Many years later, when the Overwatch Council began to comb through the major event in the early autumn of the 10th year of the Qing Kingdom, there were still many questions that could not be explained clearly. When Director Fan Xian returned to the capital from Dongyi, he was ambushed by the Dongyi volunteer army. Was this news purposely released by someone in court, or was it just a coincidence?
After all, it seemed that only a high-ranking official of the Overwatch Council could know the little duke's whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Dazhou, the place where Ol 'Amos was on his way home to retire, happened to be brightly lit and filled with murderous intent. Was this a coincidence, or was it … God's will? Perhaps it was the latter, but at that time, the sky had long changed color. The intelligence officials of the Second Bureau of the Overwatch Council did not pursue the matter closely.
At least, the officials of the Ministry of Justice handling official business in Dazhou did not know that at the time, there was a long line of black Overwatch Council carriages outside the city. No one knew that Director Chen, whom all the court officials regarded as a ghost and feared, was in the carriages.
They had only received secret orders from their superiors and spent more than a year chasing after a criminal. As for the criminal's name, no one knew. All the clues they had were the criminal's martial skills and habits, as well as the appearance he had used. As for what the criminal had become in these three years, no one knew.
Perhaps this was the will of the heavens for Chen Pingping to encounter the encirclement in Dazhou. It was also because Chen Pingping had comprehended the will of the heavens that he had stopped his journey home in Dazhou and returned to Jingdou, where he should have stayed for the rest of his life.
— —
Everything about Florida started more than a month ago, and it wasn't just about Florida.
At that time, Fan Xian was still by the seaside, thinking hard about the will Sigu Jian had imparted to him and the little book Master Ku He had left behind. He experienced the nature of the Tyrannical zhenqi in his body and guessed whether or not the Emperor's cultivation of the Tyrannical martial method would create an unbearable burden on his body. He was watching the waves rise and fall, thinking that everything in the world was the same as yesterday, that the spring flowers had already bloomed, the autumn moon was hanging high in the sky, that he was the second most powerful man in the world, feeling proud of himself, thinking that nothing was difficult, that everything could be solved.
However, the world had already undergone subtle changes at that time.
That day was the beginning of July. The entire land was enveloped by the hottest sun of the year. Jingdou in the Qing Kingdom was no exception. The Third Prince, Li Chengze, was reading a book with both hands. Beads of sweat dripped from his delicate face. Back then, he had been the youngest brothel owner in the world. After experiencing the rebellion in the palace and countless bloodshed, he had finally transformed his unconcealable ruthlessness into a steady and firm will that did not match his age.
The Third Prince, Li Chengze, had already become a young man, a young man who treated people with courtesy, filial piety, and a young man who no one could find too many faults with. There were two people who had caused him to change so much in a short five or six years. One was his father, and the other was his teacher, his elder brother, Fan Xian.
When facing the Emperor, the Third Prince was careful and could not make any mistakes. It was a blood-like truth. The deaths of the Crown Prince's elder brother and second brother made Li Chengze understand very well what a terrifying existence his father was. Although these two brothers had once tried to kill him in the later years and their deaths were a good thing for Li Chengze, when facing his father, he still couldn't stop a chill from spreading out from his heart.
Because he was afraid, he was respectful and cautious, so he could not make any mistakes. During these three years, Li Chengze had even seen less of Fan Xian. He only shut himself up in the Royal Palace. Occasionally, he could find out through his mother what the teacher had done.
Li Chengze was also afraid of Fan Xian, his elder brother who could not be announced to the public. In the most important days of his adolescence, he had always followed Fan Xian and watched as Fan Xian, as an official, started a war between Jiangnan and the nobles in Jingdou and obtained the final victory. The pointer in Fan Xian's hand and cold gaze made him even more afraid to make any mistakes.
Fan Xian's true influence on the Third Prince was that he let the Third Prince know what he was going to do in the future and what he was going to become. Only then did he truly change his personality.
The Third Prince, Li Chengze, was destined to become the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom. The entire world was his, so he had to treat the world better. He was no longer like in the past, spending so much sinister thoughts to steal for the sake of some silver and realistic and short-term benefits.
The world is mine, and it will be mine. Why should I torment it? This was the creed Fan Xian taught the Third Prince, and the Third Prince deeply believed it.
The serving girl, Xing 'er, was gradually getting older. The young and inexperienced girl had gradually matured and developed a moving beauty. Xing 'er was at the side fanning the Prince. She watched with furrowed brows as the Prince continued to read while sweating. She couldn't help but feel a bit of pity in her heart.
Yi Guipin was chatting idly in Lady Ning's palace. There were not many idle people in Shufang Palace. Xing 'er looked at the Prince's handsome young appearance. Her gaze gradually grew distant.
Li Chengze clearly felt this gaze. The corners of his lips twitched into a smile. He didn't make any reaction. He only gently placed his hand behind his back and pinched the tip of Xing 'er's finger.
His smile was very similar to Fan Xian's.
"Do you want to rest first?" Xing 'er's face reddened slightly. "It's such a hot day, and the Emperor won't be coming …"
Li Chengze shook his head seriously and said in a quiet voice, "These are all on the list of books Sir made. Most of them are classics he dragged back from Northern Qi. I have to finish reading them this year and write notes for him to review."
He smiled bitterly and said, "If I don't pass, mother will beat me again."
Xing 'er bit her lip and said, "The Duke is in Dongyi right now. He doesn't have time to worry about so much."
After the Jingdou rebellion was quelled, although the Emperor did not remove Fan Xian's identity as a teacher, Fan Xian rarely went alone to see the Third Prince. The Third Prince also did not often cause trouble and leave the Palace. The two brothers both knew that the Third Prince was the true heir to the Qing Kingdom. The Emperor would not want this heir to grow up under Fan Xian's education. He would rather be taught by himself. In order to avoid this taboo, the two of them could only reduce their meeting.
Although Fan Xian rarely came to Shufang Palace, he still did not stop training the Third Prince in his studies. When he was in Jiangnan, Fan Xian had already told the Third Prince many stories. During these three years, he still made many lists of books and requested that the Third Prince read them all.
Other than being busy with official business, Fan Xian would also find time to look through the Third Prince's reading notes. For him, this was of the utmost importance. If the future of the Qing Kingdom was placed on Li Chengze's shoulders, he hoped that Li Chengze could become a benevolent ruler. Even if he did not have any great ambitions, he would at least be able to look after his family business well.
Every year during the New Year, Fan Xian's family would enter the Palace. That was the time he looked through the Third Prince's homework. Often, the whistling of the pointer could be heard in Shufang Palace, as well as the Third Prince's painful cries.
Xing 'er's expression was not normal. It was clear that she had become Li Chengze's first woman after he came of age. Of course, Li Chengze was also her first woman. Hearing Sir Fan junior's name, Xing 'er's eyes became unbearable. She said unhappily, "Sir Fan junior is also like this. He always strikes and doesn't pay attention to propriety at all."
When Fan Xian had first entered the Palace, it had been her who had taken him everywhere to visit. After these years of interaction, Xing 'er did not feel that the incomparably powerful Sir Fan junior outside the Palace was anything to be afraid of. She only felt that he was still the delicate and pretty young man from back then, so her words were not very respectful.
Li Chengze was very afraid of Fan Xian. With a pained expression, he said, "Because of this, he dared to talk back to father. Mother is also standing on his side. What can I do?"
Although he said this, he did not bear any grudge. On the contrary, he was faintly lost in thought. He sighed and said, "It's been a long time since I've left the Palace. I wonder how the matter in Dongyi is going."
Speaking of this, even Xing 'er's face couldn't help but light up a little. She smiled and said, "With Sir Fan junior taking action, what can there be that can't be done? Word has been going around in the Palace that the Dongyi matter has been settled. The Great Prince will immediately lead troops over."
The Third Prince naturally knew of the most important matter in the court. Thinking of how the teacher had performed such a great service for the court, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. He nodded and said, "It would be great if I could go as well."
A sense of longing suddenly appeared on the youth's face. "The happiest days of my life were actually two periods outside the Palace. One was when I was managing Baoyue Brothel with Sizhe. The other was when I was taken to Jiangnan by Sir. I don't know when I will be able to leave the Palace again."
In the process of anyone's growth, they would always unconsciously seek out a powerful person of the same sex as their goal and target to imitate. Even the princes born in the Royal Palace were no exception. However, they matured much earlier than the youth of the common people.
When Li Chengze was in the beginning stages of puberty, there were two large mountains in front of him that he needed to look up to. One was his father, and the other was Fan Xian. However, the Qing Emperor's power carried a coldness that kept people away and his family away. It was Fan Xian's power that truly had a bit of smoke and fire. It carried a stubborn, simple, and direct closeness.
Thus, the Third Prince missed Fan Xian very much.
A voice came from outside Shufang Palace. Before it could be sent, a head eunuch had already bent over and entered the inner Palace. Xing 'er furrowed her brows and glanced at the head eunuch. She gently bowed behind the Third Prince, not daring to be lacking in etiquette.
The person who came was Eunuch Yao, the head eunuch in the Royal Palace and a close official deeply trusted by the Emperor. Li Chengze narrowed his eyes and glanced at him. He felt it was strange. He didn't know what matter required him to personally come here. "Eunuch Yao, what is it?"
Eunuch Yao was a person who knew his limits. Although he was the Emperor's trusted aide, he knew that the Third Prince he was facing was one of the only two men in the Palace and the future Emperor. Thus, he properly bowed before evenly saying, "There is an old case being investigated in the internal court. There are some matters that are related to Your Highness, so I had no choice but to come and disturb Your Highness."
Li Chengze's pupils constricted slightly. Without question, he was a clever person. From these words, he had gleaned a lot of information. An old case? Related to him? He had lived in the depths of the Palace for many years. What kind of case could truly touch him? Furthermore, what kind of case would disturb him?
Baoyue Brothel? Impossible. Back then, Fan Xian had used this matter to cripple the Second Prince. It had been with the Emperor's approval. Now, he could not bring it up again. Furthermore, given his present identity, no one would have the courage to bring it up.
The light in Li Chengze's eyes dimmed slightly. He knew what the internal court was investigating. Three years ago, there was a rebellion in Jingdou. The Palace was in chaos. The Third Prince, Yi Guipin, and Lady Ning were all placed under house arrest in Hanguang Palace. At such a critical moment, someone in the Palace wanted to assassinate Li Chengze. If he did not have the poisoned dagger Fan Xian had personally made, he would probably have died a long time ago.
Afterward, there were some doubts about this matter both inside and outside the Palace. At the time, the Crown Prince had already controlled the situation in the Palace. Why would he do such an unreasonable thing? People also thought it was the Second Prince who did it. In the investigation afterward, they did not find any connection.
Li Chengze's own memory of the matter was particularly deep. He also wanted to find out who wanted to kill him. However, the Overwatch Council investigated for a long time and could not find any clues.
Fan Xian had once told him in private to stop investigating this matter. Thus, the Third Prince suppressed the anger in his heart and no longer paid attention to it. He knew that the teacher must have caught wind of something, which was why he did not continue investigating for him.
Yet, the internal court was investigating this matter now?
Concern for his own safety, anger toward the murderer who wanted to kill him, and trust in Fan Xian struggled for a moment in the Third Prince's mind. He made up his mind and shook his head. "I was quite frightened that day. I don't remember anything."
"Would I trouble Your Highness to come with me to draw a portrait?" After the two eunuchs were killed by Li Chengze, their bodies were quickly burned in the chaos. Too many eunuchs had died in the Palace rebellion that day. Even now, no one knew who the Third Prince's assassin was. Eunuch Yao glanced at the Third Prince and spoke respectfully.
Li Chengze's brows furrowed. He sensed something strange. "I still need to read. Since I am fine, don't worry about such a small matter."
"How can that be? Your Highness is a member of the royal family. How dare someone have thoughts of disloyalty toward Your Highness? The Emperor is furious and has ordered a thorough investigation. "
Li Chengze narrowed his eyes and looked at Eunuch Yao. He wondered what his father wanted to do now. If he was truly furious, then what had he been doing these three years?
…
…
At the beginning of July, the Third Prince, Li Chengze, began to think back to the Palace rebellion and the appearance of the two eunuchs who wanted to kill him.
That night, the young mistress of the Jingdou government was lost in thought as she watched the two approaching stars in the sky. She knew that her father's days had been much better. With the little Duke's help, no one in court dared to target the Jingdou government again. Even the popular man of the Hall of Governmental Affairs, Sir He Zongwei, had not been as ruthless as before. He was only quiet.
Thinking of Sir Fan junior, she couldn't help but think of the condition he had promised her during the Jingdou rebellion. A light smile gradually rose to the corners of her lips.
Chen Garden was bustling. Chen Pingping was making preparations to return to his hometown. None of the beautiful concubines in Chen Garden were willing to leave as he expected. Instead, they cried and shouted that they wanted to follow him back to his hometown and send him off. While the old cripple was puzzled and helpless, he couldn't help but think that perhaps when they looked at Fan Xian, they were not looking at cucumbers. Rather, they already had cucumbers.
In the Fan manor in the south of Jingdou, Lin Wan 'er and Sisi were holding a pair of children and feeding them. A few nannies and serving girls were chatting to the side. The wife of the Teng family was in front of the steps reporting in detail on this year's harvest in the Fan manor. In one of the three study rooms in the back garden, the Hangzhou Conference's accounting masters were waiting to report to their mistress on the amount of silver they had spent in the Jiangnan and Jiangbei areas to help the people.
Lin Wan 'er handed the bowl of porridge to a nanny and kissed Xiao Hua and Fan Liang on each cheek. She then walked to the door and stretched. Her actions were indeed not like that of a young mistress. However, Fan Xian spoiled her, so she was used to spoiling her freedom.
She looked at the multitude of stars in the sky and thought of Fan Xian far away on the shores of the East Sea. Involuntarily, she tilted her head slightly, thinking that everything was on the right track. If she was going to leave Jingdou to live a carefree life, where should she choose? Danzhou or Dongyi? She suddenly remembered that she had never been to Dongyi and couldn't help but want to go.
As she thought this, Fan Ruoruo, dressed as a doctor, pushed open the courtyard door with a medical box on her back and walked in. Behind her were a few servants who were anxious to take over the heavy items. Fan Ruoruo had returned from the countryside. Seeing her sister-in-law standing in the doorway, she couldn't help smiling and making fun of her.
In the distant Northern Qi Royal Palace, the Northern Qi Emperor sat on the jade platform in the main hall. She looked at the white sand in the pool beside the platform and the pair of fish lying on the sand. Her faint gaze was still lost in thought. By her hand were a few memorials. They talked about the circumstances of Sigu Jian's death and the inside story of the agreement between Dongyi and the Qing Kingdom.
Logically speaking, the secret of this agreement was not something the Northern Qi Brocade Guard could find out. It was clear that the man had purposely leaked the information to her.
The Northern Qi Emperor narrowed his eyes. For the first time in his life, a perplexed expression appeared. He didn't know what his country or his future would be like. The current situation seemed to be clear. There was no opportunity for the conflict between Fan Xian and the Qing Emperor to explode. What should Qi do?
If this had been in the past, perhaps he would have long made up his mind to have Fan Xian and the Qing Emperor fall out at all costs, even if he had to pay half of the national treasury's income or pay an endless price. Now, his thoughts had changed. He knew the power of the words Fan Xian had once said.
On that day at the beginning of July, the people of the land all experienced some ordinary or unusual things. A turning point in history, an event that caused the details of history to change, did not happen in Jingdou or Shangjing. Instead, it happened in a remote province in the Qing Kingdom.
This should have been a routine public security check. The bailiffs walked slowly under the hot sun, occasionally hiding in the shadows of the shops along the street to rest.
Gao Da, who had hidden his identity for three years in disguise, was busy at a noodle stall on the corner of the street. There was a healthy flush on his face. It was no longer as determined as it was in the past. Instead, it was filled with ease and satisfaction. The hand that used to tightly hold a long knife now easily held a long chopstick. With great skill and dexterity, he picked up noodles from the pot and placed them into a bowl. He sprinkled some Qingwu on it, and the fragrance rose.
After escaping from Dong Mountain, Gao Da had wandered through the various provinces of the Qing Kingdom. The Qing Kingdom's strict household registration system and customs clearance document system had made him suffer greatly. Although no one had discovered his identity, it was still difficult for him to settle down to a stable life.
He was a Tiger Guard of the royal family. He had not experienced much. He had no knowledge of the jianghu at the bottom of the common people. Once this Tiger Guard wandered into the shallows, it became very difficult for him.
Later, by a lucky coincidence, he landed in Dazhou. He finally had a completely new identity. He opened a noodle stall on this street. Every day, he basked in the sun and cooked noodles. He even brought back a wife and a son.
Perhaps this was true happiness. A wife and a child had a heated bed. Every day, Gao Da packed up his stall and came home to hug his wife, who made him feel hot all over. He even felt that even if he didn't use his knife, it wouldn't be a pity.
Of course, he was still cautious. Although he had learned over the years that the court had probably decided that all of the Tiger Guards were dead, he still didn't let the court know of his existence, particularly the internal court. As a Tiger Guard of the internal court, he knew that secretly escaping was a great crime of deceiving the monarch. Once caught, it would result in the execution of his entire family.
He continued to pay attention to Fan Xian's movements. Fortunately, Fan Xian was the most famous person in the Qing Kingdom. The discussions in the marketplace were always about Fan Xian. Thus, he knew that the Commissioner had been living well these three years. Furthermore, he had made many contributions to the Qing Kingdom. It was even possible that he could bring Dongyi into the map.
Gao Da was very happy. After drinking a few times, he felt that Sir Fan junior was indeed very powerful. However, he still did not think of going to find Fan Xian and think of a way to get rid of the crime on him.
He felt that he was living well now. There was no need to change anything.
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