Niao Ni
Chapter 576 The Old Ginger Gradually Fades
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The desperate Empress Dowager didn't say the answer Fan Xian wanted to know, her lips trembled as she closed her eyes with difficulty. Fan Xian looked at the wrinkles on her face and didn't feel much emotion. He had already guessed this outcome. However, being able to have such a conversation with this seemingly kind and benevolent, but actually ruthless old woman in such a late night, was a kind of spiritual comfort for him—especially at a time when His Majesty was about to return to the capital.
In truth, the Empress Dowager of Qing Yu Nian wasn't truly a viper. Over the decades, she hadn't used the Emperor's filial piety and the power in her hands to harm too many people or commit too many heinous acts... except for the matter of Ye Qingmei. However, for some reason, for Fan Xian, the fact that this old woman was connected to that incident twenty years ago was more intolerable than someone trying to kill him.
Moreover, this old woman had actually always hated him. It wasn't until after the Suspended Temple incident, when the Emperor acknowledged Fan Xian's identity, that she pretended to chant scriptures in the Nian Tang and sent a string of prayer beads to show her attitude.
Towards people he admired, people who couldn't threaten him, Fan Xian could show his generosity and grace. But towards the Empress Dowager, who had the ability to threaten him, he certainly didn't admire her, and naturally wouldn't show the filial piety and gentleness of a grandson.
After His Majesty returned to the capital and learned of everything that had happened in Kyoto, regardless of whether he could understand Fan Xian's helplessness in storming the palace at night and pointing his sword at the Empress Dowager, Fan Xian wouldn't leave himself too many fatal loopholes. He slowly massaged the Empress Dowager's arms with his hands, sending true energy into her body to gradually accelerate the slow release of the medicinal properties of the pill in her body, allowing her vitality to gradually dissipate.
He did all of this very carefully. The Empress Dowager returned to a state of being unable to speak or move. At this time, even her eyes became dim and confused, like the senility of an old person before death.
From a clean, decisive, and safe perspective, Fan Xian should have made the Empress Dowager die very naturally before the Emperor returned to the capital. However, he didn't dare to take this risk, to gamble on the Emperor's heart. If the Empress Dowager could live until the Emperor returned to the capital, her death wouldn't be Fan Xian's responsibility. But if the Empress Dowager died during Fan Xian's brief regency, he would probably have to face the Emperor's unreasonable wrath.
He deliberately raised his voice to comfort her a few times, showing his filial piety and slight apology. After waiting for a while, Fan Xian walked out of the Han Guang Palace and nodded slightly to the palace maids and old nurses in the front hall. Under the respectful gazes of the crowd, he walked to the stone steps in front of the hall, glanced at the Eastern Palace in the distance, didn't see any fire, and didn't do anything else.
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At the brightly lit palace gate, Fan Xian saw Prince Jing rushing over. This prince finally wasn't dressed as a gardener today, but was properly wearing the attire of a prince. Prince Jing's residence and Fan Xian's residence had always been on good terms. During the Kyoto riots, it was entirely thanks to Prince Jing's status that Fan Xian's father was successfully hidden in his residence. Fan Xian felt grateful to this prince and quickly went up to greet him with a deep bow.
He knew why this prince, who had always refused to enter the palace, had come in such a hurry tonight. The news from the palace had already been released. All the officials and commoners in Kyoto knew that the Empress Dowager, because of the Crown Prince and Princess Chang's rebellion, had suffered a sudden attack of anger, coupled with the siege of the imperial city and some fright, was lying on her bed, and probably wouldn't live for many more days.
Although Prince Jing often dressed as a gardener and didn't want to be close to his mother, he was, after all, the Empress Dowager's biological son. Upon hearing this news, of course, he would rush to the palace. He looked at this handsome junior in front of him and couldn't help but sigh. He looked at Fan Xian twice but didn't say anything.
Fan Xian's expression was calm. He had clearly told Prince Jing that the Empress Dowager didn't have two days left. Although everyone knew that the Empress Dowager's sudden attack of anger didn't have much to do with the Crown Prince, he wasn't worried that Prince Jing would see through the tricks he had played on the Empress Dowager. Some side information confirmed that Prince Jing also knew martial arts. But if he couldn't even deceive Prince Jing tonight, what about the Emperor, who was about to return to the capital?
"Imperial Brother... is he still alive?" Prince Jing asked after sighing.
Fan Xian nodded: "I saw His Majesty's handwritten letter to Princess Chang at the Taiping Residence."
Prince Jing's facial expression was very complicated. This second-generation member of the imperial family had never participated in any political affairs, but he also knew how widespread this Kyoto rebellion was. The news that His Majesty was still alive made him clearly guess part of the truth. He said sarcastically: "Imperial Brother has a great mind and amazing methods."
Prince Jing immediately thought of someone and frowned slightly, asking: "How is she?"
Fan Xian knew who he was asking about. His expression was solemn as he replied: "She has passed away and is now at the residence. I don't know how to deal with it, please, Your Highness..."
Prince Jing's expression was slightly sad as he interrupted him, saying weakly: "You are the Regent now, it's all up to you."
Concerned about his mother's illness, he didn't say much to Fan Xian, only told him about Fan Shangshu's situation, and then hurried towards the Han Guang Palace under the guidance of several eunuchs. Fan Xian was slightly relieved to learn from the prince that his father had returned home safely. Then, thinking about the pile of troublesome matters in the residence that needed to be dealt with, he couldn't help but frown.
Too many officials had died, His Majesty hadn't returned yet, the entire Kyoto was in chaos, no officials had returned to their posts in various departments, and it was even more difficult to find anyone in the Taichang Temple. The follow-up issues of Princess Chang could only be resolved later.
After resolving the Crown Prince's problem, Ye Zhong personally led troops out of the capital to meet the follow-up troops arriving from Dingzhou on the wilderness, and began to pursue those defeated remnants of the rebel army. The eldest prince personally led the Imperial Guards to guard the imperial city and couldn't leave easily. The two Grand Secretaries, Shu and Hu, were processing some urgent official documents in the Imperial Study. Fan Xian looked around and realized that although he was a temporary Regent, he had become a lonely man, with no one at his disposal and unable to do anything.
Fortunately, Sun Jingxiu of the Kyoto Prefecture resolutely carried out his duties after surrendering, and with the assistance of the Supervisory Council, he was working hard to maintain the治安 (zhì'ān, public security) and order of Kyoto.
During the day, the fleeing commoners had already left the city through the Zhengyang Gate controlled by Gong Dian. The remaining commoners in Kyoto began to wait bitterly for the pacification, depending on fate. The fires that had been set everywhere during the day gradually died out, but there were still a few places where flames flickered.
Fan Xian stood on the square in front of the palace gate, looking at the broken stone marks on the bluestone slabs and the blood stains that hadn't been washed away, and was slightly dazed. The Hei Qi (Black Riders) of Jing Ge and the Supervisory Council secret agents who ambushed at the Zhengyang Gate suffered heavy casualties. Those who survived by chance had been sent to the Supervisory Council's Fang Zheng building for medical treatment.
He believed in the medical skills of his brothers and sisters from three masters. The Imperial Hospital was also bandaging the wounded of the Imperial Guards and the Dingzhou army in temporary requisitioned civilian residences. However, many people still died.
In the distance, in the northeast corner, soldiers were silently carrying corpses, piling them into small mountains in the darkness, which looked extremely eerie. There was no time to transport these corpses out of the city for burial tonight.
Fan Xian looked at this scene, took out a pill from his bosom and put it in his mouth. He didn't drink water, but chewed it twice and swallowed it. It wasn't Mahuang Pill, but a normal healing medicine. He coughed twice and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips with his sleeve, unable to help but shake his head.
This was the first time he had experienced a real war. Watching the magnificent and tragic scenes unfold before his eyes, he finally understood that digging graves and appreciating corpses when he was a child couldn't train his nerves to the point of being too detached.
Deep down, he said to himself again: In this world, there is no good war, no bad peace. He must continue to implement the agreement between Qing Li five years and Haitang, even if it meant facing a powerful enemy he had never encountered before.
"Qing Yu Hall should have been burned to ruins." Fan Xian thought. In order not to arouse suspicion afterward, the surrounding civilian residences would naturally be affected as well. And after the rebellion broke out, he wondered how many civilian residences in Kyoto would be burned and looted, which probably wouldn't attract too much attention.
At this moment, a rider galloped from the northwest, alarming the night that had just quieted down. The people up and down in the imperial city became vigilant. The exhausted Imperial Guards勉力 (miǎn lì, made an effort) raised the weapons in their hands until they noticed that the person was wearing the official uniform of the Supervisory Council.
Fan Xian's eyes narrowed as he looked at his subordinate who had rushed to him, saying nothing, but his eyes already carried a strong meaning of inquiry—the newcomer was a member of the Qi Nian team, personally selected by Wang Qi Nian, and his loyalty was beyond doubt. So he arranged for this person to secretly watch Teng Zijing's movements, in case the old shopkeepers of Qing Yu Hall encountered any danger when leaving the capital.
And at this time, this subordinate rushed over, obviously something had gone wrong.
The Supervisory Council official looked at Fan Xian's eyes and lowered his voice to report: "There's been an accident."
There were no bystanders around. Fan Xian said very directly: "Speak!"
The official glanced around and said carefully: "Setting the fire went smoothly, and mixing into the crowd of refugees to leave the city was no problem, but the brothers who stayed behind discovered that they had alarmed the local informants, but they don't know whose informants they are."
Whose? Fan Xian certainly knew. They must be the informants left by His Majesty. The things in the minds of these old shopkeepers were too valuable. There must be a special team in the palace responsible for monitoring them. Even if a rebellion broke out in Kyoto, these people would definitely be lurking.
"I don't have many people at my disposal." Fan Xian stared at him and said coldly: "I gave you twenty... and you still can't solve these problems!"
The official lowered his head, not daring to make the slightest excuse, and said: "The other side is tough, and they let three of them run away."
Fan Xian didn't blame the official anymore because he didn't dare to let too many people know about this matter, so it was carried out very secretly. To be precise, he was taking a big risk. The plan itself had many loopholes, so it was of course very difficult to implement.
The official looked up at him and said with a very complicated emotion: "Three ran away. We later caught up and found more than a dozen corpses... and one person left a message for you, my lord."
This sentence was a bit difficult to understand. Logically, it didn't make sense at all. Three informants from the palace ran away, but more than a dozen corpses were found. Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "What words?"
"That person said... someone at home is waiting."
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Someone at home was waiting for him. Fan Xian of course rushed home as soon as possible. Stepping into the gate of the residence for the second time today, he went straight to his father's study in the backyard. The Fan residence, which hadn't been looted, was still as beautiful as ever. The lights in the study shone through the glass, illuminating the rockery and clear water.
As Prince Jing had said, his father had returned home safely. Fan Xian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Without reporting, he directly pushed the door open and entered, seeing Liu Shi tidying up something.
He glanced around and knew that his father's 酸浆子 (suān jiāng zi, a fermented beverage made from mung beans) had been drunk. In such a situation, his father still had the leisure to drink 酸浆子 (suān jiāng zi), Fan Xian couldn't help but admire his composure.
"Is mother well?" He respectfully saluted Liu Shi. The current Liu Shi was the proper mistress of the Fan residence, of course, this was what he had strongly promoted when he got married.
Liu Shi smiled and said a sentence to comfort his daughter-in-law, then left the study.
The Minister of Revenue, Fan Jian, sitting in the armchair, raised his head and looked at his son. A trace of comfort and a hint of reproach flowed from his eyes. This old generation figure, who had been hiding all over Kyoto since the Kyoto incident, finally stopped hiding his thoughts at this moment.
"The informants outside Qing Yu Hall were killed by people sent by your father." Fan Jian gently tapped the desk, pensive, and said in a low voice: "I don't know why you have become so radical, and you dare to carry out such a flawed plan... Could it be that you really think His Majesty can't see it?"
Fan Xian smiled wryly. His mentality had indeed changed greatly, but courage often meant loopholes.
He sat down and said respectfully: "Thank you, father." He knew that his father secretly trained the Tiger Guards for the royal family. It was absolutely impossible to say that his father had no hidden strength. He wasn't surprised that the internal court informants were killed by people sent by his father. Moreover, since the earth-shattering news of His Majesty's survival had been told to Ye Zhong from his mouth, his father certainly knew about it as well.
"Killing people is simple, but the post-event explanations are complicated." Fan Shangshu said thoughtfully, slowly saying: "Even if Kyoto is in chaos, the chaotic army kills indiscriminately... but have you ever thought about it, are the several old shopkeepers of Qing Yu Hall coincidentally burned to death by the fire? You put more than a dozen corpses in the fire, it's just burying your head in the sand."
Fan Xian listened quietly to the teachings.
"And those internal court informants, even if you use the power of the Supervisory Council to kill them all, how can you guarantee that your subordinates don't have His Majesty's informants?"
"It was a separate action. Apart from the Qi Nian team, the others didn't know the inside story." Fan Xian explained.
"Okay, even if Chen Pingping turned the Supervisory Council into an iron plate, then I'll ask you, who will explain to His Majesty afterward that the internal court informants staring at Qing Yu Hall are all dead?"
Fan Xian was speechless. Only now did he understand that even if he killed people to silence them, the deaths of these internal court informants, who shouldn't have died in the hands of the chaotic army, would themselves arouse His Majesty's suspicion.
"And these old shopkeepers still have families in Kyoto." Fan Jian looked at his son and said in a low voice: "Do they really want to leave, dare to leave?"
"I only let Teng Zijing send four old shopkeepers away. Qing Yu Hall must have living people to be reasonable, understand?"
"Understood." Cold sweat broke out on Fan Xian's forehead.
"As for the people who fought with the internal court informants and had thoughts about Qing Yu Hall, it wasn't you, and it wasn't me, but Princess Chang." Fan Jian's eyes turned cold, and he said: "Those more than a dozen corpses are the death soldiers from Xinyang."
"If you want to convince His Majesty, you have to make His Majesty believe it. The person who took action had this need. Princess Chang knew the importance of the Internal Treasury, she would definitely want to compete for Qing Yu Hall, only she has this ability, and this idea."
Fan Xian was convinced.
At this time, Fan Shangshu suddenly sighed and said: "Anzhi... I don't know what you're thinking, why you're doing this, but you have to remember, you are ultimately a citizen of Qing Yu Nian, and your father is also a citizen of Qing Yu Nian, no matter what, don't do anything that harms the foundation of my great Qing Yu Nian."
Fan Xian was shocked and knew that his father had seen through his plans at a glance. He wanted to justify himself, but he really couldn't bear to lie and deceive his father, so he had no choice but to remain silent.
Fan Jian looked at his son, sighed again, shook his head and said: "I won't say anything more to you, this Internal Treasury... is ultimately your mother's property. Although as a subject of Qing Yu Nian, I don't want to see certain things happen, but you... do whatever you want."
Fan Xian's whole body shook. He didn't expect his father to make such a decision. His father certainly wouldn't deceive him or harm him, but he knew the importance of the Internal Treasury to Qing Yu Nian's unification of the world, so why would he help him?
"I'm already old, and I don't have much power anymore." Fan Shangshu didn't know if he knew something. A few traces of fatigue and old age were added to his usually solemn and handsome face, and he slowly said: "After His Majesty returns to the capital, I will resign. I will help you as much as I can in Kyoto, so I can't just watch you get into trouble."
His father was going to resign? Fan Xian's heart was shaken again. That spring, the emperor openly showed暗化 (àn huà, a subtle manipulation), condoned the court officials' attacks, and investigated the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue in order to force his father to resign and return to his old age. However, his father remained unmoved, responded with silence, and stubbornly dragged it on for two years. Why did he suddenly want to resign tonight?