"Do you still remember last year when I beat up Guo Baokun with an underground fist? The capital government wanted to hold me accountable?"
"I remember."
"Do you still remember this year's spring examination case, and the Ministry of Justice wanted to interrogate me?"
"I remember." Fan Sizhe glanced at him with some confusion. Was his brother saying this to remind him of the dignity of Qing law? But the problem was that these two cases ended without a conclusion. It only proved that in a place like the Kingdom of Qing, power was still above the law. It was clearly a negative example.
Fan Xian smiled and patted his butt. "Both times, you beat the officials with sticks in your hands. Although it was mainly because of your arrogant and domineering personality, you always have a sense of friendship toward me, a brother you've known for less than two years. I believe I'm not wrong about this."
Fan Sizhe's buttocks were full of scars. He bit his lower lip in pain and said, "Then why did you hit me so hard earlier?"
Fan Xian smiled. "First of all, I'm really angry. I won't hide it from you. Second, if I don't beat you up badly, how can I make the people of Jingdou believe that the Fan family is still strict and strict? It's half acting and half real. "
Fan Sizhe suddenly said in a daze, "Brother, such an important matter in the north … are you really leaving it to me?"
Fan Xian replied, "Prove yourself first."
Fan Sizhe gritted his teeth and revealed a fanatical expression. He said with hatred, "Fine! I can definitely do it. "
Fan Xian nodded and looked at the sleeping prostitute of the Baoyue Brothel by his brother's side. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Yesterday, when we raided the building, I discovered that this woman has some affection for you. I am your brother, so of course, I know that your heart is very hard and ruthless. But when it is time to be soft, you can be soft. Perhaps you will find that life will be much more interesting."
After all, Fan Sizhe was still young, and it was his first time experiencing the affairs between a man and a woman. His face flushed with embarrassment as he responded.
The two brothers continued to talk in the carriage. At this moment, the carriage came to a halt. The two of them knew that it was time to part ways. Fan Xian shook his head and said, "This trip will be difficult and dangerous. Although you must still feel resentment toward me, I think in the future you will understand my good intentions. As for father, don't feel any resentment. You have to know that in this world, other than parents and brothers, it is difficult for anyone to truly treat you well. You were chased out of Jingdou at such a young age. Naturally, Aunt Liu is sad. I'm afraid father won't have it easy either."
Fan Sizhe nodded sadly. Watching Fan Xian's silhouette disembark from the carriage, he thought of the days to come. He couldn't help but feel empty in his heart. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he felt unspeakably uncomfortable.
"Brother, bring me back soon."
Fan Xian's figure stiffened as he got off the carriage. "Don't worry, I'll settle everything quickly."
— —
Watching the carriage slowly disappear into the night, Fan Xian could not help but feel a little absent-minded. He was not a good person, so why did he demand that Sizhe be a good person? Perhaps his previous explanation was correct. The relationship between people was very delicate. Wang Jingwei did not want his son to be a traitor, and Hitler probably would have preferred his son to be a painter.
Of course, these two did not have the opportunity to show Fan Xian, but he had seen the relationship between Xiao En and Zhuang Mohan, the two brothers, over the decades, and he deeply agreed with them.
The legendary pair of brothers, Xiao En, had secretly done many things for Zhuang Mohan. No one knew, but he had always hidden himself in the dark. He cared about his brother's reputation and refused to acknowledge him. This was already a remarkable thing.
When Zhuang Mohan was in his seventies or eighties, he was almost at the end of his rope. His personal reputation had reached the peak of his life. In order for his brother to escape, he did not hesitate to abandon his lifelong beliefs and come all the way to Qing Kingdom to frame Fan Xian. The price he paid was not as simple as it seemed. He completely abandoned what Zhuang Mohan treasured the most.
Coincidentally, before these two influential figures passed away, Fan Xian was by their side.
Fan Xian watched the carriage leave and sighed in his heart. He did not know whether or not Sizhe would bear a grudge against him. He also did not know, in the distant future, if he were to one day sink into the darkness like Xiao En, would Sizhe be like Zhuang Mohan and risk everything to save him?
The night wind blew over the hills outside the capital. Fan Xian shook his head in self-mockery. Given Sizhe's personality, he would at most be willing to lose tens of thousands of taels of silver for him … If the amount of silver was a little more, that greedy and cruel little guy would have to reevaluate.
…
…
Yan Bingyun stood beside him and suddenly said, "You are a very hypocritical person."
Fan Xian asked with great interest, "Why do you say that?"
"You use everyone around you, but you make it seem like you are doing it for their own good …" The corners of Yan Bingyun's lips curled up slightly.
Fan Xian replied calmly, "You don't have a brother, so you can't understand this kind of feeling … I really am doing it for his own good. Although my methods may have been a bit excessive, and the results may not have been good … but there is no other way. My experience can only go so far … At least, in the future, I can say to myself that I have done my part as a brother for Sizhe's growth."
"That is the second point I wanted to make." Yan Bingyun nodded. "You are a very cruel person."
Fan Xian was silent, knowing that Yan Bingyun would continue.
"Young Master Fan is still young, and the situation in the north is very complicated … and yet you were able to ruthlessly expel him from the capital and make him disappear, cutting off the possibility of others blackmailing you. It seems that even the second prince did not expect such a ruthless move," Yan Bingyun said coldly.
There was no smile on Fan Xian's face. Instead, he asked, "How do you think people should live their lives?"
After Ruoruo, Sizhe, and Wan 'er, this was the fourth time Fan Xian had asked someone about Ostrovsky's eternal question.
Yan Bingyun was slightly startled, and shook his head. "My thinking is very simple. As an official of the Overwatch Council, I should be loyal to His Majesty, to the Kingdom of Qing, to make the country rich and powerful, and to unify the world."
"Unify the world?" Fan Xian said sarcastically. "What is the point of that?"
Yan Bingyun was startled again. As a member of the younger generation of the Kingdom of Qing, he had grown up in a time when the country's power was expanding rapidly. This kind of thinking was ingrained in his bones. He had never thought about why he wanted to unify the world, and no one had ever asked him about it. Now that Fan Xian had suddenly asked him this question, he did not know how to explain it.
"The world is divided into three parts, and there are many small countries in the middle. War is inevitable, and the people are destitute … in that case, why not unify the world and get rid of the threat of war?"
After thinking for a while, he tried to sort out his thoughts.
Fan Xian shook his head. "I have never believed in the power of the world. Divided for a long time, united for a long time, divided for a long time. United for a few hundred years, divided for another few hundred years. If the divided countries did not have the ambition to unify the world, then where would there be war? Unifying the world is not a way to get rid of war and bring peace. It is a fruit to tempt the people of the world to throw themselves into war. If everyone did not think this way, then wouldn't the world be at peace? "
Yan Bingyun glanced at him and mockingly said, "That is a very childish way of thinking."
"I also understand." Fan Xian sighed. "But, when I am alive, I really do not want to see such things as war. In one year, the number of people who died at the hands of the Council is about 400. In August, the Yangtze River broke its banks. I estimate tens of thousands of people have already died. If war truly starts, in just a few months, I'm afraid hundreds of thousands of people will die."
"Even if the conflict can be temporarily suppressed, it cannot last. There will come a day when war breaks out." Yan Bingyun snorted disdainfully. "Even if you gather the four Great Grandmasters as fighters and forcefully suppress the ambitions of the royal family, what will happen after you die?"
Fan Xian smiled and said, "After I die? After I die, even if the flood reaches the sky. "
Louis XIV's most blatant declaration finally made Yan Bingyun's expression change. He shook his head and sighed. "I thought you were a benevolent person hiding in the darkness. After hearing what you said, only then do I realize that what I said just now was considered polite. Not only are you ruthless, but you are also an extremely selfish person."
"You misunderstood, didn't you? I told you last time, I am not a saint. " Fan Xian suddenly frowned and teased him. "But now it looks like … it seems … there is no harm in being a saint."
"A saint in charge of the Overwatch Council?" Yan Bingyun looked at him like he was looking at a ghost.
…
…
"Then how do you plan to spend the rest of your life?" Yan Bingyun rarely asked a question like those people in Shangjing in Northern Qi.
"I plan to spend the rest of my life well." Fan Xian said this superfluous sentence. Without waiting for a response, he laughed and said, "This time, Sizhe has gone north, and I have troubled you and your father." To send a person through the entire Qing Kingdom without anyone knowing, other than monitoring the movements of the officials in each county and the Overwatch Council, which controlled the foreign spy network, going easy everywhere, or even stealing from within, it was truly impossible to do this.
"You are my superior," Yan Bingyun replied directly.
Fan Xian understood what he was thinking and said, "I will report this to the Director."
He continued, "Did you know? The last time the diplomatic mission left the capital, the first night they set up camp in this pine forest below us … "He rubbed his nose and laughed at himself." At that time, Si Lili was in the diplomatic mission. Today, Sizhe has been exiled. Although his situation is much worse than mine, I also captured a woman to accompany him. It seems that our journey will not be lonely. "
Yan Bingyun shook his head with a slight headache. It was difficult for him to get used to Fan Xian's shamelessness, which he only showed to his close subordinates and friends. So he asked, "Now that there is nothing to worry about, what do you plan to do?"
Fan Xian laughed bitterly. "He is a prince. Do you really think we would dare to kill him?"
Yan Bingyun coldly said, "I don't think there is anything you wouldn't dare to do."
Fan Xian's heart jumped, and he smiled and said, "It looks like you really do understand me. But there is no rush. First, I will ruin Hongcheng's reputation. Then, I will torture the second prince's men and force the Cui family into a corner."
In the end, he quietly said, "I will no longer concern myself with the Baoyue brothel. You help Shi Chanli deal with it. As for what to do next, you are in charge. After all, when it comes to scheming, you are far more talented than I am."
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