Niao Ni
Chapter 722: Commoner's Sword Pointing at the Emperor (I)
…
…
Winter snow melted quickly on the blue stone slabs, making it difficult to accumulate. However, the snowflakes that landed on the bright yellow glazed tiles were frozen into shape by the cold wind, looking like countless broken clouds waiting peacefully in the golden morning sunlight.
Fan Xian withdrew his gaze from the greedy appreciation of the snow, put his hands behind his back, and followed Eunuch Yao quietly, bypassing the quiet and winding palace wall passage, and heading towards the depths of the palace, surrounded by those scarlet, blood-colored walls. Behind them, more than a dozen guards followed cautiously. At this time, Fan Xian was not bound, and the imperial decree had already branded him as a traitor. The guards were very worried that if Lord Fan suddenly launched an attack in the forbidden palace, what ability would they have to stop him?
But obviously, many officials had died in the capital today, and Fan Xian had even ordered the shocking public execution of the Grand Secretary of the Secretariat right under the walls of the imperial city. However, he had no interest in fighting in the palace. Perhaps he knew that this seemingly quiet palace was filled with countless experts, or perhaps he knew that the emperor in the palace was a high mountain, and before the mountain collapsed, no matter how much he stirred things up in the palace, it would be meaningless.
A corner of the Taiji Hall's flying eaves moved above the high palace wall with the people's footsteps. After passing through a small door and passing a winter plum tree covered in snow, the silent group arrived in front of the imperial study.
Fan Xian waited quietly outside the study. Eunuch Yao looked at him with a complicated expression, went forward and said a few words in a low voice to Hong Zhu, who was guarding the entrance to the imperial study. Hong Zhu's expression changed slightly, and he turned back and said in a low voice, "His Majesty is waiting for you in the small building."
"Small building?" Fan Xian was slightly taken aback. His eyes didn't fall on Hong Zhu's face, nor did he risk asking with his eyes in front of everyone. Instead, he gave a forced smile and said, "Then let's go."
Eunuch Yao waved his hand, stopping the dozen or so inner court guards outside the round stone arch, and led Fan Xian into the inner palace alone. Behind them, the guards couldn't hide the nervousness, unease, and suspicion on their faces. And Hong Zhu, who had been standing honestly at the entrance of the imperial study... looking at the back of Lord Fan Xian as he walked into the depths of the palace, a wave of uncontrollable sadness suddenly surged in his eyes. He quickly lowered his head, fearing that others would notice the abnormality, but this lowering of his head was like seeing Fan Xian off.
…
…
The inner palace after the snow was very quiet. Occasionally, a few sounds of laughter could be heard from the various deep palaces. Fan Xian had good hearing, and he could even hear the sound of mahjong tiles falling from somewhere. He couldn't help but laugh, thinking that the events in the capital today must not have reached the palace yet, and everyone was still having a good time. It was just that the palace didn't seem to be so lively in the past. It seemed that those young women who had entered the palace for several months, the current imperial concubines, were truly in their youthful years, diluting the loneliness.
Fan Xian liked this, so that the palace wouldn't always be so cold and gloomy.
The palace was very familiar to him, as familiar as his own home. Since His Majesty was waiting for him in the small building, he naturally knew the way. He still put his hands behind his back like a Confucian scholar, and slowly headed towards the northwest corner of the palace, while Eunuch Yao fell behind him instead.
It was already this time, and there was no use in rushing. Presumably His Majesty wouldn't be in a hurry either. Fortunately, the palace was large, the air was cold, and there was snow on the winter trees, small lakes, and rockeries, which was much more beautiful than the winter scenery in the city. Fan Xian could also take a few more glances, but his steady steps, in Eunuch Yao's eyes behind him, revealed some other flavor.
Eunuch Yao felt that Lord Fan Xian in front of him was adjusting his breathing, using the correspondence between his body and the surrounding environment to elevate his state to a sensitive and abundant level.
Eunuch Yao lowered his head even further. He knew what Lord Fan Xian was slowly walking and adjusting his breathing for.
After passing the winter tree garden, bypassing the rockery, and walking onto the wooden trestle bridge over the cold lake, just as he was about to cross the cold lake to the snow pavilion, the snow pavilion where he had a long talk with His Majesty in the snow that year, Fan Xian suddenly stopped, his eyes slightly narrowed.
There were people under the snow pavilion. Several eunuchs and palace maids were accompanying a woman who looked like a noble person to enjoy the snow there. There might be heaters in the pavilion, but the noble person was still wearing a very precious and warm sable coat. After a moment of surprise, Fan Xian smiled and continued walking towards the pavilion. He didn't expect that he would run into an imperial concubine in the palace on such a cold day.
He wouldn't go to see Consort Yi today, nor would he go to see Consort Ning and Consort Shu in the Cold Palace. He even deliberately avoided them, so he chose this trestle bridge over the cold lake. He didn't expect to run into one anyway. He naturally wouldn't dodge, and Eunuch Yao, who was following behind him, naturally didn't dare to tell him to choose another path.
As soon as the two entered the pavilion, the people in the pavilion were startled. Obviously, they didn't expect that there would be outsiders entering the palace at this time. The sharp-eyed palace maid saw Eunuch Yao, who was bowing his head behind Fan Xian, and quickly half-squatted to salute, secretly guessing the identity of the young scholar in front.
Fan Xian stood in the pavilion, also feeling surprised, thinking to himself how the palace maids in this palace had changed so quickly in just a few months, that they didn't even recognize him anymore? Thinking this way, his gaze subconsciously fell on the concubine sitting in the center, and he didn't want to leave for a long time.
This concubine was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and her appearance was still youthful and beautiful, but today she was wearing hairpins and rings, and her face was made up exquisitely, which forcefully brought out a bit of nobility and arrogance. This concubine's eyes carried an uncontrollable hint of pride, and she looked at Eunuch Yao and asked, "Has His Majesty had lunch yet?"
Eunuch Yao didn't answer, just smiled, thinking that playing the role of a favored concubine at this time was really not a good choice. The people in the pavilion immediately felt a little strange, especially after noticing the young scholar's gaze, they felt even more angry, thinking where such a bastard came from.
Fan Xian stared blankly at the concubine's slightly bulging belly, although she was wearing very thick fur outside, he could still see it clearly. He immediately knew that the noble person sitting in the pavilion enjoying the snow was the currently favored Consort Mei, and it was this woman who was pregnant with His Majesty's imperial seed.
The pavilion was dead silent. Fan Xian just quietly looked at Consort Mei's belly, for a long, long time, the expression in his eyes was very complicated. However, such blatant staring at His Majesty's woman, especially looking at that spot, was really quite rude.
"Where did this bastard come from, where are those thieving eyes of yours looking?" A palace maid, who was not very old, stared at Fan Xian and scolded sharply. Looking at her appearance, she was ready to slap Fan Xian in the face immediately. This palace maid was a girl that Consort Mei had brought in from outside the palace. These days, the master followed the child's nobility, and the servant followed the master's nobility. She was very arrogant and proud in the palace. Even the lady in the Shufang Palace mostly greeted her with kind words. She had developed a lifetime of arrogant air, and had never seen a man like Fan Xian in the palace.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the palace maid who was walking over with a face full of anger, but he didn't move.
Eunuch Yao's heart skipped a beat. He had been by His Majesty's side these days and hadn't paid much attention to the affairs of the inner palace. He really didn't expect that the people around Consort Mei would now be so domineering and blind.
With a crisp slap, Eunuch Yao floated forward and slapped the palace maid heavily to the ground. Then, he quickly retreated behind Fan Xian with his sleeves in his hands and said in a low, humble voice, "Lord Fan, His Majesty is still waiting for you."
Fan Xian smiled and glanced at him, and said, "What are you so nervous about? Are you afraid I'll kill her?"
Eunuch Yao gave a simple smile and didn't say anything, thinking that you have been adjusting your breathing step by step, and the killing intent and killing machine in your body have already reached their peak, sealed in your body without a trace of leakage. If you really encounter a fuse, this ninth-rank superior expert's casual anger is not something anyone can withstand.
The palace maid was directly slapped unconscious and fell to the ground, with a trace of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth. The air in the pavilion seemed to freeze. Consort Mei stared blankly at this scene, so angry that she was even a little confused. She couldn't understand why Eunuch Yao, the leader of the inner court eunuchs, would do this. Who was this young man who dared not even kowtow to her and dared to stare at her so rudely!
Only the few eunuchs and palace maids who were serving nearby clearly heard the identity that Eunuch Yao had deliberately pointed out in the conversation. They finally knew that this young scholar who had entered the palace alone was the Lord Fan that the palace seniors never forgot to remind and instruct. They immediately lowered their heads nervously, not daring to look directly at him.
Fan Xian calmly looked at Consort Mei's angry face, paused for a moment, and said, "It's cold, you should go back to the palace, playing mahjong is also good. If you catch a cold here, it's not good for the child in your belly... Don't think that His Majesty will think you are three points more beautiful just by looking at you in the snow pavilion, and don't expect him to love you more. Living in this palace is actually very simple, just be honest."
His gaze fell on Consort Mei's belly again, and he couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile, thinking that the time was still short, how could she already be showing? It seemed that the emperor was indeed very powerful in all aspects, but he didn't know if the one in her belly would be another younger brother or sister of his.
"I hope you can give me a sister, I don't have a sister." Fan Xian sincerely and earnestly blessed Consort Mei, then bypassed the people under the snow pavilion, walked onto the wooden trestle bridge on the other side of the lake, and headed towards the northwest corner of the palace.
Consort Mei struggled very hard to keep herself from crying. Anger and helplessness piled up in her heart. She subconsciously turned her head and glanced at Fan Xian's back, shivering involuntarily. After all, she was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl. After hearing the other party's identity from the last sentence, she couldn't help but feel a little scared. Ever since she became pregnant with His Majesty's imperial seed, she was both proud and scared, because she knew what the child in her belly meant to the one in the Shufang Palace, and to this "foreign minister" surnamed Fan.
She didn't think that Fan Xian's last sentence was a blessing. She only heard it as a warning, but she didn't expect that Fan Xian sincerely hoped that she could give birth to a princess. After all, if she gave birth to a prince, she was afraid that she would fall into that dark struggle for the rest of her life and would never be able to float up again.
Consort Mei looked at the figure disappearing in the light snow with a slight sense of fear, and the fear in her eyes gradually turned into unwillingness and resentment.
…
…
Emperor Qing was not in the small building. He was in front of a large abandoned palace in the northwest corner of the palace, looking at the small building. There were few halls and buildings here, the winter garden was quiet and deserted, and there were also rockeries, but they had long been dilapidated. It seemed that they hadn't been repaired for many years, and they were even colder than the Cold Palace on the other side.
In front of a patch of barren long grass, Eunuch Yao quietly retreated. Fan Xian was alone, looking at the small building and the bright yellow figure in the long grass, and walked over quietly, slightly behind him, just like he had been on the beach in Danzhou, accompanying him silently watching the small building.
This pair of monarch, minister, father and son did not remain silent for too long. The emperor put his hands behind his back, quietly observing the small building, his thin lips slightly opened, and he asked indifferently, "Did you see Consort Mei earlier?"
"Yes." Fan Xian also put his hands behind his back, and replied calmly when he heard His Majesty's question.
"Do you think the one in her belly is a boy or a girl?" the emperor asked. The feeling in the scene at this time was very strange. The two of them, father and son, had been in a cold war for several months, and countless people had died under the heavens because of their cold war. Yet today, when they met, there was none of the anger and rebuke that outsiders expected, and they were just chatting casually.
"It should be a princess."
"Oh? I always knew that you were versed in everything under the heavens, but I didn't know that you also knew these stuff like old grannies." The emperor's lips curled up slightly, and he said mockingly.
"I can't be said to be versed in everything under the heavens, but I still have some understanding of medical skills. The most important thing is that the one in Consort Mei's belly can only be a princess." Fan Xian replied respectfully.
"Hmm..." The emperor's brows gradually furrowed, and he said coldly, "In your opinion, I can't raise someone who is more promising than the Third Prince?"
"No, you can't." Fan Xian replied very simply, "Because Consort Mei is not as good as Consort Yi."
After a moment of silence, the emperor said, "There's some truth to that, but the bloodline of the imperial family is thin, so it's always good to have another prince."
"If His Majesty has compassion, it will naturally be good if Great Qing can have more princes in the future." Fan Xian didn't say what compassion was, but lowered his eyes slightly and said directly, "Otherwise, it wouldn't be interesting if there were more Chengqian and Chengzhe."
As soon as he said this, the emperor's face quickly darkened. Fan Xian mentioned the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. Although the tragic endings of these two princes were all orchestrated by him, it had to be said that His Majesty's initial cultivation of his sons actually took a very cold-blooded and wrong path. If the gradually aging emperor didn't have a trace of feeling about this, it would definitely be a lie.
Fan Xian stood behind the emperor's desolate figure, calmly paying attention to every subtle change in His Majesty. After discovering that hidden pain in the other party's heart, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. No one in this world was a true deity. Even someone as powerful as him was gradually walking down the road of an ordinary old man after stepping down from the dragon throne.
The changes in Emperor Qing over the years had been falling into Fan Xian's eyes. It was precisely because he knew this that he had the courage to come to the palace today and say these words to the other party.
These words were like knives, cutting the emperor's heart. However, His Majesty was not He Zongwei after all. Only a moment later, the emperor's face returned to the unchanging Dongshan cliff, with the warmth of jade on the outside, but in reality, it was rugged and sharp, disdainful of storms.
"He Zongwei is dead?" the emperor slowly asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You thought hard in your mansion for seven days and seven nights. I was originally thinking about what kind of means you could come up with that would move me, but I didn't expect that you would still be so reckless." The emperor shook his head and mocked, "You really disappoint me."
Fan Xian smiled in shame and replied, "Your Majesty is like Dongshan, unhindered by a thousand years of wind and rain. I am just an ordinary mortal after all. No matter how much I think, I can't possibly come up with something out of nothing. People's imagination is limited after all. Things that don't exist in this world can't be imagined no matter how much you think."
This sentence was very sincere and was indeed Fan Xian's heartfelt words. Facing a figure with such great talent and strategy and immense power like His Majesty, how easy would it be to find a way to defeat the other party? It was indeed an impossible possibility in this world...
"I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn't come up with any good ideas. So, in the end, I figured it out. Perhaps it's because I've been immersed in the Overwatch Council since I was young, and I'm used to considering everything carefully, and I only attack when I'm sure of success."
Fan Xian suddenly raised his face. A ray of light that was pleasing to the heart shone on his delicate face. He said, "However, this time is different. I will never be able to find a sure way... Since I can never think of a good way, then why not use the simplest way?"
The simplest way, six very simple words, but they contained a very deep meaning. What was the simplest way in the world? Naturally, it was to bite with your teeth like a beast, tear with your claws, and engage in the most primitive and bloody hand-to-hand combat.
This sentence that Fan Xian said was a breakthrough after a heartfelt setback, a raw and spicy force, a nonchalant recklessness that he had never shown before, which was vividly displayed.
His Majesty suddenly calmed down, turned around and quietly looked at his son, as if he wanted to find something different from this familiar face. After a moment, the emperor laughed loudly, and there was even a bit of appreciation in his laughter.
However, the laughter stopped quickly. His Majesty's voice was particularly cold, "Publicly killing ministers and treating Qing law as nothing is a sign of a ruffian, not the means of a hero."
"Your Majesty is a wise ruler, and He Zongwei is a treacherous minister, so He Zongwei must die." Fan Xian suddenly smiled and said calmly the words that neither he nor the emperor would believe, "Today, all those who died were officials of the He faction, but it is conceivable that the shock to the world would be great if it spread from the capital. However, He Zongwei is righteous and moral on the surface, but underneath he is a scoundrel. His Majesty is wise and martial, and once he discovers this person's bad deeds, for the sake of Great Qing's eternal foundation, he uses thunderous means to eliminate evil and punish wickedness. Such heroic means, how can Qing law limit them?"