"I don't think I did anything last summer."
Si Lili held her head in her hands and felt a headache coming on. Ever since Fan Xian had mentioned this in his letter to Duoduo, the Northern Qi Emperor and the two women beside him had sunk into endless thought. No matter how they calculated, they could not figure out exactly what they had done to Fan Xian last summer.
There was only one sentence in the letter. It was plainly written. It was like a warning, but it was more like a threat. The North did not understand just what had made Fan Xian so angry.
They did not think that the reason for all of this was because Fan Xian had miscalculated the year. His original intention had been to warn the women in the North that he already knew about the matter of the broken temple.
The Northern Qi Emperor furrowed his brows and coldly said, "Last year, I gave him a good sword through Wang Qinian's hand. Even if he saw through this matter, it's fine if he doesn't thank me. Why did he send a letter to threaten the aunt disciple?"
"The Wei Emperor's sword?" Si Lili covered her mouth and smiled brightly. "Or the Wei Emperor's sword?"
The pronunciation was the same. It took some time for the Northern Qi Emperor to understand this naughty joke. However, he didn't smile. On the contrary, his expression was slightly dark.
Si Lili's heart jumped. She knew the Emperor didn't like her to be too presumptuous, so she quietly closed her mouth and knelt to the side.
The Northern Qi Emperor slowly sat up. His hands moved back from his temples and tied up his long black hair. His two strokes of handsome brows straightened. Calmly, he said, "Let's not talk about this for now. Fan Sizhe has a large banquet tonight. I will have Wei Hua attend in my place. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Si Lili thought for a moment and then said seriously, "By tying the second son of the Fan family in Shangjing, Fan Xian will certainly behave himself in the South. Even if he has other thoughts, he has to think about his brother and sister."
"Speaking of sister, Ruoruo disciple should have arrived today." The Northern Qi Emperor smiled and waved his hand. He was unspeakably free and at ease. "As for what you say, it is a lie. It's not that we can threaten Fan Xian by tying the Fan family children in Shangjing. It is that Fan Xian has sent his brother and sister to this country and wants us to be nannies. "
He huffed coldly and continued, "What kind of person is Fan Xian? Since he dared to send them, of course he isn't afraid that we will use them as hostages. Back then, Chen Chen was so gentle and magnanimous in the palace. If you don't have any dealings with him, you won't know how sinister he is … "
Si Lili pursed her lips and smiled. "But His Majesty still agreed. I was talking about kidnapping, not taking hostages … Fan Ruoruo and Fan Sizhe are doing well in Northern Qi, and Fan Xian is in a good mood. In the future … perhaps he will come over one day?"
"How could it be so simple?" The Northern Qi Emperor smiled self-mockingly. "He is doing very well in the Qing Kingdom. Now that Li Yunrui has lost power, no one dares to touch him at all. How could he give up the supreme power in his hands and come to me? As for his arrangements, it can only mean that he is as sensitive and suspicious as his old Emperor. A crafty rabbit has three burrows. He only sees my country as a path of retreat for his family."
He sighed. "He just had to be born in Jiangnan and in the palace treasury of the Qing Kingdom. I need him for too many things. Even though I know he is using me, I can only agree."
Within a year, the Northern Qi Emperor and Fan Xian had each chosen a spokesperson. They began to use the route the Cui family had used in the past, through Xia Mingji and Fan Sizhe, and began to endlessly smuggle goods to the North. Both sides reaped great benefits. In order to prevent the Qing Emperor from becoming suspicious, the matter was done in great secrecy. Even if it was discovered, it would not implicate these high-level figures. However, the two sides were already tied together. That was why Fan Xian was at ease to have his sister-in-law stay in Northern Qi.
His earlier words were correct. The Northern Qi Emperor was the good nanny Fan Xian had found.
Furthermore, Fan Xian had already guessed the matter in the broken temple. When he used the Northern Qi Emperor, he was even less polite.
"Why would Fan Xian leave a path of retreat?" Si Lili asked with confusion. "Does he always think that the Qing Kingdom is not a place where he will live for long?"
"This is what I am most interested in." The Northern Qi Emperor smiled. "Just what kind of person is Fan Xian? In the process of climbing up in the Qing Kingdom, he has begun to look for a path of retreat. Does he think that one day, he will have a falling out with his Emperor? It's really … a little inexplicable. "
He paused and then continued, "Do you still remember the time he sent you back to the capital?"
Si Lili immediately thought of their gentle interactions on the North and the boundless spring in the carriage. Her face heated slightly. She lowered her head and didn't reply.
The Northern Qi Emperor laughed loudly. However, there was a slight sourness in the laughter. He used his finger to raise Si Lili's chin and gently said, "Lili, I don't like you by my side thinking about other men."
Si Lili lowered her head and didn't say anything. Her red lips held a smile.
The Northern Qi Emperor huffed coldly. He found that this girl was becoming less and less afraid of him. He pulled his hand back and said, "Didn't you once say that on the road back north, Fan Xian had given you an antidote? Since that is the case, he has saved both your lives and mine. That is why I don't understand. He cooperated with me for his own benefit. That is a matter for the future. Before this, it seemed that he didn't want me to die. Additionally, there is the matter of a path of retreat earlier. "
His brows were furrowed tightly. He could not understand it no matter how he thought about it.
"Fan Xian … does he really think of himself as a person of the Qing Kingdom?"
…
…
Si Lili slowly raised her head and smiled slightly at the worried Emperor. She didn't say that when Fan Xian was still in Shangjing, he had already guessed that the Emperor would not be harmed by the poison in his body. Although she was now a royal concubine and deeply loved by the Northern Qi Emperor, in addition to the unclear relationship between them, and deep in the Palace, she did not care at all about the threat from the Qing Kingdom's Overwatch Council. She also did not need to accept Fan Xian's remote control. For some reason, whenever she thought of the young man's hateful and gentle smile in the South, Si Lili's heart softened and hid much for him.
Perhaps it was to see how the emperor, who had always been far-sighted and far-sighted, would fly into a rage in the future?
"The Qing Kingdom is a great enemy of our dynasty." The Northern Qi Emperor furrowed his brows and said, "I have a clear understanding of the beast-like thoughts of the Qing people. Even if Fan Xian has endless hatred toward the Qing royal family because of the Ye family matter, he is, after all, a person of the Qing Kingdom. Why would he give me, no, this court so many benefits? Is he not afraid that once the Qi Kingdom falls, it will make the Qing Kingdom look bad?"
Hearing these words, Si Lili stopped her playful thoughts and sank into silence. She was a descendant of the Qing royal family and had an irreconcilable hatred with the Qing court. That was why she had turned to Northern Qi. However, Fan Xian was, after all, the illegitimate child of the Qing Emperor. Although the Qing Emperor had many restrictions on him, in three short years, he had made him the most powerful official in the Qing court. What was there for Fan Xian to be dissatisfied with? Why would he secretly make so many deals with Northern Qi?
It couldn't be because of her, Si Lili thought self-mockingly. It also couldn't be because of Duoduo, much less the Emperor. Although Fan Xian was a lustful person, he would not change his mind because of a woman.
After she was silent for a long time, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind. "Unless … he has never truly considered himself a person of the Qing Kingdom."
After saying this, she shook her head. Even she didn't believe these words. A strange light flashed through the Northern Qi Emperor's eyes. Immediately after, a faint disappointment rose.
If Fan Xian truly did not consider himself a person of the Qing Kingdom, then perhaps one day he would actually come to Northern Qi. If Fan Xian came, he would bring countless benefits, such as the secrets of the palace treasury, the internal affairs of the Overwatch Council, and his identity.
A prince of the Qing Kingdom, a successor that Zhuang Mohan had appointed to betray the Qing Kingdom and come to Northern Qi. What kind of shock would this cause? How much benefit and danger would this bring to Northern Qi?
If Fan Xian truly came to join, the ambitious Northern Qi Emperor would certainly accept him regardless of the danger. However, he knew that this kind of speculation was impossible. Everyone knew that Fan Xian was a Qing person through and through. The Qing Emperor would not be so stupid as to force his most promising son to not live on and take that last step.
In reality, it was just that the people of this world could not understand the thinking of Fan Xian, a modern person.
Ever since Fan Xian had said those words in the cave, he had already accepted his role as a person of this era. However, he did not have much of a sense of family and country. Because of the environment he had grown up in and the friends he had around him, his feelings toward the Qing Kingdom were even deeper. In his view, the disputes of the world were actually just a kind of internal dispute, like the eldest branch fighting the second branch.
It was like the Spring and Autumn Period or the Warring States Period. There was no sense of moral shame in jumping around. The concept of treason had never existed in his mind.
This was the unique mentality of outsiders.
— — —
Walking up the quiet stone path of the Royal Palace in Shangjing, the eunuchs and serving girls opening the way carefully supported the young man at the side, terrified that the young man in the dragon robe would accidentally fall. The eunuchs holding the horsetail whisks and water bottles behind him stood on their tiptoes and lowered their heads, not daring to make a single sound.
The expression of the Northern Qi Emperor was not very good. Ever since he was young, he hated having these servants around him, making it a rare opportunity for him to relax. However, the rules in the Palace had always been like this. No matter how angry he was, he could not change this unless he killed all of these servants. But, what could he do even if he killed them all?
Walking to the side of the third floor of the Palace, a green tree slowly lowered its branches and gently rested on the black eaves. It was a beautiful contrast. The little Emperor looked at this scene in a daze. He wondered why he rarely noticed these sights when he wandered around the Palace every day.
Was it because he saw so much every day that he habitually forgot?
He suddenly remembered what Haitang had once told him. The Qing Kingdom man imitated Haitang in walking in the Palace. The man seemed to walk happily. His eyes moved quickly and greedily. It was as if he wanted to take in all of the beautiful scenery in the Palace. Did that man naturally like beautiful things, which was why he could write such beautiful and clean words?
The Northern Qi Emperor lowered his head. With his hands behind his back, he sank deep into thought.
A moment later, he raised his head. A confident smile hung on his face. His feet changed direction and headed toward a mountain path to his right. At the end of the mountain path, the sound of a waterfall could faintly be heard.
The eunuchs and serving girls beside him jumped in fright. Wasn't the Emperor going to the summit to plant osmanthus? Why did he turn in that direction? No one dared to make a sound to stop him. They could only follow silently.
The mountain path turned a few times and came to a platform by the cliff. There was a pavilion on the platform.
The Northern Qi Emperor pointed at the pavilion. The eunuchs and serving girls at his side immediately rushed over. They set down the garden stools, lit incense, and swept away the dust.
The Emperor walked into the pavilion and looked at the stream below the pavilion and the spring flowers facing the cliff. His heart jumped slightly. In a quiet voice, he recited, "Slapping the railing, the flowers in the forest blow at my temples, the mountain wind is cold, the grand song startles the floating clouds away."
The people beside him hurriedly flattered, "Your Majesty …"
The Northern Qi Emperor smiled self-mockingly. He thought of how Fan Xian had only said three words to him in this pavilion, "Good words."
…
…
"To flatter me so carelessly … Fan Xian, you are still the only one." The Northern Qi Emperor smiled. Standing by the railing, he looked at the beautiful scenery of his world.
"Everyone retreat. Everyone retreat," he suddenly ordered.
The eunuchs and serving girls in the pavilion looked at each other. The mountain rocks were cold. If the Emperor caught a cold, how would they explain it to the empress dowager? They knew that Northern Qi was the Emperor's country. Although the Emperor was young, his will was unusually firm. After Shen Zhong's death, the Emperor had strongly advocated for Shang Shanhu to be released to the South to fight against the Qing Kingdom. He had also presided over a few major changes in the court. Even the officials did not dare to look at him as if he were a child.
The pavilion immediately returned to its usual peace and quiet.
The Northern Qi Emperor stood by the railing and took a deep breath. Thinking of Fan Xian's suggestion at the beginning, he thought that this kid was right. A moment later, he thought of another matter. His brows slowly furrowed. In a quiet voice, he said to himself, "Fan Xian, what exactly do you think?"
"First worry about the worries of the world and then rejoice in the world's happiness?"
"This world … is it the Qing Kingdom's world, or the entire world?"
The Northern Qi Emperor's brows gradually relaxed. He faintly sensed the truth of the situation. The corners of his lips twitched up in a rare manner. A strange smile appeared on his face. In a quiet voice, he said, "If you come to join me, I will make you a Prince. That is at least a bit better than your current little duke. "
…
…
Take a day off tomorrow …
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