Joy of Life

Smack, smack, smack, smack. The sounds were very crisp, unlike the muffled sounds when the Imperial Censorate was struck outside the Royal Palace in Jingdou. On the contrary, it sounded like someone was keeping time for a piece of music with a strong beat.

After the paddle landed 10 times, it stopped. The three workshop masters did not end like brother Baoyu with a breath in but no breath out. They also didn’t faint like Second Fan.

Fan Xian watched the scene with great interest. He couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised at how hardy the three masters were. After suffering 10 strikes, they did not even make a single sound. He knew his subordinates’ style. Since he had ordered a beating, no one would hold back.

Looking unbelievably miserable, they had suffered a great humiliation today and forced themselves not to make any sounds. However, the strikes on the body still hurt, particularly since the pain also carried the humiliation of being stripped. It caused tears to swell in the eyes of these middle-aged men, along with some hatred, like pitiful little dogs.

Fan Xian clapped his hands and said, “Take them away.”

“Yes,” his subordinates replied in unison. They helped the three masters up and headed out of the yamen.

Behind these three masters, who had long reached their limit for pain and humiliation, Fan Xian didn’t forget to call out like a merchant, “Three days! Three days! Don’t you forget!”

...

...

The yamen immediately fell into silence. The officials looked at Fan Xian with slight fear in their gazes. Everyone knew of Fan Xian’s reputation. They were not from Jingdou, so they had never personally experienced the chill within Fan Xian’s clean and literary reputation. They didn’t know as clearly as the pain felt by the Second Prince’s officials.

Finally today everyone saw, and felt secret fear, but they could also not help smiling coldly in secret. He can beat them if he wanted to. Was his beating of the treasurers not for us officials to see? However, no matter how learned Sir Fan was, he was still blind when it came to the matters of the palace treasury. Now that he had badly offended the masters of the three workshops, we’ll just see how you clean up this mess.

Perhaps Fan Xian did not know about his subordinate officials’ intention to watch the trouble in three days, or perhaps he just didn’t care about this. He said a few more words before ordering them to repay the missing wages in three days. If there were any illegal actions, they were to check themselves. He then released them from the yamen.

He kept behind the Ye family general and his close helper, the deputy of the transport company. If he wanted to do things done in three days, he still needed their help.

No one knew what he said to the two officials in the back garden, but their faces became more and more serious until they finally nodded slowly. They saluted Fan Xian respectfully and then left.

...

...

“Sir.” Su Wenmao handed over the summarized intelligence report from the Overwatch Council. Fan Xian received it smoothly and nodded slightly as he read. It seemed like the people of the Fourth Bureau had some uses. They had apparently been suppressed by the Eldest Princess and treasurers and never had a chance to showcase their skills.

Su Wenmao watched as he sank into the scroll and thought about the scene earlier. He couldn’t help but furrow his brows. He gathered the courage to quietly say, “The three masters of the workshop could be killed.”

Fan Xian raised his head to look at him. He couldn’t resist smiling. “Of course they could be killed. However, killing people isn’t like cooking. What can be eaten should be ate, but those who could be killed do not need to be killed in a rush.”

“Sir was too kind before.” Su Wenmao was from the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council and ruthless when it came to controlling officials. He felt that Fan Xian had been too soft in his earlier decision. Three mere masters. If he wanted to kill them, then kill them. Since it was to establish power, some extra thunder would not go amiss. What sense was there in talking for a long time and only giving out 10 strikes?

Unsatisfied, he said, “Sir just gave them 10 strikes earlier. It was too light. I’m afraid it won’t make them submit.”

Fan Xian waved the Overwatch Council report. “With the evidence in my hands, I could chop their three heads off with one stroke and no one would dare say anything.”

Su Wenmao paused and reflected that since it was so, then why was it thunder and no rain earlier? Why were the three who had no respect for the law in their eyes released?

Fan Xian smiled and explained, “Thunder and rain are both heavenly favors. If I had punished harshly earlier, although the officials and the various treasurers would not submit in their hearts and even develop hatred because of their fear, they could only accept it. Furthermore, fearing the sharp edge of the beheading sword, they would settle down. This three-day limit then...in probably just one day the officials will have filled in the debt and the treasurers will send silver like crazy to the yamen.”

“Isn’t this the scene you want to see?” Su Wenmao was more and more confused.

Fan Xian waved his hand. “Wrong, it will steady the situation for a time. However, only killing three masters of the workshops, what kind of root changes would that mean for the palace treasury? It’s the same as hunting monkeys in the mountain. If you kill the king monkey, then the other monkeys will spread out. You know, I cannot, and have no wish to, remain with the palace treasury for a long time. What will happen when I leave? Those monkeys will run out of the mountain again and steal our corn to eat.”

Su Wenmao turned it over in his mind and understood some things. The monkeys in the commissioner’s example were the many treasurers in the three workshops. If he had decapitated the three masters today, then the treasurers would, naturally, spit out their silver honestly and return the wages owed to the workers. However, in that case, the commissioner would be missing another chance to wield the butcher’s knife. When the commissioner leaves the North of Min and returns to Hangzhou, the mountains were south and the roads were far. Those treasurers would probably become enlivened again, and the workers in the three workshops would have to welcome even more misery as revenge.

“This is like popping a pustule.” Fan Xian smiled. “Your face appears to be calm, but the pus is still inside. So, we are not going to rush and rub it. On the contrary, we are going to expand the pore to squeeze out all of the pus.”

Su Wenmao paused. It was clear he had never taken a beauty class, but he understood enough to know what Fan Xian meant. Smiling he said, “You said it was complicated. Isn’t it just luring the snake out of its hole?”

“What luring? This is called hitting the snake to startle the snake.” Fan Xian touched his neat and smooth hair. He found this description was not very fitting, but he couldn’t help smiling. “Anyway, with the three-day limit and the 10 humiliating strikes on the masters, the treasurers used to being spoiled probably would not be able to endure this at all.”

“What if someone returned the silver? Then what?” Su Wenmao asked with misgivings. He was afraid that after the shock by the commissioner, those little monkeys wouldn’t have the daring to jump out.

“Punishing those who came before to prevent others from following later, curing the disease and saving people,” Fan Xian said with seriousness. “The treasurers who have not broken any Qing laws need only return all the silver, and I will naturally give them another opportunity. I am here to manage the palace treasury, not to break it.”

“Understood.”

“When dealing with enemies, we must divide them internally, proceed to order them, and then treat them separately. Group together what can be grouped...we’ll see who jumps out in three days, and then we will know who has rejected my kindness.” Fan Xian smiled slightly. “It is not only targeting the treasurers. I believe the Eldest Princess left trusted aides here in the palace treasury. They will not pass up such a good opportunity. From Xinyang’s perspective, we have offended all of the treasurers, and the palace treasury will naturally grind to a standstill. At this moment, they will be sure to jump out. Have the people of the Fourth Bureau keep a close watch and write a list of names. I will ask these unstable elements to leave.”

Su Wenmao finally understood everything. The commissioner wanted to do a complete clean out. They arrived again at the front garden and he carefully asked, “Only...Sir, the deputy is of Ren Qi’an’s family and can be considered trustworthy, but the Ye family?”

Fan Xian understood what he was worried about. According to the news from Jingdou, days after the Great Prince married the Great Princess of Northern Qi, Ye Ling’er finally married the Second Prince, who used this opportunity with the empress dowager coming forward to be released from his house arrest.

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t say too much. I just asked General Ye to pay attention to the routes out of the treasury. I’m not arrogant and conceited enough to think I could use a few words to win over someone of the Ye family.”

Fan Xian smiled. What he asked General Ye to do was to prevent the treasurers from taking advantage of their home advantage and secretly shipping out the silver they had taken these years. Although most of their dirty silver would have been used in buying land, the deeds to the land, as determined by their personality, could only be in their home.

“Also, do not casually connect the Ye family with the Second Prince and Eldest Princess together,” Fan Xian said after some thought. “The Ye and Qin families are equally famous and not as simple as others think. How could they only lean toward one prince? That would be too stupid. Even if they had a bias, before the situation is clear he will still give me some face. He wouldn’t fall out with me for a group of treasurers unless Ye Zhong feels the Emperor did not send him far enough away.”

Su Wenmao shivered and didn’t say anything more. He took his orders and left.

Fan Xian sat on the chair and sank deep into thought. After a moment he sighed. Ye Ling’er finally got married. What kind of ending will the Second Prince have in the future? He was not a kind person, but he had once said in the teashop outside of Baoyue Brothel that he had wanted to bring the Second Prince down because he wanted to leave him his life. This was partially because of Ye Ling’er, and partially because he, subconsciously, wanted to pit himself against that Emperor that cared about raising his children with iron and blood. We’ll see if you know how to play better or I know how to play better!

Over the months, the Ye family was played around by the Emperor. Without any other choice to make, they could only lean closer and closer toward the Second Prince. Thinking of this, Fan Xian felt a dark fire in his belly. It was perhaps true that the Emperor planned far ahead, but as the Emperor it was also true he was a highly suspicious scoundrel—it looked like those sitting in different positions all have their own limitations. For the Emperor sitting on his dragon chair, his limitation was that he was overly suspicious. He used the granting of a marriage as the first test and began to prepare defenses for no reason. Following that was shamelessly bringing false charges and step by step forcing the Ye family to stand in opposition to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince? Then why did the Third Prince have to leave the capital with him?

The Emperor truly wasn’t a common one. He kept using methods that others could not see the logic of. Fan Xian felt a little vexed. He quickly comforted himself thinking that if he, the little scoundrel, couldn’t understand, then perhaps the old scoundrel might not understand either.

As to why Fan Xian was determined to not reconcile with his mother-in-law, it was not because he had suffered as a son-in-law during the dating period. It was also not because of the “look after family property” reason he had once told Haitang. In reality, the reason was if Fan Xian truly joined sides with the Eldest Princess, both parties would increase in power and would become a terrifying force, one that was sufficient to rock the foundations of the Qing Kingdom.

This was something the Qing Emperor would not allow.

For Fan Xian, who did not hold the power under heaven, his current behavior was very much guided by the motto that great intelligence may appear to be stupidity. As long as it was something the Emperor would not allow, he would certainly not do it; unless if someone wanted to kill him.

...

...

In the next two days, Fan Xian took his seven well-dressed maids and investigated the workshops everywhere. He began to gradually become familiar with the process in the palace treasury. He also added a layer of sentimentality to his knowledge of the Ye family. It was difficult to not touch the wooden watermill beside the river and sigh with emotion at the great changes that had happened. Sometimes he would sit with the workers and talk about glassblowing. Unfortunately, his craftsmanship was terrible and its appearance too beautiful. Although he didn’t blow it successfully, the texture of the glass was still exquisite.

The workshops closer to the yamen all knew exactly what the new officials looked like. Although they did not dare look directly at the Sir Fan junior of legend, they had carefully stolen many glances. They all said that this noble young master was truly very pretty, but clumsy, and his personality was kind. The seven serving girls beside him were all exquisite. There was only one girl who was not as good. Her actions and walk were rural-like, and she didn’t look anything like a girl from a big family.

Meanwhile, the four defensive lines made by the military and the Overwatch Council suddenly tightened their patrols. The patrols of the palace treasury had already been the tightest in the world. The sudden tightening immediately found some prohibited items, although they were not technical secrets of the palace treasury, there were still some heavy things.

They were both light pieces of paper as well as heavy land deeds.

Just as Fan Xian expected, the first reaction of the treasurers, including the masters of the three large workshops and related officials, after the three-days order was given was to send out all of the objects of value close to them to give to friends and family outside of the palace treasury.

However, after they ran into the strict patrols and searches, the officials and treasurers finally gave up. They knew the new imperial envoy would not allow them to transfer their wealth. Yet, if these deeds were left by their side...god, if they couldn’t fill the debt in three days, does that mean their possessions would be confiscated? These people were definitely not clean. If the imperial envoy wanted to find faults, death was all around them.

It was clear the Dan Da and General Lin’s work was having an effect. From the second day, no one tried to transfer their property. A dark breeze began to blow through the manors in the palace treasury and three large workshops. As to who began this breeze, the spies scattered around were quietly investigating.

At night, the rain fell hard and the river swelled. Although the embankments were in place and there were no problems, the atmosphere of the chilly winds that howled and the murky waves that reached the sky began to make many people feel strange.

The treasurers began to feel a strong sense of danger and contacted each other. Upper, middle, and lower, there were a total of over 200 treasurers. Facing the three-day order, they all had their own plans. Those who still had their consciences were prepared to hand over the dirty money and live their life as new people. Some were afraid of Fan Xian’s power and planned to secretly report colleagues for illicit actions to secure their own innocence. However, most of the people began to gather in the manor of workshop master and secretly discuss how they should deal with this matter.

After the three masters had been beaten, they could only lie on their beds. Although their bodies were in different places, the hatred in their hearts toward Fan Xian and the bitter resentment in their eyes were very much of one heart. In the end, they were not willing to lower their heads to Fan Xian because they had done too many terrible things. Even if they did lower their heads, it would be difficult to escape death.

Among the communication between the treasurers, the trusted aides that Xinyang left in the palace treasury had a nasty effect. Using the name of the princess far away in Jingdou, they promised the treasurers that the court’s first interest was still in the profits that the palace treasury generated and not their small pieces of silver through corruption.

What about a single chopstick? What about 10 chopsticks? In the end, most of the treasurers finally huddled into a ball and began to move like a bowling ball with no idea in which direction they were being rolled in.

...

...

On the last day of the three-day order, Fan Xian followed the same schedule as the previous two days. In the morning, he stayed in the yamen to discuss matters. Although the treasurers had not actively come forward to hand in the stolen goods and admit to their crimes, quite a few officials had returned some of the silver. As to whether or not it was the full amount, that was a matter that would be discussed later. At least they had shown a superficial level of respect.

Some of the treasurers had secretly confessed and actively come to the Overwatch Council to be witness and name others. Naturally, Fan Xian smiled and accepted. It looked like the other party was indeed not a solid sheet of metal. The palace treasury’s casting skills were indeed not up to par.

He drank his tea and absentmindedly watched the thin rain outside of the hall. He thought leisurely about the heavy rain last night. The Qing Kingdom won’t be flooded again this year, right? Looked like he would have to act quickly, otherwise the silver from father wouldn’t have time to make it to the side of the Yangtze River before its banks burst.

“Sir!”

A terrified voice exploded like the sound of muffled thunder and woke Fan Xian from his sage-like thoughts.

Fan Xian looked around in confusion to see a group of officials all in wet robes running in. All of the officials had been sent out today to the various workshops to announce the final day of the order. Why did they all run back?

In the lead was the second most senior person in the palace treasury, the deputy of the transport company, Ma Jie. His face was full of shock. He held up the front of his robes as he crashed anxiously into the hall, heedless of the water on the ground and his wet shoes.

“Sir Ma, why are you in such a rush?” Fan Xian looked at the other party and slightly furrowed his brows. He had Cao Cao’s air down perfectly.

“Sir, it’s not good!” Although Ma Jie knew long ago that the treasurers would certainly push back against the order, hearing the matter today, he couldn’t help his state of mind becoming panicked. He urgently came to report to Fan Xian.

“The three large workshops are on strike!”

...

...

Fan Xian was slightly surprised and stood dazed on the stone steps.

Ma Jie thought that the imperial envoy had been stunned by the sudden bad news. He wiped the rain from his face and gave a pained smile, “This is bad; this is bad.”

The three large workshops on strike? This was something that had never happened since the Qing Kingdom had taken over the palace treasury. Fan Xian had not killed anyone, and his methods had not been as bloody as those of the Eldest Princess back in the day. However, the problem was that Fan Xian had sent out the three-day order, and he held in his hands the spy power that the Eldest Princess never had. He had also blocked the treasurers’ plans to transfer their wealthy. He was fully prepared to take away all of the money that the treasurers had stolen these years.

What was money? Money was life for the large majority of the people, and that was why the treasurers dared to use such a shocking tactic as a strike to fight to the death with Fan Xian.

Fan Xian was only surprised for a moment before he came around. A faint smile floated to the corner of his lips. In reality, he wasn’t shocked that the treasurers had reacted so intensely. He was just thinking that strikes also existed in this world.

“Sir, what do we do? Should we take back the three-day order?” Ma Jie’s face was full of expectation. He did not approve, at all, of Fan Xian’s order. Now that the treasurers had truly gone on strike, how much money would it cost the court for the three large workshops of the palace treasury to stop work for a day? Such a large crime. Who could shoulder the burden? Even if the Fan family was not the same as ordinary people and was afraid of nothing and no one, but the Emperor would still not let it go so easily.

Completely out of Ma Jie and the other officials’ expectations, Fan Xian gently stroked his smooth hair and rolled his neck. A faint excitement showed on his face as he said, “Indeed they didn’t let me down and caused such a ruckus. This is good. Wait until I catch them. I’m going to kill them all...clean them out!”

“Ah?”

The officials stood dumbfounded in the thin rain. A pair of swallows in the beams of the yamen lightly danced.

Fan Xian, wearing a black Overwatch Council robe, led the various transport officials, about 20 people, in a rush to the first workshop that called a strike. The officials stood outside of the workshop. They couldn’t hear the hissing of the furnaces, and there was no black smoke emitting from the workshop. There was only a deathly silence. The crowd couldn’t help but cast their gazes toward Fan Xian, wondering how exactly he would deal with this kind of silent protest?

No one knew that the Qinian Unit and the swordsman of the Sixth Bureau, who had come to Jiangnan with Fan Xian, were already wearing raincoats and waiting for their command in silence not far from the workshop.

Even further away, General Ye stood with a serious face and tightly clenched fists. He was restlessly beside Su Wenman, with whom he talked on and off with. His mind was entirely on the workshop that went on strike. Behind the two people, a camp of soldiers with knives and spears in hand waited.

The striking workers were all gathered in the workshop which was responsible for the creation of glass. There was still remnant heat from last night inside.

Fan Xian entered the workshop with steady steps. He raised his head and looked at the tall workshop ceiling. He then said with approval, “The rain proofing is doing well.”

The workers were huddled at the very back, and their faces were full of terror. These low-level workers did not know why today they suddenly stopped work. Watching the imperial envoy who had just walked in, they were terrified.

At the front of the workshop, a dozen treasurers wearing blue jackets saluted Fan Xian with forced calmness.

“Why have you not started work?”

“For your information, Sir, the rains yesterday were too big and they extinguished the fires and broke the molding equipment, thus we were unable to start work,” said Master Xiao of the First Workshop, with injuries still on his back. He glanced at Fan Xian with eyes full of hatred,

The master and treasurers were not stupid. They knew that couldn’t explicitly say they were striking. Otherwise, if Fan Xian actually went crazy and raised his knife to them all, he would have a passable right to do so. Thus, they could only find an excuse. In reality they were using a strike to threaten the other party.

This was, perhaps, the so-called art of negotiation.

In terms of words and poetry, Fan Xian could be said to be an artist. In his actual line of work, he often destroyed art without a sense of aesthetics. He had a serious expression and said, “The molds are destroyed and the furnace is wet. What about the Second Workshop? Perhaps molten steel that could boil people to death has congealed? Perhaps the weaving machines have rusted?”

Not waiting for master Xiao to reply, he narrowed his eyes and said, “I think it’s your brains that have rusted!”

There was no so-called negotiation. Fan Xian only needed someone to cause trouble. It was absolutely necessary for the people in charge of the technical skills of the palace treasury to change. How could he pass up this opportunity?

“Come, chop off this master Xiao’s head and use his blood to warm the furnace.” Fan Xian clapped his hands and said in an even voice.

Xiao paused as if he hadn’t understood the meaning of the imperial envoy’s words.

As soon as Fan Xian’s words left his mouth, the raincoat wearing Overwatch Officials entered the workshop. One of the subordinates brought a chair for Fan Xian to sit on. A few others quickly and cleanly forced the master to his knees and dragged him to a furnace about 15 meters away.

Fan Xian waved his hand.

The transport officials behind him exploded into clamor. Deputy Ma felt anxiety attack his heart. He cried out in fear, “Sir, you can’t do that!”

Xiao, who had been pushed to the door of the furnace, finally woke from his daze and knew that the imperial envoy was truly going to kill him...he truly dared to kill him. He began to fight for his life. Both his feet pushed against the dirt on the ground with a scratching sound. With tears he cried, “Spare me, sir, spare me!”

When the idiots of the world, who could not clearly perceive the situation, cried for mercy as they were about to die, it was too late.

The treasurers friendly with Xiao stared with bulging eyes. They all rushed forward thinking to rescue him.

With a swish, a streak of snow-white knife light flashed out.

A head with a slightly dark complexion rolled into the furnace. With a sputtering sound, the fresh blood struck the walls of the furnace.

The workshop exploded with countless cries of shock. All the people had been stunned by the bloody sight before them. The treasurers howled and were scared. In a flash, they all stopped their footsteps forward at the same time. At this moment, their innate self-preservation triumphed over their madness.

Fan Xian glanced at the head in the furnace and looked again at the hundreds of workers gathered at the back of the workshop. Their faces were full of fear. He said calmly, “When I kill someone, naturally I have my reasons.”