The night rain fell on foreign soil, making a familiar pitter-patter. Fan Xian took a sip of tea and said to Wang Qinian, "Write a secret letter immediately. Have the Council investigate the relationship between the Cui clan and Xinyang."
Wang Qinian looked at him and said quietly, "We cannot touch the Eldest Princess."
"Of course I know we cannot touch her." Fan Xian knew that the things that the Eldest Princess had done were actually all tacitly approved by the Emperor. But today's unfriendly meeting with Shen Zhong only strengthened a certain idea in Fan Xian's heart. "I just want to find out how much power Xinyang has in the court."
"Yes." Wang Qinian agreed and continued, "Master Cui is still kneeling outside. Sir... do you think we should let him rise? After all, the Cui clan is a large clan in the capital, and there are several high-ranking officials in the court. "
Fan Xian's eyes were fixed on the intelligence report sent by the Council. He ignored Wang Qinian's words. The group of angels were in Shangjing, and before Yan Bingyun returned, Fan Xian did not dare to use the intelligence network in Northern Qi. So his source of intelligence had shrunk, which made him very vexed. After a while, he seemed to hear what Wang Qinian said. He said quietly, "Let him kneel. As a citizen of Qing, he is being used by Northern Qi. I will teach him a lesson on behalf of my mother-in-law."
...
...
The rain gradually lessened, dripping down from the eaves. This courtyard was an old building, so the places where the rain fell had sunk slightly. Fan Xian put on a robe and walked out of the room. He looked at Cui kneeling in front of the stone steps and did not speak for a long time.
The other members of the diplomatic mission had long since avoided this small courtyard, so it was especially quiet.
"You should know very well what you should do if your family still wants to do business in the north." Fan Xian looked coldly at the soaked Cui. "I will spare your life for today. Write a letter to Xinyang. As for how the Eldest Princess will punish you, that is your business. But while I am in Shangjing, I do not wish to see you sitting with those people from Northern Qi."
Cui kowtowed heavily, burying his upper body in the puddles on the ground. He trembled and did not dare to speak.
"Let me remind you again, I am the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council. Even if the Eldest Princess is protecting you, if I really want the Cui family to suffer, I have many ways to do so." Fan Xian said, "Although this is a very vulgar threat, I think for a stupid person like you, if you don't make it clear, you will still be used as a knife by the Northern Qi people next time. That would not be good."
Master Cui was still kneeling miserably. At the time, he had woken up in the rear courtyard of Panshan Lin. Only then did he realize how big a mistake he had made. Putting aside Fan Xian's identity as the Overwatch Council that everyone feared, he was the son-in-law of the Eldest Princess. In Fan Xian's eyes, Master Cui was at most an ant. Today, he had acted on his own to see what the Overwatch Council wanted to do with Northern Qi. Originally, he had considered the issue from the Eldest Princess's point of view. But if Fan Xian really wanted to deal with him, he feared that the Eldest Princess would not bother to protect him.
Given Fan Xian's current power and influence, aristocratic families were really not worth his attention.
"Let's put it plainly." Fan Xian looked at him. "You work for the Eldest Princess. Naturally, I will not make things difficult for you. But right now, I want to do something, so I hope you can see the situation clearly. "
"Yes, Master Fan," Master Cui said in a trembling voice. "I have made a mistake."
"We are all officials of the Kingdom of Qing. No matter what happens in the court, once we leave the country, we must remember that you and I are both citizens of Qing. Do not let outsiders laugh at us. This is what angers me the most."
…
…
After this little interlude, Xinyang carefully maintained their respect for the diplomatic mission, and Northern Qi finally felt Fan Xian's power. More accurately, they felt the power of the Overwatch Council of the southern court. Shen Zhong had always made deals with Xinyang, so when Fan Xian proposed this deal through Chang Ninghou, he did not think much of it. But looking at the current situation, it seemed that the rumors were true — if Fan Xian really did control the palace treasury in the coming year, the Eldest Princess would lose her power, and Shen Zhong's Discipline Commission would offend Fan Xian, then a large source of income would be cut off.
The Northern Qi palace also knew of this matter. The Empress Dowager fiercely questioned Shen Zhong. Shen Zhong was full of anxiety. Who would have thought that Commissioner Fan would not even give him a chance to bargain? And the news that Master Cui had knelt at the diplomatic mission that night had also reached the ears of the Brocade Guard. Shen Zhong knew that he had to look at Fan Xian in a new light.
But no one could have guessed that Fan Xian actually did not want to discuss the deal. A few times, Shen Zhong sent people to invite Fan Xian, but Fan Xian coldly pushed them away, as if he did not want to talk.
"Sir, what exactly do you want?" Wang Qinian was Fan Xian's most trusted confidant. There were many things that even the Overwatch Council did not know, but Wang Qinian was well aware of them. He knew that Fan Xian had secretly done many things to deal with the Eldest Princess of Xinyang, but the Eldest Princess did not seem to have noticed.
But now, Fan Xian looked as if he wanted to reconcile with the Eldest Princess. This puzzled Wang Qinian.
"I want everyone to not know what I want to do." Fan Xian straightened his clothes. Without turning his head, he said quietly, "The Eldest Princess has a favor to ask of me. Naturally, I want to take advantage of this opportunity to gain some benefits."
Wang Qinian still did not understand, and Fan Xian did not explain further.
— — —
That afternoon, a carriage entered the diplomatic mission's encampment through a corner gate. The carriage looked very shabby and ordinary. Whether it was the carriage's decoration or the coachman's appearance, there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. But everyone in charge of the diplomatic mission's security could clearly feel the tension inside. Outside, the shadows of the Northern Qi Brocade Guard could be seen everywhere.
Fan Xian looked at the carriage and said something that seemed completely unrelated to the current situation. "It seems Si Lili has also arrived in Shangjing."
A young man in a white robe pushed open the carriage door and slowly moved forward. He stood there, looking at the sky above his head. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and then lowered his head to look at the people in the courtyard who were looking at him. He could easily sense the smell of the courtyard from these people, and he could not help but smile faintly.
Fan Xian walked forward and condescendingly took Yan Bingyun's uninjured right hand. He carefully helped him out of the carriage, and said quietly, "Welcome home."
For the people of Qing, the diplomatic mission's location was like their homeland. Yan Bingyun had been imprisoned for a year, and had long since prepared to die. Although he still could not accept the agreement to trade Xiao En for himself, now that he had set foot on the diplomatic mission's grounds and heard Fan Xian's words of welcome home, he could not help but feel moved.
There were no civil officials from the Office of the Grand Herald in the courtyard. Aside from the seven Tiger Guards, everyone else was an official of the Overwatch Council hidden within the diplomatic mission. They all looked at this young man, who had difficulty walking, and bowed in unison. "Greetings, Master Yan!"
Their voices were not impassioned, nor were they loud, but their sincerity could be felt.
Yan Bingyun smiled and said nothing. He only said quietly, "I am very surprised to be able to come out alive."
Fan Xian held his hand and laughed. "I am also surprised that your fingernails were not completely pulled out."
These two future deputy heads of the Overwatch Council spoke very softly, and only they could hear each other.
...
...
Yan Bingyun returned to the diplomatic mission. His mission to Northern Qi was half complete. Fan Xian felt reassured. He said a few words to Wang Qinian, then helped Yan Bingyun into the inner chamber. "Take off your clothes. I didn't hold back."
It was clear that Yan Bingyun would not misunderstand anything. He slowly tore off his white clothes, revealing his well-proportioned naked body. Fan Xian raised his eyebrows. He thought of how he had felt when he had changed clothes in the capital's Third Bureau. He found that Yan Bingyun was indeed much calmer than he was.
He took out a box of medicine from a box and used his fingers to pick out some, then began to evenly apply it to Yan Bingyun's body. Wherever his fingers passed, the wounds rose and fell. The horror of the wounds was indescribable.
"I always thought you were just a lucky man," Yan Bingyun said coldly. Yan Bingyun said coldly, "But for Commissioner Fan to be able to remain so calm after seeing my wounds, it seems that you are much stronger than I thought."
Fan Xian's fingers stopped at the left side of Yan Bingyun's chest. The bones there had clearly been reattached after they had been broken. There was a large bulge, and on the outside was light red new skin. It looked very ugly. "That's because you don't understand how I grew up."
"I thought I understood it very well." Yan Bingyun looked into his eyes coldly. "Master Fan, I understand your life from the time you were born to the age of 12."
Fan Xian tilted his head slightly and looked at him. He said nothing.
Yan Bingyun sank into silence as well. It seemed he did not want to continue this topic. After a while, he said, "Thank you, Master, for treating my wounds. But I think I should be better at making medicine than you are. In a moment, please allow me to write down a prescription, and have the diplomatic mission help me get a few doses of medicine. "
Fan Xian ignored him. He continued to apply the medicine, complementing it with the healing methods he had learned since childhood.
"Eat him." Fan Xian unceremoniously stuffed a pill into Yan Bingyun's mouth. He said coldly, "When it comes to treating wounds and detoxifying poisons, there is no one in this world who dares to clamor in front of me."
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