The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

"Who do we have here? Nie San'er?" A fat man in his forties walked in, carrying a birdcage in one hand and playing with a green wrench on his finger in the other.

"Your Highness has arrived! Please, have a seat! Waiter, quickly bring Your Highness some good tea." Nie Shuping was very annoyed at being interrupted from his pretentious act. Turning around and seeing that the person who came was Prince De, he had no choice but to stand up and greet him.

"What are you all talking about? It's so noisy!" Debel handed the birdcage to the waiter to hang it outside the window, then turned and sat down at the head of the table.

"My lord, Third Master Nie's brother-in-law has returned from America. He brought back a lot of good things, and we were just looking at them! Especially that lighter, it's amazing..."

Before Nie Shuping could speak, the others began to recount the story all at once.

“Your Highness, this is a cigarette from America. Please have a taste!” Nie Shuping opened the cigarette case, took out a cigarette, and handed it to Prince De Beile. Then, with a “click,” he lit it for him with a lighter.

"Nie San'er, let me see. Is this what you call a lighter?" When De Beile saw something new, he naturally had to take it over and play with it.

"Good stuff, not bad, not bad! Nie San'er, how about you share it with me, Prince? I'll trade you my lark!" Prince De Beile was delighted with the lighter as soon as he got it.

"Your Highness, this is a brand new gadget. It's priceless!" Nie Shuping shook his head. How could you even think of that? You want to trade my lighter for a broken bird?

"Then what do you want? Just tell me what you need, as long as it's in my household!"

"Your Highness, this is a one-of-a-kind treasure in the entire country! I haven't had enough fun with it yet! I won't trade!" Nie Shuping snatched the lighter, secretly spitting out a curse. "With your shabby mansion, even the rats are starving. What good stuff could you possibly have?"

There are countless princes in the capital who are merely figureheads, and Nie Shuping is not afraid of him. His father is also a prominent general in the capital, highly regarded by the Empress Dowager, and even princes have to give him some face.

While the two were struggling, a servant came to call Nie Shuping back for dinner. Nie Shuping quickly seized the opportunity to back down.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen! My father has come to call me back to have drinks with my brother-in-law, so I must take my leave now! We'll meet again next time! Waiter, put today's tea expenses on my tab." Nie Shuping cupped his hands and said a few words loudly. He then left gracefully with his servants.

"Disgusting!" De Beile couldn't help but curse as he watched Nie Shuping walk away. He had been humiliated today and was extremely displeased. However, no one else dared to respond; their father was no match for Admiral Nie.

At noon, the Nie family prepared a sumptuous feast to entertain Shen Lian, with the whole family coming to keep him company. The meal was very pleasant. Because his parents were present, Nie Shuping and his brothers did not dare to force Shen Lian to drink, and everyone only had a few casual drinks.

After lunch, the old man wanted to take a nap, so Nie Xianfan took his third son and Shen Lian to his study.

As soon as the second brother finished speaking, Nie Shuping jumped up; "Brother-in-law, leave this matter to me. Donating a ceremonial platform is a small matter. If you want to donate, people from several ministries will be vying to take it. Others might ask for ten thousand taels, but you only need to give eight thousand taels, and I guarantee I'll get it done for you tomorrow!"

"As for seeking the Taiwu Lindao, that's a bit more troublesome, but it's not impossible. Since Guizi Liu died, the most powerful person in the court is now Prince Qing Yikuang. As long as he nods, it's not a problem at all."

"And this Prince Qing is notoriously greedy. As long as you're willing to give him money, there's nothing he wouldn't dare to do. Heh heh!" Nie Shuping said disdainfully.

"However, just in case, you'd better send something to Chief Eunuch Li in the palace. If he speaks well of you, you'll be even more confident."

"Oh! I was just thinking of getting to know Steward Li, hoping to send some rare trinkets to the Empress Dowager through her! Do you have any connections?" Shen Lian nodded and said.

"Brother-in-law, isn't that unnecessary? Ordinary things are unlikely to catch her eye, and expensive things would be too costly," Nie Shuping said, puzzled.

"Don't worry, it's not particularly valuable. But I'm sure she'll like it," Shen Lian said confidently.

"Alright! Tomorrow I'll take care of your donation first, and then I'll take you to Steward Li's residence. Whether it goes well or not depends on our luck. As for Prince Qing, let's sound him out first; we can't let him take advantage of us!"

Although Nie Shuping may seem like a playboy, he is actually quite organized in his work.

“Alright! Then I’ll trouble you, Third Brother! You need to socialize and entertain people sometimes, so I’ll take these beads and play with them.” Shen Lian said, taking out a cloth bag and handing it to Nie Shuping.

"Hey! Brother-in-law, what are you saying? We're all family, isn't it only right that I help you out? You still..." Nie Shuping said politely, but obediently took the bag with both hands. With a gentle squeeze, he could feel the pearls the size of fingers inside, and his face almost split into a grin.

Seeing his third son's behavior, Nie Xianfan couldn't help but cover his face. He quickly turned to serve tea.

It must be said that Nie Shuping was indeed quite capable; he brought Shen Lian to the Ministry of Personnel the very next day.

With the help of the silver ingot that Shen Lian handed over, he soon met the doctor at the donation office.

"So you're Shen Lian from Shandong? You want to pay a donation?" the official in the blue robe behind the desk asked arrogantly.

"Yes! I am Shen Lian, greetings to you, sir. This is but a small gift, I hope you will accept it with a smile!" Shen Lian bowed and then handed over a small cloth bag and two wooden boxes.

The official reached into the cloth bag and squeezed it, feeling a pearl the size of a fingertip inside. His expression immediately changed; he hadn't expected Shen Lian to be so generous. He then asked with a broad smile, "What is this?"

"My lord, these are cigarettes I brought back from America. Please have a taste!"

"Ahem! Very good!" The old man's smile widened. He picked up Shen Lian's materials and began to examine them.

"You're a returned student from America, and you're already thinking about serving your country. Very good, very good! You even have Admiral Nie's official seal? Who are you and Admiral Nie?"

"It is indeed my father-in-law!" Shen Lian said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Oh, Brother Shen, you should have said so earlier! With Admiral Nie's connections, what else is there to say? Old Wang, Old Wang!" the doctor in the green robe shouted loudly. Then the clerk who had brought Shen Lian in earlier entered.

"This is Brother Shen's document. Go to the signing office yourself to help him get it stamped and the receipt issued." The doctor in the green robe handed Shen Lian's information to the clerk, Old Wang, who quickly took it and turned to leave.

"Should I have said so earlier? If it weren't for that bead and the cigarette, even if I said I was a relative of the prince, you wouldn't have been so nice to me, would you?" Shen Lian muttered to himself.

"Brother Shen, please have a seat! We still have some time. Tell me about America, what's going on?" the doctor in the green robe asked with great interest.

"But, sir! I see there are still many people waiting outside!"

"It's alright, let them wait!" The doctor waved his hand dismissively.

"Alright! Sir, please have a cigarette!"