Deng Ziyue was slightly taken aback, thinking that on this heavy rainy day, he would not wait for his subordinates to pay their respects, feast in the Xinfeng Restaurant, or go back to the mansion to enjoy warm tea, but would go to the Yan Mansion under the heavy rain. Thinking about something.
"I'll get the car dispatched." He said to Fan Xian in a deep voice, and he was about to walk to a place across the street.
Fan Xian shook his head, and covered his head with the raincoat hat with his backhand. Without fear of the heavy rain pouring outside, he just walked into the rainwater of the long street and let the rainwater hit him like that. On a gray and black dress.
The official uniforms of the Overwatch Council are very common, but there are also special styles. For example, when investigating cases in rainy days, they usually wear this kind of raincoat—the sleeves are wide but not long, and they are all made of waterproof fabric. The style is a bit strange, like a windbreaker and a cape. Rain falls from the sky, and it will run off smoothly when it falls on this garment.
When Xueshi Shu saw this kind of clothes of the Overwatch Council for the first time in Kyoto, he was so excited that he named them "Lianyi", which means that rainwater falls from the lotus leaves like pearls. But after all, the style of this kind of raincoat is a bit weird, and it is incompatible with the current aesthetics, so even if there is such a wonderful name as Lotus Clothes, it still has not spread among the people, and only officials and spies of the Overwatch Council will wear this kind of clothes. .
Therefore, on rainy days in the capital, as long as you see this kind of person wearing a black and gray lotus suit, everyone will know that the Overwatch Council is out to handle errands, and they will run away like ghosts.
When Fan Xian walked into the rain, the members of Qi Nian's team naturally did not dare to neglect them. Just like in that moonlit night, they were divided into several directions, guarding him not far or near, and walking forward on the long rainy street with few people. Fang walked, the rain hit the clothes, and the boots stepped on the stagnant water, blah blah blah!
The few people in the mist had the smell of silent killing.
The owner of the Xinfeng Pavilion, who was bowing to see off the guests, looked up slightly at this scene, thinking to himself, this Fan Tisi is really a wonderful person, and with a few subordinates, he actually wore this strange clothes with a sense of beauty, Come out of the texture.
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Yan Mansion is not far away. After walking in the rain for a while, I walked into an alley, walked out and stood to the right, and I could see the not-so-spacious gate of the mansion. Thinking of the father and son in this mansion, who are in charge of all the espionage activities of the court, even Fan Xian couldn't help but feel a bit more dignified.
Yan Ruohai, as a veteran official who has been in charge of the Overwatch Council for ten years, has won the sacred heart and Chen Pingping's respect. Even the six ministers in the court would not dare to be arrogant in front of him. And because the Overwatch Council had set the official rank extremely low at the beginning of its establishment, for the sake of convenience, His Majesty basically used the means of bestowing honors and titles to forcibly elevate the political status of the Overwatch Council officials.
For example, Yan Ruohai was a second-class viscount a few years ago, but last year Yan Bingyun was betrayed by the eldest princess to Northern Qi. In order to appease these loyal officials in the Overwatch Council, His Majesty directly raised Yan Ruohai's title to a third-class earl. Thinking about even Fan Xian's father, Fan Jian, who is now the Minister of the Household Department, and is only a first-class earl, one can know how kind the Holy One treats the officials of the Overwatch Council.
However, the entrance of the Yan Mansion has not been replaced with a new plaque, and the small inscription below the Yan Mansion still reads "Jingcheng Zifu" instead of "Jingcheng Bofu". The words are also black instead of gold, which seems extremely low-key. However, Fan Xian knew that, except for the ministers of the past generations, only the ministers who were ordered by His Majesty to grant the house were qualified to write their titles on the front of the mansion. It can be seen that the house of Yan Mansion was also bestowed by His Majesty, and it is impossible to keep a low profile if you want to.
Standing at the gate of the mansion where the heavy rain did not stop, the deacon at the door had already seen him coming. As soon as he saw the raincoats worn by this group of people, he knew that he was an official from the Overwatch Council, but he didn't know whether it was the master's colleague or the young master's friend. , quickly went down the steps, covered the rain with his hands, and greeted Fan Xian and his party up.
Fan Xian lifted the rain hat on his head, revealing slightly damp hair, and asked, "Is Xiaoyan at home?"
The deacon was about to say that the master was not at home, but after listening to the other party, he knew that he was looking for the young master. Looking at this handsome face, he had already guessed who it was, and said respectfully, "Young master is at home, may I ask you?" Master Tisi?"
Fan Xian nodded, took off the raincoat and put it on his forearm. The deacon quickly took it over, held up an oil-paper umbrella in his left hand, and said, "My lord, please come in."
This is a smart man, knowing that the young master came back from the north and had a close relationship with this Fan Tisi, so he decided to welcome him in without notifying him first. Fan Xian also had this idea, he smiled and glanced at the deacon, and walked into the mansion naturally, after all, his official rank was higher than Yan's father and son, so there is no need to be polite in this case.
This was the first time he came to Yan Mansion, so he was curious about the environment in the mansion, but he walked in with the deacon's umbrella, and he didn't see anything unusual along the way, but there was enough rain to moisten the huge building in the courtyard. There are some strange rockeries that make the moss on them green and green like they have returned to their youth.
After going around the rockery, there is the inner courtyard of the Yan Mansion. Fan Xian looked at the two people listening to the rain on the corridor in the distance, smiled slightly, and waved his hand to signal everyone not to follow him, while he was slowly stepping on the stagnant water on the stone slab, Trying not to make a sound, approached the view corridor.
The view corridor was covered in rain, the stone steps beside the columns were completely wet, and even the ground under the corridor was half wet, but the two people in the corridor remained unmoved, sitting on two chairs, staring at the rain scene in mid-autumn in a daze.
Of course, one of them was Mr. Xiaoyan who had just returned to Beijing, and the other was Miss Shen who had fled thousands of miles away. The two sat on the chairs, neither spoke nor looked at each other. They just cast their gazes into the rain, as if expecting this The bead curtain woven by the non-stop rainwater can refract the two people's eyes back and project them into the other's eyelids.
Fan Xian smiled wryly, and found that Yan Bingyun's face was still frosty, but his eyes were more gentle than before, and Miss Shen beside him seemed to have recovered from the misery of the day when his family was ruined. After getting rid of it, a slight sense of shame and beauty appeared on his face, but there was a trace of bewilderment in his eyes.
It's just that this couple doesn't speak, doesn't look at each other, and treats each other as if they don't exist. The scene is really weird.
What made Fan Xian feel even more weird was that Miss Shen was dressed in the clothes of a maid, and her feet were shackled by shackles, dragging a long iron chain, and the end of the iron chain was inside the room. , by the looks of it, it was actually locked up by Yan Bingyun!
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After watching quietly for a while, Fan Xian sighed in his heart, knowing that Yan Bingyun must not be in such a relaxed mood at this time, otherwise he would not have even noticed that he had stood behind the two of them for so long.
So he coughed lightly twice.
Yan Bingyun looked back, and saw that hateful gentle smiling face, his eyes were full of anger, he didn't know if he was angry because he was disturbed, or he wanted to trouble Fan Xian because he had been forced into a female captive.
When Miss Shen saw Fan Xian, she didn't know how to respond. Her complexion darkened, she got up from the chair, and entered the room with a slight flick. stop echoing.
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Yan Bingyun didn't seem surprised that Fan Xian would barge into his house, and after asking him to sit down, there was no strange expression on his face. But Fan Xian was a little surprised at the desertedness of the Yan Mansion. He sat on the chair after Miss Shen left, and felt that there was still some warmth under his buttocks. : "I thought you went back to the capital after going through a lot of hardships. There should be many officials in the house who congratulated you. How could you expect that in the rainy day, only you and the girl from the Shen family looked at each other and wept silently."
Yan Bingyun defended very seriously: "First, I didn't look at her, and she wouldn't bother to look at me if I thought about it. Second, it's the day when I'm crying, not me."
Fan Xian shrugged and said nothing.
Yan Bingyun continued: "Father has always disliked dealing with officials in the imperial court, and I am not a celebrity like Master Tisi in the capital, so the house will naturally be deserted."
Fan Xian shook his head: "I know that before you went to Northern Qi, you were a well-known young master in the capital. After returning to China, you will definitely be promoted again. How could those who want to curry favor with your Yanfu not come? Even if your family is a supervisor The leader of the court is not in the same system as the court officials, but I don't think anyone will let go of this kind of great opportunity."
Yan Bingyun was expressionless: "Father raised three dogs, which were tied to the door all the time, so no one dared to go to the house."
Fan Xian was startled, and stroked his slightly damp hair. Said: "Why didn't I see you when I entered the mansion?"
Yan Bingyun said: "Today there is heavy rain blocking the guests, those big black dogs have been tired for these days, let them rest."
Fan Xian was speechless.
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"My lord is here today, I don't know what to do."
It can be heard that Mr. Xiaoyan is deliberately keeping a long distance from Mr. Fan, and presumably this is also due to his family education. Fan Xian ignored this, and directly took out the cylinder from his arms, opened it, took the scroll, and threw it into his arms.
Yan Bingyun picked it up and squinted his eyes to look at it roughly. His expression was a little unnatural, and he said, "Your Excellency really trusts your subordinates, but this is a way of life for one place. Showing it to me is already a violation of the regulations."
Fan Xian looked at him with a smile, and said, "Don't think that you are about to take over from your father, so you can avoid me every day... You call me my lord, that means it is clear, although I am in one place and you are in another place, after all we are Fake is also a commissioner, it really drove me into a hurry, I issued a warrant to transfer you to another place, demoted your post, and you have nothing to reason with... So don't talk so much nonsense, help me Look at the information to be serious."
Yan Bingyun was furious and said, "There's no reason to drag people into your muddy water! If my lord uses the authority to suppress me again, I'll talk to the dean!"
Fan Xian waved his hand, looked at Yusi outside the corridor, and said mockingly, "You can go ahead and talk, in the end I really got you to be the master bookkeeper, don't regret it."
Yan Bingyun swallowed the suffocation in the middle, pointed to the information and said in a cold voice: "What do you want to know?"
"It's a big problem." Fan Xian stood up with a soft smile, walked in front of him, looked at his cold and beautiful face, and said word by word: "I want you to find out for me, Is there any relationship between the second prince and the Cui family?"
There was a heavy silence in the hallway.
There was no expression of shock or fear on Yan Bingyun's face, and he pointed to the roll of paper and said, "I knew since I went to Beijing that you would definitely deal with the Cui family, and you didn't hide this from me, my lord, but... two Prince? There has never been any rumor that he has a relationship with Xinyang." He naturally knew that Fan Xian dealt with the Cui family because of the eldest princess's relationship, and he checked the relationship between the Cui family and the second prince, and naturally aimed at the eldest princess, so some It's strange why the second prince is involved.
"Intuition." Fan Xian said calmly, "I didn't hide it from you from the very beginning about dealing with Xinyang, because you and I have a natural possibility of alliance in this matter. As for being suspicious of the second prince, it's because of me. I found that during the half a year I was in Northern Qi, he seemed too quiet in the Qing Kingdom... and I only gradually realized that this second highness, who seems to be indifferent, actually has such a great influence in the court. , There are so many officials who are enthusiastically associated with him."
The reason why Fan Xian thinks that the second prince is so quiet is because from his previous life's perspective, in the struggle for imperial power, the prince with inherent advantages can basically guarantee his own future as long as he does nothing. And for more than a year, without the shadowy influence of the eldest princess, the prince is indeed doing the same. But the second prince is different, if he wants to become a great treasure in the future, he must do something, a quiet dog may bite, but a quiet prince must not seize power.
Yan Bingyun gave him a strange look: "It seems that your lord has decided to get involved in the struggle of the princes."
Fan Xian smiled and shook his head: "No, I'm just preparing in case I won't be able to live in a house due to their struggle in the future."
Yan Bingyun was silent for a while, as if he was calculating the impact behind this incident. After all, as a minister, no one would not care about the future direction of the government, especially young and promising ministers like Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun.
"Your Excellency... are you from the Prince's side?" Yan Bingyun suddenly raised his head, looked straight into Fan Xian's eyes somewhat unreasonably, and asked such a question that seemed a bit stupid, too direct, without leaving any room for it.
Fan Xian was slightly taken aback, but a smile gradually appeared on his face, he shook his head and said, "No."
After a moment of silence, Yan Bingyun gradually smiled: "It turns out that my lord...is His Majesty's man."
Fan Xian didn't say anything, knowing that the other party would definitely help him—Yan Bingyun had been imprisoned for a year, and he was already very bored, and now he was recuperating in the capital, so he gave him such a "fun" and "exciting" Don't be afraid that he won't take the bait.
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Yan Bingyun looked down at the case file again and shook his head: "Although the reconnaissance in Beijing in one area is not as good as it was in the past, it is still good. It's just that such a large-scale matter cannot be handled only from Beijing. The intelligence needs to be referred to each other. These materials are already finished products and are of little value. I know that Mu Tie is very capable of dealing with a single case, but he can't control such a big situation at all. If... If My lord trusts me, and I will take care of this matter."
trust? Fan Xian looked at his lowered head, looked at the silver thread between the eyebrows of this young man who was only a few years older than himself, squinted his eyes, and said, "I trust you." Trust is what it is. Simple and pure judgment.
"How long will it take?"
Yan Bingyun raised his head, his words were flat but filled with self-confidence: "I'll be back around next month, and I'll give you news before the end of the month."
Fan Xian nodded, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Yan Bingyun shook his head: "If this matter becomes serious, I don't want to be a scapegoat."
"Don't worry, I like sheep the most." Fan Xian laughed. He was not only happy that the two of them seemed to have found a tacit understanding in going to Beijing in Northern Qi, and started to plan some things at the same time. Bing Yun really started to investigate this matter, so in his future career, Mr. Xiaoyan can only follow Master Xiaofan.
The relationship between the second prince and Xinyang must be investigated, but it is more important to get Xiaoyan into his team.
"That's right." Yan Bingyun frowned suddenly and said, "I want... to ask your lord for a soldier."
Fan Xian asked curiously: "You have been recuperating, are you also investigating something secretly? As for asking for soldiers, Lord Yan has so many elite soldiers everywhere, why do you need to ask me?"
The rain outside the corridor became more urgent, pattering on the stone floor, as if it wanted to burst out countless pockmarks, and the trees in the courtyard began to hang down after drinking enough water. Leafs began to fear the tyranny of the torrential rain. A trace of melancholy and worry flashed across Yan Bingyun's brows, and he said, "There is a serial murder case in the south that runs through several state capitals. Many people died in the 13th Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment, but the murderer was not caught, so this case has been ordered by His Majesty. Turned to the yard."
Fan Xian nodded. He was a man of great knowledge and knowledge. He still remembered that when the two of them went to Beijing in the Northern Qi Dynasty, they had received a secret report from the courtyard, but they didn't pay much attention to it at the time.
Yan Bingyun was a little puzzled and said: "This is within the purview of the four parties, but I didn't expect that after the four parties took over, thirteen spies died in a row, but there was no trace of the murderer, and the death was extremely tragic. According to the report , this murderer is obviously a powerful martial arts practitioner, but there is no way to confirm the rank, but seeing that he can kill so many investigators quietly, it is estimated that he is at least rank nine."
Fan Xian also began to become interested in this matter. In today's peaceful world, as long as a martial arts practitioner has strength above the ninth rank, no matter which country he is in, he can get the official solicitation, and the court will do his best to welcome him. Even the military, due to some reasons, has changed its attitude from previous years and began to recruit such masters.
It's just that there are not many masters above the ninth rank in the whole world. On the other hand, in Dongyi City, relying on the richness of the world, and Sigu Jian opening a hut to welcome guests, it has the largest number of masters above the ninth rank in the world.
Therefore, a master of rank nine or above could become a member of the military forces protecting the Qing Kingdom like the Ye family, or he could become a good assassin outside the imperial court like Taoist He of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Even if he likes freedom, he can go to Dongyi City at the worst, and occasionally help the business group in Dongyi City to be a strong man behind the scenes, and go to Sigujian's sword house to compare skills with fellow practitioners in his free time... It is a choice that is both rich and expensive and has a status in the world.
Serial murder? Is it preparing to rape or robbery? A Ninth-Rank master definitely doesn't need to do these things.
"Maybe he's a perverted killer." Fan Xian sighed, "...he just likes the thrill of killing people."
Yan Bingyun frowned, as if he hadn't thought that there would be such a person in the world, and of course, he didn't fully understand the meaning of the pervert, and said, "The damage everywhere is too big, so the imperial court needs to send powerful warriors south to investigate But you also know that there are not many masters above the ninth rank. These few in the capital are all above my father in official ranks. Naturally, they can't speak everywhere, and His Majesty will not agree, so I am going to borrow troops from you, my lord. .”
Fan Xian said curiously: "There is no such expert anywhere... Even the guards at home, there are only two seventh-ranks at most, and that's nothing."
Yan Bingyun raised the corners of his lips, and said with a smile, "What I want to borrow is... Gundam! And those six long knives under his hand!"
Fan Xian looked at his scheming vigor and wished he could slap him in the face. He laughed coldly and said, "We two brothers have the same wish. I also want to keep Gundam by my side. I immediately asked the old man to ask for it. What about it?" He spread his hands together: "Just like you, it's all wishful thinking, people in the palace, how can they lend it to us casually."
"I don't care about this." Yan Bingyun said with a smile: "If Gundam is transferred to Sir in the future, please lend me a few days to go around."
Fan Xian was startled, looking at the smile that rarely appeared on his face, he felt a thump in his heart, knowing that the Yan family had other connections in Beijing, could it be that the other party had heard something? Could it be that those seven knives really belonged to him? When he thought of this good thing, he couldn't help being happy, and agreed: "I will accept your auspicious words, if this day really comes, I will use you as an envoy."
After finishing talking about the business, Fan Xian glanced at the quiet room and began to make fun of him: "How are you and Miss Shen recently?"
As soon as Yan Bingyun mentioned this matter, he immediately turned into ice cubes again, and said coldly, "My lord, please respect yourself."
"Self-respecting ass!" Fan Xian scolded, "You tied her up with an iron chain, that would make her self-respecting, but you're just like the killer in the south mentioned above...perverted."
It was raining all the time, and the atmosphere was not harmonious. Under the same roof, Fan Xian bared his teeth and paws proudly. Yan Bingyun was so angry that he couldn't speak. He could guess that the word metamorphosis was not a good word. He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and hit the chair in pain. Said: "If you hadn't left her in the mission, would I have been tossed so hard?"
"It's not a long-term solution for you to disguise her as a maid. Besides, I don't think you need to chain her up. With you in this house, Miss Shen probably won't want to go elsewhere." Fan Xian continued Stimulate him with a smile.
"Then what can my lord do?" Yan Bingyun sneered and said, "That princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty can't forget it. After only staying in the capital for a few days, she was able to order the eldest prince to come to my house to put pressure on me and make me feel better." Treat Miss Shen. She is a heavy daughter, an important criminal wanted by the Qi State, and now she can't be killed or released, what can I do?"
There was a faint cry from within the room.
Fan Xian turned his eyes away from the door, only then did he realize that the eldest prince also knew about this, frowned seriously and said, "If it's really inconvenient, I'll take Miss Shen back to the house."
Yan Bingyun suddenly raised his head, while Fan Xian remained silent forcefully. After a long time, Yan Bingyun nodded slowly.
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After the group left Yan Mansion, there was already a carriage transferred from Fan Mansion in the team. Fan Xian no longer had the pleasure of taking a walk in the rain. Sitting in the carriage, he looked sideways at the terrified Miss Shen, and comforted him with a smile: "Miss Shen, don't worry, stay here for a while. Send you back to Yanfu."
He investigated the matter of the second prince based on the honest reason of the feud between himself and the eldest princess, and also based on a hidden reason that he would never announce. The matter is too big, if I don't hold something in my hands, I really dare not trust Yan Bingyun completely. Trust this kind of thing, although it is a matter of intuition and judgment, but when it is not enough, it is more of an entanglement of interests - the only thing that satisfies Fan Xian is that Miss Shen is at the house and believes in Yan Bingyun. I will often come to the house to talk with myself.
Yan Bingyun was deeply influenced by the atmosphere of the Overwatch Council. Although he was secretly unhappy with Fan Xian taking Miss Shen away, he didn't have much resistance. After all, Miss Shen was also a ticking time bomb for Yan Zhai. It hasn't exploded yet, and it has already disturbed his father and son to quarrel every day. Now being taken back to the house by Fan Xian, on the one hand, the two sides have reached an exchange to seek a balance of trust, and on the other hand, it is also a temporary calm down.
Fan Xian looked at the rainy street outside the window and sighed. Thinking of opening that box on a rainy night a year ago, thinking of the madness of that night, and thinking of his own darkness and dullness now, he realized that he had not had time to change the world, and the world was already very changed myself profoundly.
When the car arrived at Dengshikou, the rain was getting lighter and the number of people was getting more and more. The speed of the carriage slowed down, and the front seemed to be a little crowded, and it was temporarily unable to move. At this time, on the long street that can only accommodate three carriages running side by side, a carriage overtook it from behind and merged with the carriage of the Fan Mansion. lifted the curtains of Fan Xian's carriage, and shouted in surprise, "Master!"
Fan Xian had already noticed it, and raised his hand to signal Deng Ziyue, who had already drawn the knife beside the car, to stop, and looked over in surprise, a little surprised that the other party hadn't seen him for half a year, yet he still remembered his master's identity.
Ye Ling'er in that carriage opened her bright eyes, looked at Fan Xian and Miss Shen in the carriage in surprise, and said, "As expected, you are indeed Linger's master... This is another time I was deceived by you." Which sister of yours?"
Fan Xian scolded angrily: "I know it's the master, but I don't know how to speak respectfully. I'm about to become the second imperial concubine. Why are you still wandering outside in this rainy day?"
Today's Fan Xian has begun to doubt the real role played by the second prince in the Niulan Street murder incident. The banquet was invited by the second prince, although it was later found out that Si Lili had sent the news to the eldest princess, and the scribe who the eldest princess placed in the prime minister's mansion secretly planned this matter with the second brother Wan'er, but Fan Xian has never let down his vigilance against the second prince, because the coincidence meeting with the prince after returning from the summer at the lake was arranged by the second prince. A person who is used to calculating others with his mind may not be so bright.
Everyone thought that the Eldest Princess supported the East Palace, including Fan Xian, did not jump out of this idea at the beginning, but looking at it carefully now, with such a perverted power desire of the Eldest Princess, to support a real crown prince... What does it matter to her? meaning
After Fan Xian and Li Hongcheng, Prince Jing's heir, had a meal at Yishiju, he unexpectedly discovered that the backstage owner of Yishiju was the Cui family, and the Cui family's backstage was Xinyang. It couldn't even explain anything, but he firmly believed in his intuition, the quietness of the second prince was abnormal, and he must have strong support in the palace.
And if the second prince was really on the same line as the eldest princess, then Fan Xian had no choice but to say to him—sorry.
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Although he has already begun to investigate the second prince, Fan Xian does not have much resistance to the girl in front of him, who will become the second concubine in the spring of next year, and even hides the expression on her face very well . The first meeting with Ye Ling'er was not pleasant, and later she used small tricks to fight with Da Pi'er, but after marriage, she often came to the house to play with Wan'er, and after a few encounters, Fan Xian appreciated this. A beautiful little girl with eyes as clear as emerald jade, because she has a free and easy spirit that is different from ordinary ladies.
It's just that he can't stand Ye Ling'er always calling him master and sister Wan'er in front of Wan'er, calling himself a generation older.
Ye Ling'er in the carriage said excitedly: "Master, why don't you come and play with me when you get back?"
"Master, where are you going?"
"Master..."
Fan Xian rubbed his temples, listened to the string of words, smiled wryly and sighed absentmindedly, "Wukong, you're being naughty again."