Niao Ni

Chapter 353 The Old Shopkeeper

The master craftsman knelt on the ground, his face alternating between red and white. Hearing the name Ye Family, he recalled the man's true identity, a memory hidden for many years slowly surfacing, filling him with shame, anger, and fear. The shame and guilt were easy to understand, after all, he was once just a small beggar by the roadside. He was able to reach this position entirely because of the Ye Family. And how did the Ye Family's Miss educate people like him back then?

As for anger and fear, they were his natural reaction, a sense of shame and anger from being stripped naked. And considering that the Imperial Envoy was a descendant of the Ye Family, he was afraid that the other party already knew what was in his head. How could he use those things to threaten the other? The other party had beheaded Master Craftsman Xiao with one stroke, so why couldn’t he do the same to him?

"The court has treated you well," Fan Xian said, looking at him, word by word. "Not to mention you three master craftsmen, even the average treasurer's annual salary is more than that of a third-rank official in Kyoto. What more could you want?"

A glint of coldness flashed in his eyes. "Could it be that you think the Internal Treasury's output depends entirely on your brains? That twenty million taels of silver every year has dazzled your eyes, making you feel resentful, that you should be earning more?"

These words hit the treasurers' hearts. The Internal Treasury's annual output was extremely rich, selling to various countries, bringing huge profits to Qing Kingdom. Although the treasurers' treatment was already extremely high, compared to that huge sum of silver, they still felt somewhat uncomfortable in their hearts, always feeling that they were earning money for the court and should be sharing more of it. This led to private embezzlement and oppression of the people.

Hearing the Imperial Envoy say this, although the treasurers dared not retort, their eyes revealed that this was indeed what they thought.

Fan Xian sneered, ruthlessly tearing off their mask, and said with a slight mockery, "But the problem is… is what you rely on really what's in your brains?"

Silence fell over the scene. Everyone, including the officials, acknowledged this fact, until Fan Xian said, "Don't forget, what did you know before the Ye Family appeared? Did the technology you have in your brains fall from the sky? Did the Divine Temple teach it to you?"

Fan Xian scolded, "Remember this clearly! The Ye Family taught it to you! Without the Ye Family's Miss back then, you would all be useless trash, continuing to till the fields and beg! What did the Ye Family build these large workshops for back then? I think you've all forgotten. You dare to use what the Ye Family taught you to threaten me in front of this official. Have you no shame? Do you know no shame?"

The officials behind him looked at each other. Although the court had long stopped investigating the Ye Family's affairs, and the young Lord Fan's identity was gradually becoming known to the world, openly speaking of the Ye Family like this was, after all… somewhat taboo.

Fan Xian couldn't care less at this moment. On the one hand, he was angry, and on the other hand, he wanted to use this opportunity to clear his name. In this world, no matter what you do, you must be justified. A teacher must have a legitimate reason for his actions. And today, Fan Xian's reprimanding of the treasurers and beheading of the man had already raised the banner in terms of morality, regardless of the level of interests. Using the Ye Family's skills to threaten the Ye Family's descendants, wasn't this ingratitude?

The Master Craftsman of the Second Workshop finally softened. He knelt on the ground and wailed, "Lord, I was wrong. Please give me a chance to use the skills I learned back then to serve the court."

Although this master craftsman was wailing in pain, the sharp-eyed Fan Xian did not see any tears on his face. On the contrary, the corners of his lips were tightly pursed, and he couldn't help but sneer, knowing that the other party still thought he wouldn't continue killing, and still thought that what he had in his brain was useful.

Fan Xian clapped his hands lightly. As the applause faded, four elderly men, around fifty years old, were escorted into the workshop by the officials of the Supervisory Council. These old men were none other than the shopkeepers of Qing Yu Nian, who had been transferred from the Central Plains area via Danzhou!

Supervisory Council officials placed four chairs, and Fan Xian stood up, expressionless but deliberately respectful, to invite the four shopkeepers to sit down.

The officials, treasurers, and workers were confused, wondering who these old fellows, who seemed to be blown away by the wind, were, and how they were qualified to sit side by side with the Imperial Envoy? Although the Deputy Envoy Ma Kai didn't say anything, he was also puzzled in his heart, thinking that even he, an official, was standing behind the Imperial Envoy, so these civilians were too audacious.

Fan Xian ran his finger over the lotus clothes on his body, dipped some cold rainwater, smeared it on his eyebrows, and slowly rubbed it in, and asked, "Do you still recognize who these four are?"

The Ye Family's downfall had been going on for nearly twenty years, and the workers in the Internal Treasury workshops were no longer the batch from back then. Even the treasurers had not seen the twenty-three chief shopkeepers of the Ye Family, who were high above them back then, so they did not recognize who these four were. Even if there were old people from back then, they were too far away to be able to distinguish them clearly.

However, the master craftsman of the Second Workshop, who was kneeling on the ground, slowly scanned the faces of these four with a hesitant gaze, and lowered his head to think for a long time. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something. His legs weakened in fright, and he collapsed to the ground in the mud, though he was originally kneeling!

He hadn't seen them for twenty years. As a small helper in the Ye Family back then, it took him a long time to remember who the people sitting in front of him were – the old shopkeepers of the Ye Family!

The body of the master craftsman of the Second Workshop trembled. Only now did he know why Fan Xian was so fearless, why he had forced the treasurers to rebel, and why he didn't care about the things they had in their brains - it turned out that he had brought the old shopkeepers who had been placed under house arrest in Kyoto with him to the Internal Treasury!

What kind of people were the old shopkeepers? They were the first batch of students of the Ye Family's Miss, and also the teachers of all the masters and helpers of the Ye Family later on. They were even the grandmasters of the current treasurers of the Internal Treasury! With such a group of old fellows by his side, the Imperial Envoy certainly didn't care about the loss of craftsmanship, and even less about the quality of the Internal Treasury's output. To be honest, the Internal Treasury was built by these old shopkeepers back then. How could they not have a way to manage it?

Having figured this out, the master craftsman was full of despair, but deep down, he still held a glimmer of hope. He grinned, struggled to crawl towards Fan Xian on the ground, and wailed, "Master, please plead for mercy for your disciple!"

Everyone was stunned, and Fan Xian was also slightly taken aback. Of course, he knew that this person was not pleading for mercy from him. Following the master craftsman's gaze, he found that he was looking at Qi Ye, and he couldn't help but tilt his head and ask curiously, "Qi Ye, was he your disciple back then?"

Qi Ye, with a solemn face, stared at the master craftsman's face, and said in a hoarse and resentful voice, "He studied with me for a few days."

Fan Xian smiled slightly, understanding Qi Ye's feelings. After the Ye Family collapsed, the twenty-three old shopkeepers were captured by the court from various places and placed under house arrest in Kyoto. Some of their disciples died resisting, and some eked out a living. Of course, these were all their own choices when disaster struck, and no one blamed them. However, the performance of people like the master craftsman of the Second Workshop, who had climbed to a high position, must have been very bad back then.

Hearing the master craftsman of the Second Workshop call out the word "Master," the master craftsman of the Third Workshop, who had been silent all along, was struck by lightning, and his whole body stiffened to one side. Looking at the four old men sitting beside the Imperial Envoy, he couldn't believe his ears at all.

And those of the Ye Family's remaining people among the treasurers, confirming the identities of these four, were shocked, and some, who still had old feelings, stood up one after another, kneeling in front of the four old shopkeepers with a mixture of surprise, joy, and fear.

"Fourth Master."

"Twelfth Uncle, I'm Zhu Zi."

"Greetings, old shopkeepers. I was a handyman in the Chuzhou branch back then."

Although most of the treasurers could not claim any relationship with these four old shopkeepers, the Internal Treasury's recognition meeting had already begun in a lively manner.

Fan Xian's face sank, and he said in a cold voice, "You can recognize relatives later." Although his expression was displeased, he was relieved in his heart. With the thirteen treacherous deputy master craftsmen, and the prestige of these old shopkeepers still remaining, his plan to reform the Internal Treasury should proceed more smoothly.

Reuniting after twenty years, the atmosphere in the workshop suddenly became a little sad, and this sadness just happened to dilute the previous tension. Only the officials of the Transportation Department felt a little uncomfortable, and some people from Xinyang sneered inwardly, thinking that if this scene were transmitted to Kyoto, His Majesty might have some opinions about Fan Commissioner Fan.

The master craftsman of the Second Workshop lowered his head and knelt on the ground, feeling slightly comforted in his heart, thinking that at most he would suffer some punishment. In a while, he would desperately admit his mistakes, and the Imperial Envoy, for the sake of the old Ye Family, probably wouldn't make things too difficult for him.

He glanced sideways at the corpse of Master Craftsman Xiao in the distance by the furnace mouth, feeling lingering fear in his heart. Fortunately, Xiao Jing had taken the lead, and he felt some sympathy for that guy, thinking that people who had nothing to do with the old Ye Family were indeed killed decisively by the Imperial Envoy.

Against all expectations, Fan Xian dismissed those treasurers, and a shallow smile appeared on his face, and he said, "Drag this man down and execute him."

"Yes, Lord."

The master craftsman of the Second Workshop raised his head and looked around with a confused look in his eyes. For a moment, he didn't understand who was going to be executed now? Shouldn't things just end like this?

It wasn't until he was dragged up by the officials of the Supervisory Council that he realized that the Imperial Envoy was actually going to kill him! He wanted to shout out his grievances, but a ball of dirt was stuffed into his mouth!

Watching the Supervisory Council officials drag the master craftsman, whose body was completely limp, out of the workshop, watching the water stains on the ground, everyone in the workshop, whether they were officials or civilians, shopkeepers or treasurers, became dead silent, and looked at the Imperial Envoy sitting in the middle.

Fan Xian didn't seem to feel these countless gazes at all, and lowered his head slightly.

Outside the workshop, there was a muffled sound of ironware chopping into flesh, and a muffled groan.

There was an uproar in the workshop, but it immediately fell into a deathly silence again. Everyone knew that the master craftsman of the Second Workshop had died just like that, simply and easily.

……

……

The silence didn't last long. The master craftsman of the Third Workshop, with his hands tied behind his back, smiled self-deprecatingly, his face pale with despair, and consciously walked to Fan Xian's front.

He thought to himself that he would no longer be spared any luck. Since the Imperial Envoy was using the name of suppressing the labor unrest, he would naturally not be foolish enough to open a court to hear the case, and he didn't need any evidence at all. He must kill these three people on the spot to establish his prestige, so that the four old shopkeepers could regain control of the technicians of the Internal Treasury - the master craftsmen of the three major workshops had died two of them, and he was naturally the third.

Fan Xian glanced at him, frowning slightly.

The master craftsman of the Third Workshop looked at him, gritted his teeth for a long time, and suddenly said, "I have my own way of seeking death, and I don't blame you for digging this pit for me to jump into. However, before I die, I beg you to allow me to ask something."

Fan Xian raised an eyebrow and said, "Ask."

The master craftsman of the Third Workshop stopped looking at him, turned his head to the side, looked at the Ye Family's Twelfth Shopkeeper beside him, his lips trembling for a long time before he said in a trembling voice, "Twelfth Uncle, is my master… is he doing well in Kyoto? This disciple is unfilial, and hasn't been able to pay his respects in these years."

"You are?" Twelfth Ye blinked his somewhat cloudy eyes, looking at this master craftsman and asked in confusion.

Qi Ye sighed and said from the side, "Thirteen's eldest disciple. You used to have the best relationship with Twelfth, so he's asking you."

Twelfth Ye was shocked and said, "Hu Jinlin? You're still alive? Everyone thought you died back then." This old shopkeeper suddenly thought that there were court officials all around him, and these words were a little inappropriate, so he quickly stopped talking.

Hu Jinlin's face was full of shame, and he lowered his head without saying a word.

Twelfth Ye sighed and said, "Miss said back then that it's always better to be alive than dead. We old bones are all eking out a living, so how can we be embarrassed to blame you… But you're asking about Thirteen… alas." The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "He passed away a few years ago. Twenty-three people entered Kyoto, and now there are only fifteen left."

Hearing that his benefactor and teacher had passed away, Hu Jinlin completely forgot that he was about to die, and his face was full of sorrow. Fan Xian listened quietly from the side, and also had some different emotions in his heart. The old people of the Ye Family were gradually being weathered away. When he first entered Kyoto that year, there were seventeen of the twenty-three shopkeepers. In less than two years, two more had died.

He looked at the piles of goods around this workshop, and suddenly became a little distracted, thinking when he would be able to re-establish the Ye Family's name, and when he would be able to let the people who deserved to die die, and let the people who deserved to live live again in the hearts of the Qing Kingdom's people?

In a very short time, he had already come to his senses, looking at the master craftsman of the Third Workshop in front of him, and said mockingly, "Although I don't know if you're acting, or if you really still have old feelings, I didn't intend to kill you in the first place, so don't think that you can survive because of my soft heart."

"Ah?" Hu Jinlin, who thought he was going to die for sure, had no thoughts of luck after the tragic deaths of his two master craftsman partners. Suddenly hearing these words, he was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

Fan Xian said expressionlessly, "Those who are guilty will be beheaded, and those with minor crimes will redeem themselves. I didn't come here to settle old scores."