Wang Qinian glanced at Fan Xian, as if trying to find something strange on his face. After all, if Si Lili were to leave, she would forever be in the palace, and the two of them would probably never see each other again.
Unexpectedly, Fan Xian's face was still calm, and his eyes were as clear as a lake. He smiled and walked forward, bowing to Si Lili through the crowd of women. Just as he was about to say something, a pair of disdainful eyes stared at him from the side.
Fan Xian was a little annoyed. He turned his head and saw that it was an old nanny dressed in clothing that clearly had some status.
Before he could speak, the old nanny spoke coldly and disdainfully. "Southern Qi official, Lady Si has now set foot on our territory. She no longer needs to be reprimanded by you, right?"
Fan Xian frowned, wondering where this was coming from. Then he heard the old woman whisper to herself in disdain, "This official of the southern court dares to stare at a young lady. He has no manners at all."
This old nanny was an old member of the royal palace, and had always had a high status. When Si Lili was a child living in the royal palace in Shangjing, Northern Qi, she had served her. This time, the Northern Qi Emperor was heartbroken that Si Lili had suffered in Qing, and was afraid that she had been wronged by Qing officials on the way here, so he had ordered the old nanny to come to the border and let Si Lili recover.
Fan Xian frowned again. Suddenly, he walked toward the carriage where Si Lili was standing. The zhenqi in his body was tyrannical, and at this moment, he only released a little bit of it, but it was enough to make the women around him cry out and fall to the side, making a path for him. At the other end of the path was Si Lili, who was sitting uneasily under the carriage.
"What a rude fellow!" The old nanny was furious. "What do you want, you southern barbarian? Someone, kick this man out. "
Hearing this, the Brocade Guards and officials from Northern Qi hurried over. A few of them were unprepared to draw their scimitars from their waists. The Northern Qi official who received the diplomatic mission knew of Fan Xian's background. He was the son-in-law of the Prime Minister, the eldest son of the minister of state, the consort of the Qing Emperor, and the immortal poet who had provoked Northern Qi's Zhuang Mohan into vomiting blood … This was no ordinary official!
In last year's battle, Northern Qi had suffered consecutive defeats, and in this diplomatic agreement, they were the guilty party. How could they dare to be rude to such an important person? The official quickly dismissed the Brocade Guard.
The old nanny was even angrier. She pointed at the official and scolded, "How can we allow these Southern barbarians to act so presumptuously on our territory!" Relying on his time in the Royal Palace, Old Yu only knew the depths of Houhai. How could he know the depths of the world? He gritted his worm-like teeth, puffed up his cheeks, and waved his withered palm toward Fan Xian's face.
"Pa!" Fan Xian smiled and held the old nanny's wrist. He tilted his head to look at her.
The old grandma felt her hair stand on end from the stare, but she still forced herself to say: "Let go! See if I don't slap you for real! "
Another smack! This time, it was the old nanny who had been slapped in the face. Her legs gave way, and she fell into the yellow dirt on the official road. The old woman covered her pained face and looked at Fan Xian in shock. Perhaps it had been many years since she had been hit, so after being hit, she was so shocked that she forgot to cry out in pain.
Fan Xian pulled back his hand. He was disgusted by the old bark he had touched. He wiped it on his clothes and said quietly, "Since you say I am a Southern barbarian, then I will show you."
This slap made everyone feel dizzy. No one could have imagined that Commissioner Fan Xian, the immortal of poetry, would raise his hand against an old woman. The official quickly wiped away his sweat and explained, "She is an old member of the palace. Even the common officials have to give her some face."
Fan Xian looked at the old woman, who was sitting on the ground and covering her mouth. He shook his head slightly and smiled. "I am not an official of Northern Qi, so I don't have to give her face. Don't say she's an old member of the palace. In my heart, she is a shameless old member of the palace."
These words were far too arrogant. He didn't even care about the face of the Northern Qi palace. The official gritted his teeth and lowered his head. He knew that the situation was not in his favor. Even if Fan Xian had hit her, he couldn't say anything.
Fan Xian walked directly to the side of the carriage through the empty path. No one dared to stop him now. He smiled and looked at Si Lili. "Take care of yourself in the palace," he said quietly.
Si Lili curtsied slightly. The panic in her eyes had now been well concealed. She pursed her lips and replied lightly, "You have taken care of me on the way. I have nothing to repay you for your kindness. I am truly at a loss as to what to do."
Fan Xian smiled. "What to do … is good. Don't worry." With a few simple words, he had determined the future of Si Lili's brother in the capital. Fan Xian silently retreated, standing far away in the middle of his envoy's carriages. He watched as the old man and woman, who had traveled with him for a long time, boarded Northern Qi's carriage.
He narrowed his eyes and felt that something was strange. Northern Qi did not seem to treat this as a secret agreement. Logically speaking, Xiao En should have been secretly sent to Shangjing. With so many Brocade Guards present today, there was no way to hide it. If Shang Shanhu asked for Xiao En from the royal family of Northern Qi, how would the young emperor respond? Haitang's side was another opposing force. It seemed that the royal family of Northern Qi was in for a headache.
Fan Xian was also curious about how Si Lili was being treated. He could see that the Emperor really liked her, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to receive her. But even if Si Lili was the granddaughter of the Qing Prince, after all these years, she had long since lost her value … Could it be that the young Emperor really believed in love? But wouldn't the empress dowager be angry at such a serious matter? How could Si Lili enter the palace?
The old man with the broken legs boarded the carriage in silence. Fan Xian couldn't help but sigh to himself. Xiao En had just gotten off the prisoner's carriage, and now he was in another. How could one carriage carry the twenty years of separation and the loss of freedom?
— — —
After entering Northern Qi, the Black Knights quietly returned to their encampment near the capital. The safety of the envoy was left to the Northern Qi Brocade Guards and the troops along the way. Fan Xian had a rare moment of leisure, and he was quite content. In any case, they were on foreign soil. Even if they were given 800 times more courage, they wouldn't dare to do anything to the envoy.
The trip was a pleasant one. Most of the people in the envoy were old people who had been to Northern Qi. Even Wang Qinian had done business between the two countries for free. The only ones who seemed excited about going abroad were Fan Xian and the seven Tiger Guards.
Although the Tiger Guards, led by Gao Da, still maintained the stern and stern air that experts should maintain, one could tell from their incessant gazes that they were very interested in the foreign scenery.
Fan Xian laughed. "We've opened our eyes to the foreign world. But the scenery of Northern Qi isn't much different from that of Qing. It's just that the trees are different. Even the temperature isn't cold. It's much warmer than the wasteland southwest of the Great Lake."
Wang Qinian explained, "Although Northern Qi is in the northeast, the weather is actually quite good."
Gao Da suddenly spoke in a low voice. Because he rarely spoke, Fan Xian was very interested. He said, "The scenery of Northern Qi is indeed good. My greatest wish in life is to follow His Majesty on his fourth northern expedition, to bring this territory under the jurisdiction of Qing, and to help His Majesty unify the world."
The carriage rattled along the official road. Outside the window, the green leaves of the deciduous trees, large and small, swayed in the wind created by the carriage, as if they were shaking their heads and sighing.
Fan Xian sighed. "On this beautiful spring day, let's talk less about fighting and killing."
Although he said this, he still quietly explained all the things that they should pay attention to in Shangjing. This time, there was no need to negotiate. As for the implementation of last year's agreement, it shouldn't be too difficult, but there were some things that needed to be taken care of. Aside from Fan Xian, Wang Qinian, and Gao Da, the only other person in the carriage was the deputy of the diplomatic mission, Master Lin Jing of the Chamberlain of Chamberlain. So there was nothing taboo about their conversation, as long as it wasn't overheard by the people of Northern Qi outside.
There was still a long way to go from Wuduhe to Shangjing. As the carriage traveled eastward day by day, Fan Xian's brows gradually furrowed. He was no longer in the mood to look at the dull scenery outside the carriage. In his heart, he was thinking, where should Xiao En be at this time? And Si Lili? Before she entered the palace, what kind of identity would the young Emperor arrange for her? Chen Pingping's plan of white sleeves had already been secretly broken by Fan Xian. Would Fan Xian's plan of red sleeves come to fruition one day?
Seeing that Fan Xian was not in a good mood, Lin Jing respectfully said, "Sir, although the diplomatic mission is safe, the journey is long and tiring. Please be patient, sir."
He was well aware of Fan Xian's status. That day at Wuduhe, when he had slapped the old nanny, Lin Jing didn't think it was a big deal. Given Fan Xian's status and temper, in the capital of the Kingdom of Qing, he would even dare to beat up the Guo family and Guard Ye's only daughter, let alone a mere servant woman. He also knew that this diplomatic mission would be carried out according to Fan Xian's orders. He was just a minor character dealing with miscellaneous matters, so he was afraid that Fan Xian would be in a bad mood and cause trouble. He hurriedly said, "Shangjing is one of the most prosperous places in the world. The women there are more elegant than those on Liujing River in the capital. When the time comes, you should go and see."
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