(The time is messed up now, so the updates are a bit chaotic, sorry. ps: I went through the underground passage during lunch and saw a few people setting up chess scams. I saw someone fall for it and move a piece. I said too much and got glared at by the hidden shills. I'm in a bad mood and feel inferior for not knowing domineering true qi... These chapters are exposition; I want to study this writing method, don't know how it'll turn out.)

"How is Lanshi today?" The Ming family's Old Madam looked at her son coldly, concerned about her grandson.

Ming Qingda squinted and said, "The child knows what's important. Besides, he's been treating her well these past few years."

"Men, ah." The Ming family's Old Madam mocked and ridiculed, "They all end up like this."

The old woman thought for a while, then shook her head and said, "Tell Lanshi to interact with Yuan Dajia less. I heard a few days ago that the Imperial Envoy's protégé is opening a brothel in the city. Lanshi sold the bamboo pavilion and is a little uncomfortable. He's planning with Yuan Dajia on how to break the Imperial Envoy's business. Now that we've drafted the regulations, we certainly can't go against them."

She continued coldly, "Yuan Dajia is the son's woman. Let Lanshi drool a little. Besides, you know that the Fan family hates Yuan Meng to the bone. If Fan Xian finds out that Yuan Meng is in Suzhou, he'll probably kill her at the first opportunity. Ming Shi associating with her will be dangerous."

Ming Qingda nodded in agreement and was about to leave the room when his mother stopped him. After a long silence, she asked worriedly, "Our arrangements are ultimately our arrangements. I always feel that that Little Fan master shouldn't be so quiet after Tie Shou cleaned up the Internal Treasury."

Ming Qingda thought for a moment, then calmly replied, "Mother, rest assured. After all, our family is a well-known clan in the world. Without solid evidence, even an Imperial Envoy wouldn't dare to act recklessly."

The Ming Old Madam's eyebrows and beard were all white, and her face was full of wrinkles, all filled with worldliness and coldness. She snorted coldly, "Dare not? He doesn't even want forty thousand taels of pure silver. What he wants must be more. Who else in this world besides my Ming family can give him so much silver?"

Indeed, to raise forty thousand taels of silver in such a short period and deliver it to Fan Xian's hands was a feat that would shock the world. Although Fan Xian incredibly did not accept it, this bribe, which could be called the largest in the world, could already be recorded in history. Fan Xian didn't even want forty thousand taels of silver, so what he sought must be even greater.

"Your son has thought about it," Ming Qingda said unhurriedly. "The Imperial Envoy not accepting the silver isn't necessarily a bad thing. Take last September, for example. Old Cui's family sent out twenty thousand taels of silver at Yi Shi Ju, and Little Fan master accepted it with a smile. But in a blink, he wiped out the Cui family. So, whether he accepts the silver or not doesn't indicate what this strange master is thinking."

Since ancient times, it has been a matter of course to accept silver for doing things. It was extremely rare for someone like Fan Xian to accept Cui's family's twenty thousand taels of silver and not only not give them any benefits but also take them down with a thunderous strike. This move completely destroyed Fan Xian's reputation in the bribery world, and the merchants of Jiangnan resented this deeply.

The Ming family's Old Madam's cheeks were weak, and her smile looked particularly terrifying. She said mockingly, "The Cui family is also small-minded and can't see things clearly. Their precious son offended Fan Xian in the Northern Qi capital, and he was punished to kneel for half the night. Did they think they could smooth things over with twenty thousand taels of silver? Little Fan master accepted this silver not to do things for the Cui family, but only to indicate that he no longer held a grudge about the Northern Qi capital. As for what happened later, who knows?"

Speaking of this, the old woman frowned and asked, "How is Hui'er?"

Ming Qingda replied, "Her mood is better."

Under the Chang Princess's secret arrangement, the Cui and Ming families were engaged in a marriage alliance. The Hui'er mentioned at this time was Cui Zhihui, the legal wife of Ming Lanshi, the third generation of the Ming family. After the Cui family was brought down by Fan Xian, although those leading figures survived under Yan Xiaoyi's protection, their family was ruined, and a thousand strands of charm disappeared with the wind. The new bride who married into the Ming family inevitably felt apprehensive and washed her face with tears every day.

After briefly discussing some family matters, they returned to the main topic. The Ming Old Madam squinted and said, "The manager of the Taiping Bank said a few days ago that the silver our family deposited is almost ready. But these days, you came and told me about the Zhaoshang Bank... What kind of background is that? Why have I never heard of it?"

"I'm a little worried about the Taiping Bank," Ming Qingda said with a frown. "Shi Chanli, whom I mentioned earlier, is said to have withdrawn several large sums of silver from the bank. If the court, or rather the Imperial Envoy, has laid any traps, I'm afraid there will be problems."

Seeing that his mother was silent, lost in thought, he continued, "The Zhaoshang Bank is a newly established one, and it only started appearing in Dongyi City last year. As you know, most of the current banks come from Dongyi. I asked someone to investigate the shares and background behind it, and there shouldn't be any problems. What your son is thinking is that if the Imperial Envoy raises the price of this Internal Treasury tender, there must be a guarantee for future cash flow. Besides the Taiping Bank, we need to keep another path open."

The Ming Old Madam opened her eyes and said with a sneer, "What kind of background makes you so confident? Our family's Internal Treasury business requires silver like flowing water. How can a small bank turn around quickly? Fan Xian's coming to Jiangnan has messed up your mind. You're really not very promising."

Ming Qingda felt a slight annoyance in his heart, but he still maintained a smile on his face and explained, "The main thing is that the background is reliable. Can you guess who's behind that Zhaoshang Bank?"

"Don't play these tricks with me," the Ming Old Madam said, staring at her son with disgust.

Ming Qingda coughed twice and said, "I've investigated clearly. Most of the shares of the Zhaoshang Bank are the Shen family's assets. The Northern Qi court is pursuing them fiercely. The Shen family's money manager escaped to Dongyi in those years, which is how he started this business."

"The Shen family?" A trace of interest finally appeared in the Ming Old Madam's eyes. "Shen Zhong, the Pacification Envoy of the Northern Qi Zhenfu Division?"

"Exactly."

The Ming Old Madam pondered for a while and then chuckled dryly, "The Northern Qi court confiscated the Shen family, and the Shen eldest miss escaped alone. There's always been a fortune that hasn't been confiscated. In those years, Shen Zhong and the Cui family jointly controlled the smuggling of the Internal Treasury to Northern Qi. I don't know how much silver they stored. If it's his family, this bank has some financial strength."

"The most important thing is that the real backer of the Zhaoshang Bank is a very powerful family in Dongyi City," Ming Qingda said while the iron was hot. "Shen Zhong was killed by the Northern Qi emperor, and it should be related to Little Fan master. So, the Zhaoshang Bank will definitely not collude with the court or Northern Qi."

In addition to the vast amount of silver hidden in the Ming family's fields and estates, the silver used for business was basically stored in the Taiping Bank. However, the seal for transferring money from the Taiping Bank had always been in the hands of the Ming Old Madam. Ming Qingda had the title of the head of the Ming family in name only, but in reality, he was just a puppet. Who knew what he had in mind when he strongly recommended the Zhaoshang Bank to his mother today?

Whether the Ming Old Madam had noticed her son's intentions or not, her smile disappeared instantly, and she said coldly, "How much money can Shi Chanli transfer from the Taiping Bank? Didn't you find out?"

Ming Qingda felt a cold sweat flowing down his back, and he forced himself to remain calm and said, "I pressured the Taiping Bank, and their old manager had no choice but to break the rules and give me an exact number. The origin of the silver that Shi Chanli can transfer is unclear. It should be from the Fan family, and the total amount should be around fifty thousand taels."

The Ming Old Madam snorted coldly and didn't say anything, just stared at her son.

Ming Qingda became increasingly nervous.

After an unknown amount of time, the Ming Old Madam sighed and said, "It's better not to rush to contact the Zhaoshang Bank yet. First, Shi Chanli can't move much silver, which is not enough to cause us trouble in the bidding. Second, the Taiping Bank is backed by Si Gu Jian, that old monster. This bank is the most particular about its reputation. You made them break the rules because Si Gu Jian needs our Ming family to ship goods to Dongyi City. If you turn around and flirt with the Zhaoshang Bank, how will they feel? Third, even if the Zhaoshang Bank is backed by the Shen family's money from back then, it's not much. Even if there's the big family you mentioned in Dongyi City... but Dongyi City is also very chaotic. The so-called big family is probably an eyesore to Si Gu Jian. Why should we offend Si Gu Jian?"

Ming Qingda raised his head, seemingly not expecting his mother to speak to him so gently.

The Ming Old Madam finally came to a conclusion: "There can be some small transactions with the Zhaoshang Bank, but as for the Internal Treasury, we must still go through the Taiping Bank, just to be safe."

Ming Qingda didn't dare to say anything more. He always felt that his mother's gentleness hid a bloodless knife. However, he was still somewhat unconvinced in his heart. In business, one should naturally have three escape routes. How could one put everything in the Taiping Bank?

The mother and son had a slight difference in judgment, and it was this difference that led to those very troublesome things later.

……

……

"If the Imperial Envoy can tolerate our family for a few years, then do as you say and continue like this. If he... insists on putting our Ming family to death, you know what to do."

Ming Qingda bowed and agreed, then pondered for a moment and said, "The Junshan Gathering is next month. I'm afraid it'll be too late."

The Ming Old Madam looked at him coldly: "Killing people isn't a rush job... As for the Junshan Gathering, our Ming family has supported the Jiangnan martial world for so many years, protecting them under the court's gaze for so many years. Shouldn't they repay us somehow?"

The killing referred to here naturally meant killing Fan Xian. And the Junshan Gathering was definitely not the martial arts gathering that Zou Lei had once wanted to use to deal with Fan Xian.

The Qing Kingdom has what is called the jianghu (martial world), but the real jianghu is definitely not like the scene on the bluestone flat next to West Lake.

Among the common people, there are so-called experts. Experts of the level of the old offering from the Jiangnan water village are hidden in countless places.

The so-called Junshan Gathering is the place where these so-called experts in the so-called jianghu truly gather. The Junshan Gathering has always been unknown, and no one knows how high its strength really is.

If Fan Xian really wanted to drive the Ming family to extinction, a great family that had lasted for hundreds of years would naturally have ways to fight back. Especially now, the Sixth Division's Shadow and professional assassins are playing a game of hide-and-seek with the Dongyi City swordsmen all over Jiangnan. The defenses around Fan Xian are not as tight as they seem.

Ming Qingda clearly didn't agree with this suggestion and said with a slight mockery, "People that Dongyi City couldn't kill, I don't believe the Junshan Gathering can do it. Also, Mother, don't forget that the Imperial Envoy himself is a top expert. He also has the Tiger Guards sent by His Majesty by his side. Most importantly... that Northern Qi Saintess, Haitang, should also be by his side."

The Ming Old Madam looked at her son with pity: "Killing people is about risking your life, not a game that emphasizes success rate. If others are going to kill our whole family, and you're still considering whether you can kill the other party, then you'll never have the opportunity to kill the other party."

Ming Qingda replied with a bitter smile, "Even if we can kill Fan Xian, so what? His Majesty will be furious, the world will be shocked. Can my Ming family still survive?"

"Of course, it must be done perfectly, to give the world a convincing answer," the Ming Old Madam said coldly. "If Fan Xian can be killed, then naturally Si Gu Jian of Dongyi City did it. What does it have to do with our Ming family? Anyway, Si Gu Jian has taken the blame for a lot of things these years, so it wouldn't matter if he took one more."

Ming Qingda said mockingly, "This excuse may only fool ourselves, but it won't fool the people of the world, let alone the Supervisory Council and His Majesty."

"If we can kill Fan Xian," the Ming Old Madam said expressionlessly, "Of course, it would be best if we could maintain peace. But if that day really comes, I believe that our wise emperor of the Great Qing will definitely not shake the entire Jiangnan, shake the foundation of his rule, because of a dead illegitimate son. If things can be suppressed to a minimum, His Majesty will definitely suppress them."

"A living Fan Xian is more valuable than ten Ming families, but ten dead Fan Xians are not as valuable as a broken Ming family. His Majesty doesn't like our Ming family, but he can't destroy our Ming family. So, His Majesty only hopes that this time Fan Xian can completely bring our Ming family into the hands of the court... If you understand this, I can safely hand over this family to you."

A hint of hatred appeared on the Ming Old Madam's face: "Then I'll fill it in with my life."

Ming Qingda was filled with mixed emotions and cried, "Mother, what unlucky words are you saying?"

He sneered inwardly, The old woman is indeed old. She's actually so confused about things. If we really kill Fan Xian according to your wishes, how would His Majesty still give the Ming family a way out? Fill it in with your life? Do you think your old life is really worth that much?