Chapter 179: Small Flower
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Pinching off a small pink flower, Chen Pingping carefully put it in his hair. Seeing it would fall at any moment, Fan Xian fixed the old man's hair, ensuring that the flower would stay put.
Chen Pingping laughed joyfully and gently tapped Fan Xian's hand. "After seventeen years of turmoil, you've finally come to the capital and finally grown up into a man. Your mother's wishes have been answered."
Fan Xian had always been curious about "those" years. He couldn't help but ask, "How many of you were there back then?" By that he meant: how many powerful people had followed his mother, wanting to change the world?
"Do some counting."
Fan Xian did. He smiled. "Six."
"Yes, your mother was most impressive." Chen Pingping smiled. "Looks like you're a smart one too."
"Regarding the former, Fei Jie told me when I was little."
"Well, I suppose he didn't tell you how much we miss your mother. From a certain point of view, she was our guide."
"Somewhat surprising." Fan Xian smiled. "But not unimaginable."
"Be more respectful towards Count Sinan and the Fan clan." Chen Pingping suddenly became solemn. "They sacrificed a lot for your sake."
Fan Xian closed his eyes slightly. All those years ago, under such a dangerous situation, father must have sacrificed a lot to save his life as an infant and make those in the palace believe he had died. "Who are my real enemies that I must watch out for? Thatt crazy Eldest Princess can't be among them; she was too young back then."
"Eldest Princess is a pitiful woman. To the royal family, she spent her entire life in your mother's shadow. While she was smart, talented, and obtained many benefits for Qing, she was never able to match your mother in His Majesty's heart. All that jealousy made her insane. As for your enemies… there are none, none." Chen Pingping repeated the last part quietly as if trying to convince himself.
"If I take charge of the Overwatch Council, and then the palace treasury, I think some people will notice that things aren't right," Fan Xian said with a smile. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
Chen Pingping asked lightly, "Don't you wish to be a powerful minister?"
Fan Xian looked into the old man's eyes calmly. He suddenly said, "I do. And I know what you are planning."
Chen Pingping's expression remained unchanged. "I hope you keep feigning that you don't know."
Fan Xian frowned. "Even though I don't have any blood relation with them, I still don't want to see too much bloodshed."
"It's still too early for that," Chen Pingping said quietly. "Besides, bloodshed tends to always be caused by stupid people trying to slit others' throats and who ending up slitting their own instead."
Fan Xian smiled somewhat bitterly. While he respected and trusted this old man, he still needed to walk his own path. This Director of the Overwatch Council had cooperated flawlessly with Fan Xian without meeting him, and done many other things for him. But should things come up in the future and spark disagreement between the two, Fan Xian would choose to act in favor of his own interests.
Chen Pingping waved his hand and frowned, "You should learn to broaden your views. Don't always pinpoint each individual official. Learn to see things from a wider perspective…"
Fan Xian responded with a chuckle, "The sky's the limit?"
Chen Pingping smiled. "Perhaps even higher than that."
Fan Xian was puzzled and fell silent.
"Go now. Be careful while in Northern Qi." Chen Pingping coughed and took the small flower out of his hair and gently kneaded it between his fingers. "Xiao En must die. Of course, you must ensure your own safety first. Other than that, take care of those three duties as you see fit. If the situation will allow it, you can even try to investigate the location of the temple. After all, so far only Northern Qi's Imperial Advisor Ku He had contact with it."
Fan Xian frowned. "The temple… That was sudden. I'm not so sure about this, although I tend to enjoy such adventures."
"So did your mother." Chen Pingping nodded. "But to tell you the truth, I'm rarely worried for your life. If you don't come back alive after all Sir Wu has taught you, I will most definitely show my disappointment during your funeral."
The old man smiled. He ripped the small flower to pieces and spread them across the ground. He thought, "The real enemy isn't one that can be dealt with by you."
After saying goodbye to his mother's dearest old comrade, Fan Xian returned to the building and met up with Yan Ruohai. He took some scrolls to study back at the manor. Northern Qi was currently in an unusually messy situation. Even if Chen Pingping wanted to use this opportunity to have Fan Xian officially take over the council, no one could force Fan Xian to go to that strange country if he didn't want to.
But Fan Xian wanted to.
In his previous life, he was imprisoned in his sickly body, and now he was imprisoned by his unusual social status. This envoy to Northern Qi was a rare chance for him to roam freely, a chance he would never want to let pass. So he diligently asked Yan Ruohai about all the aspects he should pay attention to, as well as the people he must take note of.
Yan Ruohai shook his head as he looked at this young Commissioner, seemingly not able to understand the reason behind his enthusiasm. "Northern Qi has always been unstable; both the emperor and empress dowager are too young to truly rule. But the capital appears to have been stabilized since that war last year. Sir Commissioner, you must pay attention to three people. One is Friar He, one is Shang Shanhu, and the last one, of course, is the rarely-seen Ku He the Imperial Advisor."
"Friar He?" Fan Xian frowned. Taoism did not exist in this world. Why was he called "Friar", a title which was usually reserved for Taoist priests?
Yan Ruohai didn't know why Fan Xian was puzzled, and so didn't explain. He continued, "Friar He is a master in the Rear Faction. Cheng Jiushu, whom you slayed, was his disciple. Shang Shanhu is a rare "tiger general" of Northern Qi who had been fighting barbarians in the northern tundra. Supposedly, after Northern Qi's defeat last year, he was moved back to their capital by the young emperor. Sir Commissioner, you must pay extra attention to him; the council had been suspicious about his school of teaching for a while. And Ku He, as one of the Four Great Grandmasters, shouldn't interfere with such worldly matters. However…"
Yan Ruohai frowned. "Ku He took in a secretive disciple who officially starts training this year. Sir Commissioner, with your name being so well-known, it's best to watch out for that disciple."
Fan Xian blanked out for a moment as he inexplicably remembered those Valkyrie warriors from the novels in his previous life. "Don't tell me that disciple is a woman."
Yan Ruohai said expressionlessly, "That is unknown. All we know is that, for the past three months, this Great Grandmaster's disciple traveled across Northern Qi and dueled countless high-ranking masters. There is even the rumor this disciple is a legendary Tianmai being." He looked at Fan Xian and asked quietly, "You know what that is, correct?"
That word sounded somewhat familiar. Suddenly, Fan Xian remembered: when he was little, Fei Jie had mentioned it once, and Eldest Princess said it too while she spoke with Master Zhuang Mohan.
Hearing Yan Ruohai's explanation, Fan Xian frowned. "A gifted person with the blood of Heaven and Earth in their veins, appearing only once every five hundred years. They're not like growing leeks in a field, where one shoot grows to replace the one that was just cut off. I don't believe that at all."
Yan Ruohai nodded. "According to our analysis, it is likely that due to Northern Qi's repeated defeats, they must have felt the need to create the image of a young individual whose might is world-breaking in order to boost their people's confidence."
Fan Xian smiled. "Quite likely. Like how the council shaped my image as a Commissioner… What's the disciple's name?"
"Hai Tang."
Fan Xian felt a headache coming on. "I hope whoever it is is a pushover, but I definitely hope it's not a woman."
The two then chatted for a bit. In the end, Yan Ruohai looked at Fan Xian calmly, "Regarding things on my end, I hope you can be of assistance, Sir Commissioner."
"I already said so in front of the Ministry of Justice," Fan Xian answered very seriously. "I will bring you safely back to Qing."
Walking out of the Fourth Bureau, Wang Qinian, who had been waiting outside, hurried over to carry the documents Fan Xian had brought. While Fan Xian's eyes were looking straight ahead, he said quietly to his "aide", "I will definitely take you with me to Northern Qi."
"I am grateful for your faith in me," Wang Qinian answered with a smile. This gilded trip to Northern Qi, had there not been other arrangements, could have been truly a relaxing one. No nation in this world would dare to harm an envoy.
Fan Xian shook his head and laughed. "I'm bringing you because you're the fastest in the Overwatch Council, not including Zong Zhui, of course."
Wang Qinian smiled uneasily and didn't say anything. He had just paid Zong Zhui a visit and spent a long time talking about the past. He and Zong Zhui were once called the wings of the Overwatch Council. But due to Wang Qinian eventually moving on to a civil position, Zong Zhui felt greatly frustrated that Wang Qinian had become rather trivial. Now that Wang Qinian became Commissioner Fan Xian's aide, Zong Zhui felt his old friend had returned to his former glory, and was overjoyed.
The head of the Third Bureau, Senior Disciple Leng, was already waiting by the secret room. He didn't offer a greeting after seeing Fan Xian, giving off a cold impression. With the opening of the door came a gust of wind, which wasn't too fast. Fan Xian raised his eyebrows as he knew immediately that places with airflow like this one must have nothing to do with making poison.
Leng took a look at this junior disciple and suddenly grinned. "You're well built."
Fan Xian looked at his senior, whom he had just met and shuddered, thinking "It can't be…?" only to hear Leng senior immediately shout to the inner room, "Standard!"
Fan Xian froze. A while later, a few people came out from the inner room carrying a large table. On the table were some boxes and clothing made from some strange fabric. Those people who carried the table—there were five or six of them—were all expressionless as they stared at Fan Xian. Perhaps they had stayed in this strange bureau for too long and became numb. But after being debriefed, they couldn't help but show admiration as they kept on saying to Commissioner Fan, "He really is well built."