunity to recant!" Fan Wujiu, one of the Second Prince's eight generals, said with a gloomy face to the constables of the Kyoto Prefecture who came to pick up the people: "If you screw up this errand, be careful with your own lives."
The constables of the Kyoto Prefecture nodded nervously, not nervous about this errand, but nervous about facing the Second Prince's eight generals. Yushan Road was only three miles away from the Kyoto Prefecture. If it wasn't to avoid suspicion, Fan Wujiu would have personally escorted these three thugs, watching them being locked up in the Kyoto Prefecture's prison.
The carriage started moving, and in the gloomy autumn rain, Fan Wujiu watched from afar. The carriage was traveling in the rain, everything was as usual, there were not many pedestrians on the street, only a few passersby occasionally walked by, holding umbrellas and hurrying along.
At this moment, those passersby moved. The umbrellas flipped over, and sharp iron implements dyed black were drawn from the umbrella handles, and they pierced into the carriage with unusual calmness!
Fan Wujiu rushed towards that side in shock, but he was some distance away from the carriage, and seeing the speed at which those people were moving, he knew that he would not be able to save them in time!
Those sharp thorns were extremely sharp, like piercing tofu, directly piercing into the side walls of the carriage, killing the three people inside.
The passersby pulled out the sharp thorns, with no extra expressions or movements, holding umbrellas, and walked into the alleys beside the street, directly disappearing into the rainy day.
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Blood flowed from the carriage, and Fan Wujiu hurried over with a cold face. He pulled open the curtain of the carriage and suddenly changed color. The traces of those wounds all showed how professional the people who did it were, with just a simple stab, there was no saving them.
Fan Wujiu couldn't help but gasp and began to worry about the Second Prince. Killing the three people in the carriage so cleanly and neatly was already extremely difficult, and what was even more terrifying was that the other party clearly knew when they were transferring the witnesses. It seemed that the Supervisory Council had also buried many spies in the Second Prince's line in order to accurately grasp the time and place of the attack.
This assassination was too perfectly designed, so it seemed so natural and simple, like eating, not thrilling.
Only a master like Fan Wujiu could find the feeling of thrilling excitement from this plain killing game.
Without even thinking, he knew who did it. Apart from the killers of the Supervisory Council's Sixth Bureau, who were always hiding in the darkness, who else could have this ability? His face became even paler, and he couldn't help but think, if those passersby had been targeting him for an assassination, could he have survived?
All the people of the Second Prince's faction seemed to underestimate Fan Xian's power, because this new generation that had grown up in Qing did not know what a terrible organization the Supervisory Council was.
Fan Wujiu rubbed the short dagger in his sleeve nervously and felt for the first time that he should leave the Second Prince and save himself.
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"I'm not good at chess, I'm not good at chess. I just can't bear to take pieces when I play chess." Fan Xian said with a face full of shame.
He was playing chess with Shu Wu at the Imperial College at this time. The morning court meeting ended early today, and the disaster relief in the south was almost over, so University Scholar Shu had so much free time. However, after playing two games of chess, the old gentleman found that Fan Xian, such a clever and intelligent talent, was actually a genuine bad chess player, and he changed his face, feeling that there was no fun in winning such a game of chess.
Shu Wu sighed and said, "Fan Xian, Fan Xian, I see that you are very shrewd in everything you do, but why are you so bad at chess?"
The two casually talked a few more words about the current affairs of the court. Because Fan Shangshu rarely talked about these things at home, and the Supervisory Council could not investigate their disputes at the court meeting, Fan Xian was very interested in listening, and smelled some flavors of the major political affairs that he could not access at his current rank. Now that Yan Xiaoyi was serving as the Grand Commandant in the north, constantly reaching out for money, and small-scale wars were also taking place in the south, Qing was indeed short of money.
Fan Xian's heart was relieved at this time. As long as His Majesty needed money, the internal treasury would fall into his hands next year. The Eldest Princess was good at playing tricks and conspiracies, but she was not so reassuring when it came to making money.
The rain was slightly less, and Fan Xian was not qualified to keep this old gentleman for dinner. He respectfully sent the University Scholar out the door, and then turned around and returned to that room, restarting to review the collection of books that Master Zhuang had given him. After the teachers dispersed, he did not leave, just holding a book and spacing out.
He knew what was happening in Kyoto today, but he didn't care much. Those three people were already dead people anyway, but the families of those dead prostitutes were also suing in the Kyoto Prefecture, pointing their fingers at the Fan family.
Of course, Fan Xian would not kill to silence them again. The three people who died today had been secretly hidden by the Second Prince. If he killed them, the other party could not sue in front of the Emperor. Moreover, although Fan Xian was not a good person, he did not have the ruthlessness to kill the victims.
In fact, he understood that if he disregarded his identity, as the Supervisor of the Supervisory Council, the resources and power in his hands were far stronger than the Second Prince. If there were no accidents in this struggle, of course he would win steadily.
It was just that the world did not know this.
The only thing that Fan Xian cared about was the attitude of His Majesty in the palace. If His Majesty felt that it was nothing for these little bastards to play house, then Fan Xian could continue to play. He was actually very accurate in figuring out His Majesty's thoughts. The Second Prince... was just a whetstone, although he was used to sharpen the Crown Prince, it also seemed like a good choice to sharpen the future Dean Fan of the Supervisory Council and see Dean Fan's methods and thoughts.
Of course, if Fan Xian really attacked too harshly, just one decree from the palace could quell the matter. He was not worried that His Majesty would take his life because of this matter, but instead would ridicule himself and think... Everyone is a bastard, you Emperor Majesty can't favor one egg over another.
The rain in Kyoto stopped. He quietly avoided the eyes of the crowd, left the Imperial College, took off his coat in a clothing store, revealing the pure "work clothes" inside. He then took an ordinary coat from the humble shopkeeper, put it on, flipped his rain hat, covered his face, and disappeared into the streets of Kyoto.
...
...
The rain had stopped, and the lead clouds in the sky seemed to be melted by the sunlight, gradually thinning and flattening, and gradually tearing apart, flowing along the arc of the sky towards the four corners of the sky, revealing a large expanse of blue sky in the middle, and that autumn sun, which seemed particularly fresh after gaining victory.
The sunlight hit the outside of the Kyoto Prefecture Yamen, and a few rays penetrated into the hall, illuminating the plaque of "Justice and Brightness