Looking at the carriage in the distance and listening to the faint noise around him, Fan Xian relaxed a little - arranging Fujizijing to go to Qingyutang in the twenty-eighth mile slope was to take advantage of the chaos in Kyoto at this time and try every possible way to take those old shopkeepers of Qingyutang out of Kyoto and scatter them among the people.

This was not a sudden idea from Fan Xian, but a part of the plan he drew up from the beginning. These old shopkeepers are very important to Fan Xian, and their mastery of the inner library craftsmanship in their minds, and the familiarity with those secrets, are even more important to Qingguo, although the emperor Xià remembered the old feelings and left them alive, but he will definitely not let them leave Kyoto and fall into the hands of other forces, since the fall of the Ye family, it has been twenty years, if you want to take so many old shopkeepers out of Beijing, it is basically an impossible task.

However, the rebellion of the eldest princess and the crown prince, and the chaos in Kyoto, left a big opportunity for Fan Xian, who had been working hard to manage this matter. Everyone in Kyoto thought that His Majesty was dead, the palace was in chaos, Kyoto was in chaos, and a bright light appeared in front of Fan Xian's eyes.

It's just that he really doesn't have any manpower to use now, and he vaguely guessed that His Majesty might be alive, so he stopped this plan for the time being. However, in the Taiping Courtyard, the last words spoken by the eldest princess in his ear prompted him to make a final decision. Of course, even without the words of the eldest princess, Fan Xian would still try his best to take advantage of the current situation.

The battle between His Majesty the Emperor and the eldest princess was going on on another level from the beginning, and although Fan Xian was silent, it seemed that he was just a swinging chess piece, but he actually had his own thoughts.

He expected that Kyoto would be chaotic, so he chose to fish in troubled waters, taking chestnuts from the fire, and his eyes and methods were really sharp.

............ In order to appease Wan'er in grief, Fan Xian turned around and walked out of the mansion, the body of the eldest princess was placed in a secluded room in the back garden at this time, he wanted to go back to the palace to deal with some more urgent issues, now that he knew the news that His Majesty the emperor was safe and sound, he had to make some strong adjustments in the arrangement of the whole thing.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he got out of the palace, a team of cavalry came to the dust, Fan Xian squinted and looked, I don't know whose subordinates it is, now the situation in Kyoto has already been settled, the Dingzhou army controls the outside of the palace, Ye Chongji has re-handed over the defense of the palace to the prince, and there is no rebel army in the city.

The person who came was indeed the Dingzhou Army, and a bloodied school officer pulled the reins of his horse, crawled to Fan Xian with a rolling belt, and said anxiously: "Grandpa, the marshal has an urgent report." ”

There are countless fierce generals in Qingguo, and all the armies are accustomed to calling their commanders generals, just like the old department of the Western Army calling the prince, since this officer is a person from the Dingzhou Army, the commander in his mouth naturally refers to Ye Chong. Fan Xian was startled, thinking to himself that something had happened in Jingzhong? He was in a hurry to see Ye Chong at this time, and he didn't have time to say anything, so he pulled the reins of his horse and followed the squad of cavalry towards the direction of Donghua Gate, listening silently along the road before he knew what was going on.

Fan Xian listened to the school official's narration, and realized that when he was in the Taiping Courtyard, Ye Chong had been looking for him for a long time - it turned out that the crown prince Chengqian was actually blocked by Ye Chong under the Donghua Gate, and at this time the two sides were facing each other and negotiating, for some reason, Li Chengqian asked him to see him.

Although the Ye family suddenly turned against the water, the rebels were still strong, and the combat effectiveness of the remnants of the army should not be underestimated, Fan Xian did not expect that the prince would be trapped in Kyoto.

His pupils shrank, and he gasped, if the rebels were expelled from Kyoto, once the field battle started, it would have nothing to do with him, and it would naturally be taken over by the Ye family and the various military forces loyal to His Majesty, but they were blocked at the Donghua Gate?

While thinking slightly, the horse's hooves did not stop, and it didn't take long to forcibly disperse the people of Kyoto who were crowded out of the city in the direction of Zhengyangmen, and Fan Xian and his party came to Donghua Gate.

There was silence in front of Donghua Gate, deathly quiet, and the Qin family rebels who were surrounded by the City Gate Division and the Dingzhou Army on a long street held the weapons in their hands tightly, looking at the troops around them nervously and in a panic and despair.

The rebels are zhōngyāng, the faces of several generals of the Qin family have become very ugly, the two sides have been facing each other under the Donghua Gate for a whole hour, under the strong restraint of the prince, the rebels did not launch a general attack on the Donghua Gate, nor did they launch a counter-breakthrough to the Dingzhou army. And Ye Chong, who led the Dingzhou army to surround this place, also showed unusually good patience, and spent time like this, waiting for the arrival of Fan Xian, who had to be present at the prince's request.

Ye Zhong was patient, but the generals of the rebel army were like years, sweat flowing on their faces, but they didn't dare to move lightly, because the defeat was like a mountain, and they really had to fight, but they were afraid that they wouldn't survive a few people, but they didn't know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was thinking, it was a rebellion, where was there a way to live?

The crown prince Li Chengqian, who was in the guard, looked extremely quiet, but he was a little haggard, and he was not too flustered, until he saw Fan Xian coming from afar, he sighed, and seemed to be a little settled.

The cavalry of the Dingzhou army divided the team like a wave, Fan Xian rode through the street alone, came to Ye Chong's side, glanced at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince opposite, frowned, didn't know what to say, turned his head instead, leaned in and whispered something in Ye Chong's ear.

Ye Chong's face was happy, his eyes lit up, and he felt palpitations, knowing that his previous conservatism and the time left for the prince were right, since the emperor was in a catastrophe, how to deal with the rebellious prince should be handed over to the emperor.

Although he is a rebellious deposed prince, he is still the son of the emperor, and Ye Chong, as the father-in-law of the second prince, naturally does not want the prince to live and die in his own hands like this.

Fan Xian raised his eyes to look at the prince, the prince looked back at him, his pale lips trembled slightly, and it seemed that he had finally made an extremely important decision, and said slowly in a hissing voice: "You are here?"

............ The rebels surrendered and became prisoners of Dingzhou's sabers and guns, and several generals of the Qin family were also captured and fell to the ground in despair. The battle in Kyoto came to an end for the time being, and Ye Zhong led a large army and escorted a black carriage to the place of the Imperial Palace.

The carriage of the black sè was transferred by the Supervision Institute as soon as possible, and there were two people sitting in the carriage at this time, one was Fan Xian, and the other was the crown prince Li Chengqian, and the two brothers sat in the dark carriage, and no one said the first word for a long time.

"There may be something wrong with the third condition I promised you. Fan Xian's eyes drooped slightly, and he said in an apologetic tone: "If I can't do it, don't blame me for lying to you." ”

The crown prince Li Chengqian did not want countless innocent rebel soldiers to die because of his own sake, and surrendered with great courage, and he asked Fan Xian to come in person to agree to his three conditions, so he was willing to be captured, because Li Chengqian knew that in Kyoto at this time, Fan Xian, who held the edict of his father and had the support of the vast majority of people, spoke more powerfully than Ye Chong, who had a large army but was secretly cautious in his heart.

As long as Fan Xian is willing to promise himself, no one in the court will embarrass these ordinary soldiers anymore. Hearing Fan Xian's words at this time, Prince Chengqian thought that Fan Xian had repented, stared at his eyes, and said angrily: "Why?"

"I can fight for the orders of ordinary soldiers, but I don't dare to guarantee that they will survive, although they are just cannon fodder, but ...... This is a rebellion, although Qinglu is not strict, it does not leave them a way to live. ”

The prince didn't understand the word cannon fodder, but he could guess what it meant.

Fan Xian looked at the prince's somewhat pale face, sighed and said, "As for those officials and generals who participated in the rebellion, I have no way at all. ”

"I know they won't survive either, but at least I hope you don't get involved...... They are all big families, and once they are killed, they are afraid that tens of thousands of people will die. ”

Li Chengqian's face was a little sunken, and he hoped that Fan Xian would promise again, after all, before the two armies, Fan Xian had personally agreed.

"Raiding the house and destroying the door, or the nine clans, this is not something I can control. Fan Xian's brows furrowed extremely tightly, and after a while, he said: "As I said before, I will try my best to do what I promised you, but how many people can be saved, I ...... There is no guarantee. ”

A picture appeared in front of Fan Xian's eyes, countless heads were cut off, countless young children were thrown to death, countless high-ranking ladies and ladies were sent to the official workshop, sent to the camp, and never turned over, even if he was a cold-blooded person, once he thought of the tragedy that Kyoto was about to come, he still had a little coolness.

It is not only them who rebel for the sake of their power, but also their wives, young and ignorant children, and even distant relatives in their hometown, or friends from many years ago...... Li Chengqian trembled, grabbed Fan Xian's collar with one hand, his pale and slightly frightened face showed rare courage, and roared in a low voice: "If it weren't for you promising me, how could I have surrendered? How could I be willing to be your subordinate prisoner!"

Fan Xian didn't break free of the prince's weak hands, lowered his voice and roared back: "Don't surrender, do you really want to be killed in the chaos?"

Li Chengqian was stunned, and heard some other flavors from Fan Xian's words, and the hands holding his collar subconsciously let go, and said in a trembling voice: "My prince has been abolished and is about to die, and you are a prisoner, and the scholars support you...... Even if Ping'er ascends the throne and succeeds to the throne, you are also the emperor, if you say a word, who dares not to listen to you?"

The expression on Fan Xian's face was a little indifferent, and he said, "Your Majesty...... Alive. ”

Li Chengqian suddenly heard the news, his arms hung weakly above his knees, although at the beginning of Ye Chong's reversal, he had already guessed this possibility, but once he really heard the news, he was still shocked.

"She's dead too. ”

Fan Xian said this quietly, and then looked at the prince with a sideways face, only to see Li Chengqian's face becoming more and more pale, his eyes were looking blankly at the wall of the carriage, and he couldn't speak for a long time, he gradually lowered his head, leaned over, buried his head, his shoulders kept trembling, and he made a suppressed sound.

Perhaps it was provoked by the cry of His Royal Highness the Prince, Fan Xian's chest was bored for a while, and he subconsciously carried the true qi method of Tianyi to clear the meridians, but when he reached the middle of the body, there was a sharp pain for no reason, his eyes were black and clear, and he couldn't control it anymore, and a mouthful of blood sprayed on the wall of the carriage, and there was a crackling sound.

From Daito Mountain to Kyoto, he was seriously injured, traveled thousands of miles, did not have time to recover, forcibly suppressed with drugs, and experienced countless dangerous battles, he finally couldn't support it, and his injuries broke out.

The prince's mood at this time was all surrounded by the news that his father was alive and the news of his aunt's death, and he didn't notice Fan Xian's situation at all, and buried his head in endless sadness.

Fan Xian wiped the blood droplets on his lips, gasped twice, glanced at the guy next to him, and couldn't help but shake his head. Li Chengqian is the same age as him, and he doesn't seem to have two lives, so he is just a young man.

In this way, one of the two brothers in the carriage vomited blood, the other cried, and the black carriage entered the palace.

............ After bandaging his injuries, the eldest prince silently led the carriage directly to the door of the harem and the East Palace. Fan Xian and the prince got out of the car and walked in, this east palace has always been the residence of the successor to the throne of Qingguo, but now, it has really become the crown prince's cage, or the tomb of the queen.

The eldest prince and the crown prince whispered a few words, glanced at Fan Xian, and then turned to leave. At this time, there was no one in the East Palace, only the forbidden soldiers outside were patrolling.

Fan Xian didn't have much time to say anything to the prince, so he clutched his chest and said directly to him, "You only have one day. ”

Li Chengqian looked up in amazement, and seemed to have woken up from a nightmare at this time, looking at Fan Xian in a daze, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Your Majesty should return to Beijing the day after tomorrow. Fan Xian looked at him calmly, "This East Palace was set on fire by you once back then, and I think it won't be too surprising if the East Palace is burned again." ”

Li Chengqian's face changed suddenly, staring at Fan Xian's eyes, as if he wanted to confirm what he was talking about, his lips moved twice, but he didn't make a sound.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Fan Xian lowered his head and said, "It's not difficult for you to die......

Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Li Chengqian already shook his head indifferently and said, "Then you took advantage of the fire to rescue me from the palace and send me to a place that no one knows?" He looked at Fan Xian, his eyes were very complicated, "I don't know why you suddenly became such a gentle person, but I want to thank you." ”

"Don't thank me. Fan Xian said: "It's just that the elders are used to arranging a qiē, but I'm not used to it." ”

Li Chengqian laughed with difficulty and said, "I really can't see through your ......."

"You know I'm a heartless person, and it's rare to be kind. The queen is also dead, you should hate me, if you want to live, set a fire tonight. ”

"It's not like your style to take that risk. ”

"I've been obscure for a long time in my life, and I almost forgot that I said that I was going to live a round life, and after going through so many things, I realized that if I want to live, I must first live boldly. ”

Fan Xian stopped looking at him and turned to leave the lonely palace.

Li Chengqian looked at his back in a daze, not understanding why he was suddenly so kind, his brows gradually furrowed, he became sad, let out a long sigh, and lay down on the floor of this vast palace, with a detached smile on his face, his limbs stretched, as if he had never been so relaxed.

............ This night, the East Palace has never ignited a fire, Fan Xian has been in the direction of the Hanguang Palace, looking at the direction of the place with cold eyes, confirming the calm of the East Palace, he shook his head, feeling slightly desolate in his heart, the emperor will arrive in Beijing about the future, and all the Qiē will return to the hands of the powerful emperor - leaving the prince with a life, not Fan Xian's temporary intention, nor is it that he has the benevolence of a woman, but a kind of sad feeling - He and the crown prince, including the second child, are actually just pawns on the chessboard of the emperor's majesty, puppets controlled by fate or elders.

The crown prince no longer has any power, and his life and death have nothing to do with Fan Xian. The crown prince is a good person, this is what Fan Xian once said to Chen Pingping a long time ago, since the first encounter on the road outside the palace, the impression left by His Royal Highness the prince on Fan Xian is extremely mild, especially in the past two years, although the fight has not stopped, but what is it? Fan Xian was able to send Thirteen Lang to protect the prince's trip to Nanzhao, and at this time he dared to let the prince live.

If Fan Xian wants to get rid of those silk threads behind him and save Li Chengqian's life, it is the first time he has made a statement by tearing hard, and now the palace is in his hands, with the camouflage of the Supervision Yuan, with His Majesty's understanding of the prince's feelings, and the reason for his death, it is not difficult for God to hide His Majesty's eyes and ears unknowingly.

It's just that the prince is like the eldest princess, his heart has already died, for those who have a dead heart, Fan Xian naturally won't be stupid and forcibly take risks to do something, and having this idea is enough to prove that after a shot in the meadow, his heart is ...... Too much has changed.

At night, the palace lights are extinguished, and the outside of the city is still not all calm, but the inside of the imperial city is silent, and the black sky envelops the flat garden in the palace, and the forbidden army and the officials of the Supervision Yuan stationed everywhere stand still like statues.

"Who?" An extremely jǐng ti voice sounded in the Hanguang Palace, and a palace maid lit the palace lamp, saw the person in front of her clearly, and quickly knelt down.

Fan Xian waved her hand to signal her to get up, and instructed her to lead all the palace maids and eunuchs out of Hanguang Palace, at this time not too many people knew that the emperor was already on the way back to Beijing, Fan Xian was the supervisor of the country, as the husband of the third prince, and so on, if it was the real emperor, the entire palace would be unimpeded, and no one dared to express doubts about his arrival.

A dim light turned on, all the palace maids and grandmothers withdrew from the palace in disheveled clothes, Fan Xian walked alone in the vast palace, slowly walked to the phoenix bed, looked at the old woman lying on the bed, and without waiting for the woman's resentful eyes, Fan Xian's right hand lightly wiped, spontaneously took out an unquenched needle, and pierced the old woman's neck.

Looking at the Queen Mother who had fallen asleep, Fan Xian squatted down, got under the phoenix bed, touched the dark grid, and opened the dark grid with a slight force with his fingers.

Three years ago, he once entered the Hanguang Temple at night, used drugs to charm everyone in the hall, took out the key to the box from this dark grid, and made a copy, at that time there was a white cloth and a letter in the dark grid, but because of the urgency of time, he could not look closely.

Today there is a key in this compartment, a white cloth, but the letter ...... But it was gone.

Fan Xian held the white cloth in his hand, rubbed it carefully, and fell into thought, but he never had a clue. After a while, he put the white cloth back into the dark compartment, carefully arranged it into its original shape, then stood up, sat down beside the Queen Mother on the bed, and removed the thin needle under her neck.

As soon as the Queen Mother woke up, her eyes stared at Fan Xian resentfully, as if she was going to eat him. It's been a day and a night, she can't say a word, she can't move, she feels that her already little life seems to be flowing out of her body, that kind of fear and anger, but she can't vent it, she is really going crazy.

"Your Majesty will return to Beijing the day after tomorrow, and I will come to visit the imperial grandmother. ”

Fan Xian looked at her, and said after a while: "Aren't you surprised?

The queen mother's eyes were shocked, if she had known that Her Majesty was still alive, the situation in Kyoto would not have been the way it is now, but her eyes were shocked with a touch of joy.

"Don't rejoice too soon. Fan Xian patted her wrinkled hand, and said in a harmonious voice: "I will let Your Majesty see you, and you will die, believe me, even if Your Majesty is the most powerful person in the world, but in terms of medical skills, he is not as good as me...... If you don't believe it, you can try, you'll be able to speak by this time. ”

"If you want to have a more dignified way to die, not the way it is now, please answer me a few questions. Fan Xian said: "Who wrote that letter, what was it written, and what is it...... What does the old Qin family have to do with what happened twenty years ago?"

Before the eldest princess died, she asked Fan Xian to ask Chen Pingping, and he chose to interrogate the queen mother simply and directly and rudely.

"Don't think I'm cold-blooded, think about what you guys did twenty years ago. Fan Xian lowered his head and said: "Come out to mix, you always have to pay it back, you are the queen mother, but I am afraid that you will not be able to escape the cycle of heavenly principles." ”