What Feng Sheng wants is not an ordinary account book, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the lifeline of the salt merchants.
There is nothing else recorded in it, but their contacts with many officials over the years, which official received their benefits, how much they received, and when they received them are all kept in the account. This tent is a family heirloom, handed down from generation to generation, and it is not easy to invite it out at ordinary times, and keep it for life-saving.
Feng Sheng wanting this account book is asking for the life of the Patriarch of the Chen family.
But similarly, the conditions she offered were attractive enough. Moreover, under the implementation of the new policy, the ledger has become useless, the general trend, even if they ask for the ledger to force those officials to speak for them, it is useless, because the reform of the Lianghuai salt policy is a national policy, unless the top person is replaced .
So it's not impossible to give it, do you want to take a gamble? Apparently the Patriarch of the Chen family was very entangled in this matter and couldn't make a decision for a while.
"Can the old man be allowed to think about it?"
"I have no objection, it depends on whether others can sit down." Feng Sheng raised his chin aside, in the direction of the Cheng family, "The number of places is limited, Mr. Chen should know, this matter is to grab the opportunity first, and the next one After the others, there may not be three melons and two dates, you look at Jinfu, and then look at the present."
"Why do you want this thing? You have to know that once the contents inside are leaked, my Chen family will be in danger of being retaliated against."
"That's why I said that I can help Mr. Chen solve his worries. The account book is in your hands. Do the officials who have been in contact with you recently still associate with you now? Are they not even seeing each other, but shutting the door for you? Mr. Chen is not a fool , should understand what form it is now."
The Patriarch of the Chen family trembled all over, and the corners of his eyes twitched.
That's right, he would come to find Mr. Fang, not only to protect the Chen family's fortune, but also to protect the lives of the whole family. He is in his seventies this year, and has been the head of the family for nearly forty years. He has dealt with countless officials through his hands over the years, including some big officials and important court officials.
The welcome and delivery at the beginning were a little bit thin, but now that they know that the Chen family is going to collapse, will anyone be afraid that he will say something that shouldn't be said, and will take something that shouldn't be taken, and act first? He didn't need to count in detail, just listed a few names at random, and he could easily kill his family.
Now the entire Chen family is on fire, and the situation of the Jiang family is vivid. The crime of assassinating the imperial envoy has been wiped out by someone. Smoothed out to save his life? No, I just want to squeeze the last drop of oil out of the Jiang family, and then deal with him.
The person who dared to make this move is extraordinary, will the Chen family follow in the footsteps? No, the Chen family doesn't have as much face as the Jiang family, so there is no need for others to deal with it like this.
For a moment, the eyes of the Patriarch of the Chen family flickered, and the more he thought about it, the more he broke out in a cold sweat. Then look at Mr. Fang who is sitting across from him, looking at him with a smile. He is shaking his folding fan, his brows and eyes are light, and he looks confident.
The depth of the water in these two Huaihe Rivers is known to everyone in the world, even a businessman like the Patriarch of the Chen family knows what is going on in the court. I don't know how many people are playing games here, and which road is the one surnamed Fang
"Mr. Chen, you have to know, I am a little seventh-rank loose official, what can I do with these things? Naturally, someone needs them."
At the same time, there was a burst of gongs and drums on the stage, and the performance actually reached a critical point.
Suddenly, the tone changed, from high to low, and a string broke.
"Okay, I promise you."
Feng Sheng showed a satisfied smile.
In order to deceive others, the Patriarch of the Chen family left the scene angrily halfway through, and Feng Sheng sat until the end of the scene.
The two broke up unhappy, which made the other families dare not go forward.
But it was beyond Feng Sheng's expectation that she could negotiate a deal with the family today. She is not in a hurry, she can take her time, she has been waiting for a long time, and she doesn't care about this one thing.
So she took a carriage and walked around Yangzhou City for half a circle, not only bought some snacks and fruits, but also bought a lot of pastries. In the middle, for a time-honored pot cake, I lined up for nearly half an hour outside the door.
This made the few people who followed her secretly feel a little confused by Monk Zhang Er.
When going back, Feng Sheng carried a lot of things in big and small bags, which surprised Zhichun Zhiqiu.
Feng Sheng loves snacks, and usually has them at home, but this time she hasn't come back for a long time, and the snacks at home have long since run out. I didn't expect that she bought half a month's worth of snacks at a time today.
The two maidservants were taking things to put them away, when a person came in from the door, it was Fan Jinchuan.
"Brother Fang Xian, I want to talk to you."
Feng Sheng, who was carrying him on his back, sighed silently, but when she looked back at him, she was smiling.
"What do you want to talk about, my lord?"
Fan Jinchuan's eyes dimmed. Feng Sheng would only call him "Master" when he was on official business or when he was unhappy. At other times, he would be Brother Fan, but at some point, "Master" became synonymous with him.
"I just want to talk to you, let's find a place where there is no one to chat for a while."
In April, it shows off, and in May, it sings.
April is the best day of the year, without the late spring cold of March, without the heat of May, and when the grass grows and warblers fly, the outside is lush and lush, which makes people feel refreshed.
Since it was just chatting and not so formal, Feng Sheng suggested finding a place to sit in the back garden.
Xiaoqi went down after making tea.
Obviously, there are quite a few times that these two people sit and drink tea and talk about the world, but none of them are as embarrassing as this time.
It's not embarrassing, it's just that I don't know what to say.
In the end it was Feng Sheng who spoke first.
"It's rare for adults to be leisurely. All the things these days are piled up on adults alone. You have worked hard."
"I don't work hard."
Feng Sheng smiled, picked up the tea and drank it, watching the scenery outside the pavilion while drinking.
Fan Jinchuan looked at her greedily, with a dreamy face, thinking that he had killed her, and in despair, he could only turn his grief and anger into motivation, but who knew that she was actually alright.
Knowing she was safe and well, he got drunk and woke up more motivated because he remembered what she said to him before she left—remember our plan, you gotta get it done.
Imagining how he would tell her his thoughts and worries when she came back; imagining how he would be brave enough to tell her frankly when she came back. But when she came back and saw her eyebrows and eyes the same as before, the feeling of being clear and light as if separated by a layer of fog came again.
That night, the nephrite jade was warm and fragrant, and her fingers covered her lips, it seemed like a dream.
When he woke up, he was still alone.
But he was hungry inside, and he couldn't remember how many days this hunger had lasted. He only remembered thinking that when he sent his mother away one day, if he was alone, if he hadn't married yet, it wouldn't be bad to spend his life with his younger brother like this.
"Feng Sheng, will you marry me?"
No one thought that this sentence would be said in such a situation, Feng Sheng shook his hand, and some tea spilled out. She calmly wiped the tea off her fingers, and when she looked at him, she had regained her composure.
Fan Jinchuan didn't look at Feng Sheng, he seemed to be very disturbed, he looked directly at the scenery outside, but he didn't dare to look at her.
Feng Sheng sighed a little, and for some reason a voice sounded in his ear.
"...but remember, the woman that the king doesn't want can't be accused by others, so stay away from Fan Jinchuan..."
"Brother Fan, why did you think this way? If it was because of that night, you should know that I did it for the best of both worlds."
Hearing this, Fan Jinchuan was excited.
"No, Feng Sheng, you should know how I feel about you. I always thought you were a man, so I've always been in love with you, but you're not..."
Behind the pavilion, Maner listened to the conversation inside with a shocked face.
Even when Fan Jinchuan begged Feng Sheng to marry him, she was not shocked when she heard that Master Fang was a woman.
She didn't listen any more, and left in a daze.
How to do? How to do
Man'er is completely panicked now, she has long discovered that Big Brother Fan has unusual feelings for Master Fang, but as long as Master Fang is a man, Brother Fan is impossible with him. So even though Big Brother Fan has been unwilling to marry her, she is not in a hurry, she has plenty of time, so she can wait slowly.
For a woman like her who doesn't understand anything and has no family to rely on, she must learn to be patient. She didn't understand this kind of patience before, but after her father died, and her brother and sister-in-law were in charge of the family, she understood.
Man'er is not stupid, it should be said that she is very smart.
If she is stupid, she won't know how to be harsh on Bao by her brother and sister-in-law, and won't be laughed at by everyone in the village because her man is promising, won't come back to marry her, and will take the initiative to go to Fan's house and kneel down He said that he would serve Mrs. Bao for the rest of his life.
So the smart she knew that she couldn't win the moment she knew that Master Fang was a woman.
She recalled the scene she saw when she first arrived—
The mist has not dissipated, and the sky is only bright.
She raised her eyes and saw a person leaning against the door, with a thin figure and a coat draped over her shoulders. His brows and eyes were tired, but his handsome expression could not be concealed.
Such a man.
Fortunately, he is a man. If it were a woman, she might not be able to win him with all her efforts.
She still remembered the joy in her heart, but now she thought it was ridiculous.
…
Man'er walked back unknowingly, and met Bao Shi in the yard.
"What's the matter, your face is so white? Didn't you mean to send something to Shuan'er?"
Man'er held back her smile: "Mother, the things have been delivered."
"Then you don't know how to talk to him? I'm not talking about you. If you were half as aggressive as I was back then, the matter between you and Shuan'er would have been settled long ago, and I don't need to worry about it every day."
Man'er stood there listening, and didn't go into the house until Baoshi stopped talking.
Close the door and everything seems to be quiet.
What should she do? Perhaps, she is not helpless.
Maner is hanging on the beam.
Just when Fan Jinchuan was pulling Feng Sheng to confess his heart, she was hanging.
When the two received the news, they rushed over. Mrs. Bao cried so heartbrokenly that when she saw Fan Jinchuan, she rushed to beat him.
It's not a thing to scold him, and he has been reluctant to marry Man'er.
Fan Jinchuan was also a little dazed at the moment, Feng Sheng went up to check on Man'er on the couch, and sent someone to invite a doctor.
Maner didn't die, but almost died.
The doctor left after prescribing the medicine, and asked everyone to relieve Man'er. He also said that no matter how good the doctor is, it will be useless if people are thinking.
After Man'er woke up, she lay on the bed and wept.
Bao Shi asked her what was wrong, but she didn't say anything, she just cried. Just when Feng Sheng was about to leave, she called out to stop Feng Sheng.
Her abnormal behavior aroused Bao Shi's suspicion, and Bao Shi originally planned to go to rest, so she didn't leave. In the end, Man'er was forced to tell the reason, and then Bao knew that Feng Sheng was a woman.
There is no need to ask the rest, Bao Shi knows why Man'er can't think about it.
She was rarely angry, even if Fan Jinchuan had been procrastinating on getting married and wanted to marry Man'er as his younger sister, she had never been so angry. She and Man'er have depended on each other for many years, and they almost regard each other as a daughter-in-law and a daughter. She has long been holding back a fire in her heart. Because Feng Sheng is Fan Jinchuan's master, Fan Jinchuan has always relied on her, so she It has not been easy to send out.
Now he actually told her that Master Fang is a woman, nothing could be more ridiculous than this.
Combined with new and old hatred, Bao Shi scolded Feng Sheng very harshly. Even if Fan Jinchuan blocked it, or even got angry, she didn't stop.
The room suddenly looked like a whirlpool filled with evil spirits, Feng Sheng could only flee in a hurry.
After Feng Sheng went back, he fell asleep.
This sleep lasted from dusk to noon the next day, and Zhichun and Zhiqiu didn't dare to call her. They also heard about Man'er hanging from the beam. Although they didn't know the details, they still didn't forget Fengsheng and Fan. Between Jinchuan and Jinchuan, there is a feeling that seems to be absent.
Although this doesn't prove anything, Man'er's trouble is tantamount to cutting off the possibility between the two of them.
Maybe others don't know, but the people around Feng Sheng know what kind of character she is.
Afterwards, Feng Sheng was so busy that she didn't touch the ground every day, she seldom spent time in the back house, and was mostly busy going out. No one knew what she was busy with, Zhichun and Zhiqiu didn't dare to ask. Since that day, Fan Jinchuan never came to find Feng Sheng again, as if nothing happened that day.
Another more than a month passed, and the clapper rang again, and Feng Sheng came back reeking of alcohol.
But she wasn't drunk, as if she had gone to a party for something.
She just walked into the yard where she lived, and a person came out from a dark corner.
"Brother Fang Xian." It was Fan Jinchuan.
His eyes were bloodshot, his face was covered with stubble, and he looked haggard.
Feng Sheng froze for a moment, and asked, "What's the matter?"
"On the eighteenth day of next month, Man'er and I will have a wedding. I hope you can come to have a wedding drink."
"Okay, I will definitely come then."