Three marriages, just three small interludes, that seemed to be the case. No one knew of Fan Xian's troubles. Whenever he thought of that faint possibility, Fan Xian felt a chill run through his body, and he didn't know what to say. Far away in a foreign country, Wu Zhu, the only person who had no taboos, seemed to have disappeared. There was no one he could talk to about this.
There was nothing that couldn't be said to others, but this couldn't be said to others.
In the eyes of others, Fan Xian seemed to be very happy, and had already begun to make arrangements for the diplomatic mission's return to the capital. The officials thought that Fan Xian was rushing back to the capital to prepare for his sister's marriage, and at the same time, wanted to seize the opportunity to benefit from the court's arrangements after the marriage. No one knew that under Fan Xian's calm, even joyful appearance, he had long since shaken off the shock of the time, and had begun to act according to the plan he had devised long ago, step by step.
Yan Bingyun's words helped Fan Xian to a certain extent. Fan Xian thought that Sir Yan was right to a certain extent — what was the point of thinking so much about something that was impossible? But at the same time, he told himself that if Ruoruo was willing to marry, as her brother, he would make sure her marriage was glorious, happy, and blessed. Even if Li Hongcheng was involved in the Second Prince's struggle for the throne, for Ruoruo's sake, he would ensure the peace of King Jing's manor.
Of course, if Ruoruo did not want to marry, then it would be a completely different story.
Having thought this through, Fan Xian regained his calm, or at least on the surface.
...
...
He had entered the palace twice these past few days, mainly to deal with the first marriage alliance since the founding of the two countries. This was an important matter, and no one, including Fan Xian, dared to be negligent. What made Fan Xian somewhat happy was that, under the pressure of the harem, Shen Zhong and Chang Ninghou had finally lowered their heads. The secret service organizations of the two countries had a preliminary idea of how to distribute the goods from the north through irregular channels, as well as specific measures. In this plan, Fan Xian, as an important figure in both the Overwatch Council and the palace treasury, would naturally reap the most benefits.
In reality, what Fan Xian was happy about was not the matter itself. Although his plans in the future would require financial support, the gains from smuggling were not as great as Fan Xian's plans. What truly made him happy was that, since he was going to make changes to the channel, then the output of goods from Xinyang would certainly be reduced, and the income would certainly be reduced. The Eldest Princess' power would presumably be weakened.
Fan Xian also understood that the Eldest Princess had allowed this to happen because he had promised Xinyang that he would cooperate with Shang Shanhu and rescue Xiao En, who was hiding a shocking secret. This seemed to show that the Eldest Princess still placed the interests of the Qing court above her own. This, which was a bit like an act, surprised Fan Xian.
It was also during these few days that the patient Yan Bingyun's ability to plan things was demonstrated to its greatest extent. When Fan Xian held the case file, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Yan Bingyun's methods were simple, but they were the safest and most appropriate. They preserved the safety of the Qing forces hidden in the north to the greatest extent.
There were many kinds of spies in the Qing Kingdom. Yan Bingyun controlled secret agents, such as the oil shopkeepers and the attendants hidden in the manors of the nobles, and even some officials. There were also open spies, such as the shopkeepers on Xiushui Street and the merchants from the south. Their main purpose was to do business, but they traveled the world, so they naturally had to send useful information back to the Qing Kingdom. These few days, open spies and secret agents began to exert themselves. The intelligence system, which had been in hibernation for a year, began to awaken, and immediately displayed its powerful investigative abilities.
Everything was ready. All that was left was for Shang Shanhu to make his move.
Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun sat in the diplomatic mission, drinking wine in a relaxed manner. Fan Xian looked at the extremely cold Yan Bingyun and said, "Sir Yan, you are my subordinate after all. Can you not give me that look every day?"
"I am not a flattering subordinate," Yan Bingyun replied coldly.
Fan Xian smiled. He knew that this man in front of him, who had been hiding in Northern Qi for four years, had many different faces. Back then, who could have guessed that the great scholar Yun, the son of a sea merchant, who wandered among the nobles, was actually the head spy of the Qing Kingdom? Such a person had to be very good at socializing, and very good at using money and power. Yan Bingyun was treating Fan Xian coldly because he was his superior, and not because he was the target he wanted to deal with.
"Northern Qi really is stupid." Fan Xian took a sip of tea. "I can't believe they let you out so early and let you stay in the diplomatic mission for so many days. If it were me, I wouldn't trade you for ten divisions." This was an allusion from Fan Xian's previous life. Yan Bingyun didn't feel anything when he heard it, nor was he moved in the slightest.
"Perhaps they thought the royal court was stupid enough to trade Xiao En for me." Thinking of this, Yan Bingyun still felt a little depressed. "But Northern Qi didn't have much use for Xiao En, and they still had to think of a way to kill him. That was stupid to the extreme."
Fan Xian sighed and said, "Someone once said that a country is like a person. It can never be a perfectly functioning machine. Often, it changes according to the mood of the ruler. The royal family of Northern Qi was divided, but Ku He's light was too bright, so they imprisoned Xiao En again. If Shang Shanhu wasn't Xiao En's adopted son, I don't think anyone would dare to challenge the royal family's decision. "
"What about you?" Yan Bingyun frowned. "On the way north, you clearly had the opportunity to kill Xiao En, but you let him go. Now he's already in Shangjing, and you want to save him. After saving him, you want to... it really is a little strange. "
Fan Xian smiled. He wouldn't tell anyone about Xiao En's secret, and it was because of this that the process of this matter gradually became absurd and laughable.
He thought about it and explained to Yan Bingyun, "This is like playing chess. Although we all want to checkmate the other side's general in the end, the process of moving the pawns is different, and the benefits we gain from it are also different."
If he had killed Xiao En on the banks of Wuduhe, the pawn Fan Xian had intended to abandon might not have been able to return to his country alive, and Fan Xian would never know where the temple was. And this time, he had used all the power of the Overwatch Council in the north to rescue Xiao En. Fan Xian only wanted to set up a common chess board game, hoping that after so many twists and turns, he could gain something that even Chen Pingping couldn't.
"If Xiao En doesn't escape from prison, the Brocade Guard won't be easy to kill. After all, Shang Shanhu's reputation in the Northern Qi military is very high."
"Xiao En, that old devil. What a pitiful life." A voice sighed. "He's old, and no longer the same as he was."
"I don't recommend you do it yourself." Yan Bingyun looked at him coldly. "If Ku He really does put down his pride and make a move, how will you survive?"
Fan Xian was silent. He didn't dare let anyone else hear Xiao En's secret, so he had to take the risk himself. He slowly tapped the tea table, closing his eyes and imagining himself as a chess player, moving the chessboard clumsily and inexperienced. On both sides of the chessboard were, of course, experienced and farsighted people: Ku He and the Eldest Princess, the Empress Dowager and Shang Shanhu. Compared to these people, Fan Xian was nothing.
But Wan Tong had no other ability, but he had the courage to flip the chessboard.
— — — —
All the routine work was done. The diplomatic mission and the Northern Qi court breathed a sigh of relief and began to feast to their heart's content. Fan Xian was no exception. In the peaceful capital, the only strange thing was that along the banks of Yuquan River, there had been a number of strange murders. Along with these murders, there had been particularly frightening cases of arson. For a few days, the flames reflected a red glow on the river that the people of Northern Qi loved.
Fan Xian knew very well what was hidden behind these murders. When the intelligence agents of the Kingdom of Qing, who had hibernated for a whole year, began to move, the Provost of the Provost of the Brocade Guard, Shen Zhong, must have smelled something amiss. The Brocade Guard, who had taken root among the people of Shangjing, also began to react fiercely and appropriately.
Yan Bingyun estimated that some of the hidden sentries he had set up had already been lost in these murders. After all, in a foreign country, it was impossible to conduct such a large transaction right under the nose of the enemy without alerting them. But the Fourth Bureau's intelligence network in the north had been split into several pieces, so there was no fear of the Brocade Guard digging up too many strongholds.
So Yan Bingyun's expression became more and more gloomy. The Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council only had 17 spies in Shangjing. And now, for the sake of the Eldest Princess and Xiao En, they had paid such a heavy price. He could not help but be angry.
Fan Xian did not say anything to comfort him, nor did he say anything. He just continued to drink, seek pleasure, and call in prostitutes.
...
...
The sixth year of the Tianbao Kingdom, the sixth day of the sixth month of the Great Qi Kingdom. Fan Xian did not believe in the Western legends of the devil from his previous life, so his fingers were steady as he buttoned his cloak. He appeared full of confidence.
He carefully sorted out his weapons and medicines. Some were in his belt, some were in his undergarments. Tied to his left forearm was a hidden crossbow that could fire three bolts at the same time. The Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council's secret smoking powder was in a bag about the size of a knuckle on his right wrist.
Fan Xian looked at the metal box on the table, which was illuminated by the dim light, and narrowed his eyes. After the box was opened, there were three pills, red, blue, and white. They looked strange, and always made people think of some very strange things.
The red pill was not small, but the smell of medicine had faded. It was impossible to tell what it was made of. Many years ago, Fei Jie had left it behind because he was worried about the Tyrannical zhenqi in his body. Fan Xian thought for a moment, then hid the large longan-like pill in his belt.
Looking at the remaining pills, Fan Xian laughed bitterly. He overturned his original idea and put them all away. He might run into that Great Grandmaster, so it was better to have more life-saving items.
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