A look of timidity flashed in the eldest princess's eyes, and she said sadly: "It's been four years, and the Overwatch Council still hasn't let up. I'm really afraid that one day it will be found out... I heard that Master Chen Pingping has been refusing to return to Beijing when she goes home to visit her relatives. If... He is really willing to retire, that's fine."
"Not necessarily." The queen sneered and said, "Don't forget that four years ago, it was Chen Pingping who entered the palace and talked with the emperor for a night, and then the emperor withdrew his intention to refer to relatives. A few days ago, when Chen Pingping returned to her hometown to visit her relatives, Fan Jian took the opportunity to enter the palace. In the palace, the emperor pointed Chen'er to Fan Xian again, and made it clear that you don't want to take care of the internal treasury in the future... If Chen Pingping is in the capital now, I'm afraid there are still variables in this marriage, maybe it's really according to your wishes ... Or in other words, following the wishes of the Prime Minister."
The eldest princess covered her mouth with a smile and said: "What the queen said, if this marriage fails, you should be happy. After all, the second prince will lose a way to make money."
The queen smiled and said: "What am I so happy about? In fact, in the final analysis, this is just a matter of two children getting married. Whether it succeeds or not has nothing to do with this palace... The queen mother also said that in the future, the children's marriage will be my responsibility." You can worry about it, I won't worry about the Fan family's affairs."
The eldest princess' complexion changed slightly, but she still smiled and said: "Your Majesty is right, so as a mother, I don't need to be in a hurry. Although Fan Xian's background is not very glorious, but these days, it seems that he is not in a hurry. She's also somewhat talented, and besides, Chen'er's spirit seems to have improved a bit these days, maybe it's really the benefit of the upcoming happy event."
The two most powerful women in Qing Kingdom sat quietly facing each other, drinking tea and talking, as if nothing happened just now. Neither of them wants to let go of their defenses, and neither of them wants to do that thing—to kill Fan Xian, the marriage will naturally fall through, the successors of the Fan family will be weak, the second prince has no support, the prime minister can sit back and relax, and the eldest princess is still sick and weak Manage the internal treasury carefully and provide an endless stream of money to those in need—as long as one person dies, it seems that the dilemma surrounding the distribution of power in the palace will be solved.
But unfortunately, no one is willing to take action. After all, it was not four years ago. After all, the capital is not Danzhou. There are countless pairs of eyes here. Even people in the palace cannot use assassination to deal with the son of a minister. , especially in this sensitive period, and... After all, Mrs. Liu will never step into the same gutter twice in her life.
※※※
In the Empress Dowager's bedroom. The old lady who looked respectable and respectable hung down her gray hair, felt the steady hands behind her combing her hair, and said in a low voice: "Why did I have such a stupid daughter?"
The person behind him smiled and said, "But you still love the eldest princess the most, otherwise you wouldn't have let the emperor make such an arrangement, and you wouldn't have helped the Prime Minister do so many things in secret."
The Queen Mother sighed. Said: "Lin Ruofu, I really don't know whether he betrayed me, or my son hurt him... By the way, you old dog has poisonous eyes, tell me, why does the emperor let that boy from the Fan family marry Chen? Son?"
The man's voice was a little hesitant: "The princess has also reached the age to marry, and she is indeed afraid that her health will not improve. It is appropriate to promise it to the Fan family, but the marriage is just a sign, and the key lies in the ambiguous command of His Majesty. Let a person with a foreign surname manage a fortune, could it be... His Majesty felt that the queen was too close to the eldest princess, and was really dissatisfied with the prince, so he cut off the power of the eldest princess and prepared to let the second..." He suddenly found that although he was serving I have been with the Empress Dowager for decades, but there are already too many opinions expressed on this matter, so keep your mouth shut.
The Empress Dowager was slightly startled, and the wrinkles like chrysanthemum petals gradually rolled out on her face, and she said: "Your Majesty takes care of state affairs, and I take care of family affairs, so I don't care about this matter."
The man said flatteringly: "The empress dowager is wise."
※※※
"You are very unwise in doing this." Sinan Bo Fan Jian looked at his son coldly in the study.
Fan Xian smiled wryly. He knew during the day that he would not be able to escape this round of questioning. He didn't explain much, but just admitted his mistake honestly.
"You are not a fool, and there are no powerful people around Guo Baokun. If you really wanted to beat him up, why did you show so many lies?" Before Fan Xian could explain, Si Nanbo said coldly again: "Don't say anything, beat him up." If people don't sign up, it's tantamount to nonsense!"
Fan Xian knew that it was Liu who relayed what he had said during the day to his father, so he smiled a little embarrassedly. Seeing the incomparably clean smile on his face, Fan Jian couldn't get angry no matter what, and sighed, "Tell me, why are you making such a fuss?"
Fan Xian thought for a while and replied: "One is that he had a drink with Prince Jing's son last night, and he felt that he was a good friend, so he tied him with himself through the fight, so that in the future there will be Jing No matter what you do, it is always more convenient for the backer of the Wangfu." After saying this, he secretly glanced at his father's eyes, and found that there was nothing unusual, and then continued: "Secondly, Guo Baokun is too deceitful. Let him know that I can't be messed with."
Fan Jian sneered, and said, "The second reason makes sense, but I think the most important reason... is that you are against that marriage from the bottom of your heart, so you want to ruin your reputation so that the palace will kick you out."
Fan Xian didn't expect that he didn't hide it from his father at all, he was slightly taken aback, thinking about how to explain it.
Fan Jian said coldly again: "And I said earlier that you are not smart because you dragged Prince Jing into the water. You must know that the Guo family belongs to the prince's faction, but Prince Jing's son is from the second prince's faction. You Hitting Guo Baokun and dragging Prince Jing's son, if this matter falls into the eyes of others, wouldn't it mean that our Fan family has already taken refuge with the second prince?"
Fan Xian pretended to be surprised and said, "Everyone in the Qing Kingdom knows that father is on good terms with King Jingjun, and my sister and Princess Roujia are also childhood friends. The relationship between the two families is so close that it can even be said to be an anomalous number in the officialdom. , Could it be... you...?"
"Don't forget, your grandma was His Majesty's wet nurse back then, and she also brought up King Jingjun. At that time, His Majesty was busy with other things, so I played with him. The relationship between the two families is naturally very good." Fan Jian snorted and said, "But a personal relationship is a personal relationship, public affairs are public affairs, and state affairs are state affairs. How can we, as courtiers, discuss matters in the palace? The prince is still the prince today, the heir of a country. After that, our Fan family must be loyal to the crown prince."
Fan Xian recognized the illness in these words, and said with a smile: "If the prince is not the prince, then what should we do?"
Strange to say, Sinan Bo Fan Jian was not surprised at all when he heard his son say such outrageous words, nor did he teach him a lesson, but said indifferently: "Only His Majesty can make a decision. Anyone who takes sides before His Majesty makes a decision, It's all wrong."
"My child understands." Fan Xian finally got the result he wanted after beating Guo Baokun, "The Fan family does not side with the prince, nor with the second prince, but with... His Majesty."
"That's right." Fan Jianhan said, "If you don't want to be on the wrong team, don't be in a hurry to grab a spot, and as long as you always stand on the side of the strongest, you will never make mistakes, and in this whole world, the strongest It is His Majesty."
"What if His Majesty dies?" Fan Xian looked at his father maliciously, knowing that he was truly loyal to that emperor.
"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, younger than me." Fan Jian smiled and said, "The future is the future, and it is the business of your generation."
…
…
"Do you know how many times we fought secretly with the Guo family in the court today in order to allow you to walk down the court easily? Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Officials can see our two families everywhere In the end, the Guo family even found the Overwatch Council, if it wasn't for Chen Pingping's absence, maybe you really wouldn't be able to come back today."
"Chen Pingping?" Fan Xian frowned. He was very familiar with this name. Of course, he knew that Fang Fang was the ruler of the dark forces in Qing Kingdom, but he knew the close relationship between the Fan family and the Overwatch Council, so he was a little puzzled. : "Why can't I come back when Chen Pingping is here?"
"Because he objects to your marrying the daughter of the eldest princess." Fan Jian said coldly: "This time you are urgently called to Beijing because Chen Pingping went back to her hometown to visit relatives and was unable to speak in front of His Majesty, so I asked you to come to Beijing to quickly confirm the marriage. Not entirely because of the girl's condition."
Fan Xian looked at his father and asked, "Fei Jie is my teacher, and you have always had a close relationship with Dean Chen. Why did he object?"
"No, in the eyes of outsiders, I don't have a deep relationship with the Overwatch Council." Fan Jian said lightly: "As for why he objected, it's very simple, because in terms of certain things, I have a similar relationship with him. Disagreement, so it will lead to completely different judgments."
"What do you think?" Fan Xian stared into his father's eyes without moving a bit.
Fan Jian frowned, and finally decided to tell the child part of the truth: "Your Majesty doesn't like the prince, but the queen is close to the eldest princess, and the eldest princess is in charge of the money in and out of the inner treasury. The fact that the silver was taken out of it makes His Majesty very worried."
Fan Xian was shocked, and said, "So... Your Majesty is afraid that there will be changes in the East Palace?"