The snow was still falling. Fan Sizhe, who was by the stone mill in the garden, had finally completed 50 revolutions. Panting, he held onto the stone mill, feeling his entire body aching. He could not straighten his back. The sweat on his face turned into steam and rose, turning white in the face of the cold. It looked as if his entire body was smoking.
"Wipe yourself, then change into dry clothes so you don't catch a cold." Haitang handed him a neat pile of clothes.
Fan Sizhe shook his head angrily and went into the inner room to change. Not long after, he came out yelling, "There's no place to bathe. What should I do if I stink?"
Haitang glanced at him and smiled. "It's winter, and the things your brother made haven't been shipped to Shangjing."
Fan Sizhe couldn't help but shake his head again. "My brother drove me north … not to let you torture me."
"An uncut jade is worthless," Haitang said calmly. "I remember when we were chatting in the Royal Palace, Fan Xian once said something that I thought was very reasonable."
"What did he say?" Fan Sizhe asked curiously.
"When heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it first torments his will, strains his muscles and bones, starves his skin, empties his body, and messes up his actions. Thus, the heart is moved, and one can do what one cannot."
Actually, when Fan Xian said these words, he was thinking of the Northern Sea shore, the crabapple spring scene among the reeds. But Fan Sizhe and Haitang did not know of that person's filthy thoughts. Fan Sizhe heard these words and felt a chill rush to the top of his head. In a trembling voice, he said, "Tonight … you won't have dinner yet, will you?"
Haitang smiled slightly. "We won't be eating here tonight."
As they spoke, someone outside the garden respectfully said, "Second Young Master, I will be the host tonight."
Fan Sizhe was surprised that this person had responded so naturally. He turned his head and saw that it was Wang Qinian. Unexpectedly meeting a family member in a foreign land, thinking of the suffering these days, and thinking of the possibility of escaping the abyss of misery, Fan Sizhe's expression was excited. With a strange cry, he rushed over the fence.
"After dinner, you still have to come back." Haitang's words drifted down from behind. Her words pierced through the wind and snow and burrowed into Fan Sizhe's ears, causing him to shiver in incomparable disappointment.
When he reached the fence, he turned around and shouted fiercely, "I came to Shangjing to earn money! I'm not here to be a coolie! "
Haitang had already returned to her reclining chair. Expressionlessly, she said, "How can a thousand taels of silver become ten thousand so easily? I feel that Fan Xian is pushing you too hard. Don't forget, your silver is all in my hands now. "
Outside the fence, Wang Qinian gave Fan Sizhe a meaningful glance, indicating that it would be best if he did not offend Lady Duoduo. Even Sir Fan junior did not have a complete corpse in her hands. Why did you have to do this?
Fan Sizhe snorted angrily and pushed open the gate.
Wang Qinian smiled and bowed to Haitang under the eaves. "Miss Haitang, I'll go now."
Haitang looked at him and suddenly calmed down. After a while, she said, "Sir Wang, are you really in such a hurry to let him take over the Cui family?"
Wang Qinian's heart trembled. He had not expected her to even know of Commissioner Fan's arrangements. He did not know how much understanding Fan Xian and Haitang had. He could only smile bitterly. "What are you talking about, Miss?"
Haitang, of course, knew about Fan Sizhe's arrangements. She smiled slightly and said nothing more. She only warned, "We've just begun. Don't be too impatient."
Wang Qinian had his subordinates bring Fan Sizhe a bamboo hat and a snow cloak. On one hand, it was to block the wind and snow; on the other, it was to hide his appearance. Then, he bowed to Haitang and prepared to leave the fields next to the palace.
"Did you also read the most recent letter?" Haitang reclined in her chair and looked at Wang Qinian, who was about to leave, with a smile that was not a smile.
Hearing this, Wang Qinian was startled. He smiled bitterly. "It is my duty. Miss Haitang, please forgive me. In the letter, please say a few words on behalf of me, so that the commissioner will not bully my daughter."
Haitang laughed. This Honglu Temple of the Qing Kingdom's resident officer in Northern Qi, Sir Wang Qinian, was indeed an interesting person.
— — —
It was quiet outside the garden. Just like that, Haitang closed her eyes and fell asleep on the chair. Today in Shangjing, the wind and snow were intertwined. The wind whistled past, and the air was cold. The village girl slept very peacefully in such a cruel environment. There seemed to be a slight smile at the corner of her lips. With her astonishing cultivation, she was not surprised by the cold invading her body. On the contrary, she was closer to nature than ordinary people, such as the gentle nature of spring, or the harsh world of winter.
Snow, piece by piece, gradually filled the sky. Under the eaves, the girl in a flowery jacket slept very comfortably.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Haitang slowly opened her eyes. Her clear eyes reflected the falling snow outside the eaves, and the growing ice on the eaves. She could not help but feel a flash of joy and satisfaction.
"Teacher, you're here."
…
…
Outside the garden, on the stone path beside the Yuquan River, a thick layer of snow had long been laid. At this moment, a person was slowly treading on the snow. The wind and snow seemed to have disappeared in an instant. One could only hear the rustling sound of each step landing on the snow.
The person's feet were not wearing shoes. He stepped on the snow like this, determined and sincere. In a moment, he had reached the front of the garden. Stretching out a hand, he gently pushed open the fence door and walked directly to the eaves. He stretched out a palm and gently stroked the happy Haitang's head. "I've come to see you."
One of the four Great Grandmasters in the world, Imperial Advisor Ku He, who was viewed as a god by the people of the world.
If Fan Xian saw this scene, he would certainly silently criticize the other person's appearance for being so ordinary and unremarkable. He was far worse than Marshal Zhu. He couldn't even compare to Ye Liuyun's elegance of riding a boat halfway across the waves.
Particularly after he took off the straw hat on his head and revealed his large bald head, there was not a glimmer of an otherworldly feeling. He was just a simple and common old man. However, the pure white plain clothes on his body and his bare feet declared his identity as an Ascetic Monk. Ever since he returned from the Temple, he had not undergone a single Ascetic Monk.
Haitang bowed deeply to her teacher with incomparable respect. Then, she invited the most powerful figure in the world into the room and served tea. Like a little girl, she sat on the ground beside him with a face full of innocence. Only in front of this Great Grandmaster would Haitang be so obedient and natural.
Ku He's face was thin. His lips were very thin. His eyes were very sunken, but his gaze was even more distant. With a trace of tenderness, he looked at his true disciple and smiled slightly. "I come from Xi Mountain."
Haitang's expression changed. She asked in surprise, "Have you found Sir Xiao En's body?"
Ku He slowly put down the teacup in his hand. With a trace of a smile in his eyes, he said, "In a cave between the precipices, I found the remains of an old friend."
Haitang furrowed her brows. "The precipices of Xi Mountain?"
After Ku He returned from the South, he did not come out of seclusion. Some people in Northern Qi guessed that this Great Grandmaster should have been injured, but they did not know who the other side of that terrifying battle that took place in an unknown place was. Some guessed it was Sigu Jian, some guessed it was Ye Liuyun, and some guessed it was the Qing Kingdom's most deeply hidden Great Grandmaster. No one would have thought that he and Wu Zhu had both been injured.
After Ku He recovered, the first thing he did was carefully investigate Xiao En's movements after he returned to the Kingdom. Although this Great Grandmaster was faintly angry at the battle between the mother and son in the Royal Palace, Tianyi Dao followed the customs of the Temple and rarely interfered in political affairs, so it was not good for him to say too much. But regarding Xiao En's life and death, this Great Grandmaster, who seemed to be unable to care about external things, placed great importance on it.
The precipices of Xi Mountain had been searched many times, but Xiao En's body had not been found on the mountain. This became the most piercing problem for the Northern Qi court. If that old man was still alive, then perhaps Shang Shanhu, who was under house arrest in his manor, would become active again.
But for Haitang, since Brother Lang Tiao said that Xiao En had lost all signs of life after being stabbed by the curved knife, she would naturally believe him.
Great Grandmaster Ku He had never doubted the judgment of his first disciple.
So the Northern Qi people were only thinking about one question: where was Xiao En's body?
…
…
No one knew how much effort they had expended in their search. Xi Mountain had been turned upside down, but they still could not find the whereabouts of Xiao En and the mysterious man. After all, the Northern Qi people could not understand how in this world there could be someone like a gecko who could climb up the mirror-like precipices of Xi Mountain.
Later, it was Imperial Advisor Ku He who spoke, and the Northern Qi people resentfully stopped their search. They did not think that this Great Grandmaster would lower his status and personally go investigate. No one knew how much effort Ku He had put in before he finally found Xiao En's body in a cave in the precipice on this windy and snowy day.
Haitang looked at her teacher in shock. Only now did she notice that there were small wounds on his ankles. She asked with concern, "How can you get down from that precipice?" She was not in a rush to ask Xiao En questions. What she was most concerned about was Ku He's health. After all, her teacher was old and had just recovered from his injuries.
Ku He gently shook his head and smiled with a sigh. "Going down is a bit troublesome, but it's not impossible. All we need to do is tie a rope. I just didn't think that the person Lang Tiao forced down the precipice … would be able to escape so easily."
Haitang lowered her head slightly. "Perhaps he was carrying something like a grappling hook on his body."
"The grappling hook has no place to borrow strength." Ku He looked at her with a smile. "You were so shocked earlier because you remembered what the precipice of Xi Mountain looked like."
Haitang sighed. "I really don't understand this matter. But it's already been a few months. Could it be that Sir Xiao En's remains have not been eaten by the eagles in the mountains? "
Ku He's snow-like eyebrows fluttered slightly. He warmly said, "That cave was very shallow. Logically speaking, vicious birds should have long since helped Sir Xiao En ascend to the heavens. I didn't think that when I followed the rope down, what I saw was Sir Xiao En's remains, as good as new. There were a few dead birds lying beside him. The birds had all turned to bones, but his body, aside from being a bit dehydrated, had not rotted."
Haitang was surprised to hear this. She smiled calmly. "What a powerful poison."
Ku He gently nodded and changed the subject. "Tell me about this young man, Fan Xian. I am very curious about him."
Haitang's heart skipped a beat, but her expression did not change in the slightest. Smiling, she recounted everything that Fan Xian had done in Shangjing. Knowing that she could no longer hide anything for Fan Xian, she quietly said, "That night after Xiao En left the capital, Fan Xian stayed with the diplomatic mission, but no one saw him with their own eyes. When I went the next day, he was lying in bed... Back then, Elder Brother believed that the black-clothed man who fell off the cliff with Xiao En was him, and he really is an expert at using poison."
Of all the people in this world, only Xiao En and Ku He had ever come into contact with the Temple. Now that Xiao En was dead, only Ku He remained. The Emperor had painstakingly rescued Xiao En and brought him back to Northern Qi, but Ku He had tried his best to kill him. Now that she knew that Fan Xian might be the last person Xiao En saw before he died, and Ku He was so careful about the secret of the Temple... Haitang did not know what trouble her words would bring to Fan Xian. But she knew that this seemingly gentle teacher in front of her was, in reality, a wise man who held the pearl of wisdom in his hands. He had changed the subject earlier, naturally, to remind her.
Unexpectedly, Ku He did not continue this topic. Instead, he gazed at her meaningfully and smiled. He took another sip of the tea in his cup and said, "Duoduo's tea is getting better and better."
"You flatter me, teacher," Haitang replied gently.
...
...
"I think I know who Fan Xian is," Ku He suddenly said very gently. His words came out of nowhere, and Haitang did not understand. She stared at her teacher in a daze.
Ku He slowly stood up, and a mellow smile rose to his face. "Before this young man came to Northern Qi, I went out and was injured. I think you must be very curious as to who in this world can injure me."
Imperial Advisor Ku He represented the spirit of Northern Qi, so the matter of his injury had always been hidden. Although Haitang knew, she had never heard the details from her teacher's mouth. Now that she heard it, she immediately focused her attention.
"It was a blind man." Ku He turned and gazed at the wind and snow outside his disciple's garden. He slowly said, "It was a blind man I met many years ago and have never forgotten."
Haitang was shocked. She thought that it was already a shocking thing for someone in this world to be able to injure her teacher. She had not expected that the other person was not a Great Grandmaster known to the world, but … a blind man!
Ku He continued to speak leisurely. "It is very strange that this terrifying blind man … seems to have forgotten some things. He has forgotten that many years ago, I once met him."
Haitang listened quietly.
"This blind man has already disappeared for many years." The smile on Ku He's face rose again. "I did not expect that he would suddenly appear in this world again, and that the first person he came to find was me. Speaking of which, my heart, which has long been like an old well without ripples, is actually faintly proud."
Haitang became more and more confused.
"This blind man once taught that idiot Sigu Jian a lesson. He once beat Ye Liuyun until he abandoned his sword and finally became a Great Grandmaster." Ku He sighed. "I guessed it was him back then, but I did not expect that he would come to find me this time. This is completely different from his secretive style in the past."
Haitang suddenly opened her mouth and asked, "Could it be that this blind man is the most mysterious Great Grandmaster?"
Ku He shook his head. His eyes, which seemed to be able to see through everything, also revealed a trace of confusion. "No, the blind man has never needed this kind of false reputation. As for the most mysterious of the four of us … he should still be in the Qing Kingdom's Royal Palace. "
Haitang did not understand. Since no one had ever seen the mysterious Great Grandmaster, why were the people so sure that he existed, and that he existed in the Qing Kingdom's Royal Palace?
"The reason is very simple." Ku He smiled. "Many years ago, Sigu Jian had tried three times to enter the Qing Kingdom's Royal Palace to assassinate their Emperor."
Haitang called out in surprise. Only now did she know that Dongyi's Sigu Jian had done such a crazy thing. However, to use the realm of a Great Grandmaster as an assassin, even if the Qing Kingdom's Emperor was the person with the most power in the world, it would probably be difficult for him to resist.
Seeming to guess what she was thinking, Ku He quietly said, "The people who know of this all think the same as you. They all think that Sigu Jian has a great chance. Unfortunately, within a month, he failed four times in a row. Although he wasn't injured, he didn't have any results."
Haitang furrowed her brows and said, "That blind man … was he in the Qing Kingdom's Royal Palace at the time?" She still believed that the blind man who could injure her teacher was most likely the mysterious Great Grandmaster.
Ku He smiled slightly and shook his head. "At the time, the blind man was with the young lady of the Ye family in Jiangnan, repairing the palace treasury."
"The young lady of the Ye family?" Haitang was even more shocked. Although she was the most famous figure of the younger generation, she knew of the secrets her teacher was talking about today. Each person was extraordinary and changed the shape of the world.
Ku He gently and naturally changed the topic. Turning around to look at Haitang, he said, "Do you understand now?"
Haitang opened her bright eyes and shook her head.
"Who is Fan Xian?" Ku He looked calmly at his female disciple.
"Fan Xian is Ye Qingmei's son … the mistress of the Ye family's son."
…
…
Other than being shocked, Haitang was also confused. Fan Xian … the illegitimate son of the Minister of Revenue in the Southern court. How did he have a connection to the Ye family? The Ye family? The Ye family that once ruled the world through business? The Ye family that had established the Overwatch Council, repaired the palace treasury, and continued their legacy to this day?
Ku He rubbed his hands and sat down. He sighed. "Xiao En was always locked up by Chen Pingping, so he didn't know the identity of the young lady of the Ye family. I just happened to know. The blind man could only be a servant of the young lady of the Ye family. This time, I was moved out of Shangjing to make it easier for Fan Xian to do things. Thus, Fan Xian's identity emerged. He is the descendant of the young lady of the Ye family. "
Haitang shook her head. She dared to express her opinion in front of her teacher. "Although this reasoning is believable, it is too far-fetched. What if that blind … Master was just unwilling to be lonely in the mountains and came out to challenge you? It has nothing to do with Fan Xian going North. Besides, wasn't the Ye family destroyed back then? … "
Before she finished speaking, Ku He had already laughed. "One matter cannot explain too many things. But think about Fan Xian's current position in the Southern court, and then think about the strange movements in the Southern court after he came out of Danzhou. When too many details are put together, the truth of the matter is clear. Don't talk about the destruction of the Ye family. The shopkeeper of the Ye family is still alive and well. For someone in the Southern court to preserve a trace of the Ye family's bloodline is not something strange."
Haitang was so worried that she laughed. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Her teacher was right. Even if Fan Xian was the illegitimate son of Minister Fan, even if he had the reputation of an immortal poet and the strength of an ace, given his identity and status, it was impossible for him to reach such heights. It was even more impossible for him to control the Overwatch Council in his left hand and the palace treasury in his right — the Overwatch Council and the palace treasury. Were these not the most powerful things that the Ye family had left to this world?
Could it be that the gentle young man who often wrote to her had such a complicated and pitiful life behind him?
"You just repeated the poem Fan Xian recited in the restaurant …" Ku He gently patted his female disciple, who was still deep in thought. He smiled slightly and said, "You only discovered from this poem that he was the author of Story of the Stone. But if you think about it carefully, perhaps you will find that Fan Xian used this poem to express some other emotions, such as anger or dissatisfaction."
In the summer of Shangjing, in the Centenarian Pine House, Fan Xian and Haitang drank wine and recited a poem when they were drunk.
"Keep me in Qing, keep me in Qing, suddenly meet my benefactor. Fortunately, mother, mother, you have accumulated a sinister merit. Advise life, help the needy and support the poor. Do not be like my evil uncle and treacherous brother who love money and forget his own flesh and blood! It is exactly multiplication, division, addition and subtraction, above is the firmament. "
In the winter garden, Haitang repeated it in her heart. She finally experienced the emotions her teacher spoke of. She abruptly raised her head, shocked beyond compare.
If Fan Xian, who was soaking in the hot springs far away in the Qing Kingdom's Cang Mountains, knew that this pair of teacher and disciple would be so careless and use this poem to determine his birth, he would certainly be so angry that he would jump out of the hot springs and run naked to Shangjing to give them a good scolding and then explain that this was written by Lao Cao. It just happened to be similar to his own life.
Before long, Haitang had already recovered her calm. In a gentle voice, she asked, "This matter can be big or small." Since she knew of Fan Xian's past, she could imagine that there would certainly be many problems between him and the Qing royal family. How to use it was a matter that required careful consideration.
"The news that Fan Xian is a descendant of the Ye family … let the entire world know," Ku He said very gently.
Great Grandmaster Ku He spoke very gently.
"The blind man?" Haitang's heart was slightly confused. She didn't know how to protect Fan Xian's interests as much as possible.
Ku He slowly sighed and said, "Although the blind man … doesn't seem to recognize me, I think that since he purposely acted and left behind these clues, perhaps … he hopes to use my mouth to tell this interesting news to the people of this world."
The Great Grandmaster finally came to a conclusion. "The blind man doesn't want to wait anymore. He wants Fan Xian to speed up his pace."
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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