Fan Xian was riding his horse, his buttocks feeling somewhat uncomfortable from the saddle. He smiled, recalling the Second Prince he had just met, and the strange sense of familiarity lingered. He knew, of course, that this first meeting was just a casual one, and there was no need to mention anything about the Internal Treasury. It was just a brief encounter.

He plucked a tender green willow branch from beside the river and asked Li Hongcheng, who was riding beside him, "So, the Second Prince just wanted to meet me today?"

Li Hongcheng smiled and replied, "He is an admirer of yours. And since you've married the Princess of Chen, he used the excuse of visiting his brother-in-law to see what this 'Immortal Poet' looks like."

Fan Xian was taken aback. He hadn't expected that to be the reason. He shook his head with a wry smile. After a long while, he suddenly sighed, "Why do I feel like I recognize the Second Prince?"

Li Hongcheng had known him for months and knew that Fan Xian was tough at heart but gentle on the surface. Except for the occasional outburst, he managed to maintain a calm demeanor. Seeing him looking somewhat lost, he couldn't help but wonder, "You shouldn't have met him before."

Fan Xian shook his head with a wry smile. He thought to himself that although the Second Prince was handsome, he wasn't a Lin Daiyu. He wasn't interested in that sort of thing. Why was he so preoccupied with the prince? He couldn't help but smile with a hint of embarrassment.

Li Hongcheng was looking at him curiously. When he saw Fan Xian smile, he suddenly froze, staring blankly for a long time before muttering, "I know why you feel like you recognize the Second Prince."

Fan Xian's eyes widened, and he asked curiously, "Why?"

Li Hongcheng made a face as if he was about to vomit, "Because you two sometimes like to smile shyly like women."

Fan Xian was stunned. He quickly suppressed his smile and said with a bitter face, "That's it?"

Li Hongcheng looked at Fan Xian's fair face and suddenly felt a chill. He said, "The two of you have similar auras. You really are like women."

"Nonsense." Fan Xian was both amused and annoyed, but then something clicked in his mind. Perhaps... the Second Prince really was similar to him in some ways. He shook his head, banishing a shocking question from his mind. He smiled again, further disgusting the heir, and then cracked his whip, urging his horse towards the capital.

He rode along the riverbank, the horse moving swiftly, the spring breeze in his face. The green willows on the riverbank also brushed against his face. Fan Xian was too lazy to dodge. He channeled his *Badao* True Qi to his face, using his thick skin to push the willows away, and enjoyed his ride.

Before long, he had left the heir and his guards far behind. The horse was getting tired and gradually slowed down. Fan Xian sat on his horse and subconsciously turned his head to look at the water. He saw that he had traveled some distance and had reached a place where flower boats were concentrated. In the distance, a flower boat was covered in dust, leaning forlornly against the bank. Compared to the alluring women and their guests on the brightly decorated pleasure boats in the river, it looked even more pathetic.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, guessing that it must be Si Ling'er's flower boat. This flower boat used to house the most popular woman in Kyoto and was the most popular place in the capital, but now it had become like this. Seeing the scene before him, he couldn't help but think of Si Lili, who was still suffering in the Supervision Department's prison. After the imperial examination, the Qing Kingdom's court would release Si Lili back to Northern Qi, and he happened to be the person in charge of this matter. He wondered what it would be like when they met again.

Back then, he had used drugs, words, and psychological warfare in the prison to trick the woman into revealing that Wu Bo'an was the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on him. He had promised to release her and had even made a very poisonous oath. Originally, Fan Xian didn't intend to honor the promise, but he didn't expect things to change in this way.

The corners of his lips slightly parted, and he smiled gently, as Li Hongcheng had said, thinking that he should honor his promise.

The sound of hurried hooves came from behind. Li Hongcheng had also shaken off the guards and came riding after him alone. The two horses stopped at the water's edge, quietly watching the peaceful scene on the lake, occasionally glancing at the dilapidated flower boat.

After a while, Li Hongcheng said softly, "The night you beat up Guo Baokun, we were drinking on that flower boat."

Fan Xian smiled and said, "We also spent the night on that flower boat."

"Oh?" Li Hongcheng glanced at him and said, "Don't tell me you've suddenly become sympathetic? Your position is different from mine now. Not to mention Si Lili in prison, there are many attractive women on the water. If you enjoy yourself every night like I do, the palace will probably send imperial guards to beat you up the next day."

Fan Xian replied with a wry smile, "I don't have such thoughts. I was just looking at that flower boat and felt something."

"Wu Bo'an is not your father-in-law's man," Li Hongcheng thought he didn't know these secrets, so he reminded him in a low voice.

"I know. He's Princess Chang's man," Fan Xian replied softly. "But since Princess Chang is no longer in the capital, I'm too lazy to think about these things."

"Don't forget that Princess Chang has a very good relationship with the Empress and is very fond of the Empress Dowager. Moreover... the Crown Prince has always trusted her." Li Hongcheng looked at him quietly, seemingly wanting to use these words to indicate something.

Fan Xian smiled and said, "Just say what you want to say directly. The Second Prince and I just met, so it's not convenient to say some things. I shook off the guards because I wanted to talk to you in private."

The two horses walked forward slowly, their heads occasionally rubbing against each other affectionately. Li Hongcheng pulled aside the green willow branches in front of him and said softly, "After you return from Northern Qi, you will probably be in charge of the Internal Treasury. Whether it's the Eastern Palace or the Second Prince, they both need you. I think you understand that."

Fan Xian smiled and remained silent, listening to the other person continue.

"Although the Eastern Palace is showing you goodwill now, that's because Princess Chang has left the capital. I don't know why Princess Chang hates you so much, but I know that in the Eastern Palace's eyes, a thousand of you are not worth a word from Princess Chang. So you can't trust the Eastern Palace." Li Hongcheng said very seriously, "Our two families have been friends for generations, and I consider you a friend, so I want to remind you that if you really have to fall, I hope you will fall on that side, both for public and private reasons."

He pointed to a lone hill on the opposite bank of the river. The hill was cut off by a forest behind it, forming the Chinese character "二 (èr)," meaning "two."

"What a coincidence." Fan Xian followed his finger and looked over, shaking his head with a wry smile, "Standing in line is a very stupid thing. Hongcheng, I advise you not to join a faction too early."

"It's not a coincidence. That's the Second Prince's villa," Li Hongcheng said with a smile. "Your way of thinking is very similar to my father's, but there are always many things to do in this world."

Fan Xian shook his head in disagreement. "After meeting the Second Prince today, I felt very strange. Why doesn't such a perfect person want to be a peaceful prince like Prince Jing?"

When Li Hongcheng heard him mention his father, his eyes gradually turned cold, and the warm smile that he usually wore disappeared. He said indifferently, "In the Emperor's family, there is no such thing as personal matters. There are many things that you can't avoid even if you want to. You should remember the late Emperor, my grandfather, how he ascended the throne. Two princes were assassinated on the same day. How bloody and foul was the atmosphere in the capital at that time? If you could go back in time, would you also ask those two why they didn't give way?"

Fan Xian felt a chill in his heart. He forced a smile to hide his emotions and said, "That was shortly after the founding of the country, which is different from the current peaceful times. If the Second Prince is willing to give way, the Eastern Palace may not do anything. Look at Prince Jing, he spends his days planting grass and flowers in his mansion and is very happy. The Second Prince seems to genuinely love literature. Why can't he learn from your father?"

"You've seen His Majesty and Princess Chang. My father ranks second among the princes, but look at his face, he already looks like an old man," Li Hongcheng said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Does giving way really have good results? My father always has a sense of sadness and resentment in his heart. Although I don't know the reason, I think it must be because of these rotten things in the Emperor's family."

In fact, the heir of Prince Jing was wrong about the real reason why Prince Jing was currently working as a flower farmer.

Fan Xian frowned, "But you shouldn't be following the Second Prince so closely. From any point of view, he is the least likely one." In fact, given his friendship with Li Hongcheng, these words were already too frank and direct.

Li Hongcheng was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then a smile appeared on his face. He knew that Fan Xian truly regarded him as a friend, and he replied softly, "If parents put some sweets in front of their children, we must first express our desire to eat them, so that when the parents distribute the food later, they will think of you first."

Fan Xian smiled and said, "The Second Prince is always expressing his attitude."

"That's right." Li Hongcheng's gaze left Fan Xian's face and looked across the Flowing Crystal River at the small mountain on the opposite side, and at the faint mountains under the sky in the far distance. He said softly, "The late Emperor was lucky because he only had two sons. His Majesty is also considered lucky because he only has three sons. But... after the Eldest Prince returns, I don't know what problems will arise. So the Second Prince must take the lead in expressing his attitude and strive for all the power he can."

"I still don't understand why you chose him."

……

……

"A very simple reason," Li Hongcheng said with a smile. "I find him more pleasing to the eye."

Fan Xian raised his eyebrows, knowing that this statement was only partially true. He couldn't believe it completely. He just looked at the gentle smile of the heir of Prince Jing, his face expressionless. He was not a noble man who sought to live a pure and untainted life. He knew that there were many things in this world that he could not avoid, so from the beginning, he never thought about avoiding them.

A man should live happily in this world - of course, in this process, there may be even more things.

Before entering the city, Li Hongcheng naturally said that he was going to visit a certain brothel. Fan Xian was too lazy to accompany him. He raised his hand to say goodbye. At the time of parting, the heir who loved the flower business said with a smile that was not quite a smile, "The Second Prince wanted to see you first today because after the imperial examination, you probably won't be able to escape the Crown Prince's invitation."

Fan Xian shuddered slightly, hearing a hint of information in the other person's words. At the imperial examination in a few days, although he was not qualified to grade the papers, he would definitely be guarding the Imperial Academy and the Ministry of Rites.