After reading the gazette, Fan Xian felt a slight ache in his eyes and couldn't help but curse inwardly a few times. His name and courtesy name had been arranged by those people since he was a child. His surname was Fan, given name Xian, courtesy name Anzhi. Looking back now, the name was naturally given by the Emperor in the palace, but… since entering Kyoto, or more accurately, since the spring imperial examinations last year, had he ever had a single day of leisure?

Actually, after occasionally asking himself, judging by the knowledge and experience of two lifetimes, Fan Xian had to come to a conclusion that didn't please him much – the Emperor in the palace treated him quite well. Although he knew that the Emperor granted him such great power largely because the Emperor needed someone like him to balance the situation in the court, and he had indeed demonstrated this ability.

But the imperial family was inherently ruthless. The Emperor's position today was, on one hand, due to his mother's grace, and on the other hand, it showed that the Emperor still had some fatherly affection for him – at least he hadn't acted like Emperor Wu of Han, while he was still alive and getting better.

Of course, Fan Xian wouldn't revel in this bit of fatherly affection. He was surprisingly sober and calm.

So, he was still somewhat annoyed that the Emperor had thrown him to Jiangnan, giving him so much work and so much trouble.

He wasn't a donkey… although Haitang seemed to like using Sizhe as one.

…

…

He rubbed his eyes and took out the rectangular box beside him, curiously tearing open the sealing wax.

This was a gift that Wang Qinian had very carefully entrusted to Xia Qifei to bring back, saying in the letter that it was to show his respect, but he didn't specify what it was.

The box slowly opened, revealing the true appearance of the thing inside.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes. It was a sword, a sword that didn't look particularly remarkable, but exuded an antique aura.

He took out the long sword, his right hand steadily gripping the hilt, and slowly pulled it out.

Silently, the blade emerged from its scabbard.

Like the layer of snow on the Cangshan Mountains, like the touch of jade in North Lake, like a wisp of wind from Jiangnan, a clear and bright sword light rippled in the study, incredibly gentle, yet with a hint of bone-chilling coldness within the gentleness.

Fan Xian was slightly moved, recognizing the value and sharpness of this sword. What especially touched him was that this murderous intent within gentleness was quite similar to his own strange nature.

He lightly flipped his wrist and casually swung it a couple of times, feeling the weight was also very suitable. The sword edge silently broke through the air, brushing past the candles three times, but the candles didn't move at all.

In the past, Fan Xian's usual weapons were nothing more than hidden crossbows and the slender, jet-black dagger between his boots. Although they were efficient at killing people, he ultimately didn't have a handy weapon, especially when he had to fight a real expert head-on.

And because he was stabbed by Shadow, Fan Xian very profitably learned the Four-Gu Sword's sword techniques. He had been practicing diligently these days, and had achieved some success. Killing Yuan Jingmeng that night had already proven this. With the Four-Gu Sword in his heart, Fan Xian increasingly wanted to have a good sword.

When he killed Yuan Jingmeng, he had borrowed Haitang's soft sword.

One shouldn't eat soft rice, and it wasn't good to keep borrowing soft swords.

Fan Xian lightly flicked the sword's edge, listening to the faint hum, and couldn't help but nod in appreciation, thinking that Lao Wang's flattery was really appropriate.

He picked up a piece of paper in the box. It was written with Wang Qinian's skilled flattering words, first deeply regretting that he shouldn't have peeped at the adult's letter last year, and finally talked about the origin of this sword.

It turned out that this sword was the sword of the last Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty!

When the Great Wei was scattered by the Qing Kingdom, the Zhan family took the opportunity to rise, and the treasures in the Imperial Palace had long been stolen and sold by the eunuchs. This sword had since fallen into the hands of the people and no one had seen it again. But after more than twenty years, traces finally appeared. Wang Qinian bought it at a great price after learning about it, and carefully made some external changes before sending it to Jiangnan.

"So, it's an Emperor's sword..." Fan Xian smiled as he looked at the sword, but he was a little unimpressed. If this sword really possessed the Emperor's aura, then the Emperor of Northern Wei wouldn't have died back then.

However, his brow furrowed immediately. Wang Qinian now knew that he was the Emperor's illegitimate son, and he had spent a lot of money to buy the Great Wei Emperor's sword and sent it to him from thousands of miles away. Was this a purely flattering act, or... was he using this sword to hint at something?

Fan Xian shook his head and sighed. He thought that Wang Qinian was just a little old man with a wife and daughter, how could he have such courage? He must be thinking too much.

He felt a little uncomfortable. It seemed that he and His Majesty the Emperor were both suspicious people at heart…

He blew out the candle and left the study to sleep. Fan Xian couldn't help but mutter, "Zorro."

The door closed, the moonlight was quiet, and the candle was broken into four pieces, one stuck to the table, and three rolling uneasily.

…

…

Three days later, the angel from Kyoto finally arrived in Suzhou City. The angels were not the winged eunuchs, but just eunuchs responsible for conveying messages for the Emperor. They couldn't fly, they could only ride horses, so naturally they were a bit slower.

The Hua Garden was completely renovated, the courtyards were swept clean, incense tables were set up, and related matters were prepared. Led by Fan Xian, assisted by the Third Prince, everyone in the Qinian Group of the Supervisory Council, as well as the Sixth Bureau's guards and Tiger Guards, a dense crowd of dozens of people, stood honestly in the front courtyard, waiting for the arrival of the imperial decree.

Since they were receiving an imperial decree today, Haitang, as the Saintess of Northern Qi, was naturally not convenient to be present and had already avoided the situation.

But Fan Xian and his party waited for a long time without seeing anyone arrive. Fan Xian became a little annoyed and asked someone to move a Grand Master's chair and sat down under the corridor, while letting Sisi peel melon seeds beside him. He chatted idly with the Third Prince.

Deng Ziyue looked embarrassed and leaned close to his ear to say, "My lord, please pay attention, we still have to wait."

His eyes glanced to the side.

Fan Xian knew what he wanted to say. The subordinates of the Supervisory Council didn't matter, and the Third Prince was now wholeheartedly following him, but his behavior did seem to disrespect the Emperor's authority. There were also seven Tiger Guards, and several Tiger Guards responsible for the Third Prince's safety. Who knew if there were people the Emperor sent to monitor him.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and said nothing – the trip to Northern Qi, including the trip to Jiangnan, was actually followed by the seven Tiger Guards. They got along quite well, at least they didn't hold him back, nor did they do anything that made him uncomfortable. So Fan Xian had been deliberately showing his true side to them these days.

Anyway, he estimated that these seven people would be his personal bodyguards for the rest of his life, so… he would use constant minor mistakes to make them used to his future major mistakes.

Sometimes people's hearts cannot be bought, but can only be seduced. It's like this between men and women, and actually between men as well.

As for the Tiger Guards beside the Third Prince…

…

…

Fortunately, Fan Xian didn't have to wait too long. With the sound of a salute outside the gate, several imperial guards led the way, and a eunuch walked into the garden surrounded by them.

Fan Xian had already stood up, took the Third Prince's hand, greeted him, performed a grand salute, and listened quietly to the decree.

The eunuch who came to announce the decree was Eunuch Yao, who was also an old acquaintance of Fan Xian. The two exchanged glances, and Eunuch Yao knew that this young master was anxious. His heart trembled, and he quickly skipped some procedures that could be skipped, directly opened the bright yellow silk decree, and read it in a sharp voice.

The content of the imperial decree didn't exceed Fan Xian's expectations. Some sentences were even things that Fan Xian had already discussed with the Emperor in secret correspondence.

As the ruler of a country, the Emperor naturally had to express his shock and anger at the turmoil in Jiangnan. The decree used seemingly stern words to reprimand Fan Xian.

But the decree didn't mention the Ming family at all.

Fan Xian knelt on the ground, a smile flashing across his lips. This was as it should be. How could a mere Jiangnan magnate affect the Emperor's heart? Although this incident was not small, the petition with ten thousand signatures was also sent to Kyoto, and several pedantic scholars even wanted to file a lawsuit in front of the Emperor in Kyoto. The Emperor issued a decree to reprimand Fan Xian, which was considered an explanation to the world.

But… the imperial decree, the official documents of the court, would never mention the Ming family, criticizing Fan Xian for not being cautious in handling affairs. As for what happened? The court didn't say a word at all. This was so-called politics.

It was just a few words of reprimand, of course, Fan Xian was also fined a year's salary, and there were no other punishments.

Eunuch Yao's sharp voice stopped. Fan Xian and the others stood up to thank the Emperor and asked about the Emperor's health, etc., after a series of boring matters. Fan Xian then took the imperial decree with both hands and handed it to the officials beside him to put it away.

…

…

"Another salary deduction?" Fan Xian couldn't help but grumble, "My old father and I haven't had any income for the past few years, who will support the family?"

He and the Third Prince walked inside first, while Eunuch Yao hunched his body, showing a flattering smile, and followed behind in small steps.

"Lao Yao... you have to return the money to me, otherwise I'll only have porridge to drink."

Fan Xian scolded with a smile.

Eunuch Yao smiled obsequiously, hurried a few steps forward, and said, "Please spare this servant, who doesn't know that you are the most capable adult in the world at earning money... You've only been in Jiangnan for less than half a year, and you've earned tens of millions of taels of silver for the court, so why would you need this servant's small change?"

While Eunuch Yao was speaking, his peripheral vision quietly and quickly glanced at the Third Prince. Fan Xian's previous playful words could be big or small. The Fan family had indeed fed these eunuchs in the palace well in the past, and he of course knew that Fan Xian looked down on his income.

But these playful words were said in front of the Third Prince. Eunuch Yao knew that this little prince was young, but he had a lot of tricks in his mind, so he couldn't help but be a little scared... Unexpectedly, he saw that the Third Prince's expression was calm, as if he hadn't heard anything. When he thought about it again, since Fan Xian dared to say these words in front of the Third Prince, he naturally had a sense of proportion.

Eunuch Yao's heart trembled, knowing that what the palace was guessing might not be wrong. This Third Highness and Lord Fan were indeed like that.

…

…

"The money I earned for the court, I don't have the guts to touch. Are you... advising me to be corrupt?"

The three had already entered the main hall. Fan Xian and the Third Prince sat on both sides of the main seat, while Eunuch Yao stood aside, listening to these words, and said with a wry smile, "Lord Fan, don't make fun of this servant."

Fan Xian smiled and waved his hand to signal him to sit down.

Eunuch Yao quickly sat down. This long trip had really exhausted him.

"I thought you could come earlier, but you made me wait for a long time." Fan Xian said casually while cracking melon seeds.

The Third Prince was also learning Fan Xian's way of cracking melon seeds.

Eunuch Yao stared intently, and suddenly felt that he was a little dizzy. These "brothers" in the top seats did look too similar, just one was bigger and one was smaller.

He quickly explained with a smile, "I did arrive at the post station outside the city yesterday, but I had to follow the rules before entering the city today... There were two copies of this imperial decree. The first one went to the Governor's mansion, so I was late. Please don't blame this servant for my clumsy legs and feet, my Lord."

He carefully looked at Fan Xian's expression, and found that this young and powerful nobleman in the court didn't really seem to be angry, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, as an imperial messenger, like the Emperor's megaphone, he was extremely arrogant in the seven routes and states of the world. Even at Xue Qing's mansion, the Jiangnan Governor Xue Qing was very polite to this palace eunuch Yao. But he could act arrogant anywhere, except in this Hua Garden. Eunuch Yao wouldn't dare to act arrogant even if he were to die.

Not to mention that Fan Xian was an imperial envoy, just the identities of these two "Princes" and Fan Xian's immense power were enough to make Eunuch Yao extremely honest.

"Of course I know you have to go to Governor Xue's place first." Fan Xian said unhappily, "Don't I even understand this little bit of rules?"

He shook his head and said, "What did His Majesty say to the Governor?"

Eunuch Yao thought for a while and said with difficulty, "...Actually, it's about the same as the decree for Your Lordship."

"Oh? Xue Qing was also fined a year's salary?" Fan Xian raised his head and asked with great interest, but the tone of his question seemed a bit gloating.

Eunuch Yao smirked and raised three fingers.

"He was fined three years, now I feel more balanced." Fan Xian smiled and threw away the melon seed shells, and said, "I said that His Majesty is wise and benevolent, and would never let me, a poor person, take all the blame."

Eunuch Yao smiled wryly, thinking what you said is… how should I respond?

Fortunately, Fan Xian changed the subject immediately and asked, "You've traveled such a long distance, why did they send an old guy like you? Aren't there any younger and more capable eunuchs in the palace?"

"Old Dai was training a few, but as you know, after that incident, although he was recently transferred back from that miserable place, this matter was delayed. This time, the imperial decree was important for Jiangnan, so this servant naturally had to make a trip." Eunuch Yao sighed.

"Is Lao Dai still doing well?" Fan Xian asked.

Eunuch Yao smiled and said, "Thanks to Your Lordship's blessing, the old brothers in the palace are doing quite well."

The Qing Kingdom's harem was not very different from history. Since the founding of the country, the emperors had been extremely wary of eunuchs, especially after the late Emperor ascended the throne more than twenty years ago, they strictly prevented eunuchs from interfering in state affairs, and the palace ban was very strict. Eunuchs found it difficult to seize power, so they were not divided into many factions. Instead, these eunuchs knew that their situation was difficult, and they were extremely united.

Since Fan Xian entered Kyoto, he had been very careful to maintain good relations with these seemingly inconspicuous eunuchs. When he rectified the First Bureau, he spared Lao Dai's nephew, which was equivalent to sparing Lao Dai, and he usually took care of them, and never made excessive demands of these eunuchs.

Most importantly, Fan Xian never treated these eunuchs as strange or evil people when he interacted with them, but as ordinary people, without deliberately flattering or deliberately humiliating them, and without being gentle to their faces but insidious behind their backs. It was this kind of behavior that successfully made the eunuchs extremely fond of this young Director.

"It's good as long as they are doing well." Fan Xian couldn't help but shake his head. The Qing Kingdom's eunuchs generally didn't have any major misdeeds, and these deformed people were indeed a bit pitiful. He casually mentioned, "Lao Dai hasn't trained any young ones... However, last year, that little guy in the Imperial Study, Hongzhu, seemed quite clever."

"Hongzhu... has now gone to the East Palace, as the deputy chief eunuch. It's an honor bestowed by His Majesty." Eunuch Yao responded cautiously, because everyone in the palace knew that Hongzhu was driven out of the Imperial Study because Fan Xian said a word in front of the Emperor. It was rumored that Hongzhu was blinded by money and dared to ask Lord Fan for bribes.

Fan Xian's expression darkened slightly, and after thinking for a while, he sighed, "It's good that way, this kind of overly clever character is not suitable to serve His Majesty... He doesn't know how to advance or retreat, and doesn't know his limits."

Too clever? This was obviously a derogatory term… Eunuch Yao thought, the rumor was true. That little Hongzhu didn't look stupid on weekdays, how dare he provoke Lord Fan? It seemed that the kid wouldn't be able to climb up in the palace.

…

…

After sending Eunuch Yao away, Fan Xian led the Third Prince to the study. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Do you understand why?"

The Third Prince thought for a long time, but after all, he was still young and couldn't understand the reason. He shook his head helplessly.

"Now it's late spring and early summer." Fan Xian said with lowered eyes, "We are going to Hangzhou soon. On the way, I have to go out for a trip. The affairs of Jiangnan are basically settled. At most... the palace will keep you by my side for a year, that is, near the end of the year, we will definitely return to Kyoto, and when we come out again, there will only be me, and not you."

"Why?" The Third Prince asked in surprise.

"There is no why." Fan Xian said with a smile, "In the eyes of some people, I may have some treacherous and unkind aura. You are a genuine prince, with the blood of the imperial family. If you stay with me for a long time, I'm afraid you will be infected with some bad habits."

"But…" The Third Prince said anxiously, "Following the teacher to Jiangnan to study, this is what the Imperial Father promised in person."

"Father... Emperor..." Fan Xian couldn't help shaking his head and said, "If the Empress Dowager misses you, her youngest grandson, His Majesty can only summon you back."

The Third Prince fell silent. He knew in his heart that the Imperial Grandmother was different from ordinary grandmothers. She didn't like him, her youngest grandson, very much. Instead, she valued the Crown Prince and the Second Brother more.

"In other words." Fan Xian said, "From next year onwards, you will be alone in Kyoto, and I... cannot always stay by your side."

The Third Prince raised his head, and a hint of extreme incongruous ruthlessness appeared on his delicate face, "Teacher, don't worry, I will live well and wait for you to come back."

"You're saying childish things again." Fan Xian scolded with a smile, "By His Majesty's side, who would dare to do anything to you?"

He said slowly, "However, from now on, you must stand up... At least, let the ministers in the court and the generals in the military know you, and get used to you."

"Get used to what?"

"Get used to you being a dignified prince, not a snotty child." Fan Xian said coldly, "Get used to… you are also possible."

You, are also possible.

The Third Prince had lived with Fan Xian day and night for half a year. He had long admired this "elder brother" to the core, and he felt that being by Fan Xian's side was much more pleasant than the cold atmosphere in the palace. At his young age, he could only believe, and was only willing to believe what Fan Xian said.

But he still asked curiously, "Teacher, shouldn't we first hide our strength and bide our time? You once said, 'The tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind'."

"You are not yet a towering tree." Fan Xian smiled and touched the top of the Third Prince's head, although this action was disrespectful, "Since His Majesty let you follow me to Jiangnan, you can't hide anymore. Since you can't hide... then I'll just stand out and stand behind you. Let's see what wind dares to blow you."

The Third Prince scratched his face, not understanding very well.

"I want to pass a message to Kyoto through Eunuch Yao's mouth." Fan Xian withdrew his hand, slowly closed his eyes and said, "You are the person I chose."

The Third Prince suddenly mustered up his courage and said, "Even if the Crown Prince brother… is still the one Imperial Father chose."

Fan Xian didn't open his eyes, but said softly, "The Eldest Princess chose your Second Brother, the Empress Dowager chose your Crown Prince brother, although His Majesty hasn't chosen yet, but in fact, many people have already started choosing. Why bother caring if there is one more me."

…

…

(The snow is no longer falling outside the window. I wish everyone good health, and I wish the friends in the south all the best.)