Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  The happiness of life lies in creation and discovery.

  In the early morning, the gentle breeze brushed against his face, running along the riverbank at a steady pace. With each breath, he could clearly feel the freshness of the air. As the air passed through his lungs and then expelled the stale air, that refreshing sensation was something people in later generations couldn't experience. As a modern person who grew up in an environment filled with dust and pollution, the fresh air made Jiang Xia feel like it was a gift from heaven. With each breath, Jiang Xia felt his true energy slowly start to move, but as for whether there was any special pattern to this movement, Jiang Xia wasn't very clear. Anyway, he could confirm that he still couldn't freely control his true energy like before.

  Unlike Jiang Xia, Kang Qingyan was exhausted from following behind her. She wore a beautiful dress and followed Jiang Xia, panting heavily. Several times, Kang Qingyan had wanted to give up, but each time Jiang Xia would say lightly: "I knew you wouldn't be able to keep up." Infuriated, Kang Qingyan gritted her teeth and continued to follow behind Jiang Xia.

  Finally, Jiang Xia stopped and turned to look at Kang Qingyan. Kang Qingyan had her hands wrapped around the long hem of her skirt, and with sweat all over her face, she couldn't help but collapse onto the ground when she saw Jiang Xia stop in his tracks. Jiang Xia walked two steps forward and helped Kang Qingyan up with one hand, "The more tired you are, the less you can afford to sit on the ground, otherwise all your previous efforts would be wasted. Stand up!"

  "Hmph!" Kang Qingyan's face was filled with annoyance, but in the end she still listened to Jiang Xia and stood up. Jiang Xia looked at Kang Qingyan's face, slightly stunned for a moment before he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "What... what are you laughing at?"

  Kang Qingyan reached out and touched her face, and as soon as she did, she realized that her hands were all covered in lumps, just like flour mixed with water.

  Kang Qingyan let out a cry of alarm: "Ah!" She hastily ran to the riverbank and looked into the calm water, only to see that the rouge and powder she had applied before leaving the house were now completely wet from her sweat, turning into patch after patch of "flour".

  Jiang Xia smiled and said: "Whether it's rouge or powder, they are all harmful to the skin on one's face. It's better not to use them from now on."

  Kang Qingyan turned around and glared at Jiang Xia, stamping her foot in anger: "Mind your own business!"

  After finishing speaking, Kang Qingyan ran away.

  Jiang Xia called out twice, but Kang Qingyan didn't respond to him at all. Seeing that Kang Qingyan was running towards the direction of Qunfang Pavilion, Jiang Xia felt relieved. He turned his body around and looked towards the river surface, at this moment he no longer had his usual lively and carefree personality, the quiet Jiang Xia seemed to have matured a lot in an instant, and the gaze from his eyes also carried a sense of wisdom that saw through the ways of the world.

  "Dear Yuet, I've been in this Ming dynasty for over a month now. Before this, I always thought of you and wanted to return to the modern era to see you. But now I think I may not be able to go back, from now on I decide not to think of you anymore, if fate allows it in the next life, we'll meet again..."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia turned around and left. The gentle breeze lifted his clothes, at the same time creating ripples on the river's surface.

  Before returning to the Huafang Pavilion, Jiang Xia first went to a Hui Chun Tang, which was one of the largest pharmacies in Shuntian Prefecture. There, he purchased twenty-seven medicinal ingredients. These twenty-seven ingredients could be made into a pill called "Fei Feng Dan" through special dosage and refining sequence.

  This was originally won by Zhao Qi, the young master of Tongrentang, from a gambling table. The reason why Tongrentang can flourish from the early Qing dynasty to the 23rd century is because they have this "Feifeng Dan" formula in their hands. This Feifeng Dan is extremely rare in the 23rd century, not only does it detoxify and beautify the skin, but also extends one's lifespan, strengthens the body and improves overall health. Its effects are both rapid and remarkable, with no side effects, which is why it has received so much attention from many people.

  And since the 19th century, due to severe pollution on Earth, four or five of the twenty-seven medicinal materials recorded in the Feifengdan formula have become extinct. Although Tongrentang has found a few substitutes, the effect of later generations of Feifengdan has been greatly discounted. Jiang Xia was very interested in seeing what kind of effect the original 27 ingredients would have when refined into Feifengdan.

  After buying the medicine, Jiang Xia went straight back to Qunfang Pavilion.

  As soon as he walked into the hall, Jiang Xia saw Zhu Houzhao and Zhang Yong. From a distance, Jiang Xia waved his hand and called out: "Old Two."

  Zhu Houzhao turned his head and looked at Jiang Xia, he stood up and called out to Jiang Xia: "Big brother."

  Jiang Xia walked over and handed the medicinal herbs in his hand to a large teapot, asking him to put them in his room. Jiang Xia walked up to Zhu Houzhao with a smile and teased: "The sky hasn't darkened yet and you're already here, this isn't like your style, what brings you to find me?"

  Zhu Houzhao's expression was somewhat solemn, and he said in a low voice: "There are many people and prying eyes here, let's find a quieter place to talk."

  Jiang Xia slightly furrowed her brow, thinking that something big must have happened. Jiang Xia nodded: "Alright, let's go to the Peony Pavilion to talk."

  "Alright." Zhu Houzhao nodded and said.

  Arrived at the Peony Pavilion with Zhu Houzhao, Zhang Yong stood guard outside the door and did not enter. Jiang Xia and Zhu Houzhao sat down beside a round table in the room, Jiang Xia smiled and said: "What's so mysterious about this?"

  Zhu Houzhao glanced at Jiang Xia and said, "Big brother, I have a relative working in the Shuntian Prefecture. Yesterday, I received some news. The two T-stage shows you held recently were too loud and attracted the dissatisfaction of Prime Minister Li Dongyang. As a result, Prime Minister Li ordered the Minister of Personnel Cao Yuan to find someone to seal off your Huafang Pavilion. Minister Cao issued the order to Wang Shifu, the Vice-Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, yesterday. I guess it's likely that within the next day or two, Vice-Prefect Wang will bring people to seal off Huafang Pavilion."

  After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Xia and found that Jiang Xia was not as panicked as he had imagined, but only slightly frowned and fell into deep thought. Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but say: "Big brother, what I said is true, I'm not joking with you."

  Jiang Xia nodded, "I'm familiar with your personality, you wouldn't joke about something like this with me."

  After a while, Jiang Xia sighed and shook his head: "I was too eager for quick success and forgot the principle of shooting birds with guns. I didn't expect that the dignified Prime Minister would have the leisure to come and find trouble for this small family-run brothel, it's really unlucky."

  Jiang Xia had been thinking for half a day, but he couldn't think of any way to turn the current situation around. Although he was the master of Qianmen and proficient in setting up and breaking down formations, he had only recently arrived in the Great Ming and didn't even have his own basic connections. As the Grand Chancellor, he was already a figure who stood above everyone else. Unless he knew the Emperor personally, there was no way to reverse the sealing of the Group Flower Pavilion. In the face of absolute power, any scheme seemed pale and powerless, and even Jiang Xia couldn't come up with a plan to dispel the Grand Chancellor's idea.

  As for losing the Huafang Pavilion, Jiang Xia didn't mind too much. With his skills, he wouldn't starve to death in this great Ming dynasty no matter what he did. He just felt a little guilty, thinking that he had wronged Kang Qingyan. If it weren't for him hosting that T-stage show, the Huafang Pavilion wouldn't have caught the attention of the Prime Minister. Watching Kang Qingyan's lifelong efforts go down the drain, Jiang Xia really couldn't compensate her enough.

  Upon seeing Jiang Xia, Zhu Houzhao fell into silence again. He couldn't help but ask: "Big brother, the Guangfang Pavilion is about to be sealed off, what do you plan to do next?"

  "For now, I don't have any ideas, let's just take it one step at a time." Jiang Xia replied casually.

  Zhu Houzhao said, "Big brother, I have an idea. The scale of this brothel is not large to begin with, and its location is not the best in the capital either. I have a mansion under my name next to Chaoyang Gate, where the geographical environment is excellent. If big brother doesn't mind, why don't we use that mansion as our stake and partner up to reopen the brothel?"

  "Reopen the Fangyuan Pavilion?" Jiang Xia was taken aback for a moment, as he was considering what would happen to the girls of the Fangyuan Pavilion if it were to be closed. These girls couldn't even lift their hands or shoulders, and apart from this line of work, they really didn't know how to do anything else. If the Fangyuan Pavilion were to close, they might end up becoming clandestine prostitutes, engaging in that kind of business where ten copper coins could buy a customer, regardless of whether they were old or young, beautiful or ugly. That kind of life would be an absolute disaster.

  Now I hear that Zhu Houzhao has proposed to reopen the Qunfang Pavilion, and even the store address has been selected. Jiang Xia immediately nodded: "Good, if the Qunfang Pavilion is really closed, I will partner with you to reopen the Qunfang Pavilion."

  "Alright, it's settled then." Zhu Houzhao said with some excitement.

  When Zhu Houzhao told Jiang Xia that the Qunfang Pavilion was about to be sealed, Liu Jin in the Shuixian Pavilion happened to mention this matter to Kang Qingyan. Upon hearing that the Qunfang Pavilion was going to be closed soon, Kang Qingyan was shocked and lost her composure. She couldn't remain as calm as Jiang Xia, after all, she had invested too much of her heart and soul in the Qunfang Pavilion.

  "Can't even you stop him?" Kang Qianyan asked Liu Jin.

  Liu Jin sighed and shook his head slightly: "Li Dongyang, that old scoundrel, was appointed as the Grand Minister by the previous emperor and was also the Junior Preceptor during the Crown Prince's time. Even the Emperor has to show him some respect, so I couldn't do anything about it for a while."

  When Liu Jin said this, Kang Qingyan was desperate. She remained silent for a while before asking: "Then what should I do next? How to arrange so many people in the Group Fragrance Pavilion?"

  Liu Jin took out a copper token from his bosom and handed it to Kang Qingyan. The token was made of copper, which in the copper-scarce Ming dynasty was already a symbol of status. Liu Jin said: "From today on, you are one of my secret agents in the East Factory. For now, don't stay in the capital anymore, go to Jiangnan and take care of Chunfeng Deyi Building. Don't bring any of the people from Qunfang Pavilion with you, including Han Yu. The Emperor is planning to partner with Jiang Xia to reopen Qunfang Pavilion, so consider these people a gift to Jiang Xia as a gesture of goodwill. Among them are seven people who work for our East Factory. Tell them to keep an eye on Jiang Xia, and if he proves reliable, we'll support him well. If he's not reliable, those seven can join forces to get rid of him."

  Kang Qingyan looked at the token on the table and was slightly stunned. She hadn't expected Liu Jin to summon her to Jiangnan. However, no matter what, Kang Qingyan knew she had to obey Liu Jin's orders. So, after taking the token, she immediately bowed to Liu Jin and said: "Your subordinate Kang Qingyan, obediently following the Lord's command!"