Chapter 779
: Mrs.
The soldiers stood sideways, watching them rush past one by one. Some knelt on the beach, while many others rushed straight into the sea, laughing wildly even as they were knocked down by the waves.
They stared blankly, their usually hardened hearts softening as they watched silently.
A moment later, they turned to look at the dock not far away.
Two large ships were moored there, and their general was on board at that moment.
Gong Xia was standing on the boat with his hands behind his back, watching the commotion. Seeing the people's excitement, he sneered, "They're as excited as if they could make money off this, hahahaha..."
Pan Yun looked at him coldly.
Gong Xia's smile froze, and he awkwardly explained, "Master Pan has never lived by the sea. Actually, being a fisherman is very difficult. Fishing is much harder than farming."
Pan Jun: "Fishing is indeed hard work, but there are people in this world who are better at surviving at sea. The purpose of lifting the sea ban is not to make farmers fish, but to allow people who want to make a living at sea to do so, giving them more choices and more options."
She gestured for Gong Xia to look at them: "Look, aren't they very happy? Because they have another way to make a living."
Gong Xia nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, this is all thanks to Master Pan. If Master Pan had not discovered the Japanese silver mine and happened to bring back 200,000 taels of silver at this time, I don't know when the matter of lifting the sea ban would have been decided."
Pan Yun was not happy at all when he praised her.
Miao Zhen glanced at Gong Xia and thought his grinning face was indeed annoying.
She stepped forward and said, "Junior Uncle, Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle have arrived."
Pan Yun nodded to her and was about to say goodbye to Gong Xia.
Gong Xia quickly stopped her. He had come to see her today on important business, not just to watch a group of people have fun.
"Master Pan, may I speak to you in private?"
Pan Yun nodded slightly to Miao Zhen and followed Gong Xia to the side for a while. Gong Xia then whispered his purpose: "Our Quanzhou Guard Commander wishes to meet with Daoist Pan."
Pan Jun looked at him with surprise, and seeing his eyes flicker, she couldn't help but smile and nodded readily: "Okay, let's pick a time, how about tonight at Ping An Inn?"
Gong Xia's smile froze slightly, and he quickly said, "Tonight is too rushed. Commander Jiang is still in Fuzhou, but his steward is in Quanzhou. If Master Pan doesn't mind, why don't you meet him first?"
Pan Yun raised an eyebrow and nodded in agreement, "Okay."
Commander Jiang's steward was also surnamed Jiang. He was dressed like a scholar and had a small mustache. He looked more like an advisor than a servant.
He was arrogant. Although he tried his best to be polite, when he walked into the restaurant with Gong Xia, he held his chin a little higher than Gong Xia and looked down at people slightly.
Pan Yun was standing on the second floor, looking down at him, while he looked up at her, appearing even more arrogant than she was.
Wang Cong, who accompanied his junior uncle to the social event, clicked his tongue twice and whispered to Pan Yun, "He's such a show-off."
Pan Jun's lips curled slightly as she said softly, "Aren't you curious? Why would such an arrogant high-ranking official's steward want to see a Taoist priest like me?"
Wang Cong: "You are no ordinary Taoist priest."
Looking down at him, Pan Yun clearly saw the disdain that flashed in his eyes, and chuckled softly, "He doesn't think so."
After saying that, he turned around and went back to the private room, where he found a seat and sat down.
When Butler Jiang saw her turn and leave like that, he couldn't help but frown.
Gong Xia, who was watching from the side, sneered inwardly, but had to make amends for Pan Yun: "Master Pan is young and chivalrous, so he doesn't care about trivial matters when he acts."
Butler Jiang sneered, "Being too informal is a breach of etiquette."
Gong Xia smiled awkwardly. If Commander Jiang wasn't his direct superior, he really wouldn't want to take this job. He knew that this Steward Jiang had a lot of influence with the Commander. If a general in the army wanted to ask the Commander for something, and if he got approval from Steward Jiang beforehand, the Commander would almost certainly agree.
Therefore, she was privately known as "Lady Ru," meaning a woman who could manage half of the household affairs.
But Pan Yun was unaware of these insider rumors and unspoken rules in officialdom, and even if she knew, she might not have paid any attention to them.
After all, she was someone even Cao Jixiang didn't really give her much face.
Judging from her conversation with Cao Jixiang, she wasn't very obedient to His Majesty.
If this is how they treat the emperor and his favorite eunuchs, how much more so the steward of a guard commander?
Gong Xia led Butler Jiang into the private room, where Pan Yun and Wang Cong were already seated.
Butler Jiang frowned slightly, and when he saw that Pan Yun showed no intention of getting up, his frown deepened.
Wang Cong glanced quickly at Pan Yun and instantly understood.
When people get angry, they lose their composure, and when they lose their composure, they reveal more information.
Junior Uncle was clearly still rational, but Steward Jiang was already quite angry.
Wang Cong smiled slightly, stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Gong Xia, and said, "General Gong, my junior uncle and I have arrived first. Please take a seat."
Then he simply nodded politely to Steward Jiang.
Gong Xia knew he shouldn't have smiled, but he couldn't help but smile. Only when Steward Jiang looked at him coldly did he remember to introduce them: "Master Wang, this is the steward of Commander Jiang of Quanzhou Guard. Steward Jiang, this is Master Wang of Sanqing Mountain, and this is the famous Master Pan Yun, who is renowned throughout Jiangnan."
Seeing that Pan Yun was still sitting still, Steward Jiang said with a forced smile, "I had heard that Master Pan was young, and it is indeed true today. Before we came, our commander said that Master Pan was about the same age as his son, and told me not to frighten Master Pan."
Pan Yun smiled but remained silent.
A cold glint flashed in Steward Jiang's eyes as he said in a low voice, "Now it seems that our master was overthinking things. Master Pan was able to sneak out of the sea during the sea ban and even go to Japan. This shows how bold he is. How could I, a mere steward, possibly frighten Master Pan?"
Pan Yun chuckled, his gaze falling on Gong Xia, and asked, "Didn't Quanzhou Guard receive credit for the suppression of the pirates in June?"
Gong Xia, who was watching the show, was pulled into the battle, and he had no choice but to answer.
He couldn't afford to offend Steward Jiang, nor could he afford to offend Pan Yun.
He quickly smiled and said, "I have to thank Master Pan, the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Martial Alliance for this. Without your strong support, the suppression of the pirates in June would not have gone so smoothly."
In the June campaign to suppress the bandits, both Quanzhou Guard and Fuzhou Guard secretly sent troops to participate. For example, the soldiers sent by Chen Wen belonged to Quanzhou Guard.
Because it was a civilian operation, the imperial court did not publicly commend Quanzhou Guard and Fuzhou Guard, but instead found another excuse to praise the commanders of the two guards.
It could be said that they had a record of their merits in the emperor's and ministers' notebooks.
Among them, Pan Yun, the Celestial Master's Mansion, and the Martial Arts Alliance deserve the most credit. It can be said that Quanzhou Guard and Fuzhou Guard benefited from their actions.
What can Gong Xia do?
All I could do was praise Pan Yun to the skies.
Pan Yun raised the corners of her mouth slightly, looking at Butler Jiang with a hint of smugness, which was very much in line with her age.
Butler Jiang, quite unlike his age, blushed deeply, clearly angry. (End of Chapter)