After a week of training, Xia Fan's injuries have improved greatly - even if he is not as good as a demon, the alchemist's recovery ability is far better than that of ordinary people, especially when he has a rare free time, he spends most of his time on entraining qi. , speeding up wound healing in disguise.
Although I still feel a little stinging when I touch it, it is basically no hindrance to my movements.
So Xia Fan decided to bid farewell to the princess.
When she met Ning Wanjun, she was doing her own training—not entraining qi and exercising, but poking wooden targets in the sand training field. A large number of target poles as thick as bowls were hung in mid-air by hemp ropes. They did not look easy to withstand force, but half of them had been smashed by spears, and the ground was littered with splintered wood chips. There were beads of sweat on her forehead, and the ends of her hair were stuck into coils.
Being so close, Xia Fan could even smell the sweat on her body.
Sure enough, not all beautiful girls smell good—when sweat is wrapped in layers of fabric, it smells like it should.
Probably she was aware of this. After taking the towel from the maid, the princess took the initiative to distance herself from the two.
"Huh... don't you want to rest for a few more days?" Ning Wanjun said after hearing his intention, "You can actually move here to live permanently. This villa is a bit far from the Privy Council Mansion, but the comfort level is comparable to that of the Privy Council Mansion. A shabby house is much better.”
"Thank you for your concern, Princess," Xia Fan pretended to hold her hand, "But after all, it is close to the Privy Council Mansion, so any emergencies can be handled more easily."
"It seems that you are quite concerned about this matter." The princess raised her lips slightly, "It's just that I must remind you that although you are already engaged in the command, you will definitely encounter many difficulties at the beginning. You must do well. Be mentally prepared.”
"That's why I want to go back home early."
It would be strange if there were no difficulties - the Gyeonggi Governorate might not mind using a magistrate to build its reputation, but the local Privy Council Office is different. What they cut off is their vital interests.
"If you encounter a problem that cannot be solved, be sure to come and discuss it with me." Ning Wanjun threw the towel she had wiped off her sweat into the maid's hand, "Don't forget that I am your support. If you need any support, just ask - Although what I can do now is still very limited, especially on the surface.”
… Rely on it
If he can't even sit in this position, I'm afraid the princess will immediately find someone else to support him.
But this at least sounds better than ignoring it.
"Then I'll take my leave." Xia Fan said again.
The princess nodded, and then stopped him, "Since you don't plan to live in the villa, remember to come at least once in two or three days. Not only the issues of the Privy Council, I also want to hear your opinions on other things occasionally. "
"Other things mean..."
"Political affairs, foreign affairs, intelligence, everything I handle can be discussed."
For my opinion? Xia Fan was a little confused. In the eyes of outsiders, he should be just an unorganized sect with a lot of talent in magic. Let alone putting forward opinions, it was a problem whether he could even be understood.
But considering that he failed to refuse this generous "reward" and has actually boarded the other party's ship, it is not a bad thing to learn more about additional information.
The efficiency of information transmission these days is not only slow, but also extremely stratified. For example, the only way to obtain things like national policies and wars is through oral narration from the upper levels. It is almost impossible for ordinary people to get timely and effective information.
"I understand." He finally nodded.
…
Returning to Jinxia City, Xia Fan first sent the fox demon back to his residence, and then went to the Privy Council Mansion.
There was no handover procedure and no one was welcoming. The large headquarters was actually empty. If he hadn't received a new alchemist's robe from the receptionist and replaced the bronze medal with a jade medal, he would have even doubted whether the commendation the princess mentioned had actually happened.
Or is it that because he was injured and recuperating, the entire headquarters was on vacation
Xia Fan had no choice but to return to the front hall and find the receptionist.
More than half a month ago, the other party was still his leader, but now the status of the two is completely different.
Seeing him returning, the receptionist quickly bowed and asked, "Master, do you have anything else to tell me?"
"How many people were there in the headquarters before?" Xia Fan said straight to the point.
"Uh... As far as alchemists are concerned, there are sixteen of them, three of them are divine judges and one is a practitioner."
"What about non-alchemists?"
"That's a lot, almost forty or fifty."
"But now there is no one in the command department!" Xia Fan raised his voice, "Yuan Zhengzheng was transferred and Zhang Shenjing died in the line of duty. These are only two people. Where have the others gone?"
"Sir..." The receptionist hesitated for a moment, "Since the news of your takeover arrived, they have successively dismissed all non-alchemist members. The remaining alchemists were either temporarily transferred to other departments or chose to report illness, so... There won’t be anyone else in the command department for the time being.”
"Transferred to another department? Who said it?"
The receptionist looked embarrassed and said, "At that time... you hadn't taken over the job yet."
When he said this, Xia Fan understood everything. Because the handover was not done on the spot, Yuan Zheng could have described the transfer as a previous decision. Of course, this kind of thing cannot be done by one person, and someone needs to cooperate with him. In other words, other actors are openly on the opposite side of themselves.
He is now a veritable polished commander.
"Since these people don't even want to stay in the headquarters, can I get rid of them directly?" Xia Fan said solemnly.
"Of course, you have the final say in matters concerning the headquarters. However, you can only remove positions such as divine judges. Their status as alchemists is the responsibility of the general government. As long as no obvious mistakes are made, the Gyeonggi government will not deprive them of this official title."
"What about the new alchemists? I remember you said that we are the first batch."
"Sir, in fact, the second batch of new alchemists came to the mansion two days ago to report. There are six people in total. But..." The receptionist stopped talking.
"But what? You said. It's not your problem and I don't blame you."
"If the academic department believes that they have not completed basic teaching and have not met the standards for performing tasks, they can not be released to the headquarters."
Yes, Xia Fan rolled his eyes in his heart. Since there is this rule, he must not be able to get anyone.
By the same token, it can be deduced that the Ministry of Finance will not approve the various expenses he applied for. As for the recording department...it doesn't matter whether they support it or not.
The princess was right that she would encounter many difficulties at the beginning, or in other words, the actual situation was even more difficult.
If he is just the agent installed by the princess in the house, and he can slowly win over and induce him afterwards, with a little more effort, the other three parties can put aside their displeasure and get back together.
But what he wants to do is to completely eliminate the evil spirits and root them out together.
The interests of the two sides are so different that there is no possibility of reconciliation.
The Privy Council of Jinxia City has regarded him as an obstacle.
After leaving the front hall, Xia Fan suddenly saw two familiar figures.
Wei Wushuang and Luo Youer.