Niao Ni
Chapter 608: Miss Wang
In the distance, the beast statues guarding the Fan family mansion came into view. However, the carriage didn't stop; instead, it turned north. The closer they got to the imperial city, the quieter it became. After passing the residences of dukes and the long-closed Jing Wang (Prince Jing) Manor, they arrived at the street where the He Qin Wang (Prince He Qin) Manor was located.
Even before the carriage reached the manor's main gate, Fan Xian could faintly hear the clamor coming from there. It seemed a lively scene was unfolding. He rubbed his itchy nose, thinking that he had guessed correctly again. The Wang family's eldest daughter, with her face full of anger, had indeed come to the He Qin Wang Manor.
Regarding His Majesty the Emperor's intentions, Fan Xian had already surmised several things after seeing this Wang family's eldest daughter, who was trying to imitate Xi Shi, at the city gate. Since His Highness the First Prince was being forced to take a concubine, as preparation for the future removal of the Princess Consort, then this concubine had to come from a noble background to eventually ascend to the position of Princess Consort. Moreover, this eldest daughter was the beloved daughter of Wang Zhikun. In the future, when the First Prince led troops north, having his father-in-law leading the Yanjing garrison beside him would be a great advantage on the battlefield, ensuring that the main and deputy generals had no problems, which would greatly benefit the overall situation.
As for whether the Emperor would worry about the First Prince and Wang Zhikun controlling too many troops if the Wang family's daughter really became the He Qin Wang Princess Consort, that would be a problem for the future. With the lesson of the Second Prince before him, Fan Xian didn't think the Emperor would allow his sons too many opportunities to overthink things.
A military heavyweight's daughter marrying a prince - that prince should be secretly vigilant, or who knows if he might be sold out completely when the time comes, like Li Chengze.
Fan Xian couldn't help but laugh mockingly.
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His Majesty the Emperor's arrangements were naturally far-sighted. If the First Prince was to lead troops to conquer Northern Qi, the Great Princess Consort's Northern Qi princess identity was indeed a difficult obstacle to overcome. However, Fan Xian felt a strong aversion to this arrangement. Leaving aside the relationship between the Northern Qi Great Princess and himself, just seeing that Wang family's daughter, who acted so badly, at the city gate made Fan Xian deeply doubt the Emperor's judgment.
If you're going to choose a daughter-in-law for yourself, you should at least pick a good one. With a woman like that, if she really entered the Wang Manor, she would only cause trouble for the entire household. But Fan Xian immediately rejected his own complaints about the Emperor. His Majesty has never cared much about women; marriage alliances are just transactions. As for the woman's character, whether she will bring benefits to his son, he doesn't care at all.
As for the Wang Manor possibly becoming unsettled due to the Wang family's daughter entering the household, perhaps that was exactly the effect the Emperor wanted to see.
The First Prince was of noble status, and the He Qin Wang Manor occupied half a long street. The eastern part of the city was quiet, and no one dared to watch the First Prince's embarrassment in such a vital location. So, although there was a commotion at the main gate of the Wang Manor, besides the Supervisory Council's two carriages, there were no other onlookers.
"My lord, it seems inconvenient to go over there right now. Should we return to the mansion first?" Although Fan Xian was using the title of imperial envoy on this trip to Xiliang, he was actually carrying out a secret decree. He didn't need to enter the palace to report after returning to Kyoto. And Mu Feng'er watched as the He Qin Wang Manor's gate turned into a marketplace. He thought that the Prince must be losing face, and if Supervisor Fan visited the manor at this time, it might be inconvenient.
However, Mu Feng'er was not as good as Wang Qinian at guessing Fan Xian's intentions. Fan Xian had come to the He Qin Wang Manor specifically to watch this lively scene. He listened intently inside the carriage and had already understood where the commotion at the He Qin Wang Manor's gate was coming from. The Wang family's daughter's voice was so loud that it was hard not to understand.
It turned out that although the imperial decree for His Majesty to let the First Prince take a concubine had not yet been officially issued, some work had already been done secretly. Those who should know this news naturally already knew it. The First Prince and Wang Zhikun, as the parties involved, were even more aware. Yesterday, the newly appointed Kyoto Garrison Commander Shi Fei personally hosted a banquet for the First Prince, where they orchestrated an "accidental encounter" between the First Prince and the Wang family's daughter…
Unexpectedly, this First Prince was truly a decisive person. As soon as he saw the Wang family's daughter, he fled as if he had seen a ghost, not giving her any chance to speak. This Wang family's daughter had lived in Yanjing and, as the daughter of the Grand Commandant, had never suffered such humiliation and grievance. Especially thinking that after entering the manor, she would pitifully be just a concubine, she felt a surge of anger in her heart.
Knowing full well that it was the palace's decree that she marry the First Prince, why take it out on her? The Wang family's daughter couldn't understand it no matter how she thought about it. Of course, as an admirer of the former Kyoto's pride, Ye Ling'er, she also had some admiration for this Prince who had led troops to fight in the Western Frontier for several years. Today, during the day, whether it was due to the instigation of her maids or her own thoughts spiraling into a dead end, she completely disregarded etiquette, rode into Kyoto alone, and ran to the Wang Manor.
Of course, Shi Fei didn't dare to be careless after learning about this and quickly sent people to chase after her. However, after chasing her to the He Qin Wang Manor, no one could do anything about this young lady, and no one could pull her back.
The reason this Wang family's daughter used was also ridiculous. She actually said she had come to the He Qin Wang Manor to pay her respects to the Princess Consort. Of course, Fan Xian had to admit that although this reason was somewhat absurd and ridiculous, exchanges between noble women in Kyoto were considered normal.
Even Fan Xian didn't expect that the Princess Consort would be as decisive as her husband, keeping the gate tightly closed and refusing to receive guests, without even making the excuse that the master of the house was away. She directly said that the Wang Manor was busy today and could not receive guests.
The Wang family's daughter felt even more aggrieved, thinking that she had willingly lowered her status to come to pay her respects to this foreign woman, yet she still maintained her high status and gave her the cold shoulder. So, she started making a scene outside the Wang Manor. This woman only had Ye Ling'er's straightforwardness but didn't have Ye Ling'er's sense of propriety, making a big fuss and causing a headache.
Those family generals and guards of her family looked at this scene in horror, looking at the tightly closed gate of the He Qin Wang Manor. They were really annoyed and helpless, thinking, what kind of place is this? This is the He Qin Wang Manor! Even if the young lady could act wildly in Yanjing, how could she act so recklessly in Kyoto? If she really angered the Prince in the manor, who knows what he would do.
Fan Xian looked at this scene in the distance with some disgust, but he was thinking that if the palace and Shi Fei really wanted to stop her, how could they not stop a spoiled woman's impolite behavior? Perhaps today's scene was deliberately created by some interested people to make the First Prince feel uncomfortable and make it known throughout the city. Then, His Majesty would speak up to sort out the matter and make the First Prince suffer a loss in silence.
For example, at that time, His Majesty the Emperor would say calmly, "The Wang family's daughter is deeply in love with you and has already chased after you. How can you not take responsibility?" Or, for example, "The people of Kyoto all know about this. As the eldest son of the royal family, how can you not consider the face of the imperial family? I'll give you half a month to settle this matter and bring that woman into the house, and I won't blame you," and so on.
They were all small tricks, shameful and absurd methods, but these methods were the ones Fan Xian was most familiar with. He frowned, thinking that the First Prince treated him very kindly. This difficult matter, at least today's absurd matter, still had to be handled by him. He instructed Mu Feng'er, "Go knock on the door."
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The two black carriages drove towards the gate of the Wang Manor, the wheels creaking, as if providing an unharmonious accompaniment to the unrestrained and incessant shrewish voice of the noble lady in front of the Wang Manor gate.
About thirty people surrounded the Wang Manor's gate, all of whom were family generals brought back from Yanjing by the Wang family, as well as the housekeeper and servants assigned to the Wang family's daughter by the Kyoto Garrison. An old housekeeper was begging his young mistress, with a mournful face, to leave some face for the master and stop making a scene at the Wang Manor's gate. Otherwise, when they became the laughingstock of the entire Kyoto, how would the Wang family stay in Kyoto?
When the two carriages approached the Wang Manor's main gate, the housekeeper quickly shut his mouth, anyway, his young mistress wouldn't listen to him. And those family generals and servants were vigilantly staring at the two black carriages, thinking that the young mistress was throwing a tantrum, and if people saw it and spread it, it would be very unsightly.
Only that Wang family's daughter, with one foot on the stone lion, was still using the power of Stephen Chow's facing the sea, scolding endlessly.
Fan Xian's voice came from the carriage, "Whose daughter is this? Making a scene in the street, does she have any manners at all?"
This sentence was said in an old-fashioned tone, full of eight o'clock档 spirit, and it was a sentence that Fan Xian had been thinking about in the carriage for a long time. As soon as this sentence came out, the faces of those surrounding the Wang Manor's gate changed dramatically. This sentence seemed ordinary, but it was actually unusually vicious. It brought the Wang family's daughter's behavior at this time to the level of family education. It seemed to be criticizing this woman, but in reality, it was aimed at the people behind her.
A family general stared at the two carriages, suppressing his anger, and said, "I wonder which lord has arrived."
Except for that young lady, neither the Wang family nor the Shi family had any fools. Since the person who came dared to speak so grandly in front of the He Qin Wang Manor, he naturally had his background. And this family general had already discovered the mark deliberately exposed on the carriage, knowing that the other party was an official of the Supervisory Council.
In the entire Qing Kingdom's court, very few officials dared to disrespect the military's Yanjing faction, but the Supervisory Council's officials had the confidence to do so because they had an extremely protective old ancestor above them. Although that old ancestor sitting in a wheelchair had gradually retired, there was an even more protective young ancestor who had emerged, and this young ancestor was even more ruthless and had a deeper background. He had only been in Kyoto for five years, and he had already killed several ministers, and even the likes of the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess had fallen at his hands.
With such a young ancestor protecting them, it was understandable that the Supervisory Council's officials dared to be so arrogant. Before returning to Kyoto, this family general had received a secret order from the Grand Commandant to be tolerant in Kyoto, especially not to offend the Supervisory Council. So, at this time, listening to the person in the carriage indirectly mocking the Wang family's family education, this family general was still able to forcibly suppress his anger and calmly ask.
The person in the carriage didn't immediately answer his question. An aide lifted the curtain of the carriage, and Fan Xian stepped down from the carriage. Among the crowd, he walked to the tightly closed gate of the He Qin Wang Manor and turned his head to look at the woman standing on the stone lion.
Although this Wang family's daughter acted rashly and spoke shrewishly, she really had some wonderful qualities. Although there were outsiders now, she seemed not to have seen them, and she was still shouting at the Wang Manor with incomparable grievance and anger, until… she was looked at by this young Supervisory Council official for a long time…
She glared at Fan Xian fiercely and cursed, "What are you looking at? Shut your dog eyes!"
As soon as these words came out, the entire place was silent. The Supervisory Council's subordinates behind Fan Xian stared coldly at the Wang family's daughter standing on the stone lion. Mu Feng'er's facial expression twisted for a moment, as if he might rush up and beat this woman violently at any time.
The family general and the housekeeper realized that something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to separate Fan Xian from their young mistress. The housekeeper apologized repeatedly with his head lowered, and the family general's expression was also extremely embarrassed.
Looking at this scene, Fan Xian became even more certain of his guess. The Wang family's daughter had come to make trouble this time, and she must have been instigated by someone. Perhaps the Wang family's housekeeper and family general didn't even know the reason. With such stable subordinates, Wang Zhikun would feel relieved to let his spoiled daughter return to Kyoto. How could he let this young lady rush to the He Qin Wang Manor?
Fan Xian looked at the housekeeper and asked, "Which family are you from?"
The housekeeper saw that he had an extraordinary bearing. Although he didn't know what rank official he was, Supervisory Council officials often had titles in addition to their official positions, so he didn't dare to be negligent. He said, "This old servant is the Wang family's housekeeper, and I just returned from Yanjing not long ago. The young lady has been in Yanjing for a long time and doesn't know the customs of Kyoto. If there is any offense, please forgive me, my lord."
The Wang family's daughter, hearing the two of them talking, took her foot off the stone lion and cursed, "What is this thing? Is there a need to talk to him softly?"
The old housekeeper felt bitter in his mouth. The master had always instructed him to keep his tail between his legs in Kyoto, but the young lady didn't know what had possessed her today and actually got rid of her family's obstruction and rushed to the Wang Manor, and even cursed the other party, this young official, as a thing… Kyoto wasn't Yanjing; the water was too deep. Any random person on the street might have some terrible background…
"Yanjing?" Fan Xian said in surprise, "The Wang Grand Commandant's family?"
The Wang family's daughter stared at Fan Xian and said, "You know my family? Who are you?"
Fan Xian didn't even look at her, but said gently to the housekeeper and family general, "Quickly persuade your young mistress to go back. The palace hasn't issued a decree yet, and she's already making trouble like this. How will she face people if this gets out?"
The housekeeper and the family general repeatedly said yes, but they looked at each other and didn't dare to go up to support their young mistress because they had already tried it several times before and there was no way. Fan Xian was slightly stunned, and then he noticed that there were several whip marks on the old housekeeper's face. Although the force was not deep, blood was gradually seeping out.
He turned his head and saw that the wayward Wang family's daughter was holding a horsewhip in her left hand, and his expression immediately turned gloomy. He should cherish such a loyal housekeeper, but she actually used a whip to beat him. His impression of this woman became even worse.
Just at this moment, the Wang family's daughter saw that Fan Xian ignored her question and put on an aloof appearance, and she became even more angry. She had already lost face after being locked out of the He Qin Wang Manor for half a day, and now a young official of unknown name dared to give her attitude. She couldn't bear it any longer. The anger in her heart flared up, tears welled up in her eyes, and with a wave of her left hand, she whipped down!
The horsewhip whistled down, about to touch Fan Xian's nose, but Fan Xian just looked at this woman, thinking mockingly in his heart that the women he had met in this life were always wonderful in their own ways. When he was in Danzhou, he couldn't even find a local bully, but he didn't expect to finally see a fresh fish eye today.
With a few hissing sounds, several cold winds flashed by, and the horsewhip held by the Wang family's daughter broke into four pieces in front of Fan Xian and fell to the ground.
How could the Supervisory Council's Sixth Bureau swordsmen allow a wayward woman to hurt their supervisor? A cold light flashed, and six or seven iron spikes surrounded the Wang family's daughter.
The housekeeper and the family general hadn't expected that this young Supervisory Council official would have so many experts around him. They were shocked and worried about the young mistress's safety, so they all protected the Wang family's daughter. If it were in the past, they should have guessed Fan Xian's true identity, but everyone in Kyoto knew that the Supervisory Council's young ancestor was still on his way back from inspecting Xiliang on behalf of His Majesty, so they didn't think of this for a while.
The two sides were at daggers drawn, and a fight could break out at any time outside the Wang Manor. Although the Supervisory Council's swordsmen were terrifying, the family generals that Wang Zhikun had sent from Yanjing to protect his daughter were not idle either. The best thing was that the gate of the He Qin Wang Manor was still tightly closed.
However, Fan Xian didn't get angry. Instead, he looked at the Wang family's daughter with a smile and said, "You continue to scold. I won't stop you, but I'll have to ask Wang Zhikun in the future how he taught such a freak. I'll also have to ask Shi Fei another day if he, as an uncle, doesn't have time to teach you. Do you want me to teach you?"
There was an uproar in the crowd. In the Qing Kingdom's court, there were definitely no more than three young people who dared to call Wang Grand Commandant and Commander Shi by their first names. Besides the two princes, there was only that young man. The housekeeper and the family general looked at each other and saw the shock and regret in each other's hearts, and their lips began to tremble.
But that Wang family's daughter was a dull person. Hearing the other party calling her father and elders by their first names, she said angrily, "What are you? How dare you say anything about my father? How dare you say you'll teach me!"
Fan Xian glanced at her and said with a sneer, "I can tame even a wild horse like Ye Ling'er, let alone a lame donkey like you."
After saying these words, he ignored the frightened Wang and Shi families and walked straight up the steps. He slammed on the gate of the He Qin Wang Manor and said angrily, "Have you seen enough? Open the door for me!"
Even if the Wang family's daughter was stupid, she finally knew the other party's identity at this time. Her heart was in a mess for a while, and tears flowed from her eyes, but these tears flowed somewhat inexplicably.
The gate of the Wang Manor was finally opened a small crack, but no one showed up. It seemed that the Wang Manor only prepared to let Fan Xian in, but they were still wary of the Wang family's daughter, this monster-level figure.
Fan Xian suddenly turned his head, looked at the Wang family's daughter, and asked, "Do you like the First Prince?"
Even if the Qing Kingdom's customs were open, asking about such private matters between men and women in front of so many officials, subordinates, and servants was too much. The housekeeper and the family general gritted their teeth and didn't care about Fan Xian's identity. They were about to scold him, but after the Wang family's daughter was stunned, she gritted her teeth and said loudly, "I just like him, what about it?"
"It's nothing. I just want to tell you that this matter is a no-go if I say it's a no-go, and it's still a no-go if it's a go…" He paused, and then said with a slight mockery, "You've been scolding for so long. Do you want to come in and have a cup of tea?"
The Wang family's daughter was stunned in place. Subconsciously, she was preparing to escape back to Uncle Shi's house. She felt that this young nobleman in front of her was too strange and made her feel inexplicably afraid. But after a long time, she hardened her heart, threw away the broken end of the horsewhip, stopped the housekeeper's obstruction, and followed Fan Xian into the Wang Manor she had dreamed of for so long - but this time, the way of entering seemed a bit special.
The gate of the Wang Manor was tightly closed behind the two of them. Whether it was the subordinates of the Supervisory Council or the worried family generals and housekeepers of the Wang and Shi families, they were all blocked outside the Wang Manor, not knowing what Fan Xian was thinking when he brought the Wang family's daughter into the Wang Manor at this time.
Actually, Fan Xian also felt a little surprised that the Wang family's daughter dared to look directly into his eyes and follow him into the Wang Manor bravely or, rather, rashly. In addition to the surprise, a trace of strangeness arose in his heart, thinking that although this woman was wayward by nature and did not show any consideration for her subordinates, and her posture of supporting her heart was really too ugly compared to Ye Ling'er, at least she still had one good thing that Ye Ling'er had.
That was the directness that was very different from the general Kyoto young ladies.
"The palace's decree hasn't come out yet, but you ran here to make trouble. Have you thought about your father and Commander Shi's feelings?" Fan Xian turned his head, pushed the Wang Manor's housekeeper aside, looked at the Wang family's daughter, and said coldly, "As a son of man, filial piety comes first. Did you know you were wrong to make such a fuss today?"
The Wang family's daughter stared blankly into Fan Xian's eyes. She knew the identity of the person in front of her, and she knew his powerful abilities. She also knew that her favorite Ye family's daughter was the other party's unofficial apprentice, but she still didn't expect that after entering the Wang Manor, the other party's first words would be like her father's, starting to lecture her. Her eyes turned red, and she burst into tears, sobbing and saying, "The Prince… the Prince, he scolded me for being shameless…"
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(The Wang family's daughter's name is Wang Tong, there's a show, there's a show… Please continue to support with monthly tickets, sticking to it is victory, attitude determines everything, I think my attitude of soliciting votes should be pretty good, right?)