Chapter 22: The Very Uncomfortable Peng Da Niang

  "Ah, so you're a disciple of Peng's Five Tigers Severing Door Blade! I've long admired your skills, long admired!"

  "How long have you been looking forward to it?"

  "Hmm... six or seven hundred years, is that a long time?"

  Peng Ziqi turned her head away in annoyance and said to Feng Xihui: "Three months?"

  Feng Jianxiao smiled and said: "Three months!"

  "Good!"

  Peng Ziqi nodded, turned around and walked to one side, heavily sat down on the chair, closed his eyes and remained silent.

  "What three months?" Xia Yu asked strangely.

  Feng Jianxiao smiled and said, "From today on, Young Master Peng will be your personal bodyguard for a period of three months. Of course, if the murderer is caught earlier, Young Master Peng can leave ahead of time. Magistrate Tu has gone to great lengths to ensure your safety, young master. Oh, I have some more things to discuss with you, may we speak in the study?"

  "Oh, please, this way." Xia Yu was slightly stunned, and hastily made a gesture to invite the guest, leading Feng Xihui into the small study room beside him.

  The desk and chair in the study were made of golden nanmu wood, on which the Four Treasures of the Study were arranged. A painting of orchids and bamboo hung on the wall, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere. Little Qing quietly brought in tea, using the finest Yuan blue-glazed porcelain from Jingdezhen, then slipped out again to close the door behind them.

  As soon as the door closed, Xia Chou immediately left his seat and sat down opposite Feng Xihui, saying respectfully: "What are your orders, sir?"

  Feng Xihui's expression turned serious, and he leaned forward slightly to ask, "Is the gift for Prince Qi's birthday ready?"

  Xia Fu didn't expect him to ask this question, and he felt a little relieved in his heart. He replied: "Not yet, I plan to go to the market tomorrow to find some suitable birthday gifts."

  Feng Xihui didn't quite believe his eyes, but since he couldn't see anything, he couldn't come up with any good suggestions either. He said, "Hm, you can ask Xiao Guan Shi about these things, or just bring him along. As a steward from a wealthy family, his discerning eye shouldn't be lacking in this regard."

  Xia Xun nodded, and Feng Xihui continued: "The funds for the construction of the Qi Wang Fu, two-thirds of which were allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, but this year's budget is a bit tight, so this payment has to be suspended for now. The Qi Wang will soon hear about this news, with his temperament, he will not give up easily and become a laughing stock in front of everyone. He wants to get money, it's very likely that he will come to you."

  Xia Liu's expression changed: "Building a king's mansion requires a huge amount of money, I... how should I respond?"

  Feng Xihui smiled and said, "I have three methods here that can help King Qi quickly accumulate a large amount of wealth. You can also use this to further become one of King Qi's trusted confidants, which would be very beneficial for the case we are currently investigating."

  "Please proceed, sir."

  Feng Xihui said: "This first method, the court allows King Qi to choose a new location to rebuild his palace, but does not specify a specific scope, which is exactly where we can take advantage of it. You can offer advice to King Qi and ask him to expand the new site of the palace. In this way, hundreds of households around will need to relocate from their original homes. The new site of the palace was originally chosen in a place where the rich and wealthy merchants of Qingzhou gathered. Every household's mansion is cleverly designed and carefully arranged, with unknown amounts of heart and soul spent on it. Absolutely no one would be willing to leave. What to do? Spend money to avoid disaster! The people within the enclosed area can buy back their mansions with money."

  Xia Xun said, "This move is too shameless. With this move, the King of Qi has made a big stink in Qingzhou. Although the officials and common people do not dare to speak out openly, they will secretly stab him in the back."

  Feng Xihui continued, "This second plan is to ask the king to utilize the royal family's special privileges to sell goods such as cowhide, animal tendons, refined iron, and raw iron. These are important materials that are restricted by the imperial court, and ordinary people do not have access to them and dare not engage in their trade. Therefore, the profits will be enormous. If the king of Qi were to put his flag on these goods and transport them, which patrol officer at the checkpoints along the way would dare to inspect what is inside? Of course, if it's not convenient for large quantities of goods to enter and exit Qingzhou, we can let the king use the excuse that the local area is unstable and have the three guards' troops take over the city defense, making it easier to pass through. With just this one move, wealth will pour in."

  He smiled slightly and urged: "Of course, you can also get on board with Qi Wang's big ship to gain some benefits for yourself."

  Xia Fu was shocked: "These materials are controlled by the imperial court because they can be used for both civil and military purposes, and can be converted into armor, bows and arrows at any time. Feng Xi Hui did this..."

  Feng Xihui didn't let him think much and said, "The third one is mining. Gold and silver mines are highly profitable, but the people don't dare to mine them. If King Qi is willing to take the lead, he doesn't need to spend a single penny, and there will be wealthy merchants who want to cooperate with him. The king can just sit back and enjoy the profits without doing anything, and he can earn a lot of money. These three plans not only can solve King Qi's problem of building his palace but also provide him with endless financial resources.

  Of course, for confidentiality and safety reasons, mining requires human supervision. It would be difficult for the three guards of King Qi to leave Qingzhou. At that time, you can also take the opportunity to advise King Qi to recruit some personnel and establish a mine guard force...

  Feng Zongqi smiled slyly and didn't say anything more clearly than that.

  Mining? Shandong has had a gold mining industry since the Warring States period, and it was especially prosperous during the Song Dynasty. From the north of Jiaodong to the south of Yimeng, there were both government-run and private mines. The annual gold production reached 60,000 taels at its peak. And the Linqu area under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou is an area rich in mineral deposits such as gold, silver, copper, and iron. However, during the Ming Dynasty, the mining of gold and silver was strictly controlled, and private mining was not allowed. Now, Feng Xihui's plan...

  Xia Fu hesitated for a moment, then said: "Your Excellency, the method you mentioned will either provoke public resentment or violate national laws. Will King Qi be willing to listen? If His Highness gets angry, I'm afraid..."

  Feng Xihui smiled calmly and comforted, "Don't worry, if I didn't know the character of King Qi, how would I let you present this plan? Just proceed as planned."

  Xia Fu said: "Your Excellency, we are entrusted with the imperial edict to investigate and punish treasonous rebels. If we present such a plan and the imperial court investigates it later..."

  Feng Xihui's gaze turned stern, then immediately transformed into a warm smile: "Hehe, so you were worried about this. I apologize for not making it clear earlier. This first method will indeed stir up public resentment, but if we don't use such a method, how would those rebels take you as one of their own and pull you in? It's just a means to an end."

  As for the second and third methods, you don't have to worry. The imperial court is currently unable to allocate funds for the construction of the Wangfu, so let the King of Qi raise the funds himself. This is no different from the official mining of gold, iron, and animal hides, which are then taxed and submitted to the imperial court, and then the imperial court allocates funds for the King of Qi to build his mansion. It's just a matter of saving one step in the procedure. All these have been agreed upon by His Majesty. Compared to investigating the crime of treason, these matters are nothing.

  "We are creating opportunities to expose the traitors themselves. All of this is to make you attract the attention of those traitors, they think you can be used, and then they will pull you in. Only then can we understand their true intentions. The court has set up a big trap, and you don't need to know the details."

  It is.

  Feng Xihui took a sip of tea, then instructed them on the details and possible questions from King Qi that they should respond to. He asked: "Have you all memorized it?"

  Xia Fu nodded and said: "Yes, I have taken note of it."

  Feng Xihui raised his cup and took a sip of tea, stood up straight, smiled slightly and said: "Alright, I'll be off now. The day after tomorrow is the Qi Wang's birthday, you should make early preparations."

  When the two returned to the living room, Mr. Peng was still in the same position as before, without any change, and Xiao Ding was circling around him, curiously sizing up his person and his sword.

  Xia Liu sent off Feng Jianxiao and returned to the living room, looking at that handsome Peng Gongzi who was a bit too good-looking for his own good. He temporarily put aside his worries and smiled at him: "Thanks for your trouble, sir. Today is our first meeting, I've ordered the kitchen to prepare a banquet, let's drink and make merry, allow me to play host for a bit, how about it?"

  Peng Ziqi stood up, holding a knife in his arms, striding with his long legs, and walked to one side. He raised his chin, gazing at the non-existent sky in the hall, and said lightly: "I'm only responsible for not letting you get killed within three months. Once the time is up, we'll go our separate ways. Peng Ziqi and Yang Wenyuan won't have any connection, neither before nor after, so don't try to get close to me!"

  Looking at his high-held head, Xia Xun's gaze slid to the swan-like slender and elegant neck. His neck was fine and white, with a smooth throat that had no protrusions. Xia Xun's eyes widened slightly in surprise, then he smiled: "Young Master is keeping me at arm's length, it seems like you have some prejudice against me? Speaking of which, this is our first meeting, I shouldn't have offended you, right? You're so angry, could it be because... you haven't been feeling well these past few days?"

  This Mr. Peng clearly did not catch Xia Jiu's sarcasm, he still looked up at a 45-degree angle with an unhidden tone of disgust and said: "As soon as I see you, I feel very uncomfortable."

  "Am I your aunt?" Xia Liu muttered in her throat.

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  Yang Wenxuan's usual bedroom, since Xia Jiu arrived, this is the first time he has stayed here. The night he returned, for safety reasons, Zhang Thirteen arranged for him to stay in another room, and the next day Zhang Thirteen was "assassinated", Xiao Guan Shi who was anxious also arranged for him to stay elsewhere, today Yang Wenxuan, the master of the Yang family, finally officially returned to his own bedroom.

  Yang Dashi's residence was as luxurious as expected, with rooms divided into inner and outer chambers. The outer chamber, where Yang Dashi got out of bed and moved around, occasionally received private noble guests. However, at this moment, the outer chamber had been converted into another bedroom, with a large bed placed against the wall, covered with brand new bedding.

  Xia Fu smiled and said: "This place is temporarily changed to a bedroom, it's a bit simple, I'm afraid it's not good enough for Master Peng."

  One zhang away from the bed, Peng Gongzi's knife was placed horizontally on his knees, sitting upright on a stool, with his waist straight as a pen. When Xia Zhen approached him, he still didn't say a word, treating him like air.

  Xiao Ding chimed in with envy: "Brother Peng, your waist is even slimmer than mine, can you really wield such a wide and ferocious knife? Why don't you use a sword instead? Look at that sword on the wall, it belongs to my young master. When he wears his sword, his green robe and long sword look especially handsome."

  Peng Ziqi looked at her, his cold face softened, and replied: "The purpose of a weapon is to kill people, not to look at it. A sword is the gentleman among weapons, easy to carry, elegant to wear, so those who wear swords are often scholars and literati."

  She glanced at Xia Xun again, and said with a hint of sarcasm: "However, scholars don't get their hands dirty, they only read the classics, most of them are men who can't even tie up a chicken. They wear swords just to follow the trend, to show off, or to flirt with women, it's all just for show, not for real use. Knives are the kings of weapons, when walking the jianghu, they have the greatest aura, and when you really want to kill someone, knives are much sharper than swords, that's why I use a knife."

  Xia Liu coughed and took over the conversation, saying: "Xiao Ding, in fact, 'gentlemen among soldiers' and 'heroes among soldiers' are just grandiose phrases. The Peng family's traditional skill is knife techniques, what else can she use?"

  Peng Ziqi slightly bent his body, like a leopard that could jump up at any moment. His beautiful big eyes narrowed dangerously: "You hold the sword, I'm empty-handed. Within three moves, this young master will knock you to the ground. Want to try?"

  Xia Liu quickly grabbed Xiao Ding's hand, smiling and saying: "Let's go, let's go, come and massage the young master's legs." Ever since he accidentally experienced Xiao Ding's massage skills, Xia Liu had a liking for those small pink fists.

  Peng Ziqi glared at him fiercely and cursed under her breath: "Pervert!"

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  Xia Liu lay on the high bed, slightly closing his eyes, seemingly enjoying the service of Xiao Hua very comfortably, but in his mind, he was quickly turning over thoughts.

  An ambitious general, how does he maintain his own power?

  Nourish the bandits!

  How do major arms exporters sell their weapons?

  Create local chaos.

  How does a Central Intelligence Agency with drastically reduced funding compete for more funding?

  The Preparations for Certain Country's Threat Theory.

  Taking into account all the information he had obtained from various aspects, combining ancient and modern experiences, he had already come to a conclusion and caught the true purpose of the Brocade Guards: they were self-rescuing.

  They were born for violence, and when the world is at peace, they have no place to use their skills. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that the world was already at peace, horses were grazing in the south mountain, swords and spears were stored away, and the sharp blades of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would rust, so the Embroidered Uniform Guard had to manufacture a case of treason, let the emperor feel threatened again, and feel that the Embroidered Uniform Guard still had great use. Only then could the Embroidered Uniform Guard have the opportunity to see the light of day again.

  This is playing with fire!

  Xia Liu now has status, has money, has people, and even a lovely little loli serving him by his side. He's not interested in playing with fire alongside these destitute Jin Yiwei.

  Little loli spoke up: "Open your mouth!"

  Xia Xian opened his mouth, and the two green jade fingers handed him a peeled lychee. Xia Xian closed his mouth and continued to think about the problem. Xiao Ding licked her sweet and juicy fingers, and continued to peel another lychee. The two people were each in their own world.

  The plan to get rid of Feng Xihui must be put on the agenda immediately. Originally, Xia Fan still wanted to wait for the most opportune moment to make a move, but now it seems that there is no more time to wait. Otherwise, under Feng Xihui's coercion, he would have to lead Qi Wang to the guillotine himself. Once trapped in the mud, it would be difficult to extricate oneself...

  Outside, Miss Peng was neither standing nor sitting, feeling awkward all over, her ears kept wanting to listen for any ambiguous movements in the inner room. She finally took off her boots and sat cross-legged on the bed, just calming down a bit, when suddenly the sound of creaking bed frames came from inside the house. Miss Peng's face turned bright red, she sprang up with a fierce aura...

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  PS: Seeking today's recommended votes and Sanjiang votes, friends are welcome to support!