Chapter 127
The prince calculated, obviously moved . After quite a while, he made his decision . "Very well . I’m going to give Fan Xian a chance . I hope he wouldn’t disappoint us . "
With this decision, Guo Baokun fell silent, while Xin Qiwu became excited . The prince felt he was being wise and generous . However, none of the three knew that the empress and the eldest princess tried to have Fan Xian killed . The real forces behind the East Palace had already clashed twice with the real forces behind Fan Xian; once in Danzhou, once on Niulan Street and beneath the Cang Mountains .
Even more unknown to them was that several years later, things would develop into unprecedented absurdity . The palace at night was always more secluded and darker than other places . It hid all truths and all who passed by . It also hid whatever the future held .
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Backed by the Overwatch Council’s reports, the negotiations over the next few days changed drastically . Northern Qi still tried to play their sticky tactics, dragging things on day after day in hopes of decreasing Qing’s patience . They weren’t expecting this shaoqing of Honglu Temple to unleash such intensity . During the next two days of deliberation, it was as if Xin Qiwu had turned into a mountain-splitting axe, chopping down the other party!
After three meetings, the problems regarding captives, tributes, and names were all solved . All that was left was also the most difficult—the issue regarding redrawing the borders .
As a deputy, Fan Xian had always overlooked this process . Nevertheless, he was very impressed by Xin Qiwu’s ability to converse . Fan Xian really didn’t expect anyone so close to the prince to be so ferocious . Not everyone in the East Palace deserved to be hit like Guo Baokun . Xin Qiwu, during his conversations and observations, felt surprised by Fan Xian’s patience, which far surpassed that of his peers . The shaoqing felt he couldn’t see through Fan Xian’s character .
Overall, the negotiations went smoothly . Other than help from the Overwatch Council, Fan Xian didn’t put in too much effort, and therefore didn’t get his part of the merit . He was satisfied with his current life .
The bookstore was taken care off by the shopkeeper from Qingyu Hall, and Fan Sizhe often interacted with the accountant . Fan Xian didn’t have to worry about any of that . As for his marriage in two months, the nannies of the Lin and Fan Manors would be busy taking care of that . Even Lady Liu liked the idea of Fan Xian being the emperor’s fake son-in-law and was ready to be a stepmother . She knew that, once Fan Xian married the emperor’s adopted daughter, he wouldn’t threaten Fan Sizhe’s position in the household .
On top of all that, there was also Lin Wan’er’s status . Those old maidens often came to Fan Manor to speak of various things; once every few days, some would come to deliver some lady’s wishes, making Count Sinan quite irritated . As for Fan Xian, who didn’t know the formalities of the palace, he tried to get away from them as best as he could . Lin Wan’er and Ruoruo suffered as a result of having to clean up after him .
The second prince came twice on behalf of Prince Jing, who wanted to meet with Fan Xian, but Fan Xian was still hung up on when he happened to run into the eldest prince . Hoping for things to calm down a bit, Fan Xian kept pushing the meeting back until the end of the month . After all, the East Palace seemed to have changed its view on him . Not that he dared to refuse the invitation from one of the princes; rather, he dared not play around while still serving the country .
During those days, Fan Xian was only slightly worried about that Zhuang Mohan, who hadn’t shown himself since, this in addition to the disciple of Sigu Sword from Dongyi . Respectively, they were at the top in civil and martial virtues, so why was the capital this quiet? Zhuang Mohan had been invited by the empress to stay in the palace for studies, which the head disciple of Sigu Sword stayed with Dongyi’s envoy .
The one who got most of Fan Xian’s attention was Yun Zhilan . Zhuang Mohan had done nothing to Fan Xian, but Yun Zhilan was after Fan Xian’s life . However, since Yun Zhilan was far away outside the capital, Fan Xian believed himself to be relatively safe . After all, Yun Zhilan wouldn’t be so stupid as to challenge him alone . The thing most prominent on his mind was the matter regarding a certain key .
He stared blankly at a black chest at night . The lock appeared to be made of brass . However, as much as he tried, he couldn’t leave a single scratch on it with his think dagger, so the material must have been something unique . There appeared to be some other mechanism behind the keyhole, but without the key, Fan Xian had no idea what that mechanism even looked like .
Fan Xian had tried various means to get acquainted with the old eunuch Hong from the palace . However, he discovered something: While he had made a name for himself in the capital, he was still far from reaching the top . Both the eldest and second princes were trying to win him over for the sake of Fan and Lin manors; he himself wasn’t worth the hassle . The palace itself didn’t need to see civil servants, so he couldn’t even go there .
Besides, it was inconvenient for Wan’er to enter the palace, so there wasn’t anyone who could help Fan Xian . It would be extremely difficult for him to even get to know Hong Siyang, never mind getting him out of the palace like Wu Zhu said .
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