Rong Xuan and Rong Zhengqing sneaked into the capital city in this way.
Shengjing City is located at the foot of the emperor, so it is naturally extraordinary. The flying pavilions are red, the painted buildings are flying, and the red walls of the palace are connected to the sky. The roads are full of merchants and hawkers, and the hawking sounds are endless. The pedestrians are all dressed in bright clothes. The literati play chess in the teahouse, pointing to the mountains and rivers and writing poems. The young beauties are dancing in their skirts, covering their faces with smiles that shame the flowers. In front of the Juxian Pavilion, countless swordsmen and rangers gather on the ring, and the swords are as fast as lightning, learning from each other and competing.
“It’s lively, really lively.”
Rong Xuan was walking on the street with his horse, wearing a sword and looking elegant and graceful. He was enjoying the customs and habits of the capital, and even forgot about looking for his mother. His old habit came back, and he always liked to stare at pretty girls and whistle frivolously, which made them blush and feel ashamed, and finally stamped their feet and turned away.
Rong Zhengqing wasn't much stronger. He was a martial arts fanatic, and he stared at the arena in front of Juxian Pavilion for a long time, unable to move his eyes away. He secretly cheered when he saw beautiful moves, and he was so anxious when he saw those who were just filling in the numbers that they were not good enough that they pounded their fists, wishing that he could rush up and fight himself to satisfy his desire.
The father and son were so busy looking at their daughter and watching the martial arts competition that they actually forgot about their important business.
It was not until Rong Xuan was hit by a beautiful woman with a sachet that he came to his senses. He reflexively caught the sachet thrown by the other party, but saw that the other party smiled at him and turned away.
There is a custom in the Great Zhou that if a woman sees a man she likes, she will throw a scent sachet or a hairpin to show her love. Normally, Rong Xuan should chase after the man after receiving his things to promote a good relationship. However, Rong Xuan looked down and threw the scent sachet back into the girl's arms: "Girl, your things are left behind."
If you find lost property, you should return it to the owner. Otherwise, the owner may retaliate and you will not be able to explain yourself in court.
After Rong Xuan did all this, he didn't notice the woman's angry and ashamed expression. Seeing an inn nearby, he pulled Rong Zhengqing's sleeve and said, "Father, we need to stay in the capital for a while, let's find a place to stay first."
After hearing this, Rong Zhengqing reluctantly turned his gaze away from the arena, tied his horse in the room, and followed Rong Xuan to the Fengqiao Inn nearby.
This inn is quite large and bustling inside, so it must be doing good business. The waiter was originally wiping the table, but when he saw them coming, he immediately stepped forward to greet them, smiling and asking, "Sir, are you here to eat or stay?"
Rong Xuan looked around and saw that there was room downstairs, so he found a table and sat down. He took out a piece of silver and handed it to the waiter: "I want two rooms upstairs, and a few of the delicious dishes in your restaurant. I want tea, but no wine."
The waiter took the silver, left happily and went to prepare the dishes.
Rong Zhengqing was a man who could not live without wine. Hearing this, he complained, "Why don't you serve two jars of good wine?"
Just then the hot tea came up, Rong Xuan picked up the teapot and calmly poured him a cup: "Father, drinking will cause trouble. There are so many experts in Shengjing City, it's better to be safe."
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Rong Xuan always felt that there were unusually many people in Shengjing City, and most of them were swordsmen. While the waiter was serving the dishes, he asked inconspicuously, "It's getting late, and it's almost time for the city gates to be locked, so why are there so many people?"
The waiter said, "You are a local, so you don't know. Today is the Queen Mother's 80th birthday. The palace has ordered the whole city to light lanterns to celebrate, and the Jinwu will not stop it within three days. In addition, the Emperor intends to choose a husband for Princess Yannian, so there will be a lot of fun in the Juxian Pavilion tomorrow. If you have time, you may want to watch it."
Rong Xuan was thoughtful after hearing this and put a piece of silver on the table: "What does Juxian Pavilion have to do with Princess Yannian's marriage?"
The waiter thought Rong Xuan was indeed a local, so he stuffed the silver into his sleeves without leaving any trace, so as not to be seen by the shopkeeper, and said in a low voice: "The Juxian Pavilion was established by the royal family. It has always been a gathering place for swordsmen and rangers. Anyone with talent but no one to show their talents will go up to the stage to compete. If the dignitaries in the Juxian Pavilion take a fancy to them, they will take them in as their disciples."
After the waiter finished speaking, he pointed to the still bustling arena and explained, "This time the emperor is choosing a husband for Princess Yannian. There are no restrictions on family background or age, only swordsmanship. Those who are interested in participating in the competition just need to register their names in the Juxian Pavilion. Upon hearing the news, those swordsmen and rangers flocked to the capital to try their luck. As a result, when there are many people, it is easy to quarrel, and when there are quarrels, it is easy to fight. There has been no peace for several days."
Rong Xuantou, he has written about this plot. Princess Zhao Yannian finally married the prince of Jiang State. After the prince ascended the throne, she was named queen. This was also an opportunity for the alliance between Zhou and Jiang.
Rong Xuan: "I see."
Seeing Rong Xuan wearing a sword, the waiter said something for the sake of the silver: "I think you are a talented person, why not try your luck? I heard that the Crown Prince will personally visit Juxian Pavilion tomorrow to recruit disciples. If you can be accepted as his disciple, your career will be very successful in no time."
Rong Xuan thought it was not surprising that the Crown Prince would come to Juxian Pavilion in person. He and Princess Yannian were born of the same mother and had a deep relationship, so he was naturally worried that some unscrupulous people would come to the martial arts competition to recruit a bride. However, he was not here to "win over the disciples", but to "clean up the house". All the applicants who were not good enough were eliminated by him.
After a while, Rong Zhengqing frowned as he looked at the endless fighting on the stage: "She's just a princess. Even if she was a fairy, she wouldn't fight so bloody."
Rong Xuan took a sip of tea and explained, "Father doesn't understand. They are not the princess, but the Zhou Kingdom behind her... They are relatives by marriage and allies."
Not all the contestants in Juxian Pavilion were rangers, many of them were sent by various countries to gather information. At least Rong Xuan had just seen more than three Xiliang warriors mixed in, showing that there was a mix of good and bad people.
Rong Zhengqing didn't understand what was going on, but finally remembered the main thing: "Xuan'er, Shengjing City is so big, where should we go to find your mother?"
Rong Xuan paused while drinking tea after hearing this, wondering where to look for it? Of course, he should go to the Prince Yan's mansion. However, he had originally planned to ask the waiter for the location, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was not appropriate.
There was no other reason. The Prince Yan's mansion was heavily guarded. If I rashly went there to ask for someone, Ji Fan might not really give it to me. I didn't want to die without being able to save my mother.
Even if Rong Zhengqing was a master swordsman and could force his mother to leave the Prince of Yan's mansion, it would certainly alert the authorities. It would be easy for him to escape, but it would not be possible to escape successfully with his family.
Rong Xuan just wanted to bring Rong's mother out without bloodshed, and didn't want to cause a big fight. Ji Fan didn't seem like someone who would attack the elderly, the weak, women, and children, so he should think of a way tonight, visit the Prince Yan's mansion at night, and then make a plan.
Rong Xuan spoke to comfort him, "Dad, the prince of Juxian Pavilion will come in person tomorrow, and there will definitely be many common people and merchants watching. It won't be too late for us to go to the streets to inquire about the news tomorrow."
Rong Zhengqing was impatient: "Why tomorrow again?"
Rong Xuan glanced at him and said meaningfully, "Dad, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."
I'm worried about not being able to find a pretty wife, understand
As night fell, the streets were bustling with people singing and dancing, and the lights were bright. But towards the end of the night, the crowds gradually dispersed, leaving behind a quiet scene after the hustle and bustle.
Today was the Queen Mother's birthday, and a banquet was held in the palace, with a night of revelry all night long. Ji Fan was naturally among the invited guests. After the banquet, he took a carriage back to the mansion, but he drank a few more glasses of wine, so he was inevitably a little drunk.
Yan Fengchen was squatting on the steps waiting for him, holding a box of snacks in his arms, and eating until his mouth was full of crumbs. Ji Fan walked through the corridor and saw Yan Fengchen waiting at the door of his bedroom. He suddenly remembered what he had told him to do, raised his hand and waved away the servants behind him: "Back."
The maids holding lanterns to light the way behind him all leaned forward and retreated to both sides. The light dimmed, making the cobblestone road in the courtyard even brighter and smoother.
Yan Fengchen heard the voice and immediately stood up from the ground. He wiped the dregs of anger from the corner of his mouth and swallowed the food in a panic, looking like a child: "Your Highness."
Ji Fan frowned slightly, stepped into the house, and motioned him to follow. The hem of his robe brushed the threshold, making a slight sound of fabric rubbing against each other: "How is the thing I asked you to do going?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Fengchen scratched his head, looking distressed, not knowing what to say.
Ji Fan was drunk and was leaning on the couch with his eyes closed to rest. After a long time, he didn't hear Yan Fengchen's answer, so he finally opened his eyes and looked at him: "...He entered the capital?"
Yan Fengchen shook his head like a rattle.
Ji Fan frowned: "He didn't enter the capital?"
Yan Fengchen shook his head.
Ji Fan's voice sank a little: "Didn't I ask you to follow him? What happened?"
Yan Fengchen was young after all, and although he was highly skilled in martial arts, he was brought up to be ignorant of worldly affairs. Hearing this, he subconsciously rubbed his chest, feeling somewhat unhappy, unconvinced, and aggrieved, and muttered, "I was discovered, there is an old monster with him, very powerful, I can't beat him."
Ji Fan thought that Yan Fengchen's swordsmanship had already reached the second level, and he had been unrivaled since entering Shengjing. How could someone defeat him? "What happened? Tell me in detail."
Yan Fengchen had no choice but to tell the whole story. However, his words were incoherent and he did not reveal any useful information. All he knew was that there was a middle-aged man with great martial arts skills beside Rong Xuan.
Upon hearing this, Ji Fan slowly rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, closed his eyes and fell into deep thought. As he frowned, the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows suddenly became sharp and pointed. He muttered to himself: "Middle-aged man... middle-aged man... could it be..."
He opened his eyes suddenly, and suddenly remembered that a prisoner escaped from the capital the day before yesterday, and his surname was also Rong... Could it be Rong Xuan's father
When Ji Fan thought of this, a dark light flashed in his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Whatever... So what if he is good at martial arts? He just doesn't believe that Rong Xuan, this filial son, doesn't even want his mother. Sooner or later, the other party will come looking for him.
Seeing Ji Fan's uncertain expression, Yan Fengchen couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He saw a bag of candied fruit on the table and tried to sneak away, but just as he picked it up, Ji Fan's indifferent voice rang in his ears: "Put it back, this time you failed to do your job well, and you are not allowed to eat for three days as punishment."
Yan Fengchen stared in shock: "Three days?!"
Ji Fan closed his eyes: "Six days."
Yan Fengchen: "Six days?!"
Ji Fan: “The twelfth.”
Yan Fengchen was anxious and waved his hands quickly: "No, no, no, just three days, just three days, I, I can't do it."
He put the candied fruit back and left in a hurry. However, just as he stepped forward, there was another knock on the door. The deputy commander stood at the door and clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, I have brought the child back and I am waiting for your punishment."
A man tied up all over his body appeared in Qing Lenghua's courtyard. He had a cloth stuffed in his mouth and was forced to kneel on the grass by the guards of Ji Fan's mansion. He looked very embarrassed. He was trembling like a sieve because of extreme fear, and he was almost peeing his pants.
When hunting in Nanshan, the nobles had guards, but on the day of the attack, their limbs were sore and weak that they were unable to resist. Ji Fan sent people to investigate afterwards and found out that someone had put drugs in the food. The tied man was the horse feeder of Nanshan Hunting Ground. He took money from others and secretly put drugs in the guard water. He fled afterwards and was caught today.
Ji Fan stood up upon hearing this and directly pulled out the unopened sword from the sword rack of Duobao Pavilion. He flicked the blade with his fingers, and a flash of light flashed, reflecting a pair of cold and indifferent eyes: "Did he confess who ordered him to do this?"
The deputy commander stood at the door and replied, "Your Highness, he refused to tell us what kind of torture he had been subjected to. He only said that a strange man gave him a thousand taels of silver and asked him to put drugs in the water, and he was bewitched and agreed."
"boom-"
The door was suddenly knocked open by something, and a brush rolled out. Before the deputy commander could take a closer look, he heard another clang of weapons, and an unopened sword appeared on the ground, its cold light dazzling his eyes.
Ji Fan's calm voice rang out from inside the room: "Give it to him."
Upon hearing this, the deputy commander picked up the sword on the ground and looked down at it, thinking that even though it was unopened, it was enough to kill someone. He was about to kill the man when Ji Fan's emotionless voice suddenly rang out from behind him: "Let him swallow it..."
Ji Fan said: "Let him swallow this sword."
Listening carefully, there is a subtle interest.
The deputy commander was stunned when he heard this, and then he accepted the order: "But Your Highness, we haven't found out who is behind this. Now that the person is dead, won't the clues be cut off?"
Ji Fan already knew who it was: "No need to check, it's the Marquis of Donglin's men."
The deputy commander thought about it and figured it out. He was shocked and angry. "Your Highness, he must be holding a grudge against his only son for dying in battle in the State of Yan. He is clearly trying to provoke a fight between the two countries. You should report this to the Emperor of Zhou and ask him to investigate it thoroughly!"
Ji Fan said coldly: "The Zhou Emperor is getting older and older, and is obsessed with cultivating immortals. He has long lost interest in the court. Donglin Hou is an old minister of two dynasties and is deeply favored. The Zhou Emperor will never punish him for a minister like us. At most, he will find a scapegoat to calm the matter down."
Ji Fan had already made up his mind: "Go, find a way to tell Prince Ruling about the assassin arranged by Marquis Donglin. He is fearless, I want to see if he dares to deal with Marquis Donglin."
Everyone in Shengjing City knew that the young Prince of Ruling was stabbed in the buttocks by an assassin while hunting in the Nanshan hunting grounds, and it was said that he had not fully recovered yet. When searching for the assassin, he was the most active in jumping up and down, and even threatened that if he knew who ordered it, he would dig up the ancestral grave!
The biological mother of the young Prince of Ruling is the emperor's sister. Princess Yongning dotes on this only child like a treasure, which has cultivated the arrogant and domineering character of the young Prince of Ruling. If the young Prince of Ruling really goes to the Marquis of Donglin to settle the account, the emperor will be the one who will have a headache.
This is called, killing someone with a borrowed knife...
The man kneeling in the courtyard had a three-foot sword pierced into his throat. After a fierce struggle, he fell to the ground without a breath. The guards dragged the body out, cleaned up the blood on the ground, and restored it to its previous state.
It was late at night, and the candle on the corner of the table was almost burned out, but Ji Fan had not yet gone to bed. In front of him was an oil-paper bag filled with candied dried fruits pickled in sugar. I don't know if it was because it was left for too long, the water had drained away, and it became a little dry.
Ji Fan picked up a plum, stared at it for a moment, not knowing what he was thinking, and finally put it back.
"… "
He thought of the days in Taohua Village, closed his eyes, and suddenly his mind was full of complicated emotions. He felt sleepy and drunken, which made him feel exhausted. He leaned on the bed and fell asleep unknowingly.
Ding! Please note that the villain's blackness has dropped by 63
Ding! Please note that the villain's blackening degree has increased by 97
Rong Xuan walked on the eaves under the cover of night, looking through all the rooms of Prince Yan's mansion, but he didn't find Rong's mother. In the end, he could only go to the largest master bedroom, but before he could wait any longer, the system suddenly rang twice, and he jumped in fright.
Rong Xuan glared at those sparkling diamond eyes: "Don't you have a Do Not Disturb mode?"
The system is arrogant: Sorry, no function yet.
Rong Xuan: "Then please don't be so startled next time. What if you scare people to death?"
The system snorted: If you don’t do anything wrong in your life, you won’t be afraid of the little King Kong knocking on your door in the middle of the night!
Rong Xuan narrowed his eyes: "You knock on the door and wait for the god of death to knock on the door, who wouldn't be afraid?"
He finally understood how the previous websites disappeared. It was all caused by this evil-hearted person!
The system snorted: I am here to help you be reborn, not to harm you. You are biting Lu Dongbin and don’t know how to appreciate a good person!
Rong Xuan was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so he jumped down from the eaves and leaned against the door to listen for a while. Seeing that it was quiet inside and there didn't seem to be anyone, he directly pried open the window and climbed in -
No matter if there is anyone inside or not, I have no choice but to go in to save my mother.
The window that Rong Xuan opened led directly to the master bedroom. When he entered the room, he subconsciously glanced at the bed opposite, but saw that it was empty and no one was lying there.
Um
Doesn’t Ji Fan sleep here
Rong Xuan, wearing night clothes, landed silently and quietly walked into the room. He saw a man who was as cold as the moon sleeping quietly on the low couch in the study. He was wearing a brocade robe, a jade belt around his waist, his sleeves were stained with wine, his hair was black and his lips were red. At first glance, he looked like a god.
The candle lamp at the corner of the table gradually dimmed, and in the half-light and half-dark shadow, his face became even more hazy and unreal, as if in a dream.
It's Jifan...
Rong Xuan stiffened when he saw this, and subconsciously stopped, thinking that he had been discovered. However, after waiting for a while, there was no movement, and then he realized that the other party had fallen asleep.
"… "
Rong Xuan breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace, and quietly stepped forward. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that Ji Fan seemed to have lost some weight, and was a little thinner than when he was in the village.
Is Ji Fan unhappy after returning to the capital
Rong Xuan leaned over and squatted beside the couch, forgetting about looking for his mother and staring at the other person intently.
The night was cold, and Ji Fan was only wearing a thin set of clothes, so he was inevitably cold. Rong Xuan looked around and was about to go to the room to get the bed quilt, but before he could move, he saw Ji Fan suddenly turned over and accidentally fell off the couch -
"!!!"
Rong Xuanshi didn't care that he would be discovered, and quickly reached out and took Ji Fan into his arms. Fortunately, Ji Fan didn't wake up, and he rubbed his shoulder gently with his eyes closed, and then went back to sleep.
Rong Xuan: “…”
Damn, I'm scared to death.
But why is Ji Fan so unconscious
Rong Xuan noticed something was wrong, frowned and lowered his head to smell, but he smelled a faint smell of alcohol. He thought, no wonder he slept like this, it turned out he drank alcohol. He was a little bolder than before, after all, drunkards are not so easy to wake up, so he directly picked up Ji Fan and carried him to the room.
When passing by the desk, he noticed a bag of candied fruit on it and paused slightly.