Chapter 130 – Cloth Clothes and a Single Sword Toward the Son of Heaven (IV)

“Why?” Right in the midst of the wind and snow, Fan Xian fell into deep thought. He hadn’t needed any time to think, because from many years ago, he had known that one day he would be greeted with such a question, and he had been preparing for it and running away from it all these years, but had never truly escaped from it. It was a question he had pondered countless times before, and it was the same question he had pondered for those recent seven all-nighters and seven days of agonizing thought.

“Why?” He slowly raised his head, squinting his eyes in the snow as he looked at His Majesty the Emperor and said in a slow voice, “Today in the Imperial College, I spoke to those young people about benevolence and righteousness, about the true greatness of righteousness.”

Fan Xian sighed and said with a touch of complexity, “In the past, I had thought that all of this was hypocritical and false, yet after so many years have passed, what a human minister should have and what he shouldn’t have, I have, and it was only at this point that I realized that other than those so-called guidelines, there is nothing else in the world that can make your life more genuine. ”

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him faintly, his thin lips slightly opened, his icy voice repeating what Fan Xian had said in the Imperial College in the morning today, “The common people have no shame, since ancient times, those who are ambitious and want to believe in the righteousness of the world do not move their hearts by success or failure ……”

Fan Xian’s speech to the young people in the Imperial College in the morning clearly made Dr. Hu realize the killing spirit and determination hidden between the lines, and he went to the palace in fear, naturally recounting the scene in the Imperial College to his majesty, and the emperor was actually able to memorize this passage of Fan Xian’s. Fan Xian also felt a trace of surprise.

Fan Xian also felt a hint of surprise, and smiled somewhat bitterly, saying, “I am not this kind of person who takes great righteousness as the rule of life, nor am I a saint whose morals are supreme; in my roots and bones, I am still just a person who is nothing but a person who loves and respects himself.”

“This is probably something hidden in my bones, something that has been hidden and closed off by the self for more than twenty years.” Fan Xian looked at the emperor and said very seriously, “I’m going to live this life whirling round, to live with abandon, to live to the fullest without remorse, so I want to be at peace with myself. And if it goes on like this, those things buried in my bones will keep me from peace of mind for the rest of my life.”

“The prosperity and power in this world is blinding and deafening, yet I still can’t pretend that I don’t know, that I haven’t heard, those things that used to happen back then, things that happened this fall.” A faint trace of sadness surfaced on Fan Xian’s face, and he slowly said, “Chen Pingping returned to the capital to ask His Majesty a question, whereas I don’t need to ask, I only know that these things are unfair, and that this unfairness is inflicted on those who love me and those whom I love, and that if there is no more of me in the world, and if there is no more of me who bravely walks up to His Majesty as I did today, and those who have already passed on , and where will they find justice?”

“They should not be forgotten by this world, and the injustice they have suffered must be redeemed in some way.” Fan Xian looked at His Majesty the Emperor and said, “This is your responsibility, Your Majesty, as well as my obligation.”

The Emperor heard Fan Xian’s self-effacing words and remained silent for a long time, his voice cold and slow as he asked, “Why don’t you ask me what really happened back then? Why don’t you ask me? Could it be that I don’t have any bitterness?”

“In King Jing’s Mansion, that is to say, King Cheng’s Mansion back then, there are still a lot of writings such as your mother’s private zhengzhangs to you.” Fan Xian was silent for a moment before responding, “I’ve read them all. I don’t need to ask anything, I know what happened back then because of what happened. As for whether or not her death was a good thing or an evil thing for this continent, hundreds of millions of people, I don’t really care.”

He smiled, with some difficulty, and said, “Your Majesty, in fact, this is not a debate about the world, about justice, this is not a public feud, this is just …… a private grudge.”

“What a private grudge.” His Majesty the Emperor also laughed, his hands negative behind, isolated in the wind and snow, the whole person indescribably lonely, “She is your mother, could it be that I am not your father?”

Fan Xian’s body slightly stiffened, did not continue to speak on this issue, but turned to say calmly, “Your Majesty has great ambitions in your heart, and you are walking according to what you consider to be the right path, however, in my opinion, even the most great and honorable and correct purpose is not worthy of respect if it is done by despicable means.”

A sneer spread across the corners of His Majesty’s lips as he looked into Fan Xian’s undaunted eyes and said, “Could it be that you think that the killing spree in Kyoto today was a very honorable means?”

Fan Xian smiled and shook his head, responding, “My purpose is only to end a public case from decades ago, to tear down the biggest shadow over my life, everything is just from the perspective of the ego, as I said earlier, this is a private grudge, and there’s no such thing as a great, honorable, or correct meaning, so what’s the point of how despicable the means are?”

He paused, and with a complex look, some feeling and some sighing, he looked at His Majesty the Emperor and said, “In these respects I am more like Your Majesty. For Your Majesty and I, good person is such a luxurious adjective ah …… But also because of this, that’s why I’m not like her, until death is still confused and inexplicable, at least I can ask Your Majesty a sentence before I die.”

This sentence is talking about the fundamental difference between Ye Qingmei and Fan Xian two people, however, the world is impermanent and wonderful, Fan Xian running around in this world to enjoy the ascent, in the end, it is actually slowly biased towards Ye Qingmei’s path, because this pair of before and after the descent of the world, the souls of the warmth of each other across the time, is probably the only existence in this world for the imperial power does not have a natural reverence for the existence of the innermost that part of the word, they are in the From the innermost part, they both have the desire to stand straight in front of the dragon chair, right?

His Majesty the Emperor was calm, smiling, and looking at Fan Xian with a touch of odd emotion, wondering if he felt as if he had seen that woman again after many years.

Greeting Fan Xian’s seemingly calm, but actually word-for-word exclamation, His Majesty the Emperor did not get angry or gloomy, but instead calmly began to talk about something else: “Back then, during the change at the Taiping Farewell House, I did not have the luxury of hoping that you would survive.”

Fan Xian nodded his head slightly, back then, during the Taiping courtyard bloodshed, Ye Qingmei had just given birth to herself not long ago, and was at her weakest, and she was just a baby, so how could she have survived the Empress’ clan’s frantic pursuit, and the Qin family’s army’s indifferent surveillance? Since the Emperor had camped this despicable and cold-blooded plan back then, he had naturally indifferently disregarded his own death or survival.

If it wasn’t for the old Fan family fighting for their lives, if it wasn’t for Uncle Wuzhu rushing back so quickly, if it wasn’t for Chen Pingping realizing that things were not right and rushing back from the northern border in advance, where would the present day Qing Kingdom have its own existence.

“Yet you survived after all, and were sent to Mummy. While I was slightly surprised, I was undeniably relieved in my heart, after all, you are my flesh and blood.” The emperor looked at Fan Xian and said calmly, “Now that I think about it, Ping Ping had already been suspicious of me at that time, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to agree to Lao Wu’s request to send you to Tanyu State, he knew that in this world, I regard the Empress Dowager and Mma as my mother, and could only watch as this became an established fact.”

“It would be just as well if things went on like this; at best, I will be in Kyoto and you will be in Tanyu, and at the New Year’s festivals I will remember that there is another illegitimate child on the distant shores of Tanyu, and give the Fan family some more rewards to send to your side.” His Majesty the Emperor’s hair was covered with snowflakes, and for a moment it was impossible to tell whether it was snow or hair like snow, and the whole person had gradually taken on a kind of old age.

“However, Chen Pingping seems to think differently, when you were four years old, he sent Fei Jie to your side, and secretly transferred a group of secret agents of the Supervisory Office to Mma to make use of. This thing, he went to the palace to tell me. I originally thought that he was somewhat superfluous ……”

The emperor’s brow furrowed, as if recalling the past in these ten years, and said, “However, when you were twelve years old, you were attacked by an assassin.”

The emperor glanced at Fan Xian and shook his head, “You were in Tanyu state during those years, so I’m sure you don’t know that the news from Tanyu state was sent all the way to Chen Pingping’s desk through the Supervisory Academy, and that old cripple went so far as to put forth a passion that was stronger than that of running the academy, and came into the palace when he did, to tell me of your every move.”

“You molested the maids in Tanyu, you ascended to the roof in Tanyu to shout, you began to cook for Mummy in person, and you practiced an unusually menacing hegemonic true qi in your body ……,” a strange smirk surfaced on the Emperor’s face. “I know every move you make, even more so than these sons in Kyoto, and so it seems that even though you are far away in Tanyu, I seem to have gotten used to the fact that you are right by my side.”

“And then you came to Kyoto, to my side, at the Temple of Celebration, in the tea store outside the alibi.” The emperor glanced at Fan Xian, his smile fading, “You joined the Supervisory Academy, you went up to the Hanging Temple, you accompanied me into the small building, and you were supported by me to Jiangnan. I must admit that you are my son, or my favorite one.”

“Your mother once said that favorite is habit, I got used to your existence when you were still small.” The emperor suddenly tilted his head and looked at the snowy sky, not knowing who he was looking at, and suddenly nodded and said, “Yet my favorite son, who refuses to be my son, is still standing in front of me at this time, to challenge my authority, to seek justice for what happened back then.”

He lowered his head and looked at Fan Xian indifferently, saying, “Between you and I, father and son, there is no victory or defeat, and the fine counting has come to this day, and in the end, it is still Chen Pingping who has won.”

Fan Xian heard the words, so he fell into silence.

“Since you are not a benevolent person who thinks of the world, since what you seek is only to settle private grudges, not for public justice, then I don’t quite understand your choice today.” His Majesty the Emperor did not give Fan Xian more of a chance to feel more like a kindred spirit as he directly opened his mouth indifferently and questioned.

Since it was only to avenge a personal vendetta, since it was only for the sake of seeking painful fairness, why did Fan Xian still have to use the snowy ground as the world earlier, laying out the facts and reasoning with His Majesty the Emperor, throwing out so many bargaining chips, only to seek to limit the battlefield to within the Imperial City, and limiting the enemy and us to a relationship between a father and a son? Revenge has always had no mercy to speak of, this Qing country, this world, can all be Fan Xian’s sharp weapon.

Fan Xian said after a moment of silence, “I thought about it for seven days in the mansion.” He smiled and continued, “The so-called seclusion is all a lie, seven days and seven nights locked up in a room, that would drive a person crazy, and I need to eat and get some air.”

His expression gradually softened and calmed as he said, “In the dead of night, when Wan’er and the others were asleep, I would sneak out of my room alone, draped in a single garment, like a wandering spirit, strolling around the gardens of the mansion. There had been snow off and on in Kyoto all those days, and the nights were so cold that the wives who looked after the gardens all hid in the corner rooms and drank, and no one noticed me.”

“I just wandered and wandered and wandered alone.” Fan Xian looked at His Majesty the Emperor, opened those eyes, and said with extreme seriousness, “I just realized that the original garden of the Fan Mansion is actually this big, I’ve been so busy with political affairs and hooking up on weekdays, that I’ve almost forgotten what my own garden looks like, and I didn’t notice this until these past seven days, that the Fan Mansion’s garden is actually a bit bigger than the area of the Huayuan Garden in the south of the Yangtze River. ”

“I don’t know how many mansions there are on that street in the south city, I don’t know how much space it takes up.” Fan Xian said earnestly, “And those food and clothing, places that are usually unremarkable, things that seem very ordinary to me, are actually extremely luxurious enjoyments for those commoners.”

He pointed at the palace in this misty snow and said, “Of course, the biggest garden is still this palace.”

“In these past years, while I was living my own little life, I went along to help those people’s lives, whether it was the inner treasury was the river worker yamen or the Hangzhou Association, very much gained some fame. I originally thought that I was the one helping them, but suddenly realized that it was actually nothing more than them providing for us.” Fan Xian’s face was calm as he looked at His Majesty the Emperor and said, “If that’s the case, who am I to ask for gratitude from them?”

“I’m not a saint, I have all sorts of flaws, I’ve just hidden them better, hypocritically, over the years. But ask myself, I still love Qing Guo after all.”

“Even if this kingdom is no longer good, but under His Majesty’s rule, the people are still living happily, there is an inner treasury and an inspectorate, if I don’t fool around, at least this kind of good life can be lived for a few decades more.”

“As I said earlier, I am not even equipped with a sense of gratitude, so who am I to scourge them simply because of my own personal vendetta? Making this world turbulent, killing and setting fires everywhere, the world falling apart, causing them to be miserable, would I live quickly?”

“If, for the sake of revenge, I chose that path, not to mention what that old cripple in the sky would think, but I think that Lord Mother, she would not rejoice.”

“Since you are seeking justice for them, how can you choose a path that they will not be pleased with?”

“I love the Kingdom of Qing, so I hope that this is merely a war between His Majesty and I. It’s just between us, and it’s best not to drag too many people into it.”

“Someone once said that a person born in the world should follow the right path. What is the right path? It is to do the right thing …… However, I have always wondered, this is also a right and wrong, and the other is also a right and wrong, how can I use my own right and wrong to judge His Majesty’s right and wrong, and use my own right and wrong to determine the world’s right and wrong? What exactly is the standard for judging right and wrong?”

“This can only be subjective feelings after all.”

“If the right path is to do the right thing, then the so-called right is the direction that puts one’s mind at ease. Today, when I came to the palace to say this to His Majesty and do this, it was because I wanted to put my own mind at ease.”

Fan Xian spoke slowly, sentence by sentence, saying a large portion of what he had been thinking about in these seven days, as for the remaining small portion, it involved the contest between him and His Majesty, not only today, but also the possible future contest, this kind of mutual harm and temptation in the mind, it would do no good to talk about it more than once, it would only do harm.

“There is no true saint in this world.” The emperor slightly lowered his eyes, snowflakes hanging a little on his eyelashes, “Perhaps your mother counts as one, and what you said today is at least considered to be close to the true meaning of this world, if your mother knows that you have grown up to become such a young man as you are today, she must think that her heart will be very comforted.”

Fan Xian quietly looked at the Emperor’s old man’s lean face, and suddenly, for some reason, a wave of sympathy, of sadness, that frightened him even to his own core, welled up within him. This inappropriate emotion that appeared at an inappropriate time made him feel terrified, in the face of such a snowy mountain of a supreme figure, what else was there to sympathize with the other side?

Perhaps it was simply to sympathize with the fact that this emperor, until this day, still saw him as his most favored flesh and blood, without even knowing that his shell hid a soul that had long since been characterized. Perhaps sympathize with each other by their own acting skills have been hidden, and destined to the moment of your death, I still can not reveal their true heart.

These years, Fan Xian in front of the emperor to play the loyal minister filial son, orphan son, is today killed Kyoto, into the palace face reprimand, is still playing so pure and upright solemn, to the words for the blade, to the performance of the blade, step by step, sentence by sentence into the emperor’s heart.

This is the war of the heart, when Fan Xian want to deal with the Northern Qi Virgin Haitang DuoDuo, in Kyoto began to prepare, in the North Sea swing, in the capital city restaurant feint drunk really drunk, shaking ah shaking ah shaking together, and then to the Jiangnan that a touch of tenderness, and finally won the battle in real terms.

His Majesty the Emperor is not Haitang, Fan Xian acted longer and harder in front of him, but he didn’t know if he could really touch each other’s heart that the wind and snow don’t melt. However, this play was destined to go on and on, even if Fan Xian died in the hands of the other party, it had to go on and on, otherwise, it could not pull this person down from the altar, from the dragon chair, otherwise, it could not protect those whom Fan Xian wanted to protect.

The barefoot is not afraid to wear shoes? Fan Xian can be shameless and thick black to this extent, to kill to kill, however, Qing Emperor is not so easy to defeat the opponent, Fan Xian enough cold-blooded, the other side is more cold-blooded, so today this vision can see the killing of cold-blooded determination, in fact, is the padding and preamble.

The real curtain will be opened at this moment.

The wind and snow no longer curled in the air, but straight sprinkled down, from a small flower bones into a piece of goose feather, with a kind of heavy beauty, fell on the emperor and Fan Xian’s body.

The Emperor and Fan Xian had traveled from the middle book under the door to the deep palace, and after a long talk, the true qi of two different natures in Fan Xian’s body had long been warmed up, and the whole body had entered into a realm of no joy and no sadness, and the true qi in his body was full to the extreme, waiting for which piece of snowflake to touch that moment.

In the midst of the snow and wind, Emperor Qing stood with his arms folded, his body holding a natural supreme power, his eyes slightly narrowed, looking at Fan Xian with a hint of a sneering smile.

Fan Xian’s real power had already been released through the wind and snow, but once he touched the square inches around his majesty, it was as if he had encountered an impenetrable mountain of snow, and he could no longer move forward.

The cultivation realm of a great master is not within the reach of mortals, Emperor Qing just looked at Fan Xian with such indifference and indifference, and as far as his gaze reached, he suppressed Fan Xian in the snow.

The king and his father and son faced each other for a long time, and the emperor suddenly laughed with sarcasm, “Even to fulfill your peace of mind, it will take time.”

After saying these words, the emperor put his hands behind his back and raised his legs, and walked out in one step.

Walking out, in such a wind and snow overflowing with two overbearing and majestic true qi, His Majesty the Emperor walked out as he said, without a care in the world, dashing as he wished, as if the superposition of this moment’s potential and the wild dance of the wind and snow could not possibly trap him at all.

This step seems to be simple, but in reality, there is a great depth of meaning, great uncomplicated.

Kala’s countless shattering sounds rang out clearly over the sound of the wind and snow. Fan Xian’s feet, which were standing on top of the snow, suddenly sank an inch downward for no apparent reason!

Taking Fan Xian’s feet as the center of the circle, countless fine cracks stretched out, like lightning, but did not fade for a long time, remaining on the snow, and like a spider’s web, although in the wind and snow, it did not break lightly.

These fine cracks stretched out so far and wide that they clearly showed the black soil below, looking like a kind of ineffable rune, with a marvelous sense of beauty.

Fan Xian stood alone in the middle of these cracks, silent for a long time, his face was calm and indifferent, and his full potential was out, but he could not trap the other party for a step, and the other party took that step, and walked out easily, and seemed to be no longer in between heaven and earth.

Suddenly, he thought of the sentence that Uncle Wuzhu said on the cliff of Tanyuzhou that he had taken off his clothes, and that step of His Majesty’s earlier had perfectly reached the perfect realm of this visit, more than just throwing away the remnants of his body, and had long since walked out of this room.

However, Fan Xian did not have any sense of despair and disappointment, because he already knew that he was facing the only remaining great master in this continent, who was already about to go beyond the realm of the mundane.

He pondered in the snow for a moment, then raised his knees and stepped on the footprints left behind by His Majesty toward the small building.