Fan Xian lowered his head, leaned close to the Miss Wang, and stared at her intently until the wailing woman became quite uncomfortable. Then, he said earnestly, "Do you even know how to write the word 'shame'?"

Miss Wang was taken aback, gritting her teeth as she glared at Fan Xian. If the Prince said she was shameless, she would be saddened, disappointed, and angry, but what filled her heart most was grievance. That was why she had rushed to the Prince's residence today, seeking justice. However, being told she was shameless by the young Lord Fan was something she found difficult to accept.

Fan Xian straightened up and gestured with his eyes at the nervous servants of the Prince's residence, signaling them to move further away. Only then did he ask Miss Wang, "Do you think this kind of ruckus is reasonable?"

"I just don't understand! The Prince and I only met once at my uncle's residence, how could I become shameless!" Miss Wang bit her lip, her eyes red and swollen, like a rabbit ready to pounce and bite. She glared angrily at Fan Xian and said, "Yesterday, I didn't dare utter a word at the banquet, yet I received the Prince's assessment of being shameless. Today, I'm here to make a scene, to show the Prince what true shamelessness looks like!"

Fan Xian felt a slight surprise but didn't bother to delve deeper. He merely couldn't stand that a Prince was being forced to shut himself in his residence by the palace and a shrewish woman. That was why he revealed himself, intending to discipline the woman on behalf of Wang, the Grand Commandant. However, a sudden thought sparked in his mind, leading him to consider another potentially good solution.

Under Fan Xian's silent, steady gaze, Miss Wang's voice grew softer and softer, her anger gradually subsiding. She felt like she was seeing a ghost. Why did her momentum vanish as soon as she met this young nobleman? No matter how much she tried to encourage herself, she couldn't dare to shout at him.

In reality, it was a matter of influence and power. Fan Xian was now a high-ranking official, and within the Qing Kingdom, no one doubted that he was the most important person behind His Majesty. Furthermore, after the stunning shot that shattered the Heart-Breaking Arrow two years ago, he had made a breakthrough in his state of mind, firmly standing in the upper echelons of the Ninth Rank, vaguely becoming the leading figure below the Grand Masters.

With power and presence combined, even if he faced Wang, the Grand Commandant, or even the sharp and decisive Yan Xiaoyi of yesteryear, Fan Xian would not yield in the slightest. Now, without the box by his side, he was confident that he could face Yan Xiaoyi head-on, let alone a spoiled woman prone to tantrums.

Moreover, having been immersed in the affairs of the Overwatch Council for many years, no matter how bright and gentle his face might be, it always carried a hint of deep-seated coldness. This kind of coldness was the most terrifying feeling for women like Miss Wang.

Therefore, facing Fan Xian, Miss Wang felt inexplicably afraid. She no longer had the momentum of stepping on the stone lion and cursing the Prince's residence. Instead, she gradually lowered her head and looked pitifully at the tightly closed courtyard gate behind her, wondering if she had made a huge mistake by following him into the Prince's residence.

Fan Xian, however, acted as if he didn't see her expression at all. He began to speak sternly on his own, recounting what he had seen and heard at the West City Gate of Kyoto, the disgraceful behavior in front of the Prince's residence, and the whip marks on the old butler's face. The more he spoke, the colder his words became, and the more cutting his tone, as if he wanted to shame Miss Wang into the cracks of the stones.

The scene at this moment was quite peculiar. All the servants, including the Prince's butler, had retreated far away. The Prince and Princess, cunning and sly, were hiding in the backyard, refusing to come out to greet the guests. In the open space beside the artificial hill inside the gate, only Fan Xian and Miss Wang, two guests who had just met for the first time, remained.

Two guests were receiving a soul-deep re-education behind the gates of the Prince's residence. The situation looked rather absurd.

……

……

After severely scolding Miss Wang in front of him with the most incisive words, Fan Xian felt much more relieved. However, seeing her lowered head and her expression of anger and shame, yet stubbornly silent, he felt a strange feeling again. This young lady's shrewishness was indeed a very detestable trait, but looking at her now, did she actually realize that her shrewishness was wrong?

Fan Xian was a little surprised, then frowned and said, "Do you know you were wrong?"

Miss Wang stubbornly refused to answer because Fan Xian's words were too piercing, especially his indifferent and sarcastic tone, which made him seem like one of her elders. After a moment, she said loudly, "You are Sister Ye's teacher, not mine!"

"Speaking of Ye Ling'er, I have to remind you," Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, "Although she also rides horses wildly in Kyoto, she has never hurt anyone. Nor would she use a whip to lash an old man. She was indeed a very willful little girl, but her willfulness was directed at specific targets, not at the poor common people... The people of Kyoto like her and indulge her, not because of Marshal Ye's background, but because she is kind-hearted."

He sneered at Miss Wang and said, "If you want to learn from Ye Ling'er, you have to wash away all the annoying aura you have!"

"Sister Ye... is willful to whom?" Miss Wang opened her big eyes, not noticing Fan Xian's last sentence.

Fan Xian was stunned and extremely annoyed, wondering who else she could be willful to besides himself? He immediately darkened his face, deliberately remained silent for a moment, and then said in a sinister voice, "Marrying the Prince is not an easy thing... If you can't get rid of these faults, there's no way."

Miss Wang was startled by his expression, instinctively preparing to flee out of the Prince's residence. But hearing the word "marrying," her heart burned like fire. However, she knew that her temper was really too bad. If she could change it, the governesses sent by the palace these days wouldn't have such a headache. Ironically, after Fan Xian's tirade of sarcasm, this woman actually gained some self-awareness.

"I am willing to change." Her face was covered in tears.

"It is easier to move mountains than to change one's nature," Fan Xian stared at her, smiling, and said, "Become my student, and I will shave off all your thorns."

Miss Wang felt a chill in her heart, fearing and feeling a little angry. She thought that although you are His Majesty's illegitimate son, with unparalleled power, you are only a young man in your twenties, how could you be so presumptuous as to be her teacher.

But she immediately thought that the person in front of her had been the teacher of the Third Prince and Ye Ling'er's master. Although young, he had already taken two students, one was her idol, and the other should be the future Emperor of Qing. Now, he was actually willing to take her as a disciple?

Fan Xian didn't give her any time to think. He put his hands behind his back and coldly walked towards the depths of the Prince's residence. Miss Wang gritted her teeth, lifted her skirt, and ran after him, running behind Fan Xian, being extremely careful. Finally, she understood that Lord Fan was willing to take her as a student, perhaps really wanting to create an opportunity for her to enter the Prince's residence.

The news that His Majesty was preparing to let Lord Fan persuade the Prince to take a concubine after returning to Kyoto had already spread. Miss Wang knew that whether she could enter this Prince's residence depended mostly on Fan Xian. Now that she heard that he was willing to take her as a disciple, how could she not be happy?

Fan Xian heard her footsteps but didn't turn his head. He said directly, "To be my student, you have to be prepared to be beaten by me."

Miss Wang was furious, thinking that she had lived so long, how could anyone dare to beat her? But then she thought of her happiness and couldn't help but close her mouth sadly.

"Apologize to your family's steward, go find those people who were injured by your horse when you entered the city, pay for medical expenses, and apologize."

"Yes... Teacher."

"Don't let me know that after you apologize, you harbor thoughts of revenge, and don't do anything like that again in the future."

"Yes, Tea...cher."

"Tomorrow, let General Shi send you to the Fan residence to receive ten lashes. This first matter will be considered settled."

Miss Wang was dumbfounded on the spot. She thought that she had suppressed her anger and agreed to apologize to the steward, and to appease those lowly commoners, which was already giving Lord Fan enough face. How could she know that this person actually... really wanted to whip her!

……

……

"You are shameless!" In the quiet study of the Prince He's residence, the Eldest Prince pointed his finger at Fan Xian, his voice trembling with anger.

Across from him, Fan Xian was not to be outdone, his face full of anger. He slapped away the Eldest Prince's finger and cursed, "You're the shameless one!"

The Eldest Prince said Fan Xian was shameless, naturally referring to the fact that he had actually brought that Miss Wang into the residence and driven her to the Princess's residence. Moreover, the Eldest Prince naturally knew clearly about Fan Xian's conversation with Miss Wang along the way - Fan Xian had actually taken her as a student, drawing closer to the Wang family, which made him very angry and puzzled!

These days, the palace had been secretly urging him to take a concubine, and even the person had already been chosen for him. Although the Eldest Prince had forcibly resisted several times, in the end, no one dared to directly challenge the Emperor's authority, and his mood was in an extremely agitated state.

Especially yesterday, the newly appointed Kyoto Garrison Commander Shi Fei specially hosted a banquet for the Eldest Prince, and he had to give this face no matter what. But he never expected that before the third round of drinks, this Shi Fei actually, like a matchmaker, brought out a shy Miss Wang.

The Eldest Prince immediately knew what was going on and left in anger, not giving the Yan Jing faction any face.

And what made the Eldest Prince the most angry was Fan Xian's attitude that he had shown before. He had been annoyed all these days, but he always thought that when Fan Xian came back, this amazingly capable brother would definitely be able to come up with a win-win solution, both rejecting this marriage and making the Emperor happy.

At the beginning, the scene at the entrance of the Prince's residence made the Eldest Prince very happy, thinking that this kind of shrewish person like Miss Wang really needed a sinister guy like Fan Xian to deal with, but he never expected that Fan Xian's attitude would undergo a drastic change later, bringing Miss Wang into the Prince's residence and taking her as a student!

"Where am I shameless!" The Eldest Prince roared at Fan Xian. He cursed Fan Xian as shameless because the other party didn't care about brotherly feelings and dragged him into the abyss. He didn't expect that the other party would dare to curse him as shameless.

"You're not shameless?" Fan Xian's face was full of anger, "What's it to me what happens in your own residence? You dare to offend His Majesty and the generals of the Yan Jing faction, so do you also want me to offend them? A yellow-haired girl, with the means of you two, when couldn't you easily get rid of her? You even sent me a fast horse to deal with it... You two forcibly dragged me into the water, isn't that shameless!"

The Eldest Prince was speechless, unable to say anything. After discussing with the Princess for more than ten days, they felt that under the current circumstances, it seemed that only Fan Xian could solve this problem, and they really had the idea of dragging him into the water. He coughed twice and said apologetically, "Anyway, Father is also preparing to let you come to the residence as a lobbyist, so I'll pull you to my side first, so it'll be easier to argue in the future."

"Bah! I'm not a matchmaker," Fan Xian scolded unhappily.

The Eldest Prince said seriously, "But you are the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

Fan Xian was stunned and shook his head helplessly. The Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was in charge of matters concerning the imperial clan and relatives, and the marriage of each prince, prince, and duke was really under his control.

The two fell silent at the same time. After the Kyoto rebellion two years ago, these two brothers were no longer like they were in the past, just relying on the relationship between Chen Pingping and Ning Cairen to stand side by side, but they truly had the friendship of killing enemies together, the feeling of living and dying together. In the past two years, their relationship had been so good that it couldn't be any better.

"What do you mean by taking her as a student?" The Eldest Prince stared into Fan Xian's eyes and said, "You know I don't want to take any concubines."

"Let's not talk about this first, let's talk about that Miss Wang," Fan Xian lowered his head and thought for a while and said, "This girl's family name is Wang, and her name is Tong'er. She is the precious daughter of Grand Commandant Wang. At yesterday's banquet, she wasn't as out of control as she is today. Why did you scold her for being shameless?"

The Eldest Prince was stunned and said, "Although it is rumored that this woman has a bad temper, I have only met her once. As a prince, how could I recklessly criticize the daughter of a great general."

Fan Xian smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "I knew you weren't that kind of person. These words are idle gossip that the governesses in the palace passed to Miss Wang through the Wang family's maids, so she came to make this scene today. Obviously, the palace wants her to make a scene, to make it known throughout the city, to make the Princess secretly sulk."

He raised his head and looked at the Eldest Prince and said, "She is, after all, Wang's daughter, and her status is noble enough. And you also know that since the Great East Mountain, my Southern Qing dynasty has had a great change in its attitude towards Northern Qi. Everyone's attitude towards the Princess is not as good as before."

The Eldest Prince silently nodded. The Princess hadn't been willing to leave the residence much in the past two years, and it was also because she didn't want to bear the hostile gazes of the ordinary people of Qing. Northern Qi participated in the assassination of His Majesty, and this kind of hatred could not be shaken off by anyone.

"So if this matter really becomes a scandal, and His Majesty directly orders the marriage, I'm afraid that all the officials and military officers will support it, and the Princess must abdicate."

"All the officials and military officers?" The Eldest Prince frowned and retorted, "This Miss Wang's reputation isn't very good."

Fan Xian sneered and said, "Who are you? You are the eldest son of the imperial family, the only prince who can lead an army to the Northern Expedition, you are the pride of my Great Qing. Not to mention Miss Wang, as long as you can change your Princess from a Northern Qi person to a Qing person, even if it's a sow, these ministers, literati, and common people will carry her into the residence for you."

The Eldest Prince felt a chill in his heart, and he seemed to see a large white sow tied to a pole, covered in red cloth and ribbons, and being carried into the Prince's residence in the sound of trumpets and suonas.

"I already figured it out on the road. Neither you nor I can stop this matter, because we are only two people. How can we fight against the entire court?" Fan Xian smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "You want to reject the marriage and make the Emperor happy at the same time. This is impossible."

The Eldest Prince sat down somewhat dejectedly, completely lacking the brave and heroic spirit he had when he sent troops to the Western Hu. He muttered to himself, "Do I really have to take a concubine?"

"If you don't want things to blow up and His Majesty to be furious, using nonsense reasons such as jealousy and childlessness to directly depose your Princess, then taking a concubine is a must, at least to buy some time." Fan Xian looked at him with pity, thinking that the prince who led the army was indeed having a much harder time than himself. He comforted him and said, "Look at these court officials, who doesn't have three wives and four concubines? Even that old guy Shu Wu has several concubines in their twenties in his residence. The Princess is an understanding person, and she won't care too much about taking a concubine."

"Three wives and four concubines, why don't I see you take a few more into your house?" The Eldest Prince said angrily, then fell silent, knowing that the matter of taking a concubine could not be delayed, and also knowing that Fan Xian deliberately did not make it clear that the so-called taking a concubine was actually preparing for the deposition of the Princess in the future.

Although the Eldest Prince and the Princess had a political marriage during the honeymoon period between the two countries, the two were harmonious and had an excellent relationship. If he really had to depose the Princess, he could not accept it no matter what.

"Although I only met Wang Tong'er for the first time today, I said a few words." Seeing the change in the Eldest Prince's expression, Fan Xian said softly, "If you have to take a concubine, she is the best choice, otherwise my attitude wouldn't have changed so much."

"Just this..." The Eldest Prince suddenly stood up, after all, he was still a generous person, and he restrained himself from scolding the woman.

Fan Xian smiled bitterly and said, "I know this young lady's temperament is really a bit of a mess. If it wasn't for your family's peace and quiet in the future, why would I take her as a student? Do you think I'm just eating and doing nothing? Don't forget, my name has the word 'Xian' (idle) in it, but I'm extremely busy."