Chapter 305 (1/2)

Fan Xian swung his whole body lightly and effortlessly upwards while gripping the cracks between the cornices of the te on tiptoe on the outside of the wooden cornices His special cli were al spectacle of cli, and he had already reached the top floor of the Floating Teround by the mountainside below, the situation was under control, and the fire there was by and large quelled These nobles and chancellors of the Qing Kingdoh lot who had experienced many wars and disasters, so they were soon able to pull theether after so the one uards, in order to guarantee the safety of the Floating Temple As the crowd craned their heads anxiously, they saw Fan Xian fly upward like a lightning and arrive on the top of the building nobody had expected Co level, and they couldn't help but gasp in unified surprise

Lightly holding onto the cornice below the top floor with his right hand, Fan Xian bent his left leg slightly and placed his left hand on the hilt of the black dagger hidden in his boot It was rather quiet on the top floor; but Fan Xian didn't dare go in recklessly, so he yelled toward the top floor, ”This is courtier Fan Xian”

It see on the top floor Fan Xian squinted toward the top floor, enwrapped by walls and s for letting in breeze, and he felt relieved after having seen the countless chilly lights had gradually vanished Somebody inside said, ”Co a creaking sound

Fan Xian didn't dare to respond too slowly, and by contracting hisup and went in the top floor of the te with the mountain wind, out of fear to scare the Emperor As soon as both of his feet touched the floor, he noticed through his peripheral vision that the nervous elite guards slowly stepped back a pace, realizing that he would have facedswords if he didn't report his presence before co up

Fan Xian swept the entire floor with his eyes and didn't see the expected assassination happening here So he let out a relaxed sigh, after which he caure looking like the E from view in the blink of an eye Wan'er, who the old wo was following them close behind with his hands in the sleeves, his back hunched

The Eer and the women of the palace had already left due to the fire downstairs

”How co but peaceful voice rang out Fan Xian was startled for a briefaround, he bowed to the , saying calmly, ”A fire started downstairs, which someone obviously started I orried about Your Majesty's safety, so I cadoht-yellow robe He looked at the outside through a , his hands behind his back They were at a high elevation, so one could see a great deal fro the wholethreats However, the Emperor didn't seem too worried about his own safety, and the corners of histhe wonderful rivers andexpression, at the officials at the bottom of the temple, who acted nervously, as if they had encountered a powerful eneer and the royal concubines had all left the top floor of the building, and they uards who had just co carefully down to the botto Te in wind, three male royals, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince and Third Prince, were also there in addition to the extreuards, and a few personal young eunuchs

It took but a quick glance for Fan Xian to learn of the protective strength in the building He couldn't help but furrow his brows briefly to show his uneasiness The fire downstairs was obviously suspicious It was lucky that he discovered it early enough to quell it so that nobody had the opportunity to carry out any assassination amid the chaos Yet it was quite certain that the assassins were still hiding in the temple However, it was unfathodoth As the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, he was confident in the protective strength of the Qing Kingdom The hidden assassins had to be the top-level swords of their swords, and there couldn't beFan Xian's heart skipped a beat after learning this The fact that Eunuch Hong had helped the Eht headache Was the purpose of setting the fire by the assassins to draw the best fighter of the palace downstairs?

At that uards, it seehter Fan Xian evaluated the situation in the building soantly In his hter on horse, but he ht not be able to thwart an elite assassin in such close-range combat

The Emperor, based on his expression, didn't seem to worry too much about the event Perhaps as a ruler of the land, he had to show a caleddo the crown prince with his eyes, who pretended to be calm and stood behind the Ehtly perplexed at first, but realized as on Fan Xian'sto the Emperor, ”Father, since the cause of the fire is still unknown, please leave here for now”

However, the Emperor didn't pay attention to the request of the east palace's crown prince He turned around slowly, and with a faintlyexpression on his distinctive face, he asked Fan Xian, ”Has the fire been quelled?” Fan Xian was taken aback a bit, nodding, ”It's been quelled”

”Why do we have to leave then?”

Holding the railing with his left hand, the Emperor said slowly, ”I haven't retreated that much in my life”

Fan Xian appeared cal inside his e under the threat, but Fan Xian wasn't interested in such a show, as he pressed in a deep voice, ”Though there isn't any suspicious ht now, it's hard to provide defense, as we are atop the peak…I beg Your Majesty to consider the safety of the kingdom, and return to the palace immediately”

To advise an emperor to act in the name of the country was the most effective method in those imperial court plays of his previous life Yet it was obvious that this dom He turned around and said coldly, ”Fan Xian, you are the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council If someone dares assassinate this e able to observe the flowers because of yourhe was merely a Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, and the council wasn't asked to get involved in this chrysanthee of collecting such information How could he predict the eneht that they hadn't heard anything lately even though the Overwatch Council had a network of intelligent agents all over the world There were only two or three forces that dared hardom and who had been quiet and showed restraint recently; but it was hard to understand how Dongyi City reet and he had been staying in Dongyi City for certain

Having seen the peaceful expression on the E if the fire actually…was a prelude for the assassination?! Was he too nervous and overreacted?

Upon seeing Fan Xian fall silent, the three princes present thought Fan Xian was a bit e reprihed softly once, ready to say soht of the second prince, who had been deh he was pleased with the result, the strength of this courtier had becoh to be out of his control To put down Fan Xian at the ht have so a colance at Fan Xian

The second prince didn't think sowith a serious tone, ”Father, what Coh no eneo downstairs for the sake of your safety and to lessen the anxiety of those chancellors at the bottoh it seehtforward attitude, he still didn't treat Fan Xian differently, saying coldly, ”Fan Xian, as the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, you acted so nervously I'm really disappointed”

Fan Xian cursed in his mind a few ti, as he said with a self-ht to reprily, the Emperor asked suddenly, ”Don't you feel bad?”

”Yes,” Fan Xian responded as he quickly thought of a way to deal with the situation

”This courtier thinks that Your Majesty should cherish your own life since your safety is related to the safety of the land,your safety is crucial One can never be too cautious to do so The scenery of the yellow chrysanthedoardless of whether this courtier is called as nerve-wrecked a coward as a o downstairs and return to the palace”

Everybody reht Fan Xian would dare talk back to the Eue about the Emperor's life and death Fan Xian actually refuted the blame the Emperor laid on him earlier!

”You are too bold…”

Yet for some reason, the E this re at Fan Xian, ”If anybody says you're as cowardly as a mouse, I really wouldn't know about that Where on earth could we find such a large mouse?”

This was supposed to be a joke All the people on the floor, besides the Eh at the joke Fan Xian was the only one who laughed slightly, and bitterly

All of a sudden, the Emperor's voice beca the ed face

”In my lifetime, I have encountered many assassinations It's i the world was back then,” said the Emperor with a soft s a fire that has no possibility to spread is not going to force this eht to hi a brave role, but he paid attentionwere both not there, and the Tiger Guards were not there either What we had here were those elite guards and three princes…or was it four? Though the personal eunuchs of the Eenerations were under the control of the ih to rely on these people to protect the E had left with the Eroorried

Suddenly he had a shocking thought: If the Emperor were assassinated just then, he, as the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, would be most responsible for the incident Why didn't his father think of this when they met downstairs?

Eunuch Dai said loudly, ”His Majesty has encountered assassinations forty-three times in his life and has never retreated one step before”

Fan Xian was startled briefly and then thought of wang Qinian in the far north, amused that the successfulplayers to back them up

The Emperor slowly opened his eyes, his expression tranquil but full of self-confidence, ”Northern Qi, Eastern Yi, Western Hu, and Southern Yue, plus those ere defeated by this Emperor and lost their fa of the sword With twenty years gone, who has achieved it?” He continued with a soft laugh, ”When one has beco assassinated, Fan Xian, you will understand why this Emperor doesn't pay too much attention to such matters anymore”

So you have experience with this! Fan Xian cursed in his mind He had cursed that day more than he ever had Yet, as he was the Commissioner of the Overwatch, he had no choice but to take the responsibility He was responsible for the Emperor's safety More iestthe Emperor shamelessly and bravely to return to the palace

The Erily, ”How could Fan Jian educate a useless person like you?! How could Chen Pingping choose you?!”

Fan Xian responded by sh he cursed in his ht you were so capable, which was your responsibility anyway

The situation had been under the control The assassins, no matter how skillful they were, had perhaps already fled; otherwise they would end up badly hurt when the royal ar net So everybody in the building felt relieved slightly They couldn't help but think it funny that His Majesty, who rarely showed his emotions, reprimanded Fan Xian The crown prince still tried to coaze Great Prince couldn't bear the scene and turned his head away The youngest, the third prince, was bea happy upon seeing Fan Xian's ry that day He reprimanded Fan Xian just like he would his own son As Fan Xian was a famous person and an important courtier in the imperial court, it was extre Kingdo the land with civility

Fan Xian listened with a bitter s else Fan Xian was afraid that His Majesty suspected the sary If this draed by the old cripple or his father in secret, he could only praise their courage, but still it was sha the emperor” for the Emperor to watch—the Emperor wasn't an idiot, at least his IQ wasn't lower than Fan Xian's, so he could figure it out easily Perhaps the Emperor believed Fan Xian was kept in dark as well

He sighed inside, thinking it was ed play, no real assassins involved

Yet the problearten and Fan Jian wasn't a little girl as scared to cry outside the school by the iron-gate her first school day It was even more impossible for His majesty to believe his twoto help Fan Xian gain his favor Perhaps the reason for the E to do with Fan Xian

The E the railing heavily with his hand, startling everybody in the building Fan Xian was so out what others had on theirthe side of histhe E

Eunuch Dai had been assigned to the Taiji Palace not long ago, and Commissioner Fan's reminder was a welcome opportunity for hie it to alcohol” The Emperor didn't turn his body around, but so at the expansive scenery outside theand the following clouds in the sky, he couldn't help saying ly, ”Praise the auturant cold alcohol Since I' the chrysanthe, how can I do so without alcohol?”

The participants of the Chrysanthe that took place every three years had always enjoyed the chrysanthemum wine each tie fire started in the Floating Te the participants, the servants al what the E eunuch as responsible for this job hurriedly brought the alcohol plate to the railing,sure he would only step on the floor with his tiptoes, so no sound would be made this way

Fan Xian's heart skipped a few beats after hearing the poetic lines These lines were recited from a chrysantheht of Story of the Stone The purpose of reciting this poem was to let Fan Xian know that E Fan Xian understood that he couldn't conceal this matter from people all the time, so he was prepared for it

”As the book of Story of the Stone talks mostly about the love affairs betweenis not bad…these poems, however, are not so presentable”

The three princes in the building and the servants didn't knohy E the literature, and were slightly surprised As Fan Xian knew he couldn't hide it anymore, he bent his body forward and said with a bitter smile, ”This courtier wrote it just for fun, but I didn't expect Your Majesty would read it It's very fortunate”

”Oh I thought…you didn't want the readers to knoritten by you in another name, so you wrote those poems poorly on purpose; the hed and didn't kno to respond Those present in the building finally knew the book Story of the Stone that was circulating a the commoners and in the palace was actually written by Master Fan After the initial shock, they then thought it obvious This book was published only by the Danbo Bookstore, and the writing style of the book was unique If this popular book weren't written by the famous Master Fan, it would be hard to find another capable person in the world for the work

Taking the wine cup, the Erant flavor of the wine, and sipped the ith a faint s the uncomfortable Fan Xian and his surprised sons

There were two cups of wine on the plate prepared for the Eer Emperor took one cup to drink The other cup was left on the plate Since Eone downstairs, so it was hard to decide how to distribute this re cup of wine The Emperor looked at the crown prince, and then the second prince As he furrowed and then unfurrowed his brows, the Eer at Fan Xian; but he suddenly realized it was inappropriate, so he turned his fingerthird prince hiding in the corner

The third prince was still very young, so he said bitterly, ”Father, I don't like drinking alcohol” This kind of rearded as a criloos more harmful than alcohol; how can you be scared of a cup of wine?”

The third prince, with a sulky face, was so scared that he aly, he had no choice but to thank his father and walk over slowly to the railing Then he extended his ar it to his !!!

With such a crisp sound, the wine cup in the third prince's hand fell to the floor, rolling away He looked at the inco taking a drink frouard want to kill hierous and complicated circumstances, and so soon this small child realized—it was an assassination!

Since the Eht behind hi sould have fallen upon the E However, he didn't have the footwork like the grand any i as coffin used by Ye Liuyun No matter how bravely he stood in front of the E sould likely cut hi with the Emperor

Whether or not he chose evasion, it would lead to the same result The third prince chose the correct reaction, which was to stand in the saht into the assassin's blurryface with shi+vering legs and a wet crotch, the third prince shrieked with all hisshout echoed throughout the entire building All people present learned of the ongoing assassination attempt Since nobody expected an assassin could be hidden adoh to prevent the powerful sword frouards' defense line and thrusting toward the E with a small wine cup in his hand

Fan Xian was the exception He twisted his wrist, exhaling, and threw his fist at the assassin This deeply hidden assassin acted so suddenly and thrust his sword so powerfully that Fan Xian didn't dare to hold back his energy in his fist The xueshanzhenqi to flow out like a river along his right arht a few steps away

This striking fist was so powerful that it cut open the air with a faint buzzing sound like dull thunder exploding in the ht into pieces!