Chapter 6: An Old Friend in a Foreign Land

  Lying on the fragrant bed, his fingers subconsciously stroked the smooth satin surface. Fan Xian was still digesting what his father had said earlier. Although he knew that coming to Kyoto would definitely lead to some trouble, he really hadn't expected things to be so troublesome.

  He was about to ask his father about the incident four years ago when the Liu family sent someone to poison him, but he changed his mind. The dirty secrets of a big clan like theirs might be hidden beneath their elegant appearance, and even if he forced it out, it wouldn't serve any purpose. After all, in their previous conversation, he could sense that this father he was meeting for the first time still had some genuine feelings towards him.

  It seems that I was sent to Binzhou in the first place because the enemy who killed my mother is still in Kyoto.

  Thinking of this, a bitter smile floated at the corner of his lips - did he really have to marry that sickly woman? At this moment, it seemed that he was the one who had been using cunning thoughts on that little girl surnamed Lin.

  She seems like a very pitiful little girl.

  He decided to find an opportunity to take a look at the Miss Lin, after making this decision, his gaze fell again on that narrow box casually placed in the corner of the wall, somewhat curious, where would that key be.

  The true energy flowed slowly, and the dozens of days of practice that had been interrupted due to travel resumed quietly. In the moment before entering meditation, Fan Xian thought of his father whom he had met for the first time, and countless questions surged up in his heart.

  When Fan Xian first wandered around the Kyoto Fan residence, Fan Jian was also in a daze in the study. This was the first time he had seen Fan Xian in sixteen years. Seeing that clean and beautiful face, Fan Jian fell into some kind of reverie, unable to extricate himself for a long time, muttering to himself: "Little Yezi, your child has grown up, just like you were back then, young but seemingly knowing everything... Chen Pingping still opposed him coming to Kyoto, so I took advantage of his vacation to summon Xian'er back to Kyoto. Someone had guaranteed that the Ye family's industry would definitely return to his hands..."

  The lamp light shone on the middle-aged man's solemn face, and he said in a low voice: "Don't worry, within Qing Guo, no one dares to harm him."

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  The sky shines through the cloud shadows, sometimes bright and sometimes gloomy. The old trees on both sides of the road stretch out new branches, gently swaying in the wind. It's already late spring, and the small lotus flowers at the foot of the mountain are beginning to show their faces, a patch of tender green.

  Fan Fu's carriage moved slowly along the road, with guards following in front and behind, looking quite majestic.

  The carriage was quiet, Fan Xian half-closed his eyes, carefully peeling off the thin skin of the loquat, and then sending the slightly sour and sweet pulp to his brother's lips.

  Fan Xian opened his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp. The sourness made him hastily swallow a few mouthfuls of saliva.

  Fan Siyan's face was filled with incredulity and horror as she stared at the scene before her - her 15-year-old sister, who excelled in chess, piano, painting, and literature, and had a great reputation in Kyoto's high society, always looking down on others like an unmelting iceberg, causing countless talented men to sigh in admiration - was actually... actually serving that guy named Fan Xian with such humility, and even peeling a pomelo for him to eat!

  Fan Ruo didn't know that her gaze, full of admiration for her brother, had already been caught by her younger brother. She just subconsciously wanted to make her brother more comfortable, because she thought he must have suffered a lot in the past decade or so on the border of Danzhou. This time, he finally entered the capital, but was about to marry that Miss Lin from the Lin family - in the eyes of this little girl, there wasn't any woman in this world who could truly match her brother, let alone Miss Lin, whose body was now in such a state.

  Although nowadays in Kyoto, the name of Miss Fan has long been known far and wide, but in her own heart, she is still that little girl who listened to ghost stories in Dongzhou Villa. Only she knows that her brother's chest and abdomen have thousands of poems, let alone the excuses for Cao Gong and Su Weng... Fan Ruo thought of this, smiled slightly, looking at her brother in front of her, thinking why don't you want others to know about your talent?

  Fan Xian also enjoyed the warmth of his siblings, half-closing his eyes, and knew that his sister had long guessed that articles like "Stone Records" were written by him, but was thinking about other things.

  The situation at the Kyoto branch is somewhat different from what I expected before entering the capital. At least, it seems that Yanagi-san has learned some lessons from the incident four years ago and is now quite calm. The younger brother who was rumored to be extremely arrogant also seems to have been well-disciplined and hasn't done anything that makes me particularly uncomfortable.

  The family is still quite happy.

  ……

  ……

  Fan Siyan looked at Fan Xian's face with curiosity, admitting that this half-brother was much more handsome than himself. However, he still strongly believed in his heart that the Fan family only had one true young master, and that was himself; the person in front of him was just an outsider.

  But thinking of his own sister, that one who was always as calm as a chrysanthemum, the one he had always admired, actually admiring Fan Xian so much, Fan Siyan felt somewhat puzzled, wondering if this person called Fan Xian really had something extraordinary about him.

  "This street hasn't seen anyone dare to mess with me." With a proud smile, Fan Sichen looked at the guy in front of him, who was four years older than himself, and said with an air of superiority: "You've just arrived in the capital, I'll take you out for two days."

  Fan Xian lazily leaned against the soft cushion, hearing this and burst out laughing. He had originally wanted his sister to take him to see the sights of Kyoto, but he never expected that Fan Siyan, this "brother", would come uninvited and insist on staying in the carriage.

  "Hey, I'm asking you, little guy, why must you follow us?" he asked Fan Sihong.

  "Stop calling him little guy, I'm the real young master of the Fan family!"

  Fan Xian said, "Don't you think that shouting like this makes yourself look very unrefined? Even if you're afraid I'll fight with you over the family property, you should be more subtle... He patted his younger brother's head and smiled as he continued, "You should learn from your mother."

  Fan Siyan looked at the pretty face with a slight smile, and for some reason, he felt inexplicably afraid, his body shrinking back, hiding behind Fan Ruoruo, thinking that this guy was too strange, how could he speak so recklessly.

  As they spoke, the horse carriage arrived at a bustling area in Kyoto. It was noon and there were many people on the street. The restaurants on both sides of the road opened their doors to welcome customers, with the sounds of waiters calling out orders and the aroma of food wafting in, enticing Fan Siyan to shout that he wanted to eat.

  Tong Qianjing went to the wine house to book a room, while Fan Siyan and Fan Ruoruo were escorted by several guards to buy rice balls at a street food stall. Fan Xian, however, was squatting under the eaves of the wine house, admiring the intricate carvings on the pillars, which were adorned with gold and colorful paintings that shone exceptionally bright, completely different from what he had seen in books in his past life.

  Two guards stood at some distance from him, watching around quietly.

  At this moment, a middle-aged woman wearing ordinary clothes came over with an infant in her arms, and asked in a low voice: "Want books? They are all unreviewed from eight places."

  The scene made Fan Xian feel very familiar, warm and touching, with a strong sense of home. He raised his head and asked tenderly: "Is it Japanese or Western?"

  ……

  ……

  (Three chapters a day, hey, don't say it, but it really lives up to the word "cumbersome", let's not talk about anything else, I'm writing seriously, please collect and vote more.)