The mink fur coat was very warm. Seeing the figure gradually disappearing in the wind and snow, Fan Xian's heart was also very warm. His life was really thrilling and intriguing. Although it was fulfilling, it made the heart a little tired. Pure character interaction is really a rare enjoyment.
Withdrawing his gaze into the snowflakes in the distance, Fan Xian's heart suddenly moved, and he felt a strange feeling. It seemed that when the Sword Cottage opened for the last time next spring, he might gain some experience that he had never had before.
He walked to the black carriage, raised his right knee, lowered his head and carefully scraped the slush on the soles of his boots on the carriage steps, making a sound of slag. While scraping the snow, he thought silently, and after a long time, he opened the thick cotton curtain of the car and lowered his head to get in. A gust of hot wind was blowing in the face, and inside the large Overwatch Council carriage, the special small heater was emitting a breath of spring. Compared with the freezing weather outside the carriage, it was a completely different world.
Fan Xian took the towel, brushed off the snowflakes on the fur collar, and said, "I've gone far, can we go back?"
Ye Linger took the towel from his hand, lowered her head, her long eyelashes adorned her bright eyes and the complex emotions in them. She said softly, "I didn't come to see him off."
"Didn't you come to see Brother Thirteen off, did you come to enjoy the snow with me?" Fan Xian said angrily, "I really don't understand what you guys are thinking. It's been more than a month, and it still looks like Qingzhou when we first met." Like in the city."
"Master, I didn't think about anything." Ye Linger raised her head and said seriously.
"Si Gu Jian will die next year. There are two factions in Dongyi City, and they are arguing. I'm afraid Shisanlang Wang will be worried when he returns to Dongyi this time. Although he is Si Gu Jian's most beloved closed disciple, he has no What connections." After thinking for a while, Fan Xian said slowly, "I'm afraid there will be a fight in the end."
"Can't you help him? He has done so many things for the Overwatch Council." Ye Linger asked slightly anxiously.
"You don't need to tell me that. He is someone who works for me, so of course I have to repay him." Fan Xian said, "Si Gu Jian's attitude towards me is sincere enough. Although this old monster definitely doesn't want to make any deal with His Majesty, but Talk to me about buying and selling, there should be no problem."
He suddenly looked at Ye Linger and said softly: "The problem is that after he returns to Dongyi, he will probably settle there for many years. Have you thought about this problem?"
"Why should I think about this question?" After the death of the second prince, Ye Linger no longer had the carefree and easygoing appearance she used to have, but became much more silent and mature. Although in front of friends like Fan Xian, she still talked and laughed freely, But both Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er could see the deepest shadow in this woman's heart.
It wasn't until Qingzhou and Wang Shisanlang met and became a pair of scenery, that Ye Linger's emotions seemed to be freed from the army horses at the border. Fan Xian was very happy to see this change, but he also knew that as Shisanlang Wang, things between the two of them were indeed very difficult.
He shook his head and didn't dwell on the issue. On the contrary, Ye Linger, because of her own thoughts, thought of the incident that has troubled these young people recently, looked at Fan Xian and asked carelessly: "That matter of Ruoruo is procrastinating like this?"
As soon as this matter was mentioned, Fan Xian was full of lawsuits. Originally, he thought that if Prince Jing and his son put on a bad face, His Majesty the Emperor would go along with the flow and take back this muddled marriage. He didn't expect the Emperor to be so stubborn. The Fan family had already rejected Prince Jing's invitation to marry and ignored these news at all.
"Procrastinate first. The faces of so many of us add up, there is always some weight, and His Majesty is not good at pushing forward." Fan Xian pursed his lips, thinking that if his sister is willing to marry Hongcheng, then this matter will be fine. Do a lot, at least in front of His Majesty, it will make sense to fight.
"I don't know about He Zongwei, but I heard that he has a good reputation. I don't know where you are getting so angry." Ye Linger said casually.
"Angry?" Fan Xian smiled, did not speak clearly, and said vaguely: "The marriage between the two families, He and Fan, wouldn't it be a box lunch?"
"What meal?"
"Eight treasure rice."
"By the way, Commander Wang is holding a banquet at Yishiju today. Wan'er wants me to remind you, don't be late." Ye Linger said seriously.
Fan Xian's heart froze for a moment before he remembered this funny story. It is said that for the sake of the eldest prince to accept the side concubine, Fan Xianyong took the lead and took over the important task of disciplining the eldest lady of the Wang family, but then there was a finger marriage in the palace. He howled that Wang Tong'er out of the mansion in anger, and offended General Shi Fei, who was guarding the capital, very badly.
He originally thought that after this lesson, Wang Tong'er would be furious and would never go to the mansion again, but he didn't expect that Wang Tong'er begged Shi Fei to take her into Fan's mansion again in a few days, begging Master Xiao Fan accepted him as a disciple, and he spoke earnestly, saying that he had changed a lot, and he never dared to behave like before.
The young lady of the Wang family suddenly became so sensible, which surprised Fan Xian, thinking that this unruly young lady really loved the eldest prince, otherwise she would not have wronged herself so much.
Today is the second day after Wang Zhikun, the governor of Yanjing, returned to Beijing to report on his duties. The governor personally hosted a banquet for Fan Xian, and wanted to thank him for disciplining the children on his behalf.
"This Wang Tong'er is your fan." Fan Xian frowned, "Have you seen it?"
Ye Linger could guess what the fans meant, and said with a helpless smile: "I saw it many years ago. At that time, she was just a seven or eight-year-old yellow-haired girl. Who would have thought that her temper would become so when she grew up?" big."
"I'm much better now." Fan Xian closed his eyes and said, "It seems that the young ladies are all the same. They all have masochists. If you don't beat them hard, you won't listen to reason."
Ye Linger's face was embarrassed, thinking of the old things in Kyoto, she gave Fan Xian a hard look, and said, "Are you talking about me?"
Fan Xian still had his eyes closed, but a faint smile floated on the corner of his lips, and he said, "Back then you were going to fight again, but now you don't fight yourself."
Amidst the conversation between the two, the carriage slowly turned back towards the capital, squeezing the ice and snow on the road, and moving along the deep traces. Fan Xian felt that the heat in the carriage was a bit too hot, so he opened a corner of the window, hoping to let in some cool winter wind, but he caught a glimpse of the beautiful scenery along the way with silver branches and snow trees along the way.
He stared blankly at this scene, but couldn't help thinking of himself. He Zongwei's side is not too persuasive, but he is not too worried. After solving the Dongyi City matter next year, he will make a great contribution to Daqing. No matter how harsh and ungrateful the emperor is, I am afraid that he will not be able to bear to force himself any longer. .
It's just that the wind and snow along the way made it difficult for the horse to move forward. Fan Xian suddenly felt that he was like a horse in the emperor's harness. The distance is not necessarily where the horse wants to go.
He took a deep breath, let the cold wind cool his chest and the heart hidden in his chest, put down the car curtain, closed his eyes and meditated. Whether it is Xiliang or Dongyi, he is fighting so hard, but he is actually serving as a pawn for the emperor, and he does not want to change all of this, because in the whole world, he has no courage to challenge yet, and only this unfathomable The Emperor Lao Tzu was tested.
If Uncle Wu Zhu and the box were still by his side, the situation would definitely change greatly, but that change might not be good. Fan Xian shook his head, throwing away this annoying possibility. Although Uncle Wuzhu is his servant in name, he is actually his closest relative. Everyone needs to find the most important thing in their life.
Fortunately, His Majesty the Emperor has changed a lot. Judging from his recent anger with Fan Xian and Prince Jing, although it was extremely excessive, he at least showed some popularity—or old age. No matter what kind of smell it is, at least it proves that this majesty has started to walk out of the altar, and is no longer a vain and glorious figure aloft.
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Winter goes and spring comes, it's nonsense again. Well, anyway, on a beautiful spring day. Qingguo had already bid farewell to the innumerable snowfalls that fell indiscriminately, and ushered in warmer weather, new green shoots, and rustling emerald flowers.
And Yanjing, the most important county in the northeast of Qing Kingdom, ushered in a particularly important team. It was already March at this time, and the green trees on both sides of the official road were branching out, swaying in the spring breeze, like a child holding a bouquet of flowers and shouting welcome. It seems that even these plants know the importance of this line.
Yanjing is located in the north. From Kyoto, go straight to Xiaoshan, turn north, pass a parallel official road leading to Cangzhou, stretch to the northeast, and you will arrive at this big city. Decades ago, this place was a city in the Great Wei Dynasty. It was called Nanjing in history, but it was forcibly knocked down by His Majesty the great emperor of the Qing Dynasty and renamed Yanjing, which means the swallow returns with mud.
As for whether the old place of Yanjing was a territory owned by the ancestors of the Qing Kingdom more than a thousand years ago, no one knows. However, the name of Yanjing at least gave Qing Kingdom a just title, plus the old people here were docile and lived mostly between rulers, without strong national sentiments, so Qing Kingdom only ruled for thirty years. But it has also become a mature place, and it seems to have become a capital of the Qing Dynasty.
Yanjing is huge and prosperous. It borders on dozens of small kingdoms controlled by Dongyi City, especially the Song Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty intends to conquer Dongyi, the army must come from Yanjing, so twenty During the years, the frontier soldiers in Yanjing were the elite of the Qing army's elite, and they were called together with the Dingzhou army in Xiliang and the Beida camp near Cangzhou in the north.
Yanjing is the largest city built by the Qing Kingdom in history, and it is the best proof of Emperor Qing's martial arts, so the imperial court has always been very careful about this place, not only investing a lot of manpower, material and financial resources in the military, but also treating each other with special exceptions in government affairs. The civil servants serving in Beijing have all raised their ranks by half a level, and even the six yamen have specially prepared branch offices in Yanjing City.
Everyone knows the reason for such preferential treatment, because to the east of this place is Dongyi City, and to the north via Cangzhou is the Northern Qi Dynasty. Nanqing intends to unify the world, and Yanjing City will definitely be the birthplace of the army's offensive and the front-line base camp.
Emperor Qing had prepared for this matter for 30 years, so he naturally managed Yanjing like an iron bucket. No one knew how much grain, grass and weapons were stored in the city.
Today, the head of Yanjing City's military is Chief Governor Wang Zhikun. With great strength, Cangzhou Beidaying, which lost Yan Xiaoyi, was so smoothly taken over by Shi Fei, while the officials along Dongshan Road had no way to fight back.
And the civil servant leader of Yanjing City is also an important figure, his surname is Mei and his name is Zhili. He was a student of Liu Guogong back then. As early as six or seven years ago, he had already served as the governor of the capital. , and now he is already a local official of the second rank, only half a rank lower than the governor of the first road.
Today, these two great figures were waiting outside Yanjing City with smiles, but the officials and subordinates beside them did not show the slightest surprise, because these officials and generals knew that although this team was not His Majesty's Royal Cavalry, it was on the same level as the Royal Cavalry. The governor's lady is also in the convoy.
…
…
Amidst the sound of silk and bamboo, countless standing cards passed by, eunuchs holding swords passed by, and the motorcade stopped in front of the welcoming officials. A young official dressed in a black official uniform with a light yellow ribbon around his waist opened the curtain and came in front of everyone.
The person who came was Fan Xian, and he came here as an imperial envoy, so he was not surprised to see the battle in front of him. He just gave a wry smile and accompanied Dudu Wang and Lord Mei to complete the procedure seriously. Only then did he breathe a long sigh of relief, and asked the two adults to get up, and then he greeted himself.
Wang Zhikun and Mei Zhili didn't even dare to talk, although they are both powerful people, but when they meet this young master, they know it's better to be respectful, otherwise who knows what kind of miserable ending they will have in the future.
I heard that the life of the popular Mr. He in the court is not so easy...
Wang Zhikun had only returned to the capital in the winter to report on his work, and he had met Fan Xian twice, so he was no stranger to him, especially since Fan Xian had brought Wang Tong'er back along the way during his trip, and he had the identity of Wang Tong'er's private teacher, so Wang Zhikun was extraordinarily warm to him, and besides being polite, he deliberately added a bit of ease.
Fan Xian watched this scene with a smile, and guessed that the military boss deliberately let Mrs. Mei watch it. Whether it is in Dingzhou or Yanjing, there will be some friction between the military and the government, and the governor Wang must think that he has a helping hand in the court, and Mei Zhili, a civil servant, should be more vigilant.
Mei Zhili laughed twice, then stepped forward and said to Fan Xian, "How are you, sir?"
Fan Xian said earnestly: "Father lives comfortably in Danzhou, and the old man is also in good health."
The Duke mentioned in these words is Liu's father and Mei Zhili's teacher. Wang Zhikun watched this scene from the sidelines, and started to mutter in his heart. Only then did he realize that old man Mei and Master Xiao Fan had known each other for a long time.
Fan Xian and Mei Zhili are indeed old acquaintances. The first sensational event of Fan Xian's entry into Beijing happened under Mei Zhili's nose. Mei Zhili helped the Fan family a lot when he punched Guo Baokun in the street. busy.
"You are not staying in the court, but why do you want to go to Yanjing?" Fan Xian asked with a smile.
Mei Zhili lowered his voice and laughed, "Where was the Governor of Kyoto made by someone? It's better to run away quickly."
The two, one old and one young, burst into laughter. Mei Zhili looked sideways at Wang Zhikun, indescribably proud, thinking that if you followed Dan Bogong's footsteps, it was because of his own daughter, but I was relying on his parents. Whoever kisses who stays away is up to you.
Fan Xian laughed and said, "What you said... I don't think Mr. Sun finds it difficult."
As soon as this remark came out, even Wang Zhikun couldn't help stroking his beard and laughing, thinking that the young man was really mean, and now who in the officialdom doesn't know that Sun Jingxiu, the prefect of the capital, who was blessed by misfortune, would have been betrayed by his daughter. I'm afraid he's already dead. Of course, whenever this matter is mentioned in the official circles, they can't help discussing mischievously. How can that Miss Sun, who killed her relatives righteously, be harmed by Master Xiao Fan to such an extent? Such things come.
※※※
Fan Xian's trip to Yanjing was just passing through. His main purpose was to go to Dongyi City to participate in Sigu Jian's last opening of the Sword House. Everyone in the world knows that this opening of the hut is probably the last time this great master will meet with the world, and the opening ceremony of the hut is also very grand, not only Dongyi City and the small states around the city have their own The nobles went to see the ceremony, and even the Northern Qi and Nanqing, the two major powers in the world, were also invited.
Everyone is guessing that Si Gu Jian probably wants to use this last opening to decide where Dongyi City will invest in the future. Therefore, the Northern Qi and Nanqing courts did not dare to be negligent, and sent representatives one after another, and because of Wang Shisanlang's relationship, Fan Xian became the representative of Nanqing.
As for the fact that the imperial guard of honor will bring Wang Tong'er back to Yanjing, it is because the matter of the eldest prince accepting the side concubine is a foregone conclusion. In June, he has to prepare to start, but the reputation of the side concubine is always bad. Your Majesty is for Wang Zhikun The face of the family, so I pay special attention to it, let this young lady go back to her hometown first, and then take her back to Kyoto all the way. From Fan Xian's point of view, it was purely eating too much and having nothing to do, but the Wang family was grateful for the grace and was overjoyed, so they had to tire themselves out.
That night, Fan Xian and his party rested in the Governor's Mansion. After Wang Tong'er happily saluted Fan Xian, he ran back to his boudoir, waiting for the nuns to teach the rules of marriage.
At the banquet, Wang Zhikun looked at Fan Xian with some embarrassment, and said, "These few months, I have really troubled my little father-in-law."
The governor is well aware of His Royal Highness's attitude towards accepting the side concubine. Although he appreciates His Royal Highness and is willing to marry his daughter to him, as a father, he is always worried about his daughter. He knows that if it is not Master Xiao Fan took up this matter, I'm afraid it will be a lot of trouble.
Fan Xian smiled, didn't say anything about it, lowered his eyes and asked softly, "Who is the person who went to Northern Qi?"