That afternoon, Fan Xian cordially met with the relevant officials of the Internal Treasury Transportation Department in his temporary residence. Other officials from Jiangnan Road were too intimidated to approach him, but the Internal Treasury officials were his direct subordinates, with no escape. They had to grit their teeth and come to see him. Fortunately, Fan Xian had shed the cold and sinister demeanor he displayed by the river. He greeted them with a smile, set a departure date, and then amiably saw the officials out, leaving them somewhat bewildered.

In the evening, a welcome banquet was prepared at the Jiangnan Residence. For the same reasons, the senior officials of the counties along the Yangtze River only sat briefly before retreating. They had fulfilled their obligations, and the court regulations didn't allow them to stay in Suzhou for too long anyway. The farther they were from Inspector Fan of the Supervisory Council, the better, and it was easier to find excuses. Only the officials of Suzhou Prefecture couldn't leave, watching the head seat with trepidation.

At the head of the table, Fan Xian enjoyed drinks and pleasantries with Xue Qing, the Governor-General of Jiangnan, and the Provincial Governor. The atmosphere was harmonious. The Suzhou Prefect wore a forced smile, while the Hangzhou Prefect, knowing that the Imperial Envoy would be stationed in Hangzhou in the future, shamelessly stayed behind, incessantly flattering Fan Xian and the Governor-General under the murderous gaze of the Suzhou officials. This Hangzhou Prefect was a true master of human relations, not particularly afraid of Fan Xian's unpredictable methods, simply determined to curry favor with his superiors, a tactic that would never be wrong, no matter the time or place.

After the banquet, Fan Xian first escorted the Governor-General to his official sedan. They agreed to visit the Xue residence the next day. Then, Fan Xian bid farewell to the officials in the building and boarded his own carriage.

He still had the same old habits, preferring carriages to sedans.

The front curtain of the carriage was not drawn, and the night breeze of Suzhou blew in, carrying with it the faint sound of silk and bamboo music. Jiangnan was prosperous, and wealthy merchants often kept talented courtesans. The brothel business in Suzhou and Hangzhou was famously good.

Fan Xian gently patted his cheeks, letting the night breeze blow away the slight flush on his face. Although his true Qi had recovered considerably, his alcohol tolerance had not. He felt a bit dizzy after the officials' persuasion that day.

"The address in Hangzhou is settled. What about in Suzhou?" He half-closed his eyes to rest, asking softly.

Shi Chanli sat beside him, thought for a moment, and said, "Sang Wen will only arrive in the middle of the month... Student... Student..."

Fan Xian laughed, opened his eyes, and sighed, "It's really making you suffer, doing these things. Just bear with it for another year or two. You know I don't have many people I can trust."

He and Shi Chanli were talking about the southward expansion plan of the Baoyue Brothel. The brothel business was not only the fastest way to recycle money, but it could also often serve unexpected purposes, such as intelligence. Fan Xian had already planned in Kyoto to open his own brothel in Jiangnan. Although he would certainly encounter a lot of resistance, with his status and power, it shouldn't be a problem to establish a foothold within a year.

Shi Chanli asked, "My Lord, can this matter be postponed? After all, you will be leaving for the Internal Treasury the day after tomorrow. Without a backbone in Suzhou, I'm afraid I won't be able to handle the situation if I have to choose a location, buy a building, and buy girls at this time."

"Even if I'm not here, there's still the Third Prince..." A mischievous smile flashed in Fan Xian's eyes, "I'll have to pick a few old tutors for the Third Prince tomorrow. Although he will eventually follow me to Hangzhou, he will still stay in Suzhou for a while... Don't forget what kind of business this Prince was doing in Kyoto. Don't look at his young age, he's very clear about the inside tricks. With the Prince coming forward, the Governor-General will naturally not say anything. Just buy whichever building you want. As for those popular girls... spend more money. What can't be accomplished with enough money? With the Prince backing you up, you don't have to worry about the Jiangnan brothel owners daring to play dirty tricks with you. Since it's a straightforward game, it's just a matter of throwing money at people. You don't have to worry about not having enough money, do you?"

Shi Chanli was dumbfounded. He thought the Emperor asked you to educate the Third Prince, could it be that you... had already thought about using the Third Prince to open a brothel in Jiangnan? This is too outrageous!

And then he immediately thought of something else: How could the Lord be carrying so much money? The 138,880 taels of snowflake silver ingots in that box definitely couldn't be touched. So, if he was speaking so boldly earlier, he must have many silver notes hidden in his pocket - thinking of this, Shi Chanli worriedly said: "If we're going to buy openly, the Jiangnan brothel industry will definitely take the opportunity to raise prices... The money will be spent like water, I don't know how many days we can last."

At this time, the carriage rolled over the clean bluestone road in Suzhou City, passed through a gate, and arrived at a commercial area that was bustling during the day.

Even at night, the signs of the shops on this street were brightly lit. Suzhou was the largest port for the Internal Treasury's products to be shipped out, so in terms of prosperity and commercial development, there was simply no city in the world that could compare to it, except for Dongyi City. Buying glass here was four-fifths cheaper than in Northern Qi, but Fan Xian knew the cost of glass and knew that the merchants of Suzhou had already made a fortune over the past few decades.

In addition to the signs of various businesses, the most conspicuous thing was a blue cloth banner that appeared every few steps. What made it conspicuous was not that the blue cloth was dyed with fluorescent material that could glow at night, but that the blue cloth was not displayed at a restaurant. The blue cloth was painted with a pattern somewhat similar to the Fan family crest.

There were actually eight or nine money houses on this street!

Fan Xian's carriage slowly drove through the quiet street. When he passed a somewhat new blue cloth, he pointed to the door of this money house and said in a low voice, "Even if you're poor to death, don't come to this money house."

Shi Chanli heard this and looked over, only seeing a rough outline. After thinking for a while, he curiously said, "Zhaoshang? I haven't heard of it... It's not the Taiping Money House, who would dare to deal with them."

Fan Xian smiled and said nothing.

At that time, commerce in the world was gradually developing, and it became very difficult to conduct transactions with silver for large-scale businesses. Therefore, silver notes gradually became popular among merchants, and institutions such as silver houses and money houses began to show their importance. But for establishments like money houses, the most important thing was naturally credit and background. Therefore, in this world, there was no issue of big fish eating small fish. Decades passed, and there were still only a few big fish in the world.

And the three largest fish were named Southern Qing, Northern Qi, and Dongyi City.

Silver notes officially issued by Southern Qing and Northern Qi were official notes, and of course, their credit was the best. However, the officials in the court didn't realize their importance at all. Official notes were very troublesome to redeem, and their flexibility was so poor that it was infuriating. Therefore, apart from saving money for coffins, ordinary merchants chose the Taiping Money House, which was established by Dongyi City.

Although the Taiping Money House was funded by Dongyi City, it was rumored that some princes and nobles from Northern Qi and Southern Qing had also invested in it. Therefore, no matter how the three countries quarreled and fought, the money house itself was not affected. After twenty or thirty years, the Taiping Money House had first-class reputation, strong capital, excellent service, and was secretly protected by the upper classes of various countries. It naturally became the largest money house in the world.

There was no other, the Taiping Money House was the largest in the world.

……

……

Even on this street, the Taiping Money House had three branches. Fan Xian glanced coldly at the blue cloth outside the carriage and said, "Withdraw money at the Taiping Money House."

Shi Chanli responded.

"Withdraw as much as you want." Fan Xian said calmly, "Before I leave, I'll give you the seal and the numbers. Don't be stingy."

Withdraw as much as you want? How could there be such a good thing in this world? Shi Chanli was stunned and smiled, "Could it be that this Taiping Money House is opened by you, my Lord?"

Fan Xian laughed and scolded, "If I had so much money, all the problems would be solved. Why would I still have to deal with those people?"

Shi Chanli was his confidant, knew that he was talking about the Northern Qi side, and didn't respond after a slight nervousness. But he immediately associated the Internal Treasury with Northern Qi. Thinking that the opening of the Internal Treasury was not far off, if Fan Xian wanted to fund Xia Qifei and the Ming family to bid, then he would need a huge amount of terrifying funds. He frowned and said, "My Lord, the Internal Treasury is in urgent need of money. If it's not convenient for a while, I think opening the store should be postponed."

Fan Xian shook his head, "The amount of silver you need to transfer and the amount of silver needed for the bidding in the Internal Treasury are not on the same level at all, so you don't have to worry. As for opening the store, it should be done as soon as possible, firstly because the Prince is still in Suzhou, and he probably has this interest, which makes it easier to handle things. Secondly..."

He thought of his father in Kyoto and couldn't help laughing, "Secondly, the girls in Jiangnan are waiting for our old Fan family to save them. The sooner the better."

This was true. Since he set the rules for the Baoyue Brothel in Kyoto and added to it by the girl Shi Qing'er, the girls of the current Baoyue Brothel were still doing flesh trade, but their lives were much better than before. The commission was less, there were regular doctors to visit and treat illnesses, and they signed a new "labor contract." The girls of the Baoyue Brothel were truly grateful to Fan Xian. The momentum spread, and as a result, the entire brothel industry in Kyoto began to show a healthy and upward feeling.

If the Baoyue Brothel could really open a chain in Jiangnan, the Liu Rushi of Jiangnan would probably be very happy about the arrival of Imperial Envoy Fan.

——————————————————————

Back at the Hua Garden that the salt merchant happily vacated, Fan Xian took the hot soup that Si Si handed over and drank it down, both to sober up and to warm his body. He leaned on the desk and read a few newsletters sent from the courtyard, and found that the world was peaceful, so he relaxed. He first let Si Si go to the inner room to sleep, but he came out, put on a thick jacket, rubbed his hands, and knocked on the door of another room.

The Tiger Guards and the Sixth Division swordsmen not far behind him quickly hid in the darkness.

The door creaked open, revealing Haitang's sleepy face.

Before Haitang could speak, Fan Xian was surprised, "You're asleep so early?"

Haitang smiled slightly, let him into the room, turned the smokeless oil lamp brighter, and said softly, "This merchant's family is extremely luxurious, and this bed is also comfortable. I thought you might be drunk at the welcome banquet tonight, so I went to sleep first."

Fan Xian looked closely and found that the girl was not wearing very thick clothes, only a very plain Ru skirt. He frowned and said, "Wear more, although your cultivation is high, natural wind and cold are not easy to provoke."

Haitang was too lazy to pay attention to him, yawned, and leaned her cheek on the bed, saying, "What's the matter? Say it quickly."

Fan Xian was stunned, but forgot what he was here to say. He boarded the Jing ship last night, and Haitang disappeared without a sound, until the afternoon when she reappeared mysteriously in the garden. Could it be that he was just here to confirm that she was here? Or had he gotten used to chatting with this Northern Qi Saintess like an old friend?

"It's hard for me to get drunk." Fan Xian was a quick-witted person. He smiled and picked up Haitang's first sentence and said, "You know I'm afraid of death and timid, so I won't get drunk except in front of people I can completely trust."

"So you can only get drunk freely at home?" Haitang opened her bright eyes and asked curiously.

Fan Xian shook his head, "In addition to being able to completely trust, I also have to believe that the people around me have enough ability to protect my safety when I'm drunk."

Haitang laughed, knowing what he meant, but then she felt a little sorry for him and said pityingly, "Don't tell me, you've grown up so much, and you've only been drunk once... at Songhe Residence in Kyoto."

That time in Northern Qi's Kyoto, in front of Haitang, Fan Xian drank recklessly until he was unconscious and was given aphrodisiacs, suffering the biggest setback since his rebirth.

Fan Xian said angrily, "You still have the face to mention it... Of course." He couldn't bear the sympathy in Haitang's eyes, and said coldly, "I used to get drunk often when I was a kid, you don't have to take yourself too seriously."

Haitang smiled, "At that time, that... blind master was always by your side?"

Fan Xian didn't answer.

Haitang suddenly frowned and said, "Then... the legendary story of you writing thousands of poems in a drunken state in the Qing Palace... is also fake?"

Fan Xian waved his hand, not wanting to continue this boring topic with her, and asked directly, "Has the money arrived?"

Haitang sighed boredly, sat up, looked into his eyes, and nodded seriously, "His Majesty has been arranging it since August, so you don't have to worry."

Fan Xian ridiculed himself and smiled, "How can I not worry? I can't let the old man transfer the money from the national treasury for me to use for this matter."

"Speaking of which," Haitang frowned, "You actually brought hundreds of thousands of taels of silver with you... That's too stupid, right? I don't believe you're just showing off when welcoming people by the river."

Fan Xian thought that this was an arrangement he had to make. How could he tell you the inside story? This matter could not be told to anyone.

"It's just some useless silver, what's there to be afraid of?"

"You've only been in office for less than two years, but you have so much silver." Haitang said with a half-smile, "Including your and your father's salaries, it would probably take more than a hundred years to save up so much silver. How do you explain it to the officials?"

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "Don't forget, my Fan family is a large family, and family property is the real source of money."

"Oh? A large family that can easily take out so much silver... isn't there anything illegal or unruly? Be careful that the censors of the Censorate will impeach you for this."

"Impeach if they want to." Fan Xian smiled, "Even if the family doesn't have so much money, the palace knows that I've been doing a lot of business in the past two years, so they won't suspect anything."

"One brothel, dozens of bookstores... can earn so much silver?" Haitang asked doubtfully.

"Don't underestimate my second brother's money-making skills... Of course, I've been an official in the court for two years, and I've received a lot of benefits, which are basically buried in that box. Don't mention that it's really impossible to exchange so many neat silver ingots when leaving Kyoto unless the old man helps me transfer them from the treasury." Fan Xian said with a smile, "When things are over, the so-called bribes will be mixed with these clean silver, and the court won't be able to say anything about me. Just to raise enough money, I've cleaned out all the liquid silver that can be found in my industries. Now Kyoto is really an empty shell."

Haitang realized that he had this plan and couldn't help but despise him: "With your status, why are you so concerned about clearing bribes?"

"A mountain man... has his own wonderful uses."

"Then your money is all in the box, and it's not easy to move in public. What will you do when you need money in the future?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "Don't I have you? And that lovely Emperor. This time, the silver he deposited into the Taiping Money House is not a small amount. I'll just grab a few to spend, and I don't think he'll mind."

Haitang was stunned, and then she knew that when it came to fighting and strategy, she was not under Fan Xian. It could be said that when it came to stealing and earning money, the gap between her and the Fan family was somewhat large. In the following days, she had to keep a close watch.

The scene at this time was really absurd and ridiculous. Fan Xian and Haitang, two of the world's most recognized figures of elegance, were secretly talking about money, silver notes, money houses, and money laundering in a dark night in a room.

And in the main hall of the residence, a large box of silver, representing the spirit of Fan Xian's Jiangnan political declaration, was placed there openly.

People passing by couldn't help but take a look at this box, but there were guards everywhere, and Sixth Division swordsmen were hidden in the dark to protect it. Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were certainly tempting, but to rob this box of silver, Jiangyang bandits or greedy thieves might as well rush to the official treasury to rob official silver, which might have a higher success rate.

The box was thus wide open, exposed to everyone, revealing the white silver ingots in its belly, emitting a soul-hooking and soul-devouring light, with a hint of extremely dangerous chill seeping out from it.

———————————————————————

After a few more days, Imperial Envoy Fan Xian, who had caused quite a stir in Jiangnan Road, finally left Suzhou, bringing his entourage and subordinates to the Internal Treasury Transportation Department in the southwest along the official road. Although the Third Prince was still in Suzhou, the officials were greatly relieved, thinking that it would be easy to fool a child as long as Inspector Fan was not here.

The Third Prince didn't know what these officials were thinking. Otherwise, with his sinister nature and the temper that was about to explode at this time, he might have come up with some new tricks.

He had been a little angry these past two days. Fan Xian went to the Internal Treasury but didn't take him along - the Internal Treasury was the Ye family's property back then, indirectly supporting the stability and development of Qing, and it could even be said that Qing was supported by the Internal Treasury. Therefore, that place naturally became the most heavily guarded place in the Qing court. The restrictions were even stricter than the palace. In folk legends, it was simply five thunders patrolling outside and heavenly gods guarding in the middle - being able to see the scenery of the Internal Treasury was a lifelong wish of many people. Although the Third Prince had the status of a prince, he was still very curious about the Internal Treasury. However, without His Majesty's special permission, the prince was not qualified to go to the Internal Treasury. He thought he could get his wish by following Fan Xian to Jiangnan this time, but he didn't expect Fan Xian to leave him in Suzhou!

With a snap, a middle-aged scholar, who looked like a learned man, crawled out in a disheveled and sobbing state. The Third Prince followed out and cursed fiercely, "Father Emperor asked Fan Xian to be a teacher! He dares to run! I dare to kick people!"

The servants in the mansion were silent. The Imperial Envoy was gone, who would dare to offend this young master? He even dared to kick the tutor specially invited by the Governor-General's mansion. Wouldn't they be dead if they said a few more words?

The Third Prince was angry when he caught a glimpse of a figure sneaking out along the corridor. He quickly stopped him and went over to take a look... but found that it was Fan Xian's confidant student, Shi Chanli.

Although he was arrogant and sinister, he couldn't do anything to Shi Chanli for Fan Xian's sake. He asked curiously, "Mr. Shi, where are you going?"

Shi Chanli seemed to be taken aback and said flatteringly, "Greetings, Your Highness. I'm just going out for a stroll."

The Third Prince was stunned and said, "I haven't seen the fun places in Suzhou City yet, you have to take me with you."

Shi Chanli begged for mercy, "Your Highness, the teacher has strictly ordered that the homework for these days has been assigned. What will happen if you don't finish it? ... Besides, letting the teacher know that I took Your Highness out to play is a big sin."

The Third Prince frowned his thin eyebrows and snorted coldly, "I'll do it, but..." He smiled as he looked at Shi Chanli's flickering eyes: "You have to tell me, why didn't you follow the teacher to the Internal Treasury, what are you staying in Suzhou for, and where are you going at this time?"

Shi Chanli was blocked by these words. He hesitated for a long time, wanting to say something but stopped. After a long while, he lowered his voice and said with a bitter smile, "Your Highness doesn't know, this student is pitiful, ordered by the mentor to do that business."

The Third Prince's eyes lit up and asked tentatively, "Could it be... that Baoyue Brothel is going to open in Suzhou?"

Shi Chanli was slightly stunned and covered his mouth, as if he was very annoyed that he had let the cat out of the bag.

The Third Prince sneered twice, but he was overjoyed in his heart, thinking that if he could return to his old business in Suzhou, it would be much happier than sitting in this mansion. Fan Xian had forcefully taken away his shares in the building in Kyoto. Now that he knew that Fan Xian was also a practical person with a moral facade, how could the Third Prince miss this opportunity.

Shi Chanli looked at the Third Prince's reaction and admired that the teacher was indeed resourceful.