This was to let the two families compete against each other first!
Pei Man understood and smiled in agreement. He turned to the page A’Ming had been reading earlier, preparing to continue reading the gift list to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan raised his hand in a “no need” gesture and said, “This is the gift list sent by the Wu family. Take it and look it over first, then prepare a reciprocal gift accordingly. Also, see if there’s anything interesting among the items sent.”
Pei Man knew his preferences and respectfully acknowledged the order before withdrawing.
Pei Yan felt somewhat bored. He casually picked up the door beast ring and went to his second brother’s place to discuss New Year matters. He then went to pay his respects to his mother. After some thought, he turned and headed to the study in the outer courtyard.
The place where he had previously received the Yu family father and daughter was now brightly lit in every room except Pei Yan’s study. The accounting office, stewards, clerks, and servants were all so busy their feet barely touched the ground. Though everyone kept their voices low while speaking, it was still noisier than elsewhere. The heat rushing toward him made Pei Yan wrinkle his brow in distaste.
“Third Master!” Hearing the commotion and seeing it was Pei Yan who entered, everyone came forward to pay their respects.
Pei Yan nodded, his gaze falling on Pei Man.
Pei Man quickly said, “The gift list from the Wu family has been transcribed. We stewards are discussing how to prepare the reciprocal gifts.” Pausing here, he continued, “Even if you hadn’t come over now, I was planning to see you later—the things the Wu family sent are quite valuable. I had the accounting office calculate it, and they’re worth at least ten thousand taels of silver. Of that, over seven thousand taels are specifically designated for you.”
Clearly, they had come with requests.
But the other people in the Pei household didn’t know the reason. One by one, they looked at Pei Yan with admiring gazes, as if seeing him for the first time.
Pei Yan curled the corners of his mouth, stroking the frosted ring held by the beast on the door ring in his hand, thinking about how the Yu family was going to split seventy percent of the profits with him.
If they knew he had received so many gifts in just these two days, that father and daughter would be shocked beyond measure!
“Then accept them.” Ever since falling out with his second senior brother, Pei Yan had not been particularly pleased with anyone or anything connected to him. “If I don’t accept, they won’t feel at ease either!”
Pei Man smiled and acknowledged this. Just then, another servant ran in, breathing heavily as he said, “Third Master, Imperial Censor for Education Deng Xuesong, His Excellency Deng, has come to call.”
Pei Yan was quite surprised.
It was already late, and though he and Deng Xuesong were fellow disciples, Deng Xuesong came from a humble background and had a proud temperament. The relationship between the two was quite ordinary. Logically, Deng Xuesong wouldn’t come to visit him at this hour.
Could it be related to the maps?
Pei Yan stroked his chin and went to the warm pavilion for receiving guests.
Deng Xuesong was in his forties, tall and thin, with a goatee beard. He sat in the grand armchair with his eyes half-closed, allowing Hu Xing to fawn over him attentively, his thoughts unreadable.
Seeing Pei Yan, he nodded at him with a proud air.
Deng Xuesong didn’t particularly like Pei Yan either, feeling that though Pei Yan was talented and intelligent, he was willful and reckless, treating the gifts that many sought but couldn’t obtain as nothing special. But the two were fellow disciples, and no matter how much he disliked Pei Yan, he couldn’t undermine him. Fortunately, he had helped Pei Yan once before, which gave him some confidence.
After exchanging pleasantries, Deng Xuesong directly stated his purpose: “I heard that the eldest master of the Huzhou Wu family is at your place? Do you know what the Huzhou Wu family originally did?”
Pei Yan clicked his tongue inwardly, feeling he didn’t need to think much to be certain that Deng Xuesong had also come for those maps. He just didn’t know which family he was trying to speak for. To be able to so openly oppose Jiang Hua’s in-laws showed that whoever had asked him to come forward was no ordinary family either. But why didn’t they come directly to see him instead of using Deng Xuesong as an intermediary?
Pei Yan feigned ignorance and smiled, “The Wu family is, after all, my second senior brother’s in-laws. How could I not know?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Pei Yan’s heart stirred.
Zhou Zijin had heard that he and his second senior brother had fallen out. Could these people be thinking the same thing?
This was getting interesting!
Thinking this, Pei Yan pushed the fruit plate beside him toward Deng Xuesong, saying, “Try some. These are blessing cakes that Tao Ziran had someone bring me from Guangzhou. I tried them, and they truly live up to their reputation.”
Tao An, styled Ziran, had been Deng Xuesong’s superior when Tao served as Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Works.
Hearing this, Deng Xuesong’s expression stiffened slightly, clearly already aware of what the Tao family had been doing.
Pei Yan chuckled and took a piece of blessing cake to hand to Deng Xuesong: “Eat the cake, eat the cake!”
Deng Xuesong reluctantly ate a piece and praised it as delicious. After thinking it over, feeling he couldn’t match Pei Yan and Tao An in eloquence, he simply said, “Then I won’t beat around the bush. The Yin family of Quanzhou has shown me kindness, and they asked me to act as intermediary. Please, Xiaguang, grant them a meeting.”
The Yin family of Quanzhou, the Peng family of Fuzhou, and the Li family of Longyan were known as the three great clans of Fujian. The Yin family of Quanzhou had made their fortune in tea, but later, suppressed by the Li family of Longyan, they switched to maritime shipping. Of Fujian’s current fleet, apart from the Peng family’s vessels, most of the rest belonged to the Yin family. The Yin family wasn’t as single-minded as the Li family, nor as powerful and influential as the Peng family, but they had their own advantage—over the years, the Yin family had devoted themselves to clan schools and helped many scholars. Among the three families, theirs actually had the most well-informed intelligence network, the most flexible operations, and the greatest adaptability.
Pei Yan had previously considered whether to draw the Yin family in as well.
Now, excellent—without him taking the initiative, the Yin family had jumped out on their own.
Pei Yan stopped playing games with Deng Xuesong and spoke frankly: “We’re all insiders here, so I’ll speak plainly. If I say anything inappropriate, you’ll have to cover for me. Whether those maps are real or fake is still uncertain, so I haven’t made any announcements. However, I happen to have something I’d like to trouble the Yin family with. If this matter succeeds, no matter what, I’ll count them in for a share of those maps.”
Deng Xuesong’s heart jumped, “Count them in for a share?”
Pei Yan smiled, “You don’t think just our few families could swallow up something this big, do you?”
Deng Xuesong was someone who only read the classics of the sages and neither liked nor cared about business matters. Hearing this, his face reddened as he said, “You said yourself we’re not outsiders, so tell me—what do you want me to do?”
Pei Yan didn’t stand on ceremony: “I have something I’d like the Yin family’s help with. Have them send someone who has real authority to speak.”
If Pei Yan was asking for help and using maritime business as bait, Deng Xuesong knew this matter was no simple affair.
He had done what he could, and he didn’t want to wade any deeper into these murky waters.
“Fine! Then it’s settled.” He stood up quite decisively and said, “It’s already late today, and I still have to rush back to Hangzhou City overnight. Don’t try to keep me—the year-end evaluations are coming up, and I can’t delay my official duties.”
Pei Yan didn’t insist. He personally saw Deng Xuesong out, and on the way mentioned Yu Wen’s matter: “Though he’s only a scholar, the annual examination isn’t under your jurisdiction, but at least put in a word for him. Look after him as much as you can.”
Scholars had to be examined every year, and if they failed the examination, they could have their scholar status revoked.
Deng Xuesong didn’t ask many questions. In any case, Pei Yan owed him this favor. He said, “Don’t worry, I know what to do about this. I’ll have someone send you word when the time comes.”
Pei Yan thought this could count as thanks for that door beast ring. Watching Deng Xuesong’s sedan chair head out of Little Plum Lane against the cold wind, Pei Yan went to the outer study where administrative affairs were handled.
Each area was still bustling with activity. Several stewards, however, were gathered around the desk where he had casually tossed the door beast ring to hold down the account books, discussing it: “Who would have thought the Third Master also had one. If we’d known, I could have sent over the one from the shop, or asked the Third Master for this one—paired together, that would be worth money.”
Pei Yan asked curiously, “Where is there another door beast ring?”
The steward laughed, “In the antique shop, there was one exactly like this, but it was sold a few days ago. Too late for regrets now.”
Pei Yan’s expression became somewhat strange. “When was it sold? How much silver?”
The steward smiled, “Just these past few days. You know, this thing wasn’t worth much to begin with, and being a single piece made it worth even less. We sold it for two taels of silver. If we’d known you had one here, we could have sold it for at least a hundred taels.”
“Oh!” Pei Yan responded expressionlessly, “Then you all continue with your work. I’m going back to rest!”
The stewards, after all, made their living reading his moods. Their skills at observing expressions were exceptional, and they immediately realized he was very displeased.
Everyone exchanged glances, not knowing what had upset him.
They looked at each other, at a loss for words.
Only after Pei Yan had finally left did Pei Man slap one of them, saying, “Why don’t you get back to work? Do you want to go days without sleep?”
The steward who had spoken cried out and clutched his head, quickly setting down the door beast ring to check the accounts.
Pei Man looked at the door beast ring gleaming with a greenish light, feeling it was like a hot potato he didn’t know how to handle.
But he couldn’t just leave it lying here unattended!
After thinking it over, he beckoned A’Ming and quietly instructed him: “Find an opportunity to quietly place it on the Third Master’s bookshelf.”
Whenever the Third Master happened to discover it while looking for a book, that would be fate. If he didn’t discover it, at least it wouldn’t be lost.
A’Ming followed the instructions and placed the door beast ring accordingly.
People from the Yin family arrived in Lin’an City the next day at noon.
He was the clan heir of the Yin family and the next clan head.
Before coming, their family had carefully investigated Pei Yan, knowing this was Pei Yan’s first New Year since taking over as head of the Pei family. They thought along the same lines as the Wu family, believing Pei Yan would certainly want to establish his authority. So they brought large and small carts—nearly ten cartloads of goods to call on Pei Yan.
That day, Yu Tang happened to be accompanying her mother to deliver New Year gifts to Madam Ma’s house. Sitting in the sedan chair, she lifted the curtain and saw everything clearly. After returning, Chen Shi even said to Yu Wen, “No wonder Old Master Pei passed the position of clan head to the Third Master. Just looking at this year’s New Year gifts, it’s a hundred times livelier than previous years. The Pei family will become more and more prosperous, won’t it? Tell me, will the Pei family move to Hangzhou City?”
Having passed off the burden, with his wife’s illness being treated by a famous physician, and his daughter becoming increasingly obedient and able to help with household matters, Yu Wen’s days were immeasurably comfortable. He had returned to his days of shutting himself in his study to carve seals and read leisure books. He was thinking that after spring when Yu Yuan got married and Yu Tang’s marriage was also settled, he should carve a seal for his daughter. In the future, when she managed the household, she could use the seal to authorize payments or receive accounts—just thinking about it felt prestigious.
“No!” While examining the seal’s appearance, he said casually, “If the Pei family wanted to move, they would have done so long ago. Besides, it’s not that easy to establish roots in Hangzhou City.”
The couple chatted leisurely, but Yu Tang’s heart felt a bit anxious.
From the looks of things, the auction would have to be delayed until after the New Year.
She wondered whether these people who came to deliver New Year gifts had any connection to the map auction?
She let out a soft sigh.