"Lin Gong is not dead yet, he is in my hands!"

Fan Xian's words were like a huge rock, smashing heavily into Lin Ruofu's heart which had just calmed down.

His pupils suddenly shrank, and his hands on the desk clenched into fists, staring at the handsome young man opposite the desk.

After a long while, he finally digested the information revealed by Fan Xian and said slowly, "You didn't lie to me?"

Fan Xian said seriously, "It is absolutely true."

Lin Ruofu asked expressionlessly: "Where is Gong'er now?"

Fan Xian said calmly, "He was in the Fan Mansion. My people just knocked him unconscious. His life is not in danger."

Lin Ruofu asked coldly: "Did you use torture to extract a confession?"

Fan Xian asked curiously, "The Second Young Master doesn't have the information I want, so why should I torture him?"

Lin Ruofu stared at Fan Xian for a while, then suddenly raised the corner of his mouth and shook his head with emotion.

"What a young man!"

"It's really a hidden talent!"

Fan Xian smiled and bowed: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, thank you for your compliment!"

Lin Ruofu glanced at him and said, "Now that we have laid bare our cards, don't be so modest. Since you have chosen to speak out this matter, you must be planning to return Gong'er to me, right?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "That depends on the Prime Minister's attitude."

Lin Ruofu shook his head and said, "I don't mind, but aren't you afraid that Gong'er will bear a grudge against you?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "With you here, I have nothing to fear."

Lin Ruofu raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "For the future of the Prime Minister's Mansion, will you convince the Second Young Master for me?"

Lin Ruofu looked at him deeply, and suddenly changed the subject: "How come Gong'er is in your hands?"

Fan Xian sighed and said, "This is a long story. After Si Lili was escorted back to the capital by the Supervisory Council, I went to the Heavenly Prison to interrogate her and got Wu Bo'an's name from her. Then, I sent people to track down Wu Bo'an and found the manor outside the capital."

"I wanted to take a long-term view, but a few of my friends who are skilled in martial arts couldn't bear this. They went to the manor without telling me, knocked the second young master unconscious, brought him back, and handed him over to me for disposal."

"Coincidentally, not long after they left, a meteorite fell from the sky and razed the manor to the ground."

"Fortunately, my friends ran fast, otherwise, I'm afraid they would have died together with the Second Young Master..."

At this point, Fan Xian showed a look of regret, as if he was really surprised by this.

Lin Ruofu stared at Fan Xian's eyes for a long time, and suddenly said, "So, you saved Gong'er, and I have to thank you?"

Fan Xian quickly said, "No, forget about the thank you. Just don't blame me."

"...What about Wu Boan?"

"Dead."

"The guards around Gong'er are also dead, right?"

"I don't know about that, but judging from your appearance, they probably didn't survive the meteorite disaster."

Looking at Fan Xian's sincere face, Lin Ruofu gently raised his hand and stroked his beard a few times.

The atmosphere in the study fell into silence.

After a moment, Lin Ruofu said slowly: "Return Gong'er to me, and let this matter rest. I will not let him cause you any more trouble, and your marriage with Wan'er will not be disturbed again."

Fan Xian smiled and bowed, saying, "Then I will not cause any more trouble to the Second Young Master. Our two families can reconcile and live in harmony. If there is anything, we can sit down and talk like we are doing now. Isn't that much better than fighting with swords~"

Lin Ruofu looked at Fan Xian deeply, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Good, good, good Fan Xian, Gong'er has no complaints about losing!"

"So the Prime Minister has agreed?"

"I agree." Lin Ruofu waved his sleeves, "Send Gong'er back before tonight. I will not go back on my promises before."

Fan Xian immediately stood up, bowed, and said with a smile, "Then I will take my leave first."

Lin Ruofu waved his hand and said, "Go!"

Fan Xian smiled, turned around and left the study in the prime minister's residence.

…

…

As waves of pain came, Lin Gong woke up slowly, covering his head, and looking blankly at the familiar scenes around him.

"Are you awake?"

A cold voice came from the front, awakening Lin Gong from his daze.

He suddenly came back to his senses and looked at Lin Ruofu behind the desk with surprise.

"Father!"

"I... I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Hearing Lin Gong's usual words, Lin Ruofu showed a smile in his eyes, but his face was still cold. He grabbed the pen holder and threw it over.

Lin Gong was startled and did not dare to dodge. He could only endure the blow and then kneel on the ground to pick up the scattered brushes.

Lin Ruofu stood behind the desk with his hands behind his back, looking at his son and said calmly: "Do you know why I hit you?"

Lin Gong held the pen holder and lowered his head: "I know, because Mr. Wu and I went against your wishes and planned privately..."

"You still call him Mr. Wu!" Lin Ruofu was so angry that he picked up the ink stick and threw it at him, saying coldly, "Rebellious son, tell me in detail what happened before you fell into a coma."

"Yes... yes, father."

Lin Gong had always respected and admired his father, so he was naturally frightened by Lin Ruofu's blow. He quickly interrupted his previous conversation and began to talk about what happened before he fell into a coma.

In his telling, the first half of the story was exactly the same as Lin Ruofu's guess.

It was not until Yamu and Wuzhu appeared that a gleam of brilliance appeared in Lin Ruofu's eyes.

"...the two were highly skilled in martial arts. All the guards around me were no match for them. They killed their way through the manor's defenses and attacked Wu Xian and me... Wu Bo'an from the front."

"Then what?"

"Then my son was knocked unconscious."

Lin Ruofu nodded slightly: "Well, it is exactly the same as what Fan Xian said."

Hearing his father's murmurs, Lin Gong was stunned.

"Dad, what did you say, Fan Xian?!"

"Humph!" Lin Ruofu snorted coldly, glancing at Lin Gong and said, "Do you know who sent you back?"

"…Is it Fan Xian?!"

"Not too stupid."

Lin Ruofu glanced at him calmly, then walked out from behind the desk, came to the window, looked towards the southeast and said calmly, "Fan Xian asked Si Lili about Wu Bo'an's name, and then a master went to your manor to kill Wu Bo'an, and knocked you out and brought you back."

"...those two people. Were they ordered by Fan Xian?"

Lin Gong said with a look of disbelief on his face.

Lin Ruofu stood in front of the window, glanced at him and said, "This is not the key point. The key point is that after you were knocked unconscious and taken away, a meteorite fell from the sky and completely destroyed the manor under your name."

Hearing this, Lin Gong couldn't help but stand there in a daze.

"…Father, what are you talking about?"

"You don't believe it?" Lin Ruofu turned around and sneered, "I didn't believe it at first, so I asked your uncle Yuan to take a look."

As he spoke, Lin Ruofu took out a scroll from his sleeve and threw it to Lin Gong.

"This is the scroll drawn by your uncle Yuan. Take a look for yourself!"

“…”

Lin Gong quickly picked it up, spread it out and took a look, a look of shock appeared on his face.

Lin Ruofu turned around again, looked at the scenery outside the window and said quietly, "Fan Xian sent people to rush into your manor, knock you out and take you away. This was an unreasonable and reckless act. If there were traces left and the Supervisory Council discovered it, I could even bite back and make Fan Xian be severely punished by His Majesty."

At this point, Lin Ruofu sighed softly, looked up at the sky with awe, and said with emotion: "But who would have thought that just a meteorite would turn all of this into dust? If Fan Xian hadn't come to talk to me in person, I would still be kept in the dark and would never have thought that you would be in Fan Xian's hands."

Having said that, Lin Ruofu turned around again and looked into Lin Gong's eyes steadily.

"Do you know what this means?"

"What?"

Lin Gong asked subconsciously.

Lin Ruofu sighed softly: "It's destiny!"

Lin Gong was stunned and asked: "Destiny?"

Lin Ruofu sighed, "Yes, in this world, if you want to accomplish great things, power, family background, money, and means are all extremely important, but there is one thing that can destroy everything in front of it, and that is destiny!"

"Gong'er, you were born too late, and you have never seen His Majesty's appearance when he was a hidden dragon."

"At that time, Your Majesty was only the Crown Prince of Cheng, and Cheng Wang was cowardly by nature. The power of Cheng Wang's Palace was the weakest among all the princes."

"Therefore, even though Your Majesty is talented and ambitious, in the chaotic situation when the emperor passed away without leaving a will, you could only reluctantly leave the capital with the late emperor to save your own life."

"In this case, guess how Your Majesty turned the situation around?"

Lin Gong's admiration for Emperor Qing was no less than that of his father, the Prime Minister, and he said without hesitation, "Your Majesty must be a man of great talent and strategy, retreating to advance, secretly accumulating strength, and slowly planning!"

"Oh!"

Lin Ruofu couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head at Lin Gong's puzzled look.

"If it weren't for this incident, I would definitely tell you so."

"But now, I want to tell you the truth - Your Majesty was able to ascend the throne only because of good luck!"

"...Lucky?" Lin Gong said in disbelief, "How is this possible?"

"Don't you believe it?"

Lin Ruofu glanced at him and said calmly: "Then let me tell you!"

"That night, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and two deafening thunderclaps were heard in Kyoto. After the thunderclaps, the two princes who had the greatest hope of winning the throne both died. Their deaths were so tragic that they could only be described as a punishment from heaven."

"There were only three princes in the court at that time. After two of them died, there was no need to fight anymore."

"So, the cowardly late emperor was pushed onto the throne without knowing why, and your Majesty was transformed from the previously unappreciated Prince of Cheng to the dignified Crown Prince of Qing."

“…This is what I call destiny!”

Lin Ruofu spoke the truth in a resounding voice.

Lin Gong was stunned and shocked.

Lin Ruofu glanced at him, waved his sleeves and said, "Don't bother Fan Xian again in the future. He has a destiny, and God helps him. Whatever he does will go smoothly. You can't beat him."