(I've been experiencing heart palpitations lately and have found it difficult to concentrate on writing. Please forgive me. I'll take a day off next week to treat myself. Thank you all. Regarding the book review section, I don't mind criticism, truly. Of course, agreement is another matter. Whether you're for or against something, you can express any opinion, but could you please be a little gentler? Please try to maintain a peaceful book review section. Thank you everyone, I beg you.)

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On the banks of West Lake in Hangzhou, as dusk approached, the lake and mountain scenery were bathed in golden light, an indescribable beauty. Within this twilight, Fan Xian, alone, arrived at a hill by the lake. He looked at the young man holding a blue banner and tilted his head, saying, "I hear you've been telling fortunes in Hangzhou lately, and have gained quite a following among the young ladies of prominent families?"

The young man holding the blue banner was naturally Wang Shisanlang, the closed disciple of Sigu Jian of Dongyi City, the ninth-rank expert who had helped Fan Xian kill Yan Shendu. Regarding this person's existence and his subsequent assistance, Fan Xian had always felt it was a bit absurd, like those avant-garde dramas he had heard of in his past life, leaving a strange aftertaste in his mouth.

Although Sigu Jian, that idiot, seemed to have thought things through, Fan Xian always felt this matter was too ridiculous. Even though few in the world knew the relationship between Wang Shisanlang and Sigu Jian, if Fan Xian turned his back on the deal, how would Sigu Jian explain it to the Princess or Yan Xiaoyi?

Wang Shisanlang's face was turned towards West Lake, the soft golden light illuminating his handsome features, imbuing them with a pleasing radiance, making him seem extremely gentle.

"Now, the entire Jiangnan region knows that I am a private expert of your Excellency," the young man said with a kind smile. "Naturally, those officials will give me some respect. This fortune-telling business is doing quite well, of course."

A gentle breeze swept across the lake, moving upwards along the green trees at the foot of the hill, slightly stirring the corner of the blue banner in Shisanlang's hand, just enough to reveal the words 'Tie Xiang' (Iron Appearance).

Having experienced the turbulence of the Zhao Shang Qian Zhuang (Merchant Bank) encroaching on the Ming family's shares, those who were present in the Ming Garden at the time had already guessed that this young man standing behind the Zhao Shang Qian Zhuang's manager was certainly a master that Master Fan had placed to monitor the bank.

The confidant of the Imperial Envoy was naturally living a very successful life in the Jiangnan region.

"It's good that you don't have a habit of harming innocent girls," Fan Xian smiled, standing beside him and glancing at him, a complex emotion rising in his heart.

A green hill by the lake, the lake reflecting golden light, a radiant face – this scene made Fan Xian think of many years ago, on the cliff in Danzhou, the man who was closest to him in the world, seemed also to be surrounded by a ball of light.

That man with the black cloth covering his eyes seemed to be bidding farewell to somewhere. What about Shisanlang? Fan Xian unconsciously shook his head, not understanding why he always habitually associated this good brother with that blind uncle.

He missed Wu Zhu very much, especially in the stable situation of Jiangnan. He didn't know if Uncle Wu Zhu's injuries had healed. Even Chen Pingping didn't know where Wu Zhu was hiding to recover.

And what kind of injury required more than a year to heal?

Fan Xian frowned.

Wang Shisanlang looked at him curiously and asked, "Lord Fan, is something on your mind?"

"Yes," Fan Xian said without hesitation. "I have something I need your help with."

"What is it?"

"The Crown Prince of our dynasty is heading towards Nan Zhao. The road is filled with poisonous fog and dangers. I'm a little worried about his health," Fan Xian said calmly.

Wang Shisanlang frowned slightly, his breathing becoming a little heavier. After pondering for a long time, he slowly said, "The Imperial Guards, the Supervisory Council, and the Qing Kingdom Tiger Guards, the defenses are so tight. Even if I die, I might not be able to get close to him."

Fan Xian laughed. "You misunderstand my meaning."

Wang Shisanlang looked at him, saying nothing.

"Take detoxification pills to him for me," Fan Xian lowered his head slightly, as if trying to avoid the increasingly strong golden light on the lake. "Protect him secretly, ensuring his safety along the way."

Wang Shisanlang's frown deepened, completely not understanding why Fan Xian would suddenly throw out this task. After hesitating for a moment, he said softly, "Why? From my understanding of the situation in the Qing Kingdom capital, the Eldest Princess has been imprisoned, and the Crown Prince is clearly about to lose power. Under the Qing Kingdom Emperor, there is no one left to contend with you."

Fan Xian smiled, not knowing how to explain, so he simply didn't.

"What exactly happened in the capital?" Wang Shisanlang asked curiously like a child. "This matter wouldn't be related to you, would it?"

He unconsciously used the respectful term "you". But Fan Xian spat and said unhappily, "I'm in Jiangnan. No matter how long my arm is, it can't reach the capital."

Wang Shisanlang thought for a moment and accepted his explanation. After scratching his head, he said, "But...the Crown Prince is heading south, it seems His Majesty has some ideas. Lord Fan, you want me to protect him, could it be that you've guessed something? But if my guess is correct...aren't you going against His Majesty? Now I'm a well-known secret. Isn't Lord worried about openly opposing His Majesty like this?"

"Spare me, don't guess wildly," Fan Xian sighed. "This matter has nothing to do with His Majesty. It's purely a request from Wan'er in a letter. After all, I'm half-royal family, so I have to contribute something."

Wang Shisanlang smiled, knowing he was lying, but didn't expose him.

Fan Xian frowned and looked at him, saying, "Don't smile like a rabbit, it seems you're not a fool after all..."

Wang Shisanlang spread his hands and said, "When have I ever been a fool?"

"When you killed Little Arrow," Fan Xian, at this time, had already learned the specific details of the night attack on the Yuan Tai camp from Shisanlang's mouth, knowing Shisanlang's bravery that day, had exclaimed countless times, and now repeated it again, "A brave warrior...dies easily."

Wang Shisanlang laughed self-deprecatingly, "I'm probably only used to this kind of battle."

For some reason, Fan Xian suddenly thought of Brigitte Lin playing a fierce warrior, and ridiculously laughed to himself. Then, under Wang Shisanlang's puzzled gaze, he gently patted his shoulder: "Your master let you follow me, presumably for something many years from now...in that case, cherish your life...on that line in Nan Zhao, you just follow secretly, it's best if you don't have to take action."

He paused for a moment and said: "I'm not threatening you, but the Ming family is now in my hands, and the power of the Internal Treasury's eastern route is also in my hands. You should know that my cooperation with your master has been good these past two months, so please help me with this small favor."

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...

Watching the blue banner disappear into the golden willows by the lake, Fan Xian fell silent. He squatted down and sat down on the green hill, staring blankly at the beautiful West Lake and the non-existent, never-existent Broken Bridge.

If Wang Qinian, who knew the inside story, knew about his arrangement, he would be scared half to death, thinking he had gone crazy. However, Fan Xian knew that he wasn't crazy. He wanted to bring down the Crown Prince before, because if the Crown Prince succeeded to the throne, he wouldn't have a good life.

But now, protecting the Crown Prince's life was to create trouble for the Qing Kingdom Emperor – because once the Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince completely kicked the bucket, there would be no buffer between him and the Emperor. The stripping of power would come immediately, and Fan Xian was even more worried about the safety of Chen Pingping and Fan Jian.

Fan Xian knew clearly that the Qing Kingdom Emperor was a person who valued his reputation extremely. This could be observed very clearly from the palace coup. To cover up a royal scandal, the Emperor didn't hesitate to kill hundreds of people in the palace, and even threw out the details of selling Yan Bingyun to Bei Qi, and the Donghai Island massacre which had been suppressed for a long time.

In this way, the Eldest Princess's downfall had a very real reason. But the Emperor had to go through so many twists and turns, indicating that he didn't want his reputation to be damaged in the slightest. This wasn't a scandal of the royal family, it was a scandal of the Eldest Princess, nothing more.

And the arrangement for the Crown Prince also illustrated this point. The Emperor must be very troubled about how to depose the Crown Prince. He didn't want to slap himself in the face. The Crown Prince had been behaving so purely and compliantly in the past two years. What excuse could the Emperor find?

Many things would definitely happen during the trip to Nan Zhao, and Fan Xian sent Wang Shisanlang, this variable, to digest part of those things.

Fan Xian wasn't stupid enough to restore the Crown Prince. He just wanted to create some small troubles for the Emperor, so that the Emperor wouldn't pay attention to himself so soon, wouldn't pay attention to Zhao Shang Qian Zhuang, and wouldn't have any thoughts about the two old men behind him.

He missed Uncle Wu Zhu. He knew that in this world of Qing Kingdom, there were many people he cared about. For these people, he had to stay here. If it was just Fan Xian himself, he really wouldn't be afraid or worried about anything. Even if he broke with the Emperor, he could be very arrogant and give the imperial city the middle finger in a showy way.

In the eyes of the Second Prince and many smart people, everything around Fan Xian was actually superficial power, completely vulnerable. He himself was clear that the citizens of this world had a natural worship for imperial power. Not to mention the Supervisory Council, even his Qi Nian group, and Little Yan, who was stationed in the council in the capital, might stand against him because of an imperial decree.

However, even if everything around him was taken away by an imperial decree, he wouldn't be afraid, he wouldn't be told off by the Second Prince.

Because he had the heart of a modern person that had been paused for a long time. He had never had the slightest respect for things like imperial power, because he had the ability to consult with Qi Ye and organize a process of the Internal Treasury's craft, because he himself was a ninth-rank master who was good at killing people.

He also had the box, the Emperor's concubine of 419, and Uncle Wu Zhu.

Fan Xian sat silently on the green hill by West Lake, squinting at the red twilight clouds in the distance, thinking in his heart, what a magnificent scene it would be if he was forced to give the imperial city the middle finger one day!

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The Qing Kingdom was the strongest country in the world. In the past ten years or so, the Eldest Princess, Li Yunrui, had been hiding behind the Qing Kingdom Emperor, doing many things, and secretly stole countless benefits from the other two major forces. For example, using the excuse that assassins from Bei Qi and Dongyi City murdered Fan Xian's illegitimate son, she reopened the war and seized a large area of ​​territory from Bei Qi. For example, she sold Yan Bingyun to Bei Qi, and exchanged him for Xiao En's return to the north, but it disrupted the Bei Qi court, and the conflict between the Empress party and the Emperor party resumed.

But strangely, the Eldest Princess has always maintained a good relationship with the Empress Dowager of Bei Qi and Sigu Jian of Dongyi City, and there are even many collaborations regarding the Internal Treasury.

I don't know what those foreigners are thinking.

But no matter what they think, the Eldest Princess's sudden imprisonment has brought tremendous shock to many places in the world, causing many people to start thinking about things, such as Fan Xian starting to shift his strategic focus to that Son of Heaven.

In Bei Qi and Dongyi City, those people who were high above would naturally also give their own judgments.

That Grandmaster in Dongyi City sent his most proud closed disciple to Fan Xian's side, but he didn't know that this closed disciple had been sent by Fan Xian to be a bodyguard. Of course, he is not concerned about this now, he is just concerned about the imprisonment of the Eldest Princess.

Spring is strong, spring is strong. Dongyi City, located on the coast, is full of salty and humid air. The warm ocean current wind blows gently all year round, so the people in the city are not too grateful for this spring.

In the very center of Dongyi City is the City Lord's mansion, which covers a very large area. The City Lord is responsible for leading all specific businesses in the city. This large city, which is prosperous in commerce, is actually business in terms of government affairs. There are very few security issues, because no Jiangyang bandit dares to take action in a place with the most ninth-rank masters in the world.

Except for Wang Qinian, who was young back then.

Everyone knows that the place that truly guides the direction of Dongyi City and determines the survival of Dongyi City is not in the City Lord's Mansion, but in the continuous stretch of thatched huts outside the city.

The thatched huts are arranged in a U-shape, and what is very strange is that the opening does not face the road, but instead is against the mountain at the back. If someone wants to enter this thatched hut, they need to go around to the back of the mountain and go down along the mountain road.

Legend has it that this is the simplest method for Sigu Jian to test visitors.

In the very center of the U-shaped thatched hut, there is a large pit, which is filled with the sword branches left by the masters who had come to challenge Sigu Jian and ask Sigu Jian for advice, like a chaotic forest, stabbing towards the sky.

It is not so easy to be a Grandmaster who has just left the thatched hut.

Fortunately, this trend of challenges finally ended after the big pit gradually filled up. No one would be stupid enough to challenge Sigu Jian again, as for those who were really that stupid...they had already died in the thatched hut.

This is the holy land that all martial arts practitioners admire, yearn for, and dream of...the Sword Hut.

Some people also call it the Sword Tomb.

A very beautiful, very artistic name.

However, Sigu Jian would only use one name to describe the holy land next to his residence – the Sword Pit.

"This is just a pit." A mocking voice came from the thatched hut. The owner of the voice seemed very young: "That bastard, the Qing Kingdom Emperor, and that mad woman, Li Yunrui, really think I'm an idiot?"

Outside the thatched hut, the famous generation of swordsmanship master Yun Zhilan knelt obediently on the stone steps, listening to this somewhat young voice.