"Why?"

Faced with his son's extremely shocked questioning, Fan Shangshu did not continue the topic, smiled and turned to say, "Is the situation in the palace okay?"

Fan Xian was stunned for a moment and then responded: "His Royal Highness is on duty with an injury, the Queen Mother is seriously ill, and the prince has been imprisoned in the East Palace, there should be no problem." ”

"Hmm. Fan Jian nodded, looked at his eyes gradually revealing a soft taste, and said in admiration: "You have only returned to Beijing for seven or eight years, and you can defend Kyoto for Your Majesty in such a difficult situation, I have to say that your progress has exceeded my expectations, and your performance is very good." ”

Praised by his father, Fan Xian had no joy in his heart, and said with a wry smile: "I worked hard with the boss in Kyoto, but who would have expected that His Majesty would have calculated everything, and if there was no final backlash from the Dingzhou Army, the Imperial City would not be able to hold it today......"

Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Fan Jian waved his hand and said: "Your Majesty is far-sighted, the sacred heart is far away, naturally it is not for us who are courtiers to speculate on our own ......" The tone in these words revealed a little unnatural, and he then sighed: "Regarding the problem of the Ye family, it is really beyond everyone's expectations, and the persecution for several years in a row turned out to be a hidden move of His Majesty. ”

He looked at Fan Xian and smiled slightly: "From this point of view, after the sniping in the Kyoto Valley a year and a half ago, your judgment was correct, but I was wrong." ”

Fan Xian was silent, after the sniping in the valley last year, he and his father had studied the problem of those city crossbows, although it was clear afterwards that it was the old Qin family's doing, but also thought about whether His Majesty would be angry with Ye Chong, and then talked about the deployment of military forces from all sides of the Qing Kingdom, and found that in the past 20 years, in addition to Ye Chong has been the commander of the Kyoto garrison, the commander of the forbidden army of the palace and the head of the Ouchi guard are in charge of one person, and they only appear in the palace code.

At that time, Fan Xian had doubted this, since His Majesty had such trust in the Ye family, why did he force the Ye family to join forces with the second prince and fall to the side of the eldest princess, but Fan Jian gave what he thought was the reason, Fan Xian thought it was reasonable, so he let go of this question.

Unexpectedly, in this Kyoto Rebellion, this question finally revealed the truth, and His Majesty forbears the truth of his suspicious weakness.

His Majesty the Emperor has constructed a big mystery, which not only confuses the eldest princess and everyone in the world, but even Fan Jian, a cronie who grew up together since childhood, is also deceived to death.

Speaking of sniping in the valley, Fan Xian's eyes involuntarily appeared in front of his eyes as white snow, red blood, and the head in front of the Privy Council, as well as his own arrogance, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly, thinking that in front of His Majesty and the eldest princess, his arrogance as rì seemed so childish and ridiculous at this time.

His heart moved, and he asked, "Father, the child has always had a question, Qin Ye and he...... Why do you want to betray Your Majesty?"

This is not only his question, but also the question of many people, but the struggle for imperial power and the general trend of the world make everyone naturally think that the betrayal of the Qin family is like every internal struggle in the history books, and it is a matter of course.

However, when Fan Xian heard the words of the eldest princess before she died, a poisonous flower bloomed in his heart, and he began to pay special attention to this issue - although the Qin family had a strong share in the Ming family, and although the Qin family secretly instructed the Jiaozhou sailors to slaughter the island, but for a military veteran, his face alone was enough for His Majesty to gently expose the matter - as long as he was loyal to His Majesty.

And what kind of person is the emperor, if he hadn't doubted Qin Ye's loyalty, how could he have allowed him to stay in the position of privy councillor for so many years, all these years the old man Qin has been saying that he is ill, and the position of this privy envoy has never been vacant.

After he told this doubt, Fan Jian didn't think about it, and said directly and indifferently: "It was also in the valley sniper, I once said...... The head of the queen's father was cut off by me, but who knows if the heads that should have been cut off were really cut off. ”

Fan Xian's heart trembled, and he understood what his father meant, the old Qin family rebelled on the side of the eldest princess, which may be inseparable from the mysterious death of his mother twenty years ago.

"Back then, I went to Xihu with His Majesty to fight, Chen Pingping was transferred to Yanjing to deal with the emergency situation in the north, and Ye Chong was also stationed in Dingzhou to suppress the ......formation of His Majesty" Fan Jian lowered his eyes and said slowly: "...... At that time, Qin Ye was in charge of the military center of Kyoto as the envoy of the Privy Council, and no one would be surprised if he also participated in the Kyoto Change. ”

It's very strange, if Old Man Qin is also one of the culprits in the murder of Ye Qingmei, then four years later, on the bloody night in Kyoto, the queen family was slaughtered, and the princes and nobles of Kyoto were washed away in blood, why was the Qin family not implicated in any way? If the three of His Majesty and Chen Pingping's fathers joined forces to avenge their mother, how could they let Old Man Qin go?

Greeting Fan Xian's questioning gaze, Fan Jian said slowly: "The problem is that there is never evidence that the Qin family is involved in this matter, just like the Queen Mother, at most there is a crime of connivance......"

Fan Xian frowned slightly, Chen Pingping also once said to herself, about the death of her mother, the Queen Mother should not be the culprit, only a crime of connivance. However, after some detailed discussions with his father today, Fan Xian suddenly thought that he was afraid that Dean Chen also had some other thoughts in his heart, and he had endless doubts about the role that the Qin family had played.

The person who can best prove Chen Pingping's thoughts about the Qin family is naturally Jing Ge, the deputy commander of the Black Cavalry, a dangerous person like this who is eager to destroy the Qin family, Chen Pingping still quietly takes him into his account, for what? Is it just to turn against the Qin family in the future?

A chill arose in Fan Xian's heart, if the Qin family really participated in the murder of Ye Qingmei as Chen Pingping expected, why could he have survived until now? As soon as he thought of this, a cold current began to pour out of his body from the inside, and countless colds seeped out of the pores, making this study look like a cold winter.

He had guessed countless times that he was infinitely close to the truth, but he didn't dare to ask, not even Chen Pingping, and Chen Pingping also cut himself off from him infinitely and coldly, not giving him any chance to speak.

Fan Xian has always had a knot in his heart, so he has been quietly shifting his focus to Northern Qi, and has a natural fear of Qingguo, and today this knot seems to be about to open, revealing the black truth inside, so he was silent, smiled at his father, and said: "If the Qin family is really involved in this matter, it can be regarded as retribution today." ”

He was worried that his father would follow this line of thought and think of what he was afraid of before, so he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is going to return to Beijing, and this court was still preparing for the future of His Majesty, but I don't know how to turn it around for a while. ”

Fan Jian was slightly stunned and then smiled: "These things naturally have the heart of the Ministry of Etiquette, why do you need to pay attention to so much?"

Fan Xian shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything more, Fan Shangshu was also silent, with a trace of doubt on his face, and the atmosphere in the study was a little weird.

Presumably in Kyoto tonight, those powerful ministers who survived were silent in their respective residences, no one thought that His Majesty the Emperor would be able to come down from Dadong Mountain alive, and in addition to being shocked, he thought of the trick of the Ye family in the rebellion and many tricks that did not leak, and all the courtiers' awe and fear of His Majesty the Emperor were raised to an unprecedented level.

Fan Xian looked at his silent father, got up and said a few words, and then turned to leave.

Walked out of the study and walked to the back garden on the back street, ready to go and see Wan'er. The night breeze and autumn were as cool as water all the way, plopping on his face, without a burst of pleasure, he took a deep breath, maintained the injuries in his body, and thought a little blankly in his heart, Chen Pingping's letting go in the valley sniping was exactly the kind of split, the old cripple deserved to be the most powerful person in the world, he had already seen it clearly, but he carefully hid the truth from himself, did those things alone, and used these divisions to maintain his own peace afterwards.

Fan Xian has been studying Chen Pingping, so he can only be silent tonight, his father is going to resign and return to his hometown, why let his speculation make him fall into the danger of Kyoto again and unable to extricate himself? For the safety of each other, they must be separated from each other, this is the real love.

Just as Chen Pingping loves herself.

At this time, Fan Xian wanted to see Chen Pingping very much.

―――――――――――――――――――― Chen Pingping was traveling around Kyoto at this time, occasionally giving orders to let the Supervision Yuan cooperate with His Majesty's actions in the world, even if he had to return to Kyoto before the emperor arrived in Beijing, it would not be possible tonight.

However, someone came to Fan's mansion to look for Fan Xian, and it was already late at night, and Fan Xian had not had time to see his wife, so he was a little helpless and was invited out of the mansion. He looked at the palace code at the door, took a deep breath, suppressed the slightest annoyance in his heart, and saluted: "Lord Gong." ”

Previously, he and his father were discussing this person in the study, knowing that he was one of the most trusted people of His Majesty, and his speech was naturally very measured. In Gong Dian's opinion, Xiao Fan is the closest son and nephew of His Majesty, and he didn't dare to support him, so he bowed as a subordinate and said in a deep voice: "There is something to trouble the Duke of Xuanbo." ”

Now Fan Xian is among the dukes, and he deserves this ceremony, not to mention that in the day or two before the emperor returned to Beijing, he was still a minister of the state of supervision, just hearing the word trouble, Fan Xian knew that there must be big trouble, and he couldn't help but really have a headache.

There are too many dead people in Kyoto today, Fan Xian's love is not very good, the war in Kyoto is still raging, but the city has gradually stabilized, he desperately needs to rest and think, being disturbed, of course, there is no good face.

But is it so easy to be a prisoner? Fan Xian forcibly suppressed the annoyance in his heart, looked at him, and said as calmly as possible: "What's the matter?"

Gong Dian looked at him, and seemed to be a little hesitant and difficult, even when he slashed at the military veteran Qin Old Man in the formation of tens of thousands of rebels during the day, it was not so difficult.

Fan Xian didn't speak, just looked at him calmly, maybe it was too much pressure, Gong Dian swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, "Please go to the palace, I can't persuade Miss ......"

Yes, as soon as these words came out, Fan Xian immediately understood what was going on, he was busy killing people and saving people during the day, and he didn't think of going to this piece at all, at this time, in the dead of night, the smoke of gunpowder dissipated slightly, and he immediately thought of a big trouble that the Ye family would encounter immediately after following His Majesty to establish a meritorious service for all generations.

"The handsome went out of Beijing to pursue, and the last general took the young lady back to the house, but the young lady swore to die...... "Gong Dian guarded Zhengyangmen for a long time at night, and then encountered big trouble at night. He knew that in today's Kyoto, probably only Fan Xian could handle this matter, and he was qualified to deal with the affairs of the royal family, so he no longer cared about the face of Dingzhou, and said the problem directly.

Fan Xian still looked at Gong Dian quietly, letting him speak, there was no disdain and ridicule in his eyes, but it made Gong Dian feel a sense of unease and shame for no reason.

Fan Xian took a deep breath and didn't say anything, in this whole thing, the people who are still alive are the most bitter ones are Wan'er and her best friend Ye Ling'er. His wife was heartbroken by the death of her biological mother, and Ye Ling'er's grievances and anger were only afraid that they would not be less.

When Ye Ling'er married the second prince, it was really a good match, but no one could guess that this marriage was just a part of the plan between His Majesty the Emperor and Ye Chong. In other words, Ye Ling'er is not even a chess piece, she just paid for her feelings and marriage, and became a bargaining chip for the Ye family to win Princess Nobu, and when the matter came, she would be stunned to find that her father was bent on dealing with her husband.

Of course, her husband was also bent on using her to control the Dingzhou army.

As soon as he thought of this, Fan Xian couldn't help but think about the three words that the eldest princess said before she died--men in the world are all controlled by fame, fortune, power and the so-called ideal of dominating the world, which is really not a thing-maybe including himself, but he asked himself if he could do such a thing, and he hated Ye Chongsheng who sold his daughter.

Gong Dian seemed to guess what was going on in his heart, and his expression was very unnatural.

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "The second prince is also locked up in the mansion?"

Gong Dian answered.

Fan Xian lowered his head and said: "It's okay, His Majesty on Dadong Mountain once said that if you can't kill, you won't kill, especially ...... Chengze. ”

Gong Dian looked up in shock, he knew the news of His Majesty's survival, but it was the first time he knew that His Majesty on Dadong Mountain had this explanation to Fan Xian personally. If His Majesty is really willing to leave the second prince with a life, it is really a blessing to invite heaven.

Dingzhou up and down actually like Ling'er this girl, so now the truth is broken, when Ye Ling'er is mourning in the center of the palace, all the Dingzhou troops feel extremely ashamed and uneasy, at this time, I heard that the second prince does not have to die, Ye Ling'er naturally does not have to be a widow, and it is easier to explain.

Fan Xian sighed in his heart, and at this time, thinking of the explanation of the emperor on Dadong Mountain, he could understand that his majesty had already confidently calculated that he would return to Beijing safely, and the eldest princess would lead the crown prince and the second prince to lose, so he would deliberately remind himself that the second child would be killed.

Leaving the second child alive is actually just leaving Ye Ling'er a man, leaving the Ye family's great hero a little face, otherwise, if the second child dies violently, how can Ye Ling'er deal with herself?

............ Although His Majesty had already calculated, Fan Xian still went to the palace, because even if he didn't have a good impression of the second prince, Ye Ling'er had called him countless masters after all, and as a prisoner, he always had to deal with the captured prince carefully, if there was really a problem in the palace, he really couldn't explain it.

He didn't look up at the plaque on the house, he entered directly in the company of the palace ceremony, and there were sergeants guarding him all around, even if the second prince still had the power in his hands, it was difficult to turn into a mosquito and fly out of this cage.

This is the first time Fan Xian has stepped into the mansion of the second prince, and the feeling in his heart can't help but be a little weird, I don't know what the brother who is somewhat similar to himself in appearance and temperament is thinking at this moment.

The palace was left outside the backyard, Fan Xian went in alone, this garden was quiet and quiet, not like the palace should have a grand scene, there were still lights in the room, it seemed that although the night was late, the young princess and princess still couldn't sleep.

At the entrance, I only saw Ye Ling'er alone, her face was sad, sitting at the table silently, without saying a word, there were still tears in the corners of her eyes, and her usual eyes were as bright as jade, but there was more indescribable exhaustion and grievances, and more of hidden anger.

At this time, the princess is like a tiger that may pounce on and bite someone to death at any time, she is used by her husband and not mentioned, deceived by her father, and thrown out by the family, how can she bear it?

Fan Xian felt a faint sense of pity in his heart, walked to her side, and said in a harmonious voice: "Gong Dian asked you to go back to the house, which is also a good intention, and when the matter fades after some rìzi, aren't you and Cheng Ze still in the same place?"

Ye Ling'er was startled, and then she found that it was him who came into the house, and the mockery in her eyes was great, and she waited to mock two sentences, but she was in her heart, and she lowered her head and cried silently.

When Fan Xian had seen Ye Ling'er's graceful and sad appearance, he didn't know how to persuade him for a while.

After a while, Ye Ling'er raised her head and looked at him with a little blank eyes: "You are not in the palace now to be your prisoner, what are you doing in the palace?"

"I advise you. Fan Xian replied very directly.

Ye Ling'er shook her head slowly.

"Don't be stubborn, your father can't do anything about it...... Speaking of which, if the second child could have listened to your persuasion and didn't participate in this matter, why would there be today's situation. ”

Looking at Ye Ling'er's sad appearance, Fan Xian became angry for no reason, in the past few years, he has fought the second prince with all his might, and one of the thoughts hidden in his subconscious is that Yù used the favor of the Supervision Yuan and His Majesty to cripple the second child's power, and cut off his mind to seize the heir, but he didn't expect the second child's heart to seize power was so heavy, coupled with the eldest princess's clever teasing, this strategy did not play the slightest role.

Ye Ling'er smiled to herself and said softly: "Master, I naturally don't blame you for this matter, how it ends up is his own business." In the past few years, even you can't stop his fiery thoughts, how can I persuade him from a daughter's family?"

"You don't have to persuade me to leave the house...... He is involved in rebellion, who will give him a way to live?" Ye Ling'er's face gradually calmed down, "No matter what kind of person Cheng Ze is, but he and I are husband and wife after all, since my father and the people in the clan have never regarded me as a chéngrén, I will go with him, and be a husband and wife under the Yellow Spring, thinking that in that lonely land, he will not have to dream of being an emperor." ”

Fan Xian's heart froze, and he obviously saw a trace of death from Ye Ling'er's calm expression, and said in a slightly trembling voice: "Ming told you, Your Majesty personally passed the decree to me on Dadong Mountain, Cheng Ze...... Won't die. ”

Hearing this, Ye Ling'er suddenly raised her head, and a hint of hope and surprise flashed in her eyes, but it immediately dimmed, making Fan Xian a little confused.

Ye Ling'er shook her head and sighed softly: "Everyone says that he is gentle on the outside, but he is indifferent and ruthless on the inside, but in fact, this is not wrong...... Even his mother in the palace was polite to him, and in his life, how could he have felt any real taste of warmth? He was not only ruthless to others, but also extremely cold to himself. ”

"I am his wife, and I must know him better than you outsiders...... You don't know what a proud and conceited man he is in his heart, and what a blow this complete failure has dealt him. Even if his father leaves him a way to live, how can he have the face to continue to live?"

She raised her head and looked at Fan Xian with a helpless and sad look: "After returning home, he has refused to say a word...... I know that he already has the intention of dying. If even I were gone at this time, all the people of the world would abandon him...... He must have walked very simply. ”

Fan Xian took a deep breath and said directly, "Where is he?"

............ The second prince Li Chengze squatted on the chair, carrying a bunch of purple grapes in his hand and sending it to his lips, this scene Fan Xian had seen countless times, but tonight's second prince, his hair was scattered and draped, his handsome face had a trace of expression that no one could understand, the corners of his lips were slightly upturned, as if he was laughing at something, and the whole person looked extremely decadent.

"If you die, who will take care of the princess?" Fan Xian sat opposite him and said as calmly as he could, his eyes looking at each other, as if he saw another self.

Fan Xian and the second prince are very close in temperament, this is the news that has long been spread in Kyoto, the two are obviously not alike, but sitting opposite each other, it is like looking at themselves in the mirror through a layer of mirrors.

Fan Xian looked at each other, thinking in his heart, if his mother was not Ye Qingmei, if he and the second child swapped identities, I was afraid that he would only have to sit on a chair and eat grapes without spitting out grape skins.

The second prince seemed to have only discovered Fan Xian's arrival at this time, smiled slightly, and said, "Can I still survive?"

Fan Xian had no choice but to repeat His Majesty's will.

The second prince smiled sarcastically and said: "Live like a yellow dog, and be confined in the mansion for the rest of your life, when my father's hundred years are approaching, before the new emperor ascends the throne, the Ye family will also be slaughtered like dogs, and I will be given death again...... You say, if I survive, my future life will not be like this?"

Fan Xian was silent.

"In that case, why should I drag Ling'er down and ...... That shameless father-in-law?" the second prince shrugged, "and there is no point in living like this. ”

Fan Xian opened his mouth and said, "It seems that your ambition has finally been wiped out. ”

The second prince suddenly stopped sending grapes to his mouth, the purple grapes in early autumn were sweet and juicy, and the smile on his face at this time was just as sweet, he looked at Fan Xian, and said quietly: "Now that I think about it, in the tea shop in front of Baoyue Tower, what you said is correct...... For the past two years, you've been thinking about knocking out my ambitions, and looking back, I have to thank you. ”

"It's amazing to say, I thought my aunt would help me, and my father-in-law would help me...... But it looks like you, my biggest enemy in this life, who once had a trace of sincerity towards me. ”

The second prince exclaimed: "You are really an outlier of our old Li family, and Miss Ye is really as unusual as rumored. ”

"And I?" the second prince continued, laughing loudly, laughing with tears streaming down his eyes, "What am I? I think I am a calculating person, and I have countless help behind me, and the throne is just around the corner, but where did I expect that everything was arranged by my father, and I, a smart person, am not as good as a chess piece, not even as a coward as Cheng Qian, I can't do anything, I can't do anything, I don't have anything, I'm like a weak child, I just know how to watch this happen stupidly...... The second prince was furious, and his voice became higher and higher. I don't know what he is angry about, but it is obviously not aimed at Fan Xian, maybe he is angry that he was put in the position of a whetstone by his father since he was a child, and he was forced to come to today's situation step by step, maybe he was angry at Ye Chong's ruthless backlash, or he was angry that he was born in the palace.

Fan Xian was silent, and knew from Wan'er that the nickname of this second brother, who had a good relationship with her since childhood, was called Stone, but Ren was a simple stubborn stone, and he had been sharpened by His Majesty with the sword of imperial power for so many years, and he would bring some anger and negative things for no reason.

"What am I?" the second prince, Li Chengze, stared at Fan Xian, pointed at himself, tears and snot crossed his face, and said with a loud laugh: "I'm just a joke!"

Fan Xian wanted to say that in front of His Majesty the Emperor, it seemed that everyone in the world was ...... It's all a joke. However, he didn't say this sentence, because he was shocked to see the second prince who was laughing and crying at the same time spit out a mouthful of black blood after saying the word joke.

A mouthful of black blood spat onto the purple grapes.