The spring breeze isn't concerned with romance, nor is the summer breeze. Only the damp, clear, or stifling air is engaged in a ceaseless self-massage. However, people within the air will experience corresponding emotions due to this celestial kneading.

"So what if I make it clear? Does the Qing Emperor really believe your statement?" Haitang asked, smiling as she looked at Fan Xian, wearing a light green single-layered garment, with two unoriginal pockets sewn on it, her hands characteristically thrust inside.

Fan Xian tilted his head slightly, knowing what she meant. He had Yao, the eunuch, convey the scene in Jiangnan back to the capital, letting everyone in the court know that he had chosen the Third Prince. This kind of preemptive alignment, made before the Emperor's own choice, would have been a taboo for Fan Xian in the past.

But today was different. Fan Xian wielded too much power, so he needed to signal to the Emperor that he had no interest whatsoever in that chair.

But the problem, as Haitang pointed out, was: why should the Emperor believe him? Because of the Third Prince? The Third Prince was still a child. After the Emperor's reign, if Fan Xian supported the Third Prince, with his power and background, he could easily sideline him, become a regent, or rule from behind the curtain.

"His Majesty is healthy and in his prime," Fan Xian said softly, lowering his head. "The future is too far away. I can't always remain a lone minister. Besides, the Third Prince was placed beside me by him, so I'll just follow his intentions. As for… what consequences it might bring?"

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the slender lake before him, at the faint mist on the lake, and said softly, "I've been thinking about a question."

Haitang yawned and covered her mouth. "What question?"

"One of the reasons I stepped forward this time was to put some pressure on my two imperial brothers in the capital," Fan Xian said with a smile. The two imperial brothers he was referring to were naturally the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. "I really want to force them into a corner. Otherwise, if they keep dawdling like this, I won't know how tall my mother-in-law really is, if she's several stories high..."

He shook his head. "I just don't want to wait anymore."

Haitang's heart stirred slightly as she turned to look at him. "You're really planning to show your hand..."

Fan Xian smiled and said, "The question isn't finished yet. I want to force those two into a corner, but what about His Majesty? By letting the Third Prince follow me to Jiangnan, he must have anticipated that the situation would develop like this... Now that the Third Prince is involved, his attitude is so ambiguous. How can the Crown Prince feel good? The Second Prince is in a bind, unable to move forward or retreat, and he certainly won't let it go... Could it be that our Emperor also wants to force his sons to rebel?"

Having explained this concern, the chill in his heart eased somewhat, and he let out a sigh.

Haitang lowered her head and said, "Even if there's no affection in the imperial family, he's still a father. Why would he manipulate his own sons like this?"

Fan Xian nodded. "That's what I don't understand either."

"Congratulations," Haitang suddenly said.

Fan Xian was surprised. "Congratulations on what?"

"Since your thoughts are so similar to those of your Emperor, then you will naturally win the game next year." Haitang said softly.

Fan Xian thought for a moment and said softly, "It seems you have even more confidence in my Emperor than I do."

"Because you are from the South," Haitang said indifferently. "Because after you entered the capital, the Qing Emperor has been somewhat silent, so you haven't experienced his terror. Back when he was still the Crown Prince, he led the army on three northern expeditions, single-handedly turning the mighty Great Wei into fragments, silencing all the nations under heaven... Such methods, such terror, I'm considering from your perspective, naturally I have great confidence in him."

"Your monarch is a great ruler of his generation." Haitang directly praised the emperor of a foreign country. "In the past two years, the lion hasn't been dozing, but simply digesting the food in its belly. But if someone dares to touch his position, his eyes will open, and he will tear the enemy into countless pieces without mercy."

Fan Xian fell silent. "Actually... I understand. That's why I think I should do this, not him."

"In the end, you are still a sentimental person." Haitang looked at him with a faint smile. "Although you usually like to hide your compassion under the guise of selfishness, you are still a sentimental person. If the Qing Emperor ends up acting out of rage, there will surely be a river of blood. You don't want to see such a situation, so you want to do it yourself... to minimize the destruction."

Fan Xian lowered his head, tacitly agreeing with this assessment. No matter how much hatred he had with the Princess of Xin and the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, the Princess was, after all, Wan'er's biological mother, and the lovely Ye Ling'er had become the Second Prince's consort... Once the war for that chair broke out, it would inevitably bring disaster to the family. Fan Xian was a ruthless person in many ways, but he didn't want to see thousands of heads hanging on the walls of the capital, with the foul blood wetting the walls.

The Second Prince, who was so similar to him, smiling so shyly, would he still be able to smile like that after becoming a human head?

If the Emperor and he won, what would happen to the Ye family? What would happen to Ye Ling'er?

For Fan Xian, these were all problems, but for that Emperor, these were not problems. Therefore, Fan Xian strongly hoped to gain the initiative to solve this problem, but...

Haitang said softly, "You should also understand that you alone cannot solve this problem. Your enemies still have a lot of power beyond your ability to deal with. The Qing Emperor has his own arrangements for those people, and he doesn't need you to do it for him. Ultimately, you are now just the sharpest sword in his hand, while he is the hand that wields the sword."

Fan Xian knew she was talking about the Junshan Assembly and nodded in silence.

"And the Empress Dowager," Haitang said with a smile.

But Fan Xian noticed a trace of sadness in the smile in her eyes and couldn't help muttering, "Both Empress Dowagers are troublesome."

Haitang clearly didn't want to continue that unsolvable topic, and her gaze fell intentionally or unintentionally on the ancient sword at his waist.

"Wang Qinian sent it," Fan Xian explained, meeting her gaze. "I heard it was the sword of the last Emperor of Great Wei."

Haitang showed no surprise, seeming to have known the origin of this sword for a long time, and said in a clear, cold voice, "Be careful not to cause too much discussion."

Fan Xian smiled. "Thank you for the reminder. I thought not many people would recognize it."

Haitang lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking. After a long while, she said faintly, "It's only been about thirty years since the fall of Great Wei. Although Xiao En and Zhuang Mohan, the last spiritual symbols of Great Wei, have already passed away, it hasn't been long. In this world today, there are quite a few people who remember the events of that time."

Fan Xian didn't know why the girl's mood had changed. A sense of absurdity also surged in his heart. Today, the world could be called peaceful, and everywhere could be called prosperous. Who would have thought that just over twenty years ago, this world was still a huge battlefield, with constant wars and countless deaths. A great nation fell, and two great nations rose. Green mountains flowed with blood, and yellow waves piled up with corpses. In the piles of hundreds of thousands of white bones, the great figures who now controlled the trends of the world were born.

The two fell silent, staring blankly at the slender lake in front of them.

This slender lake wasn't the slender lake in the Embracing Moon Tower in the capital, but the lake behind the Embracing Moon Tower in Suzhou. Last month, Fan Sizhe sent a letter telling the people in Jiangnan to start digging the lake, requisitioning many laborers, and they actually doubled the area of the slender lake. Now, if one looked back from the Embracing Moon Tower, the scenery was even more beautiful than before.

However, the Embracing Moon Tower had been cut in half by that sword, and it was still being repaired, so Fan Xian and Haitang were just standing quietly by the lake, watching the mist on the lake rise and dissipate, dissipate and gather, just like the impermanence of life and the world.

"The brothel of your family is being repaired very slowly." Haitang seemed to mention a sentence unintentionally.

"I'm too embarrassed to use your Northern Qi's silver too extravagantly in front of you." Fan Xian smiled and then explained, "The repair of the building isn't urgent. I transferred some professionals from the capital to carefully examine the sword marks in the building."

The so-called professionals were naturally those guys from the Second and Third Bureaus. Now, the remaining Embracing Moon Tower was Ye Liuyun's primary crime scene. Fan Xian hoped to dig out some of the Grandmaster's real moves from those sword marks and auras, for future use.

Haitang said, "I've been there."

"Oh?" Fan Xian's eyes lit up, knowing that this girl's vision and understanding of martial arts were much higher than his. He thought she must have found something.

"Eight corridor pillars, cut off at the same time." Haitang recalled the subtle traces in the building and couldn't help sighing, "The rest of the cracks are just the invasion of sword intent... It's barely possible for you and me to cut the pillars, but that kind of control of momentum, I don't know when we can reach that level."

Fan Xian lowered his head and said, "In your opinion, how many swords could Ye Liuyun unleash with this kind of earth-shattering strike?"

"Three swords."

Haitang said very directly, "This is under normal circumstances. If that old man is desperate, no one knows what miracles will happen."

It was indeed a miracle that human power could actually unleash a method like the might of heaven and earth.

……

……

"Are you really not coming with me?" Fan Xian exhaled a breath of turbid air towards the lake.

"Suzhou always needs someone to stay." Haitang said with a smile, "Besides, you shamelessly let the Eighth Bureau promote the affair between you and me. If I really go to Hangzhou, how can I face people? Even if you are a shameless person, you should always be considerate of me."

Very direct resentment, though spoken with a smile, made Fan Xian unable to resist at all.

He smiled and said, "Then I'm leaving."

Haitang bowed slightly and said softly, "I won't see you off."

In the morning, the wind and mist on the lake in Suzhou scattered quickly in the sunlight. The young man and woman said no more, and naturally walked along the lake in different directions.

—————————————————————————

It didn't take long to leave Suzhou. Fan Xian had originally planned to live by the West Lake in Hangzhou during his time in Jiangnan, but the Ming family's affairs were unexpectedly thorny, and there were many unexpected stories, which is why he stayed until now. Knowing that they were going to move to Hangzhou, the subordinates had already prepared everything, and even the maids in the Hua Garden had made preparations for the move under Si Si's leadership.

Fan Xian didn't return the Hua Garden to the salt merchant. After all, Haitang had to stay in Suzhou to keep an eye on the large amount of silver in the Internal Treasury and the Merchants' Money House, so she always needed a place to live. He also thoughtfully left a few ordinary-looking, capable maids.

Yang Jimei naturally didn't feel sorry for this garden, but was very happy.

At the farewell banquet, Yang Jimei sat at the bottom of the table, not listening to what the two high-ranking officials at the top were saying. He only felt that his ancestral grave was emitting green smoke, and he could actually eat at the same table with the Imperial Envoy!

Eating didn't take long. The Governor of Jiangnan, Xue Qing, the rarely seen Governor, and the Prefect of Suzhou, who was being investigated by the Supervisory Council, all came to see Fan Xian off. But because of the fierce game in the bamboo shed on the Dragon Raising Day, the large and small officials in Jiangnan dared not send any gifts.

Only Xue Qing, without any hesitation, prepared extremely valuable gifts. The weight of the gift list made Fan Xian a little dumbfounded.

After the banquet, Fan Xian and Xue Qing walked around the garden at will. Fan Xian said with a smile, "Sir, you are spoiling the younger generation so much... I can't bear it, and secondly, how can I teach these officials in Jiangnan Road well in the future?"

The words were double-edged.

Xue Qing scolded with a smile, "It's not for you, you have to take it whether you want it or not."

Fan Xian was puzzled.

Xue Qing said loudly, "Half of it is for Miss Lin, no, it should be Madam Fan. She came to Hangzhou for the first time and must not have brought enough things with her. This is prepared for her."

He continued, "The other half is for the teacher's respect. The student has been busy with official duties in Suzhou and cannot go to pay respects in person. I also hope that Master Fan can bring this sentiment to this official."

Fan Xian smiled. He had already notified Xue Qing of his intention to go to Wuzhou a few days ago, and he had also written it in his letter to the Emperor. Now he remembered that no matter what, Xue Qing had to prepare a heavy gift.

Having figured this out, he didn't say much. Fan Xian said softly, "If there's anything I can do for you in Hangzhou, please write to me."

"I wouldn't dare." Xue Qing said with a smile, "You are also the Imperial Envoy, I wouldn't dare to order you, but there are always troubles."

Fan Xian replied casually, knowing that Xue Qing had long hoped that he would leave Suzhou, and didn't point it out.

When they were about to separate, Xue Qing suddenly asked, "Master Fan, there is one thing that this official has not found an answer to."

"Sir, please speak." Fan Xian said sternly.

Xue Qing pondered for a moment and said, "How old are you this year, Master?"

With the identity of the Governor of Jiangnan, he didn't say any polite words such as 'Gui Geng', but directly asked in the tone of an elder. Fan Xian smiled and said, "Nineteen."

Xue Qing was slightly stunned. It was in line with the rumors, but it made him a little unbelievable. He couldn't help shaking his head and smiling bitterly, "As expected, heroes come from youth."

The Imperial Envoy left the city, and the Hua Garden suddenly became much quieter. Suzhou City, which had been under the strong pressure of the Supervisory Council and Fan Xian, seemed to come alive in one day. After confirming that the Fan Mansion's black carriage team had left the city gate, the citizens of Suzhou began to tell each other, with tears in their eyes. The great traitor had finally left, and some even started setting off firecrackers.

That night, the officials of Jiangnan Road, especially Suzhou Prefecture, also began to celebrate their good fortune, celebrating that they would no longer have the suffering of being invited to tea by the Supervisory Council. As for those officials who had already fallen, no one paid them any attention.

……

……

Although Suzhou and Hangzhou were close, it was impossible for Fan Xian to hear the firecrackers that the citizens of Suzhou were setting off to send away the plague god. Although the secret agents of the Supervisory Council reported it later, he just smiled and ignored it.

The group stayed at the Peng Family Manor by the West Lake in Hangzhou, returning to the time when they first arrived in Jiangnan. Fan Xian hadn't even settled down yet, and asked, "Where has the madam arrived?"

A subordinate reported, "There seems to be some obstacles, and Shazhou."

Fan Xian was slightly stunned, and a sense of unease surged in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he didn't say much, and led seven Tiger Guards to ride towards Shazhou.

Dusk arrived in Shazhou. Because Fan Xian was worried about Wan'er, he abandoned the carriage he was used to riding in and rode directly, feeling as if his whole body was falling apart when he entered Shazhou City.

And the subordinates and Tiger Guards behind him were even more pale, almost collapsing from the day's rapid march.

More than a dozen horses trampled on the quietness of Shazhou after nightfall, and went directly to a manor house. This manor house was originally the Shazhou branch of Jiangnan Shuihan, but now it had naturally been requisitioned by the Supervisory Council. After some repairs, it had become Fan Xian's private residence in name.

Fan Xian flipped off his horse, ignoring the greetings of the subordinates at the door, and rushed into the courtyard.

Before entering the inner house's stone steps, he saw a familiar person, it was Teng Da's wife. Fan Xian frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Young Master?" A trace of joy flashed in Teng Da's wife's eyes. "Why are you here? Madam is fine, just resting in the room."

Fan Xian didn't believe her. Logically speaking, Wan'er should have arrived in Hangzhou today. If she was delayed, there must be something wrong with her body. He hurriedly pushed the door open and rushed to the bedside like a gust of wind. With a backhand palm, he sent a gust of wind and closed the wooden door tightly.

He looked at the girl lying on the bed, at the trace of fatigue on that familiar, beautiful face, and couldn't help saying with distress, "If you're not feeling well, just walk slower."

Lin Wan'er looked at him with a smile and said, "Walk slower... so you have more time to have fun?"

Fan Xian was stunned and laughed, "Where did all these playful words come from?" As he spoke, his fingers had gently rested on his wife's jade-white wrist and began to take her pulse.

What Fan Xian was most worried about was Wan'er's health. After all, she had suffered from lung disease for several years. Although he had been carefully conditioning her these past two years, and Fei Jie, his teacher, had prepared special medicine, Wan'er's body was weak and could not withstand the wind and cold on the road.

With his fingers gently resting on Wan'er's wrist, Fan Xian's expression gradually became serious, especially the feeling under his touch, which made him feel a slight shock – why was Wan'er so thin?

"You stopped taking the medicine?" Feeling the abnormality of the pulse, Fan Xian withdrew his fingers as if electrocuted, looking at his wife in surprise, his eyes full of concern and incomprehension.

Lin Wan'er slowly retracted her hand, coughed lightly twice, and looked at Fan Xian quietly, with a trace of determination and joy: "Yes, I stopped taking the medicine... Before Ruo Ruo left, she brought Master Ku He to the house for a while. Master Ku He said that Mr. Fei's medicine is too domineering. If Wan'er wants to have a child, she must stop taking this medicine."