"Su Fan"
Su Fan had not yet left the imperial palace when he encountered another person.
The Third Prince, Xiao Zhihong.
Su Fan had heard that Xiao Zhihong was on the Crown Prince's side, but Su Fan didn't quite believe it.
Xiao Zhihong was fighting so fiercely with Xiao Zhiyi; was it merely to help the Crown Prince?
He must have his own agenda, it just hadn't been revealed yet.
"Your Highness, Third Prince."
Su Fan cupped his hands in greeting to Xiao Zhihong.
"What is the situation between you and my sister? Should I start calling you brother-in-law?"
Xiao Zhihong asked Su Fan with a smile.
Su Fan was speechless.
Why was everyone asking about this?
Xiao Xue'er shouting Su Fan's name in the street had indeed caused quite a stir. Not only were the Emperor and the princes concerned, but even ordinary citizens were hotly discussing Su Fan's affairs.
Some had even turned the matter between Su Fan and Xiao Xue'er into storytelling, though it was all fabricated by them, with entirely made-up plots.
"Stop joking, there's really nothing between the princess and me. We've only met twice. Please don't spread rumors, I'm afraid His Majesty will kill me."
Su Fan said with a wry smile.
"Oh~ Not saying, not saying."
Xiao Zhihong immediately showed Su Fan an understanding expression.
Met the princess twice and still claimed there was nothing? For ordinary people, let alone meeting the princess, even the Emperor wouldn't allow the princess to stray far from her chambers. Apart from palace maids and guards, no one could approach the princess's sleeping quarters.
"You're blocking my way here, is it just to ask about this?"
Su Fan looked at Xiao Zhihong with a strange expression.
Was the Third Prince so bored now?
"Of course not. Now that the Second Prince has been imprisoned for suspected assassination of the Crown Prince and awaits judgment, my feud with the Second Prince is over, and our cooperation ends here. But this doesn't mean our friendship ends. I know you are a friend of my elder brother, and we can also become friends."
Xiao Zhihong had actually waited for Su Fan specifically to become friends with him.
Su Fan was somewhat flattered.
"Your Highness, you are too kind. Please just command me if you need anything."
Su Fan dared not be friends with Xiao Zhihong. He was different from Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan had met Su Fan without knowing his identity, and they had a heartfelt friendship. But Xiao Zhihong was different. Su Fan knew his identity, which would create a psychological burden. Moreover, he didn't believe Xiao Zhihong simply wanted to befriend him.
Su Fan's words seemed to disappoint Xiao Zhihong.
"If you need anything, you can come to me."
Xiao Zhihong didn't say much more to Su Fan, leaving him with a sentence before leaving directly.
Su Fan felt bewildered. What could he possibly need Xiao Zhihong's help with? Anything the Third Prince could help with, Xiao Yan could also accomplish.
"Never mind."
Su Fan couldn't be bothered to think further and left the imperial palace to go home.
Upon returning home, Su Fan discovered Long Die was not there. He then found a note left by Long Die on the table.
"I'm leaving. I've been out for a long time, and it's time to go back. Take care. Written by: Long Die."
The note was very short, just informing Su Fan that she was returning.
Su Fan closed the note, not showing much emotional fluctuation.
It wasn't a farewell to life or death. If Su Fan wanted to see Long Die, he could just go back and find her. With the Gossip Talisman, he could teleport there at any time.
Su Fan was now level forty and needed to start farming for equipment again. Level forty equipment was not so easy to obtain.
He either had to go to the battlefield or go剿匪 (suppress bandits). Only when humanoid monsters were above level forty would the battlefield become a viable option for Su Fan. For now, he could only choose剿匪.
For剿匪, Su Fan was still a bit in danger alone. A level forty bandit stronghold was no longer the small bandit dens he had visited before. They often had hundreds or even thousands of people. So many level forty humanoid monsters could drown Su Fan in a war of attrition.
Su Fan had to temporarily put this idea aside and find an opportunity to join a剿匪 team.
Su Fan found a place to grind monsters and level up, and also to see if he could encounter any wild bosses. At this time, Su Fan's efficiency in killing monsters and leveling up had significantly decreased. Without suitable low-level monsters, the experience gain was greatly reduced. Grinding for a whole day was not as good as the experience given by a side quest.
After two days passed like this, Su Fan received a message from Xiao Yan, who wanted to see him.
Su Fan immediately went to meet him.
He might as well take this opportunity to ask Xiao Yan to help him join a剿匪 team so he could farm for equipment.
"How are you?"
When Su Fan saw Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan was still lying in bed and couldn't get up, but it didn't hinder his speech.
"Still not dead."
Seeing Su Fan, Xiao Yan was very happy and said with a smile.
"Thank you. I heard the imperial physicians say that if you hadn't brought the healing medicine, I would have been in danger."
Xiao Yan thanked Su Fan sincerely.
"You're welcome. You too, you almost got yourself killed to lure your brother into a trap."
Su Fan said with some incomprehension.
"If I didn't put myself in danger, he wouldn't have fallen for it so easily."
Xiao Yan said with a wry smile.
If it weren't necessary, he really didn't want to be enemies with his brother, but there was no other way. With Xiao Zhiyi's personality, it was either he dies or I die.
"How do you plan to deal with Xiao Zhiyi?"
Su Fan asked curiously.
"I don't know. It's up to Father Emperor's decision. Even if he's not executed, he'll never get out of prison for the rest of his life."
Xiao Yan said in a deep voice.
When he spoke of this matter, Xiao Yan's tone became somewhat heavy.
"Never mind me, what about you? I heard the palace maids say you got involved with my sister? When did you get to know my imperial sister?"
Xiao Yan remembered the palace maids discussing Su Fan and the princess behind his back and asked with confusion.
Su Fan had basically been with him since he arrived in Tianlong City. It was only later that he chose to leave to avoid being discovered. He had no idea how Su Fan got to know his imperial sister. Moreover, the princess couldn't even leave the palace, and there were people constantly watching her even when she left her chambers. Logically, Su Fan shouldn't have met the princess?
Su Fan: ...
Don't you people have anything else to talk about? Why does everyone ask about this? How can I explain so you'll leave me alone?
"Don't overthink it. There's nothing between the princess and me, whether you believe it or not."
Su Fan was too lazy to explain.
"Why the rush? I haven't said I don't agree. Letting you be my brother-in-law is much better than her marrying into a foreign country. I'm quite satisfied with you as my brother-in-law."
Xiao Yan said with a smile.
Xiao Yan wasn't a proper person, but he knew Su Fan was very upright. At least so far, he hadn't seen Su Fan being promiscuous.
The only woman with a relationship with Su Fan was Long Die.
However, he didn't mind. Wasn't it normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines?
"Forget it. You can't make the decision. I'm afraid your father will kill me! Besides, I never said I liked your sister?"
Su Fan was somewhat displeased with Xiao Yan's meddling.
"Don't worry, with me here, I guarantee you two will succeed!"
Xiao Yan winked at Su Fan, acting as if it was all up to him.