Yuan Hongdao frowned. The Prime Minister said softly, "I've been in court for too long, and I don't know how many people I've offended. I have two sons and a daughter, and I had hoped that Gong 'er would be successful. Who would've thought that he would suffer such a calamity? Now I only have Da Bao and Chen' er … I have to make some arrangements for them."
Yuan Hongdao frowned again. "But this change seems to be a little too drastic."
Lin Ruofu's gaze suddenly softened. "As a father, there's no need to be so protective of your body. If we're talking about a fight for the throne, His Majesty is in the prime of his life. I'm afraid you and I will be long dead by then. There's no need to worry so much. "He then asked," Are you sure it was Sigu Jian who did it? "
Yuan Hongdao nodded. "Yes."
Lin Ruofu took a deep breath. "Sometimes I find that the power in my hands can't be exchanged for anything … but since the Fan family and the Overwatch Council have been secretly working together for so many years, I think that if I were to be included, they wouldn't refuse."
Yuan Hongdao smiled. "Assistant Minister Fan, relying on his friendship with His Majesty, pushed for this marriage. Presumably, you've been hoping for it for a long time."
Lin Ruofu smiled. "In a few days, I want to see that Fan Xian with my own eyes. I want to see if he's worthy of my daughter."
Yuan Hongdao then said, "What about the Eldest Princess …"
He knew that the Prime Minister's second son's unnatural death was inextricably linked to the Eldest Princess's plan, so Yuan Hongdao very carefully mentioned her name.
"Li Yunrui had Wu Bo 'an prepare for the first assassination. It was a plan that killed three birds with one stone. By killing Fan Xian, she could regain control of the palace treasury. By persuading Gong' er, she could use this as a rope to bind the Prime Minister's manor tightly to her. But she didn't expect that Fan Xian wouldn't be so easy to kill, and that bastard Wu Bo 'an and my son … died. " Lin Ruofu's eyes flashed coldly. "But she still has the most important part. She calculated His Majesty's intentions. Even if Cheng Jushu and his party could escape the capital, I'm afraid that she would have faked my orders and had Fang Xiu killed in Cangzhou, to prove that Northern Qi committed the murder."
Yuan Hongdao frowned and said, "So it turns out that Young Master Chang guessed correctly that His Majesty wanted to start a war."
Lin Ruofu shook his head. "When His Majesty went on the Northern Expedition, he was not able to achieve full success and has always been brooding over it. Now that the Eldest Princess has given him such a good excuse, even if His Majesty does not like her taking matters into her own hands, he still has to accept her kindness. However, the matter of the peace treaty back then was too complicated. At most, Your Majesty will take a few small countries and give Northern Qi a taste of his power. "
Yuan Hongdao sighed, "Princess Royal's intelligence is astonishing, it's really difficult to deal with her."
Lin Ruofu slowly closed his eyes and said, "I have never thought of dealing with her … leave it to the juniors."
"Yes, my lord."
Just then, there was a commotion outside the study. No one knew who dared to make such a racket in the middle of the night, but judging from the expressions of the Prime Minister and Yuan Hongdao, they clearly knew who was outside. The door was pushed open, and a fat man in his twenties walked in. The old nannies and servants behind him did not stop him, and dared to stand outside the study and ask for forgiveness from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's manor had strict rules, and without the Prime Minister's permission, anyone who entered the study without permission would be severely punished. Lin Ruofu waved his hand to indicate that he understood, then looked at the fat man with a gentle expression and said quietly, "Da Bao, why are you not being good again?"
The fat man called Da Bao had a very wide space between his eyebrows, and his eyes were somewhat blank. It looked like there was something wrong with his brain development. But hearing Lin Ruofu's words, he immediately quieted down and said shyly, "Da Bao is good, it's just that little brother hasn't come back yet."
This was Lin Ruofu's eldest son. When he was young, he had an illness, and as a result, he became like this. He had always had the intelligence of a three or four year old, so he rarely went out. The people of the capital sympathized with the Prime Minister's plight, and did not mention this matter. Da Bao was usually the closest to Lin Gong, but he had not seen his little brother for the past two days, so he became irritated.
Lin Ruofu's heart ached as if it was being twisted. He held his chest, and after a while, he gently said, "Er Bao has gone out, and will be back in a few days. Da Bao, be a good boy and go to sleep."
Da Bao finally calmed down, and with an awkward smile on his face, he was led to the back courtyard by the old nannies to sleep.
After a moment of silence, Lin Ruofu said coldly, "I only have a son and a daughter, and Da Bao is like this. Brother Yuan, what do you think I should do?"
Yuan Hongdao frowned. "If you think about the Young Master, it is not a good idea for Miss Chen to marry Fan Xian. After all, it seems that Young Master Fan will not be able to escape political strife, and it will be difficult for him to live a stable life. In the future, it will not be convenient to entrust Young Master Fan to Miss Chen."
Lin Ruofu shook his head, and there was a chill in his voice. "As long as his surname is Fan, he will not be able to escape. So I would rather he be a cruel and merciless person. That way, he can protect Chen 'er and her brother for the rest of their lives …"
Having said this, he immediately regained his composure. He walked behind the desk and pulled back the veil. Looking at the map of the world behind it, he began to frown in silence. His gaze occasionally swept in the direction of Dongyi, but most of it stopped at the north of the Kingdom of Qing, and the complicated network of small vassal states between the Kingdom of Qing and Northern Qi.
After a long time, Lin Ruofu frowned. "We need to come up with a strategy immediately. Although it may not be a war, and the two sides may not come into direct contact, the northern prefectures need to transport food and horses to those small states. We must make preparations in advance."
Yuan Hongdao made a sound of acknowledgment. Then he heard the Prime Minister begin to cough. The coughing was so urgent that it seemed as if tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. The Prime Minister stood in front of the map with his hands clasped behind his back. He frowned as if he had not lost a son that day. Yuan Hongdao looked at his back and sighed in his heart. He felt slightly moved and guilty. Ruofu had lived a rich and noble life, but he had never had a comfortable one. It could be said that one meeting with the Princess had ruined his life.
— — — —
All of these things happened in one day. No one knew what these secret deals and quarrels meant. The meeting between Count Sinan and Chen Pingping, and the private meeting between the Prime Minister and the Eldest Princess, no more than ten people in the court knew about these two matters.
So Fan Xian did not know that his future had already been arranged for him to walk on a golden path.
If the past few months after entering the capital had been like the darkness before dawn, with thick, viscous ink covering his face, he would feel pressured and unable to relax. But in the following days, it was as if God had suddenly brought a basin of clean water and splashed it on his face. It made him feel refreshed and at ease, and also made him extremely clear-headed.
These days, he kept telling himself that his second brother-in-law's death had nothing to do with him. Only then could he face Lin Wan'er, who was the most difficult person to face. Ever since Lin Wan'er learned of her second brother's death, she had been in low spirits. Although they had only met a few times, they were connected by blood, and she was still sad. Fan Xian saw all of this and felt bad. Although his second brother-in-law was the mastermind behind his death, he sometimes felt that he was a bit cold-blooded and morbid. If he had heard back in Danzhou that Fan Sizhe had died in the capital, perhaps he would not have felt the slightest bit of sadness.
Of course, the situation now was different. Lady Liu seemed to have tacitly approved of the current situation, and the Liu family in the capital had also sensed that something was amiss. They had given Lady Liu enough information to refer to, so Lady Liu was unusually calm, and no longer prevented Fan Sizhe from following Fan Xian around the capital.
What made Fan Xian feel most at ease was that no one, including the Prime Minister, seemed to suspect that the death of the second son of the Prime Minister had anything to do with him. In fact, he and King Jing were overthinking this matter. That day, Wu Bo'an and Lin Gong had been hidden so well that even the Overwatch Council could not find them. Aside from the four grandmasters, who else could find them? As long as no one knew of Fan Xian's relationship with Wu Zhu, no one would suspect that Fan Xian had anything to do with Lin Gong's death.
What was even more surprising to Fan Xian was that, after many messages, he received some vague information from the Prime Minister's manor. The Prime Minister had expressed some degree of approval for the October wedding. Just as Fan Xian was wondering if the old man had truly become disheartened at seeing his son die, the crafty Count Sinan, Fan Jian, understood the reason behind this before anyone else in the court: for some reason, the Prime Minister and the Eastern Palace or the Eldest Princess were at odds. This was Lin Ruofu looking for a new investment direction. Perhaps it was a sign that the Prime Minister's political focus had begun to shift towards the second prince.
The two assassinations, one after the other, shook the skies of the capital like two bolts of spring thunder. But after the spring thunder, there was no rain, and the matter gradually faded. But the Prime Minister seemed to be grieving over the death of his son, and became somewhat disheartened. He rarely attended court, citing his illness. The cripple, Director Chen, also did not attend court much. He only stayed in the courtyard, occasionally issuing a few orders. Thinking of this, Fan Xian was puzzled. Why did Chen Pingping not summon him after returning to the capital? He still did not know that the cripple had been spying on him in the Celestial Prison. Even more puzzled was that Chen Pingping had clearly returned to the capital, so where had Fei T gone?
In any case, after this short but bitter confrontation, the various powers in the imperial court paid the price of a few lives and rebuilt a somewhat fragile balance. Some people accepted changes that they had no choice but to accept, such as the change of control of the palace treasury in a few years. Others began to find another way to protect themselves and their families, such as the Prime Minister. These changes were undoubtedly extremely beneficial to Fan Xian. At least he did not have to worry too much about his personal safety. Only now did he write a letter to his grandmother, who was far away in Danzhou. He told her that he was doing very well in the capital, and asked her not to worry too much.
After spring came summer. Although this was nonsense, for Fan Xian, who had finally found a foothold in Jingdou, there was finally less of the rain in his life and more of the bright, sunny days. Happy days seemed to be slowly waving at him from the other side.
Summer had come. Could the autumn wedding be far behind?
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