Chapter 948

A Daoist priest's mouth can catch ghosts—or kill men.

Shopkeeper Tang said he never wanted to experience it again in his life.

In the end, he not only settled her five days' wages but also paid her compensation for wrongful termination.

Seeing Miao Zhen held the money and felt it was hot to the touch; she whispered, "Little Master Shu, this is too much, isn't it?"

"It's only five taels in compensation—less than your monthly consultation fee. What's so much about it?" Pan Yun said. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were fired just because you couldn't be talked down to. Do you know how much time you'll waste looking for a new job? During that time, you won't pay for lodging, food, or transportation?"

"Besides, your reputation has been damaged now—you won't find work as easily as before. All these damages combined? Fifty taels wouldn't be enough. Five taels is a bargain for him!"

Seeing Miao Zhen looked utterly confused: "But… I never planned to look for another job anyway?"

"Wanting to or not is one thing; actual loss is another," Pan Yun said. "Just because we're powerful enough to leave Quanzhou and find work elsewhere doesn't mean we shouldn't claim compensation. What's ours, we take."

Seeing Miao Zhen rubbed her nose and softly reminded Pan Yun: "Little Master Shu, we went to Renxin Hall with ulterior motives. You forgot—I peeked at their medicine formulas…"

Pan Yun shot her a glare: "What do you mean 'peeked'? The formulas recorded in the pharmacy—aren't the attending physicians allowed to inspect them anytime?"

Seeing Miao Zhen nodded.

Pan Yun: "Didn't you lay the formula out right in front of him and discuss it with him?"

Seeing Miao Zhen nodded.

Pan Yun: "Is that stealing?"

Seeing Miao Zhen opened her mouth, sensing it wasn't that simple, but couldn't find words to refute.

Seeing Miao Zhen walked past and tapped her head: "You've learned the wrong lesson from Third Master. Shopkeeper Tang used the formula to coerce the Pu family for his own gain. If this came out, Renxin Hall would collapse. What's wrong with you taking five taels from him?"

Seeing Miao Zhen's eyes flickered: "Then I'll give these five taels to the Pu family?"

Her wages, however, were hers by right—she would keep them.

Neither Pan Yun nor Seeing Miao Zhen objected.

Seeing Miao Zhen happily tucked it away and returned to write down the Pu family's medicine formulas.

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Pu Yue's formula isn't bad—though it replaced one ingredient with a more expensive one, the actual efficacy is indeed stronger than the original, though I think it's unnecessary."

Tao Yan Bai stepped forward to examine them; comparing the two formulas, he immediately knew Pu Yue's illness: "This is physical weakness, mostly congenital. Daily care is needed. The original formula was excellent—it gently nourished the body, and each dose cost only twelve cash. One dose per day was not a heavy burden for the Pu family."

"After switching to Dangshen and increasing the dosage, the efficacy did rise—but the price tripled. Since her illness requires daily medication, no wonder Pu Min later couldn't afford it."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "The most problematic is Wu Tai Tai's formula—she suffered postpartum damage, her body too weak to absorb tonics. The original formula was neither good nor bad—it at least kept her safe. But the new formula, though it replaced two expensive ingredients to both replenish qi and blood, is unsuitable for her condition. She's too weak to absorb tonics. In the first few months, she may seem more energetic—as if improving—but in truth, her internal balance is disrupted, false heat rises, burning her essence. Over time, when her body finally breaks down—say from cold or heat—the accumulated fire and pathogenic factors will erupt all at once…"

Tao Yan Bai murmured: "Could Wu Tai Tai's current illness be due to this formula…? After Pu Min was imprisoned, didn't the physician revert the formula?"

Seeing Miao Zhen paused, then said: "I only remembered to check last year's formulas—I forgot to check this year's."

Pan Yun said: "Go see the patient tonight."

Both Tao Yan Bai and Seeing Miao Zhen's eyes lit up: "Us? What if we're caught?"

Pan Yun: "With me, you won't be caught."

"Caught doing what?" Wang Cong pushed the door open, having just finished his work. He heard only the last sentence. Dust-covered and reeking, his gaze was sharp, sweeping between them before settling on Pan Yun: "Little Master Shu, what are you dragging them off to do now?"

Pan Yun's lips curled: "Good news. I've found you a fine helper."

Wang Cong blinked: "What kind of helper?"

Pan Yun: "Didn't you keep saying you didn't have enough hands?"

Wang Cong: "I have enough hands. I just don't have enough talent."

Commerce is at the bottom rung. Talented people all chase the imperial examinations—it's hard to find someone with both virtue and ability.

Pan Yun: "The person I found you is talent."

Wang Cong: "Who?"

"You've met her. Pu Min."

Wang Cong's eyes widened slightly: "He's a Pu clan member—how could he possibly work for me?"

Then he remembered: "Wait—that's not right. Wasn't he arrested for ambushing the envoy and robbing the silver transport?"

Pan Yun: "Do you think a lowly Pu clan branch member guarding a city gate could be involved in something like that?"

Wang Cong thought for a moment. No—he couldn't. Excluding this incident… "Pu Min is still a man of honor. Far better than the hypocritical Pu Si."

Pan Yun: "A great storm is coming. Though the coast is preparing, civilian losses are inevitable. I'll persuade Your Majesty to grant a general amnesty—and include him in it."

Wang Cong doubted: "He committed such a crime—can he even be included?"

General amnesty doesn't cover all crimes. Usually, there are limits—and the Ten Grave Offenses are never among them. Of course, some foolish emperors obsessed with "benevolence" might make exceptions—but ministers rarely agree.

Typically, pardoned offenses are minor: tax evasion, avoiding corvée labor, theft, brawling.

While eavesdropping in the palace, Pan Yun heard a joke: some landlords would rush to the government office to turn themselves in before the new emperor ascended, confessing to hiding taxes.

Once imprisoned, they refused to pay back taxes or fines.

They'd be locked up.

Then, when the new emperor took the throne, he'd usually grant amnesty—and their crime would fall within the pardon's scope.

Pan Yun didn't know if it was true, but rumors don't arise from nothing. She suspected someone really did this—after all, once punished, the government office couldn't punish again.

If anyone did, did someone do it last year?

Pan Yun smirked.

Zhu Qiyu's ascension brought no general amnesty, because Zhu Qizhen's disaster weighed like a stone on Great Ming's heart. Everyone was focused, so no amnesty.

But by this June—next month, the month after—the grief had faded with time, leaving only an indelible mark in the heart.

If another wind disaster strikes, a general amnesty would be the perfect way to soothe the people.

Pu Min's crime isn't pardonable—but a word to the Emperor, and adding his name to the Ministry of Justice's list won't be hard.

Pu Min is the partner I've found for Wang Cong—and the subordinate I've found for the Emperor.

Pan Yun told Wang Cong: "Rest now. In a couple of days, I'll take you to meet him."

Wang Cong followed right behind her, pressing: "Little Master Shu, I'm nervous—are you abusing power for personal gain? You've been State Preceptor for barely eight months—already this corrupt?"

Pan Yun glared at him and said, "What are you thinking? Pu Min works for the Emperor."

"So what does that have to do with me? I don't work for the Emperor…"

Pan Yun patted his shoulder and said, "You don't work for the Emperor, but you work for the Great Ming."

Wang Cong scratched his head, stopped walking, and asked, "What's the difference?"

Pan Yun stood at the doorway and said, "Of course there's a difference. The Emperor's money goes to the Imperial Household Department; yours, you keep for yourself—but it still serves the Great Ming."

Wang Cong stared at her in silence.

Pan Yun slammed the door shut with a snap, and her voice came from inside: "Go wash up right now, you stink."

Wang Cong lifted his arm and sniffed it, then turned to ask his junior disciples standing nearby: "Is it really that bad?"

All three nodded.

Wang Cong muttered, "It's only been half a month since I last bathed—I don't even smell it."

Seeing Miao Zhen and the other two stepped back two paces, putting more distance between them.

Still, Wang Cong obeyed and went to bathe and wash his hair. When he emerged from the bathhouse, half an hour had passed, and his skin was red from scrubbing.

He lazily leaned back in a courtyard chair, his damp hair hanging loose, basking in the sun and sighing, "Stealing half a day of leisure—how nice it is to be in the Great Ming~~ The sky is bluer, the air sweeter…"

Tao Yan Bai and the other three ignored him; they were in the kitchen preparing dinner and boiling more water. Wang Cong alone had used up a whole large pot of hot water—absolutely excessive.

The courtyard was small, only one compound: entering through the gate led straight into the yard. To the left was the stable and space for the cart; to the right, the kitchen and side rooms. Three main rooms faced the yard: the central one was the reception hall, the left one belonged to Pan Yun, the right one to Wang Cong, and Tao Yan Bai and the others lived in the side rooms.

This courtyard and the two adjacent ones were rented by Wang Cong; the neighbors housed his subordinates, and every time they returned to Jiangang, they stayed here.

The central courtyard was always occupied only by Wang Cong when he returned—but this time, with Pan Yun and the others back, it was lively.

Wang Cong felt comfortable. When he felt comfortable, he got carried away. He crossed his right leg over his left, swaying it idly, gazing at the colorful clouds, and waved his hand grandly: "I've decided—I'm buying all three courtyards, and hiring two servants: one to wash our clothes, one to cook! Third junior, fourth junior, little junior—no more cooking for you from now on."

Seeing Miao He thought it wasteful: "We only stay in Quanzhou a few days a year. That's too wasteful."

Tao Yan Bai nodded: "We can cook ourselves, Senior Brother. Master Grandmaster taught us since childhood: do your own things, don't rely on outsiders, and never indulge in luxury."

Wang Cong: "That's saving time and using resources wisely—don't you understand? You've been with me in business too long and still don't get it."

Seeing Miao Zhen had finished rinsing the rice and put it back in the kitchen. She replied, "The best way to use resources is hiring temporary laborers. When we arrived, we could have gone out and hired people—paid by the hour or by the day."

Wang Cong sat up straight: "Are there temporary laborers in Quanzhou now? Last time I came back, when I asked at the labor market, they only accepted contracts of a month or longer."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Now there are."

Seeing Miao He immediately raised his hand high and shouted, "I know! I heard the old ladies who come to see me for healing say—making money is easier now than before. Not only are they all working, but they've even brought their rural relatives to the city: men work at the docks hauling cargo or run errands in town; women wash clothes and cook. Everyone earns! Then they turn their own courtyards into little huts to rent to relatives. All family—help each other, make money, everyone's happy!"

Pan Yun: "What about the fieldwork?"

Seeing Miao He: "What fieldwork? Those who come to the city either have no land at all, or very little. There's plenty of labor. During busy farming season, they go back home—so now there are plenty of temporary workers, many paid daily. They love it."

Seeing Miao Zhen, who wandered the streets giving fortune readings, knew well and nodded: "Because long-term laborers are often owed wages—they're stuck where they are, unpaid. Temporary workers earn less, but get paid quickly. Better than long-term jobs where you're promised more but never actually receive it."

Pan Yun asked: "Are there many long-term laborers who aren't paid?"

Seeing Miao Zhen thought a moment: "In just these five days, walking the streets, I've seen plenty."

Pan Yun nodded, understanding.

The next day, she wandered to the docks to watch the spectacle and spotted Lu Mingzhe standing with Cao Jixiang—she drifted over.

Lu Mingzhe saw her and bowed warmly: "Is the State Preceptor also here to watch the ships enter Jiangang?"

Pan Yun nodded: "I heard yesterday's ships didn't fully dock, so I came to see the spectacle."

Lu Mingzhe grinned broadly, delighted: "Yes! Another fleet of thirteen ships returned in the evening. June is peak maritime trade season—everyone rushes back now."

Pan Yun: "Usually, the busiest maritime trade is from November to January."

"Yes, yes, yes! That's why I just told Cao my lord—this November, the number of returning fleets will only grow. Shouldn't Jiangang Port be expanded?"

Pan Yun said: "It's too early to propose expansion now. Suzhou Port is being built. But more warehouse space could be added."

Lu Mingzhe immediately said: "Warehouses are indeed insufficient. I've already ordered construction. State Preceptor, look over there."

Pan Yun glanced afar and nodded: "I wondered why there was always dust flying over there—I didn't realize they were building warehouses. Lord Lu, you act swiftly for the people's needs. Well done."

Being praised by Pan Yun felt like being praised by the Emperor.

Everyone knew that now, Pan Yun was the Emperor's favorite—if she spoke well of him a few times in front of the Emperor…

Just as he was elated, Pan Yun asked: "Lord Lu, is the port construction using corvée labor or hired workers?"

"Hired!" Lu Mingzhe knew Pan Yun disliked conscripting civilians and answered quickly: "The Prefecture Office and the Maritime Trade Office are jointly paying for them, aren't they, Cao my lord?"

Cao Jixiang nodded.

Pan Yun smiled and nodded: "Good. But be sure to pay wages on time—don't let it become like elsewhere, where workers' pay is constantly delayed."