Fan Xian sat in the carriage and thought of the news Teng Zijing had just reported at the Palace gates. He felt a bit anxious. If he had known earlier that his sister had returned to Jingdou earlier, he would not have cared about the Prince taking on a Secondary fei. There was no sound in the royal study. He had long rushed toward the Danbo Bookstore.
Three months ago, he had received Ruoruo's letter from Northern Qi. Knowing that she could finally leave Qing Mountain and return home, Fan Xian was naturally happy. Following the instructions in his sister's letter, he had Wan 'er carefully choose a good location for a medical shop for her in Jingdou.
Unexpectedly, after Wan 'er's picking and choosing, she finally chose the one across from the Danbo Bookstore not far from the Imperial College. Fan Xian thought this was not bad. The three siblings could be considered neighbors on the street. He had not expected that Ruoruo would return earlier than the letter had said. Furthermore, according to Teng Zijing, she had only stayed in the manor for a short time before rushing excitedly to the location of the medical shop.
During these two years, Fan Ruoruo, as Master Ku He's last disciple, managed all the chores on Qing Mountain. As a Qing person, in addition to being Fan Xian's sister, although she had the silent permission of the Northern Qi royal family and the support of Lang Tiao, it was still difficult for her.
Other than managing the mountain gate, Fan Ruoruo would often go down the mountain to treat illnesses for the poor people of Northern Qi. Her fees were cheap, and her medical skills were brilliant. Additionally, she had a great reputation. Before long, all of Northern Qi knew that a kind-hearted and merciful doctor had appeared in the Tianyi Dao Sect.
After receiving a long period of instruction from her brother, this talented girl in Jingdou finally found her life's goal. Once she found it, she became very persistent. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stopped at home as soon as she returned to Jingdou to keep an eye on the progress of the medical shop.
Fan Xian rubbed the spot between his brows curiously, wondering whether his sister had become Hua Bianque or Fenghua. This was the question he had been most worried about in the past.
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Today, Dongchuan Road was packed with people and was bustling with noise and excitement. Although it wasn't a festival, there were countless people who came to watch the fun. Those who didn't know the inside story would probably think that there was a juggler performing inside. Dongchuan Road was close to the Imperial College. Most of the onlookers were young students of the Imperial College. They stood on their tiptoes and stretched their necks to look inside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the once famous young lady of the Fan family in the capital and see what she looked like.
Four or five years had passed. Of the famous talents in Jingdou, one, He Zongwei, had already entered the court as an official and was extremely popular for a time. The other, Hou Jichang, was far away in Jiaozhou and had almost been forgotten. As for the most famous young ladies in Jingdou, Ye Ling'er had fled far away to Qingzhou, and Lin Wan'er had married, so they could no longer be the topic of discussion at the tea table. Presently, the most popular topic in gossip circles was the barbarism of the young lady of the Wang family, the cowardice of the young lady of the He family, and the arrogance of the distant relatives of the royal family in the Imperial College.
To quote a comment that Fan Xian had once plagiarized: each generation is worse than the previous.
But, Fan Ruoruo was an exception. Back then, she had been famous in Jingdou for her talent in poetry. Later, she had gained the favor of the Imperial College and entered Ku He's school. She had obtained a good reputation in Northern Qi. How could the people of her hometown forget her? At noon, she had just appeared in the medical shop when she was recognized by a teacher of the Imperial College. From one to 10, from 10 to 100, it had become the most sensational news in Jingdou.
Fan Xian lifted the curtain of the carriage window and furrowed his brows. He looked angrily at the young scholars blocking the entrance to his bookstore and the medical shop that did not have a signboard. He thought to himself that these people were too impetuous, and his face showed some displeasure.
Seeing his expression, Mu Feng'er said in a low and cold voice, "I will immediately chase these people away."
Fan Xian did not comment. Teng Zijing quietly said, "I will go clear the area." Only then did Fan Xian nod his head.
These years, he had, with great difficulty, maintained his position in the hearts of scholars and successfully washed away much of the Overwatch Council's dark colors. How could he bear to let Mu Feng'er corrupt it? No one knew what Teng Zijing said after he got off the carriage, but the pedestrians and scholars blocking Dongchuan Road immediately dispersed, emptying out a large space at the end of the street. However, when those scholars passed by the black carriage, they all respectfully saluted the carriage, and only then did they silently retreat.
It looked like these people knew the identity of the person in the carriage, so they did not dare to slight him, particularly since the scholars already saw Fan Xian as their idol. Additionally, Fan Xian was also a professor at the Imperial College. How could they dare to linger? To be able to make a scholar bow to him proved that Fan Xian was not as simple as a noble.
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Dongchuan Road quieted down. Fan Xian got off the carriage and suppressed the excitement in his heart. Smiling slightly, he walked into the medical shop across from the bookstore. He didn't have time to see how Wan'er had cleaned up the place. His gaze glanced directly in. Unexpectedly, he did not see Ruoruo's face. He only saw the flimsy brocade robe and her slightly thin waist.
Fan Ruoruo did not notice the change outside the medical shop. She had long shaken off her absent-mindedness and was crouching in the inner room organizing the herbs. She had also brought back some rare and precious herbs from Qing Mountain in Northern Qi. She was thinking about how to store them.
Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from behind her, Fan Ruoruo did not rise. Straightforwardly, she said, "It's not open yet. If it's not an emergency, please come back in a few days."
Hearing this voice, Fan Xian was happy. Adding to the fact that these words contained the heart of a doctor, it made him involuntarily smile with satisfaction. Standing behind her, he said, "If it was really an illness, how could I wait for you to come back and treat it? Perhaps my own medical skills are lacking?"
Hearing this familiar yet somewhat strange voice, Fan Ruoruo's body trembled slightly. She immediately recovered her calm and stood up. With her back to Fan Xian, she tidied her clothes. Slowly turning her head, she bowed down and said, "Brother is here."
Although she was purposely suppressing her emotions, the brows on her face, the look in her eyes, and the curve of the corners of her lips all revealed the joy in her heart.
Looking at the joy on Ruoruo's sister's face, Fan Xian's heart felt an inexplicable pain. He did not understand why and could not make head or tail of it. He stared at his sister in a daze. He looked at this familiar face that he had not seen in many years. He looked at the familiar sense of ice and snow between her brows. It turned into a faint glow in front of him. He gently sighed.
Then, he took a step forward and gently touched his sister's head.
Ruoruo lowered her head slightly and habitually tilted her head.
Just like in the spring of the fourth year of the Qing calendar, when Fan Xian had first come to Jingdou and entered Count Sinan's manor, the long-separated brother and sister only needed a few words and a small action to dispel the sense of unfamiliarity created by time. They once again returned to the situation of the active monkey and the sickly little monkey from many years ago. They returned to the bits and pieces of conversation about flying geese from all over the world.
Fan Xian found a chest and sat down. Looking at his sister, who was still busy, he said, "How did you get here so early?"
"Didn't you also come back early?" Fan Ruoruo replied with a smile. She raised her arm and pressed her sweaty temples together. "There were no delays on the road, so I got here a few days early."
"You traveled thousands of li south. You didn't stay at home and rest for a few days. The matters of the medical shop will be arranged by your sister-in-law. You just have to ask questions and don't worry about this."
Fan Xian glanced at her disapprovingly. He found that although his sister was still thin, she appeared to be in much better spirits. Perhaps it was because she had often practiced medicine in the remote countryside these two years, her skin had also darkened a bit. Even the layer of ice that was commonly seen between her brows had gradually disappeared.
Although they often wrote to each other, it was never as thorough as when she was by his side. Fan Xian felt a bit of self-blame in his heart. When she had escaped marriage and left the country, it had all been arranged by him. Looking at his sister, he sighed. He didn't know how she had been these two years.
"The servants in the manor have changed a few times. I don't know a single person. I didn't even have someone to talk to. I sat in the Flower Hall for a while and thought about coming to the bookstore to take a look. I didn't know that the place you picked was right across from the medical shop." Fan Ruoruo very naturally pulled her brother up to prevent him from damaging the chest she kept the medicine in and said, "If you sit on this medicine, how can it be used by others?"
"Who am I? I am the immortal of poetry. If this gets out, I'm afraid people will pick this chest of medicine to buy. "Fan Xian told a very cold joke and then asked in surprise," Where's your sister-in-law? Where's Sisi? "
Minister Fan took Lady Liu back to Danzhou to retire and took away half of the servants in the old manor. Additionally, the manor needed people and the servants had to be betrothed. In just a few years, the entire Fan manor had become somewhat unfamiliar to Fan Ruoruo.
Fan Xian acutely noticed this. He thought to himself that even Si Xiang, that sleepy girl, had now properly become the wife of a county magistrate. In a few years, Jingdou had changed too much. It was best if Ruoruo didn't get used to it.
"Sister-in-law and Sisi took Teng Zijing to the country estate." Fan Ruoruo glanced at him curiously as if she didn't understand why her brother had asked such a stupid question. "I just entered the city with Teng Zijing today. Of course, I didn't run into them."
All large families had their own country estates and mountain businesses outside of Jingdou, much less a large family like the Fan clan. In the past, Fan Xian often played in these estates. For a moment, he had not thought that it would be winter. It should be time to prepare for the end of the year. Wan'er and Sisi, who were in charge of the Fan clan's businesses, were extremely busy.
He rubbed the space between his brows with a headache and said, "Your return is a major event. No matter how busy you were, you should have waited in the manor."
Fan Ruoruo glanced at him and said without good humor, "You and I both came back three days early. Who would have the divine foresight?"
Fan Xian patted his butt and rose. His brows raised in delight. "I could at least calculate that you should be hungry right now."
The front and back manors of the Fan manor had long been connected. The garden had also been changed. Even the people living inside were different. Fan Xian was still used to living with Wan'er and Sisi in the new manor. His father's old manor was empty. A servant woman had long cleaned up Ruoruo's old room. It was as clean as before. Fan Ruoruo followed Fan Xian through the door and thought of the dozen years she had spent in Jingdou. The rims of her eyes reddened.
Fan Xian could not bear to see a woman cry, except, of course, for his dead mother-in-law. He hurriedly took Ruoruo to the Flower Hall. There was no one else in the manor. The brother and sister sat facing each other, toasting each other with wine, stuffing themselves with food, and talking about their lives after they had parted. However, when they talked about the Jingdou rebellion, Ruoruo was incomparably worried. When they talked about the loneliness on Qing Mountain and the gazes of the Northern Qi people, Fan Xian's eyes became angry.
"How is my brother doing over there?" Fan Xian put down his wine cup and asked. Fan Sizhe had been dealing with the businesses in the North. Although the two of them had always exchanged letters and shared information, he still asked out of habit. From his sister's words, Fan Xian knew that Sizhe's life in the North had been difficult. Although the Northern Qi royal family had not done anything on the surface, they had secretly played some unremarkable tricks.
Fan Xian thought deeply for a moment and then said, "An uncut jade is worthless. The Northern Qi Emperor will not truly turn hostile for a while. Let him stay over there."
During these two years, Fan Sizhe had returned to Jingdou twice. He had also spent the Spring Festival in the ninth year of the Qing calendar in Danzhou. However, the Fan family had been forced to be far apart. It was difficult to gather together. Every time he thought of this, Fan Xian felt very unhappy.
The problem was that the Emperor could not allow him to resign at such a tense time. His father should not stay in Jingdou. Staying in Danzhou to take care of grandmother was better than constantly worrying about an unfortunate end.
Fan Ruoruo nodded. She did not have a sliver of doubt in her heart toward her brother's words. Regardless of whether it was her brother or herself, it was only under her brother's arrangements that they truly had a completely different life from that of other nobles. It was the most fulfilling kind.
"I'll rest today and talk properly tomorrow. Lao Wang is not here. There are many things I want to say to someone but have nowhere to go." Fan Xian mumbled a few inarticulate words, venting his rare gloominess. In this world, other than Lin Dabao and Wang Qinian, Uncle Wu Zhu and his sister, who had been greatly influenced by him, were the most suitable people to talk to.
Fan Xian even dared to say treasonous things to these four people. The problem was that Dabao was too naive and did not know how to say "and then". Wang Qinian had run away, Uncle Wu Zhu had escaped, and his sister was not here. Yet, she had finally returned.
This kind of feeling was very good. It was difficult for Fan Xian to suppress the joy in his heart. He didn't know how much wine he had drunk, but he did not want to take the antidote. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he lay on the table and fell asleep.
Fan Ruoruo looked at her brother, who reeked of alcohol, and shook her head helplessly. She ordered the servants to carry him back to his room and personally covered him with a blanket. She tidied his long black hair and carefully took out a few needles from his hair — just like a few years ago when Fan Xian had been injured before his wedding.
Returning to her own room, Fan Ruoruo looked at the thin needles in her hand that shone with all kinds of light and couldn't resist smiling slightly. She thought to herself that her sister-in-law should also know about these poisonous needles. Was she not afraid that something would go wrong when they were intimate? Or did she have to clean them up every night?
She immediately realized that she shouldn't have thought about this question. She secretly blushed and quickly put the needles back into the box. Fan Xian's final life-saving trick had been personally made by the two of them in the back courtyard. Naturally, she knew how to deal with it.
The house was old, the bedding was new, the people were old, and the things in their hearts were also old. Fan Ruoruo sat quietly by the table and looked out the window at the garden outside. She thought of her brother's drunken and happy appearance earlier and was a little lost in thought. From their conversation, she knew that although her brother had been living happily in the capital these years, there was always an indescribable pressure that made it difficult for him to be happy.
She sighed and put on a jacket. She walked out of the room and strolled in the garden under the old moonlight. In the room behind her, the flickering candlelight was looking for a shadow and telling it how bright its dreams were. It was the same moonlight as before, but somehow it made her more and more flustered.
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But Fan Ruoruo clearly knew that all of this was just an illusion. Regardless of whether or not her thoughts could be accepted in this world, the most important thing was that from many years ago, her brother had habitually taken care of her like a child. In Ji Yue Xin's arms, she had never had such thoughts.
She couldn't help but smile bitterly and helplessly. She thought to herself that she should quickly open the medical shop. There were still so many pitiful people in the world who needed her help. Why should she think of these childish thoughts that were difficult to express in the early winter?
Once she thought of these matters, the moonlight that fell on her delicate face seemed to become calm. Years of living in the North had made this girl's temperament undergo a great change. There was no longer that indifference in her calmness. Instead, there was a sense of calmness that could take and let go.
— — —
Putting aside what kind of commotion the young lady of the Fan family's return to the capital had caused, the Fan manor had become much livelier. Lin Wan'er, who had received the news, hurried back from the country estate. When sisters-in-law met, there was a sense of intimacy. Particularly when she saw her niece and nephew, Fan Ruoruo was endlessly happy.
This happy and harmonious family was an anomaly in the Jingdou manor. However, this kind of atmosphere could not be maintained for long because Fan Ruoruo was in a hurry to open the medical shop. The Palace also had Fan Xian bring Ruoruo into the Palace to see the Emperor.
Naturally, there were people to handle the matters of the medical shop. Seeing the Emperor only took a day. However, the young people of the second generation of the Fan manor could no longer be idle. Fan Ruoruo had studied in Qing Mountain for many years. This was her first time returning to the capital, so there were many elders and relatives she had to visit.
The first stop was, without question, King Jing's manor, which had a good relationship with the Fan manor.
In the past, this kind of visit was common. The problem was that Fan Ruoruo had almost become King Jing's daughter-in-law. Later, she had been sent by Fan Xian to Northern Qi to study under Ku He. King Jing had always remembered this matter. Whenever he saw Fan Xian, he would sigh and sigh. The situation between the two families was slightly awkward. When Fan Ruoruo knew she was going to the manor, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"What is there to be uneasy about?" Fan Xian looked at his sister's expression and thought of Hongcheng suffering in Dingzhou. His heart trembled. He didn't know whether he had done the right thing or wrong thing in the past. Forcing a smile, he said, "During the New Year, Hongcheng will also return to the capital. Are you going to hide and not see him for the rest of your life?"
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