Niao Ni

Chapter 446: Old Wheelchair, New Wheelchair

(Unfortunately, regarding Wan'er's pregnancy, some friends have once again accused me of being perverted and having psychological problems… *shrugs*. Perverted it is, then. I wouldn't abandon the idea of letting Lin Wan'er have children for a thirty-twofold risk. Not to mention that Fan Xian's body is already a freak, and his mind is also twisted. The key issue is, if Wan'er didn't desperately want children, that would be the real perversion. So, if Fan Xian doesn't sort this out, the family will never know peace. I don't want to fill Qing Yu Nian with gynecological exams and old Chinese medicine doctors.

I'm just a bit puzzled as to why a simple popular novel has to be tied to human eugenics. I don't have the energy to start a debate about Emperor Wu of Han or Emperor Taizong of Tang. I just feel that it's a beautiful thing, so why make it so complicated?



The world of Qing Kingdom is my world. If I let them give birth to geniuses, they will give birth to geniuses. If I don't let them give birth to deformed children, Fan Xian and Wan'er can't produce one even if they play *sm*… In this book, Fan Xian will consider the thirty-twofold risk, but I'm too lazy to consider it for him. It's not me giving birth. I've already made Fan Xian, this brave warrior, willing to face the thirty-twofold risk head-on. This topic ends here. After all, they are just poor souls at my disposal…



P.S.: Today is my virgin update on the new version of the Qidian writer's zone. I hope there won't be any problems. That's all, thank you.)



……


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Old fox, little fox, old wheelchair, new wheelchair.

In Chen Garden, the beauties dared not approach, the laughter gradually rose, then faded.

The old and young man tacitly stopped laughing at the same time, returning to calmness. Fan Xian moved the wheelchair beneath him forward, his knees almost touching the old man's knees, a posture that seemed incredibly intimate.

Chen Pingping pointed at him, then gently patted the handle of his own wheelchair, making a hollow sound like that of a bamboo flute, and asked, "Are you used to sitting in a wheelchair?"

"There's nothing I'm not used to. With so many injuries on my body, I couldn't possibly ride a horse to see you," Fan Xian said self-deprecatingly. After a pause, he added, "Besides, it's not the first time I've sat in a wheelchair. More than a year ago, in the Hanging Temple, I was stabbed. Didn't I sit in a wheelchair for a month afterward? So-called habit becomes nature."

Though the words were gentle, they contained a hidden meaning. Chen Pingping coughed softly, naturally knowing that the young man in front of him was telling him that he understood certain things.

The Hanging Temple was indeed a divinely orchestrated trap, but Chen Pingping was someone with one foot inside and one foot outside the trap. Shadow was the one he sent to the temple, and the sword that Fan Xian took, though an accident, was a very real brush with death.

As for the ambush in the valley the other day, Fan Xian almost didn't make it back.

So-called habit becomes nature; Fan Xian was clearly telling Chen Pingping forcefully not to treat such things as habits, not to always play with his life, absolutely not to... treat it as a natural occurrence.

Chen Pingping tilted his head slightly, seemingly unsure of how to explain, frowned, raised his elbow, and pointed at Fan Xian's back.

Fan Xian shook his head: "I won't die... but you know why I'm here today, so please let's be direct."

"You speak first, I'll listen first," Chen Pingping said with a smile, smoothing the slightly wrinkled wool blanket on his lap, so that the wrinkles gradually disappeared like ripples in the water.

Looking at the old cripple's slightly lowered head, looking at the other's deep wrinkles and somewhat sallow complexion, Fan Xian was silent for a while before saying, "Twice I've sat in a wheelchair. The first time was because of the assassination at the Hanging Temple, but I gained His Majesty's absolute trust. I suppose there were benefits, and I can accept it. So, what's the deal with my sitting in a wheelchair this time? I really don't like the feeling of being manipulated by you in everything. And I think you know me; I'm the most afraid of death. So, I want you to know, please don't try to do this kind of thing again in the future. I really will go crazy, and this time I almost did."

Fan Xian held up two fingers, staring into Chen Pingping's eyes, and said, word by word: "It's been twice already. I don't want there to be a third time."

The winter chill beneath the stone steps of Chen Garden was quiet for a long time.

"The matter of the Hanging Temple was an accident. You're well aware of that," Chen Pingping said calmly. "As for the assassination in the valley this time, it really has nothing to do with me... I'm not stupid. A scheme must be controllable to be a scheme. At that time, even the siege crossbows were moved into the valley. You could have died at any moment. If you had really died, even if this matter brought some benefits... you wouldn't be able to enjoy them. Then this wouldn't be called a scheme, but stupidity."

Chen Pingping said with a hint of sarcasm, "Do you think I'm a stupid person?"

Fan Xian looked back at his eyes, also saying with sarcasm, "Of course you're not stupid. I'm just afraid that you're sometimes too clever, and you have too much confidence in me."

Chen Pingping's withered hand on the wool blanket on his lap moved slightly, then smiled and said, "Isn't it a good thing to have confidence in you? In this world, I should be one of the few people who understand your strength the most. You've always been good at acting. The number of times you've fought in front of others is very small, especially after entering the ninth rank. You only had a head-on fight with Shadow. People in the world know that you're a master, but they don't know how high you've reached, especially they don't know the secrets hidden on your body... But I'm different. I know all of this."

"You let it slip," Fan Xian said darkly: "Old man... that was an ambush! That was in the valley outside Kyoto. The other side had more than two hundred crossbows! That's enough to go to Dongyi City and kill Si Gu Jian. Aren't you even a little bit afraid that I would die?"

"If Si Gu Jian was so easy to kill, then things would be much simpler," Chen Pingping grumbled, "I've already said, this matter has nothing to do with me."

"Don't forget, I'm also a Deputy Director of the Overwatch Council!" Fan Xian said angrily. "You're not stupid, so am I? Do you think I haven't investigated the affairs of my own Council these past two days while I was lying in bed? If people in the Council hadn't helped cover up the news, could those siege crossbows have been moved to the small hills outside Kyoto in such a blatant way? If there weren't people in the Council cooperating with those bastards, could they have been able to carry out the assassination so easily?"

Chen Pingping coughed twice: "Maybe there were problems with the Kyoto Garrison."

Fan Xian glanced at him and said, "How could the Kyoto Garrison know the information flow of the Overwatch Council? Even if the military could find out the exact time of my return to Kyoto, what about the reports of safety sent back by the scouts in the valley? The Black Knights had only left for a short time, and the other side calculated that detail so accurately?"

Chen Pingping mocked and said, "Since the other side wanted to kill you... naturally they had to prepare thoroughly. If they couldn't even consider these details, wouldn't they be too muddleheaded?"

Fan Xian sneered: "Keep pretending, keep pretending. Even if those ambushes in the valley weren't something you secretly helped with by sending a double-sided raven, during the process of the event or even after it ended, you can't escape the suspicion of indulgence... Who are you? The most powerful person in the Great Qing Dynasty. Could it be that such a big plan in Kyoto escaped your notice? Why didn't you think of giving me a heads-up or a warning or something? Could it be... you also think that I'm constantly fighting for power in the Council, which is a bit of an eyesore for you, so you simply killed me off to avoid being bothered... But don't forget, it was you who begged me to come into this Council in the first place, it had nothing to do with me."

Hearing these words, Chen Pingping finally couldn't help but look up and glare at him, frowning and scolding, "You brat, you're clearly not thinking that way in your heart, and you know I'm not thinking that way, yet you insist on saying it like this. Do you think you can do anything by saying this?"

"Can't do anything?" Fan Xian interrupted directly: "You tricked me twice, causing me to almost lose my life twice. You have to give me justice."

"I said it has nothing to do with me," Chen Pingping said gloomily, too lazy to pay attention, pushing his wheelchair and heading towards the garden on the left side of the stone steps.

A fire of anger was burning in Fan Xian's heart, how could he let the old cripple run away like this? He pushed hard on the ground with both hands, and followed.

Knowing that the two most powerful figures in the Overwatch Council were going to have a very secret conversation today, Chen Garden had already made relevant arrangements. The beauties who used to be twittering in the garden, not even afraid of the cold wind, were locked in their rooms and not allowed to come out, and all the servants were also hiding in this area. The old servant also quietly left after pushing Fan Xian to this place.

As a result, there were only Chen Pingping and Fan Xian, two pitiful people sitting in wheelchairs. At this time, Chen Pingping was in front and Fan Xian was behind. The old man was pushing his wheelchair quickly in front, and Fan Xian was chasing hard behind. In a short moment, they circled around the stone steps of the mansion, a scene that looked only so comical.

……

……

To be honest, Chen Pingping really didn't want to face Fan Xian today, whose anger hadn't subsided, so he simply didn't want to talk about it. Pushing his wheelchair in front, this important figure of Qing Kingdom had been sitting in a wheelchair for so many years, so of course he was more used to it than Fan Xian. In addition, Fan Xian was seriously injured and hadn't recovered much, so after the two wheelchairs circled around the mansion, Fan Xian had been left several "chair positions" behind.

Fortunately, Chen Pingping couldn't play wheelchair escape in his own home. He just stopped by a small pond on the right side of the mansion. Fan Xian, panting, turned his wheelchair and caught up, stopping next to him. Looking back, the two of them had circled the mansion counterclockwise, but were about to return to the starting point, which was really a bit boring.

"I'm a patient," Fan Xian complained: "Even if my questions embarrass you, it shouldn't be like this."

"It's not that it's embarrassing," Chen Pingping suddenly sighed and said, "It's just that you're asking me for justice, and I really don't know how to give it to you."

Fan Xian lowered his head, looking at the ice shards and frozen black lotus branches in the pond, and couldn't help but frown. He breathed two mouthfuls of hot mist onto his hands, gently rubbing them, listening to the old man's words next to him.

"Don't investigate the affairs of the Council anymore, there are no traitors," Chen Pingping said slowly: "I admit that I knew some rumors about the assassination in the valley this time, and indeed someone in the Council was helping the other side, otherwise you couldn't have been made to suffer so much."

"Since you won't let me investigate, that traitor must also be a move you deliberately revealed," Fan Xian said in silence: "You also know that I suffered a lot this time, so I don't understand... The Hanging Temple was to save the emperor, but this time His Majesty wasn't in my carriage, so why did I have to pay so much?"

"Do you believe me?" Chen Pingping sighed.

Fan Xian thought for a long time, and slowly nodded.

"Don't ask me yet," Chen Pingping said quietly: "You'll naturally understand later."

"I don't understand," Fan Xian said calmly: "But I don't need to understand. However, I need to know who attacked me, and who the double-sided person in the Council is."

Chen Pingping looked at him quietly, and after a long while, he said, "You don't have any evidence, you can't do anything to the other side."

"But you have it."

"I don't have it either," Chen Pingping said indifferently: "Even if I did, I couldn't give it to His Majesty... Firstly, I don't want His Majesty to be so angry that he closes our Council down. Secondly, it would be too early to hand it over at this time."

There was too much hidden in these words, enough for Fan Xian to digest for a long time. However, Fan Xian didn't pay much attention to it, and directly asked the key point: "I still want to know who wants to kill me."

"In this Kyoto, everyone wants to kill you except for the people you trust," Chen Pingping said calmly: "As for who the mastermind is this time, I don't think I can hide it from you. I just hope you can be patient and not ruin the bigger picture."

Fan Xian was silent.

"It's the Qin family," Chen Pingping said lightly: "But even if you go into the palace and cry while hugging His Majesty's leg, it's useless. You don't have any evidence, and I can't bear to pull out that chess piece for you to use as evidence... Even if His Majesty suspects the Qin family because of your matter, but considering the military's face, he can't give the old man medicine just to vent your anger because of your few words."

Fan Xian couldn't help but shake his head.

Chen Pingping looked at him curiously: "You're not surprised at all."

Fan Xian carefully stretched his back, afraid of aggravating the injuries, smiled and said, "I'll say it again, I'm also a clever person. Since you're not trying to gain merit for me this time, then you must be dragging someone down, and the only major force in this court that hasn't been dragged down yet is the Qin family. This matter isn't hard to guess."

Princess Li Yun was reasoning the Qin family's participation very easily from another direction, while Fan Xian's reasoning direction was different from Princess Li Yun, but the conclusion they came to was so concise and clear.

Chen Pingping nodded appreciatively and said, "Now you understand. Without evidence, His Majesty won't easily move such a high-ranking family in the military, otherwise the morale of the army will be unstable. How can this court be secure?"

"I'm afraid that even with evidence, His Majesty won't move if the timing isn't right," Fan Xian said mockingly: "I just don't understand. You're dragging the old Qin family down. I suppose that when necessary, you'll naturally let His Majesty know about this... Last year, you were in Kyoto and I was in Jiangnan, and we were both forcing the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and Princess Li Yun to jump over the wall. Now they haven't jumped yet, and you're adding the Qin family as a weight to the other side... Do you really have that much confidence in His Majesty?"

Chen Pingping nodded with a smile: "I've always had a lot of confidence in His Majesty, just like I have in you."

As soon as these words were spoken, the two people sitting in wheelchairs fell silent, just like many conversations in the past. They were both extremely clever people. Many things didn't need to be explained clearly. Each other's attitude was determined in those few words, just like Fan Xian guessed his background, just like each cautious approach - an approach of true state of mind.

"I'm curious, why aren't you curious about me dragging the Qin family down? Even if I have confidence in His Majesty... it would always be easier to deal with if there was one less person jumping over the wall," Chen Pingping looked at Fan Xian's eyes with a gentle smile.

Fan Xian lowered his head slightly, and after a long while, he said, "I suppose it's not a big deal... It's just that you want to take this opportunity to clear all my future enemies, and the old Qin family has always had a good relationship with me and hasn't participated in the struggle for the dragon throne. I suppose... this old Qin family has something to do with a story from many years ago."

"I really didn't misjudge you," Chen Pingping said with appreciation: "It's enough that you can judge this much."

Fan Xian was silent, and a faint sadness welled up in his heart - there was another judgment he didn't say - the old man in the wheelchair in front of him was in very poor health and didn't have many years left to live. The old man was of course aware of this situation, so he had to end everything before he died, which was why he made such arrangements.

At the thought of this, the irritation in Fan Xian's heart had faded a lot, but he still couldn't help but ask: "If... what if I really died in the valley?"

"How could you die?" Chen Pingping looked at him seriously, "You must keep living."

Fan Xian smiled, these words were so similar to his father's words that day.

He tilted his head amusingly and asked, "Why wouldn't I die? You're not clear about the situation in the valley... What kind of family is the old Qin family? If they don't make a move, then so be it. But if they do, it will definitely be a thunderous strike. Even if I'm lucky... I don't necessarily have enough luck to guarantee that I'll survive these assassinations."

Chen Pingping was silent for a while before saying in a sharp and gloomy voice: "I had confidence regarding the Qin family's arrangements, but this time it was indeed too dangerous. That is because I didn't calculate three things."

"I didn't expect that Fifth Master's injuries hadn't healed yet," Chen Pingping said coldly: "That old fool of the Qin family doesn't know that you have such a killing god by your side. If Fifth Master was by your side, who in this world could hurt you?"

Fan Xian nodded, this was the first reason, but it was still not enough to explain why Chen Pingping would be so disregardful of his safety.

"The second thing I didn't expect was." Chen Pingping looked at Fan Xian with a strange smile, "When truly facing death, you could actually bear not to take out that box."

Fan Xian smiled wryly and said, "Although I don't know what the box you've been obsessing over is, I don't have it. Where could I steal it from?"

Although he was shocked in his heart, he still didn't reveal a trace of anything in his expression or words.

……

……

The box, that black, narrow, long box, the box that entered Kyoto with a young girl and a blind servant back then, had only played a role once in the history of Qing Kingdom, but it was a role that changed the world.

Except for Ye Qingmei, Fan Xian, mother and son, and Wu Zhu, no one had ever seen the true face of that box, and no one knew how to use that box. However, the old men who knew the truth about the deaths of the two princes of Qing Kingdom back then knew the terrifying aspect of that box, especially because they didn't know the specific situation, which gave them a strange sense of mystery and awe towards that box.

Existence beyond this world is always fascinating and infinitely fearful.

Even Chen Pingping and the Emperor were no exception. Therefore, when Fan Xian was a child in Danzhou, Fei Jie had once asked Wu Zhu, and when Fan Xian entered Kyoto, he had faced this question more than once.

So Chen Pingping still couldn't understand why, when the assassination in the valley had reached such a dangerous moment, why Fan Xian... still refused to use the box?