"A heartless man is not necessarily a true hero. How can a compassionate son not be a true man?" Haitang repeated slowly. Her face returned to her usual smile, and she led Fan Xian through the wooden door of the little temple.
"Master Fan." Si Lili curtsied. Fan Xian, with a warm and distant smile, cupped his hands in greeting. "When did you enter Shangjing, Miss Si?"
"Thanks to your good fortune, I entered the capital three days ago. I had a safe journey. Thank you for your concern." Si Lili slowly lowered her eyelids. She was still wearing the light green robe she had worn during the journey. The weather was hot, and she was not afraid of catching a cold.
Fan Xian quietly said a few more words to her.
Haitang watched calmly from the side, but there was a glimmer of a smile in her eyes. How could the unfamiliar expressions on their faces escape her eyes? Fan Xian felt a little strange. Why had Haitang brought him to the temple where Si Lili was staying? And where were the palace nannies who had always served Si Lili? Did Haitang not know that as a foreign official, he should maintain a distance of three thousand miles from the woman the Emperor of Northern Qi wanted?
"This is where I live." Haitang explained the confusion in Fan Xian's heart. "It is not convenient for Lili to enter the palace, so His Majesty has asked me to take care of her."
Fan Xian laughed bitterly. Only now did he remember that Si Lili had once said that these two girls were close friends in the Northern Qi palace. He suddenly thought of something. Could it be that Ku He also lived in the palace? Although the temple was far away, Fan Xian still had some reservations. After a few casual words, he said to Haitang, "I will wait for you outside." Without waiting for Haitang and Si Lili to reply, he left the door and waited outside in the courtyard.
After he left, Haitang quietly looked at Si Lili. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "I brought him here to see you. Don't you have anything to say to him?"
Si Lili raised her head, and a trace of confusion flashed across her charming face. She said quietly, "I said I don't want to see him, and I reckon he doesn't want to see me either. Right now, he is outside the door, and I don't know how he will complain about you. Haitang, you are too reckless. Even if you are Ku He's disciple, you should do less of this taboo thing."
Haitang smiled gently. "What is there to be afraid of? Our Majesty is not a petty person."
...
…
In another elegant and clean small room, wisps of fragrance gradually filled the meditation room. The tea on the table mixed with the amber color of the furniture, making people feel very tranquil.
"Why did you bring me to see Si Lili?" Fan Xian sat cross-legged on the other side of the tea table, frowning. His elegant face finally showed some worry. He was working hard to make arrangements for Xiao En, but Si Lili was a hot potato.
"I told you about Yan Bingyun earlier," Haitang said with a smile. "I wanted to see if Master Fan was the same as the other filthy things in the world."
"The term 'impure substance' is novel and absurd."
"Have you never read The Story of the Stone, Master Fan?" Haitang seemed surprised.
Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't respond. He just smiled bitterly and said, "Miss Haitang, have you misunderstood something? Miss Si Lili is just a criminal I've been escorting along the way. She's just a target in the agreement. I have nothing to do with her. "
"Milord, you've misunderstood me." Haitang said softly, "Today, I have invited you to my humble abode because there is something I need your help with."
"What is it?" Fan Xian asked directly.
Haitang smiled and said, "Actually, it's something His Majesty was worried about when he left you in the palace."
Fan Xian looked at her and found that her ordinary face easily made people feel close to her. He asked curiously, "Clearly, His Majesty didn't want you to know about his troubles at the time."
Haitang used her left hand to gently roll up the sleeve of her right hand. With two fingers, she brought a small teacup to her lips. She slowly took a sip and said, "The Emperor truly did not want me to know in the beginning, but his distress and I have been good friends for many years. Furthermore, in the Qi court, there are not many people, other than me, who are willing to help him resolve this distress."
"I've always been confused." Fan Xian could, of course, guess what the young Emperor of Northern Qi was worried about. He smiled and said, "Since everyone in the court is opposed to Si Lili entering the palace, why does your Emperor still insist on going his own way? Looking at the current situation, Si Lili can only temporarily stay in Miss Haitang's residence, and presumably the Empress Dowager won't allow her to enter the palace. "
"Master Fan, are you suspecting that there's more to this matter?"
"Correct. I've never believed that there's such a thing as affection in the royal family." For some reason, Fan Xian was faintly unhappy, and his words were much sharper.
Haitang stared at him calmly. After a while, she said, "Emperors are also people. How can you say anything about the matters between men and women?"
Fan Xian shook his head and thought of the emperors of his previous world. Perhaps Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was an exception, but in the end, didn't Yang Guifei turn into a wisp of a fragrant soul at Mawei?
"Master Fan is already married," Haitang said casually.
Fan Xian was slightly surprised. He thought of his wife at home, and of their first meeting in front of the incense burner in the temple of Qing. He couldn't help but smile, full of happiness.
Haitang looked at his facial expression and sighed to herself. She smiled and said, "I hear that Master Fan and your wife are very close. If someone tried to stop you two from being together, what would you do?"
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows and did not reply. But if there really was someone in this world who dared to come between him and Wan'er, that person must be seeking death. Gradually, he seemed to understand the feelings of the young Emperor in the palace. But when he thought of how the Emperor admired Si Lili, Fan Xian still felt a little strange. Even though the agreement between him and Si Lili was that they were only in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Haitang's request was actually what Fan Xian wanted. If Si Lili couldn't enter the palace, the only thing that would be lost would be the Overwatch Council of Qing. He just couldn't guess why she would want to find him.
Haitang said, "No one in the court is willing to help His Majesty welcome Si Lili into the palace. You should know that Si Lili's identity in the south is problematic. After all, I am limited by my status and have no right to speak in this matter. "
Fan Xian laughed coldly. "She's working for Northern Qi." He then asked, "Do I have any right to speak? I'm just a foreign official. After Wuduhe, this matter should have nothing to do with me. "
Haitang smiled. "His Majesty and I only wish to borrow your wisdom, Master Fan."
Fan Xian couldn't help but laugh. He gently smoothed down the hair on his head with his fingers. "Miss Haitang, you truly think highly of me."
Haitang calmly said, "Master Fan was originally a nameless person, but in a year's time, you've become the world's most famous immortal poet, a powerful figure in the south. If you say you have no wisdom, no one in the world would believe you."
"I'll think of something, but I don't know if it will work." Fan Xian picked up a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp. "The key is still the Empress Dowager. If she isn't willing, nothing will work."
Haitang stood up and bowed slightly. "I thank you in advance."
"It seems that the relationship between you and Si Lili is not shallow." Fan Xian bowed in return. "If I ever need your help in the future, I hope you will remember the friendship between us today."
Haitang expressionlessly replied, "As long as it doesn't involve the politics of our country, I promise to do so."
Fan Xian said, "Don't worry. What I want you to do may never happen. If it does, it will only be an internal problem of the Kingdom of Qing, and you won't have to go against the natural order that you've always pursued."
"That's good." Haitang relaxed a little.
— — —
As the head envoy of the south, all of Fan Xian's movements in Shangjing had to be monitored by the court of Northern Qi. This was a tacit understanding and habit between the two sides, so it was rare for him to have complete freedom of movement. But today was an exception. Fan Xian was taking a stroll with Haitang, and Haitang clearly didn't like the rats of the Brocade Guard following them, so they walked together under an umbrella. It looked like they were strolling leisurely, but they had thrown off all the spies. He believed that the Brocade Guard wouldn't have the courage to follow them even after Haitang had clearly expressed her hostility.
After leaving the wondrous little temple where the two girls lived, Fan Xian stretched. He didn't see any familiar Brocade Guard around the corner. A happy smile appeared on his face, and he walked into an alleyway at the corner of the street.
There was no clear sky after the rain. Only a cool breeze blew the dew that fell from the branches, brushing past his cheeks.
Thinking of Si Lili and the Emperor, Fan Xian still didn't quite understand. But the topic that Haitang had just mentioned made this seventeen-year-old man's thoughts return to the capital, to the side of his wife and sister. Homesickness began to rise, and a warm feeling began to fill his chest.
Occasionally, pedestrians passed by the alley. Some laborers were pushing handcarts, taking shortcuts to get to the shops where they worked. Fan Xian's face wore a gentle smile, as beautiful as the sun, and he slowly walked toward the alley.
A handcart came from behind him, and as it brushed past him, Fan Xian flicked his wrist, and the black dagger he had been holding in his palm stabbed horizontally.
With a muffled squelch, the dagger pierced the throat of a spy dressed as a laborer. The cold blade entered the flesh, and the man fell to the ground.
In the next moment, Fan Xian was already stepping on the overturned handcart. His whole body floated to the end of the alley like a shadow. His fingers held a poisonous needle, and he stabbed it into a major acupoint in the chest of a man. His left hand strangely shot out from under his right armpit, and three crossbow bolts shot out at the same time, nailing a stunned man to death.
With a backhand slap, he shattered the neck of the paralyzed man. Fan Xian took off his clothes, turned over, and used the rain hat to cover his face and his sunny smile. He pulled the crossbow bolts from the dead man's body and walked out of the alley.
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