The Emperor had once said in the palace that he wanted to use Yan Xiaoyi, dared to use Yan Xiaoyi. At that time, Fan Xian wished he could stick a microphone in front of him and ask, "What exactly is your mood? What exactly is his mood? If you want to see into people's hearts, be careful you'll bleed from all seven orifices."

Even to this day, Fan Xian only had a faint, almost non-existent feeling for the Emperor. Logically speaking, he shouldn't need to worry so much about the survival of Qing Kingdom or the Emperor's life or death. But for the sake of his own and his family's future, he had no choice but to devote himself heart and soul. Such was his helplessness.

The carriage left the South City Gate, and the four wheels bumped over the hard ridge in turn. The originally drowsy Fan Xian immediately woke up, lifted the curtain, and stepped out, yawning as he looked towards the official road to the south.

It was already afternoon, and there weren't many people entering the city. The city gate guards responsible for the city gate and the soldiers of the Kyoto garrison responsible for defense were somewhat boredly carrying out their daily work. Suddenly seeing a black carriage coming to the city gate under the protection of more than a dozen officials from the Imperial Censorate, everyone was startled.

Looking at the young official yawning under the carriage, everyone immediately guessed his identity. The City Gate Commander of Tiannan City Gate received the news and quickly ran over, bringing a long bench and offering hot tea to Fan Xian.

Fan Xian didn't stand on ceremony, holding the teacup and gulping down the tea.

Before long, the silhouette of a caravan appeared at the end of the official road. Along the row of wild trees on the horizon, it gradually approached, and soon arrived in front of the city gate.

Fan Xian went to greet them.

The caravan stopped, and Gao Da and the other seven Tiger Guards, along with a group of Sixth Bureau swordsmen, all knelt on one knee in unison, saluting him.

Fan Xian waved his hand, telling them to rise. Naturally, he couldn't help but say a few words of praise. His feet, however, didn't stop, and he directly climbed into the middle carriage.

Lifting the curtain, he saw Wan'er holding a blue cloth bundle, dozing off. Her long eyelashes rested quietly on her fair skin, and a strand of bangs hung peacefully on her forehead, concealing her weariness.

Fan Xian paused, not wanting to wake her. He simply sat down beside her, took the blue cloth bundle from her arms, and glanced at the person opposite with a puzzled look.

Si Si, sitting opposite, blinked and whispered, "It went on too late last night, so she's not in good spirits today."

Fan Xian smiled and didn't say anything more, signaling the caravan to enter the city. He only quietly reminded Gao Da and the others to be careful when entering the city gate ridge, so as not to wake the person in the carriage.

...

...

The carriage passed through half of Kyoto's streets and alleys, and came to the quiet long street in the south city, stopping in front of the main entrance of the Fan residence.

The carriage stopped, and Wan'er also woke up groggily. Instinctively, she rubbed against the not-so-sturdy but surprisingly strong arm next to her, feeling a long-lost warmth return to her side, and snuggled into the warmer embrace.

But she woke up immediately.

The young woman was startled and jumped up, only to find that the person beside her was Fan Xian, who had already fallen asleep. She put her heart back in her chest, looked at the familiar face she hadn't seen for a long time, couldn't help but smile innocently, and stuck out her tongue.

"Pa pa pa pa..."

A string of extremely lively firecrackers sounded, waking Fan Xian from his dream. He grumbled a few words in annoyance, but when he turned his arm back, he found that he was hugging an empty space. Puzzled, he opened his eyes and saw his wife huddled in the corner of the chair, looking at him.

Earlier, Wan'er had been staring blankly at Fan Xian. After a long while, she realized that Si Si was also across from her. Then, she realized that Fan Xian had been awakened by the firecrackers, and suddenly felt extremely embarrassed, her cheeks flushed red.

Fan Xian smiled at his wife, grabbed the blue cloth bundle with one hand, and took her hand to get out of the carriage, not saying anything in detail. Instead, he complained, "Which family is marrying a new bride? Why is it so lively?"

Wan'er covered her mouth and smiled, pointing to the gate of the Fan residence and saying, "I also find it strange. It's our house setting off firecrackers. I don't know what happy event there is."

Si Si also got out of the carriage at this time, holding her personal small bundle. Looking at the lively scene of people coming and going, red lanterns hanging high, and firecrackers exploding in front of the Fan residence gate, she was also startled and exclaimed, "Young Master, Young Mistress, is this welcoming us back from Jiangnan?"

...

...

The caravan stopped in front of the Fan residence, and the Fan residence became lively. Fan Xian looked at this scene curiously and couldn't help but grab Zheng Tuo, the scholar who came out of the residence to welcome him, and asked, "Mr. Zheng, what is all this about?"

Zheng Tuo laughed and said, "Young Master, you were enfeoffed as the Duke of Danbo today... This is a great happy event. Countless officials from the various ministries and pavilions have come to offer their congratulations. They are all waiting for you to come back in the residence. It is a great honor to our ancestors, so of course we must celebrate it well."

Fan Xian was stunned, and then realized that he had become a young duke. He looked up at the circle of red cloth hanging on the plaque of the Fan residence and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Lin Wan'er looked at him in surprise and asked, "Husband, you've been enfeoffed as a duke?"

Fan Xian nodded.

Lin Wan'er's eyes were full of joy when she heard this. Even Si Si beside her couldn't resist the excitement, as these things are always valued in this world. A subject being enfeoffed as a duke at Fan Xian's age was an exceptionally glorious event, no matter where you went.

Along the way, officials came to offer their congratulations. Fan Xian hurriedly returned their salutes, and had to ask Madam Teng's wife to come out and first take Wan'er, Si Si, and the maids into the inner residence. The servants of the Fan residence were even more beaming with joy, repeatedly kneeling and kowtowing to Fan Xian.

"Rewards, rewards."

Rewards were given out all the way. Of course, Fan Xian didn't feel bad about it, but he just felt that was it really necessary to be so happy? Even Wan'er and Si Si were so happy. If his younger sister was at home, he wondered if she would be even happier.

Finally, after clearing up all the matters and sending off the guests properly, the Fan family gathered in the flower hall in the garden. Liu Shi sat upright beside Fan Jian, her eyes full of smiles. As soon as Si Si returned to the Fan residence, she was assigned a very glorious task: arranging the banquet.

In the past, this task was the responsibility of Liu Shi, who had not yet formally taken her place. This was equivalent to saying that the Fan residence had already recognized Si Si's status.

Fan Jian said a few words to his son and daughter-in-law, and also spoke about Si Si's matter. Anyway, it had already been handled in Danzhou with the approval of the Old Matriarch, so he, the head of the Fan residence, would not say anything more.

After the banquet was prepared, there were no idlers in the flower hall. Fan Sizhe, who had been cooped up at home for a long time, finally ran out with a bounce in his step. He first greeted his sister-in-law, then sat down next to Fan Xian, shamelessly asking for a reward.

Wan'er was startled, thinking that her younger brother-in-law was not in Northern Qi. How did he sneak back?

Fan Xian opened his mouth and scolded, "Isn't it just a broken title? Is it worth you being so greedy?"

Fan Sizhe shrank his neck and said, "You don't care... How many dukes are there in the world?"

Fan Xian said with a smile, "That's no reason to ask me for a reward. Don't you have enough money now? I think in another two years, your father and I will have to ask you for money."

Fan Sizhe chuckled and said, "Money can't buy my elder brother's reputation. You're going to be a prince in the future. When will you find a way to get me a title?"

Fan Xian was stunned, and then remembered that after the Baoyuelou case last autumn, Sizhe was issued an arrest warrant by the Ministry of Justice, and the title of Dragon Rider that he had obtained since childhood was naturally revoked.

But when he heard the word "prince," Fan Xian still felt a little strange. He and his father exchanged glances, both understanding each other's judgment.

With Fan Xian's status, a first-class duke was the limit. It was impossible for him to become a prince unless... something happened in the future.

The atmosphere at the table suddenly became silent. Fan Sizhe also knew that his words were inappropriate and didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore. Wan'er looked at this scene, smiled sweetly, and said to her younger brother-in-law, "Now that you're back, don't rush to leave... Spend more time playing a few rounds with father and mother after dinner."

When Fan Sizhe heard that he was going to play mahjong, and it was suggested by his sister-in-law, his spirits immediately lifted. He hadn't met an opponent on the mahjong table in Northern Qi for more than a year. Tonight, he was going to play against his sister-in-law, the second-best player in the world. He was so excited.

————————————————————

In the following days, everything was peaceful and there were not many stories to tell. The Second Prince's faction was in a state of panic. The Eldest Princess sat quietly in the palace, not knowing what she was thinking. Fan Xian only occasionally thought of the Crown Prince's surprising performance at Baoyuelou and was very puzzled. The Crown Prince, the rightful heir to the throne of Qing Kingdom, naturally used the best method of response... But seeing the situation develop like this, where did his confidence come from?

Fan Xian couldn't figure this out, and Fan Jian couldn't figure it out either. The Crown Prince dared to watch coldly like this, unless he had a strong force in his hands. But the Eldest Princess, who had originally supported him, had already been exposed by Fan Xian's relationship with the Second Prince. Why did the Crown Prince believe the Eldest Princess's words again?

If he couldn't figure it out, he stopped thinking about it. Because he still had to return to Jiangnan in the coming year, and after the New Year's holiday, he had to visit places like the Chen Garden, Jing Prince's Mansion, and the First Prince's Mansion. So, taking advantage of these few days before the New Year, Fan Xian didn't go to the Imperial Censorate, nor did he enter the palace. He just honestly stayed in the Fan residence, being filial to his father, whom he hadn't seen for a year, and teaching his younger brother, who had been in the north for a long time.

The atmosphere of family reunion was really good, but Ruoruo and the Old Matriarch of Danzhou were missing. At one point, Fan Xian had privately said to his father that his grandmother had not seen Sizhe yet, so shouldn't he find a time to let Sizhe go back to Danzhou?

Fan Jian thought about it and felt that it was indeed the right thing to do, so he asked Fan Xian to arrange it.

Just as everything was developing in a peaceful manner, on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, an uninvited guest came to the Fan residence.

This guest was the Northern Qi envoy to Southern Qing. His identity was somewhat sensitive, but he had specifically registered with the Court of State Ceremonies before entering the gate of the Fan residence.

The entire Fan residence felt strange, but they had no choice but to open the main gate to welcome him. The envoy was very respectful to Fan Xian and conveyed the Northern Qi court's condolences to Fan Xian, saying that the Northern Qi people felt the same way about the sniper attack in the valley and deeply felt sorry for Little Fan.

After leaving a lot of gifts, the envoy left the residence, leaving only Fan Jian and Fan Xian looking at each other dumbfounded.

...

...

That night, people from the Southern Qing Court of State Ceremonies came, and an eunuch from the inner court also came to explain to Fan Xian why the Northern Qi envoy had come to visit.

It turned out... The news of Fan Xian's assassination had reached Northern Qi. For some reason, the young emperor of Northern Qi had personally written a private letter, asking someone to pass it on to His Majesty the Emperor of Qing, expressing his concern about Fan Xian's assassination and subtly criticizing the Qing court for not paying attention to Fan Xian's personal safety.

Listening to this, Fan Xian gasped and cursed at the eunuch and the vice minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, "Troubling the waters, what the... is it their business!"

The vice minister of the Court of State Ceremonies and the eunuch exchanged embarrassed glances and comforted him cautiously, "We all understand what the Northern Qi people are thinking. Little Fan, you don't have to be too angry. What use is such a dirty trick?"

The eunuch also smiled slyly and said, "If they want to give gifts, you just accept them."

After seeing the two off, Fan Xian hurried to the study and asked his father, "What exactly are the Northern Qi people trying to do? Is it their place to express concern about this?"

Fan Jian said with a bitter smile, "There's something I've been forgetting to tell you. His Majesty seems to have forgotten about it too. When you went to Northern Qi as an envoy, didn't you promise their emperor in the imperial palace in Shangjing... that if you had time, you would give a lecture at their Imperial College?"

Fan Xian thought seriously, and it seemed that there was such a sentence, but he didn't seem to have agreed, right?

Fan Jian sighed and said, "When you went to Jiangnan, the Northern Qi people sent a document to the Court of State Ceremonies, saying that they were hiring you as a visiting professor at Shangjing Imperial College... His Majesty just thought that the little emperor was bored and didn't take it seriously. He didn't expect that the Northern Qi people were waiting here. Now that you are a visiting professor at Shangjing Imperial College and you were assassinated in Southern Qing, it seems reasonable for them to express their concern and anger."

Fan Xian said angrily, "What good will it do them to scheme against me now?"

Fan Jian raised his head and looked at his son, shaking his head and saying, "Although it's a very crude method, and people with some brains won't believe this kind of instigation, but... Your dealings with the Northern Qi people in Jiangnan can't be hidden forever. Under accumulated slander, who knows if His Majesty will suspect you in the future? They only need to send some gifts, say a few words, and lose some face to stick a thorn in your throat. This kind of deal is very cost-effective."

Fan Xian frowned, feeling very angry, and said, "The sniper attack in the valley... The little emperor of Northern Qi has created a new problem. It seems that the court will no longer investigate."

Fan Jian looked at him and said with a bitter smile, "His Majesty didn't want to investigate in the first place. Now that there is such a useful reason, how could he be willing not to use it?"

Fan Xian also smiled bitterly. After a long while, he said seriously to his father, "Father, on the first day of the new year, I want to enter the ancestral hall."