The bungalow at the foot of the imperial city looks inconspicuous, but it is an important place for discussion in Zhongshu under the door. From the back corridor to a courtyard, you can directly enter the palace. It was so strict that even the rebel army surrounded the palace back then, and they never thought of opening the gap from here, because there are still layers of palace walls behind the Zhongshu Province under the door, and the bungalow is full of murderous threats.
It has been almost seven years since I left Danzhou in the spring of the fourth year of Qingli. Apart from staying in Jiangnan for two years on and off, Fan Xian's time in this second life, the truly wonderful and tense time that will be remembered in his heart, is mostly In Kyoto. His background and identity are different from most people in Zhuqing Kingdom. He has entered the palace too many times, and he is as relaxed as returning home. does not exist.
On the seventh day of the lunar new year, Fan Xian walked to the bungalow below the palace like a stroll. Although the Chinese New Year has just passed, the middle school is still busy. Officials from various ministries are on the outside. No one has noticed that a figure holding a black umbrella in the snow has entered the inner circle. Those guards who are in charge of inspection, But he became stupid under Fan Xian's gentle smile, and stared blankly at him just walking in.
Fan Xian came so naturally and logically, all the imperial guards knew that this young man could enter and leave the palace without any hindrance, and they didn't realize it for a while, so they let him go through the layers of imperial guards and came directly to the middle of the gate. In the big room of books.
There are two heated kangs in the big room, covered with several layers of things indiscriminately, piled up with memorials from all over the place and the edicts drawn up by His Majesty, inkstones and papers are piled up randomly on the table, the center of the Daqing court, office conditions It doesn't look good. Several university scholars on errands and some scribes and officials were busy until Fan Xian put down the black umbrella that was dripping with snow.
There was silence in the middle school room below the door, and everyone stared blankly at Fan Xian, wondering why this big man who had been severely punished by His Majesty suddenly appeared here today.
When Fan Xian was walking in the streets and alleys of the capital, the restaurants and yamen in the capital had undergone changes. However, the timing of this attack was very precise. When Fan Xian walked into the middle school room, The fire of revenge in all directions in Kyoto has just begun to burn, and the news has not yet reached the palace.
Regarding Fan Xian's sudden arrival, the first person who reacted was the nearest to the door, Grand Master Pan Ling, who was greedy for the bright sky. This old Grand Master opened his presbyopic eyes and watched Fan Xian cough He said, "Why are you here?"
Since he was a child, Fan Xian has learned the calligraphy of Master Pan, and earned his first money in his life from the newspaper compiled by Master Pan. Although he has not had many contacts in the capital, Fan Xian always respects the old man. He responded with a smile: "Your Majesty called me into the palace in the afternoon, and just as I walked to the entrance of the imperial city, it suddenly snowed. I thought it would be pointless to stand in the snow all the time, so I came here to see you adults."
As soon as this remark came out, everyone in the big house remembered that His Majesty had indeed ordered Fan Xian to enter the palace after noon today, and they immediately felt relieved, and each of them stepped forward to salute with gentle smiles. Menxia Zhongshu is different from the officials of the various ministries below. The most important thing is to be in harmony with the light and dust, and not to be angry, especially because they are the officials closest to His Majesty. Naturally, they know Fan Xian's true status in the court, and no one dares to neglect .
He Zongwei was the last to stand up and walked over, his expression was calm with a trace of self-restraint. As soon as he showed up, the whole big house of the Ministry of Education under his sect was suddenly quiet, and even the senior scholar Pan Ling coughed twice, and stooped to leave.
Everyone knows that Master He is following His Majesty's orders, desperately attacking those poor forces left behind by Master Xiao Fan, and everyone knows that Master Xiao Fan and Master He have never lived in harmony in these years. None, but the current situation has already changed. Senior Scholar He is so popular that his status in the Ministry of Education under his sect is faintly surpassing Senior Scholar Hu. Facing Fan Xian who is now in trouble, what will he do? What to say and what to do
"Long time no see." He Zongwei looked at Fan Xian gently and said, "It's not yet time. Sit down and drink a cup of hot tea to warm up your body, lest you have to stand for a long time in the imperial study."
These words are very gentle, very sincere, very calm and touching, and anyone can hear the concern that comes from the depths of the sentence. He Zongwei's behavior at this time seemed to give the impression that there had never been any problems between these two most famous young dignitaries in the Nanqing court.
But the really smart people must have heard other meanings. This is the tolerance of the winners to the losers, which is a kind of condescending concern.
The corners of Fan Xian's lips twitched slightly, a half-smile, then he slowly raised his head, looked at the slightly dark-skinned senior scholar in front of him, paused for a moment, and said calmly, "I came here today to find you Say a few words. Yes, my hour has not yet come...your hour has come."
No one could understand this sentence, even He Zongwei himself could not hear the cold background voice in this sentence, he was slightly startled, frowned and looked at Fan Xian, as if he wanted to say something, but unexpectedly However, they heard a burst of noise coming from outside the large office of the Secretary of State under the door, and a few uncontrollable exclamations were mixed in the chaotic voice.
"It's so unreasonable to be so flustered!" He Zongwei's complexion darkened, looking at the official who rushed in, he rebuked slightly angrily.
"My lord! Cheng Fuqing of Dali Temple and Guo Zheng, the new Zuodu censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, were killed in the street!" The official said in horror the news that had come from outside.
Hearing this news, the whole big house suddenly exploded, and there was a loud exclamation. The officials of Zhongshu under the door managed the Daqing court on behalf of His Majesty. When did you hear that such a high-ranking court official was assassinated in the street!
He Zongwei's body froze. The Deputy Minister of Dali Temple and Guo Zheng, the censor, were all his confidantes, especially Guo Zheng, who always regarded Fan Xi as his confidant and enemy. He did many important things for him in Jiangnan and made great contributions to His Majesty. , was transferred back to Kyoto by him looking for an opportunity, but just after returning to Kyoto... died
A trace of paleness flashed across his dark face, and he quickly returned to normal. He raised his head suddenly, stared at Fan Xian's handsome face, squinted his eyes, and shone coldly.
Without waiting for He Zongwei to speak, Fan Xian lowered his eyes lightly, and said softly amidst the voices of amazement, "The Minister of the Household Department is also dead, as well as the two servants. Here is the list I drew up. Check to see if there is anything missing. .”
After Fan Xian finished speaking, he took out a thin note from his pocket and handed it over. He Zongwei's hands trembled uncontrollably. He took the note and scanned it roughly, and saw the names and positions of more than a dozen officials, all...all of them were his trusted officials!
After Fan Xian handed the list to Senior Fellow He, the entire big room of the Ministry of Education under his door fell silent, so quiet that one could even hear a needle drop to the ground.
Fan Xian casually wiped the corner of the servant girl, inserted the thin needle between his fingers back into his hair, and said calmly, "I don't want to kill innocent officials indiscriminately, so please confirm that if these are your people, then I will Don't worry."
The note full of names fell to the ground, and the room was silent. By this time, everyone knew that the bloodshed in the capital today was caused by Mr. Fan in front of him, but they didn't know if what he said was true. Could it be that all the court officials died today
He Zongwei knew Fan Xian well, so he knew what Fan Xian said was not a lie. The names on the paper must have turned into a ray of resentment by now. He raised his head, his eyes were burning with a dark flame of resentment, and stared fixedly at Fan Xian. He didn't know why Fan Xian did this, didn't he know that doing so was a dead end? At this moment, He Zongwei actually felt a little faintly proud that he had actually forced Fan Xian to the road of death.
"Why... come here! Catch this murderer!" Why did the three words come out with great pain? Everyone thought that He Zongwei would angrily reprimand Fan Xian for his inhuman crimes in front of the officials. No one expected that, halfway through the sentence, He Zongwei yelled loudly, and his people ran to the rear of the officials at the fastest speed.
It was He Zongwei who knew Fan Xian best. Since the other party had already disregarded life and death, and was killing all directions in the capital, he naturally had the idea of fighting with death. Instead of using the names of these dead people to ridicule and beat yourself, you want to... kill yourself!
Until now, no one believed that Fan Xian dared to commit murder at the root of the imperial city, at the solemn location of the Qing Kingdom's center, but He Zongwei believed that he knew that this vicious young dignitary in front of him would dare to do anything if he went crazy. Therefore, regardless of the dignity of the ministers, he shouted for the guards of the imperial guards in horror, and fled to the rear of the ministers desperately.
Fan Xian didn't chase him, but watched his movements with pity and ridicule, and looked at the pale face behind the crowd.
After all, it was the Zhongshu under the door in front of the palace. Long before He Zongwei shouted, the imperial guards and Ouchi guards had noticed the movement here, and once they found out that there was a disagreement, more than a dozen guards and three generals of the imperial guards had already rushed in. Under the gate of the big house of Zhongshu Sheng, he drew out the saber at his waist and surrounded Fan Xian vigilantly.
No matter how powerful Fan Xian was, it was impossible to break out of the siege of the inner court guards in an instant. Seeing this scene, everyone felt relieved, and He Zongwei behind the crowd looked a little better, his paleness disappeared. On the contrary, there were two traces of rosiness, and he sternly shouted from behind: "Take down this murderer quickly!"
The name of the person, the shadow of the tree, even if everyone knows that the blood in the capital today was shed at the order of Mr. Fan, but before the investigation, who would dare to go forward and take down Fan Xian? Especially when Fan Xian didn't strike first, how dare those generals of the forbidden army and the guards of the inner court rush forward rashly
There was chaos at the foot of the imperial city, and the sound of troops being mobilized was everywhere, but in an instant, there was an extremely hasty sound from outside the big house of Zhongshu Sheng. Surrounded the house with these officials who actually controlled the Qing court.
Even if Fan Xian had put on a pair of wings at this time, he probably wouldn't be able to fly out. However, he didn't seem to want to run away either, he just quietly looked at He Zongwei who was behind the crowd, and took a casual step forward.
I don't know how many officials' courage was shattered by this step. There was a shudder in the big room, and the dozen or so guards surrounding Fan Xian forced them forward.
Fan Xian stopped, looked at He Zongwei who was not far away through the crowd's heads, and said calmly, "Perhaps as many people have said, you are actually a capable official, and you are very likely to become a generation that will go down in history in the future." Famous minister."
Then he shook his head and said: "However, I will not give you this chance to continue to live. It is strange to say, I don't know why I hate you so much, this hatred is simply for no reason... Your utilitarianism The heart is too heavy, and I always want to step on others to climb up, but this kind of behavior is what I don't like the most."
"Even if you don't like it, the most you can do is to hit you with two fists, but I didn't expect you to devote your whole life to the cause of fighting me." Fan Xian smiled slightly: "Unfortunately, this cause is not It's not very glorious, but it gave me more reasons to kill you."
Fan Xian smiled very gently, but in the eyes of everyone in the room, this smile was sinister, terrifying, and full of murderous intent, but he didn't seem to have any intention of making a move at the moment, so the guards and guards around him didn't dare to lighten it. Move, for fear of arousing the madness of this big man, to kill the Quartet.
When He Zongwei heard Fan Xian's last words, a stern light flashed in He Zongwei's eyes, and he was about to speak coldly, but unexpectedly, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. This pain was so real, so The tragedy caused his complexion to turn pale immediately, and he was unable to speak a word.
"You are a villain who is passionate about utilitarianism and wants to climb up at all costs. You can hide it from His Majesty, the officials of the court, and even the people of the world, but how can you hide it from me?" Fan Xian said. His eyes became indifferent, and he said slowly: "How many people's blood has been stained on your seemingly clean hands, and how many people's grievances are on your official uniform, you know, I know."
"I kill you today, an official of the He family, to do justice for the heavens, and to stand on behalf of His Majesty Qingjun." Fan Xian said something that he didn't believe even himself, looked at He Zongwei's pale face ironically, and bullied him at this moment. I can't even speak.
"I really don't understand why you climbed up at all costs and stepped on the corpses of my subordinates. I finally figured it out. It wasn't because of the natural hostility between the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Overwatch Council, nor was it because I didn't Willing to marry your younger sister to you is not because His Majesty has any explanation for you."
Fan Xian sighed pitifully: "All of this is because you are jealous of me. You are not as good as me in writing, not as good as me, not as famous as me, not as powerful as me, no matter how hard you work, and how many more big black dogs you raise, it will be a shame. You will never be able to catch up with me in your life."
"You must be dissatisfied. How can I have a good father and a good mother... But destiny is what you are so dissatisfied with?"
A few drops of sweat the size of soybeans dripped from He Zongwei's pale forehead. He stared at Fan Xian with those venomous eyes, and wanted to reprimand something, but he couldn't speak. Sitting on the edge of the Kang.
"This is complaints, and your complaints are the root of our civil strife in Daqing." Fan Xian stared at He Zongwei who was sitting on the edge of the kang, and said word by word: "If you complain too much, you won't be heartbroken. Today I will give you a heartbroken one." end."
Every word, every sentence pierced He Zongwei's ears like a small knife, even if he didn't want to hear it, he knew that all the officials of his He faction must be dead today, and Fan Xian must have a future in secret He just didn't understand why Fan Xian would say so many useless words in front of so many officials.
The official is dead, as long as he is alive, and he still has His Majesty's favor, he can always rebuild his own strength in the future. But why, after those small knives entered through the ears, they started to scurry around the abdomen? Why do those knives seem to be cutting your own intestines, making yourself miserable
Give you a heartbroken end! As soon as this remark came out, the atmosphere in the bungalow at the root of the imperial city became very tense. All the officials scattered to avoid Fan Xian's stormy attacks that might follow, while the imperial guards kept pouring in from outside the house. They came in, lined up in countless rows, and stopped in front of He Zongwei.
The Imperial Guards in full armor lined up in formation, squeezing the large Zhongshu room under the gate to an extremely cramped position, staring nervously at the lonely Fan Xian.
Just at the moment when the sword was on the verge of firing, there was an extremely shrill and panicky cry from the courtyard of Zhongshu under the door, which was leaning against the palace wall.
"don't want!"
Hu Dashi, covered in snow, rushed in from the direction of the palace. After hearing Fan Xian's speech in Taixue this morning, the Grand Scholar knew that something big was going to happen in Beijing today, so he rushed to the palace immediately, but there was a delay in the middle, and he only had time to brief His Majesty After a few words, a eunuch reported that there were strange deaths of court officials in various parts of the capital, and then there was an express report saying that Fan Xian had been killed to the middle school!
No one dared to stop Master Hu, and at such a tense moment, no one would care about his entry. At most, a few officials from Zhongshu, watching Master Hu rushing to Fan Xian, worried that he would be killed by Fan Xian. The madman Xian was hurt, and cried out in worry.
Master Hu didn't care about these cries, he hugged Fan Xian from behind, desperately dragged Fan Xian back, and shouted anxiously: "You're crazy!"
What happened today, in the eyes of everyone, that Mr. Fan who shocked the world with poetry is obviously crazy, otherwise how could he trample on the dignity of the court and do so many heinous and outrageous things. What happened in Kyoto today is not treason, what else
Master Hu also knew that just the assassination of those officials in the capital was enough to anger His Majesty and cast Fan Xian into hell, but he still hugged Fan Xian desperately to prevent him from doing anything. Under the door, Zhongshu Sheng killed the great scholar of the current dynasty, and waited for blood to splash in front of the palace!
Not only in the Qing Kingdom, but in the whole world, there has never been such a heinous scene!
The scene at this time was very funny, very funny, but no one laughed, and there was silence at the foot of the imperial city, and everyone watched in horror as Master Hu hugged Fan Xian desperately with his old and weak body. But how could he drag and hold it
Fan Xian suddenly felt a warm feeling in his cold heart. He smiled, lowered his head and said, "Let go, it's already too late."
Master Hu Dashi behind him froze, let go of his hand trembling, and looked at Fan Xian in disbelief.
At this moment, the senior scholar He Zongweihe, who had been hiding behind the crowd and sitting on the edge of the kang in horror, suddenly retched twice, and then spit out a lot of black blood in one gulp!
The blood splashed the official uniforms of many officials in front of them, making them extremely dark and unsightly. There was a burst of exclamation in the room, and several officials hurried forward to support He Zongwei, and began to desperately call for the imperial doctor...
He Zongwei's pupils began to slacken, and his hearing also began to fade. He couldn't hear what the colleagues around him were shouting. He could only clearly feel the pain in his abdomen. The intestines were cut into pieces.
It was very painful, as if the liver and intestines were broken. He Zongwei knew he couldn't do it anymore. He didn't know when Fan Xian poisoned him, and he didn't notice the small needle hole on his right little finger. He just felt unwilling. He is full of passion, willing to sprinkle green blood to clear his name, why did he spit out a pool of black blood in the end
With his blurred eyes, he found Fan Xian's indifferent face, and he felt a big complaint in his heart, and he was very unwilling. As an official, what is wrong with doing things for His Majesty and the court? Just killed some people and betrayed some people? But since the millennium, haven't people in the officialdom been doing this? Didn't you, Fan Xian, let innocent people die because of you? You don't have to betray anyone, that's because you are born to be a master, but we are born to be slaves...
He Zongwei wanted to ask Fan Xian angrily, why did you use those inexplicable reasons to kill me? You are just a dandy who doesn't understand the general situation and only does things according to his own likes and dislikes! However, this questioning could not be uttered after all, the black blood gushing from his lips stopped his words and also stopped his breathing.
Just before the imperial doctor rushed over, He Zongwei, a senior scholar and writing imperial historian, the most popular person in the Qing Dynasty court for the past three years, died of vomiting blood in public at the foot of the imperial city, in the Zhongshu Provincial Government Hall. .
During this process, Fan Xian has been watching He Zongwei calmly, indifferently and even coldly, watching him vomit blood, watching him struggling in pain, watching him swallow his breath, the expression on his face remained calm, without a single tremor. He didn't know He Zongwei's complaints and unwillingness before he died, and he didn't need to know that the officials who died on the seventh day of the first lunar month in the eleventh year of Qingli, including He Zongwei himself, were actually just some preparatory work.
He Zongwei's death had nothing to do with his likes and dislikes, it was just for those who he had to protect, for those who had died in Jiangnan, Xiliang and Kyoto, the officials that His Majesty had set up to deal with the Fan family had to die.
This was just a part of the calculation as calm as a machine. Fan Xian only needed to confirm the death of this person, and he didn't feel much emotion in his heart. It's too late to say things about sighing before he dies.
Master Hu stared blankly at He Zongwei's body, then turned his head heavily, and looked at Fan Xian's cold face with an angry, disappointed, and bewildered mood. A cold voice came from his chest and abdomen. squeezed out.
"Take down this murderer."
He stood by Fan Xian's side, disappointed and angrily, and gave the order to arrest or even kill Fan Xian, but he didn't care at all that Fan Xian could let him die along with He Zongwei if he stretched out his hand at will.
Naturally, Fan Xian would not kill him. He looked at Senior Madam Hu and smiled apologetically.
Just before the imperial guards rushed up, the eunuch Yao, the chief eunuch of the inner court, finally rushed to the Ministry of Education under the door, and shouted with a sharp voice and a strong spirit: "Your Majesty has an order to take the traitor Fan Xian into the palace! "
The decree finally arrived. There was no doubt that it was a decree that ordered Fan Xian to enter the palace. It was impossible for the officials in the court to see and hear anything about the relationship between His Majesty the Emperor and his illegitimate son.
There was silence in the big room, and countless eyes turned to Fan Xian's body. Fan Xian was silent for a moment, looked at Eunuch Yao and asked, "Do you want to tie him up?"
Eunuch Yao remained silent, without saying a word. Fan Xian couldn't help sighing. If you want to tie him, no one can tie him, but His Majesty's will can easily turn his relatives and friends in this world into a rope that he can never break free.
"My umbrella is at the door, so don't let it be stolen."
After Fan Xian finished speaking, he followed Eunuch Yao to the deep palace. Behind him, the officials still surrounded He Zongwei's body, mourning extremely.