Chapter 438: Shocked Fan Yongdou

Fan Yongdou glanced at Fan Si, sighed, and said, "We've bought off quite a few generals up north, but when it comes to the real military nobility, we truly haven't cultivated many connections. Now that the court has established the Staff Office, we know nothing about it. One who fails to plan for the future will surely have troubles in the present. If we don't make arrangements now, it'll be too late when the time comes to use them. Who knows what the court will become?"

"Since this man is a noble young master from the capital, he must have connections. As long as we win him over, there's nothing we can't accomplish. Even if he only serves as a door-knocker, he can get us into the capital's inner circles."

"Since this noble young master fancies that Mongol girl, then give her to him. After all, she's nothing more than a Mongol girl. Besides, once he accepts this Mongol girl, certain matters will become impossible for him to explain away."

Hearing these words, Fan Si naturally understood what his master intended to do.

Once this noble young master had a woman, he would naturally want money next. His coming here this time was clearly for business.

Give him a Mongol woman, then let him do business with the Mongols. Once or twice, and he'll taste the sweetness of it. By then, in pursuit of greater profits, he'll inevitably start dabbling in gray-area deals. Once such business begins, there's no stopping it.

With a Mongol woman and such gray-area dealings, no matter how he tries to explain himself later, he won't be able to talk his way out of it. Won't he be completely at our master's mercy?

And all the master has invested is a Mongol girl. To the master, what is a Mongol girl worth? It's not like she's his own daughter.

Besides, even if it were his own daughter, the master probably wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. He might even be delighted and marry her off with great fanfare.

It's just that this noble young master might not even look favorably upon the master. The Great Ming's imperial house does not intermarry with hereditary nobles and their kin, but nobles and their kin intermarry among themselves very, very frequently. Outsiders who want to forge marriage ties with them generally aren't even considered.

The next morning, Fan Yongdou rose bright and early.

Although he had been thoroughly infuriated by Wukeshan the night before, what needed to be done still had to be done.

After tidying himself up, Fan Yongdou took gifts and headed to the inn. Today he was going to pay a visit to Zhu Youxiao.

When Fan Yongdou arrived at the inn, he immediately sensed that these people were out of the ordinary.

Through Fan Si's accounts, Fan Yongdou had only formed a preliminary impression of Zhu Youxiao's group. Now that he saw them in person, Fan Yongdou understood even more clearly that these people's identities were absolutely extraordinary.

Look at the formation of these guards — that sharp, piercing gaze. These men had clearly been on the battlefield and killed before. To use such men as guards showed just how extraordinary their master's family background was.

And look at the dress and grooming of the ordinary servants — absolutely not something an average household could afford. Even his own household couldn't compare to theirs. This was extravagance on another level.

Look at the horses pulling the carts — even by northern standards, those were fine horses that ordinary people couldn't afford. Yet these people used such horses to pull carts, showing just how wealthy they were.

In Fan Yongdou's words, this was simply being a prodigal spendthrift.

But since they could afford to do this, it proved they had the means.

When he met Chen Hong, Fan Yongdou was even more speechless.

This man, who appeared to be some kind of steward, was truly arrogant beyond measure — he wouldn't even deign to look directly at him. And from the look of him, he seemed utterly fearless, as if he had nothing to worry about.

Judging by this steward's attire, he was no ordinary rich man. Setting everything else aside, look at the jade pendant hanging from his waist — fine Hetian jade. Ordinary people couldn't afford such a thing. And this man was only a steward.

If even a household steward could be this wealthy, how much money must the people of that household have?

"Follow me." Chen Hong looked Fan Yongdou up and down and said.

Having said this, Chen Hong turned and led the way, walking straight inside.

In Chen Hong's eyes, someone like Fan Yongdou was nothing but a local country bumpkin. No matter how rich, it was useless. Moreover, the things he did were all shady dealings — this time His Highness had come specifically to deal with him.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was already investigating them, ready to make arrests at any moment. These people would soon become prisoners, so Chen Hong naturally looked down on them.

Arriving at a small courtyard behind the inn, Fan Yongdou was even more shocked.

There were even more guards here than outside — and this was only what he could see. Although Fan Yongdou was no military man, he understood that guards operated both in the open and in the shadows.

And look at those guards — what were those strapped to their backs?

Those were hand crossbows!

He knew full well that such things weren't something ordinary people could obtain. Even if one could obtain them, one wouldn't dare flaunt them openly in public.

Such conduct further proved that these people were no ordinary sorts. Additionally, it demonstrated that this noble young master had deep backing and strong roots, with an extraordinary connection to the military.

Soon, Fan Yongdou followed behind Chen Hong and walked inside.

In the main hall, Zhu Youxiao was reclining sideways on a daybed, with tea and refreshments laid out on the table before him.

Zhu Youxiao simply lounged there, watching the graceful dancing of a dozen or so women before him.

The musicians beside them wore very little, merely covering themselves with a simple veil, and were playing seductive tunes.

Seeing this scene, Fan Yongdou made a judgment in his heart.

This was just a wealthy young wastrel from the capital — coming to a place like this and still indulging himself so thoroughly. He was most likely an empty-headed fool.

Fan Yongdou had seen many people like this; relatively speaking, they were easy to manipulate. He also understood another thing — this noble young master's arrival might just be an opportunity for him.

Chen Hong glanced at Fan Yongdou and said, "Wait here."

Hearing these words, Fan Yongdou felt somewhat angry inside.

In Zhangjiakou, he counted as one of the great households with very high prestige. He had already come to pay his respects in person, and yet they still treated him like this?

They truly didn't regard him at all!

But Fan Yongdou didn't lose his temper. As a merchant, forbearance was one of the most basic qualities.

Chen Hong came to Zhu Youxiao's side and said respectfully, "Young Master, Fan Yongdou has arrived."

"Then let him come over." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said.

Chen Hong turned back around and said to Fan Yongdou, "Follow me."

Although Fan Yongdou was angry that Chen Hong showed not a shred of courtesy, he still followed Chen Hong and sat down at an empty seat beside Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Youxiao didn't look at Fan Yongdou and continued watching the song and dance performance.

After about half the show, seeming somewhat bored, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand to signal the performers to withdraw.

After they had left, Zhu Youxiao glanced at Fan Yongdou and said, "The Fan family — a great clan of the northern lands, who built their fortune through trade with the grasslands. How many generations has it been passed down to you?"

Hearing this, Fan Yongdou hastily replied, "Yes, what the young master says is correct. May I ask what the young master..."

Before Fan Yongdou could finish, Zhu Youxiao interrupted him, smiling as he said, "Are you asking who I am?"

Having said this, Zhu Youxiao reached out and picked up the teacup from the table, idly turning it over in his hand, looking at Fan Yongdou with a faint, inscrutable smile.

"I merely wished to fulfill my duties as a host. Please don't misunderstand, young master." Fan Yongdou said hurriedly.

"There's no harm in telling you." Zhu Youxiao shot Chen Hong a meaningful glance.

Clearly, as the young master of a great noble house, introducing himself personally would be beneath his station — such things were always done by those around him, to avoid any suspicion of self-aggrandizement.

Chen Hong quickly stepped forward and said, "Our young master is the young lord of the Duke of Ying's estate."

He was claiming to be from the Duke of Ying's household—this was the identity Zhu Youxiao had arranged for himself.

If he pretended to be Prince Xin and claimed to be a prince, that would certainly be inappropriate. Not to mention his age, it would also be troublesome after returning to the capital. Princes of the blood were not permitted to leave the capital without permission, let alone come all the way to Zhangjiakou to do business.

So the only option was to pose as a member of the nobility. But there weren't many suitable candidates among the nobility who were this young.

The foremost noble of the Great Ming Dynasty was the Duke of Ying. After the Staff Council was established, many people said the Duke of Ying would be its first Chief of Staff. Under such circumstances, his prestige and authority had long since reached a different level.

Moreover, his house had been passed down for over two hundred years—truly sharing the fate of the state itself. A reigning duke of the current dynasty—how many were there?

Upon hearing these words, Fan Yongdou nearly jumped up in excitement.

This noble young master was actually the young duke of the Duke of Ying's mansion? No wonder he put on such airs!

No wonder he looked down on him. With an identity like that, there were very few people in the entire Great Ming Dynasty that he would deign to respect.

Ever since the Staff Council was established, the Duke of Ying's standing could be said to have risen like water with the tide. His Majesty trusted the Duke of Ying immensely, and more than half of all military authority rested in the Duke of Ying's hands.

Of course, this was merely rumor. But even that was already frightening enough.

A true leader of the nobility—a man whose mere stomp of the foot could shake the entire capital.

He never imagined that the young duke of the Duke of Ying's mansion would come to Zhangjiakou. To Fan Yongdou, this was simply a heaven-sent opportunity!

If he could establish a connection with the Duke of Ying's household, was there anything he couldn't accomplish?

If this business got going, then from now on wealth would come rolling in!

Fan Yongdou looked at Zhu Youxiao, his gaze filled with anticipation. He hastily rose from his seat, bowed to Zhu Youxiao, and said respectfully, "I pay my respects to the Young Duke. I failed to recognize your eminence—please forgive my ignorance, Young Duke."

"Enough, no fault for those who didn't know." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, speaking in a relaxed tone.

After Fan Yongdou had sat back down, Zhu Youxiao finally said, "I imagine your people have been following me for quite some time now, haven't they?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Yongdou hastily said, "No, no! Young Duke, please don't misunderstand."

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, cutting off Fan Yongdou's words, and said, "I'm not a man who likes to beat around the bush, so you don't need to either."

"You've already seen what happened to me, haven't you? Do you know who that young girl is? Can you get her here?"