Chapter 3: Father-in-law laughs at Junshan Club

Lang Tao was stunned. He thought that no matter how shameless and vulgar Fan Xian was, he would always care about the face of the Lin family. Unexpectedly, the former prime minister of Nan Qing would be as shameless as his son-in-law, and... his face was so thick.

Is there any other law of kingship? Is there any law of nature?

"This is a moral issue." Lang Tao stood up and said to himself in his heart. He didn't want to talk about Fan Xian anymore, so he bowed his hand and left.

The restaurant responded to calmness. Fan Xian let out a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sat on the table again. He didn't feel nervous. As for the people coming from Northern Qi, it would not make him feel tricky. Anyway, he knew Haitang, and even he couldn't figure out the temper of the woman. Even if he was temporarily away from Suzhou, there would always be a day of goodbye. Even though the world is far away, there would always be a time when saliva was mutual.

What really made Fan Xian nervous was actually the content that Lang Tao had cursed in secret before - after all, this is Wuzhou, and the hometown of Xiangye Lin. In this prefecture, we were talking about our own and another woman with guests from afar. How would this make Wan'er think? Where did Xiangye Lin's face be put? How did he explain to his family?

So he has always avoided Lang Tao, and partly because of this consideration.

And the reason why I came today was because Lin Ruofu had a very open and honest conversation with him. It was so that he had enough shame and shamelessness to discuss these things with Lang Tao.

The people of Northern Qi took the broken sword twisted into a twist and went south. As for what would happen in Suzhou, Fan Xian no longer wanted to care about it, nor did he have the ability to care about it. He just waited for Deng Ziyue and the others to come back. He stood on the edge of the bar of the restaurant, looking at the figure of the pedestrian. He stared at the still-angry lady of the Wei family, and a wry smile appeared on the corner of his lips - he couldn't convince Haitang, and Lang Tao naturally couldn't do it either. He just didn't know whether Kuhe would come forward. Duoduo was just a noble person who was willing to control his own life. This was very special.

Immediately when I wanted to go back to the city of Wuzhou, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel a little guilty in his heart, so he naturally felt the pain and happiness of Zhang Wuji back then. However, he knew that he was not as hypocritical as Master Zhang, but he was more shameless than Master Zhang.

He shook his head, lifted the front, let the wind outside the restaurant enter his clothes, and cooled his mood for him. He followed the footsteps of the guests from afar.

Although he did not make a big fuss when he came to Wuzhou, the news had already spread to the outside after living in the Lin family's mansion for so many days. The magistrate of Wuzhou had already prepared generous gifts to visit, and the people in the city also guessed that the son-in-law was on vacation in Wuzhou.

But when Fan Xian's carriage was walking on the street, no one came to disturb him. No citizen would shout out this. The people in Wuzhou just saw the carriage, hunched over and saluted silently.

This kind of respect with a hint of distance but heartfelt respect made Fan Xian very happy, and it also clearly shows from this incident what status and reputation his father-in-law has in Wuzhou City.

But he didn't expect that the people of Wuzhou respect him was not only because of the old prime minister Lin, but also because of the reputation of Xiao Fan himself. The people of Wuzhou felt very proud of this son-in-law.

When the carriage returned to the big terrifying manor in Lin's house, Fan Xian quickly walked to the back hall. The old man who was playing with the green snuff with his hands, his first sentence was: "Those who do big things need to be thick-faced and dark-hearted."

Fan Xian was silent, found a chair and sat down, and whispered: "This has nothing to do with those things."

This old man who played with snuff bottles was naturally Lin Ruofu, the prime minister of Guan Ren, who returned to his hometown to take care of his old age. In a year, this first-rate figure in Qingguo had become like a good man in the countryside. His hair was just combed with softness. He was wearing a comfortable single dress and his feet were half-legged with no heels.

However, Lin Ruofu's deep-sleeping eye sockets were filled with a hint of fatigue and boredom. Perhaps because he was separated from the intrigue in the court, his indifferent cultivation made his spirit worse than before.

Lin Ruofu listened to Fan Xian's subconscious rebuttal and couldn't help but smile and criticize: "Do you think this is really just a love affair between children?"

After a little silence, Fan Xian said, "I don't think... there is a big difference in essence."

Lin Ruofu kept touching his snuff bottle and stopped, looking at him and said, "Is that right? But this matter is not just that simple... If that woman did not have the identity of the Northern Qi Saint, had no relationship with the Northern Qi royal family, and a love affairs for children? Do you think I would allow you to get married for less than two years, so I thought about these erotic thoughts? Will Your Majesty acquiesce to you?"

Fan Xian understood this truth. If he hadn't married Haitang, he would have brought some benefits to himself and those behind him, and no one would have stood by himself. Especially from Lin Ruofu's standpoint, there was no reason to ask for advice for his son-in-law's wife.

"Father-in-law..." Fan Xian said with a wry smile: "It's you who asked me to shake my mind. It's you who criticized me at this time. What should I do?"

Lin Ruofu couldn't help laughing when he heard this and said, "You said last night very much to my appetite... I ignore the relationship between you and that woman. As long as you stand in the court, the more stable my Lin family will be."

Fan Xian nodded. With Haitang, a big helper from the outside world, his position in Nanqing will be much stronger. However, he is indeed a very cold and ruthless person in some aspects, but he still retains some ideas from his previous life. He subconsciously does not want to connect his private affairs with political aspects.

What's more, Haitang may not necessarily marry herself.

As if guessing what Fan Xian was thinking, Lin Ruofu smiled and said, "Actually, you and I understand the development of this matter. Whether she marrys your Fan family is not a matter of anything... As long as she doesn't marry someone else, it's fine."

Fan Xian nodded again and admitted that the old fox's idea was consistent with his own.

"I'll go and see Wan'er and Dabao." He stood up and bowed respectfully to his father-in-law.

Lin Ruofu thought for a while and said gently: "You don't have to worry about Wan'er. Although she was not by my side since childhood, she was also a person who grew up in the palace after all, so she would naturally understand the reason."

Fan Xian smiled bitterly and thought to himself that this father-in-law was frank and ruthless, but then he thought, did Lin Ruofu give birth to a daughter with the eldest princess and then become successful? Thinking of this, he could understand.

Things from the previous generation are indeed more bastard than myself.

He thought for a while and insisted: "I'm just going to see Wan'er."

"It was the first time she and Dabao returned to Wuzhou. The brothers and sisters-in-law of the clan all offered them to the sky. They should be playing in Yidongtian at this time." Lin Ruofu looked at his son-in-law with a smile, "If you have any questions in the room, please leave them until the evening."

Fan Xian scratched his head in annoyance.

"I know why I promised to betroth Wan'er to you?"

Although Fan Xian could guess something, he continued to shake his swelling head.

Lin Ruofu slowly put the snuff bottle on the table and said, "Your Majesty intended to point Wan'er to you. It was the second year of the first year of Qingli. Chen Pingping opposed it at that time and strongly opposed it, so I smelled something strange in this matter."

Fan Xian thought to himself, what does Chen Pingping’s opposition have to do with your opposition?

Lin Ruofu answered his question: "Among the civil and military officials in the court, there are only three people I am afraid of."

"Which three people?"

"Your father is one, Chen's lame man, and the old man from the Qin family."

Fan Xian is very careful. Chen Pingping is in charge of the Supervisory Office. In addition to the prime minister, the most powerful person in the hands of all officials in the court. Moreover, the darkness in his hands is extremely powerful, which is naturally something Lin Ruofu feared at the beginning. Although the old man of the Qin family is old and rarely attends court, he is the chief envoy of the Privy Council after all, and he is the number one figure in the army. He is a super-ranked official, and his disciples and old friends are all over the army, so he naturally needs to be valued by Lin Ruofu.

It’s just that old man... he was just a minister of the Ministry of Revenue, so why did Lin Ruofu take it so seriously?

Lin Ruofu did not explain the questions in his eyes and continued to whisper: "And among these three people, I admire Chen Pingping's vision the most, so when he strongly opposed your marriage with Chen Yatou... and this matter seemed to be nothing obvious injuring at that time. It was the case with everyone... so I know he must know some hidden information that I did not grasp... So..."

The old man smiled and said, "I object, too."

Knowing that Wan'er and her brother-in-law were having fun. Fan Xian knew that he could only do it at night when he went to work on the grape trellis. He was listening to the words of his father-in-law. He knew that he was preparing to discuss the affairs of the government, so he simply sat down and listened carefully. When he heard this, he couldn't help but curious: "Then why did you agree later?"

"I told you... maybe you have forgotten." Lin Ruofu's smile couldn't help but bring a hint of vicissitudes. "When Gong'er is gone, there are only Dabao and Chen Yatou under my knees. His Majesty had already expressed the idea of ​​letting me go to work... I have been in the court for several years. The name of a treacherous prime minister was not in vain. I don't know how many people I offended, and my tribe members have also gained great benefits in this world because of my protection... After I go, who will protect them? Who will protect my Dabao?"

Lin Ruofu stared into his eyes and said, "The day you gave me a snuff bottle, I decided you could do all this, so I agreed."

The exquisite snuff bottle made of emerald was now quietly resting on the wooden table beside Lin Ruofu.

After a moment of silence, Fan Xian said calmly and sincerely: "Don't worry, as long as I live for one day, I will not let Wan'er be wronged and make Dabao unhappy."

Lin Ruofu nodded with relief, then sighed, "Later your life experience came out... I realized that you were Miss Ye's young master, so what else should I worry about?"

This slowly led the topic to the direction needed by Fan Xian, the direction that he could not speak out or ask about others.

"I have no capable people in the court's Chinese ministers, except Ren Shaoan." Fan Xian said with a wry smile: "On the surface, I can beat the second prince so hard that it is so scattered, but if that day really comes, the court will argue... I have no one to speak for me."

Lin Ruofu obviously knew his meaning, but he didn't point it out, but instead said with a smile: "Old Shu Xiaohu, the two senior ministers in the school of the school have the most powerful appreciation for you... aren't you satisfied?"

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "Appreciation cannot be used as a food and food. When it comes to the sidelines, who can trust who?"

Lin Ruofu stared into Fan Xian's eyes and asked, "Do you need some trustworthy people?"

Fan Xian did not deny this and laughed, like a greedy little bird who was opening his mouth, drooling, waiting for his elders to feed him.

Lin Ruofu looked at his expression and couldn't help laughing, but immediately smiled and said calmly: "I won't give it to you."

This answer surprised Fan Xian, but he knew in his heart that since Lin Ruofu had bent all his clan on his carriage, he would always give himself some help. He would never let the horse run away or eat grass again. This answer today is naturally his reason.

Sure enough, Lin Ruofu said gently: "Are you very strange? Since I left Kyoto, the Chinese officials in the court have become a little confused. They voted for the second prince and Yun Rui, and those who voted for the East Palace voted, and there were still a lot of people standing under the Sect of the Central Secretariat honestly..."

Fan Xian frowned slightly. Of course, he had discovered this phenomenon for a long time, and the strange thing was...

"The strange thing is, why no one took the initiative to vote for you?" Lin Ruofu looked at him with a smile, "You have a reputation among the world's scholars. With Zhuang Mohan's gift, although you are a little younger, it is not impossible to open the door open and become a scholar leader... Why? Apart from Shaoan, a colleague from Honglu Temple who showed his team first, the civil servants in the court did not take the initiative to come to serve you? In the past year, no civil servant will come to your door... To this day, except for your four students who have been living in various counties and prefectures, you have not developed any power."

This was Fan Xian's big doubt and a big headache. At first he thought it was the emperor's technique of checking and balance. But later he found that the Emperor Qing Kingdom was still focusing on his own focus, and he didn't care much about his interactions with civil servants, so he had always been a little confused... It seemed that there was a hand in the dark that was always hindering his progress in that area.

He raised his head in shock and stared at his father-in-law: "Why?"

Today, Fan Xian naturally understood that the reason for this was that his father-in-law was using his remaining influence to prevent his original disciples from getting too close to him.

"The trees are fascinated by the forest, and the wind will destroy them." Lin Ruofu liked his son-in-law's cleverness and said gently: "What's more, your tree has grown too tall, taller than those genuine princes... Not to mention that this matter was arranged by me. I will not let you use those who seem useful to you for the time being, so as not to attract discussion in the palace... As for when to give it to you..."

The old man sighed: "At the beginning, I stood too high and had to retreat. How could I bear to let Wan'er's husband repeat the same mistake?"

"When the new emperor ascended the throne, I will give you those people."

Lin Ruofu said this at the end.

Fan Xian was silent, but smelled a trace of inauspiciousness. Those who ascended the throne could only give me... This shows from another perspective that facing the unfathomable emperor, Lin Ruofu subconsciously could not have the intention of taking risks.

Lin Ruofu's secret influence on the government still exists, so he must avoid suspicion and make the emperor believe that he is really in Wuzhou for retirement.

This is a contradictory and sad circle, and the biggest loss is that Fan Xian has no way to obtain the help.

"I'm afraid it's too late." Since both sides have spoken, Fan Xian no longer avoided anything. "The power of the prince and the second son are basically in the court. If they succeed to the throne in the future... I don't think I will have any good life."

Lin Ruofu said: "You... should be more direct."

"Okay." Fan Xian said directly: "I won't allow the prince or the second child to sit on that chair."

Lin Ruofu smiled and said, "So this is your problem... you don't need that power. The prince and the second brother are no longer your opponents. Why do you have to pay attention to these? You have done well in the past year, but the biggest problem is... you have found the wrong direction of the struggle."

Fan Xian was surprised.

Lin Ruofu didn't know if he remembered some things from many years ago, his eyes became more and more profound, and he said slowly: "Under the current situation, you only have one enemy... that is Yun Rui."

Fan Xian was startled at first, and then he felt a little disapproving. He had seen the princess's methods, and it was as slightest as an embroidery when playing conspiracies. Unfortunately, facing himself as a supervisory supervisor, he had Chen Pingping and Yan Bingyun, the old and young, who were the elders and young people, to help him. The weapon that the princess was best at was of no use to him.

As for strength, Xinyang once sent assassin to Cangshan to assassinate Fan Xian, but ended up being in a bad mood.

So Fan Xian thought about it and didn't think there was anything terrible about the eldest princess. The rumors in the world might be a bit too much. Facing Lin Ruofu's solemn expression, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Lin Ruofu said, "Did you forget the Junshan Club?"

"Junshan meeting?" Fan Xian lowered his head slowly, "Ye Liuyun only has one, so he can't change the general trend."

"Ye Liuyun has only one." Lin Ruofu looked at Fan Xian with a strange look and said, "There is only one Sigu Jian, Yan Xiaoyi has only one, and I... only one."

"But Junshan will. There may be countless."

Fan Xian understood this meaning and looked at his father-in-law in shock, with his lips dry: "You... are also from Junshan Club? And Sigu Jian?"
To be continued...