Niao Ni
Chapter 610: Abacus
For example, after hearing Fan Xian's words, he didn't join in condemning the girl as outrageous; he merely frowned and said, "Who knows what you're planning to do by taking her as a student?"
"I don't believe you can't guess," Fan Xian said with a smile. "Of course, it's because I'm worried that after already having a tigress in the Prince's residence, another little cheetah will arrive. If I can teach this Miss Wang to be knowledgeable, well-mannered, and disciplined, what are you afraid of if you take her in?"
Going around and around, Fan Xian was still trying to persuade the First Prince to take a concubine. The First Prince said with slight anger, "I really don't know where your usually admirable judgment has gone. To actually say that this greenhorn girl is a good choice."
"What's wrong with it?" Fan Xian put away his smile and said seriously, "I don't need to remind you, you should also know that your foundation is in the military. She is Wang Zhikun's daughter. If you take her as a concubine, your relationship with the military will definitely be closer. Don't forget, although your prestige in the military is high, the former Army of the West has long been disbanded. You can't return to Dingzhou, and you've also been removed from the post of Commander of the Imperial Guards."
"This is Father Emperor's intention," the First Prince's expression turned cold, and he said, "I didn't expect your calculations to be as loud as Father Emperor's."
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows, sat down directly, and said, "His Majesty's intentions are clear to everyone - there must always be a woman in the Prince's residence, constantly watching the position of the Princess Consort. If you don't want the Princess Consort to be deposed, then letting Wang Tong'er enter the residence is better than anyone else."
The First Prince stared at him suspiciously, wondering why Fan Xian's intentions had changed so much, resolutely believing that Wang Tong'er was the best choice. He should know that Wang Tong'er's background was extremely deep, with the Yanjing faction of the military supporting her, plus His Majesty's secret release. Once this woman entered the residence, she would definitely immediately threaten the position of the Princess Consort.
"The reason I say Wang Tong'er is a good choice is because this young lady truly likes you," Fan Xian said. "And although this Miss's personality is a bit wild and ruthless, she is a girl who takes the big-kill-big-chop route. Such a person seems troublesome, but is actually easier to deal with… You wouldn't want the new concubine in the Prince's residence to be like the former Princess Royal, seemingly weak on the surface, but actually incomparably cunning in secret."
The First Prince thought about it and found that this was indeed the case. Wang Tong'er dared to come to the Prince's residence to make trouble before the imperial decree was issued. She was indeed not a woman who took the Yin-me route. But he thought about it again and again, still frowning and saying, "But she is just a fifteen-year-old greenhorn girl, doesn't understand anything. What if she takes a kitchen knife and makes trouble every day after entering the Prince's residence?"
"We can't openly resist His Majesty's intentions," Fan Xian looked into his eyes and softly persuaded, "But we can try to deal with it in a different way. As for whether Wang Tong'er will make trouble in the future, it depends on how well I, this teacher, teaches, and how well you two handle it."
He took a sip of tea and suddenly felt that his heart was getting harder and harder. He smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "It's still the same old saying. Wang Tong'er likes you, so as long as she enters the Prince's residence, she will definitely regard you as her everything. Whether a person is satisfied mainly depends on what her wishes are. If it were another young lady, perhaps she wouldn't be satisfied unless she became the Princess Consort, but I think Wang Tong'er would probably be satisfied if she married you."
The First Prince glanced at him noncommittally and said faintly, "Why are you so sure about a daughter's heart? If I really take her into the residence, and she makes the family restless, will you clean up the mess?"
"I'll clean up, I'll clean up," Fan Xian shrugged and said, "Regarding a daughter's heart, there is no other man in this world who understands it better than me. You have to have confidence in me on this."
The First Prince was stunned, thinking that Fan Xian's words were not boasting. Just looking at the *Story of the Stone* (石头记) which had fascinated so many young girls, and then looking at his glorious achievements in this life, not only had he fascinated his most beloved sister Chen, but even the Saintess of the Northern Qi's Heavenly One Sect was also fascinated by him. He knew that his judgment must be reasonable.
"I just don't understand why Miss Wang must stare at me. You should know that we only met once at Shi Fei's banquet that day," the First Prince stared at Fan Xian and said, "To fall in love after seeing each other only once, if the object were a monster like you, it would be somewhat possible."
"Women and men are two kinds of creatures," Fan Xian patted him on the shoulder with pity and said, "If you can't figure it out, don't think about it."
The First Prince spat angrily and immediately thought of a problem, "A busy courtier like you takes Wang Tong'er as a female student, certainly not just because of me."
Fan Xian smiled awkwardly and said, "You understand everything, so what are you asking? You should know that I am different from you. I have nothing except the Black Knights. It's always good to have a good relationship with the big shots in the military. I don't want a second old Qin family who hates me to the bone to appear in the future."
The First Prince was stunned, then sighed and said, "The Ye Chong family's girl always listens to you. Now you don't even let go of Wang Zhikun's daughter. Really…"
"That sounds awkward," Fan Xian rubbed his nose and scolded with a smile, "I'm not a beast. These two are the room attendants of you brothers. Don't talk nonsense."
"But they are also your female students," the First Prince said with a deep smile, "Plus Hongcheng is in Dingzhou. Although Father Emperor has always strictly prohibited you from participating in military affairs, but after calculating, you will soon be linked to three armies. Your calculations are no worse than Father Emperor's."
"You underestimate me. Although Yan Bingyun once said that I seem to be conquering the world by conquering women... but with the strength of the two border armies and the Ye family, I won't be so stupid as to try to influence anything with two female students," Fan Xian smiled, "But of course I'm willing to have a good relationship with the military."
When saying this, Fan Xian's mood was actually a bit complicated. Coming to the capital and entering the extremely complicated capital officialdom, he had been influencing the general trend of the world for five years, but his efforts to extend his hand into the Qing Kingdom's military had all fallen through without exception. Although His Majesty's vigilance against him seemed to have weakened a lot, and he had allowed Li Hongcheng, who was on good terms with him, to take the post of General of Dingzhou, if Fan Xian really wanted to get his power into the military, it would still be extremely difficult.
For example, with the Jiaozhou navy, Fan Xian had gradually arranged for his confidants to enter through Xu Maocai's help, preparing to wait for the Qin family to rebel and secretly take over the power of the Jiaozhou navy. But he didn't expect that His Majesty didn't let go of this subtle change at all, and directly knocked Xu Maocai off the mortal world - although, for Fan Xian's sake, the Emperor was extremely kind and spared Xu Maocai's life, the entire Jiaozhou navy was getting further and further away from Fan Xian's palm.
Moreover, Hou Jichang, who Fan Xian had been staying in Jiaozhou, had also done two years of useless work because of this incident, wasting a lot of time. On the official road, he was becoming more and more difficult to move forward. Now, not only could he not compare with Yang Wanli's reputation in the Ministry of Works, but he was even worse than Cheng Jialin, who had already taken the post of Governor of Suzhou.
Hou Jichang was the person Fan Xian admired most among the Four Disciples of Fan, so he entrusted him with the key place of Jiaozhou. He didn't expect that Fan Xian's one wrong move had harmed this Kyoto talent who was as famous as He Zongwei back then, and now he could only continue to endure his official reputation in remote Jiaozhou.
The Emperor now had infinite grace and trust in Fan Xian, but he was still preventing him from entering the military. This fact made Fan Xian feel a little drummed in his heart. He didn't know if the Emperor knew something, or if the Emperor would have nightmares because of the incident twenty years ago, plus Xu Maocai was an old man from the Quanzhou navy back then, so he was still wary of his son.
"You need to have a good relationship with the military, I don't need to."
The First Prince's words pulled Fan Xian out of his contemplation. He smiled a little reluctantly and said, "But you need to maintain a good relationship with His Majesty. As for me, as long as His Majesty doesn't interfere, not only do I want to have a good relationship with the military, Wang Zhikun and other big shots in the military also want to befriend me. If I take his daughter as a student, I'm afraid he'll be laughing in his dreams."
The First Prince raised his eyebrows and knew that Fan Xian was telling the truth. Now, in the Qing Kingdom, purely in terms of power and status, no one was more successful than Fan Xian. Plus, everyone knew that he was the flesh and blood of the Qing Kingdom Emperor and the Ye family's mistress back then. With this relationship, all the ministers and generals would subconsciously flatter him.
After the two of them finished speaking, they both fell silent. The First Prince was thinking helplessly that it seemed that the matter of taking a concubine was difficult to solve, but Fan Xian was thinking about when the deepest suspicion in the heart of the old Emperor in the palace could be eliminated.
"Tell me about the Western affairs," the First Prince suddenly frowned and said seriously, "What exactly is going on with the Huns? Their strength has increased greatly in the past two years. There must be a reason."
"You'll know when the official gazette is issued in two days," Fan Xian had known for a long time that the First Prince couldn't help but ask this question. The First Prince had fought in the West for many years and was extremely familiar with that grassland. He had killed the Huns and made them cry out in pain. If it weren't for His Majesty's concern that his eldest son's merits were too high to be rewarded again, he wouldn't have transferred him back three years ago. Although the First Prince had long returned to the capital, his heart still often floated on the grassland. Naturally, he was very concerned about the situation there.
Seeing that he was unwilling to answer, the First Prince shook his head helplessly and said, "Hongcheng has become more and more promising in the past two years, but the Huns are ruthless and bloodthirsty. You have to remind him more."
After Fan Xian nodded, he suddenly frowned and asked seriously, "My Qing Kingdom has been fighting with the Western Huns for decades. Every time, it seems that we have the upper hand and are about to completely solve the problem. Why do the Hun's forces always grow like weeds after the spring breeze?"
The First Prince was very qualified to speak on this issue, saying, "That's because the grassland is too big. Going west from the southern edge of the Tianmai, the vast grassland has no boundaries at all. Once my Great Qing gains an absolute advantage, they will flee to the west. How can it be completely solved?"
"But this time, I found that the Western Hun's royal court is not particularly far from Dingzhou City," Fan Xian asked in confusion.
The First Prince gave him a slightly mocking look and said, "The Hun's royal court is not Kyoto, nor is it Shangjing. By the time we attack, they have already moved into the depths of the grassland... It's just that the Huns are now powerful, so they dare to move their royal court not far from the border."
"Let's not talk about my years of fighting with the Huns in the West, but just say twenty years ago, Father Emperor personally led the army of the whole country and went to the grassland, intending to sweep the Huns clean in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, it was still a failure in the end," the First Prince said with some regret, "With the power of the whole country, the royal army personally attacked, and with Father Emperor's genius-like military talent, he still couldn't conquer the Huns in one fell swoop. Let alone us."
When Fan Xian heard about the Qing Emperor leading the royal army on a personal expedition twenty years ago, his face had already become serious. He didn't answer, because he remembered clearly that his father, Fan Jian, had also served in the camp at that time. And in those days, a shocking change occurred in Kyoto. This change ended the life of a woman and also gave him a second life, sitting in the carriage in Uncle Blind's arms, going to Danzhou.
The First Prince didn't notice Fan Xian's strange expression and said slowly, "At that time, the old Chanyu had just died, and the Huns were in civil strife. It was the best opportunity for my Great Qing. It was really a pity... And the most puzzling thing is that at that time, Marshal Ye was ordered to hand over the Kyoto garrison and personally took the post of vanguard of the army. The elite cavalry had already tailed the Western Hun's royal court. As long as the camp where Father Emperor was located persisted for another three days, they could wipe out all the Western Hun princes and nobles in one fell swoop. But at this time, the army suddenly stopped its westward march and instead retreated back into the national border, which gave the Western Huns a chance to breathe."
After Fan Xian was silent for a long time, he raised his face and smiled at the First Prince and said, "The reason why the army withdrew is very simple. Presumably, His Majesty already knew the news of my mother's death at that time."
The First Prince's heart trembled, and he remembered the major event that had been sealed for many years. Looking at Fan Xian's forcibly smiling face, the First Prince's heart was filled with pity, and he stopped continuing this topic.
After a long time, the First Prince coughed and turned the topic back to the beginning, saying, "Can't taking a concubine really be prevented?"
"No one dares to resist the imperial decree. All those who dare to go against His Majesty have not ended well."
"Is Wang Tong'er really a good choice?"
"At least I don't see a better choice right now."
"Then... how do I tell the Princess Consort?"
Fan Xian laughed and said, "You don't need to consider this question. The Princess Consort will naturally have a way to deal with a little girl."
As he was saying this, someone outside reported that the Princess Consort and Miss Wang had arrived. The First Prince and Fan Xian looked at each other and both smiled bitterly. After the two women entered, Fan Xian stood up to salute and unnoticeably observed the expressions on their faces, nodding secretly in his heart.
The Princess Consort was still as calm and graceful as usual, but Wang Tong'er's face was slightly red and shy, completely unlike her previous appearance. It seemed that after being driven by Fan Xian to the Princess Consort's side, this Miss Wang had received some kind of promise.
Fan Xian sighed secretly in his heart, knowing that the Princess Consort was indeed powerful. She had already made a decision before the two of them, in order to ensure her own interests, and was forced to make a seemingly concessionary choice.
It seemed that there was no need for the Prince to persuade the Princess Consort with difficulty later, but rather the Princess Consort would persuade the Prince that everything was important to the overall situation, and that he should not disobey the Emperor's intentions in the palace. Fan Xian smiled and looked at the Princess Consort with narrowed eyes, saying a few casual words, and the Princess Consort also smiled, the two of them knowing exactly what the other was thinking.
During the Kyoto rebellion, the Little Emperor of Northern Qi intended for the First Prince to take the throne, so through the Jinyiwei spy who was assigned to the Princess Consort, he secretly revealed Fan Xian's whereabouts to the Princess Royal, almost killing Fan Xian. But Fan Xian knew that the Princess Consort's relationship with this matter was not very big. For the sake of the First Prince's relationship with his wife, he had never told the First Prince about this matter, but he and the Princess Consort still had some knots in their hearts, so they had not had too much contact in the past two years.
The Princess Consort had always felt guilty towards Fan Xian. Until today, the two looked at each other and smiled like foxes, only then did those past events turn into the spring breeze, leaving no trace.
After a few casual words, Fan Xian was about to get up to leave. He had brought Miss Wang into the Prince's residence, and of course he had to take her out. After all, there was no imperial appointment yet. Even if the Qing Kingdom's customs were more open, it would be too embarrassing if Wang Tong'er, this nympho, kept winking at the First Prince.
The Princess Consort pretended to offer a meal, but her eyes were flashing with clear light. Wang Tong'er was stupidly really不想走 (bù xiǎng zǒu - didn't want to leave), looking at Fan Xian pleadingly.
"Let's go," Fan Xian said.
"Master, where are we going?" Wang Tong'er raised her head and looked at him in surprise, saying very naturally.
Wang Tong'er's eyes were full of annoyance, and she refused to speak.
Fan Xian immediately darkened his face. Wang Tong'er didn't know why, but she was naturally extremely afraid of Little Fan, and subconsciously stood up, gritting her teeth and following Fan Xian out of the residence.
Walking on the road, Fan Xian had already seen the light in the Princess Consort's eyes. Looking at Wang Tong'er beside him, he couldn't help but shake his head. Although this Miss Wang was extremely savage, if she really entered the Prince's residence, how could she be the Princess Consort's opponent? I'm afraid she wouldn't have too many good days in the future. Fortunately, Wang Tong'er's background was strong enough, so she probably wouldn't have a too miserable life. The Prince was not that kind of person either.
The two soon arrived at the main entrance of the Prince's residence. It was unknown what magic Fan Xian had used, and after saying a few words to this savage woman, Wang Tong'er had completely changed, behaving obediently and timidly behind him. Where was the previous appearance of stepping on stone lions and cursing?
The main entrance of the Prince's residence opened, and the butler sent them out, then quickly closed the door as if avoiding a ghost. Fan Xian was stunned and scolded with a smile, thinking that he had also become a fish in the pond. Turning his head, he saw Wang Tong'er's face full of anger, preparing to curse at the butler, so he darkened his face and made a sound of "hm".
Wang Tong'er immediately felt the coldness beside her, shivered, quickly stopped her mouth, and obediently walked down the steps, unaccustomedly saying a few words to the old butler with a whip scar on his face.
The old butler was frightened, thinking to himself, when did his young lady change her temper? The Wang family's and Shi family's retainers beside him were also stunned, thinking that Little Fan was rumored to be a student of Fei Jie, could it be that he gave the young lady some medicine, which turned the young lady into this appearance.
Wang Tong'er was now like a little white rabbit.
Everyone at the entrance of the Prince's residence looked at Fan Xian like they were looking at a god, thinking that Little Fan's reputation was indeed well-deserved. No wonder His Majesty had him pretend to be a Grand Tutor and teach the Third Prince a few years ago. This kind of method of teaching and educating people was really somewhat miraculous.
The Wang family's retainers and butlers thanked Fan Xian a thousand times and saluted him, then took their young lady away from the main entrance of the Prince's residence. Fan Xian watched that group of people disappear on the street before shaking his head and boarding his carriage.
Mu Feng'er, although he was now the head of the Qi Nian Group, was still the nosy young man of those years at heart. He swallowed his saliva and asked cautiously, "Sir, what happened? That female... how did she become like this?"
"It's very simple," Fan Xian sat in the carriage, closing his eyes to rest, "If she doesn't listen, I'll spank her butt. I'll let the Prince marry another woman. I'm the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, how can she not believe it?"
"So stupid?" Mu Feng'er said contemptuously. Everyone knew that the matter of His Highness the Crown Prince taking a concubine was not something that the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices could decide. This matter had to be approved by the Emperor.
"If she wasn't stupid, how would the Princess Consort be willing to let her enter the residence?" Fan Xian mumbled with his eyes closed, feeling extremely tired. He would rather die than get involved in this kind of messy thing again. If it weren't for his good relationship with the First Prince, he should have gone to the palace to report his duties and then gone back to his residence to tease his children.
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Half an hour had passed, but there was still no movement in the Imperial Study. The eunuchs were somewhat helplessly guarding outside the room. Eunuch Yao glanced at the goat's milk and snacks that the person beside him was holding and frowned, realizing that they were almost cold.
The little eunuch looked at the door of the Imperial Study, wondering who His Majesty was talking to that it had been so long. Eunuch Yao also glanced at the door, thinking that he shouldn't disturb the father and son talking.
Except for the newly arrived little eunuch, the others were not surprised by the current situation. His Majesty was busy with all kinds of affairs and rarely summoned a minister alone for more than a quarter of an hour, but Little Fan was an exception.
In the past two years, whenever Little Fan entered the palace, the Emperor would always chat with him in the Imperial Study for half an hour, not only limited to state affairs, but even Eunuch Yao had heard the Emperor and Fan Xian arguing about the names of the Fan family's two children several times.
With this honor and favor, only Fan Xian in the entire world.
The situation in the Imperial Study was different from what the eunuchs thought. The Qing Emperor looked at Fan Xian sitting in the lower seat and asked, "My mind is made up. Wang Tong'er will always enter the Prince's residence. Don't worry about these idle matters... Speaking of marriage, Yan Bingyun has married that woman a few days ago. When are you going to explain the matter of the Merchant Bank to me?"
Fan Xian's expression changed slightly, and he quickly lowered his head to hide it.
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(My mom should be fine, she's just lying in the hospital waiting for all kinds of tests. She's getting a gastroscopy tomorrow. The old comrade is a little scared like me, haha... a big carnival for monthly tickets, but I can't be happy, scratching my head helplessly, not enough time, bursting is impossible, let's write hard. On this month's list, the three of three, four, and five have been entangled for more than half a month. At the end of the month, I will definitely not give up. This is a matter of attitude and money, both of which I value very much. Now there is no limit of three tickets for monthly tickets, and from twelve o'clock at noon on the twenty-eighth, monthly tickets will start to double. Please support me, brothers and sisters who like *Qing Yu Nian (庆余年)*, please leave your monthly tickets to me.)