After saying this, Fan Xian stood in the hall, staring intently at Fan Jian who was sitting behind the desk, as if to say, "I won't leave unless you tell me."

Fan Jian frowned and looked at Fan Xian. After a moment, he sighed and turned to look behind Fan Xian.

There, Yamu, dressed in a black shirt, was leaning against a wooden pillar with his arms folded across his chest, quietly watching the conversation between father and son.

"Nephew Mu." Fan Jian showed a gentle smile on his face and said softly, "Xian'er was able to stay safe during the assassination by Northern Qi this time, thanks to your help. I have arranged for the servants to prepare a small gift and carry it to your guest room as a token of my appreciation."

This is to drive him back to see the thank-you gift!

Ya Mu raised his eyebrows and was about to stand up and thank him, but Fan Xian took the lead and said, "No need. Brother Mu and I are friends of noble character. I owe him a favor for this matter. Dad, you should take back those vulgar things you prepared!"

“…”

Fan Jian frowned, his eyes moving back and forth between Fan Xian and Ya Mu.

After a moment, he said calmly: "You? Gentleman?"

Fan Xian's smile froze, and he said unhappily, "I was talking about a friendship between gentlemen, but I didn't say I was a gentleman. Besides, Brother Mu is also a victim of the assassination, so he is just as qualified as me to know the truth."

"So, don't waste your energy. I will never let Brother Mu go out."

Looking at the determined expression on Fan Xian's face, Fan Jian couldn't help but frown.

After a long silence, Fan Jian slowly said, "Do you really want to know?"

Fan Xian nodded without hesitation: "Of course!"

Fan Jian shook his head and said, "Even a ninth-rank master is not invincible."

Fan Xian turned his head and looked at Yamu, with an inexplicable smile on his face.

"I know that, too."

"Then why are you so persistent..."

"It is better to strike with one blow than to provoke a hundred." Fan Xian said seriously, "I am indeed fine this time, but no one can predict what will happen next time. Maybe I will die, or maybe someone around me will die."

"I don't want to see this happen, so..."

Fan Jian interrupted him and asked, "What if I can guarantee that you won't be assassinated again?"

Fan Xian looked at him coldly and said, "Do you think I will believe it?"

“…”

Fan Jian looked at him deeply and said calmly, "You think you have the support of a ninth-rank master, so you dare to talk to me like this, but as I just told you, in Kyoto, a ninth-rank master is not invincible."

Hearing Fan Jian's words, Yamu suddenly said, "Uncle, if you are referring to the guards outside the study, don't worry. Warriors of their level, no matter how many of them there are, are no match for me."

Fan Jian laughed when he heard this: "Young man, don't be so confident."

Yamu also laughed: "If you don't believe me, you can give it a try..."

Fan Xian quickly stopped Yamu and said, "No, I'm afraid that if you demolish the Fan Mansion, it will attract other people's attention!"

Seeing Fan Xian like this, Fan Jian couldn't help but frown.

He is now a little confused. This mysterious master from Danzhou... is he really of the ninth rank?

After thinking for a long time, Fan Jian said, "Okay, I can tell you the secrets of this case, but you have to promise me that if you want to take any action, you must let me know first, so that I can take care of the aftermath for you."

“…Then it’s settled!”

Fan Xian nodded quickly, as if he was afraid that Fan Jian would go back on his word.

Fan Jian said calmly: "You should know that I represent His Majesty and possess a part of the secret power. Although this power is not as strong as the Supervisory Council, it is still quite powerful in Kyoto. Because of this, I was able to see the bodies of Cheng Jushu and the two female assassins."

"...Cheng Jushu and the female assassin?"

Fan Xian reacted quickly, frowned and asked, "Are there only their bodies? Where are the archers?"

Fan Jian shook his head and said, "It has been burned beyond recognition... It is said that after you left Niulan Street, a fireworks shop on the street caught fire, affecting the bodies of the archers at the base of the wall."

"What nonsense!" Fan Xian sneered, "This is clearly an attempt to cover up one's mistake!"

Fan Jian said calmly: "So what, do you have evidence?"

"I control the secret power that belongs only to your majesty, but I still can't find out who is colluding with the Northern Qi people. Do you think you and Nephew Mu can find it out alone?"

Fan Xian frowned and asked, "Do you have any suspects?"

"Too many!" Fan Jian shook his head and said, "The crown prince and the second prince competing for the throne, as well as Prime Minister Lin Ruofu and Princess Li Yunrui, are all on the suspect list. Do you want to check them?"

"Do you have enough authority and evidence to investigate them?"

Fan Jian shook his head: "You didn't. Since you can't figure out who the real enemy is, don't make it too public. This is my advice to you as a father. I hope you can accept it."

“…”

Fan Xian frowned and thought, then suddenly asked, "Where's Si Lili?"

Fan Jian said calmly, "On the way to the north, people from the Supervisory Council have already started chasing us."

Fan Xian asked worriedly, "Can we catch up?"

Fan Jian said calmly: "Don't worry, within the territory of Qing, no one that the Supervisory Council wants to arrest has been able to escape."

Didn’t Uncle Wuzhu run away?

He also intercepted the memorial that the Censorate was handing to the emperor, and no one discovered it, did he?

Fan Xian objected in his heart, but he couldn't say those words out loud.

Fan Jian asked calmly, "Is there anything else? If not, go back to your room!"

Fan Xian calmed himself down and said with a smile, "Yes, I want Brother Mu to move to the yard next to mine."

Fan Jian shook his head and said, "You can arrange this kind of trivial matter yourself, no need to ask me."

"Thank you, father!"

Fan Xian bowed in a pretentious manner.

…

…

The next day, Fan Xian was practicing Qi in his room when he suddenly heard Yamu's voice coming from outside the room.

"Fan Xian, there is a carriage parked outside the palace. Judging from the sign on the carriage, it should be Prince Jing's Palace...looking for you."

"Prince Jing's Mansion... is it Prince Jing's son Li Hongcheng?"

Fan Xian frowned, stopped practicing immediately, and got up from the bed.

The cause of this assassination case was that the Second Prince asked Li Hongcheng to invite him to a banquet, so these two people were also on Fan Xian's suspect list, and their suspicion ranking was quite high.

"The assassination was carried out yesterday, and he is here today..."

"Interesting, I'll go meet him!"

Fan Xian got up and left the bedroom, and came to the flower hall, where Prince Jing was already sitting.

Seeing Fan Xian coming, he immediately stood up and asked with a worried look on his face, "Master Fan, are you okay?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "Of course. I have been practicing martial arts since I was a child in Danzhou. A few assassins cannot hurt me."

Li Hongcheng heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then looked at him in amazement and said, "I never thought that you are not only talented in poetry and prose, but also in martial arts. You are truly a man of both letters and martial arts!"

“…”

Fan Xian pulled the corner of his mouth and asked with a fake smile: "Your Highness, you came here today not just to praise me, right?"

Li Hongcheng seemed not to notice the suspicion and hostility that Fan Xian showed. He turned his face and said seriously, "You know the news today, right? The envoys from Northern Qi refused to admit their mistakes. Those excited students almost smashed the Honglu Temple because of you!"

"……ah?"

Fan Xian really didn't expect something like this to happen, and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

After coming back to his senses, Fan Xian couldn't help but laugh and shook his head.

These young people are really hot-blooded. However, Northern Qi will naturally not admit to such a thing. After all, it is the capital of another country. Sending assassins to assassinate the descendants of important officials in the court, once admitted to this, it will trigger a war between the two countries.

Li Hongcheng continued, "This matter has been brought to the attention of His Majesty. It is said that His Majesty is furious and has decided to expel all the envoys from Northern Qi who remain in Kyoto. I guess the imperial edict has already been issued."

"That's fast enough!"

Fan Xian sneered. The faster the court acted, the more it proved that someone in the court was colluding with Northern Qi.

They are eager to distance themselves from the issue, so they strike hard at the temporary allies they used.

Li Hongcheng smiled and said, "It's better to hurry up. It will help you vent your anger."

As he spoke, Li Hongcheng showed a look of self-blame on his face and said, "This matter is indeed my fault. No one would have thought that Si Lili, the courtesan of Zuixianju, was actually a spy from Northern Qi... I came here today to first apologize to you on behalf of the Second Prince."

"He originally planned to come to visit you in person, but you know how muddy the waters in Kyoto are right now because of this incident. Many people are still speculating that the Second Prince and I were the masterminds behind your murder, so it is not convenient for him to come rashly."

At this point, Li Hongcheng discovered that the smile on Fan Xian's face became quite playful.

He said in a sullen voice, "You look at me in such an inscrutable way, do you really think you asked us to do it?"

Fan Xian shook his head: "Your Highness, you are overthinking. I don't think so."

Li Hongcheng smiled and said, "That's good. I was afraid that you believed the rumors outside and really thought that the Second Prince arranged this assassination in order to frame the Crown Prince. Such rumors are ridiculous to think about."

"Your father is His Majesty's confidant and an important official in the court. The Second Prince and I are not fools. How could we offend the Fan family just to frame His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Fan Xian nodded and said, "I think so too."

…

At the gate of Fan Mansion, Fan Xian watched Li Hongcheng's carriage leave.

"Brother Mu, what do you think?"

Yamu raised an eyebrow: "What do you think, did he lie?"

Fan Xian turned his head to look at Yamu and said softly, "Li Hongcheng is of course not lying. I understand medicine and martial arts. I can see the changes in his pupils, heartbeat and breathing at such a close distance."

"What I want to ask is, should we continue investigating..."

Yamu frowned and said, "Why don't you check? You have to find out who attacked you, right?"

Fan Xian sighed and said in a gloomy tone: "He must be a member of the royal family..."

Yamu asked in surprise: "Have you thought it through?"

Fan Xian shook his head: "I haven't thought it through completely yet, but I'm roughly sure that he is a member of the royal family."

Yamu said calmly: "Then continue to investigate..."

Fan Xian smiled bitterly and said, "But if we really find out that it was done by the royal family, it seems to be useless. After all, I have no losses. The other party's biggest crime is collusion with Northern Qi. Besides, the final punishment for the royal family is up to the emperor."

Yamu said calmly, "Are you afraid that the emperor will take him lightly, allowing that person to escape with his life, and causing you to completely offend this mortal enemy?"

Fan Xian sighed and said, "Yes, I've been thinking about it all night, and I think it's better not to expose it for the time being."

"Then you are wrong." Yamu shook his head and said calmly, "Is it possible that he has offended you?"