Chapter 149 Everyone needs to eat.

When the carriage was halfway there, it was stopped by an oncoming team.

The man who came was Wei Hua, the eldest son of Marquis Changning.

Fan Xian opened the car curtain and looked at the sky. It was time for him to get off work.

I wanted to pull back and let him pass first, after all, he was going home, and it would be okay to give way since he was already at the door. But the man on the other side seemed to be in no hurry to go, and did not make any move.

After a while, the carriage finally stopped in front of them.

Through the car window, Wei Hua gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know what the envoy wants to do!"

Fan Xian laughed. This Wei Hua was indeed far worse than his father. Of course, that was only in terms of his mind.

"The Marquis and I are drinking buddies. Isn't it natural for me to visit you?"

Wei Hua was about to get angry, but then he remembered that there were many servants and passers-by around, so he lowered his voice and asked, "My father loves wine, and he has many drinking buddies! Sir Fan, if you have anything to say, you can come to me. If you have anything to say, just speak directly!"

It’s no wonder he thought too much, there is no intersection between the two.

Now that a farce has just happened outside the palace, he has a clear goal to go to his own home instead of the victim's Chang'an Marquis Mansion. If it weren't for that incident, it would be a ghost! Wei Hua, feeling guilty, looked nervous, thinking that at worst he could back down and solve the problem privately with the foreign envoy.

"This is not okay!"

Fan Xian shook his head. If someone said that Wei Hua, as a son, didn't know about smuggling, Fan Xian would be the first one to disbelieve it. But whether to do it or not, and how to do it? It was not something that Wei Hua, as the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple, could decide!
"This matter will not harm you. I will give you what I deserve! It's not for anything else, just to make things easier and avoid obstacles. Besides, this matter is not something you can decide!"

Fan Xian finished his words here, his eyes were filled with indifference. Although the old marquis had been pouring wine for him during the banquet, it did not affect him much. Now that the wine had worn off, his words became even colder: "Have you forgotten? I went to the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple to look for you a few days ago, but you just avoided me! Don't say too much, or a good thing will turn into a bad thing!"

"Are you talking about Yan Bingyun?" Wei Hua looked unconvinced, and then said, "But hasn't that person been taken away by His Majesty and returned to the delegation?"

Seeing that Wei Hua was still talking about something else, Fan Xian lost his patience. He waved his hand and ordered Gao Da to clear the way. Suddenly there was chaos again.

Wei Hua returned to the mansion with an annoyed look on his face, without stopping, and he didn't have a good face to the servants in the house.

Seeing his drunken father still sipping the wine, he was furious! Although he was furious, he still performed the etiquette at a very fast speed and then said loudly: "Father! Don't you understand the situation you and Second Uncle are in now? Fan Xian is an envoy from an enemy country, how can you let him into the mansion so openly? Don't even think about it! Tomorrow the whole court will be filled with impeachment memorials against us!"

Marquis Changning, who was enjoying himself and being gentle just now, now became angry!

"What's wrong? What's wrong with me having a drink with my drinking buddies? You don't let me do this or that, so I'm not your father anymore. I think you are my father!"

Unexpectedly, the louder the voice of Marquis Changning was, the louder the voice of Wei Hua became.

"Dad! What nonsense are you talking about!" Wei Hua was furious, and his tone was getting more and more out of control. "If it was just an ordinary drinking buddy, when would I have stopped you? But who is Fan Xian? He is an envoy representing Nanqing! Even if it's not for yourself, for the sake of this family and everyone in the mansion, you can't act so willfully!"

He did not mention the smuggling issue. The matter had already been discussed and settled, and it would be inappropriate for him to hastily persuade his father to change it. The quarrel now was more of a venting of dissatisfaction.

It would have been fine if Wei Hua didn't scold him, but when he spoke in a harsh tone, the old marquis started to cry: "What do you mean by willful or not? Ever since the day your aunt became the Queen Mother, I have no more fun! They said that for the sake of the royal family's reputation, everything must be done in accordance with the rules and set an example for the ministers. I no longer have freedom!"

"Look at this marquis' mansion!" His body softened, but he still held the wine glass tightly. "In all these years, has anyone ever come to visit me in my mansion? My brother Fan is finally here, and you are still talking nonsense here. Why don't you just let me go down and compensate your mother!" These series of words made Wei Hua's face as black as charcoal.

Good fellow! With just a few words, he gave Fan Xian a very high status!
After his anger subsided, he was helpless. His father was indeed useless because of his status. Although he was the Queen Mother's brother, he could not serve as an official in the court. He was depressed and could not vent his anger. He could understand that. Now he even brought up his deceased mother. What else could he say?
He sighed and asked, "Have you decided to change people regarding the smuggling matter?"

The Marquis of Changning was no longer soft-hearted, and quickly responded, "I heard that it was the intention of His Majesty in the palace!"

Wei Hua was shocked. What does His Majesty mean? Does that mean the Queen Mother also knows?

Seeing that there was nothing unusual about my father, I thought that he would not pursue the matter too much, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, what should we do with Uncle Shen?"

Facing his son's questioning, the old marquis showed a rare shrewd look: "What Uncle Shen! Now you have to call him Shen Zhong!"

He lowered his voice and said, "If he is smart, he will give up the Cui family and cooperate with Fan Xian! Regardless of whether Fan Xian wins or loses the battle with the Princess's forces when he returns to Nanqing Kyoto, he will not be able to make any other choices as long as he follows the wishes of our court!"

"I heard that the one who is in charge of all this is the new national master!" He looked around and said mysteriously.

Wei Hua sighed again and understood.

Based on his understanding of Uncle Shen and Shen Zhong, if it is beneficial to the country, he will do whatever he wants, which makes outsiders think he is very arrogant.

In fact, no one gained much from that smuggling operation.

The biggest benefit was given to the Princess of Nanqing. His mind was also very easy to understand. He wanted to secretly develop the Princes to whom the Princess of Qing belonged and who cooperated with her. This force might be able to destroy Qing from within in the future!

Emperor Qing's princes are no better than he is. If Northern Qi had chosen a different opponent, instead of having to face the terrifying Emperor Qing, I believe everyone would applaud!
This is also the reason why I did not report it to the Queen Mother and His Majesty - because there is not much money to be handed over. If this matter is raised by the court, this series of people will also be charged with corruption and aiding the enemy.

"So Master Li An is interested in this money?"

Marquis Changning silently picked up the wine glass and started drinking by himself. This was how it seemed to him.

Who doesn't know that he loves money the most? Now he doesn't do divination or fortune-telling, but he has set his sights on smuggling!

"Everyone has to eat!"

······
On the second day, Fan Xian, who was still in the delegation, received the letter.

Shen Zhong agreed to meet with Fan Xian in private to discuss the smuggling issue. He didn't know that the two people in the palace already knew about it and were thinking of making something of it.

Besides, what if the palace knew about it?

I have no shame in being in the presence of heaven and earth!
The time for the two to meet was set for today...

(End of this chapter)