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Fan Xian maintained his stoic expression. He’d expected this to happen. The apparent purpose of today’s trip to Xiushui Street was in fact secondary to its main purpose, which was seeing how the palace treasury’s businesses were run in the north. So Fan Xian was not surprised to hear Shopkeeper Sheng address him so respectfully. The palace treasury was still under the Eldest Princess’s control, after all. It was quite possible that some of the Eldest Princess’s trusted aides were hidden in Northern Qi.

Fan Xian was convinced that the Eldest Princess would send people to find him while he acted as chief diplomat, though he wasn’t sure why. This wasn’t only intuition; it was also a conviction about the people of Qing. The people of Qing, no matter whether they were virtuous or deceptive, were all given to self-confidence and arrogance. The Eldest Princess was focused on freeing Xiao En and undoubtedly had an ulterior motive for it. If it wasn’t to do with the secret he held about the temple, then it was definitely something to do with Shang Shanhu, who whiled away his days in Shangjing. Xiao En had now been sent into the interior of the country, and the Eldest Princess wanted to break him out. Naturally, she would try to make contact with him, as her daughter’s husband and the chief diplomat.

But the term “son-in-law” had struck him as somewhat absurd. It seemed unlikely that his mother-in-law might have warmed up to her son-in-law.

As Sheng Huairen had dared to call him “son-in-law” directly, then he must have been a trusted aide of the Eldest Princess. Fan Xian looked at him and nodded. “What do you wish to tell me?”

Sheng Huairen said nothing and merely handed him a letter.

Sitting in the carriage, Fan Xian felt the letter inside his sleeve. He had not had time to read it, but he could already feel its weight. Once the day’s business was concluded, he had to deal with it. Next to him was Wang Qinian, a talented tracker, and Gao Da, a powerful warrior. But he lacked someone who could aid him in judging his current situation and analyzing information.

He couldn’t help but think of those students he had picked out during the civil service exams. They had probably all been sent away to take up their positions by now. But while they may have been talented administrators, that didn’t mean they were talented when it came to getting involved in such conspiracies. Even if he had wanted to train Shi Chanli, there hadn’t been enough time. Fan Xian’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. If he could get Yan Bingyun freed quickly, he was sure it would no doubt be a great help to the palace’s plans.

At that moment, Wang Qinian respectfully passed him a tissue. Fan Xian raised his head and glanced at him. It turned out to be a banknote worth 500 taels of silver. He frowned. “What’s this?”

“Commission from Shopkeeper Yu of the glassware shop.”

Fan Xian looked at him again and smiled. “Commission for an IOU... you and Gao Da can split it. And give some to those Tiger Guards.”

500 taels of silver was quite a large sum of money, but Fan Xian didn’t look twice at it. Only someone from a rich family like the Fan family could have cultivated such a habit. Fan Sizhe was now making an income of tens of thousands of tael a year, so he had no reason to care about such a sum.

Next to them, Lin Jing laughed. “Master Fan regards money as if it were dung. I am in awe.”

Fan Xian knew that he didn’t really admire his honest practices; perhaps it was more that he admired his family’s wealth. He laughed and said nothing. Neither did anybody else for the rest of the journey. The carriage made its way through Shangjing’s calm and beautiful streets, finally coming to an area where many high officials and nobles resided and stopped outside the gate to the manor of Chang Ninghou, the Marquis Ning.

There were some similarities between Shangjing and the Qing capital. The spring wind blew through the branches of the trees in every manor, and the sun shone down, dispersed through the canopy of leaves. Fan Xian stood by the side of the carriage, looking at the long stretch of road and the stone lions that sat outside the grand facades of the buildings. For some reason, he thought of the first time he had entered the Qing capital.

The carriage stopped outside Chang Ninghou’s gate, protected by the Imperial Guards. There was no small amount of hubbub outside, with some people already beginning to peek out of the shadows. Marquis Ning’s servants, looking at the carriage stopped outside the manor, seemed unsure of what to do – were they supposed to welcome them in, or hurry in and inform their master?

The servants could see that the visitors were garbed in fine clothing. These were the envoys from Qing! What reason was there for these envoys to personally visit the manor of a high official of a foreign country? If this were indeed permitted by both countries as part of the itinerary, then Marquis Ning’s manor would have made preparations sooner. How could they arrive so silently?

The gatekeeper swallowed his spittle. What were they playing at? Did these envoys not understand convention at all? The diplomatic mission was not here on official business. Fan Xian had decided to cause trouble and shake off his escorts from the Office of the Grand Herald, so the only Northern Qi official with him was Commander Wei. Seeing that Fan Xian and his entourage were planning to enter Marquis Ning’s mansion, Commander Wei was concerned. He blocked their path. “Master Fan, this cannot be done without the approval of the royal court. An envoy cannot fraternize with a court councilor. If you are truly on good terms with Marquis Ning, Master Fan, then it even more important that you do not enter. If you were to cause trouble for Marquis Ning, then what?”

Marquis Ning was the brother of the Empress Dowager. What trouble could they cause? Fan Xian muttered to himself. It would be good to cause him some trouble, considering his son had hidden himself all day. But he kept a smile on his face. “There’s no harm in it. This morning I spoke with His Majesty in the palace. If His Majesty doesn’t mind, then who cares about idle chatter?”

When he brought up the Emperor, Commander Wei was stunned. Had he really gone to seek confirmation from the palace?

Fan Xian and his three subordinates had already entered Marquis Ning’s gate. The gatekeeper hurried out to greet them. He was respectful, and his words were clear. Fan Xian felt a secret sense of praise. This really was a high-ranking noble family. “May I trouble you to inform the Marquis that his drinking companion from the south has arrived?” asked Fan Xian.

Fan Xian had learnt this kind of familiarity from the past year’s worth of official banquets. The gatekeeper was surprised. He knew that his master had travelled south to Qing the previous year, and he had heard that he had gotten drunk in the south a number of times. Was this really that young official before him?

But he still did not dare go up and report it to his master. After all, these were foreign officials entering the mansion. This was a serious matter. As he fretted, a sound came from the corner gate, and someone came out. “The master requests the pleasure of your company,” the person said, bowing to Fan Xian.

Fan Xian had not expected it to be so easy to enter the Marquis’ mansion. He entered the main hall. Seeing the middle-aged man in a chair, he laughed, and walked up to him to embrace him warmly. “I haven’t seen you in a year. You look more svelte than before, Marquis.” In fact, last year in the Qing capital, he had only met this envoy from Northern Qi a handful of times. The last time had been their night of drinking at the palace. He only vaguely remembered what the Marquis looked like.

Marquis Ning was the brother of the Empress Dowager. He held a highly respected position. He had never met with such “warmth” before. He cleared his throat and spoke with some awkwardness. “A year indeed. Young Master Fan, your reputation has only grown since. What has brought you to my mansion today?”

“I only entered Shangjing yesterday. This morning I was chatting with His Majesty. As a matter of fact, as soon as I realized that I had no other acquaintances in the city, I thought I simply had to come and pay you a visit, Marquis.”

Chang Ninghou’s face was pale and his eyes were swollen. He was 45 years old, but excessive drinking had left its mark on his face. As he got close, Fan Xian could clearly smell the alcohol on him. It seemed that he had been drinking all through the night. Fan Xian was amused. It appeared that the gift he had brought had been the right approach.

Not only was Marquis Ning a drunkard and a womanizer, he was also something of a blowhard. The Empress Dowager had two brothers. Chang Anhou could still lead soldiers into battle, and although he was the leader of a defeated army, he was still stronger than him. The Marquis had spent many years lazing around the capital. He was a slow-witted sort, and relied on the support of his sister, the Empress Dowager. Only in this way could he naïvely welcome Fan Xian, an envoy from Qing, into his mansion.

Fan Xian’s main reason in visiting was to get closer to the brother of the Empress Dowager. The other reason was to use Marquis Ning to get one over on that vice-minister Wei.

Sure enough, when he saw the wine that the servants brought in, Marquis Ning laughed, his eyes narrowing. Although he did not have a clearly respected role, being the brother of the Empress Dowager was enough to make him think little of people. Even if Fan Xian were a commissioner of the Overwatch Council of the Kingdom of Qing, it didn’t cross his mind. When he heard the news from the gatekeeper, he thought of that young man with his handsome face and impressive ability to hold his liquor. After returning to Northern Qi, he had thought often of the time he had “lost”, and so he let Fan Xian enter his manor.

As soon as he saw the jars of fine wine, the Marquis felt even happier. He deeply believed in his own intelligence, and this Fan Xian was indeed a knowledgeable and tactful fellow.

According to the Overwatch Council’s reports, Chang Ninghou was from the borderlands. Although he had once studied under Zhuang Mohan, he was unhappy with his position at the royal court of Northern Qi. The officials of Northern Qi always presumed that he had been promoted as a result of favoritism on the part of the Empress Dowager, so few bothered to take him seriously. In the royal court, his reputation was not even equal to that of Wei Hua. And so the Marquis was frequently drunk. It was the middle of the day, and yet the staff of the Marquis’s manor immediately prepared a great feast. Chang Ninghou ushered the foreign officials in, and they began to eat and drink their fill.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and sipped from his cup, watching the old man as he greedily smacked his lips. He laughed. “Marquis, when we were coming in, Commander Wei said that we might end up causing you trouble.”

“Perish the thought!” scolded the blustering Marquis. “When visitors arrive at my gate, how can I turn them away? Last year in the Qing capital, you and Master Xin Qiwu accompanied me graciously indeed. Today I shall return the favor. Who would dare do anything less?”

Fan Xian agreed. After three rounds of drinks, he could see the Marquis’ pale face getting gradually rosier. His expression looked somewhat distracted. Knowing that the man had drunk a little too much, Fan Xian decided that now was the time to ask the question he’d been meaning to ask. Hearing it, Chang Ninghou was somewhat taken aback. “Master Fan, you wish to meet with Master Shen, Provost of the Discipline Commission?”