As those people at Baoyue Tower once said, Kyoto had been peaceful for a year, and the biggest reason was naturally because Fan Xian had been exiled to Jiangnan for a whole year.

But with Fan Xian's return to Kyoto, the apparent tranquility could no longer be maintained. On the one hand, he happened to be stuck at the intersection of various forces. On the other hand, his style of doing things was completely unlike his so-called poetic genius persona. He was even more ruthless than most dignitaries in this Qing Kingdom.

The assassination in the valley, the assassination in Kyoto at night, the silent deaths of certain people, the imprisonment of certain officials who suffered great humiliation – one incident after another made the Kyoto dignitaries deeply feel Fan Xian's power and determination. They realized that Little Fan had not become much gentler in nature after spending a year in the pleasant spring of Jiangnan.

Fan Xian's return to Kyoto was followed by a series of shocking events.

The most recent thing was that the Northern Qi court shamelessly came over and expressed its love for Fan Xian, criticizing the Southern Qing court for not protecting Little Fan properly!

The whole capital was in uproar, everyone was furious.

In other words, this was Qing's internal affairs. When did it become the turn of these Northern Qi Confucian scholars to speak up? But the Northern Qi people did speak up, and they spoke up particularly loudly.

Fan Xian was immediately pushed to the forefront. Although smart people didn't believe that he had any shady dealings with Northern Qi, because Northern Qi's methods were too naive, the dignitaries and common people of Qing were still somewhat uncomfortable, quite uncomfortable. The gazes cast at the Fan residence were somewhat complex.

The storm over this matter had not yet subsided, but on the first day of the New Year, just two days later, the entire Kyoto became panicked again because of another matter related to the Fan residence.

……

……

There wasn't a trace of light in the sky.

Fan Xian sat in the carriage, rubbing his sore eyes, thinking, did ancestral worship require such secrecy? Yesterday was New Year's Eve. The family played mahjong all night. After Fan Sizhe and Lin Wan'er divided up the family's wealth, the game finally ended, but the family immediately got into the carriage and left the residence.

Along the way, carriages from other branches of the Fan clan gathered together. Although each branch was calm, such a long convoy did look rather grand.

Fan Xian felt a faint sense of excitement and nervousness. It was his first time attending ancestral worship, so he didn't know that it should be held at the fifth watch (around 3-5 am). Because when the Fan residence held ancestral worship last year, he and Wan'er stayed in the garden. He vaguely remembered that it should have been in the afternoon.

He glanced at Sizhe, who was fast asleep beside him, and couldn't help shaking his head with a smile. In his own carriage, he figured that no government office in Qing would be so blind as to search Sizhe, this wanted criminal.

Thinking that he could finally enter the ancestral hall today, his smile remained on his face, unable to fade. He didn't know how his father negotiated with the Emperor in the palace, but in the end, it was clear that the Emperor had nodded helplessly, and the Empress Dowager had remained silent.

Speaking of which, if your royal family couldn't give him a title, did you still expect him to not have a reliable surname for the rest of his life?

Fan Xian sneered. In fact, he could guess the outcome of his father's negotiations with the Emperor – the Emperor conferring him the title of Duke Danbo, in his opinion, was enough of an explanation. Moreover, in the current situation, the Emperor did need Fan Xian to clarify his identity, so as not to make the competition between his sons for the family fortune even more complicated. The weakening of the Overwatch Council was far from enough. If Fan Xian wanted to continue on the road of being a powerful minister, the first thing he had to do was to remove himself from the ranks of the princes first.

The convoy traveled for an unknown amount of time, and waited for a while at the city gate. When the city gate opened, they drove out under the indifferent gazes of the soldiers.

They traveled west along the official road and finally entered the manor that Fan Xian had visited before, the Fan family's ancestral property.

Thirty-odd carriages stopped in a row on the threshing ground outside the ancestral hall. The people from the manor had long since come to greet them. This happened every year, and they had become skilled at it. Bamboo sheds had already been set up to provide temporary seating for the female relatives. Liu Shi, Wan'er, Sisi, and the elders and women from the other branches were taken to the courtyard to rest.

The current clan leader of the Fan clan, Minister of Revenue Fan Jian, stood on the steps of the ancestral hall, wearing a tri-colored official uniform, calmly watching everything before him. However, a feeling of warmth and joy welled up in his heart.

He had raised a son for His Majesty, and finally raised his own son. Could this be considered the most successful day of his life?

The leading figures from each branch of the Fan clan had already gotten out of their carriages, standing outside the ancestral hall according to their seniority. They peeked at the clan leader at the head, each with complex emotions in their hearts. They thought that thirty years ago, the Fan clan was already one of the great clans in Kyoto, but Fan Jian's branch was only a weak side branch. If it hadn't been for that old ancestor who raised the current Emperor and Prince Jing, how could Fan Jian have become the clan leader today?

However, after Fan Jian became the clan leader, he was extremely strict in his discipline of the clan members. His official position also grew higher and higher. No one in the clan dared to disobey him, especially since there was now another person named Fan Xian in the Fan residence.

Everyone received the regular clothes needed for ancestral worship, and incense was lit. The monk who usually served in the ancestral hall respectfully spread out a row of felt mats and slowly opened the gate of the ancestral hall.

With a creak, the gate made of black wood opened, and a gust of cold wind rushed out, as if the ancestors of the Fan clan were coldly watching their descendants.

Hundreds of male members of the Fan clan lowered their heads and lined up.

At this time, the door of a carriage behind the crowd opened, and Fan Xian, dressed in cloth clothes, walked out steadily. Following his father's gestures down the stone steps, he slowly walked forward between the two rows of male members.

The atmosphere in front of the ancestral hall was originally solemn. The male members of the Fan clan didn't dare to make a sound, for fear of disturbing the spirits of their ancestors. However, when they saw the man who came out of the carriage, they still couldn't help widening their eyes in shock and surprise, opening their mouths wide, and uttering countless exclamations.

And those teenage boys in the back were even more frightened when they saw Fan Xian. These were the pitiful little tyrants whose legs had been broken by Fan Xian outside Baoyue Tower and whose butts had been beaten by Liu Shi in the Fan residence.

Fan Xian was also here to worship ancestors! These little tyrants of the Fan clan were trembling with fear.

……

……

Fan Xian walked forward steadily, gradually approaching the stone steps of the ancestral hall. Then he saw his father seemingly arguing in a low voice with several old men under the stone steps. Fan Xian had usually seen these old men and knew that they were respected elders of the Fan clan. He seemed to have to call one of them Uncle…

The Earl with the highest seniority in the Fan clan said to Fan Jian in a worried tone, "Yi De… this is inappropriate."

Fan Jian smiled and said, "Second Uncle, what's inappropriate?"

The Earl's eyes were filled with horror. He lowered his voice and said, "This child… this child…" He suddenly stopped talking. Could he say in front of the clan leader that your son wasn't your biological son? But he was still terrified. The elders of the Fan clan in front of and behind him were also frightened and uneasy. They didn't expect that such a big event would be held for ancestral worship this year, entirely because the Fan residence had secretly brought Fan Xian!

Everyone began to speak at once. Although they didn't dare to speak out in front of Minister Fan, they all vaguely expressed their concerns, but they didn't dare to raise their voices too much, for fear of disturbing the ancestors in the ancestral hall.

Everyone was unconvinced, thinking, he's not a descendant of my Fan family, why should he worship ancestors? And what they were even more afraid of was that Fan Xian was the son of the dragon. If he returned to the Fan family today, would the Empress Dowager and His Majesty be unhappy?

However, Fan Xian didn't give these elders a chance to start a debate. He had already walked in front of his father. First, he bowed to the elders very respectfully, and then stood beside his father.

Fan Jian smiled and pointed to a certain position in the line, saying, "Your position is there."

Seeing that the clan leader wouldn't listen, no one dared to express their opposition again, because these elders in the Fan clan were actually more afraid of the kind of aura that Fan Xian carried.

……

……

"Ancestors have merit, clans have virtue."

"All things originate from Heaven, man originates from ancestors."

The ancestral hall was filled with white smoke, offerings were laid out, and the male members bowed in turn. In the chanting that rose and fell, the ancestral worship of the Fan clan proceeded smoothly. However, people couldn't help but steal glances at Fan Xian.

Fan Xian had already knelt, bowed, and kowtowed in the ancestral hall. At this time, he stood aside, looking at the paper flowers in the sky and the snow on the distant mountains, somewhat dazed. He knew that his name could finally be recorded in the Fan clan's genealogy. For a moment, there was a bright color in the depths of his heart.

Fan Sizhe kowtowed in the carriage in the direction of the ancestral hall. It wasn't convenient for him to get out of the carriage.

Fan Xian stood beside the carriage and couldn't help sighing. He thought that in this life of his rebirth, in the cave of Xishan in Northern Qi, in front of the dying Xiao En, he had acknowledged his belonging to this world. And today, in front of the Fan clan's ancestral hall, he finally confirmed his belonging to this world again. His life had finally been branded with an indelible mark, tightly linked to this world, never to be separated again.

The morning light arrived early, and the white mist in the manor mixed with the smoke in the ancestral hall, never to be separated again.

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When Fan Xian was sighing beside the carriage outside the Fan clan's ancestral hall, almost at the same moment, across half of Qing's territory, outside the city of Suzhou in Jiangnan, in one of the largest manors in the world, Xia Qifei knelt before the ancestral tablets outside a hall, even taller and more majestic than the Fan clan's, and wept silently.

No, it should be said that Ming Qingcheng, the seventh young master of the current Ming family, was trembling before the ancestral tablets, letting tears wash his face.

Ming Qingda, the current head of the Ming family, looked at Ming Qingcheng, his seventh brother who had left home as a child, with a very complicated look in his eyes.

Ming Lanshi stood below his fourth uncle, looking at this "seventh uncle" who had never had the chance to enter the ancestral hall to worship his ancestors. His face remained calm, but his heart was filled with frustration.

His fourth uncle had been released from Suzhou Prefecture half a year ago. Since then, he had been tied to Xia Qifei, opposing the Ming family everywhere. Undoubtedly, that failed assassination attempt had made this fourth master of the Ming family lose heart for the Ming family's head.

The Ming family's situation was very difficult. There was too little silver for circulation, so they had to reach out for help. Although the Zhaoshang Qianzhuang (Merchant Bank) provided great assistance, if the business on Xingdong Road and the sea didn't improve much, continuing to borrow silver would… be a big problem. Moreover, another force had emerged within the family. The sons of the concubine naturally stood by the side of the fourth master of the Ming family.

Thinking of this, Ming Lanshi hated the imperial envoy in Kyoto. The current situation was all created by that person, including Xia Qifei entering the ancestral hall to worship his ancestors and recognizing his ancestors today, which was also part of the agreement reached in those years.

Ming Lanshi didn't understand why his father agreed to Fan Xian's request.

……

……

Xia Qifei wiped the tears from his face, knelt on the ground, and said softly to the tablets of his ancestors, in a voice that only he could hear, "Father, mother… that old hag is dead, your son has finally returned."

He had been expelled from the Ming family since he was a child, and had escaped death countless times. Even after he became the commander of the Jiangnan Water Bandit, he only thought about one day being able to take revenge with blood and fire, but he could only become a wandering ghost, never daring to hope… that he could actually return to the Ming family openly!

Now he was not only the commander of the Jiangnan Water Bandit, but also the unknown Jiangnan Circuit Supervisor of the Fourth Division of the Overwatch Council. He was already the head of Xia Mingji, responsible for the marketing of the Northern Qi Road of the Neiku goods, and now… he had also obtained the identity of the seventh young master of the Ming family. He would eventually have a share of the Ming family's huge property.

Even… it was possible that it would all be his.

Of course, Xia Qifei understood in his heart that even if the Ming family became his in the future, his would be Little Fan's. Everything he had obtained now was given to him by Little Fan's hands. Xia Qifei was a grateful person, and also a person who knew his limits and didn't have too much ambition.

As long as he could take revenge and return to the Ming family, everything would be fine.

The fourth master of the Ming family, who no longer had the ferocity of the past, stepped forward and helped him up, comforting him, "Seventh brother, it's good as long as you're back."

"Thank you, fourth brother." Xia Qifei stood up, stared at the head of the Ming family for a moment, then smiled and said, "Brother, then I'll go out first."

Ming Qingda smiled slightly, took a few steps closer, and leaned into his ear, saying softly in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Seventh brother, the days are still long, I won't keep you for dinner today."

This was something that Fan Xian had strongly forced Ming Qingda to promise before leaving Jiangnan. Now that he had done it, he naturally didn't have much of a good attitude towards the seventh master of the Ming family.

Xia Qifei sneered, knowing the hidden meaning in Ming Qingda's words. Jiangnan, the Ming family, was now divided into two, and as for who would be the leader in the future, it would ultimately depend on the victory or defeat of the struggle in the palace in Kyoto.

Ming Qingda had been patient all year, using all means to delay Fan Xian's iron-blooded methods, in order to buy time, waiting for the counterattack in Kyoto, and he believed that he wouldn't have to endure for too long.

But Xia Qifei's thoughts were exactly the opposite of Ming Qing's. He was also waiting, waiting for the day when Little Fan would win completely. He never believed that Little Fan would fail.

……

……

Walking out of the gate of the Ming family's ancestral hall, Xia Qifei glanced at the members of the clan in the garden with different expressions on their faces, a hint of self-deprecating smile on his face, thinking that few of these clan members really regarded him as the seventh master.

The fourth master of the Ming family had been following him, saying softly, "Although we have three people on our side, he is, after all, the head of the family, and some things can't be hidden from him."

"We don't need to worry about business." Xia Qifei's eyes still had traces of tears. He said calmly, "Infiltrate as many people as possible into the guards in the garden. I will send people to watch. If he still wants to eke out an existence after the general situation is determined, don't blame us for taking heavy action."

The fourth master of the Ming family was shocked and frowned, "Don't mess around, the whole of Jiangnan is watching the Ming Garden, even Little Fan wouldn't dare to do such a thing."

Xia Qifei paused and didn't say anything more, walking towards the outside of the Ming Garden.

Outside the garden, beside the carriage, Su Wu Mei, who had lost an arm, was waiting for him. She looked at the traces on Xia Qifei's face, knowing that he must have been greatly emotionally moved today, and suppressed her excitement, saying, "Congratulations, Big Boss."

"Hmm?" Xia Qifei smiled.

"Congratulations, cousin." Su Wu Mei smiled gently, "Congratulations, Ming Seventh Master."

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On the first day of the New Year, in the palace of Kyoto, the Second Prince was drinking tea while playing Go with Ye Ling'er. Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps outside the study, and couldn't help frowning slightly. Although Fan Xian had wiped out his forces in Kyoto, as he had said in Baoyue Tower, he wasn't in a hurry at all, because these were just trivial matters. As long as Fan Xian couldn't touch his root as a prince, it would always be Fan Xian's turn to be anxious in the future.

The steward knocked on the door and entered, and without caring that the princess was present, he hurriedly leaned close to the Second Prince's ear and told him the shocking news he had just heard.

The Second Prince's face immediately changed. The black matte Go piece that he was holding between two fingers fell into the teacup, making a muffled sound.

After the steward went out, Ye Ling'er smiled and asked, "What happened again?"

In the eyes of this young princess, who was not yet twenty years old, the more miserable her husband was beaten by her master, the better. It would be best if he was so disheartened that he would never pay attention to the dragon throne again.

Fan Xian was fighting tigers in Kyoto, and Ye Ling'er was secretly happy in the palace. At this time, seeing her husband's face somewhat shocked, she thought that her master was doing something again, so she wasn't worried, but rather had the urge to watch a good show.

After a long time, the Second Prince relieved the shock in his heart, looked at his wife in astonishment and said, "Fan Xian, he… went to ancestral worship today."

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(I haven't written much recently, and what I've written isn't necessarily that good, but… it's the 15th of the month again, so I still want to sincerely ask everyone for monthly tickets, thank you, thank you… everyone who has monthly tickets, please vote for me, vote for me… I will definitely come up with a very beautiful slogan for soliciting votes next time, I really want monthly tickets, I want to buy a laptop!)