Chapter 37 – The Night Before

In the quiet hall, the grandparents and grandchildren were speechless for a moment. In the courtyard, the flower tea purchased by the people from Kyoto was piled up in one corner, the tea and flower scent from the bags slowly seeped out, comparing the scent of the flowers all over the courtyard. Between the flower trees, a few yellow-pink butterflies fluttered up and down, and above the flower trees, a few sounds of fledglings’ first chirps occasionally came out, very clear and crisp.

“Go, the fledgling phoenix will eventually have its first cry, you are already big, you always have to go and see the world.” The old madam then smiled and said, “It’s just that you’re going to Kyoto alone, a little child, I’m afraid you’ll have to suffer a lot, can you stand it?”

Fan Xian knew what Grandma was talking about, and smiled sweetly, “Second Aunt has been quite good to me over the years, and often sends things over, so Grandma doesn’t need to worry.”

The old madam smiled and shook her head, knowing that this outwardly calm, but actually quirky little guy must not think like this deep down, stroked his head, and after a moment of silence, she suddenly sighed, “If …… there is anything in the future, for the sake of your father and me, endure more. ”

“Uh-huh.” Fan Xian smiled and nodded.

“By my heart, I am not willing to let you go to Kyoto.” The old madam spoke cautiously, “It’s just that …… you’ll always have to go to Kyoto, so I’ll have to hand over some things to you.”

“Idle Child will listen to Grandma’s instructions.”

“Remember Butler Zhou from four years ago?” The old madam looked at him with a smile.

Fan Xian’s heart thumped, not daring to look directly into his grandmother’s eyes, and only after a long time did he say with a bitter smile, “Of course I remember.”

After this answer, the grandchildren and grandparents were considered to have broken this layer of paper. The old madam said with a straight face, “This child of yours is calm and intelligent, originally there was no need to worry about anything. But that time, we could see that your heart was still too pure.”

Fan Xian sighed in his heart, “Isn’t pure and virtuous a positive thing?”

Seemingly guessing what he was thinking, the old madam’s slightly narrowed eyes were filled with a chilling light, and she said coldly, “If you really want to go to Kyoto, you will have to comply with a pile of things from me.”

“What is it?” Fan Xian vaguely guessed.

“Be ruthless.” The old lady seemed a little tired, leaning back and leaning on the eunuch chair to recuperate, “This world may seem peaceful, but if your heart isn’t ruthless enough, you’ll still suffer in the end.”

Fan Xian was silent. In fact, he was not a Mr. Nice Guy, it was just that he had never had the opportunity to show his dark side in Tanyu, so listening to the old madam’s admonition, he understood in his heart that it was golden advice.

The old madam half-closed her eyes and said, “Back then, your mother was so intelligent, but it was because her heart was too kind that she ended up ……” She suddenly opened her eyes and stared at Fan Xian and said word for word, “It’s better to get yourself killed than to don’t let others get themselves killed.”

Fan Xian nodded vigorously.

“You go and clean up, your father is rushing, I’m only afraid that something is really going on in Kyoto.” The old madam looked at the little child in front of her with a face full of tenderness who had spent fifteen years with her, “I’m not going to Kyoto, I’ll just be in Tanyu, if …… you don’t have a good time in Kyoto, and someone tries to bully you, you can come back if you want to.”

“Hey.” Fan Xian answered, stood up and walked straight to his bedroom without saying anything more.

When he entered the room, he sat on the bed in silence, pulled up the quilt and wiped his face, wiping his hair in a big mess, and whispered to himself, “Motherfucker, I actually almost cried out, grandma is really good at stirring up emotions.”

Just after nightfall, the lamp in the room was lit up ghostly, Fan Xian’s face was expressionless, he put up his pen to write to his sister in Kyoto, telling her the news of his imminent arrival, and after he had finished writing, it occurred to him that this postal road stagecoach was only not much faster than the Earl’s House’s carriage, and that maybe she had just received the letter when she had arrived in Kyoto, which didn’t seem to be very necessary.

But Fan Xian was a person who was very economical with his energy, so since he had already written it, he sealed it into the envelope by hand. He was about to call out to Si Si to remember to mail the letter tomorrow when he turned his head and saw his eldest maid Si Si thoughtfully propping up her jaw next to her, looking at herself in a daze.

“Si Si, what are you thinking about?” He waved the envelope in front of his maiden.

Si Si woke up at once and said in embarrassment, “Nothing. Is this a letter addressed to Miss? Give it to me then.”

Fan Xian retracted his hand and looked at her rather curiously, “What’s wrong?”

After thinking for a while, Si Si finally mustered up the courage to ask, “Young master, aren’t you happy that you’re going to Kyoto?”

Fan Xian sat up straight and looked at her with a smile, “Why are you suddenly asking this?”

“Young Master, I’ve heard that the people in Kyoto are all very bad.” Si Si bit her lower lip, not knowing whether to say it or not, “And …… you don’t have a status after all, going to the Kyoto residence, in front of the Second Mistress, I’m afraid it’s not going to be easy.”

Fan Xian laughed, “So you’re worried about me, I’ll just avoid her, in the future, even if you can’t make much of a living in Kyoto, you can open a medical center to support yourself, and it’s good that you’re not in the Earl’s Mansion. …… I, in fact, just want to go to Kyoto to have a look around.”

Si Si said, “Young master will not be a life of inactivity, young master has read so many books, next year’s examination for the imperial examinations, will certainly be able to win, and in the future to become a big official, honoring the ancestors.”

Looking at the seriousness with which she spoke, Fan Xian smiled faintly and did not answer, in his heart he did not have the slightest idea about honoring his ancestors, deep down in his heart, he really did not have any feelings for his cheap father in Kyoto, which was too different from getting along with his grandmother.

“Why is young master unwilling to take me to Kyoto?” This was where Si Si was really worried, she looked at Fan Xian pitifully, “Those maids in Kyoto must all be listening to the Second Mistress, you don’t have a reliable person by your side, what can you do?”

Fan Xian sighed, Si Si is two years older than himself, in other people’s homes, I’m afraid that they have long been promised to go out, just because of their own life in two lives, so secretly appear to be much more mature and stable, instead of letting Si Si feel that he is very reliable.

He looked at Si Si and said: “Precisely because I do not know what Kyoto is like, so I can not take you away.”

Si Si actually understood this, but when she thought that she and her young master would be on different sides of the world and would never see each other again, her heart was slightly sour, and she hurriedly twisted her face away to clean up the things on the bookcase.

Fan Xian looked at her busy back, his heart was also bleak, but he knew that he could not say anything at all.

Kyoto might have great scenery and many interesting people or things, but there would definitely be swords and guns in the open and crossbows and arrows in the dark as well. He was willing to take some small risks and go through all of that, because since he had a second life, there was no reason to end up alone in the small Tanyuu city. But he was not sure he could protect those around him, so it was impossible for Si Si to follow him.

At night, he quietly went to the grocery store.