There was a palace riot in Kyoto three years ago, and a large number of masters in the palace died, but the relationship in the palace became simpler, and the overall atmosphere became much more calm and direct. The queen is dead, and Her Majesty doesn't seem to have the idea of re-establishing the queen, and the queen mother is dead, and there is no old woman sitting in a high position staring at those concubines. Concubine Shu accepted the result of her own son's death very indifferently, and just ate the day of fasting in the deserted palace, and His Majesty did not put her in the cold palace, which was already considered to be extremely merciful and generous.

In today's palace, the woman who speaks the most powerful is naturally the biological mother of the third prince, Yi Guifei, and the biological mother of the eldest prince, Concubine Ning, these two mothers are the injured party in the palace change, and they have formed a bloody friendship in the battle, and they cooperate to deal with the affairs of the palace, which is extremely harmonious.

As for the succession that can affect the atmosphere of the harem the most, it is unlikely to cause any major problems at the moment. Although His Majesty has not yet set up another crown prince, anyone with a discerning eye knows that the prince who is most likely to take over the Qingguo country in the future is naturally the third prince Li Chengping.

Although the third prince is still young, only a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, the only two "brothers" who can threaten his status, the eldest prince is well known, and he has no snooping heart for the throne, and half of the blood of the female slaves in Dongyi City on his body also makes him have natural difficulties in succeeding to the throne.

There is also a potential competitor, which is naturally Fan Xian. But after all, Lord Xiao Fan is just an illegitimate child, and he is the husband of the third prince, the most important thing is that looking at the movements over the years, Lord Xiao Fan has no interest in that chair at all.

Of course, as for whether Fan Xian is interested in the eyes of the minister and the ladies in the palace, this is still a question worth pondering. But at least for now, the path of the three princes is bright, the help beside them is real, and the trajectory of the entire Qingguo is clear, so the atmosphere in the palace is good, the small meetings of unity are held every day, and everyone's jīng spirit is full of the taste of striving for progress.

............ Fan Xian traveled all the way, and when he returned to Kyoto, it was already dusk, and after entering the deep palace, the whole sky was dark. He sat in the imperial study, touched his belly that was gently bulging, and couldn't help frowning, thinking that he should have gone to the Xinfeng Pavilion to pick up the buns on the hour before entering the palace.

This is just a very wonderful idea, he has the heavy responsibility of His Majesty, since he is returning to Beijing to report an errand, where do he dare to stay outside the palace. When he was secretly annoyed, he suddenly saw two little eunuchs walking into the imperial study with a food box.

His Majesty didn't know where to have dinner in the palace at this time, and even if the inner court informed him that Fan Xian had returned to Beijing, he couldn't come at this time. Fan Xian looked at the things in the food box in a daze, smiled, and said, "You know that I haven't eaten?"

Eunuch Yao generally served beside His Majesty, and the head of the eunuch who stayed outside the imperial study was also Fan Xian's old acquaintance, and it was the father-in-law Dai who had made great contributions in the palace incident.

Father-in-law Dai looked at Fan Xian with a smile and said: "The little grandfather is anxious about state affairs, he must have missed the meal, so he will pick up some dim sum mats first, and his majesty will eat in the harem at this time, just to reward you with a bowl of fish roe rice, and I am afraid that it will be too late." ”

Fan Xian was not polite, and began to attack the contents of the food box. As a courtier, when the emperor was not there, he had already sat in the imperial study, which was originally a sin of killing the head, and it was even more disrespectful to eat without asking for an order in the imperial study. It's just that he has already gotten a special purpose, so he can sit firmly and eat at ease.

Dai Gonggong smiled on the side and thought, Xiao Fan is not an ordinary courtier after all, and immediately thought of the recent boiling things in the world, Dai Gonggong's heart is hot again, Xiao Fan is Qing Guo's immortal achievements, and I don't know how His Majesty will reward him, the reason why this eunuch leader will be hot is because he knows that most of his future is in the hands of His Majesty, and a small half is completely connected with Xiao Fan.

He has been smooth sailing in the palace in this life, until Fan Xian appeared, he began to be unlucky, began to recover, because in the Kyoto rebellion, he made a great effort, so now he has become the deputy chief eunuch, and his status is more noble than when he was in the palace of Shuguifei.

Father-in-law Dai occasionally thinks with fear that if he had been on duty in the palace of Concubine Shugui, he would now be a member of the cold palace, or even dead. Thinking of this section, he couldn't help but glance back from the corner of his eye, and now the little eunuch who followed him was also a celebrity in the imperial study at the beginning, but it was a pity that he later served his master in the East Palace, although he didn't do anything, but his status has plummeted.

Fan Xian put down his chopsticks and said a few gentle words to Dai's father-in-law, then he slowly turned his gaze to his rear, looking at the young eunuch who was becoming more and more calm, but the green pimples on his face were still very clear, and said calmly: "You are not dead yet, which is a bit unexpected by the official." ”

Hong Zhu's face was full of respect, he saluted Fan Xian, and replied: "Back to the words of the little grandfather, the slave has been blessed by the saint, and he only came out of the cold palace a few years ago. ”

"After rì, remember to serve His Majesty with more care. Fan Xian said a word without saltiness, and then stopped his mouth.

Gonggong Dai saw that his love was a little low, and he flattered him casually, and then led Hong Zhu out of the imperial study, thinking in his heart, there have always been rumors in the palace that this little Hong Gonggong and Xiao Fan are not eye-to-eye, and it was Xiao Fan who kicked this little guy to the East Palace.

He couldn't help sneering three times in his heart, secretly thinking that Hong Zhu was this person, even if he had his husband Hong taking care of him, he was still no match for the little grandfather's hand stretched out from outside the palace, and now that Hong Zhu's husband was dead, Hong Zhu's position in the palace was embarrassing.

Father-in-law Dai didn't notice it at all, and when he left the imperial study, Fan Xian and Hong Zhu glanced at each other, with a lot of mutual concern in their eyes, and then nodded softly, imperceptibly.

There was silence in the imperial study, Fan Xian combed the thoughts in his mind silently, it was a matter of course for Hong Zhu to come out of the cold palace, this kid has always been very pleased with the nobles in the palace, in the rebellion, Hong Zhu didn't know anything on the surface, and it was a matter of course to use it, of course, in this matter, Fan Xian also made many detours and gave Hong Zhu some strength.

As for the entanglement with each other in the past three years, Fan Xian no longer thinks about it, at least this little eunuch has helped him too much, emotionally speaking, he always owes the other party, not the other party owes himself.

Just as he was thinking like this, there was a rush of footsteps outside the imperial study, and a faint light from the other side of the glass window illuminated the night, drifting towards this side.

Fan Xian hurriedly withdrew his stretched arms and stood up to greet His Majesty.

The door of the imperial study was pushed open, and His Majesty, the Emperor of Qingguo, dressed in bright yellow single clothes, strode in, his slightly thin cheeks were calm, and only the white hair in his temples revealed his true age and the mind that had been consumed too much over the years.

The eunuchs who served did not enter, and Eunuch Yao was extremely clever and closed the door of the imperial study tightly, and only the emperor and Fan Xian were left in the entire imperial study.

The emperor sat down on the soft couch very comfortably, rubbed his knees with his hands, looked at Fan Xian with his eyes, and suddenly laughed.

Fan Xian was confused by this string of laughter, and stood in place a little embarrassed.

The Emperor shook his head and said, "You are fine. ”

Since it's very good, why do you want to shake your head? Fan Xian smiled bitterly, took out the secret box prepared by the courtyard beside him, and put it on the low table in the soft couch.

The emperor opened the box and looked at it carefully. This box is full of the preliminary results of the negotiations between Nanqing and Dongyi City, as well as the bottom line of Dongyi City analyzed by the Supervision Yuan, as well as the territory map of Dongyi City's tribute and the detailed distribution of people's finances.

The matter of Dongyi City has already shocked the whole world, the mission in charge of the negotiation, including Fan Xian himself, and the Kyoto Imperial Palace have maintained a daily exchange of negotiation details, the emperor is very clear about the details of the negotiation, but after all, the two places are far apart, and if you really want to grasp the first-hand situation, you really need Fan Xian to return to Beijing and do a face-to-face ceremony.

The Emperor slowly put down the scroll in his hand, stood up, walked to one of the walls of the imperial study, and pulled back the curtain that hung on the wall.

Under the curtain is a large map of the whole world, on which the roads of each county are clearly described, and even the coastline to the east and south is also drawn in great detail. This map includes not only the territory of Qingguo, but also the territory of Northern Qi and Dongyi City.

When Fan Xian first really entered the imperial study to discuss matters, he sat with those scholars of Shangshu University, and he had seen this map before, and knew that the monarchs and ministers of Qingguo had supreme enthusiasm for Tuobian. It's just that there were three princes by the emperor's side at that time, but now two are gone.

The Emperor's steady palm moved on the map, and although the light in the imperial study was bright, it was not a shadowless lamp in the operating room after all. Where his palm moved to the map, there was a dark place, like a black arrow, containing countless authority, representing hundreds of thousands of troops, full of murderous intent.

The palm of the hand fell on top of Dongyi City and the four vassal states, and slapped it gently. The emperor didn't turn his head, and said calmly: "Without spending a single soldier, I will own this place, Fan Xian, how do you say I should reward you?"

"The negotiations are not over yet, there are still disputes within Jianlu, and the princes of those vassal states are only afraid that they will have to rebel, and the most important thing is the garrison, I don't know if it will cause a backlash from Dongyi City in the future. ”

Fan Xian replied with a smile, he could see that although the emperor was calm at this time, the joy in his heart could not be hidden, this emperor who wanted to dominate the world and establish the immortal deeds of all generations, it took decades to finally eliminate the two major opponents of the bitter lotus and the Sigu sword, and took the first step in the journey of ten thousand miles, and that kind of pleasure could not be disguised.

"How's the Sigu Sword going?" the Emperor turned around and smiled, not continuing to ask about the reward, but instead asked about a matter that he was most concerned about.

"The whole body is paralyzed, and you will definitely die in three months. Fan Xian replied very quickly, without a little mud and water.

The emperor pondered for a moment and then sighed softly: "I'm going to die, but I really admire this crazy sword, I was slapped by Uncle Liuyun Shishu, and I punched him, and he can still live for so long, this person's physical strength is really the most powerful of us." ”

This remark naturally excludes Wuzhu.

Fan Xian's eyes moved slightly, and he said softly: "Fortunately, Sigu Jian did not die, only he can suppress those strong people in the sword house, if he hadn't nodded, I am afraid that this negotiation would not have succeeded." ”

The emperor smiled and didn't say anything, he had always been a little puzzled by this son of his own, this sentence was saying good things for Sigu Jian? What is the point of saying good things for a great grandmaster who is about to die?

After Fan Xian thought about it, he said: "In Yichen's opinion, this negotiation is only afraid that it will be talked about next year, and by then Sigu Jian will already be dead, but since he has set the tone and spread it to Siye, presumably the disciples in the sword house will not dare to disobey." ”

"Will Wang Shisanlang take over as the master of the Jianlu?" The emperor suddenly asked, for this emperor, what is the personal relationship between Fan Xian and Wang Shisanlang, he doesn't care at all, what he cares about is that if the queen wants to really control the territory of Dongyi City, the owner of the Jianlu must be a person who can control it.

And that young disciple of Jianlu called Wang Shisanlang has a deep entanglement with Nanqing, no matter what his ability is, he is first and foremost a person who can control zhì.

Fan Xian's heart tightened, his mind turned quickly, and he said, "The opening ceremony has been postponed for a month, and no one has said anything. But who the sword is going to hand over to the sword, the minister has not yet inquired. ”

"Don't ask. The emperor's face sank, "If Dongyi City is truly obedient, the master of the sword house must be appointed by me, no matter who the sword chooses, if I don't nod the seal, it will not be successful." ”

Fan Xian's lips were slightly bitter, he was originally worried about looking at the sword to forcibly pick out the identity of the shadow and make him the second-generation master of the sword house, but now it seems that what he should be worried about is something else, His Majesty's approach is very similar to the style of canonizing the head of the lama back then.

However, if you think about it carefully, even if Qingguo sent officials and troops to Dongyi City after the rì, in the hearts of the residents of Dongyi City, it is still the children of Jianlu who are really in charge, and this point should also be written in the agreement between the two countries that Qingguo will not make major changes to the pattern of Dongyi City in fifty years.

If Qingguo doesn't even have the nominal right to appoint and dismiss, what kind of obedience does Dongyi City have?

This point, after the minister returned to Dongyi, he made it clear to the other party. Fan Xian didn't think about it anymore and responded directly.

"As long as Jianlu bows his head, there is no need to think about the rest of the small country commercial houses. The emperor squinted his eyes and said, "If Sigu Sword is smart enough, he won't do anything before he dies, and if he is really an idiot, I will naturally teach him a profound lesson." ”

The Son of Heaven was angry, the world was bleeding, and the lesson that Emperor Qing said was naturally to brazenly send troops and forcibly conquer Dongyi City by force.

Fan Xian didn't pick up this topic, and asked directly: "If the Sword Mansion is decided, what will happen to the City Lord's Mansion?"

"Didn't the people in the City Lord's Mansion be killed by the Sigu Sword?" the emperor stood next to the map, and suddenly glanced at Fan Xian deeply, "Actually, it's not just strange to me, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty felt a little shocked in addition to their great joy, An Zhi, this old thing of Sigu Sword is very blue-eyed to you, I can't imagine that he can really suppress the madness and agree to your request." ”

Before sending an envoy to Dongyi City, Fan Xian and the emperor had a long dispute in the palace, because in the emperor's opinion, even if the person who looked at the sword died, it was impossible to allow him to guard Dongyi City for many years with a sword. Fan Xian insisted on his opinion, and it took a long time to persuade Emperor Qing to let him try.

The problem is, it was actually successful in the first attempt! This fact surprised the civil and military forces of the Qingguo Manchu Dynasty inexplicably, and made the emperor also very happy, and even faintly uneasy, because his illegitimate son really gave the world too many surprises.

Emperor Lao Tzu's eyes were suspicious and suspicious, but Fan Xian didn't seem to feel anything, and said directly with a wry smile: "The minister doesn't dare to take credit, if it weren't for the strong national strength of my Daqing, after the death of the sword, Dongyi City will only have two roads to descend or break, and it will never bow to my Daqing." ”

It is also true that any diplomatic negotiation is actually rooted in strength. If the general trend is beginning to emerge today, the Northern Qi may have the strength to compete with Nanqing for many years, and Dongyi City is not stable at all, such as duckweed in the water, such as light clouds in the sky, as long as the strong wind blows, it is a chaotic situation.

Under the oppression of Nanqing's strong national and military forces, Dongyi City did not have much choice. Fan Xian's success this time should actually be the success of His Majesty the Emperor of Qingguo, because under his rule, it was an exceptionally powerful empire.

Fan Xian suddenly took a deep breath and said, "You also know that my mother came out of Dongyi City back then, and Sigu Sword always had a little bit of incense for me. ”

He knew that he couldn't hide this from the emperor, and he didn't want to hide it, so he simply said it directly. Sure enough, His Majesty the Emperor was obviously very clear about Ye Qingmei's past in Dongyi City, and after hearing this, he just smiled slightly and said, "That's true." Look around the sword, what does he ask of you. ”

Fan Xian raised his head and said seriously: "He hopes that Dongyi City under Daqing will still be the current Dongyi City." ”

"Yes. The emperor waved his hand very categorically, and without waiting for Fan Xian to say anything, he said directly: "The Dongyi City I want is the Dongyi City today, and now it has become the appearance of Jiangnan, what do I want him to do?"

Fan Xian was extremely shocked in his heart, the problem he was most worried about, the problem that he was most worried about, it turned out that it was not a problem at all in His Majesty's heart, what Emperor Lao Tzu wanted was the current Dongyi City, which was a large number of overseas merchants and had a faint taste of merchant autonomy.

As soon as he thought of this, Fan Xian couldn't help but have infinite admiration for Emperor Lao Tzu, only an emperor with extremely far-reaching vision could tolerate such a situation, but he was afraid that His Majesty's vision was broader than he imagined...... Immediately afterwards, the emperor discussed with Fan Xian the details of Nadongyi's entry into the territory, as well as the major problems that may arise, and the relevant countermeasures. At this time, the night was getting deeper, but the lights in the imperial study were always so bright.

The map of the world gradually changed in the details of the father and son.

After a long time, the emperor rubbed his tired eyes, turned his head, and looked at the map again, the map of the world had changed, but this map had not changed. The emperor said softly, "Tomorrow I will make a new map." ”

"Congratulations. Fan Xian said with a smile.

The emperor finally laughed at this time, and his palm suddenly slapped heavily on the top of the map, and the large area of foreign territory painted with green sè, and the bright yellow sè clothes seemed to carry an unstoppable smell of perseverance.

"There's only this one left in the world. ”

Fan Xian's heart shrank suddenly.

............ The Emperor asked the previous question for the second time: "Anzhi, how do you say I should reward you?"

There are many examples in history of high merit and bad death. And when these examples are unlucky, it is often because of this sentence, because their merits are too great, and they have received too many rewards, so that there is no reward, and it is impossible to let the person on the dragon chair share half of the chair for those examples to sit on, so the examples are all running on the road to death without exception.

Occasionally, there are examples of successful rebellions, but they are only a minority.

Hearing this question, Fan Xian didn't feel a little frightened, just grimaced and fell into deep thought. Because his contribution this time is not great, according to the previous self-description, the return of Dongyi City, in the final analysis, is because of the strong national strength of Qingguo, he is just an introduction, an excuse, and an excuse used by Sigu Jian to persuade himself.

As for the meritorious master, the self-confidence and narcissism of Emperor Lao Tzu is the first person in the ages, and he has never worried about which courtier and which son can run in front of him in his life. A strong emperor will be strong enough to be tolerant of the people under the dragon chair.

But Fan Xian does have the third trouble of the examples, that is, the problem of rewarding or not, he is now a first-class duke, sitting on the two treasures of the Inner Treasury Supervision Yuan, and the authority in his hands accounts for one-third of the world, and then let the emperor Lao Tzu reward himself with something?

But I can't help but ask for a reward, everyone in the world looks at Kyoto, if Fan Xian makes the first contribution, but there is no reward that can be obtained, I am afraid that the courtiers will feel cold to His Majesty.

After a long time, Fan Xian suddenly smiled bitterly, looked at the emperor next to the map, scratched his head, and said self-deprecatingly: "Otherwise...... Just give Dongyi City to Weichen?"

Of course, this is a joke, a big joke, the king is at most a king of leisure, if you really want to divide Dongyi City, that is to tear the earth and seal the prince!

The emperor also laughed, but his smile was not as interesting as Fan Xian imagined, but instead revealed an inexplicable teasing taste: "It seems that Sigu Jian is really as said on Dadong Mountain, and he wants you to be the city lord." ”

Fan Xian's heart was cold, and he responded with a wry smile: "Anyway, that city lord doesn't care." ”

"Let's change it. The emperor didn't bother to answer his words at all, sat down, took a cup of warm tea and sipped it slowly, and said directly.

Fan Xian stood in front of the emperor, had a headache for a long time, and said tentatively: "But Dongyi City always has to send someone to take care of it, or ...... Let the prince be the lord of the city?"

In today's Qingguo, there is only one prince of the eldest prince, who has Dongyi blood and a noble status, and if he wants to subdue the hearts of the Dongyi army and the people, the eldest prince will be the lord of Dongyi City, which is indeed a wonderful move.

"The matter...... rì later. The emperor's brows furrowed, obviously a little tempted by Fan Xian's mention, but more ...... Not assured.

"I don't know how to start a middle school. Fan Xian suddenly muttered, "Stay with those old men every day, and I'm so bored that I'm dead." ”

The Emperor laughed and said, "Isn't Lord He also a scholar now? ”

This is just talking, of course the emperor will not let Fan Xian give up the authority of the Supervision Yuan, enter the door of the middle book, and break his own arrangements for the future of Qingguo. Just hearing the emperor's words, Fan Xian's eyes immediately appeared in front of Fan Xian's eyes, the face of the hateful minister who guarded Ruo Ruo every day, and said with a sneer: "If Your Majesty really wants to reward the minister, the minister wants to ask Your Majesty to reward two wills." ”

Regarding the matter of marriage, Fan Xian and the emperor have been fighting a cold war for more than half a year, and as soon as Fan Xian opened his mouth, the emperor knew what he wanted to say, and said in his heart, "You kid actually dare to ask for favor?

"A will for Ruoruo, a will for Roujia. Fan Xian said in a low voice: "Please allow the emperor to allow them to choose their own sons-in-law." ”

The emperor looked at him coldly, and after a while, he suddenly spoke: "I have approved you for Roujia's matter, but I have not allowed your sister's marriage!"

Fan Xian was furious, but his heart was calm, he knew that the emperor Lao Tzu had always refused to let go of this matter, because the other party wanted to use this matter to completely suppress himself, unless he was relieved, with the love of father and son, the will of the monarch and the minister to plead with the other party, the other party would never give up.

This is gambling, not just gambling, what the emperor wants is to completely master Fan Xian and let Fan Xian completely bow his head in front of him. Because the emperor has always felt very clearly that his son is different from other sons, and there are too many traces of his mother.

The dead sons are extremely respectful to themselves on the surface, but secretly they are thinking about something that is not as good as pigs and dogs. And An Zhi is a hint of refusal to be honest from his bones. Although the emperor admired Fan Xian's "sincerity", he wanted to brand this sincerity as "red loyalty"

"There is no need to say anything more. The emperor stared at Fan Xian with a cold face, suddenly thought of something, and said with a slight smile: "Just one of Roujia's wills, I want to reward you for your work today, which is indeed a little unreasonable." But...... I remember, you're still only the Inspectorate?"

Fan Xian's heart moved, knowing that the drama was coming, but his face was confused.

"Chen Pingping's old dog doesn't care about it anyway. You will directly succeed the dean, and let the old guy have a good rest. The emperor looked at him slightly mockingly, and said, "In your early twenties, I asked you to take the position of the president of the Supervision Yuan, which can be regarded as a high grace, why don't you hurry up and thank you?"

It is true that Fan Xian is only the director of the Supervision Yuan, but after so many years, under Chen Pingping's deliberate cultivation and delegation of power, he has already mastered the entire Supervision Yuan, what is the difference between him and the dean? The emperor actually used such a natural promotion at this time, and he sent away the credit he had made in Dongyi City, blocking his idea of breaking the marriage, which was really a bit unkind.

The corners of Fan Xian's lips twitched twice, as if he wanted to be disrespectful in annoyance, but after all, he still suppressed his feelings, made a random salute, thanked him, and left the palace. The emperor smiled in the imperial study, and did not take this son's rudeness seriously.

............ That night, Fan Xian went back to his house, and did not go to the second thing immediately, because of the conversation in the imperial study, his mood was already relaxed. At least the seemingly omnipotent Emperor Xià could not grasp the subtle movements of the entire world, and in the struggle of his temper, he won another game.

Sit on the edge of the bed with your feet soaked in the hot water. Lin Wan'er's face was full of tiredness, leaning on his shoulder, and said, "I don't know how to say it when I come back, there is no preparation at home, the people are asleep, and you refuse to wake them up." ”

"After a few days, I will go to Dongyi City to preside. Fan Xian gently held his wife's hand and said with a smile: "I can't help it." ”

"You don't know who took your name. Lin Wan'er yawned, obviously a woman who gave birth to a child, but her face still had an indelible childishness, especially the round cheeks, which made Fan Xian happy.

He gently pinched his wife's face and said with a smile: "Who would take such a tasteless name except that one." ”

"Why are you so interested today?" Lin Wan'er suddenly sighed.

Fan Xian said proudly: "I asked for a good official today, and I will go out of the city and into the park to drive people away!"