What Shadow promised Fan Xian, allowing him to accept the compensation for that "unexpected" incident, remains unknown. The next day, he cheerfully left Shazhou City. That day, a cold winter rain fell, bleak and misty, as if by magic. Fan Tisi and his party, stealthily heading to Jiangnan, disappeared into the low, winter-wooded hills outside Shazhou City.

That night, several officials in full rain gear entered Shahu Lake under cover of darkness. They boarded the Kyoto ship at the Jiangnan Navy pier. Security was tight; even the naval officers in charge of reception couldn't clearly see their faces.

Su Wenmao, who was in charge of all affairs on the ship at this time, looked at his colleagues boarding the ship in the rain and asked in surprise, "You're all here, what about the Master? The Qi Nian小组 (Qi Nian Xiao Zu) must have some people left behind, right?"

One official said with a bitter face, "The Master said that the act must be realistic. Leaving all the Qi Nian小组 (Qi Nian Xiao Zu) members on the ship, and us returning with our faces covered, will make the navy believe that the Master is on board. Spreading this news should fool a few people."

Su Wenmao was dumbfounded. "The Master is really getting into the role. We've already revealed our location in Shazhou, and we're still hiding..." He swallowed the curse word, coughed twice, and said, "Alright, we'll set sail tomorrow and head to Jiangnan Road as soon as possible."

"March 3rd," the Qi Nian小组 (Qi Nian Xiao Zu) official said solemnly. "The Master gave the date of March 3rd for the ship to arrive in Suzhou."

Su Wenmao became anxious. "What kind of ship travels so slowly?" He stood up and waved his hand, annoyed. "No matter how we travel on the river, I can't stay in Shahu Lake any longer. We must leave the port tomorrow."

The official frowned and asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

Su Wenmao looked worried. "After entering the Jiangnan Navy camp... Tisi (提司) and the Third Prince refused to disembark. Don't you think all the senior and junior officers in the navy are feeling uneasy? These past two days, countless garrison commanders and leaders have been finding excuses to come on board, all knowing they want to curry favor with the two nobles. But the Master isn't on the ship, so how dare I let them on?"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, likely because he was getting frustrated from turning people away these past few days. "...I can still block these levels of officials, but I heard that the Navy Commander is coming over tomorrow afternoon. He's a super official of the first rank. Even if Tisi (提司) was here, he would have to salute respectfully, and even the Third Prince wouldn't be able to act presumptuously. How can I stop him?"

The official he was talking to was also shocked. The Navy Commander's status was far above those small officials. Once that man arrived, the lie would naturally be exposed. Even if the Commander couldn't do anything to Fan Tisi (范提司) and the Third Prince, at most he would submit a secret memorial to the Emperor expressing his anger at being tricked. But the rest of them would become scapegoats!

"Let's go, leave early tomorrow morning!"

The Qi Nian小组 (Qi Nian Xiao Zu) members remaining on the ship quickly reached a solid consensus and began to instruct the naval officers below deck to prepare for departure. At the same time, they notified the Tiger Guard and three Sixth Bureau swordsmen who were staying on the ship.

"The Master said he has sent someone else to the Hangzhou meeting, so you don't need to go." The official said to Su Wenmao, then curiously asked, "These past two days... I guess the navy must have sent a lot of gifts."

Su Wenmao nodded towards the rear. "They're all kept in the back. Those in charge of the military are really rich, truly worthy of being capable people who protect pirates."

The official suddenly had an idea and said, "Weren't you worried about how to delay the time until March 3rd? This subordinate has a plan, how about..."

He leaned in and whispered something in Su Wenmao's ear.

"Good idea! Tisi (提司) wouldn't mind such small matters. We're not allowed to accept silver from court officials, but it's fine to accept silver on his behalf." Su Wenmao said happily, then remembered something and cautioned, "Right, keep a close eye on that box of silver in the rear cabin. Tisi (提司) gave a strict order that no one is allowed to touch that box anymore."

The official responded, but thought to himself, although that box contains tens of thousands of taels of silver, Tisi (提司)'s family is so rich, is it worth guarding it like a family heirloom?

Early the next morning, just as the mist over Shahu Lake was dissipating, the nearly new Kyoto ship slowly left the pier amidst the "reluctant" gazes of the Jiangnan Navy generals. It passed through the waterway, left Shahu Lake, and leisurely and happily entered the waters of the Yangtze River.

Watching the ship disappear into the lake mouth, three naval vessels responsible for escort followed it out. The Jiangnan naval officers on the shore collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally sent away those two untouchable, unwelcome gods. The thought that the gifts they had sent these days seemed to have gone to waste made them feel a little heartache.

As for the incident of pirates attacking the ship carrying the prince and Tisi (提司) within the naval defense zone - naturally there needed to be a scapegoat. The generals cast pitying glances at Garrison Commander Shen, but no one took the lead to do anything at this time. Everything would have to wait until the Commander returned to camp in the afternoon.

In fact... Su Wenmao guessed wrong. The Jiangnan naval generals didn't wait for the Commander until the next day.

That leading figure in the Jiangnan military, Jiangnan Navy Commander Shi, wasn't in a hurry to come, only in a hurry not to come too quickly.

This Commander Shi held an official rank of first rank and was a protégé of the old Qin family in Kyoto. Naturally, he wouldn't be too afraid of Fan Xian, but this old fox was also clear that if he really rushed to the naval base to meet Fan Xian, because of the Third Prince and that rumor, he would have to lower himself and say a few words - to flatter a young man whose beard hadn't grown in yet, and a little brat whose bird hadn’t even grown feathers, how could he save his old face!

So, Old Shi sent a message saying that he was dealing with official business somewhere and was rushing over to ensure the Third Prince's safety, but at the same time, he was embracing his favorite courtesan, sitting in a carriage, and leisurely heading towards the navy. He only regretted that the journey was too short...

In the end, Commander Shi successfully played the time difference. By the time he arrived, the ship had already vanished like a yellow crane.

On the other side, Su Wenmao sat on the ship, heading down the river in high spirits, implementing Fan Tisi (范提司)'s instructions and accepting the suggestion of his subordinate. He stopped at every prefecture and harbor along the way, ignoring whether the docks were dilapidated or the riverside was just a small county town with a few thousand people. In any case, he stopped and started, one stop a day, causing quite a stir.

The strange route of the ship stirred up the entire officialdom of Jiangnan Road!

Now everyone knew that Fan Tisi (范提司) of the Supervisory Council and the Third Prince were possibly on that ship from Kyoto. Since this was the case, wherever the ship docked, the local officials had to pay their respects, prepare good wine and food, and bring plenty of gifts. At this critical moment, who dared to be careless?

The prefectures and counties upstream sent jade, so the prefectures and counties downstream couldn't be outdone, at least they had to bring a bag of cat's eyes, right? Your prefecture is poor? You can dig up some ginseng, right? Your county has no money? You can bring a few famous pine needle and cypress smoked golden bacon! What if those two bigwigs on the ship are used to delicacies and just like our local specialties?

What? The city has no special products? Quickly send workers... to pull the ship for the lords!

For more than a month, the officials along the river, while happy to have this rare opportunity to give gifts, couldn't help but grumble in their hearts that Fan Tisi (范提司) and the Third Prince... had such good appetites! They didn't even let go of those poor counties with no special products!

"Don't you understand? Even a mosquito is meat." A staff advisor in a mansion in Suzhou said with a narrowed eyes, "It seems that this Master Fan has really inherited the style of Lord Shangshu. He is very meticulous in his calculations."

Another staff advisor shook his head and sighed. "Official reputation! Official reputation! Now these young nobles don't even bother with superficial formalities!" Then he suddenly said with disdain, "Besides, that little Master Fan is not the old Master Fan's..."

"Shut up! How dare you discuss such matters! Before the Supervisory Council flays you, this official will strangle you!"

The dignified official sitting in the center scolded loudly. After calming down, he raised his teacup and took a sip, saying, "Don't speak ill of people behind their backs. As long as they are willing to accept silver, that's all that matters. Jiangnan lacks everything, except silver."

The official closed his eyes and pondered for a while, saying with a slight worry, "I'm afraid it's just a smokescreen set by that Tisi (提司). Who knows? Besides, who knows if he is still on that ship? According to that gentleman who came from the south, Master Fan's convoy is still heading to Danzhou, and they haven't stopped accepting silver along the way."

On the central plains official road, that largest convoy, led by "Fake Fan Xian," was heading to Danzhou, carrying servants, guards, and the managers of Qing Yu Tang (庆余年 = Qing Yu Nian).

On the Yangtze River, Su Wenmao happily sailed the ship, enjoying his gilded journey, unaware that he would be scolded by Fan Xian later.

With several pieces of news mixed together, the Jiangnan officials became confused and didn't know where that Fan Tisi (范提司) actually was. Some clever people guessed that Fan Xian might have other plans, but they couldn't grasp any useful information. The people of the Second Bureau of the Supervisory Council were covering up the true whereabouts of Fan Xian's party in Jiangnan.

——————————————————————————

In the second month of the year, spring hadn't arrived and winter hadn't left. The cold stubbornly occupied the fields and roads on both sides of the Yangtze River, refusing the arrival of any trace of spring. However, the Jiangnan area was close to the sea, so it was slightly warmer than other places. Therefore, there had been no snow these past few days, but the mud marks overturned on the official road were dried hard by months of winter wind, causing the convoy to shake up and down, making the people in the carriages suffer.

Fan Xian couldn't stand the suffering, opened the curtains and stopped the convoy. He jumped out of the carriage and rode a horse, which was slightly more comfortable. He stretched, breathing in the slightly cold wind, and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the ditches on both sides of the official road. He saw that the irrigation ditches were long gone of water, dry and barren. If it was because of the winter drought, that would be fine, but the problem was that the ditches were also full of weeds more than a person tall, growing densely along the ditches towards the front, looking desolate and endless.

He was a little puzzled, thinking that it would take several years of drought to create this appearance. He stepped on the stirrups, stood up, and looked out from a high vantage point. He couldn't help but gasp, discovering that most of the ditches around the official road looked like this. The long grass in the ditches had long been frozen to death, but still stood stubbornly, stubbornly piercing the sky... How could such ditches be used for irrigation? What would they do when spring planting came?

When Fan Xian returned to Qing from Northern Qi, he saw that the water conservancy and irrigation system in Qing was relatively complete. This Jiangnan area was the wealthiest in the world, so why didn't they have money to repair the ditches? Didn't they need to plant those fields?

An official from the Fourth Bureau of the Supervisory Council, who had followed him all the way from Kyoto, noticed the displeasure on Tisi (提司)'s face and rode forward to explain, "It's just that this area is a bit barren. Suzhou and Hangzhou are definitely not like this."

Fan Xian frowned and said, "Jiangnan certainly doesn't lack food. This area is mainly barren land, and too much labor has been demanded by the Inner Treasury." He gave a helpless wry smile and didn't continue speaking.

The group silently moved forward along the ditches overgrown with weeds. It had been some days since they left Shazhou, and they were slowly swaying along the way, but they were getting close to Hangzhou. Everyone was a little tired, and Fan Xian didn't have much interest in playing the act of inspecting and making incognito visits along the way.

"The carriages in the back, keep up!"

The Fourth Bureau official's name was Wu Mai. Since Su Wenmao stayed on the ship, the logistics and team organization of this group had been handed over to him.

He saw that Tisi (提司) was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk too much, so he ordered the people in the back to keep up. Although there were many experts in these inconspicuous carriages, the problem was that the Sixth Bureau swordsmen and Tiger Guards weren't good at living a normal life. They were all veterans at solo assassinations, and it wouldn't be a problem for them to get to Hangzhou without eating or drinking while hiding in the weeds in the ditches, but they seemed a little listless when it came to taking a zero-cost tour.

Especially after buying four or five young girls with grass markers stuck in their hair at the foot of a mountain about seventy miles outside Shazhou City, the already small group seemed even more cumbersome, looking very much like a wealthy family on a trip.

Speaking of that purchase, it was a very surprising encounter for Fan Xian. Now that Qing was known as a prosperous age, he never thought that in Jiangnan, there would still be such a thing as selling one's children because they were about to starve to death. Although those poor people had all come as migrants from Jiangbei, Fan Xian was still a little depressed.

His group was secretly heading to Hangzhou, so it wasn't good to bring these people. Moreover, Fan Xian himself was a cold-hearted person. In the end, the Third Prince couldn't bear it and spoke up, so Sisi happily took out a dozen taels of silver and bought five young girls. The girls' parents thanked them profusely, and after leaving with tears streaming down their faces, Fan Xian tacitly accepted this fact.

This group was too conspicuous – a dashing young lord, a poor scholar, a arrogant child with his nose in the air, an appropriate and generous young lady from a high-ranking family, and a dozen powerful guards. People with ulterior motives could always guess Fan Xian's identity. Now that there were a few more young girls, it could be considered a small disguise, Fan Xian told himself.

After a few more days, the official road was as smooth as a mirror, the winter trees on both sides of the road were particularly straight, and a scene of prosperity suddenly came before this group's eyes. Looking at the bustling road, the people's glamorous clothes, and the faintly visible green city walls in the distance, everyone realized that Hangzhou had arrived so easily.

Fan Xian sat on his horse, waved his whip, and said with high spirits, "Enter the city, let's go find Aunt Song!"

……

……

(Too tired, taking a break, taking a break.)