(I recommend Rice Cake's new book to everyone. Please support it. Title: Ambitious Sky Demon Book Number: 1042406. The author's own YY introduction: The legend of the most powerful demon. Human beauties, demon saintesses, all stand still and don't move. Lie down obediently. PS: Today's chapter is talking about how old ginger doesn't die. It's just gradually fading.)
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The despairing empress dowager didn't say the answer Fan Xian wanted to know. Her lips trembled as she closed her eyes with difficulty. Fan Xian looked at the wrinkles on her face. There were not many strange emotions in his heart. He had long guessed this result. However, to be able to have such a conversation with this seemingly benevolent but actually ruthless old woman in the middle of the night was a kind of spiritual comfort for him, particularly at a time when the Emperor was about to return to the capital.
In reality, the empress dowager of the Qing Kingdom could not be considered to have a heart as evil as a scorpion. In these decades, she had not used the Emperor's filial piety and power in her hands to harm too many people or do too many evil things, other than the matter with Ye Qingmei. For some reason, for Fan Xian, this old woman's connection to that matter 20 years ago was even harder to tolerate than trying to kill him.
Furthermore, this old woman had always hated him. It was not until after the Hanging Temple incident and the Emperor acknowledged Fan Xian's identity that she pretended to pray in the Memorial Hall and gave him a string of prayer beads to express her attitude.
For people he admired and people who could not threaten him, Fan Xian could show his generosity and grace. However, for the empress dowager who had the power to threaten him, he did not admire her. He would also not show the filial piety and gentleness of a grandson.
After the Emperor returned to the capital and learned of everything that had happened in Jingdou, regardless of whether or not he could understand Fan Xian's forced entry into the Royal Palace at night and his helplessness in pointing his sword at the empress dowager, Fan Xian would not leave himself too many fatal openings. He slowly used his hands to massage the empress dowager's arm and sent zhenqi into her body, helping the slow release of the medicinal properties of the pill in her body gradually speed up, allowing her threads of life to gradually dissipate.
After carefully doing all of this, the empress dowager once again became a person who could not speak or move. Even her gaze became dim and vacant, like the dementia of an old person before death.
From a clean and efficient point of view, Fan Xian should have had the empress dowager die naturally before the Emperor returned to the capital. However, he did not dare take this risk and gamble on the Emperor's heart. If the empress dowager could live until the Emperor returned to the capital, then Fan Xian would not have to be responsible for her death. If the empress dowager died during the few days Fan Xian was supervising the country, he would probably have to face the Emperor's unreasonable anger.
He purposely raised his voice to say a few comforting words to express his filial piety and slight apologies. After waiting for a while, Fan Xian walked out of Hanguang Palace and nodded slightly to the serving girls and housemaids in the front hall. Under the respectful gazes of the crowd, he walked to the stone steps in front of the palace and glanced at the Eastern Palace in the distance. He didn't see any fire and didn't do anything else.
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At the brightly lit doors of the Royal Palace, Fan Xian saw King Jing hurrying over. This king was finally no longer dressed as a gardener. Instead, he was properly wearing a king's clothing. King Jing's manor and the Fan manor had always been on good terms. During the turmoil in Jingdou, they had relied on King Jing's identity to successfully hide their father in the manor. Fan Xian felt gratitude toward this king and quickly went forward to greet him with a deep bow.
He knew the reason why this king, who had always refused to enter the Palace, had hurried over tonight. The news in the Palace had already been released. All of the officials and people in Jingdou knew that the empress dowager's anxiety had attacked her heart because of the Crown Prince and Eldest Princess's rebellion. Additionally, the Royal Palace had been surrounded and she had been frightened. She had also caught a cold and was bedridden. She probably didn't have many days left to live.
Although King Jing often pretended to be a gardener and was unwilling to be close to his mother, he was, after all, the empress dowager's own son. Hearing this news, he rushed to enter the Palace. He looked at the handsome junior in front of him and couldn't help but sigh. He glanced at Fan Xian but didn't say anything.
Fan Xian's expression was calm. He had already clearly told King Jing that the empress dowager didn't have many days left. Although everyone knew that the empress dowager's anxiety had little to do with the Crown Prince, he was not worried that King Jing would see what he had done to the empress dowager. Some indirect news had confirmed that King Jing also knew martial arts. If he couldn't even hide it from King Jing tonight, how could the Emperor, who was about to return to the capital?
"Brother … is still alive?" King Jing asked after he finished sighing.
Fan Xian nodded. "At Taiping Courtyard, I saw the Emperor's letter to the Eldest Princess."
The expression on King Jing's face was complicated. As a second-generation disciple of the royal family, he had never participated in any political affairs, but he knew how far the Jingdou rebellion implicated. The news that the Emperor was still alive allowed him to clearly guess part of the truth. He said with slight mockery, "Brother, you are very broad-minded and have very powerful methods."
King Jing immediately thought of someone and furrowed his brows slightly. "How is she?"
Fan Xian knew who he was asking about. With a serious expression, he replied, "She has already passed away. She is now in the manor. I don't know what to do with her. Please, Your Highness …"
King Jing's expression was slightly sorrowful. He cut him off and said weakly, "You are now the regent. Everything is up to you."
Worried about his mother's illness, he didn't say much to Fan Xian. He only briefed him on Minister Fan's situation. Then, led by a few eunuchs, he hurried in the direction of Hanguang Palace. Fan Xian learned from the King that his father had safely returned to the manor. His heart calmed slightly. Shortly after, he remembered that there was still a large pile of troublesome matters to take care of in the manor. He couldn't help but furrow his brows.
Too many officials had died, and the Emperor had not returned. Jingdou was in chaos. No officials from the various yamens had returned, and there was no trace of anyone from Taichang Temple. The Eldest Princess's follow-up could only be resolved later.
After Ye Zhong resolved the Crown Prince's problem, he personally led an army out of the capital. He met up with the follow-up troops from Dingzhou on the plains and began to chase after the remnants of the rebel army. The Great Prince personally led the Imperial Army to guard the Royal Palace and could not easily leave. The Scholars Shu and Hu were in the royal study dealing with some urgent documents. Fan Xian looked around. Although he was the temporary regent, he had become a loner. Without people in his hands, he couldn't do anything.
Fortunately, after Sun Jingxiu of the Jingdou government surrendered, he resolutely carried out his duty. With the help of the Overwatch Council, he was working hard to maintain Jingdou's peace and order.
During the day, the fleeing commoners had already left the city through Zhengyang Gate controlled by Gong Dian. The remaining commoners in Jingdou began to wait bitterly for peace. Silence returned to Jingdou in the middle of the night. The fires that had been lit everywhere during the day were gradually extinguished. There were only a few places that still flashed with the light of fire.
Fan Xian stood on the square in front of the Palace gates and looked at the broken stone marks on the tiles, as well as the traces of fresh blood that had not yet been washed away. He paused slightly. Jing Ge's group of Black Knights, as well as the Overwatch Council secret agents who had carried out the ambush outside Zhengyang Gate, had suffered heavy casualties. Those who had luckily survived had already been sent to the Overwatch Council's square building for treatment.
He trusted in the medical skills of his brothers in the Third Bureau. The Imperial Academy of Medicine was also temporarily conscripted into private residences to bandage up the injured imperial soldiers and Dingzhou soldiers. However, many people still died.
In the far northeast corner, there were soldiers silently moving bodies. In the darkness, they piled up into a small mountain. It looked incomparably sinister. At this time, there was no time to move these bodies out of the city for burial.
Fan Xian looked at this scene and took out a medicinal pill from his clothes. He didn't drink any water. He chewed it in two mouthfuls and swallowed it. It was not an ephedra pill. It was a normal healing medicine. He coughed and used his sleeve to wipe away the threads of blood at the side of his lips. He couldn't resist shaking his head.
This was the first time he had experienced a true battle. Looking at scene after scene of tragic and heroic scenes happening in front of his eyes, he finally understood that digging graves and admiring corpses when he was young could not train his nerves to the point of being too emotionless.
In the depths of his heart, he once again said to himself, In this world, there is no good war or bad peace. He had to carry out the agreement he made with Haitang in the fifth year of the Qing calendar, even if he had to face a powerful enemy he had never encountered before.
Qingyu Hall should have already been burned to ruins, Fan Xian thought to himself. In order to not raise suspicions afterward, the surrounding private residences would also suffer. After the chaos, who knew how many private residences in Jingdou would be burned and looted. Presumably, it wouldn't draw too much attention.
At this moment, a rider galloped in from the northwest, startling the night that had just quieted. The people on and off the Royal Palace all tensed up. The exhausted imperial soldiers struggled to raise the weapons in their hands until they noticed that the newcomer was wearing the robes of the Overwatch Council.
Fan Xian's eyes narrowed as he looked at the subordinate galloping in front of him. He didn't say anything, but his gaze already carried a heavy questioning meaning. The newcomer was a member of the Qinian Unit. Wang Qinian had singlehandedly chosen him. His loyalty to him was without question. Thus, he had arranged for this person to secretly watch Teng Zijing's movements to prevent the old shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall from encountering any danger when they left the capital.
It was clear that something had gone wrong for this subordinate to gallop in front of him.
The Overwatch Council official looked into Fan Xian's eyes and reported in a low voice, "Something unexpected has happened."
There were no unrelated people around, so Fan Xian said straightforwardly, "Speak!"
The official looked around and said carefully, "The ignition went smoothly, and there was no problem in mixing in with the fleeing crowd and getting out of the city. However, the brothers who stayed here realized that they had alerted the spies here, but we don't know who they are."
Who were they? Of course, Fan Xian knew. It had to be the spies the Emperor had left behind. The things in the old shopkeepers' heads were too precious. There had to be a group of people in the Palace responsible for monitoring them. Even if there was a rebellion in Jingdou, these people would still be lying in ambush.
"I don't have many people on me," Fan Xian stared at him and said in a cold voice. Fan Xian stared at him and said in a cold voice, "I only gave you 20 … yet you still can't solve these problems!"
The official lowered his head and didn't dare make any excuses. "The other party's background is strong. Three of them got away."
Fan Xian no longer scolded the official because he didn't dare let too many people know about this matter. So, he carried it out very discreetly. Accurately speaking, he was taking a big risk. There were many loopholes in the original plan, so the execution was not smooth.
The official raised his head and glanced at him. Using a complicated emotion, he said, "Three got away. We later chased after them and found a dozen dead bodies … and one person left a message for you."
This sentence was difficult to understand. It didn't make any sense logically. Three spies from the Palace had gotten away, so how could they have found a dozen dead bodies? Fan Xian's heart thumped. "What message?"
"That person said … there was someone waiting at home."
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There was someone waiting for him at home, so Fan Xian rushed home at the first opportunity. It was the second time he had entered the manor today. He ran directly to his father's study in the back garden. The unlooted Fan manor was still as beautiful as ever. The light in the study shone through the glass and onto the fake mountains and clear water.
Just as King Jing had said, his father had already returned home safely. Fan Xian let out a secret sigh of relief. Without waiting for a report, he pushed open the door and entered. He saw Lady Liu packing something.
Fan Xian looked around and knew that his father had finished drinking the sour berries. In a time like this, his father still had the leisure to drink sour berries. Fan Xian couldn't help but feel admiration for his determination.
"Mother, are you well?" He respectfully bowed to Lady Liu. Lady Liu was now the official mistress of Fan manor. Of course, this was because of his efforts when he first got married.
Lady Liu smiled and said that she was going to comfort her daughter-in-law. She then left the study.
Sitting in the armchair, the Minister of Revenue, Fan Jian, raised his head and glanced at his son. Relief and a glimmer of reproach flowed through his eyes. Ever since the incident in Jingdou, this figure of the older generation, who had been hiding everywhere in Jingdou, finally stopped hiding his thoughts.
"The spies outside of Qingyu Hall were killed by someone I sent." Fan Jian gently tapped on the desk. He seemed to be deep in thought. Evenly, he said, "I don't know why you became so radical. You actually dared to carry out such a flawed plan … did you really think the Emperor couldn't see through it?"
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. His mentality had indeed undergone a great change. However, such a thing as courage often meant a flaw.
He sat down and respectfully said, "Thank you, father." He knew that his father was secretly training the Tiger Guards for the royal family. It would not make sense if his father didn't have some hidden power. It was not surprising that his father had sent people to kill the spies of the internal court. Furthermore, since he had told Ye Zhong the shocking news of the Emperor's survival, his father also knew about it.
"Killing is easy. The explanation afterward is what is complicated," Minister Fan said thoughtfully. "Even if Jingdou is in chaos and the army is killing, have you ever thought that the old shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall would coincidentally all be burned to death in the fire? You placed a dozen bodies in the fire. That was just deceiving yourself. "
Fan Xian listened quietly to his teachings.
"And those spies of the internal court, even if you used the power of the Overwatch Council to kill them all, how can you guarantee that your subordinates didn't have the Emperor's spies?"
"They acted separately. Other than the Qinian Unit, no one else knew the inside story," Fan Xian explained.
"Alright, even if the Overwatch Council has been turned into a metal plate by Chen Pingping, let me ask you, after this, who will explain to the Emperor why all the spies of the internal court watching Qingyu Hall died without a single one left?"
Fan Xian was speechless. Only now did he understand that even if they killed people to silence them, the deaths of the spies of the internal court, who should not have died at the hands of the chaotic army, would still arouse the Emperor's suspicions.
"Furthermore, these old shopkeepers still have family in Jingdou," Fan Jian looked at his son and said evenly. "Do they really want to leave? Do they dare to leave?"
"I only had Teng Zijing send the four old shopkeepers away. Qingyu Hall must have people alive for it to conform to common sense. Do you understand?"
"I understand." A layer of cold sweat appeared on Fan Xian's forehead.
"As for fighting with the spies of the internal court and having designs on the old shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall, it is not you or me. It is the Eldest Princess." Fan Jian's gaze became cold. "Those dozen bodies were Xinyang's suicide soldiers."
"Since we want to convince the Emperor, we have to make him believe it. The person who acted had this need. The Eldest Princess knows the importance of the palace treasury. Of course, she would want to fight for Qingyu Hall. Only she has this ability and this thought. "
Fan Xian was completely convinced.
Minister Fan suddenly sighed and said, "An Zhi … I don't know what you are thinking or why you are doing this, but you have to remember, in the end, you are a person of the Qing Kingdom. I am also a person of the Qing Kingdom. No matter what, don't do anything that will harm the foundation of the Qing Kingdom."
Fan Xian's heart jumped. He knew his father had seen through his plans at a glance. He wanted to defend himself, but he couldn't bear to lie and deceive his father. He could only helplessly remain silent.
Fan Jian looked at his son and sighed again. Shaking his head, he said, "I won't scold you. In the end, this palace treasury is your mother's. Although as an official of the Qing Kingdom, I don't want to see certain things happen, you can do whatever you want. "
Fan Xian's entire body shook. He hadn't thought his father would make such a decision. His father would not lie to him or harm him. He knew the importance of the palace treasury to the Qing Kingdom's unification of the world, so why would he still help him?
"I am already old, and I don't have much power." Perhaps Minister Fan knew something. A glimmer of tiredness and age appeared on his usually stern and handsome face. Slowly, he said, "After the Emperor returns to the capital, I will ask for my resignation. I will help you as much as I can in Jingdou. I can't just watch as something happens to you."
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