"You are all well-read and have the world in your hearts. Why don't you dare to speak your mind? If you do well, your names will go down in history. If you like it, then do it. " Ban Han's fingertips were as tender as spring onions. She raised her chin slightly, looking very arrogant. The officials felt a sense of anger from being looked down upon.
"Generals gain a good reputation by suppressing foreign enemies and guarding the borders. Naturally, civil officials maintain peace and stability in the country and shed blood for the people, leaving a good name for generations to come." Ban Ti raised the corners of her eyes slightly and said with a noble air, "Why do you have to make things difficult for a weak woman like me?"
"If our death remonstrations were useful, then we wouldn't have bothered Princess today …"
"Aren't you all standing here?" Ban Han lowered her eyes, lowering her head to pick up the fine porcelain teacup on the table. "If your death remonstrations are useless, then I will go to the palace to see His Majesty no matter what."
She was almost saying, "Go and die first. If you don't die, how do you know that death remonstrations are useless?"
"What a good Princess Fule," an official said angrily. "It's because there are too many people like you who don't do anything. That's why my great cause is ruined and the people in the world don't have enough food to eat and clothes to wear …"
"This official's surname is Wang, right? I remember you once said that the Ban Family was ridiculous and useless, and that they were the parasites of the court. "Ban Han chuckled." The Lord Wang is so upright and righteous. How could you let someone like me help you? Wouldn't that ruin your reputation? "
As soon as she said this, the angry official suddenly became like a deflated frog. He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. He did say this in front of his colleagues, but in a public place, he never said these words. How did Princess Fule know?
Could it be that one of his colleagues deliberately passed his words to Princess Fule in order to curry favor with the Ban Family?
"Lord Wang, don't be afraid," Ban Han's gaze swept over these people. These officials uncomfortably avoided Ban Han's gaze, not daring to look directly into her eyes. "You're not the first person to say bad things about me, and you won't be the last. Living in this world, if there is no one to comment on it, it will be lonely. I don't blame you. "
Ban Han was referring to all of you, not you.
When Lord Wang saw that his other colleagues looked uncomfortable, he felt less awkward. At least he was not the only one who had made such a mistake.
Among these people, only the new top scorer stood in front of Ban Han, neither servile nor overbearing, and did not avoid her gaze. He had never said anything bad about Ban Han. Even after Xie Qilin eloped with someone else, he had argued with others over Ban Han.
However, at that time, he was not the top scorer, and no one cared about what he said.
"Forgive me for not being able to help you, Sirs. Please return."
The other officials wanted to say more, but the new top scorer bowed and said, "We've disturbed you. Farewell."
"He came to pay a visit, but he didn't write a letter or bring any gifts. Can he be considered someone who knows the rules?" After these people left, Ban Han snorted and said, "Don't worry about them. They talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and criticize the world. However, at this juncture, they don't dare to offend Her Majesty, but they let you go. They are really shameless."
"Since you know that they are such people, what's there to be angry about?" Ban Han chuckled, and her tone was full of sarcasm. "When they were gossiping about me, they never thought that today, they would not even be able to raise their heads in front of me."
"This tells us a lesson. Do you know what it is?"
"You can't speak ill of others behind their backs?"
"No." Ban Han shook her head. "When you speak ill of others, you have to choose the occasion. Colleagues and friends are not necessarily reliable. That person surnamed Wang spoke ill of others, and that afternoon, someone came to accuse him in order to curry favor with me. Therefore, in front of power and benefits, there are many people who are willing to be villains. There are loyal and righteous friends in the world, but not everyone is like that. "
"Sister, you don't want me to say anything in front of my friends?" Ban Han blinked. "Don't worry. Even if I want to tell them a shocking secret, I don't know what to say."
"That's a good point."
Nearly ten days later, the capital was still very hot. Suddenly, an imperial edict was sent out from the palace, summoning Marquis Cheng 'an to the palace to meet the Emperor. Who would have thought that halfway through the journey, Marquis Cheng' an fainted in the carriage because of his wound opening and the hot weather? In the end, Her Majesty could only let the guards take Marquis Cheng 'an back to the palace, and the matter of meeting the Emperor was left unsettled.
After Marquis Cheng 'an woke up, he was extremely frightened and submitted two memorials to the Emperor to ask for forgiveness. However, Her Majesty could not bear to punish Marquis Cheng' an. Not only did Her Majesty not reprimand her, she allowed Marquis Cheng 'an to rest in peace and gave him many good things to nourish his body to show how much she valued him.
Marquis Cheng 'an, who was seriously ill, could not enter the palace, but others already knew how much Her Majesty valued him. The courtiers who used to support the Crown Prince began to express their goodwill to him, either intentionally or unintentionally. Everyone knew that the Second Prince and Marquis Cheng 'an did not get along well. The Crown Prince had always admired Marquis Cheng' an very much and had once said in public that "a gentleman should be like Junpo". Therefore, the courtiers who supported the Crown Prince all hoped that Marquis Cheng 'an could help the Crown Prince plead for leniency. At least, they could not let the Second Prince sit on the throne.
Even Shi Chonghai, who did not have a good relationship with Marquis Cheng 'an, had recently praised Marquis Cheng' an from time to time to show his position.
Many people did not want the Second Prince to ascend the throne, especially when news came from the disaster-stricken counties that many refugees had been killed by the garrison. The criticism about the Second Prince in the imperial court increased.
In the end, the courtiers who had come to Ban Han to put in a good word for the Second Prince did not go to the Great Moon Palace to remonstrate. They just wrote poems that worried about the country and the people to express their anger and worry. The only person who went to the Great Moon Palace to beg for an audience with Her Majesty was the Zhuangyuan Scholar. He knelt in front of the Great Moon Palace for four or five hours and finally fainted under the scorching sun. He did not see the Emperor Yunqing. Instead, he angered the courtiers who supported the Second Prince. In the end, he was removed from his official position and was idle at home.
When Ban Han heard the news, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Finally, there is a person who is truly courageous. What is the name of this Zhuangyuan Scholar?"
"Chen Yang, courtesy name He Yang, from Xuezhou," the guard replied. "People outside all laughed at him for being young and ignorant. That's why he ended up like this."
"He did act impulsively, but the world needs people like him who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Only then will someone come out to uphold justice." Ban Han put down the sandalwood fan in his hand and said, "Have someone prepare a gift and send it to Chen Zhuangyuan's house in my name."
"Your Highness, Chen Zhuangyuan does not have a mansion. He is living in a small rented courtyard," the guard said. "Now that he has lost his official position, I'm afraid he can't even afford to rent a small courtyard."
"Then add another 300 taels of silver and send it to him." For Ban Han, not to mention 300 taels of silver, even 3000 taels of silver was just a matter of a few words. However, she knew very well that with Chen Zhuangyuan's character, he would not accept more than a few hundred taels of silver even if he was beaten to death.
"Your Highness, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about it? Everyone in the capital knows that the Second Prince and I dislike each other. What's wrong with me helping someone he doesn't like?" Ban Han sneered. "Right now, he is only Prince Ning, not the Emperor of the Great Ye Dynasty. What can he do to me?"
Her title of nobility was bestowed by the Emperor Yunqing. Even if Jiang Luo's neck was only an ornament, he did not dare to touch her.
"Yes, this subordinate will do it right away."
Ever since he had suffered heatstroke outside the Great Moon Palace, Chen Heyang had been seriously ill. He had been recuperating at home for many days, but he had not completely recovered. Several of his colleagues had come to see him once or twice. They all said that he was too impulsive and should be cautious when doing big things.
Later, these colleagues gradually came less and less. He was short of money, so he had to pawn some things to pay the rent for the second half of the year. His life was really difficult.
When he heard the servant say that Princess Fule's bodyguard wanted to see him, he almost thought that there was something wrong with his ears. Ten days ago, they went to see Princess Fule, but the Princess made fun of them. Now that she sent someone here, did she come to laugh at him again?
Although he was suspicious, he did not dare to hesitate and hurriedly welcomed the person in.
The person who came was about 27 or 28 years old. His appearance was ordinary, but he had a dignified aura. At first glance, it was obvious that he was a martial artist. Behind him were several servants carrying gift boxes and carrying baskets. They were all dressed decently and looked honest.
"Your Highness has heard of Chen Zhuangyuan's great achievements and admires Chen Zhuangyuan's character very much. These small gifts are Your Highness's kind intentions. Chen Zhuangyuan, please do not refuse." Now that Chen Heyang did not have an official position, but his scholarly achievements were still there. Calling him "Chen Zhuangyuan" was the most respectful way to address him.
Chen Heyang did not expect that he would not receive ridicule, but a serious gift. Looking at the pile of gifts, there were medicinal herbs, cloth, and meat. They were all practical things. It seemed that the honorable Princess had considered his difficulties and used this reason to send him gifts.
For a moment, Chen Heyang's heart was filled with mixed feelings. He stood up and bowed to the guard, saying, "Your Highness's kindness is appreciated, but these …"
"Your Highness said that if Chen Zhuangyuan does not care for these things, you can throw them away. She has never liked people to return the things she has given out." The guard stood up and bowed to Chen Heyang. "Chen Zhuangyuan, please do not make things difficult for me."
"This …"
The guard did not wait for him to speak and directly said, "Farewell."
"Hey, wait!" Poor Chen Heyang was a scholar who did not have the strength to truss a chicken and was still ill. How could he be faster than the servant? By the time he reached the door, the servant had already ridden away.
"The Jingting Gongfu is really illustrious. Even the servant has a horse." The servant supported Chen Heyang, his eyes full of envy.
Chen Heyang heard this and smiled bitterly. There were as many nobles in the capital as there were hairs on an ox, but there were not many families as illustrious as the Jingting Gongfu. He was a poor scholar with no power or influence. Now, he had no value at all. Others did not dare to help him too openly, but this Princess had sent servants to help him with great fanfare. It really made him feel that there was something strange in the world.
Returning to the study, Chen Heyang looked at the poem he had written when he was disheartened. After a long time, he crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the wastepaper basket.
A real man should not regret his actions and not doubt his actions. This was how it should be.
"Young Master, Young Master." The servant suddenly came in with a black cloth bag, "I found this."
Chen Heyang opened the bag and looked inside. There were more than ten taels of silver, a few strings of copper coins, and three banknotes worth a hundred taels of silver.
At this moment, Chen Heyang felt that the yellow and white thing in his hand was heavier than a thousand pieces of gold.
The next day, Ban Han received an IOU for three hundred taels of silver. The paper on the IOU was written very nicely. After Ban Han took a look, he handed the IOU to Ruyi and said, "Put it away."
Chen Heyang was an interesting person. He didn't send her things back to her, nor did he calculate the value of her gift into the IOU. He was doing her a favor and upholding his principles at the same time.
"He can be considered an upright and not too stubborn person," Ban Han said to Ban Heng, who was sitting with him, "This kind of person can barely be called a gentleman."
Ban Heng raised his eyebrows and said, "I thought that your standards of a gentleman had improved after you spent so much time with Marquis Rong."
Ban Han smiled and said, "I am a tolerant person."
"Then I really can't see it," Ban Heng whispered.
Ban Han looked at him with a smile and did not say anything. He silently lowered his head and drank his tea, not saying anything else.
It was already the seventh month, and the heavens seemed to have finally remembered that it had not rained recently. The first dark cloud finally appeared in the sky above the capital.
Ban Han dismounted from her horse and looked at the dark clouds in the sky. Was it going to rain?
When the servants guarding the gate of the Rong Estate saw Ban Han, they immediately greeted her warmly and said, "This humble one greets the Imperial Princess."
"No need to be so polite." As soon as Ban Han stepped through the gate, bean-sized raindrops began to fall. She froze for a moment and then smiled.
"It's raining, it's raining!"
The servants of Rong Xia's estate were very well-behaved, but when the raindrops fell, she could still hear some people screaming with joy. It was clear how many people were looking forward to this rain, and how long they had been looking forward to it.
She stood in the corridor and watched the rain turn into a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye. She seemed to feel the heat rising from the ground.
"Imperial Princess, please be careful. Don't let the rain wet your skirt." Two servant girls stood in front of Ban Han to prevent the rain from splashing on her body.
"It's fine," Ban Han saw that the two servant girls were standing in front of her and pulled them back, "Be careful, don't get yourselves wet."
"Imperial Princess …" The two servant girls looked at Ban Han in a daze, their eyes filled with gratitude.
In the curtain of rain, Rong Xia slowly walked over with an umbrella. He walked up the steps and looked at Ban Han, who was talking and laughing with the servant girls, and did not see him. He softly said, "Huahua."
"Why are you here?" Ban Han turned around and looked at the man holding the umbrella, "Your injuries haven't healed yet, how can you get wet in the rain?"
"I heard that Huahua is here, and it's raining outside, how can I sit still?" Rong Xia raised the umbrella above Ban Han's head and smiled gently at her, "You haven't been here for two days."
"It was too hot two days ago, I didn't want to go out," Ban Han walked side by side with him, along the corridor to the Jiuqu Lake Bridge. The rain made pitter-patter sounds as it hit the umbrella.
"Be careful," Rong Xia gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tilted the umbrella in her direction, "a little closer."
Ban Han looked at him with a smile, then turned to look at the blooming lotus flowers in the lake, "The lotus flowers in the rain seem to have a special flavor."
Hearing this, Rong Xia slowed his steps and accompanied Ban Han to slowly admire the flowers.
"It is said that a long time ago, there was a carp spirit in the lotus pond," Rong Xia looked at the carp happily swimming in the water, "She cultivated all day long, and in the end, she finally turned into a human."
"In the end, she fell in love with a scholar?"
Rong Xia shook her head.
"Later, she became an immortal and flew away."
Ban Han: "…"
"Are you telling this story to scare me?" Ban Han squinted at her.
Rong Xia laughed out loud, "Huahua is so smart, you actually saw through it."
"Should I thank you for your compliment?" Ban Han snorted, but before she could say anything else, she saw Rong Xia slip and fall. Ban Han hurriedly reached out to grab his waist and pulled him back down the stairs.
The feeling of being saved by a beauty was …
A little fragrant and a little soft.
Ban Han gently patted Rong Xia's shoulder and reached out to straighten the umbrella, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Rong Xia shook her head and smiled, "Thank you, Huahua, but you're wet from the rain."
Ban Han touched his face with the back of his hand and said happily, "Fortunately, I didn't put on makeup before I went out today, otherwise it would have been ugly."
"Looks are just external factors, it's easy to catch a cold if you get wet," Rong Xia didn't dare to let Ban Han get wet again, so she held his hand and quickened her steps.
After returning to the main courtyard, Rong Xia asked the servants to prepare hot water, then said to Ban Han, "I still have some things to deal with in the study, I haven't used this room before, so don't worry."
After that, she was worried that Ban Han would feel awkward, so she hurriedly left.
After a while, a hot tub was brought up, and a servant girl brought in clean clothes. Ban Han brought two female guards, one outside the door and the other beside the screen, so no one came to disturb them.
After bathing, Ban Han changed into the clothes that Rong Xia had people prepare for her, and found that the clothes unexpectedly fit her well. Looking at the material and the style, it seemed to be newly made. She lazily sat on the chaise lounge, her hair loose behind her back, and had a servant girl dry her hair.
"Your marquis fu has a female guest?" She asked a servant girl.
"Junzhu, because the fu doesn't have a female master, Marquis has never had a female guest, but an old woman has come."
"His appearance is very popular with old women," Ban Han sat up straight, "Have someone inform Marquis that I've changed my clothes."
"Yes."
When Rong Xia came over, she had changed into a new set of clothes, and it seemed that she had also bathed. Seeing her come in, Ban Han waved at her, and then pointed at the clothes on her body, "Marquis Rong, where did you get these clothes?"
"A few days ago, I had my fu's embroiderer rush them out," Rong Xia said with a smile, "I thought that when you came here, if you accidentally spilled tea, or splashed mud on your body, you wouldn't look good without a change of clothes. So I had my fu's embroiderer make clothes that could fit you. It seems that the size is quite suitable. "
Ban Han didn't expect Rong Xia to be so attentive. She paused for a moment, then said: "I see."
Ban Han's hair was loose behind her, like the most beautiful black satin, soft and smooth. Rong Xia's gaze fell on her hair, and then quickly moved away, "I had someone make ginger soup, drink some."
"No," Ban Han frowned, "It's too spicy."
"I had them put sugar in the soup, it's not spicy." Rong Xia knew that Ban Han was picky, so she smiled, "I'll drink it with you."
Ban Han turned her head to look at the door, and there was already a servant girl carrying the ginger soup. She sighed: "It's so hot, why do you need to drive away the cold?"
Rong Xia didn't speak, and just looked at her with a gentle smile. Her pair of peach blossom eyes were full of tenderness, and Ban Han couldn't resist. She could only obediently drink the ginger soup.
As the saying goes, even if you die under a peony flower, you'll still be a romantic ghost. Her bad habit of being lecherous probably couldn't be changed.
The sky darkened little by little, but the rain outside didn't let up at all, as if God poured out all the rain that had accumulated over the past few days.
"Don't go back tonight, I'll have someone go to Jingting Gongfu to apologize." Rong Xia listened to the pitter-patter of the rain outside, and from time to time, there was the sound of thunder, "Don't worry, I won't offend you in the slightest."
In terms of etiquette, it wasn't appropriate for Ban Han to stay in the Rong family, but the two of them were about to get married. As long as the two families didn't mind, it wouldn't be too big of a problem for them to stay the night. Compared to those noble ladies and young masters who raised beauties to amuse themselves in their manors, Ban Han and Rong Xia were as fresh as lotus flowers.
In the end, Ban Jin agreed.
After the meal, Rong Xia suddenly said: "I heard that you sent a gift to Chen Heyang a few days ago?"
Chen Heyang?
Ban Han froze for a moment, then remembered that this person was that unlucky Chen Zhuangyuan. She nodded and said, "Yes, I had someone bring him something. Although this person can't compare to you, he's more likable than those pedantic scholars. "
Rong Xia smiled and didn't mention this matter again.
He had seen that Chen Heyang before. Although his appearance could barely be considered outstanding, with the Huahua's standards, he naturally wouldn't be interested in someone with this kind of appearance.
Ban Han didn't sleep well that night, probably because of the thunder and rain. Although it was particularly cool tonight, she couldn't sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.
She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she faintly heard the sound of things breaking in the courtyard next door where Rong Xia lived. She sat up from the bed, hesitated for a moment, then put on her outer robe and walked out.
"Princess?" The two female guards sleeping in the outer room heard the noise coming from the inner room and hurriedly sat up from the bed. When they saw the princess walk out of the inner room with her hair disheveled, they were startled. "Princess, what happened?"
"I heard the noise coming from the courtyard next door, did you hear it?"
"We didn't hear anything."
It was a windy night with heavy rain and thunder, so it was difficult to hear what was going on in the courtyard next door.
Ban Han frowned. "Come with me to take a look."
"Yes." The two female guards didn't ask why Ban Han wanted to go, they just respectfully followed her out the door.
Ban Han didn't hear wrong, something really did happen in Rong Xia's courtyard. More than ten assassins in black somehow broke into the inner courtyard and killed two servants who were guarding outside. Then, they started to fight with a few guards who were hiding in the dark.
If it was any other day, the guards would have already come, but the weather was cool tonight, and the servants who had been in the heat for many days finally had a good night's sleep. In addition, the sound of the wind and rain was very loud, so it was difficult to hear what was going on in the courtyard.
Du Jiu held a sword in his hand, his entire body soaked from head to toe in the rain. His left arm was injured, so he could only rely on his right hand to block the incoming assassins.
"I don't care who sent you assassins, we're willing to pay three times the price for you to stop!"
Du Jiu stabbed an assassin who rushed up and gasped for breath. "Brothers, you're in this business for money …"
However, these assassins were obviously very professional at this moment, and before he could finish his words, they rushed up again.
"Marquis, back off." Du Jiu's face was livid, and he was afraid that tonight would be a fierce battle. His only hope was that someone among them could break through the encirclement and call for help. However, these assassins obviously came prepared, and the door was blocked by them, so there was no chance for them to get out.
He wiped the rain and blood off his face, and his expression became ferocious.
Rong Xia was blocked by these guards, but he didn't stay idle, instead he drew his bow and shot two assassins. His swordsmanship was just for show, and most of the famous people in Daye knew some swordsmanship, but they were all elegant swordsmanship, and their swordsmanship wouldn't kill people.
These assassins came prepared, and their methods were cruel, but their attacks were clean, and they were obviously professional assassins.
He stood at the door, watching his guards all injured, his face expressionless. At this time, there was only one person who especially wanted him dead, and that was Prince Ning, Jiang Luo.
Only he would use such a daring and shameful method. Prince Ning never thought that if he could really ascend the throne, which courtier would dare to be loyal to an emperor who sent assassins to court? As an emperor, there were many ways to deal with courtiers, but Jiang Luo chose the most despicable method.
Such a person, even if he was lucky enough to become the emperor, would not be able to stabilize the country.
He calculated everything, but he actually miscalculated Jiang Luo's brain. This person was more impulsive and stupid than he expected. He, Rong Xia, might end up in a thousand different ways, but he couldn't die in the hands of an idiot.
Rong Xia's eyes narrowed, and the arrow flew out, piercing an assassin's chest. The assassin fell to the ground, dead.
Ban Han walked out of the courtyard, and saw that Rong Xia's courtyard door was tightly shut, but the sound of weapons colliding came from inside. Her eyes darkened, and she took a deep breath, "There's an assassin, catch the assassin!"
A woman's voice, when they needed it, could pierce through the clouds.
Ban Han's scream was enough to wake everyone in the Marquis Cheng 'an Mansion from their sleep, and it also startled the assassins in the courtyard. As soon as Ban Han's voice fell, an assassin rushed out with a sword.
Ban Han turned around, and stabbed with the back of her hand. The assassin didn't have time to react, and fell down with his eyes open.
A woman …
A woman who could use a backhanded sword …
The moment his whole world fell into darkness, his eyes were full of disbelief.
As an assassin, most of them didn't have a good ending, but he never thought that he would be defeated by a woman.
Ban Han didn't dare to look at the person lying on the ground. She lifted her skirt, kicked open the half-closed courtyard door, and rushed in with her sword.
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