"Mother likes peace and quiet." The young emperor leaned back on the couch and took a sip of the swallow's nest that a eunuch had brought him. He frowned and waved his hand for all the palace maids and eunuchs to leave. The palace hall immediately quieted down.
Fan Xian bowed slightly. "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Seeing how cautious the southern envoy was, the Emperor of Northern Qi smiled. "Minister Fan," he said, "you will be leaving for home the day after tomorrow. Make sure you take good care of the First Princess."
Fan Xian was startled. Only now did he realize that he had not been paying attention to this important matter. Welcoming the First Princess back home to be married was an important matter. There could be no mistakes on the journey. These days, he had long learned from Yan Bingyun that this Great Princess of Northern Qi had been raised deep in the Palace. She was the half-brother of the Emperor in front of him. Her birth mother had long died in some cold palace. The Great Princess had never been liked by the empress dowager, which was why she was willing to let her become a sacrifice in a political marriage.
He didn't know why the Emperor had suddenly mentioned the First Princess. Logically speaking, the Emperor should not have had much of a relationship with that sister.
But seeing the faint worry on the Emperor's face, Fan Xian knew that he had guessed wrong. As expected, the Emperor sighed. "The First Princess has never left the palace. Now that she is married off to the south, even though I am the Son of Heaven, I cannot protect her."
Fan Xian said sincerely, "Do not worry, Your Majesty. The Great Prince is a hero of our kingdom, and is most respected by the people. The Great Princess and the Great Prince will certainly live in harmony in the future, and they will grow old together. All the officials in the court will treat the Princess with respect, and will not dare to slight her."
The Emperor laughed coldly. "What use is that?" He suddenly stared into Fan Xian's eyes. "Minister Fan, I see you as a friend … I hope that while you are in Nanjing, you will give the First Princess some advice. You must ensure that she lives a happy life."
Fan Xian was shocked again. He had only met the Emperor four times. How could he dare be a friend of the Son of Heaven?
Seeming to guess what he was thinking, the Emperor smiled and said, "Minister Fan, when we first met, I said that I liked your poems and often recited them. Those words were as if you were speaking. Since I have spoken to you for a year, it is not surprising that I regard you as my friend."
At this moment, Fan Xian was truly overwhelmed by the favor and ashamed. Just as he was about to kowtow to thank the Emperor and cry out in fear, he heard the Northern Qi Emperor's light voice ring out. There was a glimmer of anger in the voice.
"But Minister Fan seems to be distancing himself from me. Not to mention the fact that he refuses to come into the Palace to talk to me …" The Northern Qi Emperor suddenly looked into his eyes. "Even if there are many things, you still hide from me."
Fan Xian was worried. He explained, "There are many matters to attend to. I am busy with both Honglu Temple and Taichang Temple. I dare not leave the palace and disturb Your Majesty's rest."
The Northern Qi Emperor glanced at the silent Haitang and suddenly smiled. "Is that so? I thought that these days, the most you have done is accompany my aunt disciple to go shopping … and drink. "
Hearing this, even Haitang could not continue to sit still. With a trace of unease, she replied, "Duoduo often asks Sir Fan for guidance on the way of the heavens, and has benefited greatly."
His Majesty shook his head and looked at Fan Xian. "Then how long do you intend to keep that matter hidden, Minister Fan?"
A drop of cold sweat emerged from Fan Xian's hair, but it refused to slide off his forehead or reveal the fear in his heart. It only remained in his long, black hair. Fan Xian's first thought was — had Si Lili's matter been exposed? If that was the case, then even if the Emperor in front of him did not like women, the Son of Heaven's desire to monopolize power would not allow him to leave Northern Qi alive!
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Haitang's calm face was calm, without a trace of fear or unease. He felt a little more at ease. He coughed twice and respectfully asked, "What matter does Your Majesty speak of?"
No one knew about Xiao En's matter, except for Haitang, who might have guessed a little. As long as it was not about Si Lili, Fan Xian would not feel the slightest bit of guilt or fear when facing the Northern Qi Emperor. Unexpectedly, the Northern Qi Emperor's next question almost made Fan Xian fall off his chair. Tonight's conversation in the palace was one of shock after another!
…
…
"I have come to ask you, how is your sister Lin?" The Northern Qi Emperor looked at Fan Xian coldly.
It was like a bolt of lightning had struck deep into the palace, like a girl crying out in the middle of a thunderstorm. Fan Xian was dumbstruck, his body stiff. For a moment, he did not know how to answer — how could this Emperor know that Wan 'er was his cousin? That was to say, he knew his true identity!
That was impossible! That was impossible! There were no more than five people in the world who knew of his true identity, and those five people could not have leaked this shocking secret.
But the problem was, the Northern Qi Emperor was the son of heaven, and had countless capable subordinates. Could it be that he had discovered this matter from some traces and yellow papers? Otherwise, why would he suddenly ask about … his own wife, his sister Lin?
The Northern Qi Emperor looked at him coldly. Seeing his panicked expression, he suddenly slapped the armrest of the soft couch and scolded, "Speak!"
Speak, my ass!
Fan Xian's expression was mostly faked, but he still maintained a strong calm inside. His left pinky slightly crooked, but he suddenly remembered that because he was afraid that Haitang would find out about his connection to the incident at the cliff, he had not brought the black dagger on his left leg these days.
Fight? He could not beat Haitang. Escape? If Northern Qi revealed his identity, wouldn't the Crown Prince, the Great Prince, and the Second Prince immediately become a pack of hungry tigers? And those women deep in the palace …
Fan Xian coughed, and a smile reappeared on his face. Since the Emperor had said it in front of him, naturally, he was prepared to threaten him. So he prepared to play dumb and listen to the Emperor's conditions first. "Your Majesty, what are you talking about?"
…
…
The Northern Qi Emperor stood up. Stepping on the soft boots, he couldn't be bothered to put them back on. Just like this, he walked directly toward Fan Xian. The expression on his face gradually brightened. From the slight anger earlier, it turned into a faint smile. In that smile, there was a hidden sense of excitement and anticipation.
Seeing this expression, Fan Xian was startled. He was even more certain that this little brother of the Emperor was a little pervert.
A pair of hands grasped Fan Xian's shoulders, and the Northern Qi Emperor somewhat lost his composure as he shook Fan Xian's shoulders. His eyebrows danced, and he laughed brightly. "Minister Fan, oh Minister Fan, you have kept me in the dark. You have kept everyone in the world in the dark."
"Ah?" Fan Xian had long since given up on the idea of forcing the Northern Qi Emperor to flee to the ends of the world. He looked somewhat stupidly at the face that was so close to him, and found that the Emperor was quite good-looking. The Emperor bathed every day, and his breath was quite fresh. Haitang looked at the Emperor's fervent expression, and at Fan Xian's stupidity, and could not help but laugh.
"Grandmaster Cao!" The Northern Qi Emperor shook him again, making Fan Xian dizzy. "Grandmaster Cao! Quick, tell me, did Sister Lin end up with Baoyu … "
…
…
He finally understood what was going on. Although he did not know how the Northern Qi Emperor had guessed this, Fan Xian could no longer bear the torment of surprise and joy. He sat down on a chair, and without saying anything else, he picked up the teacup beside him and took two gulps.
The Emperor looked at him with a smile. "If you do not finish telling me the story of the Story of the Stone, I will not allow you to leave the palace."
Fan Xian sighed. "How did Your Majesty know that The Story of the Stone was written by me?"
The Emperor looked at Haitang, and Haitang smiled. "Books are only published by Danbo Bookstore. Mister Cao has always been a recluse, and other than Danbo Bookstore, no one else knows who he is. The Story of the Stone is very popular, and who knows how many people have tried to guess who he really is. The day before yesterday, when we were drinking, Sir Fan seemed to have talked a little too much, and naturally, I guessed a little. Today, Your Majesty has tried to trick me again, and since Sir Fan has admitted it, I guess I guessed correctly. "
Fan Xian smiled bitterly, not knowing what to say. In truth, he did not really need the reputation of being the author of The Story of the Stone. Seeing how the Northern Qi Emperor had called him Grandmaster Cao so intimately, he had almost mistaken him for Guo Jia. Presumably, he was also a fan of The Story of the Stone.
Having confirmed that Fan Xian was the author of The Story of the Stone, the Northern Qi Emperor seemed very happy. "Quickly, tell me," he said, "how many girls did Baoyu marry in the end?"
Fan Xian laughed in spite of himself, thinking that this Emperor was a fan of harem novels. He waved his hands and pleaded. "Your Majesty, I have only randomly written some 60 chapters. I have not thought of the rest." As he said this, he thought of Ruoruo in Danzhou, when she had asked him to write. He had thought of the problems of writing, updating, and leaving it unfinished. It was a very troublesome matter.
Hearing this, the Northern Qi Emperor sighed and frowned. He glanced at Haitang, who was resting to the side. Suddenly, he moved closer to Fan Xian's ear and said in a low voice, "The Haitang Poetry Society in chapter 37 … what does it have to do with Aunt Master?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Fan Xian saw that the corners of Haitang's eyes had softened slightly. He knew that she was eavesdropping, and so he smiled and replied boldly. "Your Majesty, the author cannot explain himself. Forgive me for not saying more."
The Emperor revealed a hint of warmth and said, "Then return quickly, Minister Fan. Once you have a chapter, remember to send it to me."
Fan Xian accepted the order fearfully, not daring to say more.
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