Chapter 46 – Remembering the Years in the Imperial Study Room

The first thing I’d like to do is to get the best out of the world, and I’d like to be able to do that.

The imperial study is warmer than the outer room for a long time, the silver bamboo charcoal from Langya state is burning in three fire pans, the well-designed fire pans are not overflowing with ash, but only overflowing with warmth, and the whole room is embraced in the spring that is not in season with the season.

There was just a faint burning smell, the smell was not unpleasant, but to Fan Xian’s sensitive nose, it was always a bit uncomfortable, and he couldn’t help but miss the warm smell of a certain white room in some distant world, and remembered two witty sayings he had once read in his previous life–Chairman Mao hadn’t used a cell phone, and the emperor hadn’t blown the air conditioner either.

The emperor sat on the couch, from his expression can be seen, he is extremely satisfied with the warmth of the imperial study, some silver hair at the temples, some wrinkles at the corners of the eyes are smooth, in the couch took off the outside of the body of the dragon robe, there is a small eunuchs to get the cotton clothes to wear, and brought a bowl of warm bird’s nest.

Fan Xian quietly stood aside, but could not help but curiously sneak a peek, the daily life of the world’s most powerful man is really nothing out of the ordinary.

The emperor was drinking, but in his afterglow, he caught a glimpse of Fan Xian’s haunted appearance, and couldn’t help but laugh, scolding, “There’s still nothing good to eat in Jiangnan? Greedy like this.”

Fan Xian hemmed and hawed and laughed twice, saying, “The main thing is that I had to go to the palace this morning before it was too late, so breakfast was just a haphazard two mouthfuls.”

The emperor waved his hand, signaling him to sit down, and Eunuch Yao waited for this decree on the side and hurriedly went behind the curtain to move a round embroidered pier out. Fan Xian sat down on his butt, and couldn’t help but think of a year and a half ago, when he first entered the imperial study to deliberate, and was a little curious, after the court meeting today, why His Majesty’s imperial study meeting didn’t continue, but instead summoned himself alone.

He had not seen the emperor for more than a year, and in his heart, he was pondering on such things as acting, Fan Xian did not know how to open his mouth for a moment, but in the case of the king and the minister, it should have been the emperor who opened his mouth first, and the Imperial Study Room was suddenly plunged into silence again.

The emperor rested the half-drunk bird’s nest on the table and looked up at Fan Xian’s face, looking at that clear, warm and pure face, somehow that heart that had been cold for twenty years moved, and couldn’t help but slowly shake his head, wanting to weed out that trace of emotion from the emperor’s head.

“How is the injury?” The emperor asked as indifferently as possible.

Fan Xian stooped slightly and respectfully responded, “Thank you for your majesty’s concern, I am fine.” He knew in his heart that the emperor must have already known about the news of Yan Xiaoyi’s son’s unnatural death, but since the other party did not mention it and did not link this matter to himself, he was of course happy to play dumb and was too lazy to argue more.

“Your Majesty ……?” The emperor repeated in his heart, sighed, smiled and said, “There is no need to be so formal, if there is anything you want to say then say it. Years ago expelled you to Jiangnan, for …… I am trying to sharpen you, promote you, just not to avoid hard work for you.”

The emperor can say such soft words, it is not easy, but Fan Xian heart slightly moved, but not soft, and said in a harmonious voice: “really do not dare to hide from your majesty, this go to Jiangnan …… I am really very willing.”

He smiled and continued, “The scenery of Jiangnan is good, I’ve always wanted to go for a stroll.”

Well, do not call the minister and call me, every time this two people’s conversation is this development, first by the ruler and the minister, and then to the old and young, and then to the ambiguous father and son situation, never say clearly but each other know each other, ambiguous, sour, shameless.

The emperor smiled, and said quietly after a long time, “You are doing very well in Jiangnan …… I, very pleased.”

This was naturally talking about the inner treasury, the things in Jiaozhou, the things on the Jiangnan Road, all the things, Fan Xian had shown the poise and vigor that a young famous minister should have, and had raked in too many favors from the civilian army for this court, for this emperor.

Fan Xian is now a knife in the hands of the emperor, and has basically finished offending the powerful class in the court, and the emperor understands this, and thinking of the valley sniping, he can not help but feel some faint pity for Fan Xian, just …… not much.

Slightly said a few words in the affairs of Jiangnan, about the political report on the end, after all, back to the main thrust of the duty is still in the dynasty, and so on a few days after the great dynasty, Fan Xian since to wear official clothes, special purpose on the court to meet the court full of civil and military praise or accusations, today in the imperial study, but is an emperor, a close ministers of the heart, especially on the matter of Jiangnan and Jiaozhou, has long been through the uninterrupted secret all to the emperor! Know, today’s discussion will be in its place.

The emperor seems to be particularly interested in Fan Xian’s trip to Tanyu province, and asked in great detail. Although Fan Xian felt a little strange in his heart, he patiently explained one by one, and even Dong’er’s matter was not left out, who knows how many eyes of the emperor are around him.

The emperor naturally had to ask Tanyuzhou nurse how she was doing, and Fan Xian answered one by one, describing the scenery of Tanyuzhou, the white seagulls, and the steep cliffs next to the city.

Then Fan Xian fell silent, for he realized with some surprise that the emperor seemed to be lost in thought.

The emperor’s eyes were slightly downcast, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes showing the characteristic charm of a middle-aged man, and he did not look at Fan Xian, nor did he speak, but only calmly recalled everything in Tanyuzhou as Fan Xian recounted it.

Suddenly realizing that the sound of the storytelling had stopped, the emperor looked up in some bewilderment and found that Fan Xian was looking at himself with concern, so he couldn’t help but smile and say, “It’s nothing, I was just thinking that I hadn’t been out of Kyoto since I returned from my last expedition to the west, and I couldn’t help but miss the scenery of Tanyuzhou.”

On the last western expedition, there was a change in Kyoto, Taiping courtyard was blood-washed, and Fan Xian was carried by Wu Zhu, riding in the carriage with black cloth to Tanyu state. Fan Xian’s face remained unchanged, only hesitantly asking, “Your Majesty, have you also been to Tanyuzhou?”

“Of course I’ve been.” The corners of the Emperor’s lips curled slightly as he smiled and said, “When I went to Tanyu, you were not yet born, and it was there that I met your mother.”

The ruler and minister both fell silent at the same time, both feeling that this sentence is a bit idiotic, when the father has just met the mother, of course the son has not yet been born.

After a long time, Fan Xian said with a slight hint of perplexity, “So it was in Tanyuzhou.”

“Dean Chen and …… Fan Shangshu didn’t say anything to you?” The emperor said with a smirk, “I had thought that you should always know something about what happened back then.”

Fan Xian knew that at this time, as long as he opened his mouth to ask, the emperor in front of him, who was already immersed in beautiful memories, would surely satisfy his curiosity, but for some reason, Fan Xian didn’t want to ask, as if what kind of Cangshan Mountain’s beauty was hidden behind the gauzy curtains, and that there were monsters, big monsters, in the …… mountains.

He just calmly laughed: “Where do the elders have the free time to talk to me about this, just when I was a child, I knew that the imperial court had a special grace decree for the city of Tanyuzhou, and at the very beginning it was exempted from taxes for three years, and this time when I went back, I found out that it was still exempted all the time, and that the people of Tanyuzhou were living a good life, and were all very thankful to his majesty.”

“I am the king of the world, loving and cherishing my people is the right thing to do, why do I need to be grateful?” The Emperor smiled, looked at Fan Xian and sighed, saying, “The twenty years of tax exemption for Tanyu State was because of Mum, and secondly, it was also to thank that seaport back then.”

Fan Xian couldn’t take this well, did he want to accompany the emperor to talk about his first love? What’s more, that first love was his own mom. At precisely this time, his stomach rumbled, his eyes turned and said, “Your Majesty …… is really hungry, reward a bowl of bird’s nest to eat.”

The emperor was stunned, and then laughed out loud, pointing at Fan Xian’s nose for a long time, unable to speak. Since the emperor of the Qing State has been on the throne of the mighty side, the eyes of the world, the subjects and people in the court are not creepy but respect fear of life, more than ten years, which subjects dare to yell at the time of the conversation between the king and the ministers hungry, begging for food reasoning …… is the crown prince, the eldest prince when he was a young man, by the palace ladies hold, but also do not dare to so no big and small to talk.

After a long time, the emperor only stopped laughing, eyes full of surplus love, scolded: “This cheekless strength, and your mother which has half …… cough.”

The emperor forcefully swallowed that sentence, his remaining light glanced at the half bowl of bird’s nest on the table, casually pointed and said, “It’s still hot, hurry up and eat it.”

Fan Xian was stunned, bumbling up to take the clean piece of white porcelain bowl, also not shy about what, a few mouths will be plowed through, the face did not deliberately show gratitude, the grace of the God, but eat is also extremely smooth.

This scene fell in the emperor’s eyes, the emperor is very satisfied, heart An Zhi really is not a person of hypocrisy. Just how did the emperor know that Fan Xian’s heart was cursing, not cursing the emperor for being petty, but in disgust that the bird’s nest porridge was eaten by the other party.

A side of the quiet standing Yao eunuch looked at this scene is the heart of the big surprise, he has many years in the palace, like today this kind of harmony between the king and the court is not seen a few times, the last time …… seems to be Shu Wu University Professor from the return of the North Qi, His Majesty for the show of favor as well as the intention of absolutely no interferences, rewarded him with a half a slice of preserved meat! ……

But last time, Shu Wu was touched by that piece of meat, kneeling in front of His Majesty, tears, and praised the Holy Spirit more than, where as today, little Fan this kind of ease, natural.

However, it seems that His Majesty prefers this kind of style of Lord Fan.

Eunuch Yao lowered his head, but in his heart he was marveling, this kind of ruler and minister, this kind of …… father and son, is really rare in the palace. Is thinking, but was His Majesty’s sentence to wake up to God, he hurriedly took the bowl of porridge, retreated out, all the way along the palace eaves walking, but still thinking about the previous scene, deep awe and admiration.

Only the emperor and Fan Xian were left in the imperial study, and after a few moments, the emperor suddenly opened his mouth and said, “You are also a person of status now, you can’t act like you used to fool around …… tanya state when you were in the Imperial College, well, going to kick an official’s son out of bed for half a year for the sake of a domesticated maid is always a loss of decency.”

Fan Xian heard this and straightened his neck, saying in a calm but stubborn tone, “Your Majesty has a point, but if there’s a next time, I’m still going to kick.”

“Strike that.” The emperor laughed, “You can kick it if you like, but there’s always a limit to fooling around, don’t go too far.”

Fan Xian sensed that the emperor’s words had a different meaning, so he didn’t answer, only nodded. The emperor looked at the young man’s eyebrows and frowned, thinking that this kid had made such a big fuss over a big maid who had been kicked out of her home, and that his men in the valley had been killed by more than a dozen crossbow arrows, so according to the kid’s vindictive nature, I was afraid that it would be difficult for him to forcefully swallow this breath.

Of course, the emperor could just open his mouth and tell Fan Xian to calm down a bit, but the emperor was unwilling to do so.

“I heard that you’re treating us tonight?”

Fan Xian was slightly stunned, and said respectfully, “Yes, after being away from the capital for over a year, there are a number of adults with …… whom I haven’t seen, so I’m taking this opportunity to get together.”

The emperor’s face calmed down, “Still the same words as before, fooling around is fine, there is a limit.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“That incident in the valley, the court will investigate and will give you an explanation.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Young man, look at things from a longer perspective, don’t just limit yourself to the immediate.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Find a time in the coming year, I’m going to go to Jiangnan to take a look, to see how well you and Xue Qing have taken care of my granary’s inner storehouse.”

“Yes …… eh?”

Fan Xian raised his head in a huff and looked at the emperor with a hint of surprise. The emperor was on a tour? This is something that has not been seen for more than ten years, especially nowadays, the forces of all parties in Kyoto are stupid, although the emperor sits in the palace, no one dares to be too wild, but the matter of the valley, the matter of Jiaozhou, all indicate that the volcano under the dragon chair has become alive, and at this time of the year, the emperor dares to …… go out on a tour!

Fan Xian did not understand what the emperor was thinking in his heart, and said after a moment of silence, “I thought ……”

Will call themselves and change into a minister, this is to formally advise and dissuade, but the emperor does not give him this opportunity, waved his hand and said, “I intend to have decided, the hands of the world, a few bedbugs jumping around, there is no need to worry about …… I am going to go to Tanya State to see, after the start of the year you return to Jiangnan, remember to prepare, just things need to be done stealthily. “

Fan Xian had nothing to say, but nodded and responded.

The emperor looked at him and frowned, “Did you memorize everything you said earlier?”

Fan Xian guessed with a bit of a headache, “Is it referring to the …… nonsense?”

The emperor nodded in relief, “I …… have just a few sons, you guys love to mess around, just don’t mess around to the point of being out of control, your mind, I understand some of it, very well, continue to do so.”

Fan Xian’s heart was shocked, son, you guys, this is already considered to point out …… but he felt that the emperor’s pair of eyes seemed to have penetrated his body, to see through his own mind – the emperor knows his own mind? –He immediately associated it with the clash with the second prince in front of the Moon Embracing House the year before, and that conversation with the second prince in the tea store.

If the emperor was guessing Fan Xian’s heart based on by that conversation, he could not help but say that his guess was basically correct.

“That Miss Haitang has returned to Northern Qi, right?” The emperor suddenly spoke.

Fan Xian’s heart was further shocked, but a hint of helplessness passed over his face as he nodded and said, “Wolf Peach brought someone to pick her up.”

The emperor slightly closed his eyes and said, “Most earlier, I did not like it, after all, the morning girl promised you not even two days, but then I felt that this matter does not necessarily have to be of no benefit at all, the Heavenly Dao is deeply associated with the sacrificial temples around the world, and if you have the ability to control the Heavenly Dao in your hands, it would be a great feat comparable to a military achievement for the court.”

Without waiting for Fan Xian to speak, the emperor continued indifferently, “After Bitter Lotus dies, it should be Haitang who succeeds to the throne, so you yourself must think clearly about the connection.”

Fan Xian bowed his head in silence.

The emperor said, “There’s no harm in being closer to the women of Northern Qi, but with Northern Qi, it’s better to keep some distance. I don’t doubt you, just my Daqing dynasty ambition in the world, you all kinds of action in the year, will always let some people in the army suspicion, they are some of the straight man on the horse, want is to open up the frontier and expand the territory …… you this time back to the capital, must also feel that the Privy Council’s attitude towards you is not how, this is one of the reasons.”

Fan Xian remained silent, knowing that this was the clash of the so-called doves and hawks, except that the emperor was definitely that type of meat eater at heart, and although he said he didn’t doubt it, the words were actually a very serious reminder to himself.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Fan Xian mildly responded, “I have my measure.”

Looking at his small-minded demeanor, the emperor smiled comfortingly and waved his hand, “It’s rare that you return to the capital, go wander around the palace ……” he said after a moment of contemplation, “Coax the empress dowager to be happier.”

Fan Xian received the order and went out the door of the imperial study.

Eunuch Yao was waiting outside the door, and when he saw him come out, he led him around the palace. Although Fan Xian has been to the palace many times, and is extremely familiar with the roads within the palace, he knows that he is a foreign minister who enters the palace to meet with the ladies of the various palaces, and is somewhat out of order, so he should be careful, and naturally, he needs the eunuch to lead the way.

In fact, in the final analysis, he the royal family supernumerary plus county extra horse harnessed by the side of a team’s side of a horse’s identity, only to let him have the opportunity to walk freely in the garden of the palace.

The first place to go is naturally the Hall of Containing Light, the Empress Dowager’s old ancestor’s bedchamber. The empress dowager had just taken a nap and was a bit tired, so she didn’t say much to Fan Xian, but Fan Xian was sensitive to the fact that although the empress dowager’s attitude towards herself was still cold, it was much better than when she ate the haggis soup.

Slightly said some gossip, Fan Xian see the old man look a little uncomfortable, will know the wisdom of the farewell, before leaving said to be Wan Er back and then together into the palace to pay their respects, the old man is really a little happy.

Before leaving the hall, Fan Xian whispered a few words to the female official and prescribed a prescription to the old man to regulate his body. Although the female officials in the Hall of Containing Light did not dare to give the empress dowager indiscriminate medication, they also knew the medical name of this great red man of the dynasty, and joyfully took it over, only waiting for the Imperial Hospital to review it and then use it, and couldn’t help but praise the extra horse harnessed by the side of the emperor’s side for his filial piety.

Fan Xian smiled, did not say anything, then left the Hall of Containing Light, along the broad palace road all the way to the west, passing by the Guangxin Palace could not help but look at two more eyes.

Eunuch Yao asked cautiously from the side, “Lord Fan …… is Guangxin Palace.”

Fan Xian froze and scolded with a laugh, “Of course I know, what are you thinking again, you old man?”

Eunuch Yao hemmed and hawed, “How can I say it’s also your mother in law, if I don’t go and meet her, if it gets to the ears of the Empress Dowager, I’m afraid that the old man won’t be happy.”

Fan Xian was stunned, and stopped right in his tracks not far from Guangxin Palace.