Chapter Five: The Palace's Secret

  "Great, you're finally angry." Xie Nanbo's lips curled up slightly, a smile slowly unfolding as he said softly: "I've been hearing news from the side of Danzhou all along, I thought you were someone who wouldn't get angry. Kid, after all, you're only sixteen years old, if you hide all your emotions in your heart, it will be a very painful thing."

  "What's that got to do with anything?" Fan Xian looked at his father with an unusual gaze, having made up his mind about something. "There's something I must inform Father about beforehand."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I... am not a person who is very good at controlling myself." Fan Xian's words were very straightforward.

  "I never thought of controlling you... although you... are my son." Earl Shang Nan Fan Jian looked coldly at the young man's eyes, as if trying to see some panic from Fan Xian's calm gaze. "However, the alliance with the Prime Minister's family is a must, this matter is not open for discussion."

  Fan Xian lowered his head and thought for a moment before raising it again with a smile, saying: "You can try." But this smile was full of confidence and perseverance.

  Xiananbo seemed somewhat angry, his palm on the armrest of the chair slightly clenched, veins faintly visible, but after a moment, he suppressed his anger and coldly said: "Why can't you understand? That Lin family's young lady is gentle and considerate, knowledgeable and reasonable, truly a good match... Besides, with our Fan family's current status, do we still need to rely on marriage between children to solidify our position? Is this Lin Ruofu really worth us placing such importance on him?"

  Fan Xian was slightly shocked and felt that his father's attitude was not fake, but... if even the Prime Minister didn't take it seriously, then why did he still want him to marry Miss Lin? Was it really just because Miss Lin was excellent? This reasoning was something Fan Xian would never believe.

  "Why must you marry her?" Fan Xian furrowed his brow and asked.

  Xianan Bo Fan Jian smiled slightly and said, "Because Miss Lin's mother is the current Princess Chang, who is Your Majesty's younger sister. Although this princess has never married, she secretly manages the imperial family's business, providing endless wealth to both the Qing Kingdom and the Imperial Palace."

  Fan Xian was extremely shocked, thinking that his wife-to-be was actually the daughter of the Empress Dowager! That would mean that Prime Minister Zhang had a leg up... or even multiple legs? No wonder he had risen to power so smoothly over the years... it turned out he had taken the route of being a eunuch.

  This secret, there shouldn't be many people in the world who know about it. If my own father hadn't grown up with His Majesty the Emperor since childhood, he wouldn't have noticed either. Fan Xian suddenly realized that such a deep secret was something his father shouldn't have told him.

  "Xiananbo smiled and said, 'You should also be clear that these words cannot be spoken outside. Whoever says them will die. So when this conversation reaches your ears, pretend you haven't heard it before. The reason I'm telling you this imperial secret is to prepare you, so that in the future when you're with Miss Lin, there won't be any awkwardness.'"

  ……

  ……

  Fan Xian suddenly thought of what Wu Zhu had said before, his expression turned somewhat gloomy, and he sighed: "The royal business managed by Princess Chang... was it originally the Ye family's business?"

  "Not bad." Xie Nanbo's eyes showed a hint of affection and admiration as he looked at the young man in front of him, slightly surprised that the little guy had seen through the true nature of the problem at once.

  "The Empress Dowager has only this one daughter, and Your Majesty had already decided to let the imperial business be managed by the descendants of the Empress Dowager. So whoever marries Miss Lin and becomes the son-in-law of the Empress Dowager may have a chance to become the future master of the imperial business."

  He said a lot, and Si Nanbo felt slightly tired, but deep down he was also excited. He stood up with the armrest of his chair, staring at Fan Xian word by word: "That business was originally your mother's, so you just took back what belonged to you!"

  ……

  ……

  A deathly silence.

  "Father is far-sighted, I admire him." Fan Xian bowed to his father and asked: "Although the other party is not a princess, but after all has a royal identity, do you think we can get back mother's family business by doing so? This idea seems a bit too arrogant to me."

  "Nature still has a backhand, don't forget that as the father is the Minister of Revenue, also in charge of silver and money matters." Fan Jian smiled, increasingly appreciating the calm mind and attitude of the young man in front of him. "And there's something I want to tell you, Lin Ruofu this old thief, although he doesn't have much say in this matter, but he still has doubts about the marriage between our two families, so I hope you can behave well in Kyoto for a while."

  "Why?" Fan Xian was somewhat puzzled. Although Lin Ruofu was a noble prime minister and the head of the civil officials, he was very clear about the position of the Fan family in this deep lake of Kyoto. If the other party could form an alliance with such a strong supporter, it should be a welcome thing, so why would they still oppose it? If it was due to status, that young lady seemed to have a similar background as himself, neither of which was particularly glorious.

  "Everyone has their own position to stand, and different camps have to consider different things." Fan Jian explained calmly: "The Fan family is a large clan in Kyoto, Lin Ruofu is the head of the civil officials, and the two families are secretly allied. The reason why Lin Ruofu still hesitates is that he fears that Your Majesty will suspect his intentions, and secondly, he fears that the young people in the civil official system will have divided loyalties because of this matter."

  Fan Xian let out a sigh and laughed at himself, saying: "I was worried about so many things along the way, but it turns out this is just a one-sided idea of the Fan family."

  "Yes, so you need to find a way to get Miss Lin's recognition." Fan Jian smiled, but looked somewhat puzzled: "Barber... what does that sentence mean?"

  "I was wrong." Fan Xian smiled and didn't explain further, instead asking: "Father, there's something I've been curious about for a long time, may I ask?"

  "Go ahead and ask."

  "Never mind. It's already very late, you should go rest first." For some reason, Fan Xian suddenly stopped talking and instead said: "I'm not familiar with Kyoto, can I have Tōko follow me?"

  "Tōko Kyō's skills in taking down enemies along the way are not bad, but after all, he is only a fourth-rate expert..." Fan Jian furrowed his brow, "I'll arrange for stronger bodyguards for you, the waters of Kyoto run deep."

  Fan Xian smiled and said: "No need, it's hard enough to get familiar with him, why bother changing again."

  The father and son exchanged a few more words, seeing that the night was already deep, Fan Xian bade farewell and retreated. Outside, there were already maids waiting, who led him through the complex corridors to his own bedroom.

  (The previous chapters were a bit depressing, but later on it gets more relaxing. I like relaxing, hehe... Please vote.)