A posthumous edict had thrown the court into chaos. The officials gritted their teeth and resisted. It was as if everyone had personally seen this posthumous edict. Through Shu the Scholar's words, everyone knew that the posthumous edict, which could at least topple the Crown Prince in name, was still in the hands of the Duke of Danbo, Fan Xian.
Then, where was Sir Fan junior? For now, putting aside the heroic scene of swords drawn and crossbows drawn in Taiji Palace and blood splattered everywhere, the powers that wholeheartedly wanted to help the Crown Prince ascend to the throne, including the Eldest Princess, who seemed to be doing nothing behind the scenes but was actually the root of the chaos in the Palace, were all sniffing around Jingdou and trying to find where Fan Xian was hiding.
Capturing Fan Xian, killing Fan Xian, nailing Fan Xian, and destroying the posthumous edict. Then, no matter how chaotic the court became, it would not be too chaotic. The scholars Shu and Hu had lost their last support. No matter how strong they were, they would not be able to mobilize the civil officials to fight against the royal power.
Taiji Palace had just officially announced that Fan Xian was the main culprit of regicide and a great crime. The powers outside the Palace had been hunting and assassinating Fan Xian for many days. Jingdou was too big. The resources in the Eldest Princess' hands could even faintly control Jingdou. Yet, she was unable to find a trace of Fan Xian among tens of thousands of people.
The Eldest Princess had no way of stopping Fan Xian from secretly meeting with Shu Wu the night before the Crown Prince's ascension and doing so many things in secret.
No one knew exactly where Fan Xian was hiding.
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…
In a remote alley far from the center of Jingdou's royal power and not close to the most luxurious and wealthy residences in Jingdou, it appeared particularly quiet. The sorrowful and terrified Jingdou people on the street were unable to enter this alley. There were only a few green trees swaying freely in the early autumn weather.
The alley was called Yangcong Alley. It was a very unremarkable name.
At the end of the alley was a small courtyard. The courtyard had been bought by someone two years ago. Half a year ago, a woman moved in with a few servants. No one knew what the woman's identity was to be able to buy such a quiet and secluded courtyard. However, during this half a year, there had never been a visitor.
There was a battle to the death going on in the Royal Palace. The main culprit of this matter was sitting leisurely under the shade of a tree in the courtyard. As he drank hot tea, he lowered his head and thought about something.
Fan Xian wore a green cloth robe. His face had been slightly altered. Although it did not decrease his handsome aura, it made him appear more reliable. Gently twirling the slightly hot cup with his fingers, he suddenly frowned and said to the beautiful woman beside him with deep eye sockets, "Other than Prince Heqing, who else knows about this courtyard of yours?"
The beauty pursed her lips and shook her head. Her big eyes were filled with curiosity and excitement. "Fan" Fan Fan ', the beauty shook her. She. She had, and had not.
Yes, this little courtyard was the secret place that Fan Xian had secretly purchased and gifted to the Great Prince before the New Year as a golden house to raise pampered children.
The beauty whose appearance and expression were very different from the dignified women in Qing Kingdom was the princess of a tribe in Xi Hu who had followed the Western Expedition Army back to the capital, Ma Suosuo, who had troubled Fan Xian for a year in Jiangnan.
Other than Deng Fan Fan, as he as Deng, no, no, he, no, no... by., no, as,, no. Fan, no, no., no, no. And after this courtyard was given to the First Prince, with the First Prince's cowardly personality, it was even more impossible for him to spread it around. Thus, after Fan Xian contacted the officials last night, he did not return to the inn. Instead, he chose to come to this small courtyard. He was not worried at all that the Eldest Princess would guess.
There were people watching all around the Fan manor and the Overwatch Council. The Yan manor and Wang Qinian's family were probably all watched by aces from the internal court. Fan Xian didn't want to take any risks. Only this little courtyard in Yangcong Alley could guarantee his safety. At the same time, it was convenient for him to communicate with that important person.
Hearing Ma Suosuo's curious reply, Fan Xian's brows furrowed slightly. He stood up from the chair and looked calmly at the back door on the left side of the alley.
This was because he heard someone walking towards the courtyard, and it was obvious that the person was not the First Prince he was waiting for.
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…
With several clangs and creaks, the wooden door of the nameless courtyard was unlocked from the outside and pushed open. Ma Suosuo looked at this scene in shock and couldn't help but cover her mouth. The servants in this courtyard had all been bought by the young master of the Fan family. No outsider had ever come to this courtyard. Who was this person?
She turned her head to look at Fan Xian and called out in a low voice, "Young master, run!"
Fan Xian did not run. He only looked at the woman walking in from the back door and smiled. The emotions in his smile were complicated. He then bowed to the ground and said, "Greetings to wangfei."
The person who had come was not Prince Heqing. It was Prince Heqing's consort, the Great Princess of Northern Qi.
The Great Princess's expression was calm. There was a smile in her eyes and brows as she looked at Fan Xian silently. A moment later, she slowly bowed and said, "Greetings, little duke."
Fan Xian raised his hands in surrender and shook his head with a bitter smile. He thought to himself that he had been waiting for the eldest in the courtyard, but this person had come. From this, it could be seen how much the Great Prince feared his wife. He had even reported his little golden room to the Great Princess.
"Suosuo, you go in first." Fan Xian waved his hand. He knew wangfei did not want to see this beauty of Xi Hu, so he indicated for Ma Suosuo to temporarily hide in the inner room.
Wangfei had come alone. Although she had not purposely disguised herself, it was clear that she had been arranged. Fan Xian looked at her calmly and extended his hand to invite her to sit. After a moment of silence, he said, "Wangfei is very daring. You know that the Palace is certainly watching Prince Heqing's manor, yet you still dare to come alone and meet with me."
After contacting the civil officials last night, the person Fan Xian wanted to contact the most was the Great Prince, who controlled the Imperial Army. However, rumor had it that Lady Ning was already being held in Hanguang Palace. There were also many spies from the internal court and the Jingdou garrison outside Prince Heqing's manor. Thus, Fan Xian had found a clever way to leave a message in the manor, hoping the Great Prince would think of a way to contact him.
He had not thought that the person who had come today would be wangfei.
"Sir Fan junior is the one with the courage forged from the heavens …" wangfei smiled slightly in response to his words. "You know that the various powers in Jingdou are urgently searching for you. You know that the Crown Prince is ascending to the throne today, yet you are able to sit peacefully in a small courtyard and quietly watch the situation develop. I really don't know if you have a card up your sleeve or if you are at your wit's end."
"It is not true that I have a card up my sleeve. It is also false that I am at my wit's end." Fan Xian gazed at wangfei's gentle face and quietly said, "If I didn't have an idea, why would I disturb wangfei?"
Wangfei replied in an even voice, "Presently, the situation in Jingdou is dangerous. His Highness is responsible for guarding the Imperial Army and cannot return to his manor. If Sir Fan junior wants to meet with him, I'm afraid it will be difficult. However, I don't know what difficulties Sir Fan junior has for me to take the liberty to come see you. I hope Sir Fan junior won't take offense. "
Fan Xian sank into silence. A moment later, he suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Great Princess, I am a regicide and a rebel. Since you dare to come see me and ask me what difficulties I have, then you understand what I mean."
Wangfei's gaze was slightly chaotic. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
Fan Xian lowered his head and thought for a moment. He moved half a foot closer to wangfei's side and quietly said, "Does wangfei still remember what you and I said inside and outside the carriage when we traveled south from Northern Qi?"
Wangfei smiled slightly. "Naturally, I won't forget the promise. However, that was then and this is now. The situation in Jingdou is too dangerous. His Highness is relying entirely on the Imperial Army in his hands to hold on bitterly. If you truly want to do something big, I'm afraid the Prince's strength will not be enough. As a woman, I am even more unable to agree."
"Holding on bitterly?" Fan Xian laughed quietly. "Are you talking about the matter of changing people in the Jingdou garrison yesterday?"
Wangfei fell silent.
Fan Xian sighed. Changing people in the Jingdou garrison could be considered to have hit his vital spot and the Great Prince's weak spot.
At first, the Jingdou Garrison had always been under the control of the Ye family. Later, it was controlled by the second generation leader of the Qin family, Qin Heng, for two years. Until last year, because of the attack in the valley, the Emperor used this as a pretext to purge the power distribution in court. He moved Qin Heng into the Bureau of Military Affairs as a deputy and appointed the Deputy Commander of the Great Prince's Western expedition, Xie Su, as the Commander of the Jingdou Garrison.
However, all of this had changed yesterday. After the empress dowager stabilized the Palace, her first order was to remove Xie Su and have Qin Heng once again become the Commander of the Jingdou Garrison.
Xie Su had been removed for no reason. However, because of the Emperor's assassination, the Imperial Army was under great pressure and could not speak at all. Furthermore, this fierce general of the Western expedition had been in charge of the Jingdou Garrison for less than half a year. It was impossible for him to form his own power. The Qin family had changed hands and taken it back. The Great Prince and Xie Su could do nothing about it.
Fan Xian also had a headache over this matter. The control of the Jingdou Garrison had changed hands. Putting aside the major matter that Xu Maocai of the Jiaozhou Navy had suggested to him, it meant that all of the military power on the outskirts of Jingdou was already in the hands of the Qin family.
He glanced at wangfei and furrowed his brows. "The Jingdou Garrison is stationed at Yuantai. As long as there are no problems with the 13 city gate guards, the one who can resolve the situation in Jingdou is still the Imperial Army."
"I have never forgotten my promise to you, Sir," wangfei looked at him and quietly said. Wangfei looked at him and quietly said, "However, you have returned from Dong Mountain. You don't know how strict the Palace in Jingdou is right now. The King is still able to barely control the Imperial Army because the empress dowager has not given an edict …"
Fan Xian was silent.
Wangfei continued, "Why is the empress dowager at ease letting the King control the Imperial Army? Because she knows that the King is a straightforward lover. He will not cause chaos or rebel … "
Without waiting for wangfei to finish, Fan Xian had already smiled. "The current situation is that someone in the Palace is rebelling."
Wangfei forced a smile and said, "The problem is, whoever sits in Taiji Palace has the right to decide who is rebelling. If you, Duke of Danbo, were in the Palace right now, by the empress dowager's side, reading the posthumous edict that has already been publicized today, I can guarantee that the King would be your strongest supporter. "
…
…
"Take out the posthumous edict," wangfei suddenly urged. "No matter how you look at it, if the posthumous edict is publicized right now, there is still a fighting chance. Otherwise, we can only continue to be passive."
"No, there are still many people who have not moved, such as my mother-in-law …" Fan Xian calmly said. "With the posthumous edict on me, it can at least maintain peace for a period of time. Once the posthumous edict actually comes out, then the two sides will have no choice but to fight openly."
Wangfei said with slight mockery, "Even at a time like this, does the Duke still want to maintain a calm and clear mind?"
Fan Xian smiled self-mockingly and said, "I am not a stupid person. The reason why the posthumous edict hasn't been publicized is actually the same as what wangfei said earlier about the King's silence. "
He stared into wangfei's eyes and slowly said, "Lady Ning is in the Palace. Of course, the King cannot do anything. Don't forget, my wife and concubines are also in the Palace. If we were to fight openly, neither the King nor I would be able to bear such losses."
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