The officials inside were gathered, reading the imperial gazette. It clearly detailed everything happening in the North. Whether in terms of timeliness or the richness of information, it was far more attractive than the newspapers issued by the imperial palace, especially since it recorded Qing Kingdom's victories. With a wry smile, Fan Xian took out the crumpled newspaper from his chest. He mentally apologized to the great calligrapher Pan Ling of the Literary Secretariat, then sat back down at his desk to drink tea.

Others were excitedly discussing the war, and no one noticed his silence. However, Assistant Minister Ren Shaoan smiled at him and gestured for him to come out. Fan Xian walked out of the door with some trepidation and arrived at a secluded spot. It was already deep in the courtyard, with a stone table and two stone chairs. Assistant Minister Ren gestured for him to sit down, then asked with a smile, "Everyone is joyous, yet you sit alone in silence. I wonder why?"

This Assistant Minister, named Ren Shaoan, was a celebrated figure in his youth. Later, he married a princess and had been steadily climbing the ranks in the Taichang Temple. His situation was somewhat similar to Fan Xian's current one. Fan Xian wasn't sure if Minister Ren was troubled by something and wanted to commiserate, so he didn't know how to respond. He could only smile faintly and say, "The court's victory in this battle is a natural outcome, so there's not much to be surprised about."

"Why is it a natural outcome?" Ren Shaoan asked curiously.

Fan Xian really didn't have any unique insights into military and national affairs, so he had to deflect, saying, "His Majesty is wise, the soldiers fight bravely, and Northern Qi is timid. Victory in one battle is natural."

Ren Shaoan smiled as he looked at him and said, "Now that I think about it, this renewed conflict between the two countries is inextricably linked to the assassination attempt on you, Master Fan."

Fan Xian was stunned and only then remembered that one of the excuses Qing Kingdom used to send troops to resist Qi and aid Zhao was that Northern Qi assassins had infiltrated Qing Kingdom's capital, intending to murder the son of a minister. Thinking of the withered bones by the rivers of the Northern Frontier, the women in the various states and counties who were waiting in vain for their husbands, Fan Xian didn't know why, but his heart felt a little choked. He sighed and said, "Weapons are ominous instruments. Sages use them only as a last resort." He knew that although Qing Kingdom had enjoyed peace for more than a decade, its martial spirit had not faded, so he usually paid attention to concealing it. But in front of Ren Shaoan, thinking it was just a casual chat, he said it casually.

Ren Shaoan seemed to appreciate his statement very much and nodded, "Even so, the gains this time are considerable. Qing Kingdom will have several more years of peace, which is also worthwhile."

Fan Xian wasn't a pedantic pacifist and smiled to acknowledge the fact. Ren Shaoan added, "Although the war merits all go to the generals and His Majesty, the court has been secretly planning this for two months and can be considered to have been working tirelessly."

Fan Xian immediately tasted a different meaning from this sentence, knowing that Assistant Minister Ren was saying that the court's civil service system had also contributed a lot to the war. After all, Fan Xian had two lifetimes of experience and knew that war ultimately relied on logistics, so he said sincerely, "The various officials in the court have also made great contributions."

Ren Shaoan smiled with satisfaction and then said, "Prime Minister Lin and you are about to become in-laws. If you have free time, you should visit his residence more often. It's more appropriate."

"That's natural. Thank you for the reminder, Assistant Minister." A cold sweat ran down Fan Xian's back. He was about to marry Wan'er, but he hadn't visited his future father-in-law yet, which was really inexcusable. However... this should be an open and aboveboard interaction between the Lin residence and the Fan residence. Why was Ren Shaoan telling him this in private?

As expected, Ren Shaoan said softly, "My teacher hopes you can visit the Prime Minister's residence alone and doesn't want to alarm too many people."

Fan Xian respectfully accepted the order with trepidation.

---

The next day, the court was filled with flattery. The military received many rewards, and the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council also received explicit praise for its intelligence efforts. However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Vice Minister of Revenue Si Nanbo Fan Jian stepped forward to speak. He said that this victory was all thanks to the Prime Minister's tireless efforts, putting national affairs before family matters, streamlining logistics, and ensuring the supply of grain and fodder, which was a great contribution. The officials buzzed with discussion, not understanding why the former political enemies were so harmonious today. But when they thought of the upcoming marriage between the two families, they suddenly understood.

What was even more unexpected was what followed. Minister of Rites Guo Youzhi, who had always been in the Prime Minister's faction, spoke out against it, with various reasons. The most unexpected thing was... Chen Pingping attended court. When His Majesty asked, he said softly from his wheelchair, "The Prime Minister has worked hard."

At this point, the Prime Minister's political enemies, who had been constantly attacking him by using the Wu Boan's collusion with Northern Qi, suddenly fell silent. His Majesty issued an edict to comfort Lin Ruofu, who had regained his footing. And throughout the court and the public, there were rumors that the Prime Minister had leaned towards the Second Prince because of his marriage alliance with the Fan family. The Second Prince, who had previously had no support in the court, suddenly became a popular figure.

No one knew that behind all these major events was actually just a casual chat between the frustrated Assistant Minister Ren Shaoan of the Taichang Temple and the Eighth-Rank Collaborator of the Taichang Temple beneath the courtyard wall.

By ingratiating himself with his future father-in-law once, a great time, Fan Xian felt slightly safer. Although he was still very afraid that the Prime Minister would find out that he had ordered someone to kill Lin Er Gongzi, he didn't hide as much as he had in the previous two months.

The Taichang Temple didn't require daily attendance. He only needed to show up once every ten days. This afternoon, Fan Xian arrived at the imperial villa in a carriage.

His marriage with the young lady in the villa was now known throughout the capital. Coupled with the Fan residence's generosity, the guards began to turn a blind eye. Fan Xian and his sister walked inside together, not in the mood to look at the wildflowers and weeds in the garden, but walked along the pebble path towards the small building. Fan Ruoruo was somewhat surprised, "Brother seems quite familiar with the road here."

Fan Xian smiled slightly and said, "I have a good memory, you know that." But in his heart, he chuckled. He snuck in and out of this garden two or three nights every ten days, so it would be really difficult not to be familiar with it.

Unfortunately, according to the rules, he, as the future consort of the princess, still couldn't meet Lin Wan'er in the villa, so he had to sit downstairs and drink tea while Ruoruo went upstairs alone. He wasn't in a hurry. After all, he could see his fiancée every night, so he wasn't in a rush. After a while, two people came down. Seeing the young lady behind Ruoruo, Fan Xian's eyes lit up. That young lady had bright eyes and slightly thick eyebrows, but she didn't look crude. Instead, she looked very spirited. It was Ye Ling'er, the only daughter of Ye Zhong, the Kyoto garrison commander.

Ye Ling'er was slightly surprised to see a strange man waiting downstairs. Fan Xian had already stood up to greet her with a smile and bowed, "Miss Ye, long time no see."

As soon as he said it, Fan Xian knew that things were a bit inappropriate. When he saw Ye Ling'er that day, he was disguised and used the identity of a doctor. Today, he had clearly come to visit the villa, and saying "long time no see" might make Ye Ling'er suspicious.

To his surprise, Ye Ling'er only glanced at him lightly and curtsied, "Greetings, Young Master Fan."

Seeing that she knew his identity and wasn't surprised by what he had said earlier, Fan Xian knew that Wan'er must have told her best friend about their relationship. He smiled and said, "Wan'er is fortunate to have Miss Ye's company, so she won't be bored while she's ill. Fan Xian thanks you for that."

Ye Ling'er said coldly, "Young Master Fan is too polite."

Seeing that this woman didn't seem to like him very much, Fan Xian wasn't angry. He didn't think that just because of his handsome face, all the women in the world would have a natural fondness for him. So he just smiled slightly, bowed again, and turned to Ruoruo, "How was the questioning?"

Fan Ruoruo smiled sweetly and said, "You're so anxious about that. Sister Lin said..."

Fan Xian suddenly waved his hand and smiled, "It's just a little matter of our own family. Let's talk about it when we get home."

Ye Ling'er was furious when she heard this, thinking that Fan Xian was indeed a narrow-minded person! The meaning of these words was too obvious. Did it mean that the matters of the Fan and Lin families didn't need someone with the surname Ye to get involved? She angrily said, "Young Master Fan, don't push people too far with your words and actions."

Fan Xian was stunned, wondering where this was coming from. Why was this Miss Ye so bad-tempered? He felt inexplicably irritated and didn't bother to pay attention to her. He took his sister's hand and walked towards the outside of the residence.

Walking outside the villa, Ye Ling'er also came out of the residence with her maids and servants. She sneered as she watched Fan Xian holding Fan Ruoruo's hand.

Fan Xian didn't understand. He was still holding Ruoruo's slightly cool hand, waiting for the carriage to arrive. But Ruoruo's expression became a little awkward. Indeed, there weren't many siblings in the world who were as intimate as them, and Fan Xian didn't pay attention to these things very often. Seeing his sister's expression, Fan Xian finally understood. He thought, why was that woman always bothering him? His relationship with Ruoruo was naturally pure and innocent, so he was even more angry. He turned back and frowned at Ye Ling'er, "Miss Ye, is it because there are no adults to discipline you at home, so you wander around Kyoto and Dingzhou every day?"

Ye Ling'er never expected that her unintentional sneer would provoke such vicious verbal attacks from the other party. She angrily cursed, "Who are you saying has no manners?"

"Who said that?" Fan Xian said with a gentle smile, "It seems that no one here has said that."

Seeing him playing rogue, Ye Ling'er was even more exasperated and shouted, "Then aren't you wandering around Kyoto every day? You're about to get married, but you still have no sense of responsibility. I haven't seen you go to the Taichang Temple a few times. Could it be that you also have no adults to discipline you at home?"

Fan Xian's temperament was gentle with a hint of ruthlessness, but more of it was insidious. He knew that if he didn't get angry, the other party would be even angrier. So he said even more gently, "I'm visiting my fiancée, which is justified in both sentiment and reason. Miss Ye is on good terms with my Wan'er and visits her often, for which I have thanked you. I just hope you can pay attention to your words and not try to stir up trouble between our own family members."

Ye Ling'er's lips trembled with anger. Hearing the other party playing this trick again, she said resentfully, "With your纨绔 (wan ku = playboy) appearance, I don't know what Wan'er sees in you."

Fan Xian sighed and said, "Where am I 纨绔 (wan ku = playboy) ?"

Ye Ling'er said hatefully, "You're incompetent in both literary and martial arts. Does the saying 纨绔 (wan ku = playboy) wrong you?"

Fan Xian smiled with some embarrassment and said, "I originally hated boasting, but Kyoto is always rumored that I am proficient in both literary and martial arts, able to compose poetry in seven steps and kill people in seven steps. These excessive praises made me a little giddy, but today I was awakened by Miss Ye's words. I am truly grateful."

Seeing him acting, Ye Ling'er then remembered the other party's reputation for talent. She stamped her foot angrily, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, she bit her extremely red lips and put her hand on the small knife at her waist. After thinking for a few times, she finally took the knife off and threw it on the ground in front of Fan Xian, making a crisp sound.