At the beginning of the sixth year of the Qing calendar, regardless of whether it was Northern Qi or the Qing Kingdom, many miraculous things happened within the borders of both countries. Due to the cold weather, no grains had yet grown in the paddy fields, so naturally, there were no double ears of grain. There were no white fish in the rivers, and there were no qilins in the mountains. However, when Wuzhou was opening up the mountains, they dug out a pair of copper walls. When Shazhou was repairing the dikes, the workers were pleasantly surprised to find an incomparably large turtle with cloud patterns on it. In the paddy fields of Jiangnan, there were birds and red geese soaring in the sky.
Regardless of whether it was copper walls or cloud turtles and birds, they were all auspicious signs. The officials of various places hurriedly submitted reports and fawned over them. However, the Emperor in Jingdou was somewhat dismissive.
This shameless and auspicious trend had arisen within Northern Qi last year. The earliest legend was that after the first snowfall in Xi Mountain, a woodcutter on the mountain found a white deer, white wolf, and white fox. He thought it was an auspicious sign and submitted a report to the Northern Qi Emperor.
The Great Grandmaster Ku He took this as an auspicious sign from heaven. He believed that the rulers of each country had governed appropriately and conformed to the will of heaven. Thus, he reopened the monastery and took in a female disciple in a temple outside Shangjing. This female disciple was Si Lili, who later entered the Royal Palace.
Later, this trend spread to the South. Similar things also began to appear in various parts of the Qing Kingdom. However, the Qing Emperor was clearly a tough person who did not respect ghosts and gods. It was not until a few days ago, when the Imperial Astronomer reported with wild joy in a trembling voice that the Imperial Astronomer had seen stars and auspicious clouds that the Qing Emperor began to look at this reality squarely.
Auspicious signs were also known as auspicious signs. They were passed down from ancient times and often noted in scriptures. They were little magic that the heavens expressed their satisfaction with those who governed the world. This was a transmission of the will of heaven. The people of the world believed in it greatly. There were many types of auspicious signs, such as favorable weather, double ears of rice, springs from the ground, and so on.
Auspicious signs were divided into five levels. Other than the qilin, which could not be found and was classified as auspicious, the other levels were great auspicious, upper auspicious, middle auspicious, and lower auspicious.
The white wolf and white fox were upper auspicious. The birds and red geese were lower auspicious. The so-called "stars and auspicious clouds" in the Imperial Astronomer's joyous report were the colorful clouds in the sky. This was truly a great auspicious sign. Furthermore, the name of the Qing Kingdom was embedded in it. No matter how reserved and suspicious the Qing Emperor was, he seemed to begin to feel elated. After all, the Emperor was also a person and always liked being flattered.
It must be a good year for the weather.
Since it was a good year, there could be no war. Using the auspicious signs as a summons, the exchanges of state affairs between Northern Qi and the Qing Kingdom became closer, particularly since the two countries were about to unite by marriage. The Great Prince and the Great Duke of Northern Qi were about to consummate their marriage. Northern Qi sent out a large number of diplomatic groups.
What shocked the people of Qing was that the Imperial Advisor of Northern Qi, Ku He, had followed the envoy south to be a witness to the wedding!
Great Grandmaster Ku He's position in the world was very high. Not only was he one of the top Great Grandmasters, but Tianyi Dao also faintly affected the temples in various places and the Ascetic Monks walking around. Although the Temple never interfered in worldly affairs, this kind of hidden prestige had long surpassed the influence of someone at the peak of martial arts.
Thus, although the people of Qing were proud and glorious, all kinds of reception arrangements had to be made anew. Ye Liuyun and Ye He were nowhere to be found. It seemed that the only person who could receive them was the Emperor of Qing. But for the Emperor to personally come out, the officials of the Office of the Grand Herald of Qing did not have the courage.
In the end, it was the empress dowager who could not bear to see the officials panic and came out to settle the matter. She still followed Master Zhuang Mohan's rules and invited Ku He into the palace. She would be responsible for receiving him.
Unexpectedly, when Imperial Advisor Ku He arrived in Jingdou, he politely declined the invitation and moved into the Qing Temple himself. This was in line with his status.
After all, he was a Great Grandmaster. Although the two countries were different, the people of Qing still showed enough respect. Aside from the respect was curiosity. The people of the world speculated that although the marriage between the two countries was a big matter, it should not have alarmed him, right?
A few days after the Northern Qi diplomatic group entered the capital, Ku He's true purpose of personally going to the Qing court seemed to be revealed.
It turned out that the Emperor of Northern Qi had personally written a letter stating that he was willing to mend relations with the Qing Kingdom and extend the agreement drafted last year for 10,000 years. The two countries would refer to each other as brothers, regardless of seniority. They would only talk about new friendships and be friends for generations to come.
Such an important negotiation needed Ku He to personally oversee it. The Emperor of Qing held the letter from his northern colleague in his hand and muttered to himself for a few days. In the end, he gently nodded his head. He was probably giving Ku He some face.
When the news came out, the world rejoiced. Even though the people of Qing revered martial arts, they still liked peaceful days. However, the military was faintly angry. They felt that the court was powerful and this was a great opportunity to unify the world. Why put a few pieces of paper over their heads? Although it was not heavy, it made it difficult to breathe.
However, the leader of the military of the old Qin family understood the affairs of the world and did not care. He only occasionally said to the people closest to him, "Now that Northern Qi is recovering at an unexpected speed, it will be difficult to use troops in the next few years. This agreement is just a few pieces of paper. When the time comes, we can tear it up. It's not like His Majesty hasn't done such things before."
However, Ku He's other goal in coming South to Jingdou made all of the Jingdou officials and commoners drop their glasses. He wanted to take Minister Fan's only daughter, the young lady of the Fan family, as a disciple.
Imperial Advisor Ku He's reason was sufficient. He said that a few months before and after the year's yin and yang intersected, auspicious signs descended from the heavens. It was a feeling of heaven's benevolence. Tianyi Dao adhered to the theory of the unity of heaven and man. Acting according to heaven's will, he chose a prodigy of the world to carefully cultivate and work for the good of the people. Since it was an act of obeying heaven, it was not limited by land. Northern Qi had an auspicious sign, so he took one disciple. The Qing Kingdom's auspicious sign had appeared, so he had to take another disciple. Thus, he had personally come to Jingdou.
The news of Tianyi Dao Grandmaster Ku He reopening the monastery had already spread throughout the world last year, but the Qing people had never thought that this matter would have anything to do with them. Who would have thought that the last female disciple of Tianyi Dao would end up in Jingdou?
As for why he had chosen the young lady of the Fan family, that became a question in everyone's minds. Not many people would connect it to Fan Xian far away in Jiangnan. After all, no matter how arrogant and powerful Fan Xian was, he had no power to order Imperial Advisor Ku He to work for his own good.
Ku He did not explain his criteria for choosing a disciple. It was only through rumors spread by some eunuchs responsible for serving him that people learned that Imperial Advisor Ku He had once traveled among the people of Jingdou and stood silently in front of the Imperial Academy of Medicine for half a day. Afterward, he had a warm expression of admiration and said that a certain girl in the hospital had a kind, pure, and intelligent nature.
That day, Fan Ruoruo was "interning" in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. Using the nursing knowledge and medical skills she had learned over the past few months, she carefully took care of the critically ill patients in the hospital. She did not take off her clothes, her lips were slightly dry, and her winter clothes were drenched in sweat. It was very tiring.
In this world, there was a saying, "civil and martial arts have no borders." Northern Qi's Zhuang Mohan's students were all high-ranking officials in the Qing Kingdom. If Northern Qi's Imperial Advisor Ku He wanted to take a Qing person as a disciple, the Qing people would only feel honored and would not feel anything else. Thus, the people did not have much of a reaction. On the contrary, they were happy to see it succeed.
However, Ku He taking a disciple was a major event. Furthermore, it was the young lady of an official's family. Naturally, he had to ask for the opinion of the elders in her family. Even Fan Jian did not dare to make a decision on this matter. He had to enter the Palace to ask for the Emperor's edict.
Among the layers of palaces, the Qing Emperor sat on the dragon chair and furrowed his brows slightly. After a long silence, he only asked, "Does An Zhi dislike Hongcheng that much?"
Fan Jian was frightened and didn't know what to say.
A glimmer of a smile flashed through the Emperor's eyes, but he was also shocked at Fan Xian's long limbs and great power. He also felt that Ku He loved that girl called Haitang too much and was not enough to cause trouble. In addition, he had exiled Fan Xian to Jiangnan, so he felt somewhat guilty. So, he waved his hand and allowed this proposal.
Not long after the Great Prince's marriage, Ku He left behind the diplomatic group and took Fan Ruoruo with him as he floated away from the capital.
Thus, the marriage between the Fan family and King Jing's family was pushed back indefinitely. They could only wait and see when it would truly disappear. King Jing's heir, Li Hongcheng, was originally under house arrest. Suddenly hearing the grievous news, he almost vomited blood. After King Jing learned of this matter, he entered the Palace and made a great ruckus. In the end, it provoked the empress dowager to come out and pacify him.
After King Jing returned to his manor, he could not swallow this anger. He led a group of gardeners and thugs in his manor and charged straight to Minister Fan's manor, which he had been on good terms with for generations. Regardless of whether it was the front or back manor, they smashed everything in a mess, turning the entire Fan manor into a dilapidated garbage dump. They destroyed countless antiques that Fan Jian had treasured for many years and chased the Fan manor's servant girls until their faces paled. In the end, King Jing gave Minister Fan, who had rushed back to his manor, a fierce punch in the eye and left a black mark. Only then did he arrogantly lead his troops back to his manor, slightly relieving the anger in his chest.
— — — —
By West Lake in Jiangnan, there were no lotuses in the beginning of spring, and a fine rain fell like a thread.
Fan Xian and his group had already lived in Hangzhou for almost a month. Although it was called a vacation, there was a deeper meaning for him to stay like this in Jiangnan, where spring was about to arrive. During these days, the Jiangnan branch of the Overwatch Council began to operate at full power. It was no longer like before, where all matters had to be handled through Jingdou. Instead, they were sent directly to the manor by West Lake.
This manor had become the second center of power in the Overwatch Council other than the main courtyard in Jingdou.
As for the situation of the Jiangnan Road officials, the details of the Ming family and the salt merchants, as well as the movements of the palace treasury in recent months, they were all summarized by the Fourth Bureau official sitting in the manor and then reported to Fan Xian. Without the geographical distance, the upper echelons of the Overwatch Council increased their control over Jiangnan. However, because the Ming family had reacted very quickly and had already begun to make arrangements as early as last autumn, the Ming family was also a large local family. The people they used were all family members, so the level of the spies they planted in the Council was not high enough and they did not obtain much useful information.
On the contrary, the Jiangnan water bandits subdued in Shazhou began to display an unexpected use for Fan Xian. Xia Qifei was a person with deep foresight and had long wanted to take back the Ming family. He had prepared for many years, so he had a much more detailed grasp of the Ming family's shipping channels and related information than the Overwatch Council.
The Ming family had been strangely quiet. They only heard that there had been a gathering of the upper echelons in Suzhou. It was clearly aimed at Fan Xian's arrival. However, that gathering was very secretive, and the Overwatch Council did not find any news.
Given Fan Xian's identity and status, in addition to the fact that he was disciplining the Third Prince in name, no one, regardless of whether it was the Ming family or the many officials of Jiangnan Road, dared to be the first to provoke him. As for Yun Zhilan and the others in Dongyi, they had only come to support the Ming family. Who would have thought that Fan Xian would so unreasonably launch a dog chase operation?
An immortal living in the mortal world could perhaps hide in the marketplace for a long time, but a group of immortals, no matter what, could not completely hide their tracks. The Peng manor, which no one lived in for many years, suddenly had more people living in it. Regardless of whether it was the purchase of food, fruits and vegetables, or the expensive daily necessities entering the manor, all of this fell into the eyes of the observant people in Hangzhou.
Thus, after a dozen days, the news that Commissioner Fan was in Hangzhou had spread like wildfire and spread throughout all of Jiangnan Road. However, he hid in the manor and did not see guests. The Hangzhou Zhizhou came once and was politely and firmly denied by the gatekeeper. Everyone knew that Commissioner Fan was still on vacation and did not want to be disturbed.
However, everyone was guessing what exactly Fan Xian was preparing for after being quiet for so long. He was quiet, and the people on the jianghu were also forced to be quiet. The number of people giving gifts to the big ship on the river did not decrease. The Ming family also respectfully and obediently moved out of a few other manors by West Lake, terrified of disturbing the Commissioner's peace.
The manor by West Lake was quiet, but it attracted the gazes of countless people.
…
…
A small boat floated on the lake. Two scholarly looking young men were sitting at the head and tail of the boat. In the middle was a short table. On it were fresh fruits and vegetables and Jiangnan water wine. It was very elegant and at ease.
The two of them were Fan Xian and Haitang after their disguises. The two of them did not smear any flour or anything like that on their faces. They only had Fan Xian skillfully pick at the corners of their eyebrows and then use a rubber hand to slightly raise the ends of their eyebrows. Once the eyebrows changed, the two of them immediately changed a lot. If one was not familiar with them, they would not be able to recognize them.
At this time, the small boat was slowly moving in a remote corner of West Lake. After the first break of the rain, the air on the lake was very fresh.
Recently, Fan Xian often went boating with Haitang on the lake. On one hand, he liked the scenery of the lake and mountains. On the other hand, Fan Xian was beginning to learn the Heart of Tianyi Dao. According to Haitang, he had to be close to nature at all times and use the yuanqi of heaven and earth to repair the damaged Meridians in his body.
After Fan Xian practiced the Heart of Tianyi Dao, he no longer gathered his zhenqi in the snowy mountains. Instead, he moved it to his dantian. The zhenqi that had accumulated bit by bit seemed to carry a fresh scent and slowly spread out in the walls of his Meridians, moistening his withered and damaged Meridians. Being on West Lake and close to the beautiful natural scenery, with the slightly cool lake water reflecting the white clouds and blue sky, and the sparse forest at the foot of the mountain to his side, the cultivation of the Heart was indeed much faster.
Fan Xian believed what Haitang said was reasonable, but he knew the more important reason was that his zhenqi cycle had one more cycle than other martial cultivators. In the past, he had practiced too much of it. In the past, he had only used it on rock climbing. Only now did he know that it was of great benefit to his mind's connection to heaven and earth.
He closed his eyes and half reclined at the head of the boat. His right hand, intentionally or unintentionally, rested on the side of the boat. His fingertips seemed to touch the slightly rippling surface of the lake, and a faint, almost imperceptible zhenqi slowly seeped out from his fingertips. Once it touched the lake water, it gently withdrew and flowed into his body, causing fine ripples to appear on the lake water where his fingertips touched.
Haitang gently rowed the two oars. A pair of eyes as bright as the lake water watched Fan Xian's fingertips. She furrowed her brows slightly and silently sighed. She thought to herself that the young man in front of her had a rare level of comprehension and luck. Like the scene in front of her, the zhenqi leaving his body and being tainted by the breath of nature, was clearly a sign of the third level of the Heart of Tianyi Dao. Although she was known as a genius, it had taken her five years of practice to reach this level. Fan Xian … it had only been a dozen days!
Although Fan Xian's current realm was much higher than when she had first entered the sect and his ability to comprehend was also much stronger, the speed of his progress still made Haitang feel a glimmer of disbelief and alarm. Fan Xian now had both the North and the South, and he held great power in his hands. He also had a good reputation among the people. If such a person walked the evil path in the future, who would be able to control him?
In reality, Fan Xian's ability to comprehend martial arts was far from Haitang's. The reason he was able to practice the Heart of Tianyi Dao so smoothly was partly because Haitang had taught him without holding anything back. Partly, it was because Fan Xian's zhenqi foundation was very solid when he was young. The third point was mentioned earlier. Fan Xian was very familiar with this method of zhenqi leaving and then returning. He was a stingy person, but it just so happened that he catered to the cultivation method of Tianyi Dao.
Seeming to sense what Haitang was thinking, Fan Xian woke up from his meditation and slowly opened his eyes. He gazed at Haitang with a not-quite-there smile and said, "Don't worry. If I really wanted to break the agreement, I wouldn't have let the Northern Qi person you brought to Jiangnan come into contact with so many things."
In his agreement with Haitang, or more accurately, the agreement between Fan Xian and the Northern Qi royal family, after the Eldest Princess' fall, the goods smuggled by the palace treasury to the North would not decrease. Furthermore, there would be a great increase in quality and level. Fan Xian had even agreed to the Northern Qi people's requests for certain goods that were strictly prohibited from leaving the country.
Miraculously, the Northern Qi person Haitang brought to Jiangnan was an official of the Northern Qi court. As the head of the Ministry of Revenue, he also held the post of the Ministry of Works' director. At the beginning, he had risen and fallen in the Ministry of War for a period of time. This official's career had not improved, but he was a talented and capable person. He could calculate accounts, knew the structure of weapons, and was skilled in inspecting goods. Haitang bringing him here to be responsible for the transaction with the Qing palace treasury was truly a very appropriate choice.
"I am a person who takes promises very seriously." Fan Xian gazed at Haitang and said, "I will certainly do what I promised you in Shangjing."
"We are the same." Haitang smiled slightly and let go of the oar handle, allowing the little boat to float on the lake without an owner. She said, "You should have received the news that teacher has already taken the young lady of the Fan family and left Jingdou."
Without waiting for Fan Xian to speak, she continued, "Fan Sizhe has already begun to gradually take over the businesses the Cui family left within our borders. You should know that if the Emperor had not nodded his head, these should have been taken into the national treasury and not become your private property."
Fan Xian shook his head and said, "The Cui family has always been a citizen of the Qing Kingdom. Even if he committed a crime and was caught, it should still be taken over by the Qing people."
Haitang ignored his sophistry and continued, "Furthermore, I have brought the Heart to you as you said. I think there is nothing for either of us to be picky about in the contents of the first part of the agreement."
Fan Xian nodded. This was a transaction that was beneficial to both sides. However, he didn't know why he trusted the Northern Qi people so much. Haitang also didn't seem to understand this point. Furrowing her brows, she said, "An Zhi, you sent your sister and brother to Shangjing. Don't say it was unintentional … why is that?"
Fan Xian smiled. He knew that she had finally sensed something was wrong, but he could not directly answer her. Did he have to tell a foreigner that he was worried that one day the Emperor would suddenly make a move to reshuffle the cards, so he had to leave some backup plans in the other countries under heaven?
He waved his hand and said, "This is nothing. As long as our agreement continues to be carried out, I trust that regardless of whether it is you or that … little Emperor, both will protect my family well."
Haitang raised her brows and said, "If the matter is exposed, how will you face everyone in the Qing Kingdom?"
"Face? I won't have the face to face them, "Fan Xian said with a smile. "Although I don't think of myself as a traitor, people will certainly think of me as the biggest traitor of the Qing Kingdom."
Haitang smiled and had no words to say against his frank and ruffian nature. Fan Xian continued to smile and said, "Besides, for this world, I don't mind being an internationalist."
…
…
"The auspicious signs in various parts of the Qing Kingdom were tampered with by you?" Haitang lowered her head and asked.
Fan Xian did not deny it. The matters in Wuzhou and Shazhou were done by the Overwatch Council. As for the stars and auspicious clouds observed by the Imperial Astronomer … don't forget, the previous Imperial Astronomer was the Second Prince's man. He had already been invited by the Overwatch Council for tea on a dark and windy night. Until now, he had not been released. The present Imperial Astronomer's relationship with Fan Xian was hard to fathom.
He thought to himself, The little Emperor of Northern Qi is in the North doing three white things. There are few wild beasts on the snowy mountains here, but when the auspicious clouds come out, they will always be able to suppress you. In the secret letter from the Emperor, it was clear that he was very satisfied with his arrangements. A sense of pride seeped through the lines.
"The Emperor of the Qing Kingdom …" Haitang deliberated over her words. "Although he has rarely appeared these years, everyone knows that the Emperor is a genius, particularly since teacher has taken your sister as his last disciple. It's hard to say that he won't guess something."
Fan Xian nodded. "These things cannot be hidden from the Emperor. As an official, I will not hide it. I have long written a secret memorial and presented it to him."
Haitang was slightly surprised and said, "You are quite open and candid. Then, is there anything you won't say?"
Fan Xian furrowed his brows and said seriously, "For example, moving the silver of the palace treasury into my own home. Of course, I would be too embarrassed to tell the Emperor about such a thing."
The little boat once again sank into silence, and the lake water once again became quiet. Fan Xian looked at the slightly worried Haitang and found that after half a year, this girl's temperament seemed to have changed slightly. Perhaps it was because she was new to the matters of court politics that it had a slight effect on her state of mind.
Facing Haitang, Fan Xian actually felt faintly uneasy. In the days they had spent together since last year, he had adhered to the principle of remembering one word in his heart. In their interactions, he had done his best to reveal his true feelings and treat her with complete sincerity. He would even say some incomparably childish things. On one hand, he truly treasured Haitang as a friend. On the other hand, he wanted to influence this woman from the bottom of his heart and obtain a powerful aid.
The sound of hurried hooves came from the lakeside. Fan Xian turned his head to look and saw a fine horse galloping along the stone path by the lakeside. It rode openly to the door of the Peng family's manor, where no official had dared to visit for many days. A somewhat familiar looking official flipped off the horse and angrily pounded on the door.
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