Milky white mist is slowly accumulating in the valley. However, the morning sun slowly rises from the Eastern Sea. After climbing countless mountains, it throws the temperature and light over the mountain villa in the depression, and the white mist slowly fades away. .
It seems that just for a moment, the sky is bright. In the blue valley full of woods, the birds woke up chirping, the dew dripped from the leaves, and the leaves that got rid of the heavy load bounced back happily, as if they were stretching their waists. The whole valley, There is a feeling of fresh breath.
Fan Xian rubbed his astringent eyes, and sat by the bed for a while before waking up. He talked to his father for too long last night, and slept too late, so that he felt a little uncomfortable. Not many people in Shijia Village knew of his arrival, and there were no servants or maidservants in this place, so when he pushed open the wooden door, felt the cool mountain breeze blowing in his face, and saw the basin of hot water under his feet , can not help but be a little surprised.
Sitting on the threshold, he twisted two towels in the hot water basin, and wiped his face vigorously until his cheeks were slightly red, and he felt a kind of pleasure. Throwing the towel back into the water basin, he carried it into the yard next to him, signaling to his subordinates to keep silent.
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Throughout the morning, Fan Xian served his father, bringing tea, water, cooking and beating his back. Twenty years after rebirth, most of them were in Danzhou, there were many things in Kyoto, and now he hadn't seen him for three years. He knew that his son was actually incompetent, so it was rare that he had nothing to worry about in the valley of a foreign country today. He took his duties as a son very seriously.
Fan Shangshu was just a little surprised at the beginning, but when he understood what he was thinking, he just smiled and let him go, and was served by his son in his free time.
After casually using some porridge, white flour and steamed buns, the father and son opened the courtyard door and walked along the wide straight road in Shijia Village towards the mountain next to the village. At this time, the straight road was still covered by a faint white mist, and the gaps in the stone slabs under his feet could not be seen clearly. Fan Xian carefully supported his father as he walked and talked softly with him.
The straight road has three horizontal lines and one vertical line. Although it is in the white mist, it can be seen that the standard is extremely high and very spacious, which does not match the height of the villa's buildings. Fan Xian knew that this was done in advance for future transportation needs. preparation.
A branch of peach blossom protruded from a corner of the white mist, Fan Shangshu pointed to it, and said something softly, while Fan Xian nodded repeatedly beside him. Arriving at a bluestone well, Fan Shangshu said a few more words, and Fan Xian nodded again.
On the way out in the morning, Fan Shangshu gently explained to Fan Xian what the future use of this workshop would be, who would occupy this house in the future, and how the three major workshops would be resettled if they were reopened. Talking about walking like this, it didn't take too long, the father and son walked along the stone path to the green hills, and stopped until they were beside a flying stone on the mountainside.
Both father and son looked back down the mountain at the same time. I saw a golden light penetrating thousands of miles from the east, sweeping away the white mist in the valley in an instant, revealing its true face. I don't know how many houses of various kinds are scattered in the valley following the direction of straight roads and narrow roads. There are occasional old trees sticking out between the blue walls and black eaves, which is very fresh. Farther away, a few smokes are faintly rising, presumably the early risers are boiling water for cooking.
Fan Xian squinted his eyes and looked at the valley, and saw that the densely packed houses gradually piled up between the two mountains, stretching to the east, and it seemed that there was no edge to be seen.
Last night, I just looked at the stars under my feet, and saw the real face today, only to realize that Shijia Village is now such a grand existence. Thinking about the hard work of the past two years, thinking about those people who worked hard for Shijia Village , Seeing the results now, a smile gradually rippling between his brows, eyes, lips and teeth.
"It's a crime to conceive a jade." Fan Shangshu supported his tired waist, panted with a smile and said, "It's just a shell at the moment, if you really want to put all the gems in, once the news is leaked, I'm afraid everyone in the world will come Take a bite of your flesh."
"Few people are capable of biting me." Fan Xian replied with a smile.
Fan Shangshu shook his head in disapproval: "Although the valley is easy to defend and difficult to attack, how can the strength of thousands of people in a mere area be able to stop the attack of a country's soldiers?"
"Father showed the child the map last night. If His Majesty wants to send troops to attack, Dongyi City and Northern Qi will always respond."
"Dongyi City will soon belong to Qing Kingdom..."
"That's just in name. Without ten years of achievements, it would be very difficult for Qing to bring Dongyi City into the system peacefully."
"What about Dongyi City itself? Or people from Northern Qi." Fan Shangshu looked at him with a smile, and said, "The inheritance left by your mother is so tempting that no one can resist it. This place is close to Northern Qi. How can people let it go?"
Fan Xian smiled, helped his father to sit on a bluestone in the middle of the mountain, and after deliberating for a moment, he said: "In Northern Qi, I have a way to check and balance that little emperor. Even if she is really dazzled by diamonds, I have a way to make her Get rid of that idea."
"There is a second internal treasury in the world, do you think that the king of a country just wants it?" Fan Shangshu looked at his son with interesting eyes, "Although I don't know where your confidence in the Northern Qi emperor comes from, But if this matter is really leaked out, the civil and military officials of the Northern Qi Dynasty will definitely drool, even if the little emperor doesn't want to offend you, how can he stop the will of the entire country?"
Standing beside his father, Fan Xian withdrew his gaze from looking down, and said with a wry smile: "Then what can we do? This is a hot potato, let's not consider His Majesty's side, even if in the future many years later, I want to protect You need to be strong enough to live here."
"Okay, just as you say, don't think about your Majesty for now." Fan Shangshu laughed, because both his father and son knew that the biggest danger to Shijia Village came from His Majesty the Emperor in the capital, "Just say that there are three kingdoms in the world, what do you want?" In the meantime, how much strength do you have now, can you keep this place?"
"I have the most ninth-rank powerhouses in the world under my hands." Fan Xian was silent for a moment, and said seriously, "More than His Majesty has."
"Are you sure Sigu Jian is willing to give those people to you?" Fan Shangshu said: "Even if he is willing to give it to you, once he is dead, how will you control those people in the sword hut."
"That depends on how Si Gu Jian handles it." Fan Xian replied, "As for the question of whether to give or not, I don't think he needs to think about it. This matter is of the greatest benefit to Dongyi City."
"Speaking of benefits, I'm really worried about the people of Qing Kingdom." Fan Jian suddenly became sad.
"This is just a supplement, a backup, and a threat." Fan Xian pursed his lips and said softly, "If it can't be used, of course it's the best outcome."
The white mist in the valley had already dissipated. At this time, it was forced by the increasing temperature of the ground to float upwards invisible, but in the mountainside, met with the cool mountain wind passing through the depressions, the white mist gradually seeped out again.
Fan's father and son are sitting between the white clouds, on top of the bluestone, there is mist flowing around them, and their clothes are light, like two immortals. Not far away, beside the road into the mountain, a farmer was chopping firewood, forcibly suppressing his inner curiosity, not looking at the two figures in the cloud. Farther away, there are some shadows hidden in the dark. These people are the guards of Shijia Village, secretly protecting the buildings and people here.
Naturally, the existence of these people couldn't be hidden from Fan Xian, and I'm afraid they couldn't be hidden from Fan Shangshu either, but the two of them didn't want to alarm too many people, they just watched the clouds around them in silence.
After being silent for a long time, Fan Shangshu suddenly said calmly, "A single person can change the world from the bottom of his heart. Looking at history books for thousands of years as a father, it has never happened before."
Fan Xian didn't answer, knowing what his father was talking about.
"Your mother is so talented, she has the posture of a celestial being, and she has the talent of a celestial being. Maybe she wanted to change the world by herself, but she still failed in the end." Fan Shangshu's expression was very indifferent, but this indifference In the numbness, there is an indescribable sigh.
He raised his arm, waving his sleeves in the light mist, pointed to the building in the valley, and said emotionally: "Many years ago, in that wasteland in northern Fujian, I was just like today. Born in the barrenness. Your mother always has so many whimsical ideas in her mind, she has convinced the world not to mention, but also seems to have overcome the restrictions that God has placed on us... how can people not be moved?"
Fan Xian was slightly moved.
"If your mother hadn't died back then, Neiku would definitely not be what it is now. According to her idea, the Ye family's property would always be spread all over the world." Fan Jian sighed: "You want to build these ten villages. I didn't agree with it, but thinking of your mother's wish back then, I let you go."
"In those years, no, these years, I have been thinking about a question, that is, where did your mother come from? What did she want to do when she came into this world? And... why did she leave gone?"
Fan Xian sat down, sitting close to his father, silent.
Fan Shangshu's thin face looked extraordinarily calm in the mountain wind: "We old guys have experienced things many years ago. We can guess that your mother came from that illusory temple, and Wuzhu is her The guards... But the temple has always been out of the world, why is there such a dream-like story?"
Fan Xian hugged his knees with both hands, pressed his face gently against them, and looked sideways at his father in a daze. He knew that his father was a well-known prodigal talent in Kyoto back then. Poetry, calligraphy and painting were all the choices of the world. It was only later that his partners began to plan for the world, so he gave up those spiritual things and devoted himself to boring and important accounts. among the affairs.
Today, on the mountainside next to Shijia Village, Fan Jian, who had retired from the position of Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Qing Dynasty for three years, finally returned to the appearance of a young literary and artistic youth, but the youth is almost old.
"If it was really a big net organized by His Majesty back then, then why was Wu Zhu transferred away?" Fan Shangshu's voice suddenly became sharper, and he stared at Fan Xian and said, "There is no one in this world who can transfer Wu Zhu away from your mother." Things, there's only one threat."
Fan Xian murmured, "Temple."
"That's right, if there wasn't someone from the temple that came to the world that day, Wu Zhu would definitely not have left the capital to stop that person." Fan Shangshu squinted his eyes and said, "If all this was in His Majesty's plan, how could he know? People would come to the temple at that time? How could he come into contact with the illusory temple?"
"Do you suspect that His Majesty cooperated with the temple?" Fan Xian sat up straight, with his hands off his calves, and looked at his father.
Fan Shangshu lowered his eyes slightly, and said: "Chen Pingping and I have guessed and guessed all these years. The reason why we have not done anything is that we still have a heart of respect and fear for the temple. If His Majesty is really the person appointed by the temple, we What can be done?"
"It would be great if Wuzhu didn't lose his memory. He should know the secret of the temple." He looked at Fan Xian gently and said, "If you really want to break with His Majesty in the future, you must clarify this matter. We We are all mortals, we are not your mother, and it is impossible for mortals to fight against the temple."
Fan Xian's face was calm, even after hearing about the temple, he still didn't feel a trace of timidity, and said, "Uncle Wu Zhu has already left."
"Where did he go?"
"He's going home...well, he should visit the temple." Fan Xian's lips curled up slightly, and he said, "He said before he left that there was no one in the temple, so father, don't worry too much... if the temple If he really doesn't do anything in the world, then he won't have any influence on me."
"How many years has Wu Zhu been gone?"
"Almost three years."
"I haven't come back for three years." Fan Shangshu slowly closed his eyes, "I'm afraid there are some problems."
Fan Xian didn't answer, and he was naturally very worried about Uncle Wuzhu, but he never thought of using ordinary things in the world to stop Uncle Wuzhu from looking for his journey, and from the very beginning, he knew that, The temple hidden in the ice and snow must have played a certain role in the story many years ago. Listening to his father's analysis today, he is more and more sure of this.
"Back then, Chen Pingping insisted on asking you to send Xiao En back to Beiqi. You should know why by now."
"Yes, only Xiao En, Ku He, and Uncle Wu Zhu know where the temple is. Ku He naturally refused to tell, and Uncle Wu Zhu never remembered, so only Xiao En knows." Fan Fan Responding leisurely: "The old dean wants me to know the secret of the temple."
As soon as these words came out, Fan Xian's eyelashes suddenly blinked. Past and future events, many past events were strung together in his heart. He even clearly remembered the conversation between himself and the old man in the wheelchair next to the pool of the Overwatch Council, beside the fish sinking on the sandy bottom.
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Chen Pingping waved her hand, frowned and said, "You have to learn to open your eyes in the future. Don't always stare at a department, an official, or a mere capital. You have to learn to stand higher..."
Fan Xian responded, "Do you want to set your sights on the whole world?"
Chen Pingping smiled and said, "Maybe it should be higher."
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Where should the eyes of the highest in the world be placed? Naturally, it is a temple high above the clouds and deep in the cold. Fan Xian was slightly moved, and then realized that a long time ago, Chen Pingping had guessed that the temple was standing behind His Majesty, so she sent Xiao En back to the north to remind herself that His Majesty was not just... a person.
"It's good if you understand. Your Majesty is already extremely powerful, but there is a temple standing behind him." Fan Shangshu still closed his eyes, and said lightly, "So I can't think of resisting him at all. But Since you dare, you must dig from the root."
Fan Xian didn't answer this sentence. In fact, Uncle Wu Zhu's return home was originally a hidden move in his plan. To deal with the temple, you must be a non-human being above the grand master. Uncle Wu Zhu returned to the temple, but Fan Xian stayed in this world to continue to struggle.
"Although Wuzhu thinks that there is no one in the temple." Fan Shangshu frowned, "but who knows? According to what you said, he has been away for more than two years, but he hasn't heard from him yet. What if he What happened there?"
"I don't know either." Fan Xian felt a sense of defeat in his heart, but in front of the emperor Lao Tzu, the feeling of defeat was already too much, so much that he was almost numb, so he didn't care much.
"If there is any disagreement in the future, I will go to the temple to look for him. Even if he dies, I will dig his body out of the snow." Fan Xian's heart felt cold for a while, but within the coldness, there was a trace of indifference. With unquenchable enthusiasm, he resolutely and calmly said: "This is not about the Qing Kingdom, it's about me."
Uncle Wu Zhu was his closest family member and an indispensable part of his life. If something happened to Uncle Wu Zhu, Fan Xian would live a very uncomfortable life even if he survived. What's the point of living if you can't live comfortably
Fan Shangshu looked at him quietly, knowing that the secret about the temple was hidden in the deepest part of this boy's heart, thinking that he had been hiding it from him all these years, Fan Shangshu was not angry but happy, with such a young man in the city, this There are not many in the world, and probably only such young people can survive the struggle with His Majesty, and live better and better.
"Is there any disagreement?" Although he admired it in his heart, Fan Shangshu still sarcastically said: "If that day really comes, do you think His Majesty will let you go on the road to find the temple alive?"
"I don't know." This is the second time Fan Xian has said that he doesn't know. There are not many unfathomable people in this world, but His Majesty the Emperor is obviously one of them. Fan Xian doesn't want to be with the man on the dragon chair. There was a complete break, one had some affection, and the other Fan Xian knew that no matter how he looked at himself, he was no match for the Emperor Lao Tzu.
"I don't know." Fan Xian repeated, "But to live, there are always some things that must be done, so what if you lose? Although His Majesty is extremely powerful, if you want to kill me, it is not that simple. "
He smiled slightly and said: "Unless he is willing to leave the palace, leave the government behind and chase me all over the world."
Fan Shangshu said with a slight smile: "Things like this really don't fit his character. But you are his most trusted and beloved subject. If he finds out that you have really betrayed, what kind of behavior will he do under such agitated emotions?" It will come as no surprise.”
"Then I can only pray for God's blessing." Fan Xian said with a smile, "So it's still the same sentence. Before Uncle Wu Zhu comes back, I don't want to turn against His Majesty."
Fan Shangshu also laughed, and finally understood that his hesitation in the past two years was not only because of the uneasiness under that kind of ethical oppression, but also because he was waiting, so he had to procrastinate.
If it is said that the source of His Majesty's strong self-confidence lies in the strong national power of the Qing Kingdom, the continuous flow of money in the internal treasury, the tactics of controlling the world, and his own powerful master cultivation.
Then Fan Xian's self-confidence came from his own part of the Overwatch Council, with enough information in his mind to rebuild an inner treasury, enough bank notes in his arms to rebuild an inner treasury, and... that powerful Wu Zhu.
"I hope Ye Liuyun really went to sea." Fan Shangshu gave Fan Xian a meaningful look.
Fan Xian was silent for a long time, knowing what his father wanted to remind him, he said after a while, "I hope so too."
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Fan Xian only stayed in Shijia Village for one day, and secretly met with the shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall who were rescued from the capital, and both sides sighed endlessly. Although these old shopkeepers are already dead in the records of the Qing court, they still have relatives in the capital, and they also have brothers and friends in the three major workshops in the south of the Yangtze River, so Fan Xian was a little worried at first, and left these old shopkeepers withered. Shijia Village, do they have other ideas
But after meeting, he discovered that these old shopkeepers were extremely enthusiastic about rebuilding the inner treasury, and even wished to devote the rest of his life to it.
Of course, for the old shopkeepers of the Ye family, this has nothing to do with the shitty internal treasury, and they don't care how much Qing's national power will be weakened. They just think that these things belonged to our old Ye family, and they were shamelessly The royal family of the Qing Dynasty seized the past, and now that the young master wants to rebuild Lao Ye's family, tears began to flow, and Lao Ma's heart began to beat.
Fan Xian and these old shopkeepers re-checked the process chart of the Three Great Workshops, reconfirmed the possibility of the future of Shijia Village, and finally completed the purpose of this trip. At dusk, he saluted his father, and then left the big village alone and walked into the deep valley.
When people are halfway up the mountain, when they look back, the valley is already dark, and the lights are gradually turning on, like stars in the sky. He looked up and saw that the sky was full of stars, like lights in the world, the sky was filled with starlight, it was unknown whether it was falling from the sky or rising from the ground, it was extremely beautiful.