The meeting took place in the bedroom.
But when Shangguan Cai walked into the room, Xia Fan almost didn't recognize him.
She seemed to be a completely different person, and her facial features were no longer the flat appearance before, but were much more delicate and compact, making her appear to be one or two years younger. It can be seen that the freckles and raised cheekbones on her face were all disguised. The only thing that didn't change was her eyebrows and her raised eyes - or in other words, after her appearance changed, her eyebrows became more energetic than before.
But it feels... shorter too.
But when he thought of her identity and her performance on the back mountain, Xia Fan decided to keep these thoughts in his heart.
"How about it? My bedroom is quite comfortable, isn't it?" Shangguan Cai spread his hands, "Especially the bed. I've tried it, and it's no worse than the one in the palace."
This opening statement made him twitch his lips, "...Is that your bed?"
"Don't worry, I have more than one bed, so it doesn't matter if you lie down on it."
"Are you really a princess?"
"How dare you!" the maid who walked in with her scolded, "How dare you speak to Her Royal Highness like this -"
But before he finished speaking, the other party was interrupted by Shangguan Cai's cold gaze.
"So... I should stand up and salute first?" Xia Fan sighed.
"No, you are injured, and I can also see that you don't like those red tapes." Shangguan Cai sat down opposite him, "As for your question - yes, I am indeed the third princess of Qi Kingdom, Shangguan Cai Cai is also a pseudonym. How about it, can I pretend to be a sorcerer? "
“…impeccable.”
"Thanks for the compliment. My real name is Ning Wanjun, but you can continue to call me Shangguan when there are no outsiders. To be honest, I quite like the identity of an eighth-grade alchemist."
Xia Fan had heard of the surname of the current royal family, and most people did not dare to call themselves this surname.
"Why did His Highness pretend to be an alchemist, even disguising his appearance?" He asked puzzledly, "I think it is unlikely that he came here specifically for the affairs of Gaoshan County, right?"
Of course he would not take the other party's politeness seriously. In any case, it would never be wrong to call him "Your Highness."
"Of course not. Before you investigated this matter, I knew nothing about Gaoshan County. The reason I came here is simple - this is my fiefdom."
The fiefdom... or is it for the princess
Xia Fan was surprised.
"The administrative order for the canonization should have arrived at the boundary of Shenzhou. I just sneaked out of the capital a month in advance." The princess said easily, "Information in the palace is tight, so there are only a handful of people who know my whereabouts."
"Your Highness!" the maid reminded in a low voice.
"If you're so free, why not go make us a cup of tea?" She waved her hand.
The latter could only lower his head helplessly, "Yes."
"The purpose of sneaking away is to pay a private visit incognito and inspect the true appearance of his territory?" Xia Fan's curiosity also aroused.
"What's so good about that? Observing it from a personal perspective is just like an ant peeping at an elephant. It's not much better than being deceived." Shangguan Cai - or Ning Wanjun shook his head and said, "If you want to truly understand a place , the only way is to completely rule the place. I don’t have so much time to waste, so before coming to Jinxia, I went to Qingshan Town.”
Xia Fan was stunned, "Qingshan Town?"
"I observed a military examination and selected an alchemist to serve as my representative in the Privy Council." She stretched out a finger and pointed at Xia Fan, "And that person is you."
"I know you want to ask, why you - actually the reason is not that complicated. Your performance is outstanding enough, you come from a loose family, you are not closely involved with the aristocratic family, and your origins are innocent and traceable. This is the basic condition."
Ning Wanjun didn't wait for him to speak, and then continued on her own, "But that's not enough. If a person is content with the status quo, and is even willing to enjoy the convenience and rights brought by the status of an alchemist, then sooner or later he will stand up On the side of the Privy Council. Therefore, I took the place of a new alchemist and observed your every word and deed at close range - no one can do this part for me. I only believe everything I see."
"And your performance exceeded my expectations."
At this time, the maid also brought the brewed tea.
Xia Fan was the first to pick up a cup of tea and received a hidden roll of eyes from the maid.
"Is it good or bad?"
"If it was something bad that I didn't expect, you would have died in the magistrate's office in Gaoshan." Ning Wanjun raised her lips, "You are indeed very bold and your temperament is extraordinary."
Xia Fan glanced at Li who was standing aside and nodded.
"I appreciate what you have done. Not everyone has the courage to confront the Privy Council. In addition, I must also thank you. After all, not long after you came to Jinxia, you removed an ugly scourge from my territory. If With you in the Privy Council, I will undoubtedly feel more at ease in the future."
Xia Fan couldn't help but frown. Thinking about it now, couldn't it be that those words she said at that time were all tests in disguise
"You didn't arrange this, did you?"
"Since it was arranged decades ago? I don't have the ability to predict the future. It's just that as a royal family, I have more channels to understand the Privy Council, so I can naturally think further."
This statement coincides with Li's words - "I don't know the situation in Gaoshan County, but I know the Privy Council Mansion."
The princess paused, "Don't doubt your role, Xia Fan. If I find out about this after I officially arrive at Jinxia City, I'm afraid it will continue for many years. Because I can't directly make the alchemists take orders from me."
"Even if you can go to Shikaoli in advance to select someone?"
"That's right, I can't let the second- and third-grade alchemists return to the local Privy Council from Gyeonggi. Besides, every move of those people will be watched by many eyes. It's the limit to adjust the ranking a little and select a new candidate for me. .”
In other words, my ranking was not Ding and Ding at the beginning.
"Do you want to control the Privy Council House?" Xia Fan asked.
"I want to control everything in my territory." She said without hesitation. "You just mentioned the true appearance of the territory. Only in this way can we truly know. As you can see, Jinxia City is not a rich place. There are only a handful of people I can bring, and coupled with the constraints of the Privy Council, if I don't do this, I will only be an empty shell for a long time, letting the real people in power play in the hands. "
But isn’t canonization a form of devolution? After all, the East is not like the West, and the enfeoffed areas are comparable to the country of China. Staying away from the court means staying away from the center of power, finding a remote place, and enjoying the rest of your life with peace of mind. This is the state that a person who has been granted the title should have.
Why does she want to really take the fiefdom as her own
Xia Fan doesn't know the specific reason yet, but one thing Xia Fan knows very well is that the other party is ambitious.
It's normal for people in the royal family to be ambitious, but it's not a good thing for him.
This level of struggle for power is often a fight between gods and gods, and in this era, there is no guarantee of human rights. He does not want to become a victim of political struggle at all.
"Thank you for your love, Your Highness, Princess, but I think I am embarrassed by my responsibility—"
"Don't refuse in a hurry. You haven't heard the reward yet, have you?"
Xia Fan was unmoved. The reward was nothing more than a high-ranking official and a generous salary, but the prerequisite was that he had the life to enjoy it.
Ning Wanjun took a sip of tea calmly, "What if I let you do whatever you want?"
He couldn't hold it back and spit out a mouthful of water.
Li Yi raised his tail.