Chapter Twenty-Five The Old Man with the Sheepskin Blanket

  Three minutes later, Fan Xian took out the scalding fish plate with his hands, drizzled some of the precious soy sauce sent from the south, and the juice was amber-colored and very beautiful. The steamed fish mixed with the sauce, and the aroma immediately filled the kitchen. He found the leftover rice for the night and had a delicious meal with the steamed fish and ginger vinegar.

  The next morning, Fan Xian went to pay his respects to his grandmother. While paying his respects, a servant came to report that the kitchen had been burglarized overnight. Fan Xian immediately understood what had happened and couldn't help but laugh. As he massaged his grandmother's shoulders, he said to the steward, "I heated up some food last night, don't worry about it."

  That man was stunned, thinking that the young master at such a young age would not order someone to do things, but instead wanted to play with these things himself. If he got burned, it wouldn't be fun.

  Fan Xian knew what the other person was thinking, and cleverly said to the old lady: "Grandson recently found a way to steam fish from a book, so he wanted to try it himself. If the taste is good, he plans to give some to his grandmother as a surprise. That's why he didn't dare let the servants know, but unexpectedly startled so many people. Grandson knows he was wrong."

  This remark is reasonable and ordinary people can't pick out any flaws.

  The old lady listened to this sentence without any expression and said gently: "It's all right, just remember to clean up no matter what you do."

  The old lady of the Earl's estate was always strict with Fan Xian, rarely using such a gentle tone, so Fan Xian felt slightly uneasy, sensing that Grandma's words seemed to carry a hint of pity for him, but why?

  The old lady said gently, "I know what happened yesterday. The steward Zhou is not very capable. Like last night when you went to the kitchen, such a dangerous thing, no one noticed, it's really not like him. I've already sent him back to Kyoto, let that family of good-for-nothings deal with him."

  Fan Xian's heart was slightly startled, and he suddenly remembered that after killing the assassin, he had forgotten to deal with Zhou Guan Jia. It was clear that this time's assassin was able to sneak into the mansion and poison him, and this steward couldn't be exonerated from the crime. He himself was so careless, really terrible.

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  During the day, Fan Xian listlessly read some books sent from Kyoto in his study. Later, he left the house again and subconsciously passed by the vegetable market, only then did he deeply understand what his grandmother meant by "No matter what you do, always clean up after yourself."

  One corner of the vegetable market had been burned to ashes, but miraculously did not affect the adjacent buildings, only burning that single small building clean, leaving nothing behind. The surrounding residents were discussing it in a flurry, Fan Xian was short and eavesdropped on the side, knowing that two people were killed in this fire, their faces completely unrecognizable.

  The place that was burned down is exactly the building where Fan Xian killed someone yesterday.

  Destroy the corpse and eliminate all traces?

  Fan Xian thought of his grandmother's words earlier about sending Zhou Guan back to Kyoto, and when he connected it with the miserable gray ash in front of him, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He finally understood what had happened. He really hadn't expected that his strict and not-so-loving grandmother would be so meticulous in her thinking, and for the sake of her grandson's safety, she would do such a thing.

  Just thinking of Old Lady's usual appearance of closing her eyes and cultivating her spirit, Fan Xian really couldn't connect this image with the ruins in front of him that were still emitting a faint smoke.

  Fan Xian blended into the crowd, looking at the charred black wood in front of him that still had a burnt smell, knowing that he had learned something again.

  The residents nearby noticed his arrival, and after greeting him, they were about to say something, but Fan Xian pretended not to hear and left the vegetable market, unknowingly walking into that familiar grocery store.

  "The housekeeper has been driven back to Kyoto," said Fan Xian.

  Wu Zhuang stood in the store, his body facing the quiet street, without any reaction. The residents all ran to the vegetable market to watch the excitement, so the street was very empty.

  "The small building we went to yesterday was burned down." Fan Xian continued.

  Wu Zhu still had no reaction.

  Fan Xian grasped his sleeve corner and said in a low, stern voice: "Do you think I've forgotten to deal with Zhou's housekeeper? That would be foolish of me! Do I still need grandma to help me clean up the mess?"

  Wu Zhu turned around and said, "Do you want me to sympathize with you? Do you think that because of your young age, you don't know how to deal with these things, so your self-esteem is hurt, and you're seeking comfort?"

  The blind man's voice rarely showed a hint of curiosity, and compared to his usual lack of emotion, it sounded much more vivid.

  Fan Xian smiled and said: "I don't have that extra self-esteem, I just think killing people feels bad. And..."

  He lived with his mouth shut, deep down in his heart, he felt that if he hadn't crossed over to this world and received education from Fei Jie and Wu Zhu, he wouldn't have stronger abilities than ordinary noble children. Who knows... maybe he would have died already. In such a complex web of power struggles and secrecy, having more knowledge seemed useless. Every person standing at the top of the power storm was proficient in those dirty and complicated methods.

  Compared with them, I am really... just a naive child.

  "The feeling of killing, and the feeling of being killed, which one do you like?" Wu Zhu asked.

  Fan Xian didn't know how to respond, naturally no one wants to be killed by others.

  "Now that you know the answer, don't ask again." Wu Zhu handed him a sign. "Also, I think it's necessary to tell you that Old Lady didn't kill Zhou Guanjia when she drove him out of Tan Prefecture, because she didn't want things to get too messy in the old Kyoto mansion."

  Fan Xian looked at the familiar token and knew it was the Earl's family steward's command token, this token was from Zhou Guan's house. He raised his head, looking at Wu Zhu in doubt: "You killed him?"

  Wu Zhu nodded slightly.

  Fan Xian suddenly thought of the assassin's identity and scratched his head, asking: "Why do the assassin's use of poison and subsequent methods resemble those of the Supervisory Department?"

  "Ask him to go."

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  During the Qingli years, on a bright and sunny spring day, in a square-shaped building with grayish-black outer walls that looked gloomy and terrifying in the western part of Kyoto Castle, an old man with a thin face and no beard was sitting in a wheelchair in a secret room, covered with a soft and smooth woolen blanket.

  The glass window of the room was tightly covered with black cloth, not a single ray of sunlight could enter. This old man had suffered from a serious illness in the north many years ago, and since then, he had been somewhat afraid of light.

  "Fei Lao, how's the investigation of that incident in Danzhou going?" The old man looked at his peer with a head full of white hair and an unusual appearance, gazing into his brown eyes as he asked with a smile.

  Fei Jie sat in a chair drinking tea, looking at the Dean's strange smile on his lips, thinking to himself who was the real old pervert between him and the Dean.

  ……

  ……

  Added bonus in the wee hours, rushing to the top of the chart, pulling votes, thank you very much everyone.