He took a deep breath, before it was late autumn, in the imperial study room of the deep palace, the dark stove had begun to emit warmth, the air was a little dry, and it felt a little painful from the mouth and nose directly into the lungs. Looking at the face of His Majesty the Emperor in front of him, Fan Xian suddenly thought of many things, many people.
The storm in Qingguo started decades ago, and as the dust gradually settled, the only ones still in the eye of the storm were this father and son.
Fan Xian's attitude towards the emperor is actually very elusive, even he himself can't explain it clearly. From Danzhou to Kyoto, rubbing shoulders at the Qing Temple, meeting for the first time in the bamboo tea shop next to the Taiping Courtyard, from the gift of marriage to the Overwatch Council, knowing the portrait in the palace, Fan Xian actually knew more than anyone guessed. Earlier, he guessed his true life experience.
Whether it is Fan Shen in the previous life or Fan Xian in this life, they are actually people without father and mother. However, they fell in Qing Kingdom, and there was an extra mother named Ye Qingmei. Later, they found out that there was another father—just The physical inheritance of this bloodline made Fan Xian really regard the emperor as his father, which was actually something he could not do at that time.
At that time, Fan Xian had been acting all the time, and he acted very beautifully, because no one knew that he had a completely different soul inside, so he could hide it from anyone, even the emperor in front of him.
As time progressed slowly, Fan Xian gradually began to have doubts about the Chun massacre in the Taiping Courtyard. Naturally, he became a little more wary, even fearful, of the Emperor Lao Tzu on the dragon chair, so he acted more calmly. And cautious.
But after all these years, if Ye Qingmei and Fan Xian are the soul that has always been hidden in history, an existence with a natural sense of intimacy, she reminds herself with the breath of everything around her, and gradually Really blends in with the image of the mother. Then His Majesty the Emperor, with so many years of getting along, favor, trust, means, and realm, has gradually approached Fan Xian's life, which made him start to hesitate.
It had to be admitted that the emperor invested in Fan Xian the trust and tolerance that was extremely difficult to show in his life. In the initial battle to seize the heir apparent, perhaps the emperor was just watching his illegitimate son grow stronger and used him to a greater extent, but gradually, the emperor's attitude towards Fan Xian changed, especially in the seventh year of Qingli After the Kyoto rebellion, Fan Xian was able to have his current status and strength in the court of the Qing Dynasty. It has to be said that the emperor's love for him has far exceeded the level he had for the crown prince or the second prince.
This pair of monarchs and ministers, father and son, often discuss matters in the palace and schmooze in the imperial study. Fan Xian has something to hide, so he is still acting, but besides acting, he can clearly feel what the emperor really thinks of him. manner.
So in the past three years, after knowing the truth about the Taiping Courtyard, Fan Xian has been suffering hard. Although he has been making preparations in some aspects, he has never been able to really settle down. Firstly, he knew that His Majesty was like the snowy mountain in his dream, and it was impossible to be overthrown easily; secondly, he often asked himself in the middle of the night, what kind of light would shine out of the crack he was in? How should I choose
He wants to choose a third path that doesn't necessarily involve bloodshed, so he has been working hard to be a pioneer for the king, rushing around for the court of Daqing, busy, operating completely against his nature, he only hopes for anything, There can be a smoother and brighter ending.
He wanted Chen Pingping and his father to return home safely.
As a result, it all became a phantom.
Fan Xian was very disappointed, even a little desperate, a little sad, and a little tired. He doesn't want to act anymore.
…
…
After carefully reading the files on the case, Fan Xian coughed twice, thinking that the previous deep breath and forcibly suppressing the emotional restraint in his heart had caused his unhealed lungs to regenerate. Somewhere a pain arose.
His Majesty the Emperor looked at him in silence, and coughed twice. This strange pair of father and son have the recognition of each other's strength, and also have that kind of complicated emotion, even the injury, but also make do together, to tell them two, in fact, the two of them are really similar two people .
According to Chen Pingping's calculations, perhaps Fan Xian should show an expression of disbelief at this time, trembling all over, angry and bewildered, and then yell at His Majesty the Emperor, I don't believe it, I don't believe it was done by the old dean, Why is he doing this? Then His Majesty the Emperor will explain to him gently and coldly, what purpose did Chen Pingping live for the last few decades of her life, what kind of hatred he has for the Li royal family, and how this old black dog treated you in the past. Well, in fact, it's all just a fake, he wants to destroy the Qing Kingdom in turmoil, in the calamity caused by the rebellion between you and my father and son.
Then Fan Xian would still act unbelievable, and even angrily reprimanded the emperor, you forged all of this, Chen Pingping is not that kind of person, then left the imperial study angrily, returned to the mansion, meditated for many days, and truly understood the emperor's truth Bitterness, Chen Pingping's insidiousness, etc., whoosh, etc...
This is a regular court drama, and this is the big turning point that dramatists need. After all, the emotional conflict succumbs to the mutual trust between the emperor and the ministers because of the iron-clad facts. The curtain opened, the silk and bamboo bells sounded, and the glorious heavenly dynasty stepped onto the stage of history.
However.
Fan Xian didn't show any expression. He just put the files back on the case, lowered his head slightly, and said nothing, as if he was thinking about something extremely important, and he seemed to be just too tired, so tired that he fell into bed today. Gong has exhausted all his energy.
The emperor looked at him quietly, his eyes gradually narrowed at an extremely slow speed, the pupils gradually brightened, then gradually dimmed, disappointment emerged, and then turned into a kind of calm or indifference.
"So...you have always known this." The emperor looked at his most beloved illegitimate son, and said indifferently: "I have always been a little strange, the shadow has been following you, this kind of thing should not be hidden from you, you should have known about the Hanging Temple The thing was done by that old dog. I have been thinking about it, if you really act according to the things presented in these files, once you ask why Chen Pingping betrayed me, I really don’t know how to say it .”
Fan Xian's fingertips trembled slightly, and he was keenly aware that the emperor's state of mind had undergone a great change at this time, but his expression did not change at all. He raised his head, looked directly at the other party, and said in a weak voice : "I actually knew it all along."
The emperor looked at him with slightly squinted eyes, a cold light flashed and disappeared in his pupils.
Fan Xian pursed his parched lips, tried his best to suppress the emotional ups and downs in his heart, and said calmly: "And I have been working hard, trying not to let the blood of the past swallow up the things that already exist today. From now on, I will make this determination." From the moment I was born, I knew that this was an extremely naive choice. It was just a life-and-death battle with Yan Xiaoyi three years ago, and I figured it out. In life, I have to work hard to do something. It's naive to ridicule, and you have to try it silently."
"Of course, naive things are always prone to failure, but..." He looked at the emperor and said: "Any great thing, at the very beginning, doesn't it all seem extraordinarily idealistic and naive to the point of ridicule? For example, your majesty, you and your mother, and the oath they made at the seaside of Danzhou?"
The emperor still looked at him silently, his eyes became brighter and brighter. From the moment Fan Xian said that he knew and worked hard, he clearly knew what kind of goal his beloved son wanted to achieve in these years. For some reason, he had gotten used to the cold emperor, and suddenly felt a little something in his heart. Warmth, maybe it is a good thing, but this warmth tends to disappear too quickly.
"He's already gone, and he doesn't think about what happened back then. Why..." Fan Xian looked at the emperor blankly, and said in a rustling voice, "Why do you have to... want him to die?"
This sentence was naturally referring to Chen Pingping. Fan Xian didn't cry out, didn't reprimand angrily, but was filled with sadness and helplessness, as well as unconcealed resentment. He stared blankly into the emperor's eyes, and the emperor also looked at him calmly. After a long silence, the emperor smiled. The smile was a little cold, a little disappointed, and a little sharp.
"Hehe..." the emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "Did I kill him?"
The emperor slapped the desk beside him with his palm. He didn't smash the wooden desk into pieces, but he was strong enough to make the papers on the desk fly. He looked at Fan Xian and reprimanded in a low voice, "My dearest! This is what makes me angry, I gave him a way to survive, if he doesn't come back from Dazhou, I might think that the previous things never happened, but... he came back alone after all."
"He forced me to kill him." The emperor's eyes were as cold as a snow-capped mountain, "I had no choice but to do what he wanted. I have been in the world for decades, and I have never trusted anyone, but I have trusted him. I thought about it, maybe I could regard him as a friend, and I even gave him a chance until the end, but...he didn't give me any chance. "
His Majesty the Emperor took a deep breath, and his calm tone was filled with palpitating indifference, "A slave is a slave after all."
Hearing the word "slave" in this sentence, as well as the unconcealable resentment and contempt, Fan Xian seemed to see the old cripple sitting in a black wheelchair staring at the emperor, his voice was as cold as a knife, and he gritted his teeth. Said: "All the faults in the world are others' fault. Your Majesty is of course wise and powerful, but I have never been clear about how my poor mother... died."
The emperor had a cold face and didn't respond to Fan Xian's cruel words at all. He just squinted his eyes and looked at him with disdain, and said, "Including that old dog, all my enemies in Daqing probably look forward to today's This scene in the imperial study happened, you... didn’t let them down, you just let me down a little bit, you are as stupid as you, and cannot be taught.”
Fan Xian closed his eyes, then opened them. His eyes had returned to calm, and he said, "It's just that there are many things that I still can't figure out."
"Don't think about things you don't understand." The emperor's tone was indifferent, but it was obvious that he was a little disappointed with Fan Xian's performance today. As for the last sentence asking Ye Qingmei's death cause, His Majesty subconsciously suppressed it. In the deepest part of the ocean of consciousness, not letting it rise, he looked at Fan Xian and said indifferently: "In front of me, you are always a subject, if you think too much, I will naturally not let you continue to think about it. "
This is not a threat, but a very simple statement of facts, just like what the eldest princess said to Fan Xian back then. During the rebellion in Kyoto, the Eldest Princess' wish had come true, and she didn't even bother to catch Fan Xian's life. But in today's Kyoto, it is not very difficult for His Majesty the Emperor to pinch Fan Xian to death.
Hearing these indifferent and harsh words, Fan Xian stood up straight, and said with a direct attitude that he had never shown in front of the emperor, "Your Majesty has treated my ministers very well these years, and I know it well..."
In the Royal Study Room today, the father and son were not acting, but were saying what they wanted to say the most. Fan Xian, in particular, stood up straight for the first time, and slowly recounted the years of getting along with His Majesty. He said one by one, and when it came to seriousness, the stove in the imperial study seemed to be humming, and the cigarettes were twisted, as if he couldn't bear to see the breakup between the father and son.
Emperor Qing was kind to Fan Xian, and only Fan Xian knew that if it was the crown prince, the second prince, or another son of the Li family who stood in front of Emperor Qing and said these words today, he would have died long ago, but Fan Xian Still alive, perhaps Emperor Qing himself was a ruthless and ungrateful person, and he might not have been very affectionate towards Fan Xian, but relatively speaking, he had the most affection for Fan Xian.
Listening to Fan Xian's peaceful memories, the emperor gradually sat up straight, then waved a little tiredly and said, "I won't kill you, it's not because I can't bear to kill you."
The emperor closed his eyes and said after a moment of silence: "I don't want to explain what happened back then in front of you, a junior, but I think those people may have been watching me in the sky, and you are the son of me and your mother. Maybe you are like a pair of eyes they left in this world... I don't kill you, I just want to prove to you and those who care about you that I... is right."
He opened his eyes and said indifferently: "And they are all wrong."
Fan Xian leaned down, saluted deeply, and replied: "I will stay in the capital honestly and watch Your Majesty's grand plans and great achievements."
He didn't thank the emperor for not killing him, because there was no need to thank him. Since the emperor let him live, he will naturally live a good life. With these eyes open, he will watch for Ye Qingmei, Chen Pingping, and many people back then.
"Are you honest?" The emperor looked at his son, and suddenly laughed out loud, then the laughter stopped suddenly, and he said coldly: "I don't believe it, and you won't believe it, but I never think that your dishonesty is a shortcoming. I just hope you won't be so dishonest that I don't even bother to tolerate it anymore."
"Just stay in the capital." The emperor glanced at him, and suddenly said a little tiredly: "It is also good to teach in the Taixue, and you should stop touching the affairs of the Overwatch Council and the Internal Treasury. I don't want to be here anymore." You put too much thought into it."
Speaking of this, I couldn't have said it more thoroughly. The emperor gave Fan Xian one last chance to live, if... he was willing to be honest. Even though it was a threat to his life, Fan Xian somehow felt a bit bewildered, because he never thought that the Emperor Lao Tzu would make such a decision in the end.
The emperor looked at Fan Xian's complicated eyes, and suddenly his heart darkened. He thought of the Danzhou seaside. Fan Xian blurted out the father emperor. After a moment of silence, he said: "In the future, if you have nothing to do, you can come to the palace to pay your respects. When you are alone, I will ...I allow you to call me... Father Emperor."
At this time, there was no one else in the imperial study room, and it was quiet. Fan Xian's body was slightly stiff, and he replied seriously: "Yes, Your Majesty."
…
…
No one knew what the emperor and Fan Xian had said in the imperial study room, but at least when Fan Xian walked out of the imperial study room, his body was intact and he did not turn into a ghost. This fact made most people in the palace feel relieved. in one breath.
His Majesty did not issue a decree to restore official Fan Xian to his position, not even some vague hints of rewards. Instead, at almost the same time that Fan Xian had just walked out of the imperial study, several decrees that had been prepared were issued, and the court decided to The six ministries and the three monasteries joined forces to continue to strengthen the cleansing of the Overwatch Council and the Internal Treasury, and the order to summon Cheng Jialin, the prefect of Suzhou, Hou Jichang, the general judge of Jiaozhou, and Su Wenmao, the internal treasury transshipment officer, to report to Beijing was also sent out, and at the same time, it was sealed. According to the decree of the director of the Overwatch Council, Yun stepped out of the palace first.
Obviously, the inner court had already made preparations. His Majesty the Emperor saw Fan Xian's son too clearly. Even if he refused to kill him, he still had enough ways to trap Fan Xian to death in the capital. He did not dare to take it lightly. Move, don't be too dishonest.
As for whether the information that Fan Xian sent around through the Qi Nian team could become a bargaining chip with the emperor in the end, it would depend on whether His Majesty had such sensitivity and strong action in advance.
In fact, regarding these two points, there should be no one in this world stronger than His Majesty the Emperor.
Fan Xian walked out of the palace with a sullen face, while Hong Zhu, who sent him out of the palace, was cautious and followed beside him with a slight sense of fear.