Just as the people in Baoyue Brothel had once said, Jingdou had been peaceful for a year. The biggest reason was because Fan Xian had been exiled to Jiangnan for an entire year.
Following Fan Xian's return to the capital, the peaceful Jingdou could no longer maintain its apparent calm. For one, he just so happened to be at the point of conflict between various powers. For another, his style of doing things was completely different from that of a so-called immortal poet. It was even much more ruthless than the style of most of the nobles in the Qing Kingdom.
The attack in the valley, the assassination in the night in Jingdou, the silent deaths of certain people, and the humiliating imprisonment of certain officials made the nobles in Jingdou once again deeply feel Fan Xian's power and determination. It made them understand that Sir Fan junior had been raised in the spring sunshine of Jiangnan for a year, but it had not made his personality much gentler.
After Fan Xian returned to the capital, shocking things happened one after another.
The most recent thing was that the Northern Qi court had shamelessly come over and shamelessly expressed their love for Fan Xian. With unusual disgust, they criticized the Qing court for not protecting Sir Fan junior's safety.
Everyone in Jingdou found this absurd and angry.
To put it another way, this was Qing domestic politics. When was it the place for rotten Northern Qi scholars to speak up? However, the Northern Qi people had spoken up, and they had spoken up particularly loudly.
In an instant, Fan Xian was pushed to the heart of the struggle. Although the clever people did not believe that he had any shameful collusion with Northern Qi because Northern Qi's methods were too childish, the nobles and common people of the Qing Kingdom still felt uncomfortable in their hearts. The gazes they turned toward the Fan manor were complicated.
The storm of this matter had not calmed. In just two days, on the first day of the new year, the entire Jingdou became fearful because of another matter related to the Fan manor.
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…
There was not a glimmer of light in the sky.
Fan Xian sat in the carriage and rubbed his slightly sore eyes. He thought to himself, Is there a need to be so sneaky about paying respects to the ancestors? Yesterday was New Year's Eve, and the whole family played mahjong through the night. After Fan Sizhe and Lin Wan 'er divided up the family's assets, the mahjong game ended, and the whole family immediately got on the carriage and left the manor.
Along the way, there were carriages from the other branches of the Fan clan converging together. Although each branch was calm, such a long line of carriages did indeed appear to be rather large.
Fan Xian felt a faint excitement and nervousness in his heart. This was the first time he was paying respects to the ancestors, so he didn't know it should be at the fifth watch. Last year, when Fan Manor paid respects to the ancestors, he and Wan'er had stayed in the garden. He vaguely remembered that it should have been in the afternoon.
He glanced at the sleeping Sizhe beside him and couldn't resist shaking his head with a smile. In his own carriage, presumably no yamen in the Qing Kingdom would be blind enough to search for Sizhe, this criminal.
Thinking that he could finally enter the ancestral hall today, the smile on his face never faded. He did not know how his father had negotiated with the Emperor when he entered the palace, but in the end, it was clear that the Emperor had helplessly nodded and the Empress Dowager had maintained her silence.
Speaking of which, since the royal family could not give him a title, did they want him to never have a reliable surname for the rest of his life?
Fan Xian smiled coldly. In reality, he could guess the outcome of his father's negotiations with the Emperor. The Emperor had made him the Duke of Danbo. In his opinion, he had already given enough of an explanation. Furthermore, given the situation at hand, the Emperor did indeed need Fan Xian to clarify his identity to prevent his sons' fight for the family property from becoming more complicated. The Overwatch Council's reduction of power was far from enough. If Fan Xian wanted to continue walking the path of a powerful official, the first thing he had to do was remove himself from the ranks of the princes.
The carriages traveled for an indeterminable amount of time and waited for a while outside the city gates. When the gates opened, they drove out under the soldiers' unconcerned gazes.
Following the official road all the way west, they finally entered the country estate that Fan Xian had once visited, the Fan clan's ancestral property.
Over 30 carriages lined up and stopped on the dam outside the ancestral hall. The people of the country estate had long come to receive them. It was like this every year. They had all become skilled workers. Temporary bamboo shelters for the women to sit in had long been put up. Lady Liu, Wan 'er, Sisi, and the elders and women of the other branches had all been received into the courtyard to rest.
The present leader of the Fan clan, Minister of Revenue Fan Jian, stood at the bottom of the steps of the ancestral hall. He wore a tri-colored formal robe and looked calmly at everything in front of him. However, a warm and happy feeling welled up in his heart.
He had raised a son for the Emperor and finally raised his own son. Could this be considered the most successful day of his life?
The leading figures of each branch of the Fan clan had already disembarked from the carriages and stood in order of seniority outside the ancestral hall. They stole glances at the leader at the head of the table. Each of them had complicated emotions in their hearts. Thirty years ago, the Fan clan was already one of the large clans in the capital. Fan Jian's branch was only a side branch and weak family. If it had not been for that old ancestor who had supported the present Emperor and King Jing, how could Fan Jian have become the leader of the clan?
After Fan Jian became the leader, he was very strict with the members of the clan. His own official position grew higher and higher. No one in the clan dared to disobey him. Furthermore, there was now another person called Fan Xian in the Fan manor.
Everyone put down the clothes they needed to worship the ancestors. Peace incense was lit. The sacrificial items had already been prepared. The monk who often served in the ancestral hall respectfully spread out a row of felt blankets and slowly pulled open the main doors of the ancestral hall.
With a creak, the doors made of black wood were pulled open. A gust of cold wind surged out from inside. It was as if the ancestors of the Fan clan were coldly watching their descendants.
The hundreds of men of the Fan clan lowered their heads and lined up.
At this time, the door of a carriage behind them opened. Fan Xian, dressed in cloth clothing, calmly stepped out. Following his father's hand signal at the bottom of the stone steps, he slowly moved forward between the two groups of men.
The atmosphere in front of the ancestral hall had been solemn. The men of the Fan clan didn't even dare to breathe too loudly for fear of disturbing the spirits of their ancestors. However, when they saw the man who walked down from the carriage, they still couldn't help but widen their eyes in shock and surprise. Their mouths gaped open as they let out countless sighs of surprise.
At the back of the line were the teenagers. After seeing Fan Xian, they were even more frightened. These were the pitiful little overlords whose legs had been broken by Fan Xian outside Baoyue Brothel and whose buttocks had been smashed by Lady Liu in the Fan manor.
Fan Xian had also come to worship the ancestors. These little overlords of the Fan clan were so frightened that their legs trembled.
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Fan Xian walked steadily forward and gradually approached the stone steps of the ancestral hall. He saw that at the bottom of the steps, his father seemed to be arguing about something in a low voice with a few elders. Fan Xian had seen those elders before. He knew that they were virtuous and well-respected elders in the Fan clan. One of them seemed to be someone he had to call "Uncle" …
The face of the highest-ranking Uncle in the Fan clan was full of worry. He quietly said to Fan Jian, "Yide … this is not appropriate."
Fan Jian smiled slightly and said, "Second Uncle, what is not appropriate?"
The Uncle's eyes were full of fear. Lowering his voice, he said, "This child … this child …" He suddenly stopped talking. Did he have to say in front of the clan leader that his son was not his own? But, he was still terrified. The elders of the Fan clan in front and behind him were also terrified. They had not thought that this year's worship of the ancestors would create such a large ruckus. It was all because the manor had quietly brought Fan Xian here.
Everyone began to talk at once. Although they didn't dare say it openly in front of Minister Fan, they all vaguely expressed their worry. However, they didn't dare speak too loudly for fear of disturbing the ancestors in the ancestral hall.
Everyone was dissatisfied. They thought, He is not a descendant of the Fan family, what right does he have to worship the ancestors? What they were more afraid of was that Fan Xian was the son of the dragon. Would the empress dowager and the Emperor be unhappy that he had returned to the Fan family?
Fan Xian did not give these elders a chance to start a debate. He had already walked in front of his father. First, he bowed respectfully to the elders and then stood by his father's side.
Fan Jian smiled slightly and pointed to a spot in the line. "Your place is there."
Seeing that the clan leader would not listen, no one dared to object. These elders of the Fan clan were actually more afraid of the scent that Fan Xian carried on his body.
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…
"The ancestors are meritorious, the clan is virtuous."
"All things come from heaven, man from the ancestors."
White smoke curled around the inside and outside of the ancestral hall. Utensils were on display. The men kowtowed one by one. Amidst the rising and falling chanting, the Fan clan's worship of the ancestors proceeded steadily. However, people couldn't resist sneaking a few glances at Fan Xian.
Fan Xian had already knelt, bowed, and kowtowed in the ancestral hall. Now, he stood to the side and looked at the paper flowers filling the sky and the snow on the distant mountaintop in a daze. He knew that his name could finally be recorded in the Fan clan's genealogy. For a moment, a bright color appeared in the depths of his heart.
Fan Sizhe kowtowed in the direction of the ancestral hall in the carriage. It was not convenient for him to get off.
Fan Xian stood by the carriage and couldn't resist sighing. He thought to himself that he had been reborn. In the cave in Northern Qi's Xi Mountain, in front of the dying Xiao En, he had acknowledged his belonging to this world. Now, in front of the Fan clan's ancestral hall, he had once again confirmed his belonging to this world. His life had finally been branded with an indelible mark. He was intimately connected to this world and could no longer be separated.
The morning light arrived early. The white fog in the country estate and the fog in the ancestral hall mixed together and could no longer be separated.
…
As Fan Xian stood by the carriage outside the ancestral hall of the Fan clan and sighed, almost at the same time, across half of the Qing Kingdom's territory, in one of the largest manors in the world outside Suzhou in Jiangnan, Xia Qifei knelt in front of the ancestral tablets and cried silently outside the ancestral hall that was even taller and more majestic than the Fan clan's ancestral hall.
No, it should be said that the present Seventh young master of the Ming family, Ming Qingcheng, trembled in front of the ancestral tablets and allowed tears to wash his face.
The current head of the Ming family, Ming Qingda, used a complicated gaze to look at the crying Ming Qingcheng, his seventh brother who had left home when he was young.
Ming Lanshi stood below Fourth Uncle and looked at this "Seventh Uncle" who had never had the opportunity to enter the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors. His face remained calm, but the depths of his heart were filled with a sense of defeat.
Fourth Uncle had been released by the Suzhou government half a year ago. From then on, he began to be tied together with Xia Qifei and opposed the Ming family at every turn. Without question, that failed assassination had made the Fourth Ming master give up on the Ming family leader.
The Ming family's situation was difficult. There was too little silver to circulate, so they could only stretch out their hands. Although Zhaoshang money house had provided great help, if the business on the Eastern road and on the sea did not improve much and they continued to borrow money, then … there would be too many problems. Furthermore, there was now another power within the family. His aunt's sons stood by the Fourth Ming master's side.
Thinking of this, Ming Lanshi hated the imperial envoy far away in Jingdou. The present situation had been single-handedly created by that person, including Xia Qifei entering the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors and return to the ancestral home. It was also part of the agreement made back then.
Ming Lanshi didn't know why his father would agree to this request.
…
…
Xia Qifei wiped away the tears on his face and knelt on the ground. Facing the ancestral tablets, he quietly said in a voice only he could hear, "Father, mother … that old witch is already dead. I have finally returned."
Ever since he was a child, he had been chased out of the Ming family home and had escaped death countless times. Even when he later became the Commander of the Jiangnan water bandits, he had only thought of one day using blood and fire to get revenge. However, he himself could only become a lonely ghost. He had never dared to hope that he could openly return to the Ming family.
Presently, he was not only the Commander of the Jiangnan water bandits, but also the unknown supervisor of the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council stationed in Jiangnan Road. He was already the owner of Xia Mingji and was responsible for the sale of palace treasury goods in Northern Qi Road. At this moment, he had also obtained the identity of the Seventh young master of the Ming family. In the future, the Ming family's enormous fortune would have his share.
It might even all be his.
Of course, Xia Qifei knew that even if the Ming family became his in the future, what was his would also be Sir Fan junior's. Everything he had now was given to him by Sir Fan junior with both hands. Xia Qifei was a person who knew how to repay kindness. He was also someone who knew his limits and did not have too much ambition.
As long as he could get his revenge and return to the Ming family, everything was fine.
The Fourth Ming master, who had long lost the ruthlessness of the past, went forward and helped him up. Comfortingly, he said, "Seventh brother, as long as you're back, it's fine."
"Thank you, fourth brother." Xia Qifei stood and stared blankly at the head of the Ming family. Shortly after, he smiled and said, "Big brother, then I'll go out first."
Ming Qingda smiled slightly and walked a few steps closer. Moving close to his ear, he said in a quiet voice that only the two of them could hear, "Seventh brother, there is still a lot of time. I won't keep you for a meal today."
This was something he had forcefully forced Ming Qingda to agree to before he left Jiangnan. Since he had already done it, he did not have much of a good attitude toward the Seventh Ming master.
Xia Qifei laughed coldly. He knew the hidden meaning in Ming Qingda's words. Jiangnan and the Ming family were now split into two. As for who would be the leader, it would still depend on the outcome of the struggle in the Palace in Jingdou.
During this year, Ming Qingda had endured silently and used all his methods to delay Fan Xian's ruthless methods in order to buy time and wait for Jingdou's counterattack. He believed that he wouldn't have to endure for much longer.
However, Xia Qifei's thoughts were the exact opposite of Ming Qingda's. He was also waiting. He was waiting for the day that Sir Fan junior would completely win. He had never believed that Sir Fan junior would fail.
…
…
Walking out of the main door of the Ming ancestral hall, Xia Qifei glanced at the various expressions of the clan disciples in the garden. A self-mocking smile appeared on his face. Thinking about it, not many of these clan disciples truly saw him as the Seventh master.
The Fourth Ming master had been following by his side the entire time. In a quiet voice, he said, "Although we already have three people on our side, he is, after all, the head of the family. Some things cannot be hidden from him."
"We don't need to worry about business." Traces of tears remained at the corners of Xia Qifei's eyes. Calmly, he said, "Put as many guards in the garden as you can. I will send someone to keep an eye on it. If after the situation is settled and he still wants to struggle at death's door, then don't blame us for being heavy-handed."
The Fourth master was startled and furrowed his brows. "Don't mess around. All of Jiangnan is watching Ming Garden. Even Sir Fan junior would not dare to do such a thing."
Xia Qifei was startled. He didn't say anything more and walked out of Ming Garden.
Outside the garden, beside the carriage, Su Wumei, who had lost an arm, was waiting for him. She looked at the traces left on Xia Qifei's face and knew that he must have suffered a great emotional upheaval. She forcefully suppressed her excitement and said, "Congratulations, First Master."
"Hmm?" Xia Qifei smiled.
"Congratulations, cousin." Su Wumei smiled warmly. "Congratulations, Seventh master."
…
On the first day of the New Year, in the manor of Jingdou, the Second Prince was drinking tea and playing Go with Ye Ling 'er. Suddenly, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from outside the study. He couldn't help furrowing his brows slightly. Although his power in Jingdou had been completely uprooted by Fan Xian, it was just as he had said in Baoyue Brothel. He was not worried at all because these were only minor problems. As long as Fan Xian could not touch him, the root of the Royal Family, in the future, it would be Fan Xian's turn to be worried.
The housekeeper knocked and entered. Disregarding wangfei sitting in her seat, he hurriedly moved closer to the Second Prince's ear and told him the shocking news he had just heard.
The Second Prince's expression immediately changed. The black, matte chess piece between his two fingers fell into the teacup and made a pfft.
After the housekeeper left, Ye Ling 'er asked with a smile, "What happened now?"
In the eyes of this young imperial concubine who was not yet 20, the more wretchedly her husband was beaten by her teacher, the better. It would be best if he was beaten until his heart gave out and he no longer cared about the matter of the dragon chair.
Fan Xian was beating the tiger in Jingdou while Ye Ling 'er was secretly laughing in the manor. Seeing the shock on her husband's face, she thought that her teacher was doing something again, so she was not worried. On the contrary, she had the urge to watch a good show.
It took a long time for the Second Prince to ease the shock in his heart. Looking at his wife in astonishment, he said, "Fan Xian, he … went to worship the ancestors today."
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