After leaving the capital, the diplomatic mission immediately sped up. Along the way, they were no longer accompanied by the disdainful gazes of the garrison generals from afar. The members of the diplomatic mission, including the officials of the Overwatch Council, appeared to be much more relaxed.
It was now the third month of spring, and the further north they went, the richer the colors of spring became. It was truly a strange sight.
Along the way, there were local officials who received them. They all knew that this diplomatic mission was headed to Northern Qi, and naturally, none of the officials dared to slight them. Furthermore, the leader of this diplomatic mission was the famous Sir Fan junior, so the local officials were especially attentive in receiving them. Although they did not dare to delay the diplomatic mission's schedule, every time they arrived, there was always a feast. Beautiful women came to keep them company, and at the banquet, there was no stopping flattery for Fan Xian.
Only now did Fan Xian realize how famous he was in the Kingdom of Qing. He couldn't help but feel a little smug, and at the beginning of the banquets, he refused no one. But after going so many times, he couldn't help but grow tired. And every time, he had to repeat his vow that he would no longer compose poetry. It was truly troublesome.
Wang Qinian quite liked going, because the dancers at the banquets wore light muslin, and it was very entertaining. Every time they went, the local officials would extravagantly arrange for the local popular girls to accompany them. Every night, they would have hundreds of tricks up their sleeves. How could the sallow women in the capital compare?
But this arrangement did not appeal to Fan Xian, because there was a girl in the diplomatic mission that even the Emperor of Northern Qi could not forget: Si Lili, the most popular girl in the capital.
As a result, Fan Xian gradually stopped attending banquets. He only chose to speak with some of his father's old acquaintances and high-ranking officials. Most of the time, he stayed at the diplomatic mission's encampment. On the one hand, he watched over Xiao En, and on the other, he could spend more time in Si Lili's carriage.
Counting on his fingers, it had been more than half a month since they left the capital. During this time, Fan Xian spent most of his time in Si Lili's carriage. That's right. A group of men would get tired of listening to the crosstalk. How could it compare to chatting with a beautiful woman in a carriage?
Si Lili carefully peeled the orange, then carefully scraped away the white tendons before putting the orange into Fan Xian's mouth.
In the diplomatic mission, Fan Xian was the most powerful, and the officials of the Overwatch Council followed his lead. The Tiger Guards were even more loyal. No matter what he did, no one dared to say anything.
But as Fan Xian closed his eyes and slowly chewed on the orange, for some reason, he thought of his sister. When he was in the capital, Ruoruo often served him fruits like this. Then he thought of his wife, Wan'er, who was still at home. His eyes opened slightly, and through a small crack in his eyelids, he peeked at Si Lili, who was concentrating on processing the oranges. A sense of unease welled up in his heart.
During the journey, he and Si Lili didn't do much. They just chatted, ate some fruit, and passed the time. They didn't even mention their plans for Shangjing in the Northern Qi Kingdom. Of course, they occasionally rubbed their tired bodies, held hands, or hugged each other to look at the scenery outside the window.
"What are you thinking about?" Seeing Fan Xian in a daze, Si Lili smiled sweetly. These days together, all she saw was Fan Xian's gentle and delicate side. She had actually forgotten the horrible scene of him bullying the weak in the Celestial Prison. The girl seemed to like the feeling of sitting and chatting in the carriage. Deep in her heart, she secretly hoped that the journey would never end.
"I'm thinking … You've been taking good care of yourself these days. Your plumpness is gradually returning." Fan Xian teased. "When we first left the capital, your body … made my hands hurt."
Si Lili blushed slightly. "Then don't touch me."
Fan Xian smiled and took her hand. Holding her wrist, he pulled her into his arms. His palm slowly stroked her body. "You don't like it?"
"I've had a hard life. You bullied me, drugged me on the pleasure boat, tortured me in the Celestial Prison, and now I can't escape your evil clutches in this carriage …" Si Lili said this, but her whole body was in Fan Xian's arms. She felt that this young man's embrace was very warm, and she didn't want to leave. She felt Fan Xian's hand moving on her bottom through her clothes. Her heartbeat was a little erratic. Her red lips opened slightly, and she blew into Fan Xian's ear.
Fan Xian's ear felt hot and itchy, and his palm unconsciously tightened.
Si Lili called out softly, her voice like silk. She panted softly in his ear. "Take me. Going to Shangjing won't end well anyway."
…
…
After a moment, Fan Xian smiled and jumped out of the carriage. There was a hint of strangeness in his smile.
There was poison in Si Lili's body, a slow-acting poison. Fan Xian had long found out that it had been planted by the Overwatch Council in advance.
Fan Xian had seen this poison in the books Teacher Fei had left behind, but he had never seen it in real life. This poison would slowly spread through a woman's body and then spread to a man through intercourse. As long as the Northern Qi Emperor and Si Lili slept together, he could be infected with this poison. The symptoms were very similar to a common venereal disease.
No wonder Chen Pingping was so serious. It turned out that the House of Red Sleeves was not a copy of Xi Shi entering Wu, but a plan to poison people.
There was no cure for this poison, but it could effectively weaken a person's body and mind. Think about it, if the Northern Qi Emperor really loved Si Lili, and spent every night with her, he would soon fall seriously ill. And given the current situation of the Northern Qi Emperor and the Emperor's factions confronting each other, if the young Emperor fell seriously ill, Northern Qi's court would once again descend into chaos.
Fan Xian sighed. Si Lili knew there was poison in her body, but she thought it was just a method the Overwatch Council used to control her. She didn't know it could be transmitted to the men she slept with.
What made him uncomfortable was that Chen Pingping hadn't told him about this. If he hadn't felt something strange when he was intimate with Si Lili, he wouldn't have discovered it. Of course, even if he had been infected with this poison, he could immediately be cured, but the feeling of being kept in the dark was still not good.
"The House of Red Sleeves?" He smiled bitterly in his carriage. "So it's the House of White Sleeves, to summon the soul."
He knew that compared to Chen Pingping, Fei Jie, and even Xiao En in the carriage behind him, his methods were not vicious enough, and his heart was not cold enough. Si Lili was just a pawn, a pawn that could be discarded at any time. But he didn't know what Chen Pingping had promised her to make her willingly become a pawn covered by a black cloth.
But what truly shocked Fan Xian was something else. This was the real reason why nothing had actually happened between Fan Xian and Si Lili for more than ten days.
Si Lili was still a virgin.
— — —
The diplomatic mission had already arrived in the northern part of the Kingdom of Qing. Ahead of them was the last large city in the north of the Kingdom of Qing: Cangzhou. Looking at the city from a distance, Fan Xian narrowed his eyes slightly. He found that the color of the sky had darkened. The northern wind was strong and had scattered the spring air in all directions. Dark clouds covered the sky. It was truly an unpleasant weather.
After the last provincial guard in charge of escorting them came to salute, they began to turn back. Only the diplomatic mission's own carriages were left. Although the carriages were very long, in the wasteland outside Cangzhou, they still seemed small and pitiful.
"How long will it take to leave Cangzhou and reach the border?" Fan Xian squinted and gazed at the northern sky.
Wang Qinian respectfully replied, "This time, we're going around the lake, so it's a bit further. It'll take at least twenty days."
Fan Xian frowned. "The real danger should be in these twenty days." He tilted his head slightly and looked at the carriage that had remained silent all this time. "How is Xiao En's current condition?"
"Sir, you've been injecting him with a large dose of poison every day. I'm guessing he's been working hard to force the poison out, so he's been very quiet. Ever since he woke up a few days ago, he's become very quiet. It seems he's thinking about something."
"Be careful." Fan Xian sniffed. It seemed that the smell of blood in the carriage was getting stronger.
"Yes, sir." Wang Qinian asked for instructions. "The provincial guard has already retreated. The Cangzhou army is not at ease. Sir, you know what happened last time when Si Lili was escorted back to the capital."
Fan Xian smiled. "Don't worry. Once we pass Cangzhou, we'll be the most at ease in terms of escorting them. I'm only worried about the internal problems of the diplomatic mission."
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of cavalry appeared on a low hill far away from the edge of the wasteland. There were about five hundred of them, and they were all wearing black armor. Under the dim sunlight, they emanated a cold, murderous aura.
Wang Qinian smiled. "So the Black Knights are here. Then there's nothing to worry about."
...
...
A gust of wind blew past, causing the gravel on the ground to roll. Wang Qinian and Fan Xian prepared to board the carriage and head toward Cangzhou. Fan Xian suddenly stopped and slowly turned his head. He found that Si Lili had already stepped out of the carriage and was standing beside it, looking at him with a perplexed expression.
"Get someone to give Miss Si more clothes. The further north we go, the colder it gets. Spring comes so damn late." Fan Xian seemed to speak calmly, but his heart trembled. These days, he had rarely seen Si Lili's carriage.
Wang Qinian looked at Fan Xian strangely, then waved his subordinates away. There were three handmaidens in the diplomatic mission. They were there to serve Si Lili, the future wife of the Emperor of Northern Qi. But Fan Xian had been in Si Lili's carriage for the past few days, so the three handmaidens could only follow behind the convoy. After a while, the handmaidens came to Si Lili's side. They gave her a crimson cloak and advised her to return to the carriage to rest.
Si Lili allowed them to put the cloak on her, but she did not return to the carriage. She only looked at Fan Xian quietly, as if trying to figure out something from his face.
The black knights in the distance, the frail woman in the crimson cloak close by, and the pale white sun hanging in the sky — it was a beautiful picture, but one that made one's heart feel powerless.
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