Niao Ni
Chapter 479 The Unbearable Lightness of... Scent
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"His Majesty enjoys watching people plant flowers and plants, and enjoys the scenery."
"Oh? Isn't that similar to Uncle's hobby?"
"He's very lazy, he just watches, who would dare let him do it himself?"
"I heard… that Miss Haitang likes to be close to the countryside?"
A moment of silence.
"His Majesty... is a very interesting person."
"His Majesty... actually does a lot of interesting things... but from a young age, he was dragged by his mother to study the ways of governing the country, and few of us get to see him."
Inside the flower hall, the Grand Princess Consort's words, filled with a faint smile, rang out from time to time. Fan Xian stood outside the door, listening quietly, knowing that what the woman said was not false. The Northern Qi royal family had also experienced a turmoil more than a decade ago, involving countless princes and nobles, including that Miss Shen, who is now hiding in Yan's mansion. Her biological father, Shen Zhong, rose to prominence because of that incident back then.
The Northern Qi Empress Dowager only has the current Northern Qi Emperor as her son. The other princesses were born to the late Emperor's other concubines. The Grand Princess who married into Southern Qing is respected by the Northern Qi Empress Dowager and Emperor, but after all, she is not a blood relative, and there is always a distance between them. Moreover, after the tragic experience of seeking survival with a child in her arms, the Northern Qi Empress Dowager is naturally more wary of other members of the royal family.
The people of Southern Qing are all curious about the little Emperor of Northern Qi, and they keep asking questions, but the Princess Consort cannot say anything specific, only saying that he is interesting and fun.
Ye Ling'er saw him eavesdropping outside the door and looked at him curiously.
Fan Xian smiled and pushed the door open.
The Grand Princess Consort, who was frowning in difficulty, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them enter, and said, "Don't ask me anymore. I really can't figure out our Majesty. I rarely see him in the palace. When he was young, the Empress Dowager watched him very strictly, and when he grew up, he was busy with state affairs... But Fan Xian, he traveled with His Majesty several times in Northern Qi. His Majesty has always been very fond of him. If you want to ask about anything interesting, you might as well ask him."
At this time, Fan Xian and Ye Ling'er returned to their seats. Ye Ling'er leaned towards Lin Wan'er, her face excited, whispering her thoughts of her after their separation, not paying much attention to the rest of the conversation. Fan Xian and the Second Prince smiled helplessly at each other, not noticing that someone had mentioned his name.
When everyone heard the Grand Princess Consort's words, they remembered that the only person besides the Princess Consort who had seen the little Emperor of Northern Qi was Fan Xian, and everyone knew that the little Emperor valued Fan Xian's poetry and talent very much.
The Heir Apparent, Li Hongcheng, burped and looked at Fan Xian and said, "Anzhi, what kind of person is the Northern Qi Emperor?"
Fan Xian was stunned for a moment, came back to his senses, and said, "As a ruler of a country, it's not for me, a foreign minister, to comment on."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the hall felt a little embarrassed. It was indeed not appropriate to discuss the rights and wrongs of the Northern Qi Emperor in front of the Grand Princess Consort, but human curiosity is always difficult to suppress. Even the Second Prince urged Fan Xian to say more.
Fan Xian scratched his head and asked, "Why are you so interested in the Northern Qi Emperor?"
The men in the flower hall suddenly fell silent, with embarrassed expressions on their faces, only the three young ladies whispered like ants gnawing on tree leaves.
The Grand Princess Consort smiled and shook her head, slightly lifted her skirt, and left the flower hall with a serene expression, saying that she was going to check on the arrangements for the luncheon.
With the Princess Consort's status, why would she need to personally worry about these trivial matters? Undoubtedly, she wanted to provide these Qing Kingdom royal nobles with a convenient opportunity to speak their minds. Sure enough, after the Princess Consort walked away from the flower hall, the Eldest Prince shook his head and opened his mouth, "We have to pay attention to him. The little Emperor of Northern Qi has always been very mysterious. Whether it is the Supervisory Council or the military intelligence, there is no detailed description. His temperament, hobbies, and emotions are like a mystery."
"So what? As an emperor, one should naturally maintain a sense of mystery in front of the people," Fan Xian replied with a smile.
The Eldest Prince said seriously, "But he is the monarch of a foreign country. The more mysterious he is to us, the more terrible he is."
Fan Xian frowned and said, "He's just a young man, how can you say he's terrible?" When he first met the Northern Qi Emperor in the capital of Northern Qi, he thought the other party was a young man of similar age to himself. After returning home and carefully checking the information, he realized that the little Emperor was actually two years younger than him.
During his time in Jiangnan, whenever he thought of the Northern Qi Emperor's deep thoughts, calmness, and boldness in using the internal treasury silver to interfere in Southern Qing's internal affairs, Fan Xian also felt a chill in his heart. However, this matter involved his greatest secret, and he definitely did not dare to say it in the flower hall.
The Second Prince put down the fruit in his hand and sighed, "Terrible things have nothing to do with age." He glanced at Fan Xian, meaning that when you first entered the capital, you were only a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man, but you were extremely terrible. Then he smiled and said, "You should be aware of what happened to Shen Zhong, the Jin Yi Wei of Northern Qi. In the end, Wei Hua became the commander... Shen Zhong died miserably, but the little Emperor cleverly smoothed the whole thing over, not only trapping Shang Shanhu in the capital and preventing him from leaving, but also smoothly taking over the power of the Later Faction... Wei Hua doesn't even listen to the Empress Dowager's orders now, and the National Preceptor Ku He remains silent... Where did such a young monarch get such a deep city? How was he able to convince so many people to stand on his side?"
The Second Prince emphasized, "If the power struggle between the Northern Qi Emperor and Empress Dowager turns into an intense situation, that will be a blessing for our Great Qing... We originally thought that the Emperor's initial governance would not be as long-lasting as the Northern Qi Empress Dowager's management. In the end, with the young man's violent temperament, he would only cause chaos in the Northern Qi court. Who knew that the little Emperor would silently take back power into his hands. This kind of method is really... terrible."
Fan Xian fell silent. He was very clear about the inside story of Shen Zhong's murder. In fact, he was the one who suggested to the Northern Qi Emperor through Haitang's mouth to do this.
At this time, the atmosphere in the flower hall was slightly tense. The three young ladies knew that the men were talking about state affairs, so they wisely kept silent.
Li Hongcheng, the Heir Apparent, no longer had any excess wine in his eyes at this time. He frowned and said, "The Northern Qi Emperor is the master of a country. He is not fond of women, and he has no bad habits. He is clear-headed and self-controlled... This kind of person is the most terrible. If our Great Qing wants to send troops north in the future, the first thing to consider is not the strength of Northern Qi, but the character of the ruler of Northern Qi. If the Northern Qi Emperor does not cause chaos himself, we will not have any good way to deal with him."
As soon as these words came out, the Eldest Prince and the Second Prince nodded one after another.
Fan Xian was slightly startled and felt a little surprised at this scene, shocked by the serious expressions of the three royal descendants. It was only now that he realized that, for him, Northern Qi was just a partner, but for the young generation of Qing Kingdom's nobles, Northern Qi was destined to be swept away and annexed by the Great Qing Dynasty.
Southern Qing was fond of martial arts. The previous generation had already conquered a large piece of land. Now, what was left for the new generation was the large but not stiff Northern Qi. This was a kind of expansionist fanaticism deeply rooted in their blood. Whether it was the Eldest Prince or Li Hongcheng, they could not escape this fanaticism. Even the Second Prince, a gentle and solemn character, was still always thinking about attacking Northern Qi.
Southern Qing was powerful and had been maintaining an offensive momentum for the past thirty years. For the people of Southern Qing, this was no longer a question to consider. What they needed to consider was when to attack Northern Qi... So, what kind of person the Northern Qi Emperor was was very important to these three royal descendants in the hall.
Seeing the Second Prince's thoughtful expression, it was clear that unifying the world was the ultimate goal of all Southern Qing people, and could even temporarily suppress his anxiety about the dragon throne.
"Everyone says that the Northern Qi Emperor doesn't like women, but he specially asked to exchange for Si Lili last time... Anzhi, you were the envoy last time. Did you discover any details in the capital?" the Eldest Prince asked seriously.
After a long while, Fan Xian slowly said, "It's true that he doesn't like women. There are only a few concubines in the huge palace, and in order to prevent the rise of foreign relatives, the little Emperor resisted the pressure from the major families in the capital and chose concubines from commoner backgrounds. What's strange is that the Empress Dowager doesn't seem to object to this arrangement."
The Second Prince frowned and said, "Even if it's to prevent foreign relatives from becoming powerful, this kind of arrangement is not a good idea to appease the officials. This move is inappropriate."
Fan Xian nodded and pretended to be worried and said, "Just as the Princess Consort said earlier, that Emperor is really a bit incomprehensible. He is clearly right in front of you, but you always feel that there is a subtle disguise on him."
Li Hongcheng laughed and said, "Come on, that Emperor is quite honest with you. You said earlier that you were a foreign minister, but I don't think the Northern Qi people regarded you as a foreign minister. Otherwise, why would they send a national letter to Kyoto to protest after the assassination?"
The Eldest Prince shook his head angrily and said, "The Northern Qi people have deceived me too much. They actually played such a trick."
Fan Xian said with a wry smile, "Your Highness, this matter has nothing to do with me."
Speaking of the assassination, the Second Prince was not embarrassed at all, looking as if he had a clear conscience. He teased Fan Xian and said, "Of course this matter has nothing to do with you. Not to mention that you are a Southern Qing person, Northern Qi just wants to provoke us. Even if the little Emperor likes you again, if he pulls you to Northern Qi, can he marry his sister to you?"
Ye Ling'er interjected at this time, "I think it's really possible... Fan Xian was born with a good appearance, and the little Emperor of Northern Qi is a fanatic for him."
As soon as these words came out, the serious discussion turned into a joke.
Fan Xian smiled slightly and calmly watched the men and women talking. They talked about some interesting things that happened in the palace back then, which Fan Xian didn't know. Gradually, he felt a sense of being excluded from the atmosphere. It was true that before he entered Kyoto, these men and women in the flower hall had grown up watching each other. The young generation of the Qing Kingdom's royal family had always had a good relationship. He... was originally an outsider.
However, Fan Xian did not indulge in this emotion for too long, because he fell into deep thought about the previous discussion about the Northern Qi Emperor, and he vaguely felt that he was about to grasp something very mysterious.
He went through the situation when he met the Northern Qi Emperor in the capital of Northern Qi in his mind in detail, and carefully reviewed his tacit cooperation with the other party in the past year and a half, and then supplemented it with the Northern Qi Emperor's aesthetic taste and small details of life. Gradually, a gleam of light was about to rush out in his mind.
It just couldn't rush out.
In the faint fragrance, Fan Xian was in a daze all the time, so that the people around him quieted down and looked at him, but he didn't realize it.
Fan Xian suddenly realized that he had lost his composure, smiled awkwardly, and said subconsciously, "It smells good."
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It smells good!
A faint fragrance permeated the flower hall. Fan Xian was slightly distracted, and his nose seemed to have some kind of magic that made him lose his mind again. This fragrance was actually extremely light and elegant, but for him, it was so rich, so thrilling!
Turning his head, he saw that the Grand Princess Consort had already returned, and she had changed her clothes. Fan Xian barely smiled and asked, "Where did this fragrance come from?"
The Grand Princess Consort was slightly startled, and then smiled, "I didn't expect you to be not only clever, but also to have a delicate nose. I've been wearing this sachet for a year, and the Prince has never smelled it. You smelled it as soon as I put it on today."
Everyone looked at Fan Xian curiously, and Ye Ling'er even sniffed her nose, but she didn't smell any special fragrance, only the incense burning in the flower hall was extremely faint, swept by the cold wind on the lake.
"Isn't it incense?" Ye Ling'er asked curiously.
The Princess Consort smiled and said, "Of course it's not incense." She took out an extremely exquisite and small sachet from her waist and said, "It was brought from the capital."
Fan Xian had an extremely strong impulse to take the sachet in his hand and smell it carefully, but the sachet was a woman's personal item, with deep meaning, so it was impossible to make this request.
Hearing the Princess Consort's words, his face had calmed down, and he asked with a smile, "They haven't been to Northern Qi, so of course they can't smell this faint fragrance. I've been there, so it's no wonder I can smell it."
The Princess Consort smiled and shook her head and said, "I bet you haven't smelled it either... You've been to the palace in the capital, have you been to the back mountain?"
Fan Xian nodded.
The Princess Consort said, "What's clipped in this sachet is Osmanthus fragrans, and the Osmanthus fragrans is on the mountain. There should be only one plant in the whole world... This Osmanthus fragrans has a very faint fragrance, so if you don't pay attention, you won't be able to smell it."
Fan Xian smiled and said, "I only stayed for a short time by the stream and in the pavilion when I went up the mountain, so I didn't see this rare Osmanthus fragrans."
"It grows on the top of the mountain," the Grand Princess Consort said with a smile, "It was transplanted from the Northern Land by the National Preceptor himself, and the fragrance is not very strong, so no one has ever gathered its stamens to make a sachet... So I dare to say that even if Little Fan has stayed in the palace, he has not smelled its scent."
Fan Xian asked in surprise, "Then Princess Consort, your sachet..."
Everyone was a little puzzled why Fan Xian kept thinking about this sachet and kept asking about it. Fan Xian was also afraid of revealing something, so he smiled and explained, "I like this fragrance and want to pick one for Wan'er."
Lin Wan'er smiled slightly, knowing that her husband was definitely not thinking that way. But others didn't know, and the Eldest Prince disagreed and said, "How can a big man put his mind on these little girl's affairs?"
The Grand Princess Consort glared at him and said, "A man who can ride a horse and embroider flowers is a truly good man."
The Eldest Prince immediately shut up.
The Grand Princess Consort turned to Fan Xian and smiled, "It may not be easy for you to pick one for the Princess of Chen... No, it may not be easy for others in this world, but you have the opportunity... You can write a letter to His Majesty and ask for it."
This "His Majesty" naturally refers to the Emperor of Northern Qi.
Fan Xian smiled gently and said, "Could it be that the one on the Princess's body was also bestowed by His Majesty of your country?"
"Yes," the Princess Consort's eyes showed a little nostalgia, and she said lightly, "In the past, in the capital, only His Majesty wore a sachet of Osmanthus fragrans. He said he liked this extremely light and refreshing scent. On the night before I left the capital, His Majesty gave me his personal sachet, so that I could remember the taste of my homeland in the South."
The atmosphere in the flower hall became a little sentimental because of the Princess Consort's light words.
Fan Xian glanced at the sachet and smiled, but said nothing more.
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After eating and chatting in the Grand Prince's mansion, it was already dusk. During this time, under the arrangement of the Eldest Prince, Fan Xian and the Second Prince had another in-depth conversation in the study. However, the two had already talked deeply enough in Baoyue Tower. The current Second Prince has the Ye family and a Great Grandmaster behind him for support, and he is definitely not willing to take a step back. Although Fan Xian knew that his situation was as the Second Prince had said, seemingly heavy as a mountain, but in reality, it was precarious. However, in this world, one cannot help oneself. Even if he wanted to withdraw, he had no way to do so.
At least the Emperor of Qing would not allow it.
The Second Prince finally looked at him deeply and slowly said, "Anzhi, there is something I must remind you... Without a doubt, you are the biggest troublemaker in Qing Kingdom in the past two years... And you are also clear about what happened back then. Why did Father Emperor let you live and grow up in Danzhou, instead of simply cleaning up all the troubles?"
Fan Xian lowered his head slightly and thought that the Second Prince was indeed a powerful figure who was very good at persuading people. If he did not consider Uncle Wu Zhu's threat to the Emperor, the Emperor of Qing's secret protection of his growth could only mean one thing. Although the monarch is ruthless, he always has some pity for his children.
"Father Emperor will not allow us brothers to do anything too intense," the Second Prince looked at him quietly and said, "But for you, if the situation cannot intensify, you can only watch the water flow eastward, and the situation will get worse day by day. This is your problem."
Fan Xian smiled slightly and thought that the situation was about to intensify. If he wanted to protect everything he had now, others would have to pay an unbearable price.
"Life and death do not matter," Fan Xian looked at the Second Prince and said very seriously.
The phrase "life and death do not matter" has two meanings: one is that life and death must be decided, and the other is that only struggle matters, without involving each other's life and death.
The Second Prince raised his hand and lightly slapped Fan Xian's palm.
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In the afternoon, the Supervisory Council suddenly had news that there was a disturbance in Western Hu, and the military situation had been sent to the Privy Council. Fan Xian was summoned to the palace. As the commander of the Imperial Guards, the Eldest Prince was forced to leave, while the Second Prince and Li Hongcheng could still stay in the Prince's Mansion.
Fan Xian asked his wife and Ye Ling'er to talk for a while, and he left the Prince's Mansion alone, got into his own carriage, and without waiting for the Eldest Prince, he ordered the carriage to slowly drive along the snowy streets of Kyoto.
The matter of Western Hu was not very urgent. It would take at least a month for news to travel back and forth between the two places, so there was no need to rush into the palace at this time. Fan Xian needed time to digest what he had encountered today.
The black carriage turned around the streets of Kyoto a few times and drove onto some relatively quiet streets. Teng Zijing, sitting in the driver's seat, vigilantly watched the surroundings. Some inconspicuous disguised secret agents kept Fan Xian safe around the carriage.
Fan Xian closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the chair in the carriage. His face was a little pale and his lips were a little dry.
That faint fragrance of Osmanthus fragrans... So, the fragrance that night was the fragrance of Osmanthus fragrans. He thought blankly about that night, that temple, that field, that belt that he didn't have time to tie. But it was clearly Si Lili... it was Si Lili... but, the fragrance before waking up, the hands that rubbed his temples?
His thin lips trembled twice, and he cursed a few swear words in a low and fast voice, subconsciously slapped the car board beside him.
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With a loud bang, Fan Xian heavily slapped the car in his anger. The extremely abundant and domineering zhenqi in his body surged out. Wherever his palm wind touched, it was indestructible. In just an instant, the sound of wood breaking loudly resounded on the quiet street.
The black carriage was like paper, and half of it was smashed by this palm. The wheels were broken, the carriage overturned, and the horses were frightened and kept pawing the ground. Teng Zijing was shocked and barely stood in place.
The dust gradually settled, and Fan Xian, dressed in black official uniform, stood in a daze among the rubble.
Beside him, the Tiger Guard Gao Da's long knife was half unsheathed, and his eyes were shining sharply, wanting to find the trace of the assassin. Seven or eight sword handlers from the Sixth Bureau were scattered around, gripping the iron spikes on their waists, and the crossbow arrows in their left hands were aimed at the periphery.
Fan Xian lowered his head and thought for a long time. He couldn't help but think of the two words in the letter that his mother left in the box. He couldn't help but slightly raise his lips, revealing an extremely self-deprecating smile, and sighed sadly: "Retribution..."