Fan Jian frowned, putting down the bowl of fruit juice in his hand, seemingly bothered by the lukewarm temperature: "I'm not excusing Lady Liu, it's just that the people she found at the time were ostensibly listening to her orders, but were actually listening to the orders of that person in the palace. Lady Liu was merely a scapegoat in this matter."

Fan Xian frowned and asked, "Who in the palace wants me dead? And why? Could it be they knew all along that I was the son of the Ye family head?"

"Of course they didn't know!" Fan Jian became unusually agitated for some reason, his right hand gripping the chair handle tightly. "Those who know about this wouldn't want to harm you. If anyone wants to harm you, it certainly isn't for that reason."

…

…

"Could it be that no one in the entire capital knew about the relationship between Father and Mother? If those people knew about Father's relationship with the Ye family, why didn't anyone suspect that I, this illegitimate son, was the son of the Ye family head?"

Fan Xian pondered this question with suspicion, feeling a slight chill in his heart. He realized that there seemed to be even more important issues at stake, but he didn't dare ask them. He said quietly, "Then what is the reason? Four years ago, I was just a twelve-year-old boy, far away in Danzhou, and seemingly had no connection with anything in the capital."

"Four years ago, which was when His Majesty adopted the Lin family's daughter as his goddaughter, which was when he arranged the marriage for the princess, His Majesty decided at that time that the imperial merchant industry would be managed by you in the future. That was also the first time you appeared in the conversations of the people in the palace. Seeing a twelve-year-old child possessing a golden ingot that he couldn't lift, what do you think the nobles in the palace would choose?"

"Choose to kill me cleanly."

"The Overwatch Council has been investigating for four years, and has basically found out the truth of the matter. It's just a pity that there's no evidence, so they can't do anything about those people."

Fan Xian laughed, "Even if there were evidence, I'm afraid it wouldn't be able to do anything to them. After all, the Overwatch Council are subjects, while those people are the masters."

Fan Jian nodded.

"Who wants to kill me?"

"The Empress, the Eldest Princess." Fan Jian smiled slightly, "But now that you have grown up safely and entered the capital, I believe that even if they had the guts, they wouldn't dare risk His Majesty's wrath to take action against you."

Fan Xian said sadly, "You're too optimistic. Even if I am killed, would the Emperor really do anything to his wife and sister?"

Fan Jian didn't answer, but instead said, "Recently, the Prince of Jing's son will definitely try to get closer to you, and he will definitely try to get you to meet the Second Prince. Handle it carefully yourself."

Fan Xian agreed, knowing that every major family in the capital must take an active or passive stance in this matter. The princes fighting for the right to inherit the throne, although a seemingly old-fashioned drama, is an unchanging play in any world. As soon as the thick curtain is drawn open, the actors hidden behind it will take the stage one after another, wielding either a three-foot sword or a three-inch tongue, performing for others to watch, and also performing for themselves - if the Fan Manor wants to remain impartial and closely follow the Emperor, it seems that a great deal of effort will be required.

Late at night, Fan Jian sat alone in the grand master's chair, drinking the fruit juice that had already cooled down, while thinking about Fan Xian's words. Thinking of the painful price he had paid back then, the corners of his lips twitched. He also recalled the terrifying and bloody scenes of that bloody month in the capital. In that dim, unknown night, the Empress's father trembled under his blade. When he personally cut off the other party's head with one slash, the head rolled and rolled, seemingly remembering that sound. A gentle smile appeared on the corners of Fan Jian's lips.

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In the days that followed, Fan Xian lived a very comfortable life. Every day, he enjoyed the treatment of a young master in the manor. Occasionally, he would sneak to Dongchuan Road to see how far the planned bookstore had progressed. He gradually became familiar with the shopkeeper, who also had the surname Ye. Everything went smoothly, so Mr. Cui, the guest teacher in the manor, returned to the side of the Earl of Sinan. And every other night, Fan Xian would always sneak into that royal courtyard, climbing over the wall with practiced ease. However, the window was no longer closed, and Chicken Leg Girl was always silently waiting for him.

The reason he often ran there was not because of "romantic entanglement", but because Lin Wan'er's illness could no longer be delayed. The people of the royal family were all wooden, but fortunately, after the imperial physician received the bribes that had been passed through countless twists and turns from the Earl of Sinan's manor, he finally agreed that eating some oily food would be beneficial to the princess's health.

Fan Xian often went there to deliver food and the medicinal pills he prepared. Because he was afraid of conflicting with the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, he used very mild medicine. In addition, he brought a lot of delicious food to satisfy his fiancée's increasingly greedy little mouth. After some days like this, Lin Wan'er's body had obviously improved, and the redness on her face gradually increased, but it was not the unhealthy bright red of the past. Moreover, she had gained weight, and her cheeks were noticeably rounder.

Lin Wan'er was a little worried about this, but Fan Xian was overjoyed. He thought to himself that after the marriage, wouldn't he be able to knead his beloved baby-fat beauty every day?

The guards of the courtyard were really lax. Coupled with Fan Xian's wall-climbing skills, which he had been trained in by Wu Zhu in Danzhou, he stole fragrance and fed medicine every night, and no one noticed. However, the root of Lin Wan'er's illness still couldn't be eradicated. Fan Xian thought that he should wait for Fei Jie to return. If that didn't work, he would find a way to move away from the capital after the marriage. The Fan family had another courtyard on Cang Mountain, which was most suitable for recuperation.

After these nightly contacts, the engaged couple had become much more familiar with each other. For some reason, after falling in love at first sight at the Qing Temple, the two felt that the other had some extremely similar aspects to themselves. Perhaps it was their appearance, perhaps it was their temperament, perhaps it was their view on things. This sense of compatibility made Fan Xian, who was in his first love, and Wan'er, who was in her first love, truly feel the beauty of holding hands. Two originally strange men and women had become what they were now, able to know what the other was thinking with a single glance or gesture, and it hadn't taken much time at all.

Lin Wan'er looked at his face, and suddenly asked with worry, "You use that incense every day to make Si Qi fall asleep. Won't there be any problems if you do it for a long time?" Fan Xian comforted her, "I said it the first time I came. This incense is only beneficial to the human body."

Lin Wan'er thought of the scene when he first climbed in through the window, and couldn't help but chuckle, "What would you have done if I had really killed you as a lecherous thief at that time?"

Fan Xian smiled wryly and held her hand, "Wan'er, there are some things that I must let you know."

Lin Wan'er was slightly embarrassed to hear him call her nickname, and said, "What things?"

"Well... if you want to kill me, it's probably very difficult." Fan Xian said with a smile, "I've been learning from very powerful people since I was a child, so I'm not a poet at heart, but more like a brute."

Lin Wan'er sighed, "I know. If you weren't a brute, how could you beat up Guo Shangshu's son in the street, and make such a commotion that you still can't leave the capital?"

Speaking of which, the case of Fan Xian beating Guo Baokun has not been closed. The two sides are deadlocked, and the Kyoto Prefecture has long surrendered, raised the banner of truce, and submitted the case to the Ministry of Justice, using the reason: the case is complicated and difficult to investigate. In fact, what's so complicated about this case? If they really wanted to investigate, they only needed to arrest a few guards who are now wandering the streets of Kyoto with Fan Xian, and then use torture, and everything would be clear. But the problem is that the backgrounds of the two families involved in the lawsuit are not simple, so the case has naturally become complicated.

This is a crooked path, but it is also the right path in the officialdom - after the case was submitted to the Ministry of Justice, it was the Ministry of Justice's turn to have a headache. They are currently planning to ask the palace to issue an decree to allow the Overwatch Council to handle the case. Although this kind of public security case should not be within the scope of the Overwatch Council's management, after all, both sides are officials, and the Overwatch Council has the duty to supervise officials, so it is also justifiable - all the officials in Kyoto know that the director of the Overwatch Council is someone who wouldn't care about any official or noble.

So the Guo family is waiting for the day when the Overwatch Council starts the investigation, not knowing that Fan Xian is also waiting for that day. He has the token that Fei Jie left him, so he won't be afraid of the Rakshasa of the Overwatch Council.

In the quiet night, Fan Xian was slightly distracted, and then comforted Lin Wan'er, "This matter is not important, it will naturally fade away in a few days." He suddenly thought of the mother of the girl in front of him, who had tried to kill him four years ago, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Lin Wan'er was a clever girl, and seeing his expression, asked, "Have there been any troubles recently?"

Fan Xian looked at the girl's picturesque eyes, and sighed, "If in the future... there is a problem between me and the Eldest Princess, I am worried about how you will handle yourself. I'm afraid you will be very sad."

Lin Wan'er smiled and said, "Why think about things that haven't happened yet? Wan'er has been sick since she was a child, and seems to be counting the days. She never knows when she will leave this world, so I have always disliked thinking about terrible things that haven't happened."

Fan Xian sighed, and hugged her into his arms with pity, smelling the fragrance in her hair, and constantly said in his heart, "I know how you feel, because I once had the same experience as you."

A kiss on the lips, fragrance remains on the teeth.

"Well... Wan'er, your body is so soft."

"You... you are touching the pillow that you brought here the other day."

Fan Xian liked the feeling of sneaking into a woman's boudoir at night. It was like an affair, but it was an affair without any psychological burden. If allowed, he would like such days to last longer, at least before the marriage, without too many things disturbing him. Being able to have such a happy life in Kyoto was something he couldn't have imagined before leaving Danzhou.

However, things don't always go as one wishes. Peaceful life always comes to an end. This afternoon, the Prince of Jing's son openly arrived at the Fan Manor. Lady Liu quickly went forward to greet him respectfully, and welcomed him into the flower hall for tea.