Gong Dian was recognized as one of the strongest experts in Kyoto. He had experienced countless life-and-death trials, but he never imagined that he would encounter such a powerful figure in the heavily guarded Kyoto, near the Qing Temple.

The aura of the person behind him was not particularly strong, but the perfect sense of merging with the surrounding environment was something Gong Dian had only seen in his Shishu (師叔, martial uncle) – he and the Kyoto garrison commander were martial brothers from the same school, and his Shishu was Ye Liuyun, one of the four Grand Masters of the world.

In his understanding, he couldn't imagine a Grand Master disregarding their status and appearing behind him like an assassin!

The room was silent for a long time.

Gong Dian's left little finger twitched slightly. He knew he could no longer maintain this passive balance. A cold light flashed in his pupils!

Without warning, his internal energy surged out, and he transformed into a gray dragon. His left foot kicked backwards, and his right hand hooked, with a clear "铮!" sound, the blade cut through the air, transforming into a fearless slash towards his back!

A muffled groan, and the slash landed on empty air. The mysterious Grand Master from before had already disappeared without a trace.

Gong Dian's internal energy was powerful. After such a body-sacrificing slash missed, he couldn't restrain his divine aura. His chest felt as if it had been struck by lightning, and a hot current rushed upwards. Two streaks of blood seeped out from his nostrils.

Looking at the empty ground, there was no fear in Gong Dian's eyes, only a trace of confusion. The other party clearly had the ability to assassinate him easily, so why did they leave in the end?

He instantly thought of the young man's extremely similar technique from yesterday and guessed that the fleeting Grand Master might have some connection with his martial lineage, which was why they had shown mercy.

After resting for a while, he walked out of the hidden house with a slightly weary expression, preparing to return to his residence.

Why didn't Wu Zhu kill him? It was obviously not out of regard for Ye Liuyun's sake, because Wu Zhu was a monster who even dared to kill Ye Liuyun. The reason was actually very simple: yesterday, Gong Dian made Fan Xian spit blood, so today Wu Zhu would make Gong Dian spit blood. It was that simple and clear.

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Returning to the Fan residence, it was still early. Fan Sizhe was still tinkering with his money-making business in the study. Ruo Ruo was nowhere to be seen, having gone to someone's house. In the entire garden, there were only respectful servants and maids. Although some of the maids were truly beautiful, Fan Xian was in a bad mood and the atmosphere wasn't right, so he had no interest in teasing them.

After drinking a cup of tea, he frowned, wondering who the person at the Qing Temple today was. What were they guarding him for? Could it be... family members left behind by that white-clothed girl, waiting specifically for him?

The thought of that possibility warmed Fan Xian's heart, but the moment he thought of Wu Zhu's telepathic message, his heart immediately cooled down. If it was as he guessed, Uncle Wu Zhu would definitely ignore it. That wooden man of his wasn't very curious about matters of love.

Changing into lighter, more comfortable clothing, he casually tied the belt around his waist and walked into his father's study. He was somewhat surprised to find that Si Nan Bo (司南伯, Count of Si Nan) was actually in the study.

"There wasn't much to do at the Ministry today," Fan Jian said quietly as he gestured for his son to sit down. "You've been in Kyoto for a few days now. Don't just fool around outside all day. I already know about what happened at the restaurant yesterday. Avoid such conflicts in the future, and don't be like your good-for-nothing younger brother."

Fan Xian smiled wryly, not wanting to explain much. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, "Father, when will I be able to meet Miss Lin?"

Fan Jian seemed very surprised that the young man would make such a suggestion and said with a smile, "You'll be seeing her every day after you get married. Is there such a rush?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "After the wedding is after the wedding. I don't want to not know what my wife looks like until the wedding night." He thought for a moment and added with a smile, "I see my sister, that Ye Ling'er, and Princess Roujia are often out and about. There's not much of a barrier between men and women, right?"

"It's only natural for young men and women to meet," Fan Jian explained with a smile. "But you have to know that Miss Lin's identity is somewhat special. Although her surname is Lin, she doesn't have much connection with the Prime Minister's residence. She grew up in the palace. His Majesty, for the sake of the royal family's reputation and so that the Eldest Princess could see her daughter often, adopted her as his goddaughter and bestowed upon her the title of Princess – but this Princess is different from that little girl Roujia."

Fan Jian's voice was somewhat subdued: "Although perhaps very few people in the world know that she is the Eldest Princess's daughter, know that she is Lord Lin's daughter, but... no one dares to say this matter, and no one dares to admit it. She has lived in the palace for many years, and few people have been able to see her, until the beginning of the year, because of that incident, and because of poor health, she moved out."

Fan Xian sighed: "It's precisely because I heard that she is in poor health that I want to go and see her, maybe I can help in some way."

Fan Jian frowned and said, "You only spent a year and a half with Fei Jie. Do you dare to say that you are better than the imperial physicians? Young man, you should be more humble and cautious."

Fan Xian said yes, but he still didn't give up: "But you have to let me know what she looks like, right?"

"You're marrying her, not for her, but for what she represents behind her." Fan Jian looked at him coldly, "You must abandon all unrealistic thoughts and smash any stale sentimentality like a hard stone."

Fan Xian frowned with some disgust and said, "I think you're being very stale too."

Fan Jian said with slight anger: "How are you talking?"

Fan Xian smiled and replied respectfully: "I've said before, I'm not a very easy person to control."

"Don't you want to take back everything that originally belonged to you?" Fan Jian seemed to have thought of something and regained his composure.

Fan Xian was stunned, then said very seriously, "Actually... when I was in Danzhou, I learned a lot of things. I believe that I have the ability to obtain things in this world that correspond to my abilities. If I can take back my mother's inheritance, of course I won't object, but this must be based on my own will. If I want to do it, I'll do it. If I don't want to do it, I won't do it. It's that simple."