Chapter 196: Strange and Nervous
Above the alley, a man wrapped in black, masked with a black cloth, holding a sharp sword, flew by with light Kung Fu. He was accidentally seen by Fan Xian who had just walked to the alley.
Fan Xian immediately stopped and pointed upwards to Eunuch Tonghou.
"Hey, hey, hey, Eunuch Hou, it seems like a man in black just flew over there, did you see it?"
Eunuch Hou glanced in the direction Fan Xian pointed.
"Oh, don't make a fuss. It could be an assassination."
As he spoke, he extended his hand to signal Fan Xian to continue walking.
"Master, please!"
Fan Xian was startled and took two quick steps to catch up with Eunuch Hou.
"Okay, assassination? Assassination of whom?"
Eunuch Hou spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Of course it's to assassinate His Majesty."
Fan Xian was a little nervous.
"Should we raise our voices to warn people?"
Eunuch Hou cried out in pain.
"No, no, it's not proper to yell."
Fan Xian was puzzled. Why did people still care about this at this time?
"Then your majesty is in danger."
Eunuch Hou smiled.
"Don't worry, no one can get close to you!"
Fan Xian looked at him suspiciously.
"Eunuch Hou is too calm, aren't you worried at all?"
Eunuch Hou cried out again.
"Assassination attempts have occurred over the years, and we have become accustomed to it. Now that our Qing Kingdom is the most powerful country in the world, Beiqi and Dongyi City are also afraid of your majesty, so assassinations are inevitable from time to time."
Fan Xian suddenly realized and said no more.
The two walked to the corridor on the side of the imperial study and happened to witness Gong Dian defeating the black-clad assassin with just one move.
Without even having to be called, two young eunuchs came with a stretcher, carried the body on and left. There was no sign of panic throughout the entire process.
He is really skilled in his job! Fan Xian sighed in his heart.
When the two of them passed by Gong Dian, Fan Xian's eyes accidentally swept across his face. Hey, this man looks so familiar.
After staring again, Fan Xian stopped. He remembered who this person was. When he was sent to Kyoto, he had fought with this person in the Qing Temple.
Fan Xian looked at Gong Dian and said something.
"It is you."
Gong Dian turned his body and just looked at him indifferently without saying a word.
Fan Xian thought about it and asked again.
"Was it His Majesty who was in the Qing Temple that day?"
After waiting for a while, seeing that Gong Dian still had no intention of paying attention to him, Fan Xian curled the corners of his mouth. Not answering is also a kind of answer.
Eunuch Hou glanced at the two of them, without interrupting, and simply extended his hand to signal Fan Xian to continue walking.
Fan Xian stopped reading the palace regulations and turned around to follow Eunuch Hou down the stairs and continued towards the imperial study.
After going down the stairs and walking for a distance, Eunuch Hou spoke to Fan Xian.
"The one who just died was the assassin. I've said it before, there's no need to make a fuss."
Fan Xian didn't care about the assassin anymore. His focus was now on Gong Dian. He turned around and looked at Gong Dian and asked.
"Eunuch Hou, who is the one wearing armor?"
Eunuch Hou let out an "oh".
"That person is the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, the imperial guard, the palace official, the palace commander. Has Mr. Fan seen him before?"
Gong Dian's identity just confirmed what Fan Xian had just asked Gong Dian. Fan Xian seemed to be thinking about something, and answered Eunuch Hou's question casually.
"We faced each other during the temple celebration."
After saying this, Fan Xian looked down, then lifted up his clothes and went up the stairs again. Upstairs should be the legendary imperial study.
Eunuch Hou was surprised when he heard this.
"Oh? Commander Gong is an upper eighth-rank master. Master Fan is really a promising young man."
Fan Xian didn't listen carefully to Eunuch Hou's compliment. He thought of an interesting point and asked with a smile on his face.
"Hey, Eunuch Hou, does the Commander of the Palace of Palace Rules have any friends?"
As they were talking, the two of them stepped onto the last step and arrived at the door of the imperial study.
Eunuch Hou thought that he still had something to tell Fan Xian, so he stopped and replied.
"Of course there is, what's the matter?"
Fan Xian laughed.
"Then all of them will call him husband, they will really take advantage of him, haha."
Eunuch Hou didn't understand, and after thinking for a long time he still couldn't figure out the funny point of this sentence.
Just when he was about to avoid this topic and give Fan Xian some instructions, a voice came from the door of the imperial study.
"Stop using those lame jokes of yours that make people unable to understand. Didn't you see that Eunuch Hou didn't know how to respond?"
Fan Xian and Eunuch Hou immediately looked in the direction of the sound.
The person who spoke was Mei Cheng'an who had just returned from the imperial study. As soon as he reached the door, he heard Fan Xian laughing at his own homophonic jokes, and he couldn't help but complain.
Seeing Mei Cheng'an coming out, Eunuch Hou hurriedly bowed.
Fan Xian touched his nose awkwardly.
"No, why are you here?"
Mei Cheng'an rolled his eyes at him, asking nonsense questions. He didn't rush to answer him. He first returned the greeting to Eunuch Hou, and then looked at him.
"I can't just wander around when I have nothing to do."
The corner of Fan Xian's mouth twitched. Eunuch Hou couldn't help laughing. He knew that the two were good friends, so he didn't find it strange to hear them talk like that.
"Okay, I asked the wrong question. Hey, what did His Majesty summon you for?"
Mei Chengan looked at him deeply.
"It's none of your business. Don't ask."
Fan Xian was stunned when he heard this, and instantly thought of Lin Gong's death. There was nothing else to think about this early in the morning.
The only connection between my fellow villager and this matter was probably that he accompanied me to the night trial of Si Lili, could it be?
Fan Xian didn't ask, but just gave Mei Cheng'an a questioning look. Seeing Mei Cheng'an nodded slightly, Fan Xian instantly understood and had a rough idea in his mind.
Eunuch Hou did not notice the eye contact between the two. When he saw that they had stopped talking, he spoke up and reminded them.
"Lord Xiaomei, His Majesty is still waiting to see Master Fan, look at this..."
Mei Chengan understood immediately.
"Understood. I will leave the palace now. I dare not delay your majesty's business. Please do as you please."
Eunuch Hou smiled and nodded.
Mei Cheng'an glanced at Fan Xian again, and after receiving his nod in response, he immediately walked around the two of them, went down the stairs, and headed out of the palace.
After Mei Cheng'an walked a little further away, Eunuch Hou withdrew his gaze and looked at Fan Xian.
"Master Fan, when you enter the imperial study, remember to lower your head and don't look at others."
Fan Xian winked at him and patted his arm.
"Don't worry, I understand. Let's go."
As he said this, he walked towards the imperial study.
Eunuch Hou was stunned for a moment and quickly followed. No matter how he looked at Fan Xian's reaction, he felt it was unreliable. It would be strange if he could be assured. He hoped that he could behave himself in front of His Majesty and not say any more inexplicable words.
……
On his way out of the palace, Mei Cheng'an met the prince who was rushing to the imperial study. Before Mei Cheng'an could pay his respects, the prince spoke first.
"Cheng'an? Why are you in the palace?" The prince glanced in the direction of the imperial study and said, "Did His Majesty summon you as well?"
Mei Cheng'an bowed to the prince who stopped in front of him.
"Greetings, Your Highness. I just came out from the audience with the Emperor and am about to leave the palace. Your Highness, are you going to see His Majesty?"
The prince helped him up.
"I originally wanted to ask Fan Xian something. I heard that he was summoned to the palace, so I rushed here. It's a good opportunity to see you. I also have something to ask you."
Mei Chengan pretended to be surprised.
"Ask me? What do you want to ask, Your Highness?"
The prince looked around, signaled to the eunuch behind him not to follow him, then pulled him aside and asked in a low voice.
"Did you go to the Overwatch Council with Fan Xian to have a night trial of Si Lili the night before yesterday?"
Mei Cheng'an was stunned for a moment and asked instead of answering.
"How did your highness know?"
The prince said.
"It's not important what I know. What's important is whether Si Lili gave out the person behind the incident that night."
Mei Cheng'an seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"I won't hide it from Your Highness. Whether she said so or not, I don't know because I didn't participate in the interrogation at all."
The prince looked at him suspiciously.
"I know this, but you went to the Supervisory Council with Fan Xian to meet Si Lili. Given the relationship between you and Fan Xian, how could he not tell you the results of the interrogation?"
Mei Cheng'an looked at the prince and spread his hands.
"First of all, I want to correct His Highness on one thing. The reason why I went with him to see Si Lili was not because I was interested in the secrets she was hiding. I just had never seen a live spy from an enemy country. In addition, I heard that Si Lili was very beautiful and elegant, so I was curious and wanted to see her with my own eyes.
This is also the reason why I came out as soon as the interrogation started. It was Fan Xian’s own business and I didn’t want to get involved.
Secondly, Si Lili said that she did not reveal the person behind the scenes. Fan Xian did not say it in front of everyone. I did ask him about this in private, but he said nothing and just shook his head at me.
Seeing that he didn't want to talk, I didn't ask any more questions. As for whether he didn't ask the answer or didn't want to talk about it after asking, I don't know. If Your Highness wants to know, I'm afraid you have to ask him in person."
What Mei Cheng'an said was well-reasoned and logical, so the prince couldn't help but believe 80% of it. The other 20% was because Mei Cheng'an had no intention of defending Fan Xian throughout the whole process. If he really wanted to conceal the truth for Fan Xian, he would not have taken the initiative to ask Fan Xian, which showed that he really was unaware of the situation.
Patting Mei Chengan on the shoulder, the prince said.
"Since you said so, I believe you. Okay, you go out of the palace. I'll go to the imperial study."
Mei Cheng'an made way and bowed.
"Farewell to His Highness the Crown Prince."
The prince nodded at him and hurried towards the imperial study.
Mei Cheng'an stood up straight, lowered his arms behind his back, glanced at the prince's departing back, then turned and walked out of the palace.
……
Royal study room.
Emperor Qing saw Fan Xian's figure emerging from the corner through the partition at the entrance. He was a little flustered for a moment. He looked left and right, then raised his foot to hide behind the circular bookcase.
Eunuch Hou led Fan Xian around the entrance hall and glanced around calmly. Not seeing Emperor Qing, he knew what was going on and led Fan Xian to the center of the road.
"Master Fan, His Majesty asked you to wait here!"
Fan Xian stopped and looked around curiously, then responded casually.
"it is good!"
Emperor Qing quietly looked at Fan Xian across the bookcase, moving slowly as he looked. Just looking at one side was not enough, he wanted to take a careful look at every angle.
Unfortunately, Fan Xian was impatient. He kept calling "Your Majesty" after just standing there for a while.
Don’t go out. The child keeps screaming and is very noisy.
Go out. You know what? I'm still nervous.
……
(End of this chapter)
