Listening to Fan Xian's words laced with a chilling tone, Lin Wan'er felt a shiver. She knew that her husband, who had maintained a calm demeanor since returning home, was actually furious. She gently placed a bowl of warm tea in front of Fan Xian and said softly, "Ruo Ruo is still at the clinic. Why don't we have her return to the residence these next few days, so she doesn't have to show her face outside?"

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "Medicine is everything to my sister right now. Don't disturb her over this matter. I'll handle it myself. If He Zongwei is relying on His Majesty's decree to try and get close, then I'll happily play along."

Rou Jia's mind was racing. She only wanted to return to the Jing Wang residence to see her father and have him enter the palace to deal with this matter. She gave a small bow and hurried out of the Fan residence to return home.

After she left, Fan Xian and Wan'er exchanged a glance.

"You're a bit too cunning. You deliberately said that in front of Rou Jia, aren't you forcing Prince Jing to argue in the palace?"

"The Prince hasn't entered the palace in a long time. I'm thinking of their brotherly harmony. Forcing the Prince to enter the palace, His Majesty should thank me," Fan Xian said, shaking his head. There was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Lin Wan'er frowned and said, "But Emperor Uncle clearly knows that you wouldn't agree to this marriage."

Fan Xian was lost in thought for a moment, then sighed and said, "In the past two years, His Majesty has truly favored He Zongwei. He genuinely hopes that I can get along peacefully with the Censorate, and he always thought that since Ruo Ruo doesn't like Hongcheng, then she should like He Zongwei, this great... talent... It's not like he has any ill intentions."

There are many examples in the world of good intentions leading to bad outcomes. Even an enlightened emperor like Emperor Qing was no exception. Fan Xian could understand the Emperor's intentions, but he couldn't help but despise that toad. And so, the most scorned "great talent" in history was born.

...

...

The tea grew cold.

Fan Xian touched his hair. There was no trace of anger on his face anymore. "His Majesty gave me a harsh talking to. He wants to protect He Zongwei, and I don't want to fall out with the palace at this time. Besides, He Zongwei has been acting like a grandson whenever he sees me these past two years, so I can't find a reason to make a move."

Wan'er said softly, "His Majesty only hopes that you and Lord He can get along peacefully in court, but he didn't expect to touch your sore spot."

"I'm not the Son of Heaven, not a dragon, I don't have a sore spot," Fan Xian said. "But for Ruo Ruo's marriage, I made such a big commotion back then, even dragging Ku He all the way to Nan Qing. If His Majesty thinks he can control my life and those around me, then he's wrong."

Fan Xian said with a touch of sarcasm, "His Majesty really sees this marriage as a good match. But if I resist to the end, he won't have a choice but to withdraw the decree, but... the crime of defying the decree is not light. Who knows what he'll want to cut from the Overwatch Council or the Internal Treasury."

————————————————————

Actually, Fan Xian had really misunderstood the Emperor's intentions this time. Although the Emperor of Qing was the most powerful person in the world, he was still just an ordinary man. After learning that Fan Ruo Ruo had returned to the capital, the Son of Heaven had an idea. He naturally thought of He Zongwei, who was still unmarried. He thought that things with Jing Wang were long gone, so naturally he would like the great ministers of his court to have a wonderful pairing.

He Zongwei was an older male youth and Fan Ruo Ruo was an older female youth, and the Emperor thought he was doing a good deed, so he just asked a casual question, wanting to see if this matter could be done, and assumed that An Zhi should be able to understand his mind, not expecting that his reaction would be to confront him face-to-face in the imperial study.

The Emperor had already shown mercy by not punishing Fan Xian for his offense of a public outburst. He just couldn't understand why An Zhi, you are a loyal minister, and He Zongwei is also a great and loyal minister, two loyal ministers in a marriage is a beautiful thing to be known throughout the ages, why would you be so angry and discomposed?

Could it be that this boy has some thoughts? No one knows if the Emperor would think so darkly. But as Lin Wan'er said, Emperor Qing was an extremely powerful ruler, and if Fan Xian could have asked nicely, perhaps this matter could still have been reversed, but Fan Xian's direct opposition strengthened the Emperor's resolve.

He would not allow anyone in the world to disobey his orders, not even Fan Xian, whom he trusted and favored the most.

In an instant, news that the Fan residence and the He residence were about to be joined in marriage spread throughout the entire capital. Although the palace had not yet issued a clear decree, those who knew the inside information said that this matter was a certainty and could not be changed.

While surprised, the civil and military officials thought carefully that this marriage was indeed very beneficial to the court. His Majesty was indeed profound. However, everyone knew Fan Xian's attitude towards He Zongwei, and also knew that he would object, but no matter how powerful Fan Xian was, he was only a subject. Could he possibly be more powerful than His Majesty?

After hearing that Grand Scholar Hu had personally entered the Fan residence to persuade Fan Xian to agree to this marriage, the rumors reached the highest level.

The officials who had been severely punished by the Overwatch Council, the people who were usually in awe of Fan Xian's power, all began to wait for the day when the Fan family's daughter would marry into the He residence, waiting to see the expression on Little Fan's face when he swallowed a fly, preparing to watch the best show.

Fan Xian had been too perfect since entering the capital, giving too many people pressure. It was a rare opportunity to see Little Fan's flustered, angry, and helpless state, so no one wanted to miss it. Therefore, there were countless people secretly cheering for He Zongwei.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Fan Xian did nothing. He neither entered the palace again to have a big fight with the Emperor, nor did he kick open the door of the Censorate and beat He Zongwei up. Everyone felt surprised, because the story of Fan Xian personally punching He Zongwei in the face in the mansion was a well-known gossip story in the capital. Now that Fan Xian was watching his sister about to marry Lord He, he was still able to remain so calm. Had Little Fan changed his personality?

Not two days later, everyone knew the reason for Fan Xian's calm. It turned out that this person was not preparing to put on a show for the entire court, but was calmly sitting aside, waiting to watch other people's jokes.

Watching Emperor's Majesty's joke.

Prince Jing, who had not entered the palace for two years and only knew how to garden for fun, the current Emperor's own brother, entered the palace one night and had a big argument with the Emperor. According to the palace eunuchs, the argument was unusually fierce. In the end, Prince Jing even smashed a celadon brush holder in the imperial study.

In the end, Prince Jing left angrily. It seemed that the Prince had not won against his brother when they were fighting as children, and it seemed that he had not won the argument now.

But immediately afterwards, the next day, Prince Jing went to the Censorate. Without any regard for the dignity of the Prince, he pointed at He Zongwei and scolded him. He Zongwei's expression changed drastically, but he could only nod repeatedly.

Prince Jing's identity was too respected, and neither the Court of Imperial Sacrifices nor the inner court dared to control him, let alone the Kyoto Prefecture and the City Guard Department, which maintained public order.

At this time, everyone remembered that more than three years ago, there seemed to be a vague decree in the palace, preparing to marry the Fan family's daughter to Prince Jing's heir, Li Hongcheng. So the people watching the show stopped talking, fearing that Prince Jing would come to their door one day.

This was exactly: Prince Jing made a scene in the Censorate, and the Young Duke masterfully reversed the situation.

As Fan Xian, who was happily drinking tea and watching the show in his mansion, said, "Prince Jing's appearance is worth two! The Emperor wants to force a marriage, so I can find someone who is not afraid of anything to come out and punish him."

...

...

Of course, His Majesty knew very well that Fan Xian was secretly pulling the strings behind this matter, but he didn't have any good solution for this brother of his. He only asked the inner court to go to the Prince's mansion to read out the imperial decree, scolding Prince Jing thoroughly, but it was impossible to come up with any real means to prevent the Prince's mansion from digging up the foundation and dismantling the walls.

Of course, in Prince Jing's view, his son Li Hongcheng had been waiting bitterly for Fan Ruo Ruo in Dingzhou for more than three years, and the Emperor had actually turned around and betrothed the Fan family's daughter to He Zongwei. This was a truly shameless act of stealing from another.

Fan Xian calmly watched the development of this drama in the mansion. As long as the imperial decree of marriage from the palace did not enter the mansion for a day, he would have time to see more. Although Prince Jing had not been involved in matters for a long time, his status and position were here, and His Majesty always had to be wary of his brother's emotions.

After some time, the situation in Kyoto calmed down a lot. The palace and the Fan and Jing residences were still in a tug-of-war. He Zongwei himself did not show any attitude. The first-hand news Fan Xian received from the palace was that His Majesty had already brought up this marriage to him face-to-face. This Lord He was not surprised by the favor or disgrace, but calmly thanked him, saying that he was willing.

The marriage of the Fan family's daughter, although extremely influential, after all, did not affect the operation of the court. The problem was that behind this marriage, His Majesty's intentions, as well as the harmonious development of the two courts of Qing in the future, were matters of great importance.

More keen people realized that the power struggle between His Majesty and Fan Xian was not as simple as a matter of face, but a matter of oppression and counter-oppression between monarch and minister. In this world, either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind.

Emperor Majesty was now trying to blow the east wind, but he had mistakenly beaten the old war drum of Prince Jing.

————————————————————

It was already winter, and the cold air seemed to be凝结(níngjié – congealed, solidified), but it was loosened a bit by the aura of the stoves in the homes of the people. It was in the mixture of the cold west wind and the warmth of the thousands of stoves that Wang Shisanlang and Ye Ling'er, who had stayed in Qingzhou to recover from their injuries, finally returned to the capital.

Because of the suicide of the Second Prince back then, Ye Ling'er never fully forgave her father, so she only sent a letter back to the Ye residence and moved into the Fan residence to accompany Lin Wan'er.

Fan Xian had no choice but to personally notify Ye Zhong at the樞密院(shūmìyuàn – the Military Council). This current number one figure in Qing's military, after hearing this news, sighed sadly and patted Fan Xian's shoulder, not expressing much more.

Ye Zhong knew that there was naturally nothing wrong with his daughter living in the Fan residence, but thinking of Fan Ruo Ruo's marriage recently, he could not help but ask Fan Xian about it twice.

As the Right Envoy of the枢密院(shūmìyuàn – the Military Council), he also did not understand why His Majesty had to make Fan Xian lose face, nor did he understand why Fan Xian had to keep resisting – in his view, Lord He had already entered the Secretariat, so he was worthy of Fan Ruo Ruo. As long as Fan Xian nodded, the Jing Wang residence would not be able to find a reason to make trouble again, and everything would become smooth.

It seemed that everyone knew the Emperor's persistence, but they all overlooked Fan Xian's persistence. In this life, there was nothing that Fan Xian didn't want to do that anyone could force him to do, even the Emperor.

Fan Xian did not explain to Ye Zhong, but only laughed twice and left the樞密院(shūmìyuàn – the Military Council). He did not return to the mansion, but instead boarded the carriage and drove towards the direction of the Taixue Imperial Academy.

His wife and that girl Ye Ling'er were gossiping in the mansion, but he was going to watch the gossip – Ye Ling'er and Wang Shisanlang had already returned to the capital, and Hongcheng had also returned – the破战鼓(pòzhàngǔ – broken war drum) of Prince Jing was about to be broken by His Majesty, and he had to personally set this fire.

The carriage stopped at the Dongchuan intersection. Fan Xian went to a restaurant not far from the Lishe Bookstore, ordered a few small dishes, and slowly ate while looking in the direction of the bookstore. Opposite the Danbo Bookstore was Yijian Medical Clinic, the name was personally given by Fan Xian, and the characters were written by Shu Wu.

The medical clinic run by the Fan family's daughter had gained great praise in the entire capital in a very short period of time. She herself had excellent medical skills, and the fees were extremely low. Regardless of the patient's status, she only queued up for diagnosis and medication. Before long, she won the unanimous praise of the common people in Kyoto. At this time, it was approaching dusk, and a long queue was still lined up in the cold wind outside the clinic. The capable servants sent by Lin Wan'er from the Fan residence were maintaining order outside the clinic and distributing hot soup. All the details were taken care of extremely well.

Fan Xian squinted his eyes and looked at that place. He indeed saw that official with a slightly dark complexion, who was it if not He Zongwei? Having been pressured by the palace, it was impossible for him to meet He Zongwei once and hit him, and he also found that He Zongwei was indeed smart. He actually knew that what everyone said was false, and only when the Fan family's daughter nodded herself would it be true.

Recently, after leaving the court, He Zongwei would come to the clinic to greet Fan Ruo Ruo before going home. The defense between men and women in Qing was not as strict as in Northern Qi. In addition, Fan Ruo Ruo was originally practicing medicine on the street, so it was impossible to take so much into account. Therefore, He Zongwei met according to etiquette, and no one could stop him. Now this has become a well-known piece of news in Kyoto, and it has been spread into a beautiful story.

Fan Xian's eyesight was extremely good. He saw clearly that his sister would occasionally say a few words to He Zongwei in between seeing patients. He was not surprised by this either, because as early as five years ago at Yishi Ju, he knew that his sister and He Zongwei knew each other. They should have met at the Jing Wang residence poetry meeting. At that time, the Fan family's daughter was a talented woman in Kyoto, and He Zongwei was a talented man in Kyoto, so the two naturally knew each other.

He sighed in his heart, thinking of the changes in everyone in Kyoto over the years, and could not help but feel a little strange.

He Zongwei back then had not shed his arrogance, and his face was as black as charcoal. Even if he wanted to flatter himself, it seemed so unnatural, so he was completely out of Fan Xian's eyes. He did not expect that after a few years, this person would actually change his spirit and become so calm. Perhaps there was still some arrogance in his bones, but when he did things, he did not have a trace of arrogance. The speed of his maturity was really astonishing.

No wonder this person still gained the support of most of the officials in the court and the love of the one in the palace even after his deliberate slander.

Fan Xian sat in the restaurant and watched coldly, just to see if this He Zongwei had the ability to suddenly send out a surprise soldier in the power struggle between himself and the Emperor, and solve this stalemate.

At this moment, a rider galloped from the other end of the street. Fan Xian put down his wine glass, squinted his eyes and smiled, thinking that his surprise soldier had finally arrived.

Prince Jing's heir, Li Hongcheng, returned to the capital to report on his duties. He had just come out of the palace, did not return to the Prince's mansion, and his armor had not been removed. He did not even bring a single personal soldier. He inquired about the location of the medical clinic, and came to the outside of the clinic alone.

Fan Xian watched from afar in the restaurant, seeing Li Hongcheng dismount his horse and calmly greet He Zongwei, and also said a few words to Ruo Ruo. The distance was too far, so he did not know the content of the conversation, but he could see that his sister's expression had a bit of joy at seeing an old friend, but then, he did not know what Li Hongcheng said, and actually argued with Fan Ruo Ruo.

Fan Xian's heart tightened, and he stretched out half of his head. He knew his sister's冰雪性情(bīngxuě xìngqíng - ice and snow personality, pure and clever nature) very well, thinking that this pig's head Li Hongcheng must have said something inappropriate, causing his sister to be offended?

At this moment, He Zongwei seemed to step forward to explain a few words, but Li Hongcheng did not even look at him, and directly ordered the servants of the Fan residence to close the door of the medical clinic, and then, in the angry eyes of Fan Ruo Ruo, he grabbed her extremely unreasonably and押(yā - escort) her to the horse!

In the sound of hooves, the initial Prince Jing's heir, who had just returned to the capital, grabbed the Fan family's daughter in this way and boarded the horse, and then drove towards the direction of the Fan residence.

Leaving behind a street of脱落的下巴(tuōluò de xiàbā – dropped jaws, a idiom, a figurative expression for shock) – at that time, there were no glasses yet.

Seeing this scene, Fan Xian could not help but be stunned, his face was very ugly, thinking that this kid Hongcheng was really tough, a few years ago, he only knew how to watch poetry meetings and pretend to be elegant, but now he has been fighting in Dingzhou for three years, and he even knows how to play this kind of 霸王(bàwáng – overlord, a historically specific term, but also means a tough, domineering person) routine!

The servants of the Fan residence and the servants of the medical clinic, as well as the patients waiting to see the doctor, were also stunned, but these servants of the Fan residence of course knew what had happened recently, what the Jing Wang residence was doing recently, the relationship between the Fan residence and the Jing Wang residence was too good, so these people pretended that they had not seen this scene at all.

And the most dumbfounded was of course that Lord He Zongwei, who had always maintained his demeanor and aura. The medical clinic was closed, and people gradually dispersed. Lord He stood alone in the shadows, looking at the street in a daze in front of the door of the medical clinic. He did not dare to go to the Fan residence, because he was afraid that Fan Xian would really hit him, so he could only watch helplessly, this scene looked really desolate to the extreme.

...

...

Fan Xian slowly regained his senses and recovered his calm. He knew that Li Hongcheng would not mess around. He was probably furious after knowing the news on the road, so he would show such a strong attitude. If Fan Xian were to choose his own brother-in-law, Li Hongcheng, who had cut off his red dust fate and turned over a new leaf, was of course much better than He Zongwei. At the thought of this, a smile appeared on his face.

"Please invite Lord He to come up and have a seat." He slowly placed the wine glass on the table and ordered Mu Feng'er behind him.

After a while, He Zongwei frowned and went up to the restaurant and sat opposite Fan Xian. This was the first time in many years that these two people had met in private. Fan Xian gently turned the small wine glass with his fingers, knowing that there were spies from the palace downstairs, which should be a follower bestowed to He Zongwei by His Majesty's grace, but he did not care much.

"Eat." Fan Xian raised his chopsticks.

Although He Zongwei did not know why Little Fan had summoned him, he was not afraid. He began to eat the dishes in a very bachelor manner. Looking at this posture, if Fan Xian did not call a stop, he would not stop.

Seeing this scene, Fan Xian could not help but feel a bit of appreciation for this person in his heart. There were not many people in the world who could be so natural under his gaze, especially since this person knew very well that he hated him extremely.

After the dishes and wine were finished, Fan Xian said calmly, "Lord He has been coming to the clinic these past few days to take care of things. I, as an older brother, should also say thank you."

"Young Duke is too polite." He Zongwei responded with a slight smile.

Fan Xian raised his eyebrows and said, "You also saw the scene before, you should be clear about the attitude of the Jing Wang residence."

He Zongwei was slightly lost for a moment, then said slowly, "Young Duke has good methods."

"This has nothing to do with methods." Fan Xian looked at him very directly and said, "I haven't had a chance to sit down and talk with you all along, today is a rare opportunity, so I'll tell you directly. This matter is impossible, so give up on it."

He Zongwei's slightly dark face stiffened, and after a long while, he said extremely sincerely, "Young Duke, Zongwei knows..."

Fan Xian tilted his head and listened to the other party's words, one ear in, the other ear out. He Zongwei very sincerely stated his admiration for Fan Ruo Ruo, explained what he had done over the years, and very humbly hoped that Fan Xian could give him a chance.

"I have no opinion." Fan Xian said, "It's the Jing Wang residence that has a lot of opinion about this matter."

"But the palace pointed to the Jing Wang's heir last time, and was stopped by Young Duke." He Zongwei was not flustered at all, and lowered his eyes slightly, a determined light flashing in his eyes.

"I can block it once, I can block it a second time." These words were a bit rebellious, but Fan Xian just said them in front of He Zongwei, just bullying him and not daring to use these words to report him to the Emperor. "Don't think that you can indulge in fantasy just because His Majesty has said something to you. Or, does Lord He think that he can please Ruo Ruo and bypass me, her older brother?"

"You also know that I hate you very much, so I don't care about offending me one more time. But I must remind you, there are degrees of offense. If you offend me too much, I will really pick up a kitchen knife and go to your mansion to look for you."

Fan Xian seriously reminded the other party.

...

...

(The east wind blows, the war drums sound, I want monthly tickets, who am I afraid of...hehe giggling, the last day, don't dare to be careless, please continue to support with monthly tickets, students who have tickets should砸(zá - smash) them over, come on, come on, give them to my house, thank you very much, moving towards the top three.)