Now that the general direction has been finalized, the next step is to make preparations.
After receiving a positive reply, the messenger said that there was no harm in waiting for a few days. After all, this was a long trip, and it was normal to hand over the affairs at hand.
Xia Fan successively asked Li, Luo Qingqing, Fang Xiandao and others. Considering that there are still certain risks in this trip, it is still based on personal wishes. The fox demon did not hesitate at all. When he learned that he might be exposed to the most confidential clues of the Privy Council, even his fluffy tail stood up, showing great enthusiasm.
Luo Qingqing agreed. After all, if she had not come to Jinxia, she would have been fighting alone in Shangyuan City now. As for Xia Fan's advice not to take risks before the situation was clear, she also agreed.
Fang Xiandao seemed very reluctant, thinking that the Privy Council had forced the Fang family to this point, and he did not want to deal with this group of people anymore. The person who finally changed his mind was Qian Yan - the living dead thought that the current situation was indeed very strange. The worst situation would be to know nothing about the planner's intentions. If he could go inside the headquarters, this risk would be negligible. accept.
Qianzhi also followed closely, saying that the young master was just lazy and troublesome, and complained a lot about the old ladies of the Fang family outside.
After some arguments, Fang Xiandao was completely defeated by Qian Yan and Qian Zhi's joint attack. Therefore, the Fang family provided the most manpower. In addition to Fang Xiandao and Fang Yanni, Qianzhi and Qianyan would also accompany them.
Five days later, the group officially set off and took a carriage to Shangyuan City.
…
"Master Xia, you have quite a few companions." Xin Wu accompanied Xia Fan along the way. The two rode horses at the front of the team, followed by three four-wheeled carriages. "Looking at their ages, they should all be passers of this year's military examination, right?"
"On the contrary." Xia Fan deliberately replied in a casual tone, "Those alchemists who have passed the official examination all think that I was promoted so quickly just because I climbed up to the princess, and they looked at me with a look in their eyes. Contempt is just because I dare not say it out loud due to the difference in status. I was too lazy to pay attention to them, so I found a group of Qi sensers who had never participated in the scholar examination, and they were much easier to use than the alchemists."
If he is a regular alchemist, the Privy Council will definitely leave a record, and it is much more difficult to forge his identity. If it were a casual cultivator, the other party wouldn't be able to investigate even if they wanted to.
"It turns out that there is... such a thing." The messenger paused for a moment before continuing, "But this is also human nature, so Mr. Xia doesn't need to worry about it. If it were me in the past, I would probably be unwilling to accept it."
"You before?"
"Yes." Xin Wu lowered his head slightly and said, "The reason why I wanted to become an alchemist before was very simple. It was for the official position and privileges. No matter whether it was evil spirits or other people, they were just stepping stones for me to climb. This is me There is bound to be jealousy and resentment when one sees someone rise to a high position without much effort.”
"It wasn't until that adult gave me a hand that I got out of this muddy puddle. He made me understand the unique responsibilities and mission of the alchemist. For this innate power, we should do more Just make the most of it.”
"Who is that adult?" Xia Fan asked curiously.
"It is the current second prince, His Highness Ning Qianshi." Xin Wu smiled, "It's a pity that he is not in Shangyuan City now, otherwise he would have had a great conversation with you. I have a feeling that you are exactly what he needs. Humanoid. Although I also think so, my abilities may be limited after all.”
Xia Fan secretly twitched the corner of his mouth, but that was not necessary.
"How did His Highness Ning... change your initial thoughts?"
"He made me see something, something that is beyond power and money, and you will definitely see it in the future." The messenger said in a candid tone, "Master Xia, please become a core member of the Privy Council. .”
Xia Fan was slightly startled, "Why?"
"Anyone who can be invited by the core is the most outstanding talent in the palace. Only you can support a powerful Privy Council and protect the world from dangers in the future." Xin Wu's eyes were filled with trust. Affection.
That being the case, why did you allow the magistrate of Gaoshan County to commit such evil acts for more than ten years
However, Xia Fan did not say this reply.
He knew that the other party could not give him an answer.
…
As everyone moved toward the northwest, the temperature gradually dropped.
When the motorcade drove into Gyeonggi Province a week later, Xia Fan found that his breath was puffing out white air.
"The winters in previous years were even colder, but this year has been settled." Xin Wu saw his actions and said proactively, "But there is no shortage of anything in Shangyuan City. Even in the snowy first month, there are still clothing stores. Even if the door is open, the price will be a bit more expensive than usual. If you want to add some clothes, you can go there and have a look."
"Have you lived in Shangyuan for a long time?"
"It's been almost ten years. I was a candidate for the last two exams. My hometown is in Qingshui Town. You must have never heard of it." Xinwu replied, "It is also within the boundaries of Gyeonggi Province, and people there dream of moving there. Shangyuan City.”
As he spoke, he suddenly pointed forward, "Look, Lord Xia, that's the capital of Shangyuan."
The first thing that caught Xia Fan's eyes was still the tall and straight city wall - but compared to Jinxia City, this wall was obviously much more towering. From a distance, it looked like a mountain rising from the ground.
There are still more than ten miles between the city wall, and dense houses and markets have already appeared on both sides of the road. This is also a characteristic of classical cities: because the city wall is time-consuming and laborious to build, it is impossible to expand with the scale of the city, so when the city wall When the land is occupied, the remaining residential areas will spread out into the suburbs. To judge whether a city is prosperous or not, you can judge by the extent of the outward expansion of residential areas.
Obviously Shangyuan City is far better than Jinxia City in terms of population.
"It is indeed the capital of Daqi. It is indeed worthy of its reputation." Xia Fan pretended to be surprised and said, "There are probably hundreds of thousands of people in this city, right?"
"If you count the surrounding residents, there is this number." Xin Wu held out five fingers.
Half a million, to be honest... this is definitely an astonishing amount. "Compared to the capitals of other kingdoms?"
"Even among the Six Kingdoms, Shangyuan is a veritable metropolis, second only to the Yongding City of the Xu Kingdom in size." Xin Wu said proudly, "Of course this is normal, after all, Yongding was the capital of the Yong Kingdom a hundred years ago. "
When approaching the outer city gate, several roads gradually converged into one main road, and there were obviously many more carriages around. The vehicles entering the city alone formed a queue nearly hundreds of meters long.
"The investigation in the city has been stricter recently. As you know, it has something to do with His Highness the Crown Prince." Xin Wu whispered, "Alchemists have certain privileges in the city. You can go anywhere, but don't approach the palace alone. Now is a special period. , the Privy Council does not want to conflict with the royal family."
Xia Fan nodded to show his understanding.
Then Xin Wu led the convoy to another small door. After identifying himself to the guards, he took the shortcut and entered the city directly.