Chapter 478: 478
Chapter 478: The Fragrance Could Not Endure
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"The Emperor likes to watch others plant flowers and look at the scenery . "
"Oh? Isn't that very similar to uncle's hobbies?"
"He's very lazy . He only watches . Who would dare ask him to do it himself?"
"I heard…that Haitang girl likes initiate gardens?"
An awkward silence .
"The Emperor…is a very interesting person . "
"The Emperor actually often does very amusing things . However, ever since his youth, his mother has held him by the ears to have him learn the ways of governance . We are rarely able to see him . "
Inside the Flower Hall, the wangfei's voice, with a light smile, rang out from time to time . Fan Xian stood outside the door, listening quietly . He knew what this woman said was not false . A dozen years ago, unrest once appeared amongst the Northern Qi royal family, which implicated countless noble families . This included the father of Lady Shen, who was currently hiding in the Yan manor, Shen Zhong . Back then, it was because of this matter that he had stuck his head out .
The Northern Qi empress dowager only had the one son, the current Emperor . The other princesses were all born of the previous Emperor's other concubines . Although the Great Princess that married in the South Kingdom was very respected by the Northern Qi empress dowager and Emperor, she, after all, was not the empress dowager's trueborn daughter . Plus, there would be some distance between them . Furthermore, after experiencing the tragedy in the past of holding onto her son and seeking a means of surviving, the Northern Qi empress dowager was even more wary of the other children of the imperial family .
The people from the South Kingdom were all slightly curious about Northern Qi's little Emperor and asked endless questions . However, the wangfei could not speak of any details and could only emptily state he was very interesting and amusing .
Ye Ling'er saw him eavesdropping outside and glanced at him with curiosity .
Fan Xian smiled, pushed open the door and entered .
The Great wangfei, who was furrowing her brows and feeling awkward, saw the two of them walk in and let out a breath . "You should all stop asking me . I really don't understand the Emperor that well . Usually, it is rare to see him in the palace . When he was young, he was strictly controlled by the Empress Dowager . After he grew up, he was busy with state affairs . However, Fan Xian has traveled with the Emperor a number of times in Northern Qi . The Emperor has always liked him . If you want to ask about amusing things, it's better to ask him . "
Fan Xian and Ye Ling'er had returned to their seats . Ye Ling'er moved to where Lin Wan'er was . With excitement on her face, she lowered her voice and spoke about how much she missed her after their farewells and didn't pay much attention to the other people's conversation . Fan Xian met the Second Prince's eyes and smiled helplessly . He didn't notice that someone had mentioned his name .
After hearing the Great wangfei's words, everyone remembered that other than the wangfei, the only other person present who had met the Emperor of Northern Qi was Fan Xian . Everyone knew the Emperor thought highly of Fan Xian' poetry and learning .
The heir, Li Hongcheng, burped and gazed at Fan Xian . "An Zhi, ah, just what kind of person is the Northern Qi Emperor?"
Fan Xian paused . Pulling back his attention, he said, "As the ruler of a nation, it is not for a foreign official such as me to discuss him . "
It was only after he said this that everyone in the hall felt a bit awkward . It was indeed not very appropriate to arrogantly discuss the Northern Qi Emperor's gossip in front of the Great wangfei . However, it was always difficult to suppress humankind's curiosity . Including the Second Prince, they all urged Fan Xian to say something .
Fan Xian scratched his head and asked, "Why are you all so interested in the Northern Qi Emperor?"
The men in the Flower Hall suddenly fell silent with awkward expressions on their faces . Only the three women whispered privately, making a chittering noise like ants munching on a leaf .
The Great wangfei shook her head, lifted her dress slightly, and walked out of the Flower Hall with a quiet and contented look on her face, saying she had to see how the preparations for lunch were going .
Given her status as a wangfei, there was no need for her to be personally worried about these trivial matters . Without a doubt, it was to give these noble Qing Kingdom families a setting talk conveniently . As expected, after the wangfei was some distance from the Flower Hall, the Great Prince shook his head and opened his mouth . "There is no choice but to be concerned . That little Emperor of Northern Qi has always been very secretive . Regardless of whether it is the Overwatch Council or military, the intelligence reports are all not very detailed . His personality, hobbies, and likes and dislikes are all a mystery .
"So what? As an Emperor, he has to maintain a secrecy in front of his people," Fan Xian smiled and replied .
The Great Prince said, seriously, "But, he is the ruler of a foreign country . The more mysterious he is in front of us, the more terrifying he is . "
Fan Xian furrowed his brows and said, "He is nothing more than a young man . How could he be terrifying?" When he first met the Northern Qi Emperor in Shangjing, he had thought the other party was a young man of similar age to himself . It was not until after he returned and carefully checked the intelligence reports did he discover that the little Emperor was actually two years younger than himself .
While he was in Jiangnan, every time he thought of the Northern Qi Emperor's deep plans, calm, and courage in moving palace treasury silver to participate in the inner politics of the South Kingdom, Fan Xian also felt some fear . However, this matter involved his deepest secret, so he did not speak it in the Flower Hall .
The Second Prince put down the fruit in his hand and sighed . "Being terrifying has nothing to do with age . " He glanced at Fan Xian, meaning to say, When you first entered the capital, you were also no more than 16 or 17, yet you were extremely terrifying . Immediately after, he smiled slightly and said, "You should all know about the matter of Shen Zhong of the Northern Qi Brocade Guards . In the end, Wei Hua became the commanding official…Shen Zhong died wretchedly . However, with a clever wave of his hand, the Emperor rounded out the matter . He forced Shang Shanhu to be trapped in Shangjing and also successfully took over the power of a faction behind him . Now, Wei Hua barely even listens to the empress dowager's orders, and Imperial Advisor Ku He also maintained his silence . Where did this young ruler learn such subtlety? And, how could he convince so many people to stand on his side?"
The Second Prince's voice grew heavier . "If the battle for the position of Northern Qi's empress becomes more intense, then it is a blessing for the Qing Kingdom…we originally thought when the Emperor first began to rule personally, he wouldn't be as good as the Northern Qi empress dowager who has been running things for a long time and in the end, because of the young man's explosive temper, it would cause great unrest in the Northern Qi palace . Who knew that this little Emperor could silently pull the power back into his own hands? This kind of ability is truly…terrifying . "
Fan Xian fell silent . He knew the inside story of Shen Zhong being killed very clearly . It was he who had suggested to the Northern Qi Emperor, through Haitang's mouth, to do it .
The atmosphere in the Flower Hall was somewhat tense . The three women knew their men were discussing state matters and tactfully kept their mouths closed .
Li Hongcheng's eyes no longer showed any drunkenness . He furrowed his brows . "The Northern Qi Emperor is the ruler of a country . He doesn't lust after women and does not have any harmful indulgences . His mind is clear and, he has self-restraint…this kind of person is the scariest . In the future, if we want to bring soldiers up North, what we should first consider isn't the strength of Northern Qi but the temperament of the master of Northern Qi . If the Northern Qi Emperor does not panic, there is not much we can do . "
After hearing this, the Great Prince and Second Prince both nodded their heads .
Fan Xian was slightly surprised and felt some astonishment as he looked at this scene . He was shocked by the serious moods of the three royal sons . For a moment, he couldn't speak . It was not until now that he understood, for him, Northern Qi was only a friend while for the younger generation of nobles in Qing Kingdom, Northern Qi was the opposition that was destined to be swallowed up by Qing Kingdom .
Qing Kingdom loved combat . The people of the previous generation had already conquered a massive territory . What was left now to the new generation of people was the large but not rigid Northern Qi . This was a fanatical wish to expand their borders that were deeply planted in their blood . Regardless of whether it was the Great Prince or Li Hongcheng, neither could cast off this kind of fanaticism . Even the warm and solemn Second Prince kept the idea of attacking Northern Qi constantly in his mind .
Qing Kingdom was flourishing . For the past 30 years, it had maintained a momentum through attacking . For the people of Qing Kingdom, this was no longer something that needed to be considered . What needed to be considered was when to attack Northern Qi . Thus, it was a very important matter to the three royal sons in the hall to know the kind of person the Northern Qi Emperor was .
It was clear from looking at the Second Prince's expression, as he was deep in thought, that to be able to unite the world was every Qing Kingdom person's final goal . It could even temporarily suppress his worry over the dragon chair .
"Everyone says that the Northern Qi Emperor doesn't lust after women . However, last time, he especially wanted to exchange Si Lili back to Northern Qi . An Zhi, you were the diplomat last time . Did you not discover anything in Shangjing?" The Great Prince asked .
A moment later, Fan Xian slowly said, "It's true he doesn't care much for beauty . In the giant royal palace, there are only a few concubines . Furthermore, to prevent the imperial relatives growing in power, the little Emperor went forcefully against the pressure of the major families in Shangjing . All his concubines are chosen from among those of common birth . What is very strange is that the empress dowager seemed to not oppose such an arrangement . "
The Second Prince furrowed his brows and said, "Even if it was to prevent the imperial relatives from growing too powerful, this kind of arrangement is not good for comforting officials . This action is inappropriate . "
Fan Xian nodded . Pretending to be worried, he said, "It is just as the wangfei said earlier, this Emperor is impossible to understand . Clearly, he is right in front of your eyes, but one always feels that he has some kind of clever disguise . "
Li Hongcheng laughed . "All right, that's enough . That Emperor has treated you with considerable sincerity . Earlier, you said you were a foreign official, but I think the Northern Qi people certainly don't see you that way . Otherwise, after the attack, why would they send a letter to Jingdou to protest?"
The Great Prince shook his head in anger and said, "Northern Qi has gone too far to forcibly do such a thing . "
Fan Xian forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, this matter has nothing to do with me . "
Speaking of the attack, the Second Prince was not awkward at all . He wore a selfless and open expression, yet he laughed at Fan Xian . "Of course, this matter has nothing to do with you . Not even considering that you are a Qing Kingdom person and Northern Qi only wants to incite trouble, even if the little Emperor likes you a great deal and pulls you to Northern Qi, could he also marry his own sister to you as well?"
At this moment, Ye Ling'er broke in and said, "I don't think it's impossible…Fan Xian was born with good looks, and the little Northern Qi Emperor is also his biggest fan . "
Once these words were said, the serious discussion became a mischievous joke .
Fan Xian twitched his lips into a smile and quietly watched these men and women talk from the side . Fan Xian didn't quite understand when they spoke of some of the amusing things that had happened in the Palace in the past . Gradually, he developed a misperception of being rejected by the group . Before he entered Jingdou, the men and women in the Flower Hall had all watched each other grow up from a young age . The relationship between the younger generation of the Qing royal family had always been quite good .
He was originally an outsider .
However, Fan Xian did not dwell long in such feelings . He had sunk deep into thought because of the earlier discussion about the Northern Qi Emperor . He faintly felt that he seemed about to catch some mysterious thing .
In his mind, he closely re-examined the scenario when he met the Northern Qi Emperor in Shangjing . He also closely recalled their mutual understanding and cooperation during the year and a half of time . He complemented it with the Northern Qi Emperor's tastes, interests, and the details of his life . Gradually, a spot of light in his mind was about to burst forth .
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