Chapter 397
Chapter 397: A Strange Guest To Suzhou
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Very high-spirited…"
Fan Xian had one foot on the railing on the topmost floor of the Suzhou branch of the Baoyue Brothel . In one hand he held a fan that he was using . The continuous cold rains at the end of spring had stopped and the heat had returned . In a flash, it made the temperature of the air rise again .
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the procession on the road wearing funeral gear . Hearing the mournful sounds of the music, he couldn't hold back a smile . Ming Qingda indeed had some tricks up his sleeve . The mournful and angry look on his face, and his attitude of absolute irreconcilability with Fan Xian, were done very well . He actually had the old Ming matriarch's funeral procession cut across the entire city . The route was very ostentatious . Along the way were commoners who put out little tables with fruits to worship her . Beggars who had received benefits in the past kowtowed to the giant slow moving coffin as it moved along the street .
The mournful music was actually sometimes quite moving, at least it was to Fan Xian's ears .
He fanned himself and couldn't resist sighing again, "Very high-spirited…"
The wind came from the fan[JW1] . He couldn't be bothered to compete with the Ming Garden in attitude . He did not find using a dead person to obstruct his sight exciting . If they wanted to parade, they could . It did not cause any true loss to him .
After sweeping clean the Sixth master and the old matriarch's trusted aides and related persons, Ming Qingda had gradually stabilized his control of the Ming Garden situation . It was also under his powerful suppression that the tens of thousands of the Ming family did not make a call to indiscriminately destroy the good and the bad because of the old matriarch's unusual death .
After Fan Xian divided the students making a ruckus and then used wooden sticks to teach them a lesson, the scholars immediately quieted down when they did not receive further support from the Ming family . Just as Fan Xian had expected, the so-called righteousness could not be sustained .
Fan Xian knew that to be able to suppress the cries for revenge from within the Ming family's internal faction must have been hard work for Ming Qingda . However, this matter was originally Ming Qingda's fault . If he didn't want Fan Xian to act out violently, he had to swallow this hard work, and his anger .
What made Fan Xian truly happy was that the spies scattered into the crowds a few days ago had already sent back messages . Perhaps it was because of the Ming family's sudden silence that caught the elders of the Junshang Conference off guard but, at least in the Jiangnan region, the Junshang Conference made some relatively stupid decisions in some matters, like inciting the people to gather and cause a commotion .
By means of the investigation the Overwatch Council did in this matter, and the few people that Ming Qingda had secretly sold to Hua Garden, the Overwatch Council was already keeping watch on one manor downstream of the Yangtze River . It was a gathering place the Junshang Conference had set in Jiangnan . It was an unremarkable manor and not a very important location to the Junshang Conference, however, Fan Xian needed to get rid of it to express his stance .
With him in Jiangnan, the Junshang Conference had best behave themselves for now . If they didn't behave, he would make them shut their mouths .
…
…
The Black Knights could not enter Ming Garden because the Emperor did not like to see the Overwatch Council's martial strength overly interfere in local politics . However, as for this mysterious Junshang Conference, an organization that seemed to be possibly opposing the Emperor's might, the Qing Emperor didn't care about what methods Fan Xian used .
Governor Xue Qing also did not oppose Fan Xian's plan . After all, there wouldn't be enough time to ask for instructions from Jingdou .
Today was the old Ming matriarch's funeral procession and burial, and it was also the day that 500 Black Knights crossed the Yangtze to wash someplace with blood .
The funeral procession had already gone through the long street below the Baoyue Brothel . Fan Xian noticed that some of the noble figures had carefully retreated from the procession . The Jiangnan gentry did not want to offend the Ming family, but they also did not dare to overly neglect the imperial envoy's face . So, they saw the procession to the city gates and then turned back on their own .
"Very high-spirited…"
With great power in hand, why fear the people's heart? Although Fan Xian did not feel complacent, he had begun to feel in the depths of his heart that power was like a drug . No wonder the western philosophers' had a saying, something that Shaolong passed on, and was often seen in forums—absolute something, would bring absolute something .
Fan Xian was aware that he did not need corruption . Without any shame, he thought his realm of consciousness was relatively high, and so he couldn't resist a third sigh .
There should be someone asking accommodatingly, "Sir, why…" Unfortunately, it would be half a year before Wang Qinian could return to the Qing Kingdom . Beside him, Deng Zi Yue considered for a long time with a strange expression before he choked out a sentence, "Sir…you seem to be in a good mood . "
…
…
Fan Xian smiled and said, "Of course I am in a good mood . This old woman died cleanly and efficiently . Standing on a tall building and watching someone else be buried, how could I not be happy?"
Deng Zi Yue wondered how was this something to be happy about? Unable to resist, he opened his mouth to remonstrate, "The Jiangnan people…"
He had only said three words when Fan Xian stopped him . He smiled coldly and said, "Do not repeat those arguments . What are the people's sentiments and opinions? In a few months, these people will have completely forgotten . Whatever kindness, whatever benefits, it would only be remembered for a few days . In the end, it won't be more important than daily domestic worries . The common people…the common people are the type of people most prone to forgetting . "
The words were pointed, and they pointed to Fan Xian's past . They pointed to the Ye family that had long been blown past, rained on, and dissolved into the royal palace treasury .
Back then, the Ye family was comparable to today's Ming family . They were 10 times more impressive, 10 times more powerful, and 10 times more benevolent to the people . One day, the court changed its face and the family was destroyed . The tens of thousands of people under heaven all kept quiet out of fear . Who dared to seek justice for the Ye family?
Deng Zi Yue was startled into silence . He knew they had touched on a sore point for the commissioner, so he did not dare to speak again . He also understood why every time the commissioner brought up public opinion and popular sentiment he would smile coldly at them and not care .
"Those of us who are officials, we are only the Emperor's officials, we are not these people's officials . " Fan Xian words were completely the opposite of serving the people .
With the situation as it was, what could Fan Xian be displeased about? The Ming family was a monkey in the palm of his hand . Jiangnan was certain to settle . Xia Qifei had already sent a message from Jiangbei a few days ago that he had connected with Fan Xian's younger brother . The waves in the capital around the Ministry of Revenue had settled . Hangzhou was urgently picking medicine . The three large workshops were in full swing under the serious, conscientious, and brisk eyes of the Qingyu Hall shopkeepers .
As for within the officialdom, Fan Xian and Xue Qing's relationship was growing closer by the day, In the Palace, the Emperor's trust in him had not decreased . Particularly after the Ming family matter, Fan Xian had sacrificed his own reputation . This, without question, increased the Emperor's feelings of tenderness toward his solitary illegitimate child .
Looking around, it was all situations of great personal victory . As for the Junshang Conference…a cold smile flashed past the corner of Fan Xian's mouth . He didn't know what the old cripple in the Chen Garden outside of the capital was thinking . In any case, Fan Xian did not plan to investigate too deep into this matter . The so-called raising of a tiger was thus .
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