Fan Xian sat on his horse, his buttocks uncomfortable from the kick. He smiled as he thought about the second prince, and the sense of familiarity still lingered in his heart. Of course, he knew that this was the first time they had met. As for the matter of the palace treasury, there was no need to bring it up. It was just a meeting.
He plucked the tender willow branch in front of him and asked Li Hongcheng, "Did the second prince want to see me today?"
Li Hongcheng smiled. "He is your admirer. Coincidentally, you married Princess Chen, so he used the excuse of seeing my brother-in-law to see what the immortal poet was like."
Fan Xian was startled. He had not expected this to be the reason. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. After a while, he sighed. "Why does the second prince look so familiar to me?"
Li Hongcheng had known him for many months. He knew that Fan Xian was tough to the bone and gentle on the surface, but other than the occasional crazy outbursts, he managed to maintain a calm appearance. Seeing that Fan Xian was a little absent-minded, Li Hongcheng couldn't help but mutter, "You haven't met him before."
Fan Xian smiled bitterly and shook his head. Although the second prince was handsome, he was not Sister Lin. Fan Xian did not have a good taste for romance. Why was he so obsessed with him? He couldn't help but smile shyly.
Li Hongcheng was looking at him curiously. When he saw Fan Xian smile, he suddenly froze. He stared blankly for a long time before murmuring, "I know why you find the Second Prince familiar."
Fan Xian's eyes widened. "Why?" he asked curiously.
Li Hongcheng made a vomiting face. "Because you two sometimes like to smile shyly like girls."
Fan Xian was surprised. He quickly wiped the smile from his lips. "That's it?"
Li Hongcheng looked at Fan Xian's beautiful face and suddenly felt a wave of disgust. He said, "The temperament on your bodies is also similar. You are indeed very feminine."
"Nonsense." Fan Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but then he thought of something. Perhaps … the second prince was very similar to him in some ways. He shook his head and chased away the shocking question that had been plaguing his mind. He smiled again and made another attempt to disgust the Crown Prince. Then he waved his whip and urged the horse to gallop toward the capital.
As he rode along the river, the horse galloped at high speed. The spring wind blew against his face, and so did the verdant willows on the riverbank. Fan Xian was too lazy to avoid them, and so he directed his Tyrannical zhenqi to his face, using it all as a shameless act. He shook off the willows and rode happily.
Not long after, he had shaken off the heir and the guard. The horse was a little tired and gradually slowed down. Sitting on the horse, Fan Xian unconsciously turned his head to look at the water. He saw that he had already made a detour and had come to a place where there were many pleasure boats. In the distance, there was a pleasure boat that was already covered in dust. It leaned against the shore in a desolate manner. Compared to the beautiful patrons on the river and the prostitutes' boats, it looked even more miserable.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes slightly. He guessed that it must be Si Ling's pleasure boat. This pleasure boat had once carried the most popular woman in the capital, and it was the most popular place in the capital. Now it had become like this. Seeing the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but think of Si Lili, who was still languishing in the prison of the Overwatch Council. After the spring examinations, the Qing court would release Si Lili back to Northern Qi. Coincidentally, he was also the organizer of this event. He didn't know what it would be like when they met again.
Back when he was in prison, he had used drugs, words, and psychological attacks to trick the woman into revealing that the mastermind behind his assassination attempt was Wu Bo'an. He had promised to let her go and had even sworn an extremely vicious oath. Originally, Fan Xian had not planned to admit to anything. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
The corners of his mouth opened slightly, and just as Li Hongcheng had said, he smiled warmly. He thought that this was a promise he had made.
Behind him came the hurried sound of hooves. Li Hongcheng had also shaken off the guards and followed them alone. The two horses stopped at the same time by the water's edge. They quietly watched the peaceful and magnificent scenery on the lake, occasionally glancing at the place of decay.
After a while, Li Hongcheng said quietly, "The night you beat up Guo Baokun, you drank with me on that pleasure boat."
Fan Xian smiled and said, "We even spent a night on that pleasure boat."
"What?" Li Hongcheng looked at him. "Don't tell me you're feeling tender and protective feelings for the fairer sex again? Your status now is different from mine. Not to mention Si Lili, who is still in prison, there are many lovely people on the water. If you were as happy as I am every night, I'm afraid the palace would send palace guards to beat you up the next day. "
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. "I don't have such thoughts. I just felt something when I looked at that pleasure boat."
"Wu Bo'an is not one of your father-in-law's people." Li Hongcheng thought he didn't know these secrets, so he reminded him in a quiet voice.
"I know. They are the Eldest Princess's people," Fan Xian replied quietly. "But since the Eldest Princess is no longer in the capital, I can't be bothered to think about these questions."
"Don't forget, the Eldest Princess is on good terms with the empress. She is most favored by the empress dowager, and … all these years, the Crown Prince has always trusted her." Li Hongcheng looked at him quietly, as if he wanted to use these words to express something.
Fan Xian smiled. "Just say what you want to say. The Second Prince and I have just met, and there are some things that are not convenient to say. Since I've shaken off the guards, I want to speak with you in private."
The two horses slowly walked forward, their heads occasionally rubbing against each other to show their affection. Li Hongcheng pulled out the green willow branch in front of him and said quietly, "After you return from Northern Qi, you will probably be in charge of the palace treasury. Whether it is the Eastern Palace or the Second Prince, they all need you. I think you understand this."
Fan Xian smiled and didn't say anything, listening to him continue.
"Although the Eastern Palace is showing goodwill to you now, that is because the Eldest Princess has left the capital. Although I don't know why the Eldest Princess hates you so much, I know that in the eyes of the Eastern Palace, a thousand of you are not worth a single word from the Eldest Princess. So you cannot trust the Eastern Palace." Li Hongcheng said very seriously, "Our families have been friends for generations. You and I can be considered friends, so I want to remind you that if it really comes down to it, whether for public or private reasons, I hope you will lean to that side."
He pointed at a lone mountain on the other side of the river. The back of the mountain was cut off by a forest, forming the character "Two."
"What a coincidence." Fan Xian followed the direction of his finger and smiled bitterly as he shook his head. "Lining up is a very stupid thing to do. Hongcheng, I advise you not to line up too early."
"It's not a coincidence. That is the Second Prince's courtyard." Li Hongcheng smiled. "What you say is very similar to what my father said. But there are always many things to do in this world."
Fan Xian shook his head in disagreement. "After seeing the Second Prince today, I feel very strange. He is like a crystal. Why is he not willing to be like King Jing and be a peaceful prince?"
When Li Hongcheng heard him mention his father, his eyes gradually grew cold. The warm smile of the past, like the spring breeze, also disappeared. He said lightly, "There are no private matters in the Emperor's family. There are many things that you cannot hide from even if you want to. You should remember how the previous Emperor, who was my grandfather, ascended to the throne. Two princes were assassinated on the same day. Back then, there was a storm of blood in Jingdou. If you could go back in time, wouldn't you also ask them why they wouldn't let you go? "
Fan Xian felt a chill in his heart. He forced a smile to hide his emotions. "Back then, the country had just been founded, and it was not the same as the current peaceful scene. If the Second Prince had been willing to let you go, the Eastern Palace would not have done anything. Look at King Jing growing flowers and grass in his manor every day. Isn't he also very happy? The Second Prince can see that he really likes literature. Why can't he learn from your father? "
"You've seen the Emperor, and you've seen the Eldest Princess. My father is ranked second, but look at his appearance. He is already an old man." Li Hongcheng said with a smile that was not quite a smile. "Would giving way really have a good result? My father always has a grievance in his heart. Although I don't know the reason, I think it must be because of the Emperor's family. "
In reality, Crown Prince Jing had guessed the real reason why King Jing was now a gardener.
Fan Xian frowned. "But you shouldn't have followed the Second Prince so closely. No matter how you look at it, he is the most unlikely person." In reality, given his friendship with Li Hongcheng, these words were already too direct.
After Li Hongcheng heard this, he was slightly startled. Then a smile rose to his face. He knew that Fan Xian truly considered him a friend. In a quiet voice, he was moved. "If parents bring some desserts and place them in front of the children, we must first indicate that we want to eat them. Then, when the parents distribute the food, they will first think of you."
Fan Xian smiled. "The Second Prince has always been expressing his attitude."
"Correct." Li Hongcheng's gaze left Fan Xian's face. Across the small mountain on the other side of the Liujing River, he looked at the faintly visible Cang Mountain range in the distant sky. In a quiet voice, he said, "The previous Emperor was lucky because he only had two sons. The Emperor is also lucky because he only has three sons. But... when the Great Prince returns, who knows what problems will arise? So the Second Prince must be the first to express his attitude and fight for all the power he can."
"I still don't understand why you chose him."
...
...
"The reason is simple." Li Hongcheng smiled. "I find him more pleasing to the eye."
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows. He knew that the truth of these words could be counted as three out of seven. He could not completely believe it. But his eyes looked at the warm smile on Crown Prince Jing's face, and his face showed no expression. He was not a noble man who wished to be good to himself. He knew that there were many things in this world that he could not avoid, so from the beginning, he had never thought of hiding.
A man in this world should be happy. Of course, in this process, there might be more to it.
Before entering the city, Li Hongcheng very naturally said that he wanted to go sit in a certain restaurant. Fan Xian was too lazy to accompany him, so he raised his hand to bid farewell. As he said goodbye, the Crown Prince, who loved to play with women, said with a faint smile, "Today, the Second Prince wants to see you first because after the examination, you probably won't be able to escape the Crown Prince's invitation."
Fan Xian shivered slightly. He heard a hint of information in the Crown Prince's words. Although he did not have the qualifications to mark the examination papers, he would certainly be watching over the Imperial College and the Board of Rites.
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