Fan Xian, of course, had no way to pretend to be an unhygienic commoner and stand guard in front of the Imperial Clan Court for eighteen days. He simply worked with Wang Qinian to confirm that the hidden thread was indeed as they had calculated. They had no intention of following this thread to investigate further.

Moreover, he was clear in his mind that today was the seventh day of the first lunar month. He had confirmed with Hong Zhu that he would be leaving Kyoto again for Jiangnan in early February… The time in between was simply too short, making it impossible to truly grasp any patterns. The only thing he could rely on was Wang Qinian's unfathomable tracking skills.

After confirming their target, the two left the entrance of the Imperial Clan Court and returned to the back door of the old city courtyard. Although Fan Xian was very interested in seeing Wang Qinian's daily life, these days were too tense. He didn't have much time to enjoy life. He waved his hand and got into the carriage.

All his equipment was left in this black carriage. He took off his outer clothes, checked the sleeve crossbow and medicine pouch, and then took out a makeup box, carefully applying makeup to his face. He also used a special glue from the Overwatch Council to stick his brow corners down.

Instantly, the distance between his eyes and the shape of his eyebrows changed. He also added an inconspicuous mole under his jaw, turning a handsome young gentleman into an unremarkable passerby.

The carriage stopped outside the Lotus Pond neighborhood in the West City, but Fan Xian had already gotten out of the carriage and joined the complex crowd in the West City.

The area of the West City in Kyoto was not large. Compared to other cities, it was not rich enough, not quiet enough, and not noble enough. Especially the Lotus Pond neighborhood, which was a whole area of slums. The people living here considered survival their top priority all day long. Only when there was food in the family's storage would people consider things like etiquette and morality. Therefore, the people in the neighborhood didn't have any lofty integrity just because of the name of the Lotus Pond neighborhood. On the contrary, it was a mixed bag, with all sorts of shady deals.

Passerby Fan Xian used the rain hat behind his clothes to cover the light snowflakes, his face gloomy as he stepped in the mud in the streets and alleys, walking towards the depths of the Lotus Pond neighborhood. This expression of his was not particularly eye-catching in the Lotus Pond neighborhood. The people on the side of the street and the shopkeepers in the shops were too lazy to give him a second glance.

There were too many people with gloomy faces, like their fathers had died, in this neighborhood, because there were too many underworld brothers here. Not every day they went to collect debts could they get the money back, and not every time the Kyoto government caught their brothers could they escape. Underworld brothers were righteous and fierce, and their emotions were also very volatile, so it was normal to be downcast.

Passing through a narrow alley with broken eaves protruding out, Fan Xian was once again surrounded by the street prostitutes. Fortunately, it was still early, and although the dedicated prostitutes were standing outside, the cheap rouge on their faces and the constant yawns indicated their low fighting power, so Fan Xian was able to easily escape and drill into a small wooden building on a back street, finding his destination.

The wooden room was filled with a foul smell. As soon as Fan Xian entered the door, he couldn't help but rub his nose, but he didn't lift the hat on his head. He went straight to the bed, took out a token from his pocket, and handed it to the wary cripple on the bed.

The cripple's hands could still move. He watched the uninvited guest with a nervous expression. After taking the token and looking at it carefully for a long time, he lowered his voice and said, "Since you're one of us, why did you come up so rashly?"

Fan Xian didn't have time to waste with him, and went straight to the point, "What good stuff has come out of the palace recently?"

The cripple's expression changed. He didn't know who this detestable guy in front of him was, but he actually asked about this thing that could cost them their heads so directly. But since the other party knew about this dangerous business, he must be a confidant of the gang leader or something.

He groped in the smelly quilt for a long time, and pulled out countless boxes. Fan Xian opened them one by one and looked at them carefully, his face still having that deathly expression, which showed that he was quite dissatisfied.

The cripple watched his expression, shook his head, and groped in the porcelain pillow under his neck for a long time before finally pulling out half of a jade ornament and handing it over.

Fan Xian took the jade ornament and examined it carefully. The quality and color of this jade was excellent, a warm and glistening piece. It was truly a good item, and the cloud pattern carved on it was obviously a royal design. He nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad. The more of this kind of good stuff, the better."

The cripple smiled smugly. Fan Xian also smiled in his heart. He was well aware that the cripple in front of him was not as pitiful as he appeared on the surface.

Kyoto was a place where the world's wealth and elegance converged, especially the imperial palace. From ancient times to the present, the people of the world supported the emperor and all the nobles, and the eunuchs and palace maids who served the emperor and nobles would secretly steal these things and give them back to the dark members of the common people.

This was the case in the imperial palace, and it was also the case in various mansions. Moreover, too much shady money and jewelry needed to be laundered and converted into land deeds in various prefectures and counties. Naturally, only those professional experts at the bottom could do this kind of thing.

The underworld was this kind of professional expert. Therefore, all the gangs with real strength in the world would leave a small branch in Kyoto. These gangsters didn't dare to oppose the imperial court, but they wouldn't be polite about acting as the court's sewer and earning some petty money to spend.

It was also very strange. Precisely because these gangsters were exceptionally law-abiding, Kyoto still didn't have any famous underworld figures. And the Heluo Gang was a very inconspicuous one among these gangs responsible for taking over the stolen goods from the imperial palace. When Fan Xian was in Hangzhou, he had many conversations with Xia Zhifei and had some understanding of these dark forces. He then learned that the Heluo Gang actually had a fixed passage in the palace, which made him feel a little respectful. That was why he had today's trip to the Lotus Pond neighborhood.

This cripple was specifically responsible for the first stage of the Heluo Gang's disposal of stolen goods in Kyoto. These people were doing things that could get them executed, so they were naturally very careful. The links were not connected to each other, and the people who received the goods changed frequently, which gave Fan Xian an opportunity.

As for the token, it was naturally prepared by the Overwatch Council many years ago.

The cripple looked at his satisfied smile and said smugly, "It is said that this was given by the late emperor to the Empress Dowager's family. It's just that something happened later. I don't know how, but now it's back in the East Palace. It took a lot of effort to get it."

Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat, and he smiled, "The nobles don't care about these small things. They just put them in the storage room and don't think about using them for decades."

The cripple sighed, "That's right. If the price of this jade was put up for sale in Jiangnan, and then used to buy land in Jiangbei, I'm afraid it could buy thousands of acres."

Fan Xian didn't want to sigh with him, and said, "It's the first time we're dealing, I don't know the rules."

He said it very directly, but the cripple didn't become suspicious. He took out an account book from the quilt, pointed to the space for Grade A liquor, and said, "Right here."

Fan Xian laughed, "You cripple, you can really hide things in the quilt."

The cripple muttered a few words, as if he was recalling the past, when he followed the gang leader to fight in all directions and was crippled by a hammer. The gang leader pitied him and sent him to Kyoto to manage these things.

Fan Xian didn't know much about the Heluo Gang's story, so he naturally didn't dare to chime in. After signing his name with a changed handwriting, he handed over a silver note from his pocket and said, "The first installment is 30%, right? Don't overcharge me."

The cripple looked at the one thousand tael silver note and nodded. "That's about right. Although this jade is definitely worth more than that, it's a taboo thing after all, so we can only sell it at a discount."

After finishing all this, Fan Xian carefully put away the jade ornament, and without saying anything more, walked out of this dark room.

———————————————————

Walking on the muddy streets of the Lotus Pond neighborhood, the sky was still gloomy, but Fan Xian's mood, which had been depressed for a long time by that matter, relaxed. He had already figured out how to handle the whole thing. Although this plan was indeed a bit complicated and roundabout, which was annoying, Fan Xian had no choice. In order to ensure Hong Zhu's safety, and in order to keep himself hidden behind the scenes, he always needed to approach the truth and uncover the truth in such a convoluted way.

Now that he had a plan in mind, although he didn't know if any problems would arise, it was much better than facing a plate of braised pork knuckle a few days ago, but not being able to find a place to start.

He had thought through the entire process clearly. All that was left was for Hong Zhu to handle it. Of course, he also needed His Majesty to be as sensitive and suspicious as Fan Xian had expected, and to be full of imagination and wisdom.

Just as Princess Chang and Fan Xian had always thought, the Qing Emperor was indeed a sensitive and suspicious person. And people who had stood at the top of politics for a long time would always imagine the worst when it came to any conspiracy, and would use their wisdom. So the more Fan Xian thought about it, the more relaxed he became, and the more he felt that the Emperor was going to be played by him this time.

Being able to scheme against people without getting himself involved, Fan Xian rarely felt a few traces of smugness. Although he was now a ninth-rank expert and a powerful figure in authority, he had always maintained a tranquil state of mind. It was just that today he couldn't suppress this smugness no matter what.

Perhaps it was because… since joining the Overwatch Council, he had always been weak in terms of scheming. In the past, Yan Bingyun helped him, so he couldn't see any problems. But after the Jiaozhou incident, Chen Pingping scolded him severely in a letter, and was very disdainful of his ability to construct schemes – so today Fan Xian was really smug, and the more he thought about it, the more smug he became.

In his moment of smugness, he saw a disappointed person under the archway at the exit of the Lotus Pond neighborhood.

Fan Xian looked at the person under the archway who was setting up a blue cloth table and shouting loudly to attract customers in the light snow. He couldn't help but freeze and stop. He hid behind the crowd and looked at him carefully for a few glances.

It was a lawyer, desperately soliciting business behind the blue cloth table, his face a little pale, as if he had some health problems, so much so that his voice seemed a little weak.

Fan Xian lowered his head slightly, using the rain hat to cover most of his face, and squinted his eyes at that face, a strange feeling arising in his heart.

The lawyer's business was very bad. Not to mention people who wanted to file lawsuits coming forward to inquire, not even one person asked him to write a complaint for them. Moreover, some people who seemed to know the inside story were walking far away from the blue cloth table, as if they were afraid of getting bad luck.

Fan Xian frowned, and then left the Lotus Pond neighborhood.

……

……

About half an hour later, in an ordinary restaurant's private room, Fan Xian smiled broadly, pushed a plate of food to the opposite side, and said, "Eat slowly, chat slowly, why have you become like this now?"

Sitting opposite him was the lawyer from the Lotus Pond neighborhood, and also the important figure who had fought the first lawsuit with Fan Xian in Kyoto back then, and was later kidnapped by Fan Xian to Jiangnan to help him greatly in the Ming family lawsuit – Song Shiren.

Song Shiren had a nickname called "Rich Mouth", and was also known as the number one lawyer in the world. Since when had someone who always walked the officialdom with ease, fallen to the point of setting up a stall on the street? Fan Xian was shocked when he saw him on the street at the time. He later had his subordinates invite him over, but he didn't dare to go to Baoyuelou.

He squinted at the lawyer's decadent face, although he had guessed something in his heart, he still couldn't help but ask about the other party's recent situation.

Song Shiren didn't eat the food, but took a sip of white wine, looked deeply at Fan Xian twice, then sighed, smiled bitterly three times, but didn't say a word.

"Speak, is it related to me?" Fan Xian asked.

Song Shiren sighed again, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Since you have guessed it, I won't be afraid to embarrass myself. After returning from Jiangnan, the colleagues in the neighborhood and those officials knew about my success in Jiangnan, and they looked up to me a little. Knowing that I was working for you, they all nodded and bowed to me… but later, the tone changed drastically. I don't know why, but not only did no one dare to ask me to file a lawsuit, but even friends who had been on good terms with me in the past have left me one by one."

"Don't know why?" Fan Xian sighed and said, "You and I both know why."

Song Shiren smiled bitterly, "Even if I know, how dare I shout about injustice everywhere?"

Fan Xian became silent, listening to Song Shiren's sad account, he learned that in the past few months, this former number one lawyer in the world had lived such a miserable life.

It wasn't just a matter of not being able to earn money, but also, it seemed that in an instant, the entire bureaucratic structure of the Qing Kingdom began to target Song Shiren. The Kyoto Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice, and even the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices came to him for trouble, using all sorts of excuses, anyway, they stripped away his family property like a storm – No matter how eloquent Song Shiren was, how could he be a match for the unreasonable methods of the dignified court, and the powerful figures he had been familiar with in the past were now silent, seemingly afraid of the person behind the scenes who was punishing Song Shiren.

Now, Song Shiren could only live with his family in places like the Lotus Pond neighborhood, his life was extremely miserable.

Fan Xian exchanged a glance with him, and shook his head at the same time, both of them knew exactly what the source of all this was.

Song Shiren fought the Ming family lawsuit for Fan Xian in Jiangnan. Not to mention how much he helped Fan Xian, the key was that through Song Shiren's mouth, the sacred rule that Fan Xian drafted that the right of the eldest son to inherit the family estate was naturally inviolable… was shattered to pieces.

This was a major taboo in the palace. With a simple word from the Empress Dowager, countless people would naturally find ways to shut Song Shiren up.

This was a very profound lesson.

……

……

"At least nothing happened to the person." Song Shiren touched his neck with some lingering fear, and said, "To be able to survive is already the mercy of Heaven."

Fan Xian understood that Song Shiren had not been killed entirely because the nobles in the palace had given him some face. He couldn't help but mock himself and said, "Even if no one dares to help you… why didn't you come to me? This matter is my fault after all, if you came to me for help, I would have done my best."

Song Shiren smiled bitterly, "I almost lost my family because I fought a lawsuit for you, how dare I add trouble to you."

Fan Xian knew that this person was saying one thing but thinking another, he was probably afraid that asking for help from him would only add more trouble. He looked at Song Shiren and smiled, and said, "Don't worry about anything."

He took out a silver note from his pocket and handed it over. Song Shiren looked up and saw that the top one was written with a very frightening amount, he couldn't help but be startled. Although he was also a person who had seen the world, it was really too much for him to take so much silver at once.

Fan Xian said, "I will arrange for your whole family to leave Kyoto immediately, you don't need to worry about safety issues. Take this money first, consider it as my compensation to you."

Song Shiren remained silent for a long time without taking it.

Fan Xian looked at him twice and said, "Don't worry, if this official wanted to kill you to get out of trouble, I would have done it in Jiangnan long ago. You know I'm never afraid to kill a few people… You need to understand my nature, anyone who has helped me, I will definitely protect him and give him enough compensation."

"The resentment in the palace will fade away in a few days." Fan Xian said meaningfully, "When the time comes, as long as I protect you, who would dare to move you?"

……

……

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Qing's folk people also called it the end of the tenth, which was considered an important day in the New Year's Festival. Although it was not as crowded as the seventh day when tens of thousands of people went out to travel, the streets were also lively. Fan Xian, who had finalized all the matters, seemed particularly relaxed. He took Wan'er in a carriage and wandered around Kyoto for half a day. Only under the constant urging of his wife and Teng Zijing did he change the route and drive directly to the Prince He's residence, which was not far from the imperial city.

The gate of the Prince He's residence was wide open today, but there were not many guests coming. The First Prince was standing on the stone steps waiting for the Fan residence's carriage.

The carriage stopped at the gate of the residence. The First Prince looked at Fan Xian and sneered, "You're so late, don't slip away later."

……

……

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