Chapter 178 Our Dissatisfied Winter

The flowers in the forest faded, the spring red, the summer dream, the autumn wind was too hurrying, and it was another winter in Qingguo. The temperature seemed to drop within a day. The Cangshan Mountain in the west of Beijing began to fall, the mountain on the mountain gradually became whiter, and two more small cold rains fell in Kyoto, adding to the chill. The pedestrians on the street wrapped in thick cotton robes, rubbed their hands, and walked in a hurry.

The carriages that were traveling on Tianhe Avenue were competing with the ground and making an annoying monotonous sound. The horse squirted white air impatiently and twisted its head, as if it wanted to end the winter soon. In a black carriage, Fan Xian turned over his hair collar, sniffed the heat on his hands, tightened the fur on his body, and muttered a few words, thinking that the winter was coming too urgently.

He had just come out of Prince Jing's mansion, and Prince Jing was sick and extremely ill. Now Hongcheng is not in the capital, and Rou Jia is young, so Fan Xian had to play a role of half a son, serving medicine every day, talking with him, and relieving the prince's boredom. With his current identity, it is indeed a bit inappropriate to do such things, but Fan Xian knew the relationship between the Prince Jing's family and his family, and he always felt a little guilty towards Hongcheng, so he was particularly attentive.

He knew in his heart why Prince Jing suddenly suffered from wind and cold when he seemed old but was in good health. All this had nothing to do with winter, but only related to the severe cold in the royal family. The empress dowager died and the eldest princess died. Prince Jing's relatives died half of the accident. The cruel fact finally knocked down the flower farmer prince.

After leaving Prince Jing's Mansion, Fan Xian did not return directly or enter the palace, but went to Baoyue Tower. Today is the day when Shi Chanli and Sang Wen returned to Beijing to report their duties. He must know the most secret news from the mouths of these two confidants.

However, after staying in the building for a while, after reading the news that Baoyue Tower had come from the tentacles stretching to the world, Fan Xian frowned, looked at Sang Wen's gentle face, and sighed at Hushen who had emerged from Shi Chan's lips.

There is nothing surprising about this intelligence, and it seems to be different from the intelligence differences of the Supervision Bureau.

At this time, more than three months have passed since the incident in Dadongshan, and the whole world has entered winter. As early as two months ago, the news of Master Kuhe's death was reported from the Northern Qi Dynasty. Although the departure of a great master shocked the people of the world, it did not shock Fan Xian too much, because this was originally a matter of His Majesty the Emperor's death. Fan Xian was just very alert to what means would the Northern Qi Dynasty take to deal with it after Kuhe's death.

But in the past two months, the Northern Qi Dynasty was very quiet. Except for Uesugi Tu, who kept resisting the tentative attack of Qingguo in the south, there was no big move. Fan Xian lowered his head and smiled and thought, if Xia Mingji's stronghold in Shangjing was not counted.

The Emperor of Northern Qi finally took action against Fan Sizhe. It is said that Fan Laoer is now living in Shangjing City. But Fan Xian was not worried at all, because from his sister's letter, he could see at a glance what the little emperor wanted to do and what he wanted to express to himself.

Fan Xian was uneasy. Haitang Duoduo, the woman who was close to him, the successor of Tianyidao's Taoist Sect... suddenly lost her trace. No one knew where she went, and even the insiders of Tianyidao were not sure.

He didn't know that a famous doctor named Fengchun had entered Kyoto at this time and began to emerge, and was valued by the Imperial Hospital. However, because of his identity as a Northern Qi native, he was still unable to enter the palace of deacon, but was sent to the palaces of various ministers to show his holy grace.

Prince Jing's illness was treated by Fan Xian himself, so Mr. Fengchun had never met Fan Xian. No matter how smart Fan Xian was, he could not guess that in the near future, Mr. Fengchun would go to Chenyuan. Be careful and protect President Chen's life at all costs.

The few moves that Ku He set up before his death were all scattered pieces. It has no effect on itself, but only ensures that the situation within Nanqing will continue step by step according to a certain trend.

Fan Xian was just worried about Haitang. He didn't know what Ku He told Haitang, when would he see her and in what kind of identity would he see her.

There is another thing that made the entire Qing Dynasty court feel scared. Kuhe was already dead. Instead of secretly celebrating the funeral, the Northern Qi Dynasty held a ceremony with great fanfare. There were hundreds of thousands of officials and people who went to cry in various counties. The Northern Qi Dynasty court did not seem to have fallen into some anxiety because of Kuhe's death.

And the person from Dongyi City... According to Emperor Qing's calculation, Sigu Jian, who should have died at this time, was still sturdy and did not die. The body of this sword saint was indeed as strong as a small strongman. Although he was dying and his life was hanging on a thread, he grabbed the thread tightly and refused to let go.

The dying Sigujian is hidden in the sword hut. Although the sword saint has become a useless person, his reputation is here, and the entire Dongyi City seems to have a backbone. However... there are also problems in Dongyi City. After the Sigujian dies, the dispute between the city lord's mansion and the sword hut may also surface.

For Emperor Qing, the life and death of Sigu Jian is no longer a problem, and the ownership of Dongyi City after his death is a big problem.

Fan Xian lowered his head and thought that the two major powers of Dongyi City and Nanqing in Northern Qi were different. They were hanging alone by the sea and surrounded by vassal states. If Sigujian died once, a beast would immediately turn into delicious and tender meat to be cut. Whether it was the little emperor of Northern Qi or his own land emperor, he would not let go of this piece of fresh meat. He just didn't know who His Majesty would send to grab the food at that time.

He raised his head, looked at Shi Chanli and Sang Wen, and talked about the situation in the Jiangnan Inner Treasury. Although Su Wenmao kept sending secret reports, Fan Xian still believed in Shi Chanli's intuitive impression.

The production of the inner warehouse is still efficient. With the strong cooperation of Fan Xian, the old shopkeepers of Qiye gradually improved the level of the three major shops to the level of the elderly Ye family. Fan Xian felt a little relieved. He had two knives on his hand, one was the Supervision Office and the other was the inner warehouse. Whether it was based on the trust of His Majesty or for his own power, he had to be imprisoned and done well.

The fourth son of the Fan Sect, Shi Chanli, has always been by Fan Xian, and the three of them, such as Hou Jichang, Yang Wanli and Cheng Jialin, are now fighting on their own responsibilities. With Fan Xian's escort and providing financial support, and with the ability of the three of them, they will soon become key figures in the Qingguo court.

"The court now has many shortcomings. Your Majesty has selected many young people. At this time, age and qualifications are no longer very important." Fan Xian looked at Shi Chanli and smiled gently: "You can write a letter to the three of them later to prepare them. In the beginning of spring, the court will probably report them to Beijing to report their duties."

In his arrangement, Yang Wanli should have joined the Ministry of Works to work. Hou Jichang's position was particularly stable in handling Jiaozhou affairs and was deeply appreciated by His Majesty. He should be promoted to two levels and serve as the governor of Jiaozhou. Cheng Jialin, a kid, had a smooth journey, and was probably the most glorious person.

Shi Chanli opened his mouth slightly, but he didn't expect that the four poor scholars had such luck after just a few years. He really couldn't catch up with him.

Fan Xian knew what he was thinking and said with a smile: "What's wrong?"

"The qualifications are too shallow to convince the public. The key is that the government and the public know that the three of them are the students of the teacher... I'm afraid it will cause criticism." Shi Chanli said very seriously.

Fan Xian raised his eyelids slightly and said mockingly: "Hundreds of officials died, and they always need people to fill the land. Where can so many qualified alternate officials come from? Don't say that there are fewer qualifications. He Zongwei was as famous as Hou Jichang at the time. After entering the court, he was still qualified to enter the imperial study room to listen to the discussion... Is he very experienced?"

He Zongwei, this is a name that made Fan Xian particularly remember. At the restaurant in Yishiju, he met this young scholar who looked a little loyal. It was this scholar who had made many things happen in Kyoto in the future, such as his father-in-law was forced to resign from his post.

This person was originally in love with Guo Baokun, son of Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites. He was a real princess sect. Later, he didn't know how to join the Censorate and began to give advice on the second prince. Later, he turned to the prince again. After falling twice, he was finally seen clearly. It turned out that he... was the eldest princess sect, but he was on the opposite side according to the eldest princess' wishes.

However... during the rebellion of Kyoto, it was the left censor of the Censorate who led a group of censors to run naked and bet on the Crown Prince Li Chengqian and could not bear to kill people, so he dragged the rebels into the capital all night, thus giving Fan Xian the opportunity to raid the palace, control the center, and reverse the trend in one fell swoop.

It was not until this time that people really realized that He Zongwei was not a person from anybody, he was just His Majesty’s man, and he was always.

When His Majesty returned to Beijing, He Zongwei was rewarded for this great achievement and climbed up like a rocket. Although he was only the original position of the Censorate, he had the right to discuss matters under the Secretariat. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that this Censor He might be to replace the old Grand Secretary Shu in the future, and his future was as bright as a flower and immeasurable.

During the turmoil in Kyoto, He Zongwei helped Fan Xian a lot. And even though he is now in a high position, he is still extremely respectful whenever he meets Fan Xian at a court meeting or outside the court, and he seems extremely humble.

However, Fan Xian hated this person very much, perhaps because he saw this person's passionate sense of power for a long time ago, perhaps because he hated such a role of betraying others to climb upward, perhaps because he had punched He Zongwei, and he knew that people like He Zongwei would definitely hold grudges.

Fan Xian naturally would not be afraid of He Zongwei, but he had to be careful, because this person is highly appreciated by His Majesty now. Things like villains are always more terrifying than gentlemen.

Now the officialdom has a little unbearable discussion about He Zongwei. He gave him a nickname of a three-name slave. Everyone thought that this nickname was very appropriate - but few people knew that this nickname was circulated from the study of Fan Mansion.

Sometimes Fan Xian asked himself, what He Zongwei did was not more shameless than what he did, and why did he hate him so much?

It's actually very simple. Fan Xian once saw He Zongwei showing such a fierce and greedy look at Ruoruo. For this kind of gaze, he remembered him for the rest of his life, suppressed him for the rest of his life, and kept him from turning over forever.

"I didn't expect that your sister is singing a song in Chenyuan now." Fan Xian looked at Sang Wen and smiled. He liked Sang Wen very much. He was gentle and quiet. He didn't have any male and female ideas about her, but he just felt that he would feel at ease for no reason when he was with this woman.

It's like being with Dabao.

As for the sister of Sang Wen, he mentioned. It was the opera singer he saw when he went to Chen Yuan to meet Chen Pingping that day. Chen Pingping liked Sang Wen's voice very much. However, now Sang Wen has to take care of Baoyue Tower and expand Fan Xian's plan to the whole world. He has no way to stay in Kyoto for a long time. So Chen Pingping loved to enjoy life very much, so he had to settle for the second best and took Sang Wendi's sister from Yanjing to Kyoto.

Sang Wen smiled gently and said, "It's good if the dean likes it."

Fan Xian sighed, but thought of something else. Because of his appearance, it has changed the lives of countless people. Countless people gathered around him because of himself, and even Sang Wen's sister is no exception. When he thinks of these people, how could he bear to leave quietly?

However, some people have the heart to leave. Fan Xian stood in that small yard, his face looked extremely ugly, and he couldn't hide his disappointment in his eyes. The well in the yard was still there, the stone table was still there, and the cotton curtain was also there. The green shelves were also there, but the people were no longer there.

This is the small courtyard of Wang Qinian's family. The courtyard is hidden deep in the folk in Xicheng, and it is inconspicuous. Fan Xian once ate many meals in this yard, teased Lao Wang's pretty and shy girl, and played with gourd melons on the shelf... However, it is impossible for all this to come back. Wang Qinian's family has moved away quietly, and even concealed Fan Xian to scatter here to protect the security of the Wang family.

When Wang Qinian has this ability, Fan Xian never doubted this. From Chen Pingping's mouth, he learned the good news about Wang Qinian's life and at the same time learned the news of Wang Qinian's departure. He knew why Chen Pingping wanted to send Wang Qinian away, because Wang Qinian escaped from Dadong Mountain. Whether in terms of Qinglu or the Regulations of the Council, he had only one way out.

Fan Xian naturally would not let him die, and this was a thorn between him and His Majesty. Moreover, Chen Pingping knew that Wang Qinian knew too many secrets for Fan Xian, and for Fan Xian's safety, he had to let Wang Qinian leave.

For some reason, the departure of such a subordinate made Fan Xian so sad. He held a letter in his hand. It was passed on to him by Wang Qinian through Chen Pingping. There were very few words in the letter, and the general idea was that he abandoned His Majesty and went down the mountain without caring about his own care. However, Fan Xian made him feel at ease and did not make the big mistake he was worried about.

Fan Xian was in a daze. He knew that Wang Qinian had taken the risk of going down the mountain to find him because he was afraid that he thought the emperor was dead, so he turned his hand and embarked on the road to fight for the imperial power. His hand was slightly hard, and he kneaded the ball of paper into a ball, his face was extremely ugly, and no one would tell jokes with him anymore. Su Wenmao's level was much worse than Lao Wang...

He lowered his head and looked at the courtyard of the old Wang family. Somehow, he thought of the scene many years ago.

At that time, he was a young man who had just entered Kyoto and didn't know any rules. He went to Qing Temple in a daze, met his wife, and went to the square building of the Supervision Bureau stupidly, and saw a lifeless face, pale teeth, and old skin on his cheeks.

That is Wang Qinian.

At that time, Wang Qinian was an official who had been exhausted by paperwork. He waited for a day of retirement in the Supervisory Office. However, he was the first person Fan Xian met. From then on, his life changed and he returned to the nervousness and fun of his career as a thief.

The encounter between Fan Xian and Wang Qinian was a kind of fate. It was this coincidental encounter that made Fan Xian trust him extremely, and Wang Qinian was extremely loyal to him. He changed Wang Qinian's life, and Wang Qinian knew all his secrets, including boxes, keys, and thoughts.

Wang Qinian is not only his subordinate, but also his friend. He is the object of his conversation and congratulations. Not everyone can replace this kind of role.

And it is such a character who, for the sake of Fan Xian's own safety, had no choice but to disappear in the future. Fan Xian's face turned pale, and he thought to himself, let's leave, so he left himself alone in a place where people are not alone.

However, after a moment, he figured it out and bowed to the courtyard. His secret was too terrifying, which might make Wang Qinian extremely uncomfortable and under great pressure in the past few years. Maybe the other party prefers the past chaotic days and a life without pressure.

I hope Wang Qinian and his family will be safe in the future.

Fan Xian sighed, walked out of the yard, looked back at Mu Feng'er, who was silent beside him, frowned, and said, "What are you doing with a sad face? Your wife has given birth to a second one. Do you still remember the daughter of the Wang family?"

After Wang Qinian left, Fan Xian must have a close friend. The most suitable candidate, Deng Zi, was in the Northern Qi Dynasty and went on Beijing, and was carrying out the task with difficulty. Su Wenmao was in the inner treasury and could not move, so Fan Xian had to promote Mu Tie's nephew.

After following him for a month, this kid is loyal, but he is not as interesting as Wang Qinian... And more discomforts and inconveniences made Fan Xian figure it out. Lord Wang Qinian is far more than a supporting actor. His abilities are actually hidden under his smile, and he hasn't discovered much in his usual way.

As soon as he thought about this, his mind became even lighter, as light as water, and tasteless.

The reward that was two months late finally came down. In addition to the civil officials who had filled in their own positions as early as the beginning of the rebellion, all the people who had made great contributions in the fight against the rebellion finally received the decree in the palace.

Ye Chong was promoted to the title and rewarded him well and entered Beijing as the chief envoy of the Privy Council. However, the position of commander of the Kyoto Garrison Division was handed over to Xiao Jinhua, who was the commander of Donghuamen who blocked the prince's rebels all the way in the city.

Zhang Deqing, the commander of the Thirteen City Command, was captured and killed by Lingchi. The three clans were killed. This was the heaviest punishment in the entire rebellion, and Fan Xian did not resist the emperor on this issue. Although he knew that Zhang Deqing's cousin had nothing to do with this matter, he knew more about His Majesty's anger on the Zhang Deqing issue.

Your Majesty trusts Zhang Deqing very much, but Zhang Deqing rebelled. He didn't kill more and could not vent His Majesty's obscene emotions.

The eldest prince was still in charge of the imperial guards, and no reward was left behind. However, he had already been granted the title of Prince and no more titles. The palace was transferred back to the palace and began to take over the local affairs of the guards. As for how to arrange it in the future, the emperor knew what to do, and Fan Xian could guess a little.

There were some minor problems with Fan Xian’s reward. According to the news from the palace, His Majesty was preparing to directly confer Fan Xian as the prince from the beginning, but was blocked by the two great scholars Hu Shu in panic.

Such a thing that has never happened before in a different surname. No wonder those ministers were frightened by His Majesty’s initial decree. Although it is well known that Fan Xian is His Majesty’s illegitimate son, after all, his surname is Fan. After all, he suddenly became the prince. Will Qingguo be laughed to death by the people of the world?

Fan Xian was also shocked. What's the matter if he was the prince or the king of Danbo? Fortunately, the order was blocked and he was extremely grateful to Hu Shu and the two hard-boned bachelors.

The first-class Danbo Duke has reached the forefront for non-royal children. As for the rewards of land, fields, gold and silver, Fan Xian doesn't care much. He is one of the richest people in the world now. Perhaps the emperor also knew that other rewards would not satisfy Fan Xian, so there was a ridiculous proposal to make him king at the beginning.

Unsuccessfully, the palace finally issued an order to give Fan Xiandi's daughter Fan Shuning and named him Princess.

There is no more ridiculous thing in the world than this. The daughter of a minister was actually named Princess, and this daughter was not born to the official wife, but she had to use Lin Wan'er's title to calculate.

It's so ridiculous! No one would have thought that His Majesty the Emperor would have such a stubborn and nonsense side. Of course, in Fan Xian's opinion, the most ridiculous thing was the name the emperor gave to the girl - Shuning! Do you think you are playing Qingdeng?

But no matter how ridiculous the will, a hint of warmth arose in Fan Xian's heart, and he felt the emperor's intentions. The next day he entered the palace and saw thanking him. By the way, he asked, could the name of Shuning be changed?

Before he could speak, His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "Xu Maocai, Jiaozhou, I have removed him from his post and returned to his old age. At this time, I have returned to Quanzhou."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian was shocked, his mouth was dry and he was so shocked that he couldn't say a word, and he didn't dare to say anything else. He kowtowed and thanked him, and returned to the mansion silently.

He pondered in the study room of the mansion for a long time, and he was thinking about what His Majesty wanted to do and what he knew. He knew where Xu Maocai was exposed. From Dongshan to Danzhou, Xu Maocai helped him fight against the Jiaozhou navy and landed on the shore and broke arrows. It was obviously his own person. However, before Jiaozhou navy trapped Dongshan at sea, Xu Maocai did not inform the court of any news.

Although Your Majesty took all this in his heart, he cared about the hearts of any minister. Xu Maocai was obviously loyal to Fan Xian, not to the court. Afterwards, the emperor only needed to check Xu Maocai's resume over the years and would remind him of the famous Quanzhou navy at that time.

If it were any moment, Xu Maocai would not be able to escape death. Fortunately, Fan Xian has been showing his loyalty to the emperor over the years, including the incident in Dadongshan. After countless tests, he finally gained the absolute trust of the emperor. This time, he did not kill Xu Maocai, and said that he would return to his old age, which was considered to have left enough face for Fan Xian.

Fan Xian felt a little cold. He was also a little confused. He was once again confused. The next day he did not enter the palace to apologize because he was not guilty, but occasionally he couldn't help thinking that Your Majesty is really much gentler now than before. If it were the prince or the second prince, the end of this matter would definitely not be as easy as today.

The gentler Your Majesty is to him, the less Fan Xian is, how can he handle himself? In the palace, Your Majesty once asked about his domineering true energy in his body. Knowing that there is no danger of exploding the body, he silently said nothing. Fan Xian was a little confused about what his true attitude was.

Time is like snow, falling and falling gently, easily covering up everything in the world. When the entire continent of Qi and Xihu in the north and south were covered by snowflakes, firecrackers gradually sounded and the fragrance was everywhere. The Spring Festival was coming, and the eighth year of Qingli was finally here.

During the celebration of the civil turmoil, whether it was the Empress Dowager in power for several days or the Emperor after returning to Beijing, he resolutely used his powerful troops to attack the four sides, using this aggressive momentum to intimidate everyone in the world.

In the west, Li Hongcheng was following the Western Army, watching the movements of the Hu people indifferently in the wind and snow. After gathering the elites of the Northern Barbarians, the Hu people became stronger and stronger, but the snow was blocking the land. Everyone was fighting against the harsh nature. They had no intention of fighting, and had to wait until the first spring grass grew. After the Hu people's horses raised the first layer of fat, the Hu people would come to Xiliang Road in Qingguo again to carry out routine activities that lasted for a hundred years.
To be continued...