Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Xie Xian hesitated, looking at Du Lingfeng, momentarily speechless.

Du Lingfeng was not in a hurry, leisurely sitting in his original seat waiting for Xie Xian to speak.

Next door, all hell had broken loose.

Three or five people were in a chaotic brawl, two people were ganging up on Qian Desheng, while the rest were trying to break them up.

Zhao Lie angrily rebuked, "You son of a bitch! It's one thing to report, but why add fuel to the fire!"

Another person chimed in, "A snitch is a worthless piece of trash! You just can't trust outsiders!"

"Team Leader Zhao, let's just cripple the bastard!"

Zhou Tie stood to the side, arms crossed, chuckling gleefully.

"Hit him! Kick him in the nuts!"

Qian Desheng wailed, "You dare hit me! How dare you hit me! My mistress is the master's wife! None of you will have a good ending!"

Zhao Lie looked towards Zhou Tie, who nodded and said, "It's possible, but with me and Zhang Biao backing you, there's nothing to fear!"

"Keep hitting him!"

......

The noisy sounds from next door faintly carried into Xie Xian's room.

Du Lingfeng narrowed his eyes, looking at the wall: "Brother Xie, could these walls have ears?"

Are these bastards fighting? What happened, why is it such a mess?

Xie Xian said with a helpless expression, "Brother Du, these are all themed rooms, the people next door might just be engaging in some... bedroom activities."

"Hmm... That makes sense, I was overthinking it. Brother Xie, have you considered my proposal?"

"Allow me to consider this matter further, how about I give you an answer tomorrow?"

Du Lingfeng stood up and cupped his fist in salute: "This is no small matter, but I hope Brother Xie will make a decision soon. I will be setting off to Haiyuan City tomorrow. I will come by one more time in the morning. If you agree, please prepare in advance, and we can set off together."

"Alright."

Xie Xian also stood up and escorted Du Lingfeng to the door, reminding him: "Brother Du, please be extremely careful."

Du Lingfeng looked at Xie Xian, feeling rather touched: "Thank you, Brother Xie, see you tomorrow!"

After watching Du Lingfeng leave.

Xie Xian hurriedly returned to the second floor, pushing open the door and was immediately shocked.

He saw Qian Desheng tied to a chair, with several people glaring at him menacingly.

Zhou Tie was using a pen to frantically poke at the ticklish spot on his waist.

"What's going on here! I was just discussing business, and you guys are fighting?"

Zhou Tie handed over the letter Qian Desheng had written: "Take a look, this old thing has bad intentions, I think we shouldn't bring him along anymore."

Xie Xian glanced at it, not taking it to heart: "Untie him quickly!"

After being untied, Qian Desheng looked at Xie Xian gratefully, silently shrinking into a corner.

"Old Xie, I heard you guys talking just now, and it was quite detailed. Since Du Lingfeng has already revealed the Lu family, why don't we just tie him up and send him back, then have the imperial court send people to investigate!"

Qian Desheng, huddled in the corner, suddenly snorted coldly: "It's not that simple! On the surface, salt merchants and private salt smugglers are mortal enemies. Who would believe that Du Lingfeng, a private salt smuggler, is working for the salt merchants!"

"If the imperial court could send people to investigate and confiscate property based solely on his testimony, wouldn't that be chaos?"

"What would the other salt merchants think when they see this? They are all extremely wealthy and already fear the imperial court. What if the Lu family is destroyed just like that! Wouldn't that be forcing others to rebel? Hmph, a mere martial artist!"

Zhou Tie said fiercely: "Rebel? Are you stupid? Where would mere salt merchants get the guts to rebel!"

"Two of the four major salt merchants are salt merchants of the Great Qian. Since we are the fish on the chopping board, we might as well fight to the death! Do you think everyone is as cowardly as you? Deserter!"

"What the hell?"

"Brother Tie, forget it, forget it, don't bother with him!" Several people rushed forward to stop Zhou Tie.

"Stop arguing!" Xie Xian stopped everyone: "Steward Qian is right, since Du Lingfeng intends for me to help him sell salt, then we might as well agree to it."

"Listening to him, the private salt organization seems very well-organized. Moreover, this matter doesn't seem to be related to the Liu Xun case yet, and I need to gather more evidence."

"Prepare yourselves, we might be setting off tomorrow."

.........

The next morning, Du Lingfeng arrived promptly for a visit.

He smiled immediately upon seeing Xie Xian, sporting dark circles under his eyes.

He clearly hadn't slept all night, and it seemed he had seriously considered the matter.

"Brother Xie, you... didn't get enough rest? How have you considered it?"

To appear more convincing, Xie Xian really hadn't slept all night.

He said with a dazed expression: "Brother Du, I thought about it all night, and what you said makes sense. Since I can't rise to prominence through officialdom, then I might as well live a life of wealth!"

"But my path to wealth has been cut off by Fang Zheng Yi, so I might as well follow you and seek another opportunity!"

Du Lingfeng was overjoyed!

It would naturally be excellent if Xie Xian was willing to work with him.

His abilities are naturally unquestionable, being able to manage the Fenghua Brothel so successfully, and being able to converse freely with other merchants.

Such a capable person has already proven himself, and his current misfortune is only due to being framed by petty people.

Moreover, he and himself share similar interests, and can be considered rare kindred spirits.

Having such a partner can be said to be highly desirable.

"Good! Good! Brother Xie, you can go back and prepare briefly first, and we'll set off in the afternoon. We're just taking you to Haiyuan City to go through the process, so you don't need to bring too much stuff."

Xie Xian nodded: "Then Brother Du, please wait here for a moment. This matter should be done sooner rather than later. I'll go back and make some arrangements, and we'll set off immediately!"

Preparations had naturally been made long ago. Before long, Xie Xian gathered more than twenty people at the entrance of the Fenghua Brothel.

Du Lingfeng smiled wryly upon seeing them: "Brother Xie, didn't you say to prepare briefly?"

"Why did you bring so many people with you?"

"Brother Du, please forgive me, these are all my servants, all my own people. The journey will take too long, and I'm afraid of something going wrong, so I brought more supplies."

Du Lingfeng thought for a moment: "Very well, since you want to bring them, then bring them. I have enough manpower, so you don't need to worry about supplies."

"Then shall we set off now?"

"Let's go!"

......

Chen Siwu sat in front of his tea stall, diligently soliciting business.

Seeing Xie Xian riding past on horseback, he wanted to raise his hand and call out.

Xie Xian raised his index finger, and Chen Siwu immediately understood, closing his mouth and smiling as he watched him leave.

The waiter at the tea stall saw this and immediately came over, curiously asking: "Boss, you're very familiar with Manager Xie of the Fenghua Brothel now!"

Chen Siwu smiled smugly: "That's nothing! I even go to the Fenghua Brothel to eat and find women!"

The waiter immediately looked disdainful upon hearing this.

You, a cheapskate, even go to the Fenghua Brothel? Earning for a year wouldn't be enough for you to go once!

What bragging! Didn't Manager Xie just have a cup of tea at your place?

Speaking of the Fenghua Brothel, Chen Siwu narrowed his eyes and began to recall his wonderful experience at the Fenghua Brothel.

That night, he was tossing and turning and couldn't sleep.

Just eating a meal and drinking a pot of tea, how could he be so energetic?

Their tea is just good......

Suddenly, Chen Siwu had a flash of inspiration!

He called out to the waiter: "Hurry! Go to Chengji Pharmacy and buy me two doses of aphrodisiac!"

"Tsk, it seems we need to move this tea stall... We need to find a brothel first!"

...