Chapter 398 It's so regrettable (two in one)
"Shen Zhong used the excuse of your country's Queen Mother's birthday banquet to keep us here. It's obvious that he's trying to stall for time. May I ask if Your Majesty can just give him an order to release us?"
Fan Xian asked directly.
"No."
The little emperor was also very frank.
"Not to mention that I have no reason to do so from my position, even if I force the order, Shen Zhong will most likely pretend to obey but secretly disobey. With the protection of my mother, I can't do anything to him."
Fan Xian was a little disappointed when he heard this.
Mei Cheng'an lowered his head slightly, pinched the rim of the teacup with his fingers and gently turned it, then spoke thoughtfully.
"In other words, as long as you give your Majesty a reason, a reason that leaves Shen Zhong speechless, your Majesty can intervene, right?"
The little emperor was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and seemed to be smiling.
"That depends on the reason."
Mei Chengan suddenly asked.
"Is Yan Bingyun in the Jinyiwei prison?"
The little emperor had a playful look in his eyes and spoke after a pause.
"Not here!"
Fan Xian was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and asked subconsciously.
"Where is the lock then?"
The little emperor looked at him, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.
"Private prison."
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows, suddenly amused, tilted his head to glance at his fellow villager beside him, and chuckled softly.
"This is straight hook fishing, play with him?"
Mei Chengan curled the corners of his mouth and spoke.
"The Supervisory Council and the Imperial Guards are competing in Shangjing City with Yan Bingyun as the stakes. What do you think of this reason, Your Majesty?"
The little emperor smiled, with interest in his eyes.
"I think it's good."
Fan Xian chuckled.
"Then Your Majesty, can you tell us directly where Yan Bingyun is being held?"
The little emperor paused and his smile deepened.
"Of course! But..."
"But what?"
"I can give you the position, but how to get in is up to you. I can't help you."
Fan Xian was stunned.
"Go in?"
Mei Chengan glanced at him.
"It's easy to imagine that Shen Zhong must have surrounded that place tightly with three layers of defense inside and outside. For us, the difficulty lies in how to get in quietly."
Fan Xian cried out in fear.
"I thought your majesty was talking about that place being in some important government facility. That's not a big deal. We just need to find a way."
"Okay, it's settled!"
The little emperor laughed.
"If you can really get into the detention center unscathed, I will take care of the rest! I guarantee that you can take the person away safely!"
Fan Xian slapped the table.
"Does your Majesty mean what you say?"
Haitang clicked her tongue and looked at him with disdain.
The little emperor raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"My words are golden, can they be false?"
Fan Xian picked up the teacup and raised it towards the little emperor.
"I offer a toast to your majesty. I'll drink it, please do as you please."
After saying that, he drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, turned the cup over to indicate that he had finished it, and put it on the table and smiled.
"We have received your Majesty's sincerity. We will carefully consider killing Shen Zhong."
After these words were spoken, Mei Chengan laughed, while the little emperor and Haitang were both stunned.
With a hiss, Haitang widened her eyes and was about to say something.
The little emperor suddenly smiled, waved at her, picked up the teapot and poured tea for Fan Xian while smiling.
"Little Sister-in-law said you were a scoundrel, but I didn't believe it. Now I see that it is true."
Fan Xian pushed the teacup and glanced at Haitang, ignoring the topic that made him a little embarrassed and emphasized.
"Your Majesty, don't go back on your word."
The little emperor looked up at him, smiled and shook his head, seeming a little helpless. He put down the teapot, thought for a while, and said happily.
"Well, as you said, I only have one condition, so there is no need to rush. You can go back and think about it carefully. This time... I will give it to you for free."
Haitang hesitated when she heard this.
Fan Xian's face lit up with joy, and he immediately gave a thumbs up.
"Your Majesty is magnanimous!"
After praising the little emperor, he gently touched the fellow villager next to him with his arm and winked at him calmly.
Mei Cheng'an was a little amused and helpless. He had originally thought that since he would have to deal with Shen Zhong later anyway, he might as well talk everything out with the young emperor at once and take the opportunity to propose more conditions. But now that Fan Xian had done this, what was there to talk about?
But he changed his mind and felt that this was okay. It was good to take things step by step. At least he could adjust the strategy in time according to the situation at each step and be able to target his efforts.
Anyway, their motives for attacking Shen Zhong have not yet been revealed, so it won’t be too late to talk to the little emperor later.
A bunch of thoughts quickly flashed through his mind in an instant, and Mei Cheng'an nodded to the little emperor and thanked him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The little emperor waved his hand.
"Hey~, you guys showed your abilities, I showed my sincerity, it's fair, just and reasonable, no need to thank me."
Mei Cheng'an nodded, smiled slightly and said nothing more.
The topic of cooperation ended here. The little emperor did not say goodbye. As the invited guests, Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian naturally had no reason to take the initiative to say goodbye. They sat in the pavilion in the mountains again and they sipped a cup of tea quietly. Suddenly, the little emperor spoke.
"I stayed in this mountain pavilion for quite a while last month. At that time, the trees were on the pavilion, the clouds were on the moon, and I was on the flowing water. The breeze was blowing all around me. I felt extremely happy and forgot all the troubles in the world. However, I often come here to stop recently, but I can no longer find the feeling I had before. I don't know why."
Haitang frowned slightly when she heard that, put down her teacup and nodded solemnly to the little emperor.
"The troubles in this world are already there, and it is even more difficult to force yourself to forget them. Your Majesty is concerned about the safety of the world and the well-being of the people. How can you be greedy for temporary pleasure? Always remember that most people in the world are in distress, and regard the troubles of the people as your own troubles. This is the thought that an emperor should hold!"
The little emperor accepted the instruction with awe, and immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to Haitang.
"Thank you for your guidance, little nun."
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian, who were watching from the side, looked at each other with some surprise in their eyes. There were two reasons for their surprise. One was that Haitang was actually lecturing the little emperor in a serious manner, and the other was that the little emperor actually listened obediently with a look of learning on his face.
Mei Cheng'an was even more surprised than Fan Xian, because he had watched the drama, and Haitang in the drama had never shown such a side of her. He really underestimated her status in Northern Qi, which was so high.
However, despite their surprise, the two still disagreed with Haitang's preaching. Fan Xian sneered imperceptibly, with a hint of disdain in his eyes. Although Mei Cheng'an was more indifferent than him, he couldn't help but reveal a smile in his eyes.
Who is Haitang? She is a ninth-rank master. How could the changes in the two men’s expressions escape her eyes?
"Do you two have different opinions?"
What was strange and rare was that this time, there was no hostility or disgust in Haitang's questioning. It was just a normal inquiry.
The learning atmosphere was prevalent in Northern Qi, and many people loved to debate on how to establish a doctrine and benefit the world. Regardless of whether the results were correct or not, from the perspective of being very willing to listen to and accommodate other people's opinions, it was better than the atmosphere in Qing.
The two looked at each other again. Mei Cheng'an raised his hand to signal Fan Xian to go first. Fan Xian did not waste time and spoke immediately.
"What do you mean by treating the troubles of the people as your own troubles? Isn't that just asking for trouble? Some people are worried that the chickens don't lay eggs, some people are worried that the sky doesn't clear, some people are worried that their lovers don't respond, and some people are worried that their children don't listen well in school. May I ask what is the point of forcing these troubles on yourself? What can it do except make you heartbroken?"
Hearing the special rhyme in the middle part of his speech, Mei Chengan couldn't help but glance at him and curled the corners of his mouth.
The little emperor couldn't help but want to clap his hands and cheer, but after secretly glancing at his own little nun, he forced himself to hold back, thinking it was inappropriate.
Haitang didn't look embarrassed at all. She paused for a moment and then spoke.
"That was not what I meant."
Fan Xian waved his hand boldly.
"I know what you mean. You just want to persuade Your Majesty to worry about the world before you worry about yourself, and be happy after the emperor is happy. Yes, as an emperor and a minister, you should uphold this concept. But if what you said is true, Your Majesty has to worry about the sufferings of the people all day and night, then it would be too tiring. You know you need to rest when you are tired, and combine work and rest. Why should the emperor have to work so hard all the time? Is this reasonable? The emperor is not a human being? Uh, I don't mean anything else by this, Your Majesty, don't worry about it."
The little emperor was extremely excited, but he just smiled faintly and waved his hand. Finally someone spoke his mind. Of course he didn't mind. What a true dragon emperor. It was fine for him to fool the ignorant people, but he himself knew what was going on.
Fan Xian then concluded.
"So, when you should work hard for the people, you should be selfless and dedicated to the public, and when you should forget your worries, you should forget them completely. As the saying goes, the people of the world are always worried, but the emperor should not be worried all the time."
Does what he said make sense? It makes a lot of sense! But unfortunately, Haitang was completely attracted by his first two sentences and didn't listen to what he said later. She just slowly chewed the taste of it.
The little emperor secretly glanced at his little nun, and saw that she was in a daze and did not respond. Although he agreed with Fan Xian very much in his heart, it was not easy to praise him in public. He could only pick out two meaningful words to express his excitement, and then he slammed the table and praised loudly.
"What a great saying, 'Before you worry about the world's worries, be happy after the world's happiness'! Master Fan's words really describe the loyalty of a minister and what the emperor should uphold. Good! Good! Good!"
His voice was so loud that even the palace maids and eunuchs in the distance could hear it. Although they did not quite understand what His Majesty was saying, they could not help but smile when they saw that the Southern Dynasty envoy could make their Majesty so happy. They cast grateful glances at Fan Xian from afar. It was indeed a long time since His Majesty had laughed so happily.
Fan Xian alone silenced Haitang. Mei Chengan naturally had no intention of speaking again. Besides, Fan Xian had basically mentioned everything he wanted to say, so there was nothing more to say.
The little emperor had already heard what he wanted to hear. In addition, the little nun was still in a daze, so he naturally did not cue Mei Chengan again, and the topic ended without a beginning or an end.
Fan Xian was a little unhappy that the main idea he expressed was not publicly recognized by the young emperor, but after thinking about it, he just smiled and didn't say anything more. Although he felt that his words were not wrong, they were still somewhat unorthodox in this world, and it was very difficult to get an emperor to agree in public.
Although the little emperor failed to praise him to the point, he still praised him a lot. Fan Xian still gave a thumbs up to his cousin in his heart. People from our Fan family are awesome!
The little emperor smiled after taking a sip of tea.
"The two young masters are both talented in literature and martial arts, and they are quick-witted and full of witty remarks. They are truly rare talents in the world."
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian both said they dared not.
Haitang, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke at this moment. Her target was still Fan Xian, but there was no dissatisfaction in her tone, only curiosity.
"Then according to what Master Fan said, how should we view the way of heaven and man?"
Fan Xian was stunned for a moment and was speechless. His previous words were purely made mysterious by the two famous sayings of his family. In fact, the truth was very simple. He did not understand the way of heaven and man, so it was difficult for him to make up nonsense.
Fortunately, the little emperor rescued him in time. He smiled and waved his hand to stop Haitang from asking questions, then asked instead.
"Master Fan, why do you think I can no longer feel the peace and joy I felt that night?"
Fan Xian was stunned again, and smiled bitterly in his heart. He felt a little regretful for his bravery. How could he know the answer to this question? While observing the surroundings of the pavilion, Fan Xian glanced at the fellow villager who was calmly drinking tea and gave him a look for help.
Mei Cheng'an noticed it out of the corner of his eye, picked up his teacup and pretended to look around with everyone else. When his eyes met Fan Xian's, he glanced at something on the table calmly. Fan Xian followed suit and thought for a moment, then quickly figured out what his fellow villager meant.
After taking another quick look around, Fan Xian withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes and pretended to experience it, then opened his eyes, raised his hand and pointed to the incense burner on the table that was emitting a faint fragrance with smoke rising from it, and spoke.
"Your Majesty, have someone move this incense away and wait for a while, maybe you can regain some of the feelings you had that night."
Upon hearing this, the little emperor looked at the incense burner in a daze. Although he was a little confused, he still ordered people to remove the incense burner as he said.
After a while, the breeze blew again, blowing away the lingering fragrance in the pavilion, leaving only the faint and clear smell of the mountain palace.
The little emperor slowly closed his eyes and felt it carefully. After a long time, a look of joy appeared on his face and he opened his eyes and said in surprise.
"As Mr. Fan expected, I really felt a bit like I did back then."
Fan Xian smiled slightly and explained calmly.
"The incense used in the palace is of course of the highest quality, but compared to the quiet and elegant fragrance in the mountains and forests, it is inevitably a bit vulgar."
These words were said with the demeanor of a master, and he seemed to be very impressive. Mei Cheng'an immediately gave him a thumbs up. The little emperor suddenly realized and looked at Fan Xian with more appreciation. Even Haitang nodded several times, as if she agreed with what he said.
……
Standing at the railing with his hands behind his back, the little emperor closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. After consciously replacing all the fragrance in his lungs with the quiet mountain air, he suddenly spoke.
"I have a question that has been on my mind for a long time. I wonder if Mr. Fan can answer it?"
Fan Xian had tasted the sweetness of showing off in front of the little emperor, so he didn't think much about it and just smiled and nodded.
"Your Majesty, please speak."
The little emperor opened his eyes and turned to look at him.
"I heard that the medicine that Master Mei gave to Little Nun was made by you. Is that true?"
"..."
The smile on Fan Xian's face froze.
Mei Cheng'an on the other side subconsciously glanced at Haitang. However, he still didn't quite understand. Being drugged was not a glorious thing. Shouldn't this secret be kept to death?
Noticing his puzzled look, Haitang also became a little puzzled. She looked at him with her big eyes, as if asking, "Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong?"
"Ah, this... should, it should be."
Cursing himself inwardly for being greedy, Fan Xian looked extremely embarrassed and scratched his head with a wry smile.
The little emperor asked with interest.
"Although I know that you learned from a poison master in the Southern Dynasty, I am still very curious. Why do you bring aphrodisiacs with you on your diplomatic mission? What are they for? Do you usually carry aphrodisiacs with you?"
"..."
The series of questions almost made Fan Xian's face crack. His old face turned red for a rare time, and he waved his hands in haste to reply.
"What are you asking? Why would I bring aphrodisiacs? I am a serious person, okay? Well, Haitang was not injected with an aphrodisiac at all! Besides, we were chasing Xiao En at that time, why would we bring aphrodisiacs?"
The little emperor was startled when he heard this and looked towards his little master's wife.
"?"
Haitang was also stunned when she heard this, and looked at Fan Xian subconsciously.
"How can it not be an aphrodisiac? I was clearly..."
Fan Xian interrupted directly and changed the subject.
"Your heartbeat is accelerating and your blood is surging, right? Oh, that's just a Qi-boosting pill that can increase a person's combat power when they are injured."
Haitang opened her mouth. She knew he was talking nonsense, but she couldn't refute him. She couldn't let anyone know how she was getting aroused and almost lost herself. After thinking about it, she gritted her teeth and said.
"The antidote..."
Fan Xian interrupted again.
"Antidote, right?"
As he said this, he took out a medicine bottle from his arms, poured out a pill and threw it to Haitang.
"See if it's this one."
Haitang took it and looked at it. It had been a while since the pills were taken, and she couldn't remember what the pills looked like. Moreover, the pills were basically the same, all black. However, she vaguely remembered the smell. She smelled it on purpose before taking it. She brought the pill in her hand to her nose and sniffed it gently. The smell was correct.
"That's right!"
Fan Xian immediately poured out two more pills, threw one to his fellow villager, and put the other directly into his mouth, talking while chewing.
"This is the Six-turn Chenpi Pill, which clears away heat and detoxifies. If you don't believe me, you can go to a pharmacy to check it out and you'll know the answer once you ask."
Mei Cheng'an also put the pill into his mouth and started eating it. Fan Xian came forward to resist the thunder, so he only needed to take a pill, so of course he had to cooperate.
Seeing that Fan Xian was so sure about what he said and that they both had eaten, Haitang became a little confused. After thinking for a while, she asked doubtfully.
"Then how can this medicine cure..."
Fan Xian cried out in amazement.
"I've already told you that it's not an aphrodisiac. What you thought was a detoxification was just the effect of the Qi-boosting pill wearing off."
"..."
Haitang was a little confused by what he said. She held the pill in her hand with confusion in her eyes. Is that true? Was it... an illusion?
The little emperor looked left and right with his hands behind his back, his eyes full of interest and his heart inexplicably excited. He didn't know that this was the joy of eating melons.
"So you guys were..."
Mei Chengan sighed at the right time.
"I'm sorry, we tricked you. You refused to give up at that time. We were no match for you, so we could only use some tricks to trick you away."
Fan Xian spread his hands and echoed.
"We are forced to do so, Saury."
The little emperor poked Fan Xian's shoulder with his finger and asked in a low voice.
"What does Saury mean?"
Fan Xian replied quietly, covering his mouth.
"It means I'm sorry."
The little emperor suddenly realized.
"oh oh."
The two of them spoke in unison as if it were true. Haitang remained silent on the surface, but in fact she gradually accepted the "fact" that she had been deceived. Although being fooled was not glorious, it was better than being drugged, and it was easier for her to accept it in her heart.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll find out?"
The two of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and Fan Xian smiled slightly.
"I guess you don't have much experience."
Haitang was speechless. She weighed the pill in her hand, threw it back to him, and summarized the aphrodisiac incident in one sentence.
"You are so shameless!"
Mei Cheng'an curled the corners of his mouth, tilted his head to look outside the pavilion, and felt that the scenery outside the pavilion was even more beautiful.
Fan Xian took the pill, threw it into the medicine bottle and stuffed it into his arms, grinning.
"That's great. That's great."
Haitang couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Who praised you? Shame on you!
The little emperor couldn't help but burst out laughing, turned around and shook his shoulders for a while before he calmed down and turned back.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, let's not talk about it. Oh, there's one more thing I'm curious about."
"what?"
Fan Xian smiled bitterly with helplessness.
“You still have some.”
The little emperor smiled.
"the last one."
Fan Xian sighed.
"Okay, ask."
The little emperor asked immediately.
"What kind of drug did you give Uesugi Tora? It actually made me, a god of war, a ninth-rank master, lose consciousness on the battlefield and wait for death?"
"Forehead…"
Fan Xian was still wondering whether to speak or not when Mei Chengan beside him suddenly asked.
"May I ask your Majesty, how is Uesugi Tora now?"
Although he didn't meet him when entering the city, he was still very curious about the specific recovery status of Uesugi Tora. Wei Hua didn't know that Uesugi Tora was injured, and they didn't ask about the details at the dinner table that day.
The young emperor had no intention of hiding anything for Uesugi Tora.
"He should have recovered. He even attended court a few days ago. Except for the collar on his neck that looks a little strange, there is nothing else to tell. He walks steadily and doesn't seem to be ill. Oh, and let me tell you another piece of gossip. On the day you entered the city, Shangshan Hu rode alone to the west gate and had a conflict with Jinyiwei Shen Zhong. Seeing that Xiao En was tortured and covered in wounds, he almost attacked him, but somehow he managed to hold back. It's really a pity."
"really."
Mei Cheng'an nodded, casually agreed and glanced at Fan Xian.
Fan Xian's eyes flickered. This little emperor talked too much and in too much detail, and his enthusiasm made him a little uneasy.
The little emperor looked at Fan Xian.
"You haven't answered my question yet."
Fan Xian said "oh" and shrugged.
"That was a special drug made by my teacher. There was only one in the world, but unfortunately most of it was wasted."
The little emperor raised his eyebrows.
"What do you mean by only one copy and no more?"
Fan Xian spread his hands.
"I can't make it. I don't have the raw materials. The rare herb was found by my teacher by accident. There are only two of them. One was used to test the medicinal properties, and the other was made into a drug for me."
The little emperor breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
“That’s a shame.”
"..." x3
……
(End of this chapter)
