Joy of Life - Volume 2 - Chapter 91

Chapter 91
"Why did I have to do anything?" Wu Zhu rarely asked such rhetorical questions . Ever since Fan Xian left Danzhou for the capital, he seemed to be even more mysterious, having never met up with Fan Xian until now .


Fan Xian became gloomy after realizing Wu Zhu was right . Even if Wu Zhu had helped raise Fan Xian, Fan Xian had no reason to demand anything in return . If anything, it was Fan Xian who was in Wu Zhu’s debt .
In response to Fan Xian’s silence, Wu Zhu said coolly, "I said this before; both Fei Jie and I have taught you for many years . If you can’t take care of small matters like this, it’s your problem, not ours . "
"I only learned one of them was a level eight master afterwards . You also said before that my true power is level seven, but my abilities are level three . I shouldn’t be able to match that brute by any means . " Fan Xian smiled uneasily . "You say it’s my problem, but don’t you mind me getting killed?"
"Did you die?" A rare second rhetorical question from Wu Zhu .
Looking at the black blindfold, Fan Xian gasped . "You were following me all along?"
"Yes . "
"Why didn’t you interfere?" Fan Xian was suppressing his shouts of anger . "Those three guards died! Teng Zijing was hurt!"
"I don’t care about the life of anyone but yours," Wu Zhu spoke without emotion . "Those people around you were gathered by yourself . If you want to have authority over their lives, then you must protect them, meaning those guards’ lives are your responsibility, not mine . "
Once again Fan Xian fell into silence . Once again he knew Wu Zhu was right .
"I couldn’t help you too much," Wu Zhu said . "In Danzhou, on the cliffs, I told you once: If I’m with you in the capital, I will bring you nothing but trouble, troubles you definitely would not want to face . "


Remembering how he had sheepishly told Wu Zhu "I’ll protect you", Fan Xian smiled bitterly . He was, after all, kidding .
"You must remember, here in the capital, I will never stand by your side out in the open, unless you are dying . Or… already dead," Wu Zhu continued, still devoid of emotion .
Fan Xian didn’t understand what someone as strong as Wu Zhu was afraid of . But hearing how resolute he was made Fan Xian nod without any further discussion .
"Someone’s coming," Wu Zhu said quickly before disappearing into the darkness .
It was a guest, but not the one Fan Xian wanted to see at the moment . Li Hongcheng walked in with a gloomy face and sat down on Fan Xian’s bed without asking . With a suppressed voice, he moaned, "You heard, right? The envoy of Northern Qi wouldn’t admit to anything, and those students almost trashed Honglu Temple . "
Honglu Temple handled Qing’s foreign affairs, dealing with Northern Qi, Dongyi, various vassal states, and also that assassination attempt . Hearing that the place was almost trashed, Fan Xian smiled bitterly . "Those youths sure are hot-blooded . Well… of course Northern Qi wouldn’t admit it . If Qing’s people found out that another nation was able to send assassins to the capital so easily, I’m afraid the two nations would never come to peace . "
Li Hongcheng smiled bitterly . "Peace has already begun to break down . As per His Majesty’s order, that envoy from Northern Qi was kicked out, luggage and all . "
Fan Xian laughed mockingly . "They deal with outsiders quickly . "
Picking up on Fan Xian’s hidden meaning, Li Hong Cheng frowned . "You’ve been recovering for the past few days . Some things weren’t convenient to say out loud . "
Fan Xian sighed, "I don’t know if it’s because I owed you in one of my previous lives; I invited you out, and that lead to me almost getting assassinated . You’re one of the few people I know in the capital, a proper prince on top of that . You normally don’t mince words, what’s up with you today?"
Li Hongcheng somewhat blamed himself . "It’s actually my fault . No one would have thought that Drunken Immortal Tavern was controlled by Northern Qi . " He then considered it for a moment and said, "For today’s visit, first of all, I’m here to apologize on the second prince’s behalf . He did plan on coming here himself, but as you know, the whole situation is a bit messy, so he can’t easily do so . There are still many out there who believe the second prince and I were the ones responsible . "


Fan Xian looked at him with a forced smile .

"Why are you looking at me so mysteriously? Must I be forced to confess?"
Fan Xian and Li Hongcheng laughed together . He trusted that the prince wasn’t responsible . For the second prince, who was without any strong support in the Imperial court, losing the support of the Fan household was a grave loss . At least, it was a loss greater than the benefit they would have received from framing the crown prince .
With great difficulty, Fan Xian sat up on his bed . A maidservant helped him drink some water . Seeing another figure at the door made Fan Xian curse in silence . Despite his serious injuries, the stream of visitors never seemed to stop . How was he supposed to recuperate when he was suffering? The visitor this time was a stranger, who reported himself as an official from the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council who was investigating the Niulan Road case under Imperial order . The case involved officials of the Imperial court and various baseless rumors, so it was all handed over to the Overwatch Council .
"May I ask your name?" A servant had already poured tea for that official . Fan Xian squinted at him . Other than the time when he "barged into" the Council, this was the first time he saw one of Council’s officials . This official was seemingly cloaked in a rotten aura, reminding Fan Xian of his damned teacher Fei Jie .
"My name is Mu Tie . " This official had thin lips and slightly tanned skin . He said emotionlessly, "Due to the severity of your condition a few days ago, a few issues need to be be clarified, which is the reason for my visit today . I respectfully request your cooperation regarding this . "
Fan Xian frowned . It looked like this official didn’t know about the connection between Fan manor and the Overwatch Council . He said lightly, "I am tired . Let’s talk about this some other day . "
Mu Tie didn’t seem to expect this refusal . He appeared uneasy .
Fan Xian waved his hand and asked, "The Council and the ministry already sent their reports, what’s more to ask?"
"Some questions remain unanswered . " This Mu Tie followed Fan Xian intensely with his eyes . Fan Xian suddenly realized that the Overwatch Council was also suspicious about the archers . But what was the use in asking him? The only one he had seriously offended was Guo Baokun, who had a scholar’s background and wouldn’t conspire with Northern Qi . As for the princes… that was a matter he could not speak of .
Fei Jie had given him a badge . Fan Xian took it out from under his pillow and tossed it over to the official . "We’re all on the same side . If you have something to say, just say it . "
Mu Tie hadn’t touched his tea . Upon seeing the badge, his expression changed greatly . He stood up, walked over to Fan Xian, and knelt down on one knee . Putting his hands together, he saluted, "I have seen Your Highness . "
Fan Xian was greatly surprised by this display of respect; he didn’t think the badge would be so powerful . Unknown to him, that badge was an overseer’s badge, denoting a level of power beyond the eight bureaus of the Overwatch Council . Whoever possessed it held the same authority as the heads of the eight bureaus; only Director Chen could give them direct orders . It was no wonder that Mu Tie was so shaken at the sight of it and became so courteous .
Signaling the official to rise, Fan Xian frowned . "When will Sir Fei Jie return to the capital?" It was his most important question; first of all, he could only improve Wan’er’s body, but not cure her of her illness . Secondly, the capital was currently in a state of chaos . Wu Zhu refused to be out in the open, and his father was hiding something . Fan Xian found himself inexplicably trusting of Fei Jie, who was not in the capital .
Hearing this young master asking about Sir Fei, Mu Tie knew that the youth was an important person that the Council kept hidden . It wasn’t unusual for organizations such as the Overwatch Council to cultivate some talents among the various manors in the capital . This young master of Fan Manor was obviously one of them, and a high-ranking one at that . Mu Tie answered respectfully, "It should be a few more days . "
"Did you find out anything?" Fan Xian stared into the official’s eyes .
Mu Tie replied, "The Council received word too late . The bodies of those archers had already been cremated . Our investigation brought us to the patrol division and the clues ended there . "
"Patrol division? Who’s in charge there?"
"Jiao Ziheng . "
"Huh?"
Mu Tie gave Fan Xian a look, curious as to how the youth did not know who Jiao Ziheng was, and answered, "It probably isn’t one of the prince’s men . " Taking another look at that unforgeable badge and reaffirming Fan Xian’s identity, the official didn’t question it any further . This was the way the Overwatch Council did things; everything on the inside was strict and orderly .
"You’re in charge of this case?" Fan Xian looked at the official with curiosity . "What rank are you?"
"Seventh ranked," Mu Tie replied with a smile, "Only good for running errands . "
"When will Si Lili return to the capital?" Fan Xian suddenly remembered the only living alibi and looked worried .
"They quickly fled . Even if we caught them now, it would take some days for them to be taken back to the capital . "
Looking at Fan Xian, Mu Tie did some guess work of his own as to why anyone would conspire with Northern Qi to plot the assassination . It seemed that this young master was chosen by the Council to be developed as one of its members . Thinking about this had Mu Tie excited; he apparently thought of a way to advance his career . Brazenly, he asked, "Your Highness, while I don’t know what your duties are in the capital, you are still new to the place . If there is anything I can do to help, just give me the order . "
Fan Xian asked, "Then what about this case you’re working on?"
Mu Tie grinned, "I can assign it to somebody else . The Council orders the importance of its affairs by magnitude of rank . With Your Highness’s status, asking me to help elsewhere is a common thing . "
Fan Xian guessed what he was thinking right away and gave an uneasy smile . "Forget it, not even I know what could be done . If you somehow lose your life following me around, what good does that do?"
His heart darkened as he thought about his three dead guards . They had been with him since the day he entered the capital . Now they were dead, and Fan Xian didn’t even remember their names .
Fan Xian asked the maidservant to open the windows . The bright daylight flooded his room, which had been under constant darkness . Inhaling deeply, Fan Xian forced himself to become alert and decided to do something . To this enthusiastic official from the Overwatch Council, he asked, "Isn’t there a guy by the name of Wang Qinian at the Council?"