Chapter 1 Entering the Fan Manor for the First Time

  The Fan residence is located in the eastern part of Kyoto, still some distance from the Tianhe Road, and the imperial palace is not visible. The people living here are all high-ranking officials and nobles, with no room for ordinary citizens to set foot, so it seems relatively quiet. On a deserted street, every ten or twenty yards there is a mansion gate, outside each of which sits quietly a pair of stone lions, dozens of stone lions staring blankly at the horse-drawn carriages passing by on the street.

  A black carriage slowly passed through the main street, with no curious eyes on either side of the road. As it reached the side of the Fan residence, the carriage turned into a narrow alley with some difficulty and stopped under the shade of trees at the corner gate.

  Fan Xian lifted the curtain of the carriage and helped Teng Zijing down, his face expressionless. He looked around at the surroundings, nodded slightly in a way that was hard to notice.

  The wooden door creaked open, and the people inside came out to greet him. They looked at Fan Xian with curiosity, seemingly unsure of how to address him or pay their respects.

  Fan Xian smiled and said nothing, following Tong Zi Jing into the house. The servants let out a sigh of relief and began to move the luggage that was packed tightly onto the carriage.

  At the gate, a small servant was waiting with his body bent, leading the two of them in. As they went further inside, they only saw the courtyard getting deeper, with artificial hills and flat grass, shallow water and flowers, the scenery being quite elegant. Along the way, they met some women who, as soon as they saw someone coming, were all quietly standing by the side of the road, not making a sound or showing any disorder.

  The deeper he walked, the more astonishing it was that they hadn't even reached the inner courtyard yet. Fan Xian couldn't help but admire the grandeur of this old Kyoto mansion, which was dozens of times larger than the one in Hantan Port. To have such a large estate in the heart of Kyoto, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, it seemed that his father's power was indeed extraordinary.

  If it were an ordinary person, at this time when they first entered the luxurious mansion, they would always be a little nervous and restrained. Even when Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber first entered Rongguo Mansion, she didn't dare to speak much, fearing that she might make some mistake and lose face for herself and the mansion.

  But Fan Xian was not an ordinary person, having lived two lives and experienced the cycle of life and death, which gave him a sense of detachment. Moreover, he had long been accustomed to being a private son, and with his previous mindset, he didn't think this identity was shameful at all; instead, he thought his father should be ashamed. From this, it can be inferred that he wouldn't care about the face of the Fan family either.

  So he walked all the way, looking around with a smile on his face, without any awkwardness. Although there was still some shyness in his smile, it was just a cover-up. He looked at the scenery in the mansion, marveling at its beauty, and when passing by the weeping willows, he stroked them gently. When crossing the shallow lake's arched bridge, he gazed into the water, looking utterly carefree.

  His demeanor on this trip has fallen into the eyes of the servants in the mansion. These servants can't help but be curious, and they have heard about the "young master" for over a decade, only to find that he is actually such a person. It's hard to say whether it's good or bad, but they feel that this young man has a certain charm, only they don't know how to put it into words.

  As they arrived at the inner courtyard, Fuji Kyo whispered a reminder: "Young Master, I won't be able to enter from here on out. You'll have to go in yourself..." After some thought, she couldn't help but remind him again: "Young Master, be careful what you say..." Along this journey, Fuji Kyo had grown somewhat fond of Fan Xian's calm and composed demeanor, thinking about the hidden power struggles within the Fan estate in the capital. She wanted to warn him about something, but as soon as she spoke up, she realized her words were a bit reckless, and she didn't even know how to phrase them properly.

  Fan Xian knew what was on his mind, slightly moved, smiled and nodded: "Teng Da rest assured." Then he reminded him to pack his luggage well, he might need it at night, and so on.

  At this moment, he can still think about what to do tonight with ease. Teng Zijing knew that the handsome young man in front of him was far more mature than his peers, and after hearing these words, he felt a little relieved, smiled, and went to rest in the side house with the young servant.

  The little servant leading the way was replaced by a young maid, still a pretty and tender little girl. Fan Xian followed behind the little girl, entering the backyard.

  A middle-aged woman walked over with a brass basin, half-knelt down and paid her respects, then served him to wash his face, the water temperature was not hot or cold, just right.

  Fan Xian remained silent, wiped his hands with a towel and handed it back, then said "thank you".

  The middle-aged woman was slightly surprised when she heard these two words and hastily retreated in a somewhat flustered manner.

  Fan Xian smiled and suddenly remembered that Kyoto was not Danzhou, and his politeness to the sisters was somewhat superfluous and out of place here.

  Even if you enter the inner courtyard, you won't be standing in the central hall, but rather led by a maid to stand at the side door. The wall on the side of the side door is painted pure white, and above the doorway, there is a slightly protruding black eave.

  He stood for a long time, but no one came to greet him. He didn't know if it was the old mansion's way of giving its illegitimate son a cold shoulder. A hint of irritation rose in Fan Xian's mind, but he took a deep breath and suppressed it. He looked up at the black-tiled roof, and upon closer inspection, found that this ancient-style building was indeed elegant.

  Actually, Fan Xian wrongly blamed them. Those servant girls standing aside didn't intentionally ignore him, but they knew the identity of this young man and for a moment didn't dare to come forward. Firstly, they didn't know how to address him, after all he wasn't born from the main wife of the Fan family; secondly, since the master hadn't arrived yet, the servants really didn't dare to be presumptuous. However, at this time someone had already gone to inform the master.

  Fan Xian waited for a moment, smiled self-deprecatingly and beckoned the little girl who had led him in to come over.

  Xiaoyuan's face was delicate and her cheeks were smooth to the extreme, she was still very young, and asked in a soft voice: "Shao... Shao... what instructions?" She originally wanted to call him Young Master, but thinking of the problem, she couldn't say it out loud, so she swallowed the word "Master" and blushed bright red.

  Fan Xian looked at the little girl's appearance and laughed, saying: "Bring me a chair."

  Xiaoyuan went as she was told and moved a wooden chair from the hall. The chair was quite heavy, and she panted slightly as she carried it.

  Fan Xian stepped forward, placed the chair on the ground, smiled slightly, and sat down with a flourish. He looked up at the eaves above his head, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding gazes.

  The old women were shocked to see the young man sitting in a chair like that - before the elders arrived, the juniors should stand respectfully at the front of the steps, what kind of reason is this for being so arrogant?

  ……

  ……

  A faint rustling sound came from the corridor, accompanied by a subtle fragrance that wafted through the air, invigorating one's spirit. Fan Xian turned his head to look and saw a noblewoman walking towards him with a smile on her face. The woman had a beautiful complexion, eyes like lacquer, and her skirt was slightly swaying, her golden hairpins slightly disheveled. However, paired with the noblewoman's subtle yet discernible air of nobility, it didn't seem showy at all, but rather seemed fitting.

  Fan Xian took a slight breath and stood up from his chair.

  The woman's eyebrows were like distant ink, and with one smile, the whole courtyard was bright. Looking at Fan Xian from afar, she said: "Xian'er has had a hard journey, please sit down."

  Fan Xian smiled sweetly and said, "Hello, Aunt."