Farming and reading family

Fan Shiping nodded. He sent this batch of carrier pigeons mainly for breeding.

After all, his business with Gao E mainly involved him looking for Gao E.

"Mr. Fan is really thoughtful." Gao E nodded.

"Boss Gao always thinks of me when he has good business, so naturally I have to think more about Boss Gao."

The two men complimented each other and then began to talk about the strange stones.

This time, Fan Shiping brought a lot of people with him, and had already sorted out the route for transporting the strange stones to the capital.

Later, Gao E's people would send the strange stone to the ferry in Yingcheng. Fan Shiping had a boat there to pick them up, and the two parties would make the transaction there.

After hearing the distance from Hexian to Yingcheng, Gao E thought it was feasible.

"I heard from Master Fan before that your daughter entered the palace with the help of the Empress Dowager. It just so happens that I know a woman who also entered the palace. I wonder if I could help find out how she is doing now." Gao E asked tentatively.

"This..." Fan Shiping was a little embarrassed.

"I'm not doing anything, I just want to know how she's doing." Gao E explained hurriedly.

"To be honest," Fan Shiping apologized, "it's not easy for me to see my daughter now. I have to find out when the Empress Dowager will leave the palace so that I can catch a glimpse from afar. I have to spend a lot of money to bribe people so that I can even have a secret conversation."

Gao E lowered her eyes and sighed when she heard Fan Shiping say this: "Ah, Master Fan's daughter is already like this, so it must be even more difficult for me to get to know that woman."

Seeing Gao E like this, Fan Shiping hurriedly comforted her: "Not necessarily. My daughter is living well with the Empress Dowager, but it's not easy to see her."

Gao E nodded and stopped making things difficult for Fan Shiping.

Fan Shiping thought that someone Gao knew might become his daughter's ally in the future: "Why don't you tell me the name, Boss Gao. If there's a chance, I'll ask my daughter."

Gao E looked grateful but shook her head: "Since it's so difficult, I really don't want to trouble Master Fan."

"Boss Gao has spoken, so that person must be very important. I will definitely help if I have the chance." Fan Shiping promised.

"Her name is Tao Shuang." Gao E knew that Yun Shuang would have to change her name after being sent to the palace by the Tao family.

Fan Shiping frowned: "Last name Tao?"

"Is there a problem?" Gao E looked at Fan Shiping's reaction.

Fan Shiping thought it was impossible: "But was she sent to the palace by the Tao family of Dancheng?"

"Yes." Gao E looked puzzled. "Is there something wrong with the Tao family in Dancheng?"

Fan Shiping hesitated for a moment before finally speaking: "How did Boss Gao know someone from the Tao family in Dancheng?"

"The wife of the previous county magistrate of He County was from the Tao family and had a good relationship with me." Gao E did not hide it.

Fan Shiping suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

"Is there anything wrong with the Tao family?" Gao E looked at Fan Shiping with concern.

Fan Shiping hesitated again and again: "Forget it, Boss Gao has never left He County and doesn't know about the disputes outside."

"Please give me some advice, Mr. Fan." Gao E stood up and saluted.

Fan Heping hurriedly stood up and motioned Gao E to sit down. He glanced at Lu Hongliang and asked him to go out and watch.

Gao E sat down and looked at Fan Shiping solemnly.

Fan Shiping thought about it seriously and said slowly, "The Tao family has long been an imperial merchant family, with royal pearl farms and royal tea plantations. They are just running errands for the royal family."

"But the Tao family is very powerful in Dancheng and has supported many students to enter the officialdom. Over time, the only way for students in Dancheng to succeed is to join the Tao family."

"Besides, the Tao family has been sending people to the palace, which means they have people around the emperor." Fan Shiping lowered his voice and said, "It is very likely that they will participate in the competition for the crown prince."

Gao E was stunned for a moment and wondered how old the emperor was now?

After all, Yunshuang was sent to the palace to be with the emperor, and how old is Yunshuang?

"So it's better to stay away from families like this," Fan Shiping reminded.

Gao E nodded: "Master Fan mentioned the dispute over the crown prince. Is it serious now?"

When Fan Shiping heard Gao E ask this, he almost laughed, "Why? Boss Gao is interested in this?"

"We country folks listen to these things like storytelling." Gao E smiled sheepishly. "I heard that our current county magistrate is a top scholar. How could a top scholar come to our small place to be the county magistrate?"

Fan Shiping was stunned for a moment: "What's your county magistrate's surname?"

"My surname is Xu." Gao E said directly.

"Xu Boyan?" Fan Shiping said as he stood up.

Gao E looked confused: "What's wrong with him?"

Fan Shiping realized that he had overreacted and slowly sat down again: "Boss Gao has any connection with him?"

"He came to see my husband when he came to He County to take office." Gao E said honestly.

"What's the matter?" Fan Shiping asked subconsciously, but then he felt that his question was a bit abrupt. "Master Xu is not an ordinary champion."

When Gao E heard Fan Shiping say this, she felt that he might know something: "It seems to be because there is a school in our village." She said uncertainly.

When Fan Shiping heard Gao E say this, he frowned and thought for a long time, and finally sighed heavily: "Perhaps things at that level are beyond our ability to speculate."

"Which level?" Gao E was curious.

Seeing Gao E's curious look, Fan Shiping thought that he wanted to cooperate with the Chen family. Since the Chen family already had an intersection with Xu Boyan, he should also tell the Chen family some things so that they would have some idea.

"Boss Gao is a smart man. It's better for Boss Gao to be aware of some of the things I said today. Don't say anything careless." Fan Shiping warned.

Gao E nodded solemnly: "I still want to ask for your guidance, Master Fan."

"I don't deserve your advice." Fan Shiping waved his hand. "This Lord Xu was once a disciple of Prince Qing. He recruited many talented people for Prince Qing. The most impressive thing is that he collected millions of silver for Prince Qing through the imperial examinations."

"Ah?" Gao E was surprised.

"This matter was only analyzed later. At the time, he showed weakness, making everyone think he was just a flatterer, but he actually turned out to be the top student in high school."

"In the gambling house, his odds were 10 to 1, and everyone he had offended bet on him not to win. As a result, someone secretly placed a large bet and almost robbed the gambling house in Beijing."

"You have to know that anyone who can open a gambling house in the capital must have a backer. This time, the gambling house suffered such a huge loss and still had to pay compensation, so the other party must be very powerful."

"After that, Xu Boyan became famous in Beijing, but he kept a low profile after taking office in the Ministry of Rites. Others thought he was afraid of retaliation, but they didn't expect that he would become the magistrate of He County in such a short time." Fan Shiping could not have guessed the key.

Gao E suddenly realized that she had robbed Xu Boyan's money.

But not really.

He made a million taels of silver, so he didn't care about his own thirty or forty thousand taels at all.

"Master Fan, do you think Lord Xu is not trustworthy?" Gao E asked tentatively.

Fan Shiping was also unsure: "He is a member of the Qing King's party. What he does is not something people like us can participate in. It's best to stay away from him."

Gao E nodded: "I didn't expect such a person to come to a small place like ours."

Fan Shiping also didn't expect this: "It's better to be cautious all the time."

"Mr. Fan said that it was Prince Qing's party, so are there other parties?" Gao E asked directly.