Fan Xian strolled out of the study and breathed in the fresh winter air of the Cang Mountains. Contentedly, he stretched. Following the sounds of mahjong, he easily found where his wife and the other girls were. Looking at the green mahjong tiles on the table, under the hands of those fair and delicate women, Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat.
When he saw his sister, under the light of the snow, holding the poetry anthology from the previous dynasty that the second prince had given her, Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat.
Being too famous really wasn't a good thing. Pigs were afraid of being fat, and people were afraid of being fat. Fan Xian smiled bitterly. Ever since the banquet, although the crown prince and the second prince didn't seem to have any contact with him, Xin Shaoqing and Li Hongcheng, Crown Prince Jing, had often visited Fan Manor. Even after he hid in the Cang Mountains, he hadn't been able to stop them from sending gifts.
On New Year's Eve, the people in the Cang Mountains had returned to the capital. In a few short days, Li Hongcheng had followed the scent and pestered Fan Xian to go to the Cang Mountains with him. Fan Xian didn't dare to agree. In the end, he had no choice but to bring Rou Jia into the mountains.
Seeing him in a daze after entering the room, the first person to notice him was Princess Rou Jia. She said crisply, "Brother Xian, do you want to play mahjong?"
Hearing the words "Brother Xian," Fan Xian thought of Brother Bao. He quickly waved his hand and smiled. "Princess, please play. I'm just going to walk around."
Hearing him deliberately say that they weren't close, Princess Rou Jia pouted, but she didn't show her displeasure. She looked very pitiful and cute. Lin Wan'er couldn't help but say, "Husband, why don't you play a few rounds?"
"Forget it." Fan Xian waved his hand even more urgently, leaving the mahjong table. Unexpectedly, he bumped into something soft under his feet. He looked down and saw that it was a box. Inside the box was a pile of hay and rags. Three chubby kittens were sleeping on top of it. The kittens squinted their eyes and wrinkled their noses. They looked very cute.
Fan Xian was surprised. "What's going on?"
Lin Wan'er realized that the kittens were at his feet. Afraid of scaring them, she quickly walked away from the table and picked up the box. Naturally, they couldn't play mahjong anymore. She smiled and replied, "Mrs. Teng was afraid that we would be bored on the mountain, so she sent three cats over today."
Fan Xian moved closer and found that the three kittens were yellow, black, and white. They looked very similar, but the color of their fur was very different. He couldn't help but laugh. "You girls don't even know how to feed yourselves, let alone raise cats." He reached out and took the black one from the box into his arms. Hugging it, he felt that it was like a small ball of meat in front of his chest. He gently scratched the back of the kitten's head. The kitten opened its eyes, glanced at him, and then fell asleep again, as if it did not resent his breath.
"Do you have a name?"
"No, let's call them Little Yellow, Little Black, and Little White first."
"Hmm, Little White sounds good."
— —
After dinner, Fan Xian sat at the head of the table, and Fan Sizhe sat next to him. The two brothers listened to the report from Fan Manor. At the end of the year, the Fan family's estates in the suburbs of the capital, as well as their fiefdom in Danzhou, as well as a few scattered businesses, all had to be reported to the capital. Lady Liu had always been in charge of Fan Manor in the capital. Now that she had been promoted, it was even more justifiable. But for some reason, after she finished dealing with these matters this year, she asked Mister Cui to write a letter. She picked out a few important items and wrote them down. She then sent someone into the Cang Mountain estate to inform the young master.
Fan Xian could understand what Lady Liu meant, so he didn't deliberately do anything. Instead, he listened very carefully to the third housekeeper's report, occasionally interjecting and asking a few questions.
The third housekeeper honestly finished his report. Fan Xian closed his eyes and thought for a while, then opened them and asked Sizhe, who was next to him, "Is there any problem?"
Fan Sizhe touched the three pockmarks on his left cheek and shook his head. "There's no problem, Big Brother. But this debt has always been settled by Mother. Why is it that this year, the two of us have to compete?"
Fan Xian smiled. He knew that this man, who used to be a little tyrant, was very talented in certain areas, but in other areas, he was like a blank sheet of paper.
The third housekeeper respectfully said, "The goods from various places should have arrived before the end of the year. But this year, the snow in the north and east was heavy, so it was delayed. Other than the southern fruits that were sent up the mountain last time, there were also all kinds of dried meat and wild goods from the northern manor, as well as the flower tea from the ancestors in Danzhou. The numbers were all written in the letter. Thinking that the young master, mistress, mistress, young master, and the princess are all staying in the estate, the mistress prepared all kinds of goods and plans to send them up the mountain in three batches. It should be enough to last until the middle of spring. "
"We don't need that much. Just pick something fresh and send it over. Three batches is too much. One more will be enough. "Fan Xian casually said," But remember to bring more of the flower tea that grandmother sent from Danzhou. " He often talked to Wan 'er and Ruoruo about life in Danzhou, and he didn't know how many times he had talked about the tea with the faint fragrance of flowers.
The third housekeeper smiled and replied, "The tea has arrived today. The last two batches are mainly food and small items. They are mainly for the two young masters to stay in until the beginning of the spring examination. "
Fan Xian heard this very clearly. He secretly praised Lady Liu for being a good housekeeper. He didn't say anything more, and let him go and rest.
The spring examination was approaching. As a fifth-level official of the Imperial College, Fan Xian had to return to the capital to take up his post. He couldn't always stay on the Cang Mountains. After the end of the examination in April, the agreement between the two countries would need to be signed, and the secret prisoner exchange agreement would need to be carried out immediately. Everything seemed to pile up.
Actually, from Fan Xian's point of view, the prisoner exchange should have started last year. Not to mention the torture that the captured Qing soldiers would suffer in a foreign country, there was Yan Bingyun, whom Fan Xian had never met but secretly admired. As the head of Qing's spies in Northern Qi, he had been imprisoned in an enemy country for half a year. Who knew how much suffering he would have to endure?
It was just that the travel between the two countries was always complicated, and after winter, the northern border was frozen and difficult to travel through. That was why the return of the envoy had to be delayed until the end of spring. But every time he thought of Yan Bingyun suffering in a bitter cold house, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel a little less happy enjoying the winter in the Cang Mountains.
He had long known that he was the main character in this diplomatic mission to Northern Qi, but he didn't oppose this duty. After all, if he could establish his own power in the Overwatch Council, it would always be good for his future. Whether it was in Danzhou or the capital, his seventeen years of service had long since convinced him that he was truly a part of the Kingdom of Qing.
Fan Xian was willing to do things for this country, not for the court.
— — —
That night, Fan Xian finished his routine training and returned to the mountain villa, feeling a little tired. He stuffed his night clothes, covered in snow and dirty water, into a bag he had prepared and tossed it to the side.
During training, he would lie alone in the snow, chasing after his targets under the faint moonlight. His gaze was focused on a straight line, staring at the black rocks that had not moved for thousands of years, or the snow rabbits that were running rapidly. He felt very tired. And these days, after Wu Zhu gave him the sword that belonged to his parents, he disappeared again. So during the training process, there was no one to talk to, and no one to look at him. That feeling of loneliness and desolation was like returning to his previous life.
The mountain villa was quiet. Only the master bedroom was lit by a lamp. Wan 'er was waiting for him to return. Fan Xian smiled faintly and walked in that direction. The sun had risen during the day, so there was a puddle of water on the bluestone floor, reflecting the moonlight. He walked around it and jumped over the railing. Suddenly, his heart jumped and he stopped.
He was standing at the other end of the long corridor, in front of his sister's room. Suddenly, his ears twitched and he frowned. His eyes gradually became fierce. He turned around and pressed his palm against the door. With a little force, the Tyrannical zhenqi immediately shook the wooden latch in two. Like the night wind, he floated to the side of the bed.
The bed was messy, but there was no one there. Ruoruo had indeed disappeared.
Fan Xian calmly put his hand into the bedding and found that other than the foot warmer, the rest of the bed was cold. It seemed that Ruoruo had been gone for a long time. His heart trembled slightly. Could it be that an enemy that he did not know had done this? But he still forced himself to turn around. With a clang, his left hand pulled out the slender black dagger and prepared to go into the night to find someone.
"Brother!"
Outside the door, Fan Ruoruo held up a lantern. Her face was full of surprise as she looked at her brother standing on the bed with a knife in his hand. Fan Xian was startled. Seeing that she was safe and sound, he couldn't help but relax. He couldn't help but close his eyes and breathe heavily. After a moment, he asked with concern, "Where did you go? Are you alright? "
Ruoruo was wearing a silver fur robe, and underneath it was a single item. She looked pitiful. She looked at Fan Xian, as if she hadn't expected this. She couldn't help but be a little stunned. After a while, she forced a smile and said, "Brother, you're asking me with a knife. That's scary."
Fan Xian smiled bitterly and shook his head. He put the slender dagger back into his boots and walked up to her. He held her slightly thin shoulder and said, "You're the scary one. When I walked outside, I heard that it was abnormally quiet inside. I couldn't even hear you breathing. You scared me."
Fan Ruoruo smiled and said, "Brother, you're running outside in the middle of the night, and you say I scared you."
"Where did you go?" Fan Xian continued to ask curiously. Fan Ruoruo blushed and lowered her head shyly. "There are some things that you shouldn't ask so clearly."
Fan Xian was startled for a moment, then understood. He smiled bitterly. "It's not like there's no toilet in the room. The night wind in the mountains is very cold. Don't catch a cold."
"I know." Fan Ruoruo smiled shyly and pushed him out the door. "Your wife is still waiting for you."
...
...
Outside the room, Fan Xian gently rubbed his cold fingers. The temperature of his sister's bedding showed that she had been out for a while. It was definitely not during the night. She must have gotten up and gone somewhere after he left the mountain villa.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but have a big question in his heart. But he forced it down and didn't ask any more questions. In this world, everyone has their own secrets. We need to respect them. Back in the capital, when they were in Danzhou, Fan Xian had taught his sister this. As her brother, he needed to set an example.
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