"Isn't spring night fleeting?"

"Too long is also a suffering."

...

...

"The toothbrush you made... I want one."

Fan Xian was stunned. He hadn't expected her to make such a request. He forced a smile and said, "As far as I know, they're also sold on Embroidery River Street."

Haitang smiled faintly, "Not as good as the one you made."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"I didn't expect that a privileged young man like you would be willing to put your heart into these things." Haitang looked at Fan Xian, as if trying to re-examine him.

Fan Xian slowly closed his eyes and said, "You obviously don't know enough about me."

After a moment of silence, Haitang said, "But I only know that you're going back to Qing after the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration. What about the thing you promised me?"

Fan Xian didn't even bother to open his eyes, saying, "After I get a good sleep, I'll come find you to chat."

Haitang frowned and said, "Very well."

Fan Xian suddenly opened his eyes and said, "I'm not in a good mood today, so I don't want to talk too much."

"Farewell." It was the first time Haitang had seen Fan Xian show such coldness, but she didn't react at all, leaving the room cleanly and neatly.

Fan Xian lay on the large bed, clearly exhausted, but unable to fall asleep. His expression seemed calm, but his mind was in chaos. He simply didn't have enough time to digest what he had heard and felt last night. He kept his bright eyes open, looking at the embroidered canopy of the bed, his gaze seeming to want to penetrate the roof and go straight through the nine layers of clouds, projecting onto the most distant sky.

————————————————————————

Now that it was confirmed that Fan Xian was staying in the envoy, the Northern Qi side would naturally think of who exactly tried to rescue Xiao En from the Yanshan cliffs? This question was naturally raised.

Lang Tao, He Daoren, and Shen Zhong sat on three chairs, their brows furrowed tightly. Among the three, Shen Zhong's official position was naturally the highest, but Lang Tao was Ku He's first disciple and also the martial arts teacher of the young emperor, so his status was the highest. He Daoren seemed a little silent.

After the two of them joined forces yesterday during the day to force Fan Xian and Xiao En off the cliff, the Embroidered Uniform Guard began a secret search outside the capital of Northern Qi. Unexpectedly, after a day and a night, there was no effect. And in the morning, when everyone finally couldn't bear it any longer and asked the palace to help forcibly break into the envoy, they were shocked to find Fan Xian sitting well on the bed!

"Could it not be Fan Xian?" He Daoren's pale face became even paler. Although the poison on his thigh had been cleared, it had also consumed a lot of his true qi.

Lang Tao closed his eyes and said, "That person must be Fan Xian. Good at using poison, using needles, small tricks, who else could it be besides him?"

He Daoren frowned and said, "But that person doesn't look like Fan Xian."

Lang Tao opened his eyes and said, "People can disguise themselves."

Lang Tao's identity was special, so when he spoke, people couldn't easily question him. But the fact was that Fan Xian was fine in the envoy. If he had fallen off the cliff, how could he have remained unscathed? Unless he was a god.

At this time, Shen Zhong couldn't help but begin to doubt Lang Tao's judgment, but on the surface, he still looked kind and amiable like a wealthy old man, "The greatest possibility is Fan Xian, because the one who colluded with Shang Shanhu is the Southern Qing people. Only the Southern Qing people would know so much about this matter. It's impossible for those experts from Dongyi City."

Seeing He Daoren shake his head in disagreement, Shen Zhong chuckled, "Of course, it could be someone else."

"Who else could it be besides Fan Xian?" Lang Tao said in a deep voice. He didn't like dealing with these special agents in the first place. If this matter hadn't involved Xiao En, he wouldn't have left the palace to help the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Shen Zhong glanced at Lang Tao and said with a smile, "Lord Lang Tao, Southern Qing also has many experts. As for the methods... I think you should have heard that there has always been an assassin called Shadow by Chen Pingping's side, but no one has ever seen him, and no one knows his methods and style of doing things. Since Fan Xian is the Head of the Supervisory Council, his methods should be somewhat related to that Shadow... In this case, the one who attacked beside the cliff was not Fan Xian, it could also be that Shadow."

Shadow was Chen Pingping's personal guard. Although no one had ever seen him, as the leader of the Northern Qi special agents, Shen Zhong naturally knew that such a person existed.

"It doesn't matter who it is." He Daoren exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, "Now the most important thing is to confirm whether Xiao En is dead or not."

"Xiao En is dead."

Lang Tao said very calmly. When Fan Xian, clad in black, attacked to rescue the man, he turned around and stabbed Xiao En's chest and abdomen with a curved blade. He was very confident that the force carried on the tip of the blade had severed Xiao En's life force in that instant.

Shen Zhong smiled and said, "That's good. The National Preceptor and the Empress Dowager will definitely be very satisfied. Shen is here to thank the two lords."

...

...

The sun was once again about to sink behind the western city wall of the capital of Northern Qi, just like every day for thousands of years. The slightly hot breeze wrapped around the somewhat wilted leaves and crashed into the residences in the capital, swirling past people's bodies and brushing past those silent tree trunks.

After nightfall, the wind would gradually cool down.

Fan Xian, draped in a thin coat, stood beside a tree in the backyard of the envoy, his eyes slightly narrowed, watching the first star appear in the sky. In this weather, he shouldn't need to add a coat, but his body was too tired, so he felt a little chilly.

He carefully folded the letter in his hand, not shattering it into snowflakes with his palm force as he usually did. Because this letter was not a secret letter from the Council, but just an ordinary family letter.

The letter was written by Wan'er. Although news from home had been constantly transmitted to the north, this was the first time Fan Xian had received a letter from his wife. It seemed that she was also waiting anxiously at home. The Prime Minister, his father-in-law, had already stepped down, Dabao had been received into the Fan residence, Ruoruo was as calm as ever, seemingly undisturbed by the rumors of marriage, and his father was busy with state affairs. These were all the contents of the family letter.

The end of the letter did not write about lovesickness, nor did it urge someone's return journey, but only wrote a few scattered lines: "Summer night wind also ceases, tossing and turning dreams wound. Knowing you will return soon, green silk grows again. A short separation is but a moment, missing you like three days. Where does leisure come from? Burying myself in books."

Missing you like three days, yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Fan Xian smiled slightly, feeling the faint concern in the letter, and the rare openness of the woman's mood, feeling slightly comforted. These days, he had been busy with many conspiracies, and he couldn't help but have slightly forgotten the women in his family. Occasionally when he thought of them, he would feel a little guilty.

He had agreed with Haitang to meet the day after tomorrow. He didn't know why, but at this moment, he was somewhat looking forward to this meeting.

This was definitely not a matter between a man and a woman, but a very pure kind of expectation. Fan Xian wanted to find someone to talk to, or more precisely, after experiencing the conversation with Xiao En, he needed to confide... but had nowhere to confide.

This very strange and wonderful feeling had been lingering in his heart.

In that rainy night in the capital of Qing, after that box was opened, Fan Xian thought that he would no longer be lonely in this world, after all, there was that woman's ubiquitous aura and traces in this world. But at this time, he truly felt that he was still lonely, because that woman had after all disappeared without a trace.

"Xiao En is right, I am indeed a heartless person." Fan Xian thought to himself, he was a person without friends, shook his head, and walked towards the wing room.

...

...

Inside the room were only Fan Xian, Yan Bingyun, and Wang Qinian. This was the last meeting of the Supervisory Council in the capital of Northern Qi. Yan Bingyun quietly looked at Fan Xian and said, "Lord Fan, did you get it out of him?"

This was a situation that Fan Xian had long expected. He had used all the power of the Supervisory Council and the Xinyang faction to obtain such a clever "dead end." As officials of Qing, everyone naturally wanted to know what secret Xiao En had revealed.

He frowned, "I was too late, Xiao En is dead."

A strange look flashed in Yan Bingyun's eyes, but he immediately returned to normal, shook his head and sighed, "Planning for so long, but still without success, it's a pity."

Fan Xian sarcastically smiled, "The old cripple couldn't get it out of him for twenty years, did you think I was a god?"

He often deliberately called Chen Pingping "old cripple" in his conversations with Yan Bingyun. This was a very reckless, even a very clumsy method of intimidation, but dealing with someone as clever as Yan Bingyun, this very reckless method was often more effective.

He turned his head to Wang Qinian and said, "Prepare for the return journey."

Wang Qinian said in a deep voice, "Yes." After a slight pause, he frowned and asked, "Lord, what should we do with the imposter who stayed in the room yesterday?"

Fan Xian knew that he meant to kill him to silence him, felt a little uncomfortable, and said, "Naturally, we'll take him back."

Yan Bingyun shook his head in disagreement, "What if he's discovered by the Northern Qi people?"

"What if he's discovered?" Fan Xian stared at Yan Bingyun's face, mockingly said, "Of course, we'll let it be. Even if they discover him, what can they do? You've been locked up for a year, and you've become much more timid."

Yan Bingyun and Wang Qinian exchanged glances, finding that Fan Xian was in a bad mood today, so they very tacitly shut up and said nothing. Fan Xian glanced at the two of them, then suddenly sighed and said, "Do you think Haitang didn't see through it? It's just that she can't do anything to me."

Wang Qinian then asked about the arrangements for the return journey. After a slight silence, Fan Xian slowly said, "As soon as the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration is over, we'll set off immediately. I... miss home a little."