Joy of Life

Regardless of whether Fan Xian was scared or not, the matter had already happened. During these years, perhaps the Emperor did not want to completely severe his connection to the son he liked the most. Or, perhaps the Emperor only knew that Fan Xian had entered the Palace but did not know the chest was in Fan Xian’s hands and had remained silent. It seemed that this kind of tacit understanding of not asking further demonstrated a father’s tolerance of his favorite son.

Furthermore, Fan Xian had indeed been very hard on himself. Even when he faced a desperate situation, he rarely used the weapon of mass destruction. The only time he had used it had been in a dark and quiet primal forest. Additionally, the key was still in the secret compartment in Hanguang Palace. This made the Emperor guess incorrectly about some things.

Fan Xian furrowed his brows and sank deep into thought. Thinking of those snow-like pamphlets, he thought of the conversation he had overheard that day between the Eldest Princess and Zhuang Mohan. His heart immediately relaxed. He understood that the Emperor had thought that he was only targeting the Eldest Princess and had entered the Palace to eavesdrop rather than targeting the key.

But, where was the letter? Fan Xian still did not understand. He silently sat down on the bed tiredly.

Besides the matter of the chest being exposed, there was another problem that made him afraid of the Emperor. This troubled Fan Xian the most. Whether or not he accepted it, no matter what, the Emperor was one of his fathers. Although, he was certainly not the best one.

In Fan Xian’s heart, he had three fathers. Among them was Minister Fan, his closest and true father, while Chen Pingping was a godfather. However, the Emperor’s figure was also gradually sinking into his heart.

Chen Pingping’s words broke into his thoughts. “If you are not entering the Palace because you are scared, then why were you not coming to the Overwatch Council to see me? Please don’t say that you are afraid of me.”

Seeing the old cripple’s sweet smile, Fan Xian sighed in his heart. He thought to himself, How could it not be fear? I’m afraid that after seeing you, I won’t be able to resist asking questions.

Although he was afraid, he still opened his mouth to ask. Since he had the courage to come, he was prepared. He didn’t want to forever be a pitiful bug being lied to by others.

“How did Yan Xiaoyi’s army get to Dong Mountain? Why didn’t the Overwatch Council not have any reports? Why did the situation in Jingdou become so dangerous? Why was there not a whisper about the strange actions of the officials in Dongshan Road? Why did you not return to the capital and allowed the Eldest Princess and empress dowager to do as they wished, which led to their eventual deaths?”

“This was a plan the Emperor and I made. It had to be hidden from everyone,” Chen Pingping glanced at him coldly and said. “If we didn’t show weakness first, these people would not jump out.”

Fan Xian shook his head. “Don’t lie to me. I know you will be able to give the Emperor a beautiful explanation afterward, but only the two of us know that these people were forced by us to stand against the Emperor. Furthermore, you know that although the Emperor appears to have obtained a great success, in reality, he is walking on a wire. If he were the least bit careless, he would have fallen into a bottomless abyss. Since you knew of the situation earlier, you must have had the power to set up this situation better so that Jingdou did not have to sink into the realm of damnation.”

“The Emperor trusts you, but that does not mean I trust you.” Fan Xian stared at Chen Pingping’s old face and lowered his voice. “This is the Emperor’s plan, but you’ve pushed it along. Although it was just a slight push, it still increased the danger the Qing Kingdom faced by tenfold… or even a hundredfold. Particularly in Jingdou, even if there was an internal affliction to be removed, it’s impossible that so many people had to die. No matter how ruthless the Emperor is, presumably he also does not want to see this final scene.”

“There are dogs under heaven. Who will chase them?” After being silent for a while, Chen Pingping said, “If you’re going to kill a dog, you have to kill all of them. I was afraid the Emperor would become soft-hearted in the moment. Does this explanation make sense?”

“No.” Fan Xian moved in his direction and held his thin hand. In a heavy voice, he said, “Even if it makes sense logically, the Emperor will be uncomfortable in his heart, especially as he slowly thinks about it after the matter. Things will eventually go wrong.”

“What problems can there be? This is the Emperor’s big plan. I am only the executor.” Chen Pingping pulled his hands from between Fan Xian’s naturally. “Don’t you think too much. There are not many complicated things in the world.”

“No?” Fan Xian’s heart was filled with worry and anger. Staring into his eyes, he said, “Then tell me, why did you have the Shadow go assassinate the Emperor in Hanging Temple? Why is there an extra wound on the back of the old Qin master’s body at the waist?”

Chen Pingping slowly raised his head and looked at Fan Xian with furrowed brows. “You went to see the body?”

Fan Xian nodded and said, “I know that is the Shadow’s work…” He paused and smiled bitterly. “Since I saw it, the wound is no longer there.”

“I didn’t think you would be so meticulous,” Chen Pingping said. “I had indeed instructed the Shadow to act in Hanging Temple. Now, you can go to the Emperor to report me. However, you should know that the Shadow has always had two mysterious identities. Other than you and I, no one knows this, not even the Emperor.”

Fan Xian angrily said, “Even when it is like this, you still won’t tell me?”

“Tell you what.”

“Why did the old Qin Master betray the Emperor?” This was the question the Eldest Princess told Fan Xian to ask Chen Pingping before she died. He had finally asked it bravely.

“There never needs to be a reason for betrayal.” Chen Pingping was as cold as ever.

“You had the Shadow kill Qin Ye. Were you afraid that I would learn something from him?”

Chen Pingping laughed coldly and couldn’t be bothered to answer his question. He waved his hand to signal for the servants to show the guest out. Fan Xian stared at him coldly. A moment later, his gaze helplessly softened. Using a begging tone, he said, “I know you’re afraid of implicating me, which is why you are cutting me off, but for such a major matter, you also have to think of yourself.”

Chen Pingping’s heart was gentle, but none of it showed on his face. “You’re thinking too much.”

Fan Xian was silent. Although Chen Pingping would not admit it, he knew from his attitude that his guess had to be right. The Qin family must have been involved in the Taiping Courtyard incident in the past. The reason they betrayed the Emperor was because of his own rise.

What kind of person was the old Qin Master? Although he was old, he knew very well that if the Emperor truly wanted to use Fan Xian, then he had to thoroughly sweep away the matter from the past. The Qin family had to die. Thus, the Qin family had to rebel. However, behind this reason, there was blood and a sinister truth.

Fan Xian stood up. After looking at Chen Pinging silently for a moment, he said, “After all, it is my father and my mother. You’ve worked hard too many years. You should think more about yourself.”

“I don’t have many years left. You’ve said it before.” Chen Pingping smiled.

Fan Xian looked at him sadly, “No one can defeat him.”

Chen Pingping was silent.

Fan Xian was about to leave but he suddenly said, “The chest is in my hands.”

Chen Pingping abruptly raised his head and saw that the young man had already walked determinedly out of the door. Involuntarily, he shook his head, thinking, Even if you have the chest, so what? You can’t be dragged into this matter.

…

…

After an indeterminable amount of time, a middle-aged man in common clothing walked into the room Chen Pingping was in and sat down next to him where Fan Xian had sat earlier.

“No one can defeat the Emperor,” The middle-aged man said evenly. “In this point, An Zhi and I think the same.”

This middle-aged man wasn’t just anybody. He was Fan Xian’ father, Minister of Revenue Fan Jian. No one knew when he had come to Chen Garden or why he was talking so calmly with Chen Pingping. The rumors in officialdom said that in the previous decade, Chen Pingping and Fan Jian were like water and fire. It was not until Fan Xian entered the capital that their relationship gradually improved.

Chen Pingping closed his eyes and calmly said, “The chest is in his hands. Did you know?”

Fan Jian smiled tartly and said, “That child keeps the chest under his bed and thinks he can fool everyone in the world. It’s quite cute.”

Chen Pingping opened his eyes and glanced at him. “In your own manor, do you not have the power to protect his secret for him?”

“This little bit of power I do have,” Fan Jian said peaceably. “The Emperor put two spies into my home. One of which An Zhi found long ago. The other has long since died. In any case, these spies are not worth anything, and the Emperor does not care.”

“Not care? If he doesn’t care, then he wouldn’t have taken all the Tiger Guards to Dong Mountain for the worship and given them to Sigu Jian, that maniac, to play with.”

Chen Pingping looked at him with slightly mockery and said, “You. You’ve spent your whole life being careful and put all your energy into the Tiger Guards. Now, all the Tiger Guards are dead. No matter how many people you hid in there, there isn’t a single one left. This action of the Emperor’s was truly ruthless.”

“It is true, I don’t have any power left.” Fan Jian smiled bitterly. “That is why I can only ask to resign and retire.”

He looked at Chen Pingping and smiled coldly. “How much better off are you than me? After the battle at Zhengyang Gate, thousands of your elite in the Overwatch Council died. Just wait for the Emperor to throw you a few handfuls of sand in the next few years. At that time, other than copying me and retiring, what else can you do?”

Chen Pingping laughed coldly. “As long as Fan Xian is alive, the Emperor will not crush the Overwatch Council. What is there for me to worry about? However, Lin Ruofu, that old fox, has endured for this long and finally saw an opportunity. He gave all the people he had been hiding to his precious son-in-law. In the end, he’s probably vomiting blood in Wuzhou right now.”

Fan Jian also laughed and said, “Everyone thought the officials in the Lin faction that followed An Zhi in opposing the Crown Prince would be heavily rewarded afterward. They had not expected that the Emperor had been waiting for this scene and watched as Prime Minister Lin’s last people all jumped out. Even if he couldn’t do anything at the moment, there will be no chance for them to turn things around.”

“He’s gotten rid of all outside enemies and internal afflictions, and chopped off half the arms of the three of us old ones.” Fan Xian sighed. “The Emperor can truly be said to be wise and powerful, and an exceptional genius.”

“I have to admit, he is just like how he was many years ago when we first began to follow him,” Chen Pingping closed his eyes and slowly said. “He was, is, and will always be the most powerful person in the world.”

After a death-like silence, Minster Fan sighed and said, “I hid in King Jing’s manor in Jingdou because I was not worried about the situation in Jingdou. I had long noticed a problem with the Ye family. I had just not thought that the Emperor was a Great Grandmaster.”

“I had guessed a little of the Emperor’s unfathomable power,” Chen Pingping said coldly. “I had not thought that Ye Liunyun, that strange old creature, would suddenly stand on the Emperor’s side.”

“The both of us only guessed one part of the Emperor, if…” Minister Fan suddenly stopped talking.

Chen Pingping knew what this old comrade was going to say and calmly said, “There is no if. After that incident, you were never willing to trust me, and I was never willing to trust you. We never wondered if something had happened to the person we should have trusted the most.”

“An Zhi once said if there was more trust between you and me, perhaps many things would be easier to do,” Minister Fan said. “it was at that time I knew this son of mine was incredible. We had hidden it so strictly, yet he was still able to guess.”

“He is the son of Xiao Yezi and the Emperor, of course, he is incredible.” Chen Pingping furrowed his brows. In his heart, he still held the greatest respect and admiration for the Emperor.

“When did you guess that the Emperor was a Great Grandmaster?” At this time, Minister Fan’s mind was very spry.

“It’s been some years.” Chen Pingping’s brows gradually relaxed as he thought of the past. At that time, the Wei Kingdom still towered in the center of the land. Its country was very powerful. When the Qing Kingdom had begun heading North, the battles were difficult. In one particular battle, the Emperor, who was still the Crown Prince at the time, had been seriously injured. His entire body was frozen and unable to move. He had almost lost his life. It was all thanks to Chen Pingping risking life and limb, and going through thousands of hardships, to rescue him.

This was one of the events Chen Pingping was most famous for. It was on equal footing and after a thousand li of surprise attacks that he captured Xiao En at the price of a broken leg.

Minister Fan furrowed his brows and said, “What’s the problem with that? Us old people had always thought that it was after that heavy injury that the Emperor lost his martial abilities. Back then, he had been a ferocious general.”

“That injury was strange,” Chen Pingping slowly said. “His entire body was frozen. It was definitely not caused by an external injury. Lady Ning and I looked after him the entire way. It was clear that it should be a problem of the Meridians. It seemed that his Meridians were all broken. We had thought that he was dead for sure. We even cried a number of times. Who knew that, in the end, he would come back.”

“I’ve never seen someone who could live with all their Meridians broken.” Chen Pingping opened his eyes and looked at Fan Jian. Slowly he said, “However, later, I saw a similar person… Your son.”

“After the Hanging Temple incident, Fan Xian’s Meridians were greatly damaged, but it wasn’t as terrifying as the Emperor’s back then. He should have learned Ku He’s ability later in Jiangnan and gradually got better,” Chen Pingping said. “The Emperor did not have Fan Xian’s good fortune. He didn’t learn Tianyi Dao, so how did he get better?”

“These years you’ve spent less time with the Emperor than I have.” Chen Pingping continued. “No matter how well the Emperor can hide, some details will be revealed. Fei Jie returned from Danzhou to report that Fan Xian was cultivating the Tyrannical Martial Secret and also said that this Tyrannical zhenqi could cause serious consequences. This made me think of the Emperor, who had been frozen like a useless person.”

“In Hanging Temple, I wanted to put some pressure on the Emperor and see what his trump card was… It was a pity that Fan Xian blocked it.”

Speaking of this, he glared at Minister Fan. At the time, it had been this father who had told his son to rescue the Emperor and perform a meritorious deed, which had foiled Chen Pingping’s plan.

“I understand everything now, so I won’t say it. You also think through this matter,” Fan Jian stood easily and said. “I am going back to Danzhou to enjoy my retirement. If you have time, you can come to visit me.”

Chen Pingping was silent. He knew what his old comrade was thinking. Regardless of whether the Emperor was someone who could be defeated, in the end, he was Fan Xian’s true father. No one knew that Fan Xian was a time traveler and his spirit was of a unique nature. These two elders were only thinking with common sense. Even if Fan Xian knew the truth, he would be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The two of them didn’t want Fan Xian to live with too much pressure, so they had to think through this matter.

Chen Pingping gently ran the copper bell on the table. After the crisp ringing sound, the old servant, who had served him for many years, walked in and helped him into the wheelchair.

“I’ll see you off.” Chen Pingping lowered his head and coughed. He coughed laboriously. His sleeve was covered in spittle. It took a moment for it to subside. He self-mockingly said, “This body is getting worse and worse. Just a little poison, yet it’s incurable after so long.”

Fan Jian looked at him quietly and didn’t say anything as he headed to the outside of the manor. Behind him, the old servant followed pushing the wheelchair. They didn’t go far. In front of the construction site, the two of them stopped with great tacit understanding. They met each other’s eyes and bowed to each other.

“I have already thought it through,” Chen Pingping said to Fan Jian.

Fan Jian didn’t immediately comment. He lowered his head and thought for a while, not sure if these words were real or fake. He knew why Chen Pingping had come to see him off. Many years ago, a group of them had once gone to the shores of the East Sea, gathered in Taiping Courtyard, and created a wonderful place. With the passing of time, some people had died, some had changed, and some were going to retreat. He was going to resign his post and return to Danzhou. In Jingdou, there was only Chen Pingping left to keep the Emperor company. Presumably, he would also feel lonely.

Just as Fan Xian had said, during these dozen years, he and Chen Pingping had doubted each other and interacted less and less. But, it could not wipe away their past comradeship and friendship.

The outstanding would always be buffeted by the rain and wind. When it came to retreat from the stage, it was best to do it thoroughly. Lin Ruofu was not one of the trio back in the day, so he did not retreat thoroughly enough. Minister Fan would not make that mistake. In front of the Emperor’s heavenly might, other than retreating quickly, there didn’t seem to be any good choices for people like him.

Before Fan Jian left, he furrowed his brows and asked one last question. He did not hide it from the old servant. “Since you doubted me in the past, why did you have Wu Zhu take him to Danzhou?”

In the wheelchair, Chen Pingping lowered his head for a moment and then slowly said, “I knew you had once paid a price for this, so I wanted to continue testing your heart.”

A self-mocking and hurt smile rose to the corners of Fan Jian’s lips. He waved his hands and didn’t say anything more.

…

…

Watching Fan Jian’s leaving figure, Chen Pingping gently leaned against the wheelchair. His finger unconsciously knocked against the handle of the wheelchair. He sighed and said in a quiet voice, “It’s good he is going… It’s good he is going…”

Immediately after, the leader of the darkness in the Qing Kingdom said with bleak confidence, “In the end, he is his true father. How do I have the heart to force him?”

The old servant silently pushed the wheelchair back, listening to the old Director exhaustedly say, “Tell me, why is it so difficult to have one person die?”

Chen Pingping had done countless shocking things and faced innumerable dangers and difficulties, but he had never been as disappointed as he was now. The enemy he faced was, without question, the most powerful person he had met in his life, who seemed to have no weaknesses.

The old servant said in a raspy voice, “It shouldn’t implicate the little duke.” He could already see the weight in his master’s heart, so he tried to reassure it as best he could.

“Even if the Emperor could find something… After Hanging Temple and the snowy valley, I have already almost killed Fan Xian twice. Is this not enough to sever my connection to him? An Zhi’s luck has always been good. The Emperor will certainly not suspect him. This matter will just pass by.” Chen Pingping was afraid of the cold and pulled the wool blanket higher.

…

…

Fan Jian was getting ready to leave, Chen Pingping had given up, and Fan Xian had thought things through. It seemed that the greatest problem in the world was about to be resolved. However, all three of them knew that if there were no large disturbances in the future, then this basin of boiling oil would calmly be hidden by the pot lid. If something happened, splashes of oil would jump out and burn everything clean. Any boiling oil on the heart would scald and hurt the people.

Just as Jingdou in the Qing Kingdom was temporarily stabilized, Northern Qi’s Shangjing and Dongyi sank into an autumnal fog of tragedy.