"Good melody, good lyrics." Fan Ruoruo sighed with a smile, "Miss Sang's singing skills are truly extraordinary."

Sang Wen was flattered by the praise from the talented Miss Fan of the capital and blushed slightly as she curtsied.

"The winter scene brings a touch of spring chill, making even this scorching summer feel a bit cooler," Lin Wan'er nodded in agreement.

Fan Xian, having been reborn in Qing Yu Nian for sixteen years, still didn't particularly enjoy listening to music. He often missed Yang Zongwei's songs from his previous life. Thinking of Yang Zongwei, he was reminded of He Zongwei, who had been frequently visiting the Fan residence recently, and he frowned. He disliked that talented man for no reason.

However, the line "Suddenly encountering white sleeves and silk skirts (忽相逢缟袂绡裳)" in Sang Wen's song stirred some thoughts in him. *Gao mei xiao shang* referred to white silk sleeves and thin silk lower garments, as pure as white plum blossoms. Wasn't Wan'er wearing a white dress, like a sprig of white plum blossoms, when he first met her before the incense table at the Qing Temple?

It was just that this sprig of winter plum had a slight aroma of chicken leg sacrifices. Fan Xian subconsciously looked towards Lin Wan'er, only to find her looking at him as well. Their eyes met, and Fan Xian smiled slightly, while Lin Wan'er blushed shyly.

Although Ye Ling'er had long acknowledged Fan Xian's abilities, seeing this scene of hidden undercurrents, a maiden's heart felt somewhat uncomfortable. She coughed twice, "I don't really like listening to music."

Fan Xian smiled and said, "It seems Miss Ye and I are both boorish people." He admitted to being boorish himself, but by including Ye Ling'er, the other two young ladies couldn't help but laugh. Even Sang Wen, who had been somewhat dazed, couldn't help but cover her mouth and smile charmingly.

At this moment, he was the only man in the mountain hall, surrounded by his sister and Wan'er. Ye Ling'er sat beside Wan'er, exuding a faint youthful aura. This feeling made Fan Xian feel very good, exclaiming that this life was not lived in vain, and this trip was not in vain. As long as the Princess Roujia wasn't around, Fan Xian thought with some fear, young girls were the most wonderful existence in the world, but it wasn't good if a young girl looked at you with the eyes of a future wife looking at her husband ten years later.

Just then, Miss Sang Wen suddenly mustered her courage, gave a curtsy, and said softly to Fan Xian, "This humble woman is being presumptuous, but I would like to request a few lines of verse from Young Master Fan."

Performers in the capital competed in pomp and circumstance, as well as the level of their patrons, seeing whether the listeners were princes or dukes. But in the end, it still came down to strength, which was the skill in lyrics, music, and singing. This Miss Sang, who had been noticed by both the princess and Miss Fan, was naturally a top figure. Her daily thoughts revolved around good music and lyrics. Today, by chance, she encountered Young Master Fan, whose poetry was famous throughout the capital, and she couldn't restrain herself. Regardless of the difference in their social status, she bravely made this somewhat presumptuous request.

Fan Xian was taken aback, but Lin Wan'er and his sister were already giggling and urging him to write. Even Ye Ling'er opened her curious eyes, wanting to see what kind of verses he could come up with.

Annoyed beyond measure, Fan Xian had no choice but to go into the inner room, spread out paper, and grind ink. Fan Ruoruo had already sat down at the desk with great understanding, ready to write. It turned out that Fan Xian was just playing the role of a pageboy. The three girls who followed him into the room couldn't help but laugh again when they saw this scene.

"My sister's handwriting is better," Fan Xian explained with a slightly embarrassed tone. Although he had practiced calligraphy diligently when he was in Danzhou, his handwriting was still not as beautiful as his sister's, so he simply yielded to her.

Before long, Fan Ruoruo had recorded the few lines of lyrics that Fan Xian dictated in her delicate small script. Sang Wen's eyes lit up the first time she heard them. After nervously taking the piece of paper and carefully reading it, she was overjoyed. She bowed deeply to Fan Xian, "Sang Wen thanks Young Master Fan for the gifted lyrics. A great kindness is beyond words."

Lin Wan'er and Fan Ruoruo also nodded repeatedly, believing that the lyrics Fan Xian wrote were worthy of the words "great kindness." If Sang Wen set these lyrics to music and sang them throughout the capital, she would probably have several more years of good fortune.

Today, Fan Xian was copying Tang Xianzu's wonderful lines: "So, all the brilliant purples and reds have bloomed, and like this, are all given to broken wells and crumbling walls. Such auspicious times and beautiful scenes, what a waste! Such delightful entertainment, whose courtyard does it grace? At dawn, they fly, at dusk, they roll, clouds like rosy dawn and emerald pavilions, rain-silk, wind-flashes, misty painted boats, the person behind the embroidered screen thinks this precious time is cheap."

He looked at the intoxicated expressions of the women, sighed, and shook his head, thinking that the entire *Peony Pavilion* was a masterpiece. This excerpt, taken alone, was beautiful, but without the context of the entire work, it was always lacking in spirit. But he was now busy with official duties, business, and romance. Even the outing was squeezed into two days. Where would he find the time to organize it? It seemed that the work of spreading advanced culture was indeed very difficult.

"Isn't it a bit too tragic?" Ye Ling'er, who had been silent all along, reacted a little slowly. Only now did she taste the true meaning of the lines, and said sadly.

Suddenly, Fan Ruoruo's expression changed. She thought of the line "Such auspicious times and beautiful scenes, what a waste," which had already appeared in *The Story of the Stone*, during Lin Daiyu's drinking game. If Sang Wen sang these lyrics throughout the capital, wouldn't people immediately know that *The Story of the Stone* was written by her brother? But she saw that Fan Xian seemed to have forgotten about this matter, and deep down she also wanted her brother to gain even greater fame, so she smiled slightly and didn't mention it.

———————————————————————————

The outing ended very successfully, and everyone got what they wanted before coming. Ye Ling'er got some "little tricks," Sang Wen got Fan Xian's lyrics, Fan Sizhe got a stomach full of grilled fish and grilled meat, Big Brother Dabao finally pulled a horse back to the Prime Minister's Residence, Fan Ruoruo got two days of elegant scenery to cleanse her heart, Lin Wan'er got the opportunity to be close to her brother, and Fan Xian got the most, but couldn't say.

If it had ended like this, everyone would have been happy. But when Fan Xian heard Wang Qinian's report, he frowned. He really didn't expect things to be so coincidental.

The Crown Prince was coming!

……

……

"Withdraw!"

Hearing that the Crown Prince was coming to the summer resort today, Fan Xian didn't hesitate. He ordered Wang Qinian to arrange for his large group to retreat back to the capital. He was joking, a dignified crown prince of a country was coming to escape the summer heat, how could he dare to compete with him for territory? Moreover, his Fan family had always been classified as being in the Second Prince's faction, the Prime Minister had broken with the Eastern Palace, and the Supervisory Council was clinging to His Majesty's leg. Although the forces behind Fan Xian were great, they were all the targets that the Crown Prince hated the most. If the two sides really met on a narrow road, even if Fan Xian had a "fake princess" and the Misses Ye and Fan beside him, if the Crown Prince really wanted to humiliate him, he would have nowhere to find someone to reason with.

His Majesty the Emperor had said in the Qing Bamboo Teahouse by the Liujing River that Little Fan Xian should be able to live comfortably in the capital. But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince probably didn't like Little Fan Xian living comfortably. If there was a disagreement between the father and son, Fan Xian didn't have the conceit to think that the Emperor would stand up for the son of a mere minister and deal with his own son.

So he had to withdraw, withdraw cleanly, neatly, not giving the Crown Prince a chance to see him, not giving the Crown Prince a chance to humiliate him, and at the same time, it was also to prevent himself from being humiliated and then being unable to resist beating the Crown Prince, committing the crime of going against the heavens.

Coming in a free and easy manner, but having to withdraw in a flustered manner, Fan Xian didn't feel good in his heart. And Lin Wan'er frowned even more, feeling unhappy, thinking that Brother Chengqian wasn't a tiger, how could her husband be so afraid? Ye Ling'er also somewhat looked down on Fan Xian, who feared power and influence, thinking, so what if he's the Crown Prince? When His Majesty sent him to the Ye family to practice martial arts when he was a child, didn't she beat him up as well?

Fan Xian was only an eighth-rank Assistant Musician, the illegitimate son of a mere Baron Sinan, how could he be like these two young ladies who had been going in and out of the palace since childhood and were used to seeing the top figures in the world? And his thoughts were always much more mature than these girls, knowing that this matter was somewhat sensitive.

Precisely because he arranged it quickly, when the Crown Prince's team was about to arrive at the summer resort, Fan Xian's team had already gotten on the official road, and the two sides brushed past each other.

At this moment, a gong sounded, as if the stage was about to open, and the Crown Prince's motorcade stopped. The imperial guards ordered Fan Xian's side to stop as well. Fan Xian lifted the car curtain and looked over expressionlessly. He only saw on the bright yellow carriage, the Crown Prince of the country - the eighteen-year-old man who would have the greatest power in the world in the future - was saying something feebly to the carriage behind him.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian had quite handsome features, but he didn't look well, his face was a little pale, and the corners of his lips were slightly dark. He came to the summer resort today to escape the summer heat, but he didn't expect to see Wan'er and the girl from the Ye family on the road, all of whom were childhood playmates, so he stopped to chat for a few words.

Knowing that Wan'er had spent the night at the summer resort yesterday, Li Chengqian said with heartache, "You don't cherish your body, the imperial physicians said that your illness is most afraid of wind and cold."

Ye Ling'er interjected with a smile, "Sister Lin doesn't worry about these things, now she has a famous doctor with her." Lin Wan'er frowned and looked at Ye Ling'er, explaining with a smile, "It's already summer, how could I catch a cold?"

But she didn't change the subject. The Crown Prince was very curious about Ye Ling'er's words. After asking carefully, he learned that the person sitting in the carriage in front was actually Wan'er's future husband. He was very surprised and said, "Is that Fan family's black boxing fighter? He's a famous figure recently, quickly let him come over and let this prince take a look."

"Forget it, Your Highness, don't scare him," Lin Wan'er said with some embarrassment.

The Crown Prince frowned and said, "Even the Emperor's family has some poor relatives. After you get married, he will be my brother-in-law. What's there to be afraid of in meeting him? Besides, in a few days, the Father will always summon him to the palace to pay respects to the concubines in the palace." He paused, and then said, "Moreover, the imperial court will soon have an official position to give him. Does he still want to hide from people?"

These words were very heavy, and the space between the two motorcades suddenly became quiet.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince." A voice broke the silence. Fan Xian didn't know when he had arrived in front of the Crown Prince's carriage, smiling and bowing.