Chapter 749: A Crowded Crowd

The pirate captain looked at Chen Wen and whispered, "Master Pan, if we go to Japan and come back, we won't be pirates anymore, right?"

Pan Yun looked at Chen Wen.

Chen Wen stepped back a few paces, gazed up at the sky, as if the sky were especially beautiful.

Pan Yun nodded to the pirate captain and said, "Once the maritime ban is lifted, you'll return on my ship—and then you'll be law-abiding citizens."

The pirates' eyes lit up brightly.

"Though your criminal status can be erased, the guilt in your hearts will follow you forever—don't forget the sins you've committed; sincerely repent."

All the pirates agreed.

Some were willing to go to Japan to build a new life, but others remained stubborn, determined to stay on the island and rob passing ships.

So to ensure the safety of future merchant vessels, Pan Yun helped Chen Wen wipe them out.

It was a pity—besides helping Chen Wen gain some military merit, they gained nothing.

These pirates were all poor.

So when Pan Yun returned from cruising the seas, her mood was sour, and someone sent her a letter just then.

Pan Yun read Chen Xun's letter twice, then looked up at Xue Shao, who stood facing the sea.

Xue Shao seemed to sense her gaze and turned around: "What is it?"

Pan Yun handed him the letter casually: "Congratulations—your uncle has been reinstated. Chen Xun wants to cooperate with us."

Xue Shao finished reading the letter and smiled faintly: "He wants to cooperate with you."

He folded the letter and returned it to her: "Our goals align. Though our paths differ slightly, we can harmonize without uniformity."

Pan Yun took back the letter and pondered: "I'm only worried about one thing—our cooperation might drag my father and brothers into trouble."

After a moment's thought, Xue Shao said: "Then you should cooperate with Chen Xun even more—get him to transfer Lord Pan back to Jingcheng."

He added: "My second uncle is in Jingcheng—he's fair-minded. And Chen Xun and his group, wanting to maintain good relations with you, will also look out for Lord Pan."

Pan Yun slowly nodded: "True—it's better than being on the frontier. If he's targeted there, we'd be too far to help."

Pan Yun immediately decided to accept Chen Xun's offer of cooperation.

Xue Shao, surprised by her quick agreement, asked: "You really won't mind giving up a shipload of silver?"

"Why not?" Pan Yun said. "Money is external to me—I'm merely a courier, transporting Japanese silver back to Great Ming. As long as it ends up in the imperial treasury and benefits the people, I'll give as much as they ask."

Xue Shao raised an eyebrow.

Pan Yun jumped off the rock, hands on her hips: "I don't crave wealth, okay?"

"Right—you regard wealth as dung," Xue Shao nodded.

Pan Yun muttered: "I need money to accumulate merit…"

Besides that, she just loved to eat—but how much could eating cost?

Turns out, it could cost quite a bit: that night, Cao Jixiang treated her to a lavish meal at Ping'an Inn, reportedly costing over a hundred taels.

Even though Pan Yun wasn't short on cash, she couldn't help exclaiming: "One meal, a whole house—Commandant Cao has truly changed."

Cao Jixiang remained as serious as ever: "I didn't pay for it myself—I'm just borrowing flowers to offer Buddha."

Pan Yun: "Whose flowers?"

Cao Jixiang tapped the table but smiled without answering.

"Pu Si? Hasn't he been arrested yet?"

Pu Si, walking in just then: …

Even seasoned Cao Jixiang froze for a moment, then looked at Pan Yun, waiting to see how she'd react.

But Pan Yun showed no surprise—she raised her hand to greet Pu Si and asked: "Is it you, Young Master Pu, treating us tonight? Just the three of us?"

Pu Si glanced quickly at Cao Jixiang, then smiled and nodded.

"Then this feast is too extravagant—would you two mind if I bring a few family members?" Both Pu Si and Cao Jixiang immediately thought of her disciples and nodded.

Pan Yun grabbed Pan Xiaohei from the nearby chair and tossed him out the window: "Go get Xue Shao, Seeing Miao Zhen, Miao He, and Tao Yanbai—and don't forget Sister Hong Yan and the others."

Pan Xiaohei let out a "miao!" and vanished.

Pan Yun cheerfully invited Pu Si to sit down, politely saying: "Young Master Pu, you're too kind."

Pu Si thought himself effortlessly charming, but Pan Yun was even more brazen—he smiled and stepped forward to pour wine for her and Cao Jixiang.

Cao Jixiang had invited her, so she assumed it was for secret matters—and brought only Pan Xiaohei.

When Cao Jixiang fell silent, the table grew quiet.

After all, she'd just been speaking ill of someone behind their back, and now she fidgeted excessively; she hated silence most of all, so when the room fell quiet, she felt compelled to speak.

"Young Master Pu, what about your cousin Pu Min?"

Pu Si smiled: "He's in jail."

Pan Yun: "…How pitiful. Have you taken care of his family?"

"Of course," Pu Si said. "Pu Min's imprisonment was due to my earlier mismanagement—I let the Wu Lin Alliance and the Celestial Masters' Temple suspect him of colluding with pirates. I'll certainly care for his family."

Pan Yun looked sympathetic: "Then who from the Chen family is imprisoned?"

"Chen Han."

Pan Yun felt even more pity: "He's the Chen family's adopted son, right? How is his mother?"

Pu Si smiled: "I hear she's pregnant again. The Chen family is very anxious—they've assigned many maids to attend to her personally."

Pu Si pushed his wine cup toward Pan Yun: "Master Pan, you're close to the Prefect—please speak a good word for my cousin and Young Master Chen. I'd be deeply grateful."

Pan Yun lifted the cup, took a sip—the fine fruit wine was slightly sweet, with no alcoholic bite—and smiled: "Young Master Pu, aren't you closer to the Prefect? Why do you need me to plead for you?"

"In the pirate suppression, Master Pan contributed the most—the Wu Lin Alliance and the Celestial Masters' Temple both respect you. The Prefect is easy to persuade, but the Wu Lin Alliance and the Celestial Masters' Temple…" Pu Si paused, then added: "So if you're willing to plead on their behalf, the Prefect will treat them more kindly. They were on your ship at the time—you know they're innocent."

Pan Yun nodded: "Indeed, they didn't commit serious crimes. Was tonight's feast meant to plead for them?"

Pu Si immediately refilled her cup and smiled faintly: "And also to befriend Commandant Cao and Master Pan—when Quanzhou Port reopens, I'll surely need your support."

Pan Yun pressed: "So which of the two matters is heavier, which lighter?"

Pu Si's smile slightly stiffened.

Pan Yun lightly tapped her wine cup and smiled: "Young Master Pu, one meal cannot accomplish two things—you cannot have it all."

Pu Si's smile faded slightly, yet his face remained as warm as spring: "In a few days, I shall host another banquet just like this one for Daoist Pan and the Prefect. At that time, I hope Daoist Pan will grace us with your presence and speak a few kind words for Pu Min before the Prefect."

So this meal was brought for the sake of cooperation; pleading was merely an afterthought.

Pan Yun burst into laughter and turned to Cao Jixiang.

Cao Jixiang lowered his eyes; at that moment, his wariness toward Pu Si reached its peak.

As the Founding Emperor had said, this family has no loyalty to the sovereign, no filial piety to their parents—unfaithful and unjust. For the sake of a single opportunity for cooperation, they abandoned pleading for their own cousin who sat in prison.

As a eunuch, everything in the palace, beyond profit, is bound by ties of loyalty and affection.

Senior eunuchs choose young eunuchs they take to, and when the former grow old, the latter return the favor by caring for them.

Between them, it is not only profit that holds them together, but also loyalty and affection.

If even the most basic loyalty and affection are absent, no amount of profit matters.

So, after all was said and done, although Pan Yun was annoying, acted without convention, and had a sharp tongue, her heart was good—she valued righteousness.

Cao Jixiang suppressed all emotion, his face calm as he watched her undermine Pu Si.

A knock came at the private room door, then it swung open; the three turned to see a crowd standing at the threshold.

Xiao Hong held a child about three years old, Hong Yan held a cat, and behind them came Xue Shao, Seeing Miao Zhen, and three others.

There were only six people plus one child—why did they feel like a throng? (End of Chapter)