Joy of Life: I'm really not a saint

In a remote alley in the east of Kyoto.

This place is far away from the imperial palace, but very close to the city wall.

Different from the sad and panic-stricken atmosphere outside, this small courtyard seems contented in the early autumn weather, with a feeling of tranquility in the midst of bustle.

Someone who shouldn't be here is here.

Fan Xian lay on a recliner, drinking tea leisurely and relaxing himself. After all, he had been rushing to Dongyi City non-stop, and after the matter was settled, he returned to the capital of Qing Kingdom without stopping for a moment. Even his physical fitness of the ninth rank could not bear it.

This courtyard was purchased two years ago. It has been tossed around by several unrelated people, which ensures its quietness.

It's funny to say that this place was originally intended to accommodate the eldest prince's concubine - the princess of a certain Xihu tribe who returned to the capital with the Western Expedition Army, and also the eldest prince's hidden mistress, Miss Masosuo.

Unexpectedly, it has become my temporary residence.

Ignoring the bustling scene in the palace, Fan Xian, who had changed his clothes, looked very relaxed at this moment. "Miss Masuoso, besides the prince, is there anyone else who knows where this is?"

"Nothing."

Masoso shook her head.

After living there for more than a year, she had learned the language of the Central Plains people. Although there were still some bumps, she had no problem communicating.

Fan Xian’s reputation is not good now, he killed the king and rebelled against his father, but the woman from Xihu did not look afraid at all, she did not belong here.

Suddenly, Fan Xian's ears moved, he sat up straight, and stared towards the door.

No outsiders have ever come to this room. As soon as Fan Xian arrived today, someone came to visit?

It's really too much of a coincidence.

"Master Fan!" Masuo called out in a low voice, motioning Fan Xian to go first.

Fan Xian shook his head. He wanted to see the person outside the door, even though he didn't know who the other person was.

The door was unlocked from the outside and a dignified woman walked in.

Fan Xian's expression was somewhat complicated, but he still bowed slightly, "Greetings to the Princess of the Heqin clan."

The Princess of Northern Qi had a smile on her face and looked very calm. She bowed slowly, said hello, and then stared at Fan Xian without saying a word.

"Miss Soso, please go in first."

Seeing that the princess didn't look like she was here to catch a mistress, Fan Xian smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Seeing Ma Suosuo leave, Fan Xian stared at the Princess of Northern Qi and began to think.

The princess came here alone, and although she was not in disguise, there were obvious signs that she could hide. He stretched out his hand and pointed at the stone bench to signal her to sit down. After a moment of silence, Fan Xian said, "Now the Prince of Heqin is responsible for protecting the palace. Today, he did something like that. With so many eyes on the Prince of Heqin's mansion, the princess is so brave that she dares to come here alone?"

"I still like Master Fan to call me the eldest princess!"

The Princess of Heqin took out a note, which was left by Fan Xian. His intention was obvious. He wanted to meet the eldest prince in private and asked him to come here for the meeting.

"My husband is in charge of the imperial guards now, so it is impossible for him to return home. In addition, my mother-in-law is also in the palace. It is impossible for me to meet with Master Fan in private." It is said that the eldest prince's biological mother, Concubine Ning, has been detained in Hanguang Palace. It is not surprising that the other party has taken such action. "I wonder if Master Fan needs any help?"

Fan Xian remained silent.

"Are you here to pay off the debt on behalf of the eldest prince, or are you here on behalf of Northern Qi, or on behalf of Li An?"

Fan Xian sighed. Now the whole Kyoto was under the control of the Qin family. Even though the eldest prince controlled the imperial guards and Qin Ye controlled the garrison troops, Fan Xian knew that the eldest prince would not rebel.

He is a straightforward person, he will not cause unrest, let alone rebel...

This is also why the Queen Mother is confident in using him.

It was this situation that made it difficult for Fan Xian to do anything. Now that the Supervisory Council had suffered serious losses, it would be bad for both them and himself if he contacted them rashly.

In desperation, Fan Xian thought of contacting the eldest prince, "When we went south from Northern Qi, the eldest princess still remembers being inside and outside the carriage. Did she promise me anything?"

"I will remember the promise and I will never forget the agreement. But the situation has changed. Even if I want to help you now, what power do I have?"

The princess smiled and said softly: "My prince is just struggling to survive now, let alone a woman like me."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian frowned and said calmly, "The garrison has been run by the Qin family for several years. They are stationed under the peak to fight against the second prince's rebels. Therefore, the ones who really decide everything in the city are still the imperial guards!"

"My prince will not rebel," the princess explained, "and the imperial guards are only barely under his control now. It's because of the sudden incident, otherwise the queen mother would have issued an imperial decree and the prince's military power would have been taken back."

At this point, perhaps the princess would like to really take back the military power.

"He won't rebel, but there are people in the palace who are rebelling right now!"

Fan Xian smiled coldly, "Li Chengzong was defending the palace, how could he not know that the Second Prince had sent someone to deliver a piece of letter paper with an imperial seal? This is His Majesty's 'last will', and no one in the palace obeyed it?"

He has a lot of spies in the palace, all of whom are very deeply hidden.

The Imperial Guards are naturally no exception!

Although this news is secret, I can't hide it from myself, let alone the Crown Prince!

"It's just a piece of letter paper. If I were the Queen Mother, I would just be adding fuel to the fire." The princess smiled bitterly and said, "Whoever sits in the Taiji Hall now has the right to decide who is rebelling."

"I need a promise!"

There was no longer any emotion on Fan Xian's face. From this point on, all that was left between him and the woman in front of him was a transaction.

"Master Fan, please speak."

"In two days, I want the eldest prince to give up resistance!"

"can!"

It is really unbelievable that the princess makes the decision for the prince!

"It seems that you have always considered yourself a Northern Qi person!"

The princess looked at Fan Xian quietly: "I was born there and grew up there. If I were not from Northern Qi, wouldn't I have become a wandering ghost?"

Chapter 345: Game of chess.

"After talking about this, let's talk about the second thing." Fan Xian stared at the princess in front of him who seemed a little strange, as if he had never really understood her.

"Have you ever had any real feelings for the prince?"

The princess couldn't help laughing for a moment, "I thought Lord Fan was going to ask something, is this important?"

"Of course it's important!"

Fan Xian is very young, but he holds a high position because of his father's reasons. If you count the friends around him, you will find that he doesn't have many.

As for the eldest prince, perhaps because they share the same blood or because of their personalities, they can get along well.

Thinking that even his wife who had been by his side for many years might have ulterior motives, Fan Xian could only mourn in silence for his brother.

"Master Fan, why don't you ask me about Northern Qi? Or what did Imperial Master Li An tell me?"

The princess was curious.

“There’s not much you can do.”

No matter what Li An said to the eldest princess of Northern Qi who was married, when she arrived in Qing Kingdom, she became a princess consort. Everything she did was dependent on the prince, and she did not have any extra power.

Now Ning Cairen is in the palace. It is precisely because he understands his brother well that he knows that he is not the kind of person who would ignore his biological mother and pursue benefits. Therefore, the eldest prince can't do anything.

"I am naturally devoted to my own prince."

The princess gave an affirmative answer.

"What if this intention conflicts with the interests of Northern Qi?"

"Master Fan, do you think that if I return to Northern Qi, I will be worse off than I am now?"

Fan Xian shook his head, "But what about Chengzong's mood?"

"That's what I should be thinking about. Don't worry about it, Master Fan."

The two sat there in silence, having talked about all the topics. Just as Fan Xian would not hurt the other party, when the other party fulfilled his promise two days later, the two of them owed each other nothing.

"By the way, I have another good news to tell Master Fan."

"What good news?"

"Perhaps you understand what kind of people are in this palace." The princess lowered her head slightly and said, "They have no bottom line. Even I know that Lord Fan values ​​kinship the most, let alone them?"

Fan Xian was slightly surprised.

He understood what the princess was going to say.

"They reacted very quickly. As soon as the incident broke out, they sent troops to the Fan Mansion in the name of confiscating the property."

Fan Xian's pupils shrank slightly. This was the biggest reason why he was now in the dark.

Because his father and wife were controlled by the inner court, he didn't dare to take too many actions. He didn't even contact the Supervisory Office. Otherwise, with his own strength and the help of Uncle Wuzhu, where could he not go?

He had been thinking about contacting the forces left by his father-in-law in the next two days to cooperate with him in the attack, but at this point, he didn't have too many thoughts in mind, and he didn't even want to control his emotions anymore.

"Since you said it was good news, what happens next?"

The princess looked a little puzzled. Although Fan Xian could get news from the palace, didn't he know the situation in Prince Jing's Mansion?

"Minister Fan is not in the palace, but was taken to the palace by Prince Jing."

"Prince Jing's Mansion? Then why hasn't there been any news from the outside world?" Fan Xian's face was full of surprise. He had always believed that his family was being controlled, so he asked Uncle Wu Zhu to go out and help with the investigation.

"The palace is sealed, so naturally the news can't get out." The princess explained seriously, "Prince Jing is the Queen Mother's biological son after all, so we have to give him some face. Now the people from Jingdu Prefecture and the Qin family are watching outside Prince Jing's palace, but they haven't made any noise."

"That's really good news!"

Fan Xian breathed a sigh of relief, "In that case, thank you very much for telling me, Princess!"

"No need to say thank you, it's just a small effort."

The princess stood up and said, "You are just confused by the authorities. The palace has not caught you and found out what methods you have. As the Grand Master, His Majesty will naturally not rush to deal with your family."

"Now that the matter is settled, I will leave first."

The princess bowed and prepared to leave.

But just after walking a short distance, Fan Xian's voice came to his ears: "Sometimes you have to persuade the eldest prince to be determined. Although the imperial guards are under his control now, it won't be long before they disappear. By then, all the developments will not be decided by him!"

"While we can still make choices, why not decide our own destiny?"

The eldest prince will indeed not rebel, but the crown prince has already rebelled first, which is a false proposition.

"The Thirteen City Gates of the Garrison Camp are the key."

Leaving these words behind, the princess disappeared in the courtyard.

The tea on the table had already gone cold, but Fan Xian still didn't disdain it. He drank it all down, murmuring, "Li An."

······

A servant approached the carriage carrying the princess, which was already far away from the courtyard.

A hand holding a piece of paper stretched out of the carriage: "The person is in this small courtyard."

After the servant took the paper, the carriage started again and slowly drove away.

The princess did not think there was anything wrong with her actions.

Two days later, when the promise was fulfilled, the two became enemies.

If Fan Xian doesn't live for two days, then it won't be her problem anymore.

······

and the Prince's Palace.

Li An and Ku He were sitting opposite each other, and on the table was a chess game.

There is no sign of Taoist He here. I guess he has gone to complete some other errand.

Seeing the princess coming back, both of them nodded slightly to her and immersed themselves in the game again.

"Thank you so much, Imperial Master."

"It's nothing. I have to pay back what I owe. Once I pay it back, I can focus on one thing." Li An's full-level chess skills allow him to do two things at once, but it makes life difficult for Ku He on the other side.

"Everything is settled, what's next?"

The princess waved away all the servants, slowly sat down aside, and poured tea for the two of them.

"I have already collected some valuables and treasures. Get ready. Now that Fan Xian has returned to Kyoto, things will soon come to an end!"

After staring at Ku He who smiled after thinking for a while, he confidently placed a piece on the chessboard, and then stared back at Li An with shining eyes.

Li An casually placed a piece.