Chapter Eleven: The Crown Prince of Jing

  Everyone in the building had already stared blankly, unable to speak. They had seen fights before, but they had never seen a dignified young master from a large family personally take action on the scene. Even if someone was lucky enough to have seen such a rare scene, it's estimated that no one had ever seen such a fair and upright play with two against one.

  Even Teng Zijing felt a bit depressed. Although he was much weaker than the famous master of the Guo family, being treated like this by Young Master Teng made him lose face as well.

  Suddenly, he felt a stir in his heart and thought of the scene that had seemed ridiculous earlier - Young Master was actually able to see through such a complex situation, and... That one punch had seemed reckless, but in reality, its power and angle were accurate to a terrifying degree. He looked at Fan Xian again, and this time there was a hint of reverence and astonishment in his gaze.

  Under the gaze of the crowd, Fan's group was about to go downstairs when a luxurious room on the corner of the building was pushed open and several people walked out. It seemed that they had heard the commotion outside and came out to see what was happening. Among them, one person with an air of nobility and dressed in finery caught sight of Fan Ruo Ruo and his eyes lit up as he approached her, bowing and saying: "Sister Ruo Ruo rarely leaves the mansion, it's a rare sight."

  The newcomer has a handsome face, thick eyebrows and clear eyes, a straight nose and thin lips, looking like a talented person.

  Fan Ruo was slightly startled and saluted, saying: "The young master is also here." He then hastily introduced Fan Xian to the other party. Fan Xian had not expected that this person would be the son of the Jingguo Duke's family, with whom his own family had a good relationship. They exchanged a few pleasantries.

  The King of Jing and the Fan family had always been on good terms, so they were quite familiar with each other's families. As soon as Fan Ruoruo introduced him, the Crown Prince of Jing immediately guessed Fan Xian's identity and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

  He saw that Fan Xian's conversation was neither arrogant nor humble, and deep down he had an inexplicable self-confidence. The smile on his face was warm and friendly, making him feel very comfortable.

  At this moment, Guo Baokun, who was also in the palace, came over to pay his respects to the prince. Some idle people also told the prince about the previous small conflict between the two families of Guo and Fan. The prince listened with great interest and asked Fan Xian: "Brother, it seems you have some opinions about scholars."

  "Everyone can read books, everyone is a reader." Fan Xian bowed to the prince and replied.

  In his mind, there was no concept of class division in this era, nor did he think that reading some eight stocks would make him a transcendent person beyond the mundane flow: "I also read books, how dare I have opinions on book readers...... It's just......"

  He smiled and continued: "I just have an opinion about so-called geniuses."

  As soon as this was said, the crowd in the building all showed curious expressions, wanting to see what new and interesting words this young master of the Black Fist would have. Even the prince's son was extremely interested and asked: "Brother, why do you look down on so-called geniuses?"

  The prince was still polite, but since Fan Xian had not formally acknowledged his ancestry, he could only be called "brother" in this situation and did not mention anything else, at least not his surname.

  Fan Xian understood the rules of this society and wasn't angry at all, smiling as he explained: "The reason I have opinions about these so-called 'talented scholars' is that I think the current trend is quite wrong. It seems like nowadays, if someone just goes to the brothels often enough, they become a talented scholar. The flavor of such 'talented scholars' is probably too much perfume and not enough book learning, which doesn't benefit the country at all. Instead, it's those women who reap the benefits."

  Although these words are somewhat sarcastic, they are not particularly vicious, and instead seem rather playful.

  The young master of the Fan family laughed, and the people in the wine house also laughed. This matter was considered settled. After all, in other people's eyes, this unknown young master Fan seemed to have some friendship with the prince, while Guo Baokun's side didn't seem to be a match for Fan Xian in a fight or an argument, so they could only reluctantly give up.

  The Prince of Jing invited Fan Xian to enter the palace for a drink, but Fan Xian made an excuse and returned to his residence, politely declining. He had already agreed to meet again on their journey in two days' time, so the group from the Fan household left the wine tower.

  Just as he was about to get on the horse carriage after leaving the wine house, that scholar named He Zongwei hurried down and looked into Fan Xian's eyes, saying thank you very sincerely.

  "What's the thanks for?" Fan Xian asked with a smile.

  He Zongwei smiled and replied, "I used to think that I despised the powerful and was proud of it. But today, you pointed out with just one sentence, and I realized that I only liked this feeling, but deep down, I couldn't escape those common clichés."

  Fan Xian slightly furrowed his brow, feeling that this person's change in demeanor was a bit too quick.

  Although he didn't like this seemingly straightforward bookworm, after all, the reason for the conflict was actually that the other person was taking offense on behalf of this "Dream of Red Mansions" author. So, smiling and opening up, he said: "In every person's body, there is a timid part, it's just that sometimes certain things are needed to force this part out, this is what is called 'the small under the Confucian robe'. Today I was also reckless, I hope brother won't mind."

  "What's under the Confucian robe?" He Zongwei seemed to be thinking, then came back to his senses and bowed deeply to Fan Ruoruo beside Fan Xian before turning around and going upstairs without looking back.

  Fan Xian glanced at the black-faced book's face, which seemed to be slightly red, and only then did he realize what was going on. He looked at his sister with a smirk, but Fan Ruoruo's expression remained calm and unruffled, as if the black-faced book had never come before.

  He knew that He Zongwei was just a one-sided love, and Fan Xian didn't have much sympathy for him. In his plans, the future husband of his own sister would not necessarily be a noble or an official, but he must be someone his sister liked.

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  After Fan Xian left, Guo Baokun and He Zongwei's table of literati lost face and also left the building. The third floor of Yishizhai gradually returned to calmness, but the guests at each table were still discussing the young master from the Fan family earlier, saying that they had never heard that the Shi Nanbo family had such a person, and guessing whether he was Miss Fan's cousin or something.

  The Crown Prince naturally knew Fan Xian's identity, but it was also impossible for him to discuss it with the idle people outside. He poured himself a cup of wine and slowly drank it, sighing softly: "It is said that the Crown Prince likes literature and often associates with refined scholars, but now it seems that among the people he associates with, there isn't even one decent talent."

  An aide-in-camp pondered for a moment and said, "That He Zongwei is a student of Zeng Wenxiang. Next year's imperial examination will definitely be passed, I don't know how this person will do."

  The Crown Prince Jing shook his head: "This He Zongwei has talent, but his nature is...". He had actually heard the conversation outside from the side room earlier and now thought of that sentence about temperament, chuckling: "Indeed, his temperament is somewhat lacking."

  The staff on the side also smiled and said: "That Mr. Fan's private son who has been hidden for more than a decade is really interesting."

  The Crown Prince Jing patted the fan in his hand, just about to praise him, when he suddenly thought of Fan Xian's sarcastic words earlier. He quickly put the fan back on the table and laughed: "That Guo Baokun relies on his father's power at home and is also close to the prince, so he doesn't take the Fan family seriously. Such a mediocre person can actually live until now, it's really not easy."