Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2611 Atonement for Crimes 74.0
"Did Master Falian mention to your father that they became so close during this trip? Did something happen to them?"

“They didn’t mention it, only that the trip made them very happy and it truly achieved its purpose of relaxing.” Boss Luan shook his head gently. “They finally found kindred spirits, people who understand what they are thinking and what they want to do without words. Master Falian said that this kind of relationship is far stronger than so-called marriage or so-called love. They will form the strongest and most solid alliance. Their thoughts and interests are aligned, and they will not have any conflicts or disputes because of money, because money is the least important thing to them.”

"So, from that time on, the two of them started doing business together?"

"Yes, I started preparing after I came back from my trip to clear my head, but..."

"But what?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "Is there something you can't say?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Boss Luan waved his hand. "It's just that this business was a partnership between the Empress Dowager and Master Falian in her own name. Moreover, at Master Falian's suggestion, she even used an alias and didn't use her real name, nor did she let her family know. Although she knew that her family wouldn't object if she told them, after all, Master Falian was her savior. First, he brought her back from the kidnappers, and then he snatched her back from the clutches of illness. In just a few months, he saved her life twice. Her family had long regarded Master Falian as one of their own. However, she felt that mixing her business with her family's would actually be unfair to Master Falian."

“It is indeed unfair.” Xue Ruitian nodded. “The purpose of doing business together is to make money. If it is done in the name of the family, whether the profits are more or less is not just a matter between the two of them, but involves everyone in the family. Although there will be no conflicts or disputes over money, it may happen once or twice, but in the long run, even the strongest alliance will crumble.”

"Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Even brothers who do business together can fight to the death, let alone them!"

“Yes!” Boss Luan nodded. “But Master Falian said there was another consideration. If something went wrong with their business, he could arrange for someone to take the fall and not expose the Empress Dowager and her family. But if her family got involved, things would become complicated.”

"The Empress Dowager is indeed Master Falian's white moonlight; he can't bear to see her suffer even the slightest harm." Xue Ruitian sneered. "Everything is for her sake." He paused to think, "Did they mention the Empress Dowager marrying into the royal family?"

“It has been mentioned that we should remember her, and this is unavoidable.” Boss Luan sighed. “Master Falian mentioned it not only to my father, but also to me. Every time he brought it up, he would get very emotional and inevitably smash things.”

"He hates the Great Xia royal family?"

“No, he hates the remnants of the previous dynasty.” Boss Luan looked at everyone with a hint of doubt on his face. “Every time he gets furious because of the remnants of the previous dynasty, I have some suspicion that he or his family may have been persecuted by people from the previous dynasty. Therefore, he is particularly resentful of those who use the banner of the previous dynasty, and he wishes he could dig a hole and bury them all.”

"Disappointed that they're not living up to their potential," Shen Cha muttered softly, raising an eyebrow at Shen Haolin. "Is that a kind of disappointment?" "Deep love breeds deep criticism; these are normal emotions." Shen Haolin nodded, then thought for a moment, "Has Mianbai returned to Beijing?"

“Yes.” Shen Cha looked at Shen Haolin and shook her head gently. “He is just a musician. Before the Empress Dowager passed away, she could not find anyone, and he was the most suitable person to entrust her son to. That’s why she chose him. I guess he doesn’t know about those things. Otherwise, he would have seen those things from the Empress Dowager long ago.”

“That’s true!” Shen Haolin’s gaze turned to Boss Luan. “When that incident happened, was Master Falian not in Jiangnan?”

"He's there, but not in Suzhou. He went to Wuzhou. A wealthy merchant there asked him to perform a ritual. That merchant is also a longtime friend of his, and whenever there's something going on at home, he asks him to come and take a look. So," Boss Luan spread his hands, "by the time he returned from Wuzhou, a month had already passed. The Empress Dowager's marriage into the royal family was a done deal. Although the wedding wouldn't happen immediately, there were many things to prepare. The family business needed to be handed over, as did the business with Master Falian. He also had to learn various etiquettes from the people who came from the palace. In short, after Master Falian returned, it took him more than half a month to see the Empress Dowager. However, before the meeting, he investigated everything that had happened between his departure and his return, and found out that his aunt's men hadn't been completely arrested. They deliberately staged this incident during His Majesty's southern tour as revenge. Actually, they didn't really want to assassinate her; they just wanted to create a big commotion and frame the Empress Dowager's family. But they didn't expect..."

"Things did not go as they wished. Not only did they fail to frame her, but they also lost a life. In their eyes, the Empress Dowager rose to great heights because of this, which can be considered as shooting themselves in the foot."

"Aunt's men?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "How can you be sure? Shouldn't her men have been wiped out long ago?"

"Well," Boss Luan shook his head slightly, "that's what Master Falian said, so it shouldn't be wrong."

"Does he have his own connections to find out about this?"

“Yes!” Boss Luan nodded. “But I don’t know what his connections are. Anyway, he performed rituals in Jiangnan all those years ago and had a good relationship with many wealthy and powerful families. It might be very difficult for others to find out about such things, but it wasn’t difficult for him at all. Many people didn’t avoid talking to him about it; they would even tell him on their own initiative. He’s a smart man. He can collect all the information and then pick out what he needs to piece together a relatively complete story.”

Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Xue Ruitian exchanged glances, and a cold smile appeared on their faces in unison. Master Falian only needed to know a little bit to know the truth, and they believed that someone like Master Falian would definitely have people under him who had followed him from the previous dynasty. As long as such people existed, those so-called remnants of the previous dynasty would not be able to hide anything from him.

What are his thoughts on the Empress Dowager marrying into the royal family?

“He thought it was a good idea. They had thought that all of Aunt’s men had been wiped out, but they didn’t expect that some had escaped and even caused such a big mess. Since that’s the case, it would be better to let the Empress Dowager go to a relatively safe place. At least the capital and the Eastern Palace at that time could guarantee that she would not be harmed again.”