Chapter 331 (2/2)
”Depends on the intensity and range,” Fan Xian said ”The most important factor is the level of battle If it's like last year's s hed ”This matter is for the Emperor and the Bureau of Military Affairs to worry about You are about to head to Jiangnan, so stop worrying Even if the Overwatch Council joins the battle, it'll be for the Third Bureau to deal with”
Fan Xian sdo to start the Second World War, it would be up to hiuments wouldn't work, then he would have to try brute force
Lin Wan'er didn't knoas thinking treasonous things, and continued her line of thought: ”Logically speaking, the Crown Prince should be the one to the take the throne But, as you know, the Emperor has always disliked the ee Other than the Great Prince, everyone has a chance Even if the Third Prince is only eight, nine years old… although all of the court knows your trip down to Jiangnan is a different kind of exile, the E you to take the Third Prince This ate it, Husband”
Fan Xian nodded and still didn't say anything He listened seriously to his wife's words; he knew that Wan'er orried about his departure from the capital, and that's why she had broken precedent to say so er likes the Crown Prince and the Second Prince equally But the old woman dislikes the Great Prince the most, and she also doesn't like the Third Prince” Lin Wan'er was quietly revealing all the secrets in the palace ”Although the empress doesn't have much power, she's always been close with Mother”
Fan Xian listened intently to the politics of the Qing Kingdom harem, and interrupted to ask, ”Why doesn't she like the Third Prince?”
Lin Wan'er stole a glance out theand said hesitantly, ”Probably because of his connection to the master… you know that Yi Guipin is close with our family”
”Wan'er, in your opinion, what should I do when I go to Jiangnan?” Fan Xian asked her seriously
Lin Wan'er answered very candidly, ”Be strict with the Third Prince, but also keep your distance Be professional as a teacher You can't let the e into hi it out—the longer you drag it, out the worse it will be for you Mother has more than just the Second Prince and the Imperial Censorate at court”
Fan Xian was startled
Lin Wan'er struggled with herself for a while before saying quietly, ”Perhaps everyone believes that she was only close with the eastern palace because she was acting as a smokescreen to hide the Second Prince But, Husband, you uard Perhaps, one day, the Crown Prince will fall towards her again”
Fan Xian was silent for a bit, then became dejected The ways of this world had forced his oife into this pitiful position He accepted that the eastern palace would not watch hirow up—this was related to the hatred back then But he hadn't expected for the Eldest Princess to have really used her money well, for her to have a foot in each boat, and for her to be a two-ti
The first day of the year was full of ancestor worshi+p
The second day, a horde of officials from the capital came to pay a New Year call
The third day, the whole Fan faether Fan Xian and Heir Hong aardly spoke about the past
The fourth day, Ren Shao'an and Xin Qiwu hosted a banquet together for Fan Xian as a farewell gesture
The fifth day, the father and son of the Yan family visited the Fan manor After Yan Ruohai had quit his position, he'd taken up playing Go and played against the Minister until dark Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun talked in secret in the small study until dark
The sixth day was filled with a visit to Chen Garden
The seventh day, tens of thousands of people in Jingdou were out It was very lively; the chickens didn't crow, the dogs didn't bite, and the streets were full of young girls running around Fan Xian took his wife, sister, Ruo Jia, and Ye Ling'er to run wild in the capital; they had lots of fun
The eighth day, at noon, the Duke Manor sent an invitation At dusk, the Fan clan gathered and Fan Xian was the focal point of the feast
After the 15th, Fan Xian left the capital A line of people came to the pier in the south of the city This river was na River emptied into it The Wei River ran south for hundreds of tze River was the city nan
Fan Xian—as he had agreed with the Erandnan This back and forth, in most outsiders' calculations, meant that it would be at least March before he reached Suzhou No one expected that he would arrive earlier
Fan Xian didn't allow for anyone come to send him off when he left the capital This included the officials he was friendly with in the Council, and the officials at court Unexpectedly, the students of the Iht wind of this news, and had all co in the Imperial Acade the spring examinations, he had spent vast aements for countless poor students, and had also lifted the veil on the spring examination corruption case He had opened the eyes of students everywhere Poetry in front of the palaces, exchanging gifts, and other such ether to place him in an admired and beloved position in the scholars' hearts His reputation was excellent
When he'd entered the Overwatch Council as the commissioner, he'd had to deal with un to use ht, and so had not lost his brilliance to the darkness of the Overwatch Council
As for the ru his past—they were extraordinary to speak of Scholars often considered themselves above mortal concerns, and did not take honor from their families However, when they learned that the poet Sir Fan junior, the giant around, they hadn't felt an iota of hatred—instead, they developed a sense of respect!
So what he was an official? Who cared he was a merchant? The head of these scholars was a prince!
On the pier, every professor and student felt a sense of regret at his parting For a while, the pier was filled with voices and was very lively Finally, Fan Xian drank three cups of wine in a row to sufficiently return each person's feelings of affection The scene was very lively and brilliant; news of it would likely spread like wildfire through the court and public
Having finally persuaded the crowd to leave, Fan Xian gently held Wan'er's hands and carefully entreated countless words to her Once again, he told her that when it was springti her to him Only this stopped Wan'er's tears Wan'er watched the leaving scholars in the distance, and suddenly giggled, ”Did you tell them?”
Fan Xian flushed a little despite his thick skin, and he explained, ”I'lorious wishes”
He turned his head to see his sister hiding behind their fairls and women with her head down and silent She could not co to hide tears Seeing the girl's huddled forer overtake him He pushed aside the people who had come to send hi?!” he yelled loudly
Fan Ruoruo hadn't expected her brother to coht and quickly wiped away the tear tracks on her cheeks, and stuttered, ”No—no—no reason”
She suddenly thought, Older brother has never been this fierce before Why is he so fierce today? In the end, he isn't my true bother—this is surely why he isn't as kind to irl couldn't stop the tears falling from her eyes; but she also stubbornly bit her lip There was a sense of tragedy around her
Seeing his sister like this, Fan Xian's anger turned into a smile, a full-toothed smile, and he didn't knohat to do The people beside the to stay beside these two masters of the Fan Manor Fortunately, Wan'er ca her She said that Fan Xian wasn't feeling happy about leaving the capital, and that hy he was acting a bit fierce Only after this did Ruoruo gradually calm down
Fan Xian was ferocious because he couldn't stand to see his sister hurt or purposely avoiding hier for the past few days Seeing that his sister still stared at hihed and said in afierce to you is the way it should be I' brother, you're my little sister If I weren't fierce towards you, then you should be hurt”
Ruoruo was a very clever person, and instantly understood the implication here If her brother did not consider her his sister, then ould he be fierce towards her in front of all these people? Having thought through this matter, a trace of joy appeared between her brows and she said to Fan Xian, ”But—but—but—seeing Brother leave for a long journey, it's difficult not to be sad” She raised her face and spoke righteously ”Why are you being so hed He knew his sister had worked through their issue, and his heart was co master, if you don't leave, you'll miss the time!”
On board the shi+p next to the pier, Sisi stood with her hands on her hips and yelled loudly Fan Xian had to bring sonan Sisi had been following hiirl, after leaving Fan Manor, acted as if it were the tihter
Wan'er watched her yelling and couldn't help sirl”
Fan Xian laughed, then quietly said a feords in his sister's ear about urgent dou Then he scandalized everyone present by pulling Wan'er into his e her hard After, with a wave of his sleeve, he boarded the shi+p on the riverbank
It was exactly like the saying, ”I'll wave my sleeve and take all of the silver with me”
Sir Fan junior's departure from the capital becadou Whether it was in restaurants and tea houses, orabout this matter
The Second Prince, who had been placed under house arrest, was listening to the reports of his strategist while sighing, ”The bastard finally left”
The strategist without a strategy said viciously, ”Lucky for him he left quickly Otherwise, ould have skinned hihness's hate”
The Second Prince was hunched in his chair, scooping up frozen custard to eat Hearing this, he furrowed his brows and didn't speak for a long ti as he slowly said, ”No wonder people always say that Commissioner Fan and I look similar It turns out there is a real reason involved… But similarities aside, I'm not his opponent You all know this best”
He jumped down from the chair and looked at the free sky outside the yard A sweet smile appeared on his face ”This bastard finally left… It feels great It's like someone took away the venodou was an unnecessarily long procession slowlypalace was currently on her way back to the capital She didn't know that her son-in-law had also chosen this day to escape Jingdou As for her kind gesture and atteh
One mile outside the city, in the Temple of Qin, there was a very tall pile of dry firewood burning merrily in the middle of a desolate field The fire was very hot, and theburned cracked and popped
The Emperor, with his hands clasped behind his back, watched the fire burn with cold eyes He watched the body in the fire gradually beco Priest maintained the calm of an ascetic monk, but fear showed in his eyes
Outside the Te on and off with the guards He was being transferred to the empress's palace to the Emperor
A few days later on the Wei River, Fan Xian stood at the head of the boat in deep silence The chill on the surface of the river washed over him, but could not push past the expensive coat on his body
He had left the capital, yet the reports continued to come in without end The Eldest Princess had sent uards into the capital, and had also instructed her old servant to bring oods to the Fan Manor These were for Wan'er It seemed that after her failed assassination atteinning to rebuild her relationshi+p with her daughter
These were details, not part of Chen Pingping's teachings of keeping the world under his eye
What really interested Fan Xian was thePriest had finally returned to Qing after many years, but because he had used all his Essential Blood in the south during ascetic training, he had fallen ill and died At the sa Zhu had been transferred to the empress's palace as the head eunuch He was happy as well as a little disappointed
His student, shi+ Chanli, used his hand to cover his eyes, protecting them from the chilly river wind He came to his side to report, ”Teacher, earlier the captain said that at our current speed, we'll be able to reach Yingzhou tonan's territory”
They had switched out their boat at a secret Overwatch Council dock not far from the capital The boat they were currently on was a navy shi+p that had been refitted for coainst the river wind, the picturesque lakes and nan could be faintly seen Fan Xian looked slightly startled He nodded, and then snan are waiting your embrace, don't be too rushed”
shi+ Chanli becanan, and that hy he and Sang Wen had to co Wen could wait until March, but as Fan Xian's student, shi+ Chanli couldn't stay behind that long When he thought of the friends and classo, and how they were now officials in Jiangnan, he didn't feel good about his transition into being the owner of a fa in the cold of winter on the river was indeed irritating Sang Wen had the luck of being kept back by Director Chen—shi+ Chanli hadn't had such good luck He had been ordered out of the palace by his own father, not allowed to wait until the war
The Third Prince shakily lifted the thick curtains on the boat and looked at Fan Xian ”Siye, sir, it's tiht to teach princes because he still had the identity of an Imperial Academy Siye, and so the Third Prince referred to him as such
Fan Xian turned his head and looked at the child of eight or nine His shness finished your homework?”