Chapter 5: The Secret of the Palace

“Good, you’re finally angry.” The corners of Sinan Bo’s lips curled slightly, a smile slowly unfolding as he said softly, “Having been listening to the news from Tanyuu’s side, I thought that you were someone who wouldn’t get angry… Child, you’re only sixteen years old after all, and if you keep your emotions hidden within yourself, it would be a very painful thing to go through.”

“So what?” Fan Xian looked at his father with a strange gaze, certain of something in his heart, “There is something I must report to Lord Father beforehand.”

“What is it?”

“I …… am not a very controllable person.” Fan Xian’s words were blunt.

“I have no intention of controlling you …… although you …… are my son.” Count Fan Jian of Sinan looked coldly into the young man’s eyes, as if he wanted to see some panic in Fan Xian’s calm eyes, “But the marriage with the Chancellor’s family is imperative, and this matter is not negotiable.”

Fan Xian lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and said with a smile, “You can try.” Only this smile was filled with confidence and persistence.

Uncle Sinan seemed to be a bit angry, his palms placed on the armrests of the chair with slight force, veins hidden, but after a long while, he suppressed his anger and said with a cold smile, “Why don’t you children understand? That Lin family miss gentle and considerate, know the book and reasonable, really is a good match …… Besides, with my Fan family status now, do I still need to rely on the children’s marriage to stabilize the status? Is a mere Lin Ruofu really worthy of such high regard from you and me?”

Fan Xian slightly shocked, feel father attitude does not seem to be hypocritical, just …… if even the hall prime minister adults do not need to value, then why also want to marry with the Lin family miss? Could it be that it was only because Ms. Lin was very good? This kind of inference was something that Fan Xian would not believe in any case.

“Why must I marry her?” Fan Xian asked with a frown.

Sinan Bo Fan Jian smiled faintly and said, “Because Miss Lin’s mother, the current Eldest Princess, is His Majesty’s own sister, only that this Eldest Princess has never married in her life, but she secretly manages the royal family’s merchant house, providing the entire Kingdom of Qing, as well as the Imperial Palace, with an unending supply of money.”

Fan Xian was very shocked, thinking that his unmarried daughter-in-law was actually the daughter of the eldest princess! Doesn’t that mean that Lord Chancellor has a leg …… or even countless legs with this Elder Princess? No wonder Lord Chancellor has climbed so smoothly from the bottom to the top over the years …… The original walk is the face of the head of the line.

This secret, the whole world knows the person should not be a few people, their own father if not because and His Majesty the emperor grew up together relationship, also must not be possible to notice. Fan Xian suddenly realized that with such a deep secret, his father was not supposed to tell himself.

Sinan Bo smiled, ”You should also be clear that these words cannot be said outside, and whoever says them will die. So if these words reach your ears, just pretend that you have never heard them. The reason why I would tell you this secret of the royal family is that I want you to be prepared so that you don’t make any missteps in the future when you get along with the Miss Lin family.”

Fan Xian suddenly thought of the pile thing that Uncle Wuzhu had said before, and his complexion became a little bleak as he sighed, “Is the royal merchant firm …… managed by the eldest princess the business of the original Ye family?”

“Not bad.” Si Nan Bo’s eyes were filled with a hint of pity, looking appreciatively at the youngster in front of him, slightly surprised that the little guy actually saw through the true nature of the problem at once.

“Her Highness the Eldest Princess only has this one daughter, and His Majesty has long since decided to let the Eldest Princess’s line manage the Royal Merchant House, so whoever marries the Lin Family’s young lady and becomes Her Highness the Eldest Princess’s son-in-law will have the possibility of becoming the future owner of the Royal Merchant House.”

After saying a lot of words, Sinanbo felt slightly tired, but deep down inside he was a little excited, pressed the armrest of his chair and stood up, staring at Fan Xian and said word by word, “That merchant house, it was originally your mother’s, so you’re just reclaiming what was originally your own!”

There was a deathly silence.

“Father is far-sighted, my child admires that.” Fan Xian bowed to his father and asked, “Even though the other party is not a princess, but after all, she has the status of royalty, do you think that by doing this, we will be able to take back our mother’s family business? This kind of thinking I think is a bit too arrogant.”

“Naturally there is still a backhand, don’t forget that my father is the Minister of the Household Department, and is in charge of silver and money matters as well.” Fan Jian smiled, appreciating more and more the calm mind and attitude of the youngster in front of him, “And there is something I have to tell you, although Lin Ruofu, the old thief, doesn’t have too much say in this matter, he still has misgivings about the marriage between our two families, so I hope that in recent times, you will be able to behave yourself a bit better in Kyoto.”

“Why?” Fan Xian was a bit puzzled, although Lin Ruofu was a prime minister and the head of the civil officials, he was very clear about the position of the Fan family in the deep lake of Kyoto, the other party should be happy to see it if they were able to befriend such a strong supporter, so why would they still be against it? If it was considering the status, that young lady seemed to have the same as himself, her origin was not very honorable.

“Everyone has their own position to stand on, different camps have to consider different things.” Fan Jian faintly explained, “The Fan Clan is a major clan in Kyoto, Lin Ruofu is the head of the civil officials, and the two families’ secret marriage is a very big matter. The reason why Lin Ruofu is hesitant is because he is afraid that His Majesty will doubt his intentions, and he is also afraid that those young people in the civil official system under his command will have second thoughts about this matter.”

Fan Xian sighed and laughed to himself, “I’ve given this a lot of thought along the way, but it turns out that it’s just a matter of shaving the head to get the head hot, and it’s just a unilateral idea of the Fan family.”

“Yes, that’s why you need to find a way to get that Miss Lin family to recognize you.” Fan Jian smiled, just a little puzzled: “What does the shaved head and burden …… phrase mean?”

“Wrongly said.” Fan Xian pursed his lips and smiled, not explaining much, and instead asked, “Father, there’s something I’ve always been curious about, and I don’t know if I can ask.”

“Ask.”

“Forget it. It’s also already very late, my child will go rest first.” For some reason, Fan Xian stopped talking and said instead, “I’m not familiar with Kyoto, can I have Fuji Zijing follow me?”

“Fuji Zijing’s ability to take care of things along the road is good, but he’s nothing more than a fourth rank expert ……,” Fan Jian frowned, “I’ll arrange stronger guards for you, the water in Kyoto is very deep.”

Fan Xian smiled, “No need, it’s not easy to get acquainted with him, why change again.”

Father and son made some more small talk, seeing that the night was already late, Fan Xian saluted and left, there were maids waiting outside, walking through the complicated rows of corridors and leading him to his bedroom.