Niao Ni
Chapter 258: This Time, Just How Hectic Can It Get?
Fan Xian possessed an inherent advantage: a sly and cunning nature. He reveled in secretly offending and bullying others, yet outwardly, he was always willing to yield. This was his way of truly reaping benefits. Like how he had subtly manipulated the Eldest Princess several times, even forcing Yan Zhi out of the palace. To this day, she remained unaware that her own son-in-law was the mastermind behind it all, still believing him to be docile and obedient, and that he would not dare to turn against her in the North.
He firmly believed in a principle: extravagance and flamboyance were good, but they had to be subtle. Eat your pork in silence.
He believed that those who could be moved should be moved, but those who couldn't, he wouldn't touch even if their lives depended on it. The First Prince was clearly someone he couldn't move at the moment, yet he had deliberately chosen to contest the road with him, a complete reversal of his usual behavior. Naturally, no one realized he was putting on a show for the Emperor, while the forthright First Prince was the perfect acting partner. Perhaps only the old fox, Chen Pingping, could guess the reason behind it all.
In the end, the matter was resolved through the Crown Prince's mediation. The envoy's vanguard and the First Prince's personal guards would enter the capital together. However, this was highly irregular, angering the Minister of Rites and filling the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices with apprehension. Arranging the ceremonial escort became a major problem.
The Crown Prince watched Fan Xian standing silently to the side, and a strange sense of delight arose within him. He feigned anger and scolded, "You're being absurd. We agreed the envoy would arrive in the capital in a few days. Why did you suddenly arrive early, causing all this trouble due to the court's lack of preparation?"
Fan Xian smiled and replied, "I was simply eager to return home, Your Highness. Please forgive me this once. Some censor might impeach me tomorrow." In truth, he was surprised himself. After several months apart, the Crown Prince looked much better than before. The slight timidity and gloominess had vanished, and he was radiant. He wondered what joyous occasion had occurred.
He naturally didn't know that with the Eldest Princess's departure from the palace and return to Xinyang, the two mountains of the Empress and the Eldest Princess that had been weighing on the Crown Prince were suddenly lifted. His mood immediately brightened, and the Emperor had been sending him more consoling messages since the beginning of the year. The Crown Prince's life was much better than before.
In the hearts of the officials, the Crown Prince's improved circumstances likely meant the Second Prince was not feeling comfortable. However, at the city gate, as the crowd watched the Second Prince preparing to welcome the First Prince's return, they saw no sign of unease on his refined face. Instead, the young boy by his side attracted more attention.
This was the Emperor's youngest son. The Emperor had four sons in total, the Crown Prince not included. This one was the Third Prince, raised deep within the palace. He was only nine years old. The Emperor had ordered all the princes in the capital to greet the First Prince's return from his long campaign, showing him great respect. It was also an opportunity for this little prince, who had never appeared before the court officials, to make his first formal appearance.
The Second Prince held the little prince's hand and bowed to the First Prince. The First Prince seemed to have a good relationship with the Second Prince, giving him a bear hug before ruffling the little boy's hair and saying in a rough voice, "How have you grown so tall?"
The little boy giggled, his face innocent, and replied, "I want to grow as tall as Big Brother and go fight the Hu people!"
The little prince's mother was a sister of the Liu family from the Fan residence. Distantly related, he was somewhat related to Fan Xian. However, as Fan Xian looked at the little prince's beautiful and innocent face, a chill ran down his spine. He saw a self-possession in the boy's innocent smile that was completely incongruous with his age. He couldn't help but smile slightly, thinking, *I, this seasoned player, started out by feigning innocence and a shy, charming smile. You dare to try that on me? You're selling smiles from the Fan family without even realizing it.*
The Second Prince naturally knew what had happened earlier. He smiled wryly and said to Fan Xian, "Brother-in-law, if you could cause less trouble, the officials in the entire capital would be thanking the heavens."
Fan Xian's smile was even more bitter, more bitter than gall. He explained, "It was entirely the Northern Qi Princess's idea. How would a mere subject like me dare to do such a thing?"
The Crown Prince frowned imperceptibly, seemingly displeased with the Second Prince's tone when speaking to Fan Xian. He said blandly, "Second Brother, the ceremony isn't over. Let's stick to official titles."
This was somewhat unreasonable. The Crown Prince had been calling Fan Xian "brother-in-law" so affectionately earlier, but now he didn't want the Second Prince to do the same. The Second Prince's expression remained unchanged. He chuckled, agreed, and then leaned closer to Fan Xian and asked in a low voice, "Before the Spring Examinations, I asked you to go home and ask Chen'er what she called me. Did you ask?"
Fan Xian then remembered the matter. He shook his head and smiled. "Your Highness knows what happened during the Spring Examinations. I forgot for a moment. I'll definitely ask when I get home today."
The Second Prince smiled and said no more, taking the Third Prince's hand and walking toward the city gate with the Crown Prince and the First Prince. Although the two princes' voices were low, they still reached the First Prince's ears. This prince, who had been fighting on the frontier for many years, couldn't help but feel suspicious. Although he knew of Fan Xian's reputation, he wasn't in the capital and didn't know what power Fan Xian actually wielded. He was now astonished to discover that both the Second Prince and the Crown Prince were being so conciliatory towards Fan Xian in their words, seemingly afraid that the officials present wouldn't know how close they were to Fan Xian.
A mere subject, yet he was so valued by the two princes, who were even willing to lower themselves? The First Prince couldn't help but frown, feeling somewhat displeased.
Fan Xian, however, had other thoughts. He looked at the four princes ahead, three tall and one small, each dressed in different attire, the bright yellow interspersed with plain yellow, walking towards the dark city gate. For a moment, he felt a sense of disorientation, thinking, *Could it be that one day I will be standing among those four brothers?*
---
The autumn in Kyoto was indescribably beautiful. The sky was high and the clouds were light, and the leaves, beginning to turn yellow, hung low beside the houses, unwilling to fall into the water in haste, leaving the streams beside the streets feeling somewhat lonely. At the end of the long street, a corner of the palace eaves peeked out, hanging in the blue sky, exuding majesty.
The First Prince's entourage had already left in a fit of lingering anger. The envoy's carriages, however, deliberately slowed down their pace, accompanied by a group of officials from the Court of State Ceremonial and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, slowly making their way towards the palace. Now that they had entered Kyoto, Fan Xian was no longer in a hurry. He couldn't go home immediately anyway; he had to report to the palace first. So, he finally had some time to look at the scenery around him. Although he had only spent a year in Kyoto, it was far less familiar than Danzhou. But for some reason, as soon as he entered this place, saw the houses around him, and smelled the unique scent of Kyoto, Fan Xian felt refreshed.
"Sir, you were in such a hurry to return to the capital, you must have family matters to attend to," the Northern Qi Princess's voice came softly from the carriage beside his horse.
Fan Xian smiled but didn't reply, knowing full well that she was deliberately trying to win over this seemingly ordinary but actually important official. However, they had already done enough emotional bonding along the way. Now that they had entered the capital, with so many eyes and ears around, it was best to avoid this final step. Besides, she had guessed his thoughts correctly, but he didn't know how to answer.
The Fan family was currently very popular in the capital, and the entire household was safe and sound. No one knew why he was in such a hurry. He spurred his horse forward a few yards, came to Yan Bingyun's carriage, and said in a low voice, "You must take her away. If you don't want to cause me trouble."
The young Master Yan in the carriage shook his head, glanced at Miss Shen, who was bound tightly but still glaring at him with those familiar eyes – those viciously glaring eyes. He really didn't understand when Lord Fan had developed a hobby for matchmaking. He sighed and changed the subject, saying, "Sir, what you did today, contesting the road, was really unwise. The Supervisory Council has always been impartial in the prince's struggle. You once said, and previous rumors have confirmed, that both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have expectations of you. Therefore, to maintain impartiality, you shouldn't have provoked the First Prince. This is somewhat contrary to the Council's principles."
Fan Xian remained silent, knowing that what he said made sense. As a Qing citizen, especially the head of the Supervisory Council, he either shouldn't associate with these princes at all, or he should treat them equally so that the palace could be certain that the Supervisory Council wouldn't favor any particular prince.
But he couldn't do that, because he knew that his identity was more than just a citizen – showing favoritism among the princes would at most make the Emperor suspect that he was planning for future power and wealth, which would never match Chen Pingping's pure loyalty. But if he really treated everyone equally, showing such skill in maneuvering, he was afraid that the Emperor would suspect that he... wasn't content to be just a citizen.
This was Fan Xian's greatest hidden fear.
The convoy traveled to Xingdao Ward and no longer needed the Kyoto Prefecture constables to maintain order, because they had arrived in a quieter area with government offices and officials' residences. Naturally, there weren't as many commoners standing on the streets watching the spectacle. At this point, a carriage in the convoy broke away from the main group and quietly drove into an alley beside the street, where people could be vaguely seen waiting inside.
Although it was done quietly, some court officials naturally saw it clearly. But knowing that the envoy had a complex composition, they guessed that it was Supervisory Council affairs, and seeing that the expression on Director Fan's face was serious, no one dared to ask any questions.
Fan Xian's expression was naturally serious, because they were about to reach the Imperial City. That vermilion palace wall was right in front of them.
---
The members of the envoy waited outside the palace gate to report their mission. The imperial authority was awe-inspiring, so no one dared to relax in their appearance. However, after traveling thousands of miles, they were inevitably a bit tired. They waited for a long time, but no edict came out. The officials felt a bit uneasy, but they thought that this time they had been on a mission to Northern Qi, and they had gained a lot of territory for the court on that world map. In addition, Fan, the chief envoy, had made a big splash in the Northern Qi court. That cart of old books might not seem valuable, but they thought that the Emperor should be pleased. How could they be left out in the cold outside the Imperial City?
The officials from the Ministry of Rites who were accompanying them outside the palace gate also gradually became uneasy. But Ren Shaoan approached Fan Xian and said softly, "At this time, His Majesty should be meeting with the First Prince. We, as subjects, naturally have to wait longer."
Fan Xian smiled and said nothing. The Northern Qi Princess's carriage had already been led inside by the palace eunuchs. The important matters had been mostly taken care of. He guessed why the envoy had been left out in the cold outside the Imperial City.
The Imperial City's guards looked coldly at the officials outside the palace gate, who were showing anxious and fearful expressions, without a trace of emotion on their faces. And the eunuchs guarding the palace gate naturally wouldn't look at them straight in the eye.
However, Fan Xian's status was different from the others. He was married to a princess from the palace, and that princess was a very favored figure. Moreover, he himself was a high-ranking official in the Supervisory Council. This time, he had returned from a mission abroad, and he would likely be promoted and rewarded soon. So, a eunuch had already moved a round stool and invited him to take a rest.
Fan Xian was stunned and asked, "Is this in accordance with the rules?"
As he was speaking, a chief eunuch walked over with a flattering expression and helped him onto the stool, saying, "I say, Master Fan, this servant knows that His Majesty has always been fond of you. Besides, you've traveled thousands of miles to return. It's only right that you sit down."
"Oh dear, why is Eunuch Hou here?" Fan Xian pretended to be surprised. This eunuch was the one he had seen when he first entered the palace with Liu Ruoruo. He knew that Eunuch Hou had a good relationship with the Fan residence, so he showed a friendly expression on his face. The eunuch deliberately called him "Master Fan," naturally wanting to make their relationship appear as close as possible.
Fan Xian then smiled and said, "I've returned from abroad, so I'm quite poor and shabby. I have nothing to offer today."
Eunuch Hou chuckled softly, lowered his voice, and said, "Who doesn't know that Master Fan is someone who can turn stone into gold? Besides, you're going to be embracing a mountain of gold in the future." The old servant was about to say a few more flattering words when he heard the palace gate creak open, and a eunuch ran out to convey His Majesty's oral edict. Fan Xian quickly got off the stool and knelt with the other officials at the palace gate.
As he had expected, the Emperor gave Fan Xian a good scolding, accusing him of being arrogant, disrespectful, and outrageously bold, etc. etc. He also said that he was tired today and ordered him to enter the palace again tomorrow to report his mission, ordering the Earl of Sinan to discipline him well and punish him severely. At the end of the edict, however, the Emperor praised the envoy extensively, telling them to take good care of themselves, and promising future rewards.
The officials looked at each other in dismay, not expecting that the envoy would receive such treatment on their first day back in the capital. Some couldn't help but sigh. However, some cunning officials were now looking at Fan Xian with apprehension. The Emperor's oral edict sounded harsh, but in the end, he hadn't done anything, only ordering the Earl of Sinan to discipline him. It seemed that Lord Fan was indeed highly favored by the Emperor.
Fan Xian kowtowed and accepted the edict, with a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face. However, he was secretly pleased. He stood up, patted his backside, and turned around to see an old acquaintance, who was now the commander of the Imperial Guards, Gong Dian. Gong Dian's face showed admiration when he saw Fan Xian. He was just about to come over and chat when Fan Xian bowed slightly, apologized, mounted his horse, kicked his legs, and whipped the horse, galloping away across the wide square in front of the Imperial City, leaving behind a trail of dust and disappearing in an instant.
Gong Dian was stunned. He and his guards stared at the plume of smoke in the distance in a daze, thinking that although there was no explicit order prohibiting riding horses in front of the palace, Fan Xian was probably the first minister to ride so swiftly.
...
...
The autumn atmosphere wasn't strong, but the desire to return home was. Fan Xian had already arranged the affairs in the Supervisory Council, and the seven Tiger Guards like Gao Da would be taken care of by relevant personnel. He galloped his horse down the long street, riding into the wind. He didn't know how long he rode, but he finally entered the South City. The sound of his horse's hooves echoed on the long street outside the Fan residence's gate.
It was already night, and the lanterns of the various dukes and ministers' residences on the long street had been lit. They were few in number and not very dazzling. Only the Fan residence was brightly lit, with the main gate wide open. A group of servants, guards, and retainers were all standing outside the gate, looking forward to his return. Lady Liu herself had also deigned to come to the gate, instructing the maids and servants to heat the tea again and again, waiting for Master Fan to return.
The news of the envoy's arrival on the outskirts of Kyoto had long since reached the city. Everyone thought that the ceremony would have to be arranged and take a couple of days before they could enter the capital. But the young mistress of the next door residence coldly said, "He will definitely arrive today." Everyone knew that the current Lady Fan, the former Miss Lin, was no ordinary character. If she said Fan Xian would definitely arrive today, then he would definitely arrive. That was why everyone was waiting here so diligently.
As for the news of him contesting the road with the First Prince, the people in the residence didn't know about it yet. Otherwise, they would be even more worried.
"He's coming! He's coming!" An observant servant saw the horse galloping from afar and rushed down the stone steps, dividing into two teams.
With a sound of hooves, Fan Xian galloped to the gate, dismounted, and lightly kicked Teng Zijing's buttocks, who was preparing to act as a stirrup, scolding with a smile, "With your broken leg, don't imitate those pretentious styles of the residences."
"Welcome young master home!" the two rows of servants shouted in unison.
Fan Xian smiled and said nothing. He stepped up the stone steps, took the hot towel from a maid and wiped his face casually, and then rinsed his mouth with the warm tea. He knew that this was a necessary procedure, so he didn't bother to be particular. However, upon returning to the residence and looking at these familiar servants, he felt really good. Even the smile on Lady Liu's face seemed to have less of the usual calculation and more sincerity.
"Your father is in the study," Lady Liu took the towel from his hand and reminded him softly.
Fan Xian nodded, then frowned and shook his head. "Aunt..." He swallowed the last word, smiled, and said, "I'll go see my sister and Wan'er first. I'll go to my father's place right away."
Lady Liu knew that she couldn't use filial piety to restrain this young master, so she could only nod helplessly.
As soon as Fan Xian entered the gate, he saw a dark, fat figure rushing towards him. He couldn't help but be shocked, thinking that it had only been a few months, how had this accounting prodigy turned into a little black iron tower? Before he could ask, he shouted directly, "Report the accounts later! I have something to do!"
Fan Sizhe was stunned and stopped in his tracks, scolding, "Young master is in a good mood today. If you ignore me, I won't bother talking to you about those accounting terms you don't understand."
Fan Xian was also stunned, smiled, and couldn't help but think of the row of four princes he had seen outside the city gate. He reached into his pocket, took something out, and handed it to Fan Sizhe, scolding with a smile, "What accounting terms? I think it's nonsense. Go play by yourself first. We brothers, big men, don't play this long-awaited reunion game."
Fan Sizhe grumbled to himself, *I don't want to play any brotherly affection game with you.* Thinking this, he watched Fan Xian enter the inner residence, feeling very uncomfortable.
---
After Fan Xian got married, he had his own residence at the back of the Fan residence, but the front and back were connected, so it was just a pattern of one residence with two courtyards. He had a very good relationship with his sister, and Wan'er got along very well with Ruoruo, so Ruoruo spent most of her time in this courtyard.
Today, he had returned. It was natural for his father to remain in the study out of self-respect. But what was unusual was that Wan'er and his sister hadn't come out to greet him. This matter was a bit strange, making Fan Xian quicken his pace. A maid beside him couldn't keep up, panting as she replied, "Miss is still there, and the young mistress is also still there."
Fan Xian frowned, thinking that what she said was really unlucky. He didn't know who had taught this maid.
He arrived at the door of his bedroom, gently pushed the door, but found that it was locked from the inside. Fan Xian was stunned, not knowing what to say. He called out a few times, but no one answered. He was a bit baffled, so he knocked on the door a few times with more force. If he didn't respect his wife, he would have broken the door down long ago. After a while, he heard the head maid, Sisi, saying nervously from inside, "Young master, the young mistress has gone to sleep. Please don't knock."
Fan Xian frowned even more tightly, not knowing what had happened. He had traveled thousands of miles to return, but Wan'er actually refused to see him.
He glanced at the dim candlelight inside the door, said nothing, and went to another room. This time, he didn't knock but directly pushed the door open. The young lady inside was startled and stood up. After seeing clearly that it was Fan Xian, the trace of indifference and vigilance between her eyebrows gradually melted away. A genuine look of joy flashed in her eyes as she curtsied and said softly, "Brother is back."
Fan Xian looked at Ruoruo, and the previous trace of displeasure disappeared completely. He smiled gently and said, "What? You don't seem very happy to see me back?"
Fan Ruoruo smiled slightly, walked up to him, took his sleeve, led him to sit down, and said, "It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other. Does my brother want me to shout and scream before he's satisfied?"
Fan Xian shook his head helplessly and said, "You, you always have this calm temperament. You won't even change it in front of me."
Fan Ruoruo smiled and replied, "If I change, would I still be Ruoruo?" As she spoke, she poured a cup of tea and carefully handed it to her brother's lips.
Fan Xian took it, but didn't drink it immediately. Instead, he stared at his sister's face, which wasn't very beautiful, but was extremely refreshing. For a moment, the room fell into a strange silence. Both siblings were very patient people and were waiting for the other to speak first.
In the end, Fan Xian was the one who doted on his sister. He sighed and said, "Why are you doing this? It would have been better to wait for me to come back and handle everything."
A trace of sadness flashed across Fan Ruoruo's face. She knew that her brother had seen through her plan and replied softly, "I was just planning to wait for my brother to come back and see me one last time, so I've been delaying it until today."
Fan Xian stood up, walked directly to her boudoir bed, dragged out a package, and took out an inconspicuous box from the cabinet behind the bed. He overturned the box on the table, and a few silver notes, a few hairpins, and a few pieces of broken silver fell onto the table with a clatter. He frowned as he looked at these things on the table and said, "Running away from home, you're only bringing these things... It's far from enough."
Fan Ruoruo was silent for a moment, then took out a dagger from her sleeve for self-defense.
...
...
Fan Xian was both angry and amused, and also felt sorry for his sister. He looked at her and said, "You're a young lady from a wealthy family. How would you know the hardships of the world? Even if you don't want to get married, running away from home so rashly, don't you think about how worried Father would be, and me? Why don't you think about how your brother feels?"
Fan Ruoruo lowered her head, her hands tightly gripping her sleeves. After a long silence, she said, "When has Father ever really valued me? As for Brother... Has Brother forgotten? It was you who taught me from a young age to learn to control my own destiny, especially matters like marriage, which must not be arranged by the family."
Fan Xian was speechless. In this world, where would the young ladies of official families have such rebellious thoughts, let alone be prepared to put them into practice? The reason why his sister dared to be brave and even a bit reckless in preparing to escape was because he had told her those stories since she was young, and had taught her the principles of life in his letters – could it be that he had told her too much about Miss Mei, and the new female consciousness really prepared to awaken?
He tapped the table uneasily, not really knowing what his actions back then would bring to his sister. After all, this world and that world were completely different, and a different idea could be a dagger that would hurt herself. He suddenly raised his head and said very gently, "But arranged marriages aren't necessarily bad things. You haven't spent time with Hongcheng, so how do you know that your marriage won't be happy in the future?"
Fan Ruoruo still kept her head lowered, but her tone didn't waver at all. "Sister has known the heir since she was young and knows very well that I don't like him."
If outsiders heard this, they would be scared half to death. The dignified Miss Fan would actually say things like "like" and "dislike" so directly. Fan Xian's mind was in a mess, and he tried to reason, "That's not necessarily the case. Look at me and your sister-in-law, it was an arranged marriage, and we're quite happy now."
Fan Ruoruo suddenly raised her head, with a hint of determination and persistence, and said, "Brother, not everyone in the world has the luck you and Sister-in-law have."
Fan Xian was stunned. This was the first time he had seen disagreement on his sister's face. From a young age, Ruoruo had always looked at him with an attitude of admiration mixed with appreciation. This was the first time he had heard Ruoruo directly oppose his opinion, and he couldn't help but be shocked, shocked by the slight changes that had occurred in his sister.
After a long silence, the expression on Fan Xian's face gradually changed from stiff to gentle. Finally, he laughed out loud, and there was no pretense in that laughter – he was indeed very gratified. That little girl from back then had finally grown up and had finally learned to insist on her own opinions.
"Ruoruo, do you believe me?" Fan Xian looked at his sister with a smile, with an encouraging expression.
Fan Ruoruo hesitated for a moment, then showed her usual gentle smile and nodded heavily.
Fan Xian glanced at the things on the table, shook his head gently, and said with a smile, "Since you believe me, don't play with these things anymore. I will naturally arrange everything properly."
Ever since she learned about the imperial decree for the marriage, Fan Ruoruo had fallen into silence. She knew how rebellious her thoughts were, and what kind of disaster resisting the decree would bring. However, she had been educated by her brother's letters since she was young, and the depths of this woman's soul had long been planted with a seemingly weak but actually strong seed of freedom. However, she couldn't tell anyone about these thoughts, and she was even afraid that even her most trusted brother would oppose her decision.
At this moment, hearing Fan Xian's promise, Fan Ruoruo's anxiety of the past month turned into a breeze in autumn, disappearing in an instant. The nerves that had been strained for a month suddenly relaxed – *Yes, Brother is back, he will naturally make the decisions for me.*
...
...
After being separated for several months, the two siblings naturally had things to talk about. But Fan Ruoruo saw that his face seemed a bit strange, and then she remembered that at this time, her brother should either be in the study talking with her father, or he should be with her sister-in-law. Why had he come to her room? She thought of something, covered her mouth, and chuckled softly, saying, "Brother, when you were advising me earlier, you said that although you and Sister-in-law had an arranged marriage, you were happy now. Why do you look so troubled now? What's the reason?"
Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat, thinking that his sister had a good relationship with Wan'er, so she naturally knew why Wan'er was refusing to come out. He quickly asked, "What exactly happened?"
Fan Ruoruo smiled mischievously, which was rare for her, and said, "I can't help you with this matter, Sister. You have to beg Sister-in-law yourself."
Fan Xian frowned tightly, thinking that he had done everything right, so what was there to beg Wan'er about? As he was pondering, he heard a maid shouting outside, "Young master, the young mistress is awake."
Fan Xian shook his head repeatedly. He knew that his wife was being capricious, but Wan'er had always been a very gentle and amiable woman. How could she be like those women in the harem, not knowing what's important and what's not? Knowing that he had returned home after a hard journey, it was fine if she didn't welcome him, but she gave him the cold shoulder!
Thinking of this, as he walked towards his bedroom, a trace of anger gradually appeared in his heart. But as he reached the door, hearing the little ditty coming from inside, his anger immediately dissipated, and instead, a very wonderful expression appeared on his face.
The voice was extremely sweet, and it could only be Lin Wan'er. And the little ditty was also terribly familiar.
"Do you know? Do you know? It should be the green flourishing and the red fading!"
Fan Xian's face flushed slightly, thinking that the Li Qingzhao poem he used to deceive Haitang, which only the Northern Qi Emperor, Empress Dowager, and he himself knew, had somehow spread to the southern capital of Qing.