Thian Hock Palace arranged a large-scale reception banquet. Although no outsiders such as wealthy businessmen participated, except for the Grand Protector, most of the prominent figures from the Lion City Central Dao Sect and the imperial court were present.
Qi Xuansu freshened up a little before attending the reception banquet. Since he did not have a suitable crane cloak, he simply attended in casual clothes.
Due to the previous unexpected events, the atmosphere of this reception banquet was not very good, but many people still took turns to toast Qi Xuansu, and Qi Xuansu did not refuse anyone who came.
At the same time, in another place, some people were also drinking. These people are not qualified to go to Tianfu Palace to participate in Qi Xuansu's reception banquet because they are not members of the Taoist sect, but it does not mean that they have no weight, because the Lion City is still a city of merchants.
These people are all well-known and wealthy businessmen in the Lion City. If their business reaches a certain level, they will inevitably participate in political affairs.
Big businessmen who have reached this level have to pay attention to the changes in the situation, whether they want to or not. Some of these businessmen live in seclusion and are the real bosses behind the scenes, while some stand in front of the stage and are well-known celebrities.
Of course, they didn't come together just to drink. The businessmen practice a separate meal system, which is to imitate the ancient etiquette. One person has one table, arranged east and west. The main seat facing south and back is empty and replaced by a sparkling water curtain.
A relatively young businessman stood up and pointed toward the water curtain. The scene on the water curtain changed accordingly, revealing a profile portrait of Qi Xuansu.
It can be seen that this is the image left by Qi Xuansu when he came to the Lion City last time. Because no one can run to the front to take a picture of Qi Xuansu, the angle can only be from the side.
At that time, Qi Xuansu was still wearing the crown of the Five Sacred Mountains and did not wear the Sword of Wisdom. He seemed to be listening to someone introduce something, so his eyes were focused and his expression was serious. The corners of his mouth were pursed, making his whole profile look a little cold.
The young businessman introduced: "Qi Xuansu, whose nickname is Tianyuan, has no nickname. He is twenty-seven years old this year. He was promoted to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest by Jin Que not long ago. He is the youngest among all living Taoist priests. He also serves as the agent of the Borneo Taoist Office. The Chief Deputy Palace Master is also the youngest among all the serving Chief Deputy Palace Masters. His ranking in the Taoist Palace is only behind the Grand Master and the Master. He is the nominal third person in the Taoist Palace and is now the de facto one. The second-ranking figure in the Taoist government is on par with the king's government." A middle-aged businessman with a thick cigar between his two fingers exhaled a cloud of smoke: "What is a young talent? This is it. This is who is expected to become the emperor in the future. People from Beijing have now come to our little Lion City, shaking the whole city, and starting such a big battle. As for it?" The young businessman said: "Secret associations, Nanyang people, Westerners, these are all This is the reason why Master Qi came to our Lion City."
"These are all scabies diseases. I think it's still an internal struggle within the Taoist government." Another businessman said,
"Everyone knows that Master Chen defected. For so many years, Master Chen has been doing well, but as soon as Master Qi came, Master Chen defected. Everyone can guess what happened here. In the final analysis, it was Master Qi who was forced to do so. It can be seen that this Master Qi is not a good troublemaker. He has made trouble in Shenglong Mansion and is still going to come to Lion City to continue making trouble. I am afraid that the good days are coming to an end. "A white-haired old man drank a glass of wine and said: "I heard that this Zhenren Qi came to Nanyang with the mission of rectifying the Borneo Taoist government, intending to overthrow Zhenren Wang and Zhenren Chen. Now Zhenren Chen He has fallen in Shenglong Mansion, so when Master Qi comes to Lion City, he is naturally going for Master Wang. After all, Nanyang United Trading Company is in Lion City, which is not only Master Wang’s pocket, but also his weakness.” As soon as these words came out, everyone fell into silence.
At the reception banquet, Qi Xuansu raised his wine glass and said: "Lion City, the most prosperous place in Southeast Asia, is a shining pearl in our Southeast Asia. Even compared to Jinling Mansion in the Central Plains, it is not inferior by much." Thanks for teaching. Feng hurriedly said: "This is all the result of the joint efforts of the Taoist Palace and the Nanting Protector's Palace under the leadership of Jinque and the imperial court." The chief Taoist priest of Tianfu Palace cheered and said: "The Great Protector, Deputy Palace Master Xie , Deputy Governor Qin has made a lot of efforts for the development of Lion City over the years, with prosperous commerce, stable order, and people living and working in peace and contentment." Qi Xuansu said nothing, with a somewhat noncommittal tone.
Chen Jianqiu spoke on his behalf: "The prosperity of commerce is true, but the order is stable..." For a moment, everyone's smiles froze.
The chief Taoist priest could only bite the bullet and said: "There are indeed deficiencies." Qin Hengjun had to speak: "Fellow Taoist Xiao Chen is right, we still have many areas that need to be strengthened and improved. Master Qi came to the Lion City this time , is the care and concern for our Lion City." Xie Jiaofeng also immediately expressed his position: "Please rest assured, Master Qi, we will definitely check for the deficiencies and make up for the omissions under the guidance of Master Qi, and make immediate changes to satisfy Master Qi. The Taoist government is satisfied, and Jinque is also satisfied." Qi Xuansu finally said: "Not only do we want to satisfy the superiors, but more importantly, we also want to satisfy the subordinates. This is actually the same thing. If the subordinates are satisfied with something, will the superiors be dissatisfied? On the contrary, Come here and say, what is dissatisfied below will satisfy above? The below is the cornerstone. Without the support from below, no matter how tall the building is, it is just a castle in the air." Everyone nodded in agreement.
At this time, Xie Jiaofeng lost the charlatanism in front of his subordinates, leaving only the bureaucratic atmosphere. He changed the subject without leaving any trace: "Master Qi, many fellow Taoists are looking forward to your visit to Lion City this time and can't wait to meet you. See you as a hero on the battlefield of Fenglinzhou." The young businessman on the other side continued: "I have no money to gain, and women have no luck. This is not a small ambition. Rumor has it that when Qi Zhenren was still a Taoist priest in charge, In the Imperial Capital, there was a Mr. Gao who spent 200,000 peace coins to beg the then Chief Qi to show mercy, but was refused to no avail. In the end, Mr. Gao died in the hell of the Imperial Palace. As for female sex, Qi Zhenren is a conservative in the Taoist sect. Except for the noble daughter of the Zhang family, he has no in-depth contact or contact with other young women. He is almost not a womanizer. The little method we used last time does not make much sense." Pinch. The cigar merchant had lost interest in puffing away the smoke: "Not long ago, Master Qi was assassinated. The assassin used heavy firearms. Could it be the handiwork of some of you here?"
"Although it has always been said that money can help the gods, I am afraid that not many people dare to touch heavy firearms. That would be the crime of robbing a family and exterminating a clan, let alone using heavy firearms to assassinate a real person who is expected to take over Yujing. What's the benefit to us?" said another businessman,
"If you ask me, this is still an internal fight among the Taoist sect. Qi Xuansu is the one who is expected to take over the Jade Capital, and the loser is also the one who is expected to take over the Jade Capital." The young businessman said: "The biggest problem is that Qi Xuansu may use this A sudden assassination incident made a big fuss. Under the original circumstances, Tianfu Palace and Nanting Protectorate would have restrained Qi Xuansu, and they certainly did not want him to investigate too deeply. But in the current situation, these two families have In order to clear up their own responsibilities, they had to help Qi Xuansu find out the matter, and even worked harder than Qi Xuansu. In this way, they became knives in Qi Xuansu's hands. But everyone knows that, Many things in the Lion City are not investigated." Someone said: "Could this assassination be a show arranged by Qi Xuansu himself? Just to let him take control of Tianfu Palace and Nanting Protectorate." Young businessman Said: "It is possible, but things have already happened. Tianfu Palace and Nanting Protectorate have also been manipulated by Qi Xuansu. It is no longer important to discuss whether it is a play performed by Qi Xuansu himself. The question now is, should we How to deal with it?" No one said anything.
It's coming hard and it's hard to deal with it. When Qi Xuansu came to Lion City last time, they had already used some soft methods, but to no avail. The set of Xuansheng cards that they had worked so hard on was transferred by Qi Xuansu to the large library of Borneo Taoist House.
The Xuansheng card is a test stepping stone. To put it bluntly, it is to test Qi Xuansu's attitude. Qi Xuansu also made his attitude clear with his actions, so no matter how big the gift is later, whether it is two hundred thousand or one million, it will not be given.
But if you want to be tough, there is no tougher method than assassination. Someone has already used it, but now it seems that it is of no use. Instead, it has become Qi Xuansu's weapon.
The white-haired old man picked up the wine glass, but did not bring it to his mouth. He said: "Everyone in Nanyang has had some business dealings with Nanyang United Trading Company over the years, and they also know some of the inside stories of Nanyang United Trading Company. Qi Xuansu They will definitely make plans from us. He Qi Xuansu is not easy to get along with. Is Wang Jiaohe easy to talk to? For now, there is no good fruit to be gained by offending anyone, but it is a dilemma. "You can't look at both sides of the dilemma, always have to deal with it. There is a trade-off.
Do you firmly believe that Zhenren Wang is still standing in Nanyang? Or do you think Master Qi can change Nanyang?
If you stand in line with the real person and Wang Zhenren is not defeated, then you will definitely be settled by the queen. But if he sided with Zhenren Wang and Zhenren Wang fell, not to mention that he would definitely not be able to take such a large share after the closure of Nanyang United Trading Company, and he might even be implicated as an accomplice.
How to stand in line is not only a test of judgment, but also a test of courage, and it also requires a gamble on luck.
After the reception banquet, Qi Xuansu asked Tianfu Palace to arrange for two female Taoist priests to take Xiao Yin to clean her up, and then received a summons from Zhang Yuelu.
Zhang Yuelu was right there with Ziguang Society. With Ziguang Society's well-informed nature, he naturally knew the news of Qi Xuansu's assassination immediately, and also learned that Qi Xuansu was safe and sound.
Therefore, Zhang Yuelu deliberately left some time to spare, assuming that he would contact Qi Xuansu after the reception banquet was over.
Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu reported that they were safe, and they exchanged information on each other. The woman marked by Zhang Yuelu had left the underground auction house. As soon as she arrived at the warehouse of Nanyang United Trading Company, Zhang Yuelu would take action immediately.
