In March, Danzhou enjoyed a gentle sea breeze, with the full vibrancy of spring taking center stage. Unknown small yellow flowers bloomed all over the mountains, and every household used their petals to brew tea, chatting with neighbors outside their homes while they sipped. As a result, walking along the streets of Danzhou Port always brought a faint fragrance, neither cloying nor overwhelming, just purely refreshing, lifting one's spirits.

Evenings often brought spring rain, silently seeping into the night with a gentle breeze, nourishing the land. This left a misty sheen on the black rooftops and the bluestone pavements of Danzhou.

The pitter-patter of light rain fell on the awning outside the general store, not making much noise, merely washing away a thin layer of dust and making the storefront appear more refreshed. But the store remained closed today. Fan Xian informed the old madam and secretly went to the store, cracking peanuts while drinking with Wu Zhu.

The people in the Count’s residence probably knew he liked coming to the store, but they assumed the young master was only after the good wine brewed by the blind man himself. This was partly because Fan Xian indeed enjoyed wine, and partly because he needed a plausible excuse. Although it was impossible to completely avoid attention, he was still careful about his interactions with Wu Zhu.

The cleaver rested on the cutting board, which was dry, with no vegetable scraps on the blade. It seemed it hadn't been used in a long time.

The sound of peanut shells cracking filled the air. Fan Xian tossed one into his mouth, slowly chewing until the dried nut was completely mashed into a fragrant paste. Then, he lifted a small porcelain cup, about the size of three fingers, to his lips and drained it with a "ts" sound.

Today's drink wasn't yellow wine, but tribute wine sent from Kyoto, with a high alcohol content that gave Fan Xian a hint of the feeling of Wuliangye.

He wasn't in a hurry to ask questions, because he knew Uncle Wu Zhu was a simple person who wouldn't keep him waiting long.

Wu Zhu wasn't sitting opposite him. Instead, he was holding a bowl of yellow wine and sitting in a dark corner of the room. His quiet voice echoed.

"Miss's surname was Ye, and her name was Ye Qingmei. I am her house servant. Many years ago, Miss and I left home..."

"Ye Qingmei..." Fan Xian learned his mother's name for the first time. For some inexplicable reason, a warmth spread through his heart. He smiled and took another sip of wine, tactfully refraining from asking... where her home was. If Uncle Wu Zhu was willing to tell him, he would.

"We lived in Dongyi City for a few years. Miss was naturally intelligent, understood everything, and had a compassionate heart. So, from the age of fifteen, she started doing business in Dongyi City, but because she was too young, she remained behind the scenes, letting the shopkeeper pose as the owner."

Fan Xian's hand, holding the wine cup, paused in mid-air. He couldn't help but ask, "What does doing business have to do with a compassionate heart?" He wasn't curious about why his mother was naturally intelligent or why she could start a business and make money at the age of fifteen. Over the years, he had already guessed that his mother must be someone who couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.

Wu Zhu replied in a cold voice, "Because Miss felt that people in the world suffer too much, she liked to do good deeds. When Dongyi City was hit by floods, Miss opened the most porridge shops. And if you want to do good deeds, you must have money, so Miss started to find ways to make money."

Fan Xian nodded, acknowledging the logic.

"The business was doing very well, and gradually some people realized that Miss was the behind-the-scenes boss of the shops, so some people started to have ideas, but they were all killed by me."

Wu Zhu spoke calmly, but Fan Xian knew that the situation must have been very tense at the time. Since Uncle Wu Zhu said the business was doing very well, it must have been doing exceptionally well. The saying "to be without guilt is to be guilty," a fifteen-year-old girl owning such a large fortune would indeed easily trigger the ambitions of unscrupulous people in the world. However, the thought of having an unparalleled expert as his mother's bodyguard made Fan Xian breathe a sigh of relief.

He suddenly thought of something and frowned, "Mom's surname is Ye, could it be that the business you opened back then was the Ye family?"

"Yes."

"It's actually the Ye family!" Fan Xian's face was full of surprise. "I've heard people mention this name. Legend has it that the Ye family was the number one business in the world more than ten years ago. I just never thought it was Mom's business."

"I don't know how big the Ye family's business was," Wu Zhu said calmly. "That wasn't within my job scope. Miss thought I killed too many people, so she ended the business in Dongyi City and came to Qing, starting to live in Kyoto."

Fan Xian felt that things shouldn't be that simple. Selling off the business in Dongyi City and coming to Qing should have a more convincing reason.

Wu Zhu continued, "After Miss came to Kyoto, she started doing business again and made the business very successful again. Later, she met some people, including Si Nanbo. Everyone seemed to listen to her, followed her ideas, and prepared to do some things, to change some things, which caused conflicts of interest with the royal nobles of Qing."

Wu Zhu paused, "Once, Qing was at war with the west, and the defensive forces in Kyoto were weak. Coincidentally, something big happened, and I wasn't in Kyoto. The forces that Miss could rely on also had some problems... Miss was killed by those royal nobles. When I rushed back to the Taiping Residence, I only managed to save you, and then I brought you to Danzhou."

Fan Xian was well aware of this matter and knew that those "enemies" had already been killed more than ten years ago. The person in charge of the revenge should be closely related to his cheap father and the Overwatch Council.

A long silence made the sound of the rain outside the general store particularly clear.

"That's it?" Fan Xian asked with a frown, feeling that his mother's life had been summarized in just a few simple sentences. What kind of business did she do, what kind of things did she do that could make the entire Qing's royal nobles deal with her, and why did the renowned Overwatch Council instructor Fei Jie show so much respect when he mentioned his mother?

"Basically... yes." Wu Zhu carefully considered his words.

Fan Xian sighed, confirming that Uncle Wu Zhu was indeed not a good storyteller. A bitter smile appeared on his handsome face, knowing that he still had to ask himself.

"What kind of business did my mother do?"

"Luxury goods, military equipment, ships, grain, basically anything that made money."

Wu Zhu answered casually, but Fan Xian was startled by every noun he heard. Two lifetimes of experience made him very clear that people who could do this kind of business usually had extremely strong backgrounds. How could his mother, an orphan, start from scratch and reach such a terrifying level?

"Then, what happened to these businesses after my mother died?" This was what Fan Xian was most interested in. After all, according to Qing law, he should be the sole heir to this huge inheritance.

"Later, I heard that all of the Ye family's businesses were taken into the Qing Imperial Treasury."

Fan Xian shook his head with a wry smile. So, it had become a royal business. He immediately gave up the ridiculous idea of suing for the family property and instead smiled, "Ye Qingmei must have been a very popular name back then. I heard that Mom beat up the commander of the Kyoto garrison when she first entered Kyoto."

The oil lamp in the room flickered. Hearing Fan Xian's words, Wu Zhu seemed to remember something from the past, and the corners of his lips slightly and awkwardly curled upwards, revealing a trace of gentle smile.

Fan Xian's wrist stiffened, and the small porcelain cup fell onto the square table, spinning around. He shouted in his heart, "He smiled... He actually smiled!"