Tao Qing is in his forties, of medium height, thin, dark skin, high cheekbones, long face, and a very ordinary look, the kind of person who would be hard to find in a crowd. However, after losing his father at the age of fifteen, he provided for his younger siblings and widowed mother, standing out from the other children of the Tao family and becoming the head of the Tao family, which is known as the number one family in Guangzhou.

Not only Tao An respected his brother, Pei Yan also respected him.

"Big brother!" He followed Tao An and called Tao Qing.

Tao Qing's cold and serious face showed a hint of smile: "Xiaguang, are you okay?"

This was the first time someone had asked him this question since his father passed away.

Pei Yan's eyes were slightly moist, and he said, "I'm fine! We have to get on with our lives."

Tao Qing nodded, but did not try to comfort Pei Yan. Instead, he said, "It's good that you can think this way. When you look back in a few years, these things are just a hurdle under your feet. If you get over it, you will gain more."

"Thank you, brother!" Pei Yan said, and asked Tao Qing to sit down at the round table, saying, "I will remember your words."

Tao Qing smiled and said, "You and Ziran are both smart people. I don't need to say more. You both know what's going on. I believe in you." After that, he watched the servant serve them tea and snacks and then leave. They were the only two people left in the room. Then he said, "Don't play those empty tricks with Ziran. I won't beat around the bush with you. Just tell me, what are you going to do?"

Tao An, like Pei Yan, was the youngest son in the family. When they were young, they were both rebellious. After they met in Beijing, they hit it off and became good friends immediately. When Tao Qing passed through Beijing to visit Tao An several times on his business trip, Tao An always took Pei Yan with him. Tao Qing saw Pei Yan as if he was a child, not to mention that Pei Yan was very handsome. When he wanted to be nice to someone, he was just like the golden boy under the seat of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Tao Qing liked him very much and was very close to Pei Yan.

Pei Yan could feel Tao Qing's kindness towards him, and naturally he became closer to the Tao brothers. Hearing Tao Qing say this, he did not hide anything and said frankly: "I got the map by accident. Now there are two things. First, I don't know whether the map is real or fake, so I want my elder brother to help me test it. Second, the map was originally favored by the Peng family in Fuzhou. In order to get this map, the Peng family spent a lot of effort and even made some trouble in Lin'an City. I want to know how the Peng family knew about this map."

When the Tao family has done business to this extent, it is not just a matter of buying and selling goods. They must also be aware of the direction of the court. Otherwise, once the court makes a decision, it is very likely that the business started by several generations will not be able to continue, and it may even change hands. This is why no matter whether it is the Tao family or the Peng family, each generation has to work hard to provide a few scholars.

Tao Qing is not an idle person since he can be in charge of the Tao family. He understood what Pei Yan didn't say. He couldn't help but ponder and said, "The sea trial is a small matter. I will give orders now and ask them not to take a holiday. I will give you news before the dragon rises. But as for the Peng family matter, I'm afraid you have to figure it out by yourself. The Peng family has been very close to the third prince in the past two years. I'm afraid he is also making wedding dresses for others. In the court, our family is not as good as yours. But since you told me so, there must be a place where our family can help. Just tell me. With the friendship between our two families, we will help you no matter what."

The emperor has three legitimate sons. The eldest son has died young, the second son has been married for many years but has no sons, and the third son has two sons, but he is the third child. The rules of this dynasty are to establish the eldest son as the heir. Seeing that the emperor is getting old, there are often memorials urging the emperor to establish the emperor, but the emperor has ignored them and kept them in his heart. Not only the ministers in the court are embarrassed, but also those who want to take sides are embarrassed.

Pei Yan said: "I am also worried that the Peng family is making wedding clothes for others. So I asked the Yin family to help find out. You know, this map of the imperial court fell into the hands of Zuo Guangzong in the past."

Zuo Guangzong's death was not glorious. Because he violated the interests of most of the aristocratic families in the south, when he was criticized by the previous emperor, it was almost like a wall falling and everyone pushed him down. Not only did no one speak for him, but after his death, his several sons also died in exile in unclear circumstances. It was only after the emperor ascended the throne that he restored his reputation. And the so-called descendants of the Zuo family today are nothing more than the descendants of Zuo Guangzong's cousins.

"If this map had fallen into his hands, he would have taken it out." Pei Yan said, "At least the officials in Fujian and Guangzhou would have tried their best to save his life."

Tao Qing laughed and said, "Xiaguang, you are just like Ziran. You have always had smooth sailing since you were a child. You can get whatever you want. Sometimes you can't help but be a little bit sad."

Not only Tao Qing said this, but Pei Yan's mentor Zhang Ying also said this.

Pei Yan disagreed.

Is it possible that everything goes smoothly or wrong?

Smooth sailing is also a kind of ability.

Why suffer when you have the ability to have smooth sailing?

Tao Qing knew that he would not listen, so he did not say much and said, "Have you been to the warehouse of our Tao family in Dasha? If I ask you who knows the things inside the warehouse best, you will definitely say it is the person in charge. But in fact, the person who knows the things inside the warehouse best is the gatekeeper. What goods are stored in each warehouse? When were they moved in? Who moved them in? Who was the leader of those who moved them in? Who has the greatest strength? Which day moved the most goods..."

Pei Yan immediately understood what Tao Qing meant.

"You mean, unless Lord Zuo was in charge of drawing this map, Lord Zuo might not know where it came from and where it went?" He muttered thoughtfully, "Lu Xin's father used to be Lord Zuo's staff. If he knows, does anyone else know it? Or, he doesn't know, but someone else does..."

Although his words were vague, Tao Qing understood them clearly. He said in a gentle voice, "That's exactly the point. Instead of going to the capital to investigate, you might as well check the relationship between these people. Maybe you'll find something new."

If the two princes were involved, no matter how profitable the business was, no matter how good the relationship between the Tao and Pei families was, they would not touch it.

Pei Yan also knew this truth.

He said, "I thought before that the people who know each other best are usually enemies rather than friends. That's why I asked the Yin family to check the Peng family, but I was a little worried that the Yin family would hide something from me, so I wanted to use your hand to verify whether the information the Yin family gave me was correct and complete. Fortunately, we thought of the same thing. I won't say more. Whether this map can be auctioned depends on how the Peng family knew about it."

The Tao family has some business dealings with the Yin family and the Peng family, but the Tao family is the "friend" that Pei Yan mentioned. If it comes to getting information, their family is also suitable.

Tao Qing smiled and said, "It's great that you think so. I was worried that you would bring your official tricks into the business world."

It doesn't matter if you are high-profile and willful in the officialdom, since Pei Yan has a great mentor and several great senior brothers anyway. But in the business world, harmony makes money, and sometimes you may get cheated by being high-profile without even realizing it.

Pei Yan was in charge of household affairs and had to manage the family business, but what he hated most was dealing with people.

The thought of this made him feel that the rest of his life would be boring.

Yu Tang's smiling face suddenly popped up in his mind.

That little girl is really a person who speaks one thing to one person and another to another person. Even if she is caught talking nonsense on the spot, she can continue to talk nonsense without any panic or blushing. She is also very thick-skinned and can bend and kneel to achieve her goals without any effort. People like this should be suitable for doing business, right?

Pei Yan sighed.

It so happened that Governor Tang came to visit at this time. Of course, he was in no mood, and just as willful as before, he just said "no" to him.

Tao Qing disagreed and called out "Xiaguang" as a warning, saying, "That's your father and mother official, isn't it?"

Pei Yan waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "That depends on what kind of official he is. Even if such a soft-spoken and incomprehensible person is turned away by me, what does it matter?"

If he dared to be like Miss Yu, who obeyed him in everything on the surface, said a lot of nice things to him when she saw him, but did what she had to do behind his back.

For example, give him a door ring worth only two taels of silver in a brocade box as a gift.

For example, if they found out that Wei Xiaoshan was killed by the Li family, they would not let the Li family go.

Able to bend waist and hold chest high.

He respected this man named Tang as a man and treated him as a guest of honor.

When Pei Yan thought about this, he looked down upon Governor Tang even more.

"Don't worry about these little things," he said. "You rarely come here, and you can't rush back to Guangzhou to celebrate the New Year anyway, so just spend the New Year here with me."

"How can that be possible?" Tao Qing didn't want to ruin Pei Yan's mood, and went along with Pei Yan and said, "It's not like I don't have a house in Hangzhou City. What's the matter with me staying in your house for the New Year? Well, I came here quietly, and you don't have to see me off. I will leave quietly. If I have any news, I will send someone to tell you immediately." As he said that, he stood up.

Pei Yan naturally couldn't let him go like this, but Tao Qing insisted, saying: "Don't think I don't know what you are up to? If you really want to get rid of this map, you really can't give it to me in a high-profile manner. As for the trial voyage, I will find a way to let the Yin family know. By the way, besides the Yin family, who else do you think should know? Otherwise, if I don't know the truth and accidentally ruin your big plan, won't you be furious?"

"If possible, tell the Li family as well." Pei Yan laughed and said, "Of course we have to tell the Peng family as well, but we can't tell them now. We have to wait until we divide the map before telling them."

This way Miss Yu achieved her goal.

"Okay!" Tao Qing responded readily.

Pei Yan saw Tao Qing off from the corner gate of Pei's house.