Chen Yan's heart was alert when he heard this, and his tone was more serious than ever before: "You are possessed by a demon."
Fang Shan's lips moved, but before she could utter a word, she heard him coldly reject her. "There's absolutely no way I'd place a woman I don't know by the side of the Crown Prince."
"I know you inside and out," Fang Shan said with the same playful smile, but this time, he pointed at himself.
Chen Yan laughed in anger: "Doctor Zhang, could it be that he wants to take on the battle himself?"
Fang Shan's eyes rolled, and his smile was more malicious than cunning: "General, wait here for me."
While Chen Yan was frowning, Fang Shan had already walked out of the alley and into a clothing shop across the street. Chen Yan had been waiting for a long time, worried that the person had escaped. He was about to go in and check it out himself when he saw a delicate little girl approaching.
Amidst the mottled walls, a girl walked alone into the dark alley with her back to the light. This scene was undoubtedly out of place.
As he got closer, Chen Yan finally saw the other person's appearance clearly.
At first glance, she resembled a willow tree, frail and pitiful, yet she was definitely more than that. Her skin was exceedingly fair, and her lips, most captivatingly, were slightly tilted, as if poised to smile at any moment. Her slender figure exuded a morbid beauty.
Chen Yan was slightly startled: "This girl..."
The girl spoke softly, "What do you think, General?"
The voices were completely different. Chen Yan tried to find the similarities between her and Fang Shan, but even their outlines were obscured by their loose black hair, and he couldn't make out any clues.
Fang Shan saw Chen Yan's pupils dilate slightly, and said with a smile: "This is not a disguise, it's just makeup."
Chen Yan's understanding of makeup was limited to women putting on makeup on their faces, and he never thought it could have such great effects.
Fang Shan saw through his plan and said, "It's a trivial trick, but it can be very useful in a military camp. It can even save lives in times of emergency."
Chen Yan: "What do you want me to give you in exchange?"
Fang Shan: "It's still the same request as before. I just want an identity."
Chen Yan kept silent, only his frown proved that he was thinking.
"Only mediocre people would bother themselves." Fang Shan said, "If I really had ill intentions, I wouldn't have to tell the general my identity. Besides, I had other plans from the beginning."
Chen Yan grasped the key point: "What's your plan?"
Fang Shan: "The Liu family has basically already considered the Crown Princess as theirs." He sneered at this point, as if mocking the other party's confidence. "For me, it wouldn't be difficult to make Liu Wenjing suffer any problems and unable to attend the flower viewing banquet. If the Liu family doesn't want to lose the Crown Princess, they have to find another way."
Chen Yan had a vague idea: "The Minister of Revenue attaches great importance to etiquette, and it is impossible for him to send a concubine's daughter to the banquet."
Fang Shan smiled and said, "Then I'll just have to do some tricks and hint at them, so they can fabricate a story about a legitimate daughter who has been recuperating from illness away from home since childhood."
Chen Yan: "This is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor."
"Wealth and honor are sought in danger. I understand this principle, and so does Minister Liu."
Chen Yan didn't ask Fang Shan how he was going to convince Minister Liu to send him to the palace. He figured there was always a way. What really intrigued him was something else: "Since you already have a plan, why change it?"
Fang Shan: "I've changed my mind temporarily. The general is a person who wants to get to the bottom of everything. It's not easy to do something without your knowledge. It's better to use your strength to your advantage."
Chen Yan frowned and looked up to see Fang Shan staring at him, his eyes full of calculation.
After weighing the pros and cons, he replied, "I can give you my identity, but even if you can deceive others, you may not be able to hide it from Your Majesty."
Fang Shan: "I've already prepared the words for the general. All you have to do is reply accordingly."
The time it takes to spread a piece of news can be long or short. If the protagonist of the news has a large number of troops, it will cause a sensation in the city in just one day.
Soon, almost everyone in the imperial city knew that General Chen had brought back a younger sister. Due to poor health in her early years, this younger sister was fostered in Shuiyue Temple. Now that she has recovered, she was brought back.
Emperor Chengyuan also heard the news and initially thought it was a rumor. It was not until the storm grew bigger that he summoned Chen Yan into the palace.
The bunch of questions he had prepared disappeared immediately when he saw Fang Shan following behind Chen Yan, and his first question was: "Why you again?"
Fang Shan: "I happened to be treating the general when I suddenly withdrew the needle. I was worried about other side effects, so I followed him all the way."
Emperor Chengyuan frowned and said to Chen Yan, "I can wait for a while."
Chen Yan responded with a cold face, but fortunately Emperor Chengyuan was used to his sullen attitude and did not take it to heart.
After sighing, he asked the main question: "How come I didn't know you had a sister?"
Chen Yan expressionlessly repeated Fang Shan's words, "My sister has been weak since childhood. When my parents were still alive, we sought medical help from many doctors, but to no avail. I heard that keeping her in a temple can protect her from evil spirits..."
At this point, he shook his head and returned to his previous words: "I sought medical advice from many sources but to no avail. One day, a wandering Taoist priest passed by my door..."
Fang Shan, listening nearby, broke out in a cold sweat. It would have been fine if he'd just been reciting, but he'd actually forgotten the words and had to turn back halfway through. He stole a glance at Emperor Chengyuan's face, which was already livid.
Chen Yan is a very rigorous person. Even under such circumstances, he still insisted on memorizing the entire text.
Emperor Chengyuan took a deep breath and reminded himself that the war on the border had not yet been resolved and that Chen Yan must not be in any danger at this critical juncture. He also kept reminding himself to be grateful for the Chen family's generations of kindness, so he didn't kick him out on the spot.
After reading the last word, Chen Yanwan Fangshan took a step forward and saw the expression on Emperor Chengyuan's face.
Emperor Chengyuan pressed his hand firmly between his eyebrows. Fang Shan had seen the same action many times before with Wei Sushen, and he guessed that Emperor Chengyuan's patience was nearing its limit. He didn't know if Chen Yan was lucky or had a good sense of timing, but he stopped just on the edge of the line.
"Tell the truth." Emperor Chengyuan asked in a deep voice before his patience was about to collapse.
Chen Yan: "I suspect that thieves from Yuexiu have infiltrated the Imperial City. I'm worried that they might take advantage of the ministers' daughters to target the Crown Prince."
Emperor Chengyuan's expression turned grim: "Is the news true?"
"It's just a suspicion," Chen Yan said, "but Yuexiu's ambitions are obvious, so we must be on guard."
While Emperor Chengyuan was lost in thought, Fang Shan carefully observed Chen Yan and suddenly realized something he had overlooked.
In this world, people who seem taciturn are the most deceptive when it comes to telling lies.
Even a suspicious emperor didn't become suspicious after hearing this. Instead, he said, "Just cancel the flower viewing banquet."
Chen Yan: "The spies disappeared after entering the city. If one plan fails, we'll just have to come up with another one."
Emperor Chengyuan: "Ling the snake out of its hole?"
Chen Yan didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment and said, "Canceling the flower viewing banquet might alert the enemy."
Emperor Chengyuan: "Forget it, I will follow your instructions first."
When Fang Shan and Chen Yan left the hall, they couldn't help but click their tongues and looked at him with unexpected eyes.
Chen Yan: "It is true that there are spies from Yuexiu who have infiltrated the city. As for the attempt to control the minister's daughter, it is just a random guess."
Fang Shan: "This speculation is unlikely to come true."
To put it bluntly, Emperor Chengyuan was in his prime, and it was not easy for him to have a son. If Yuexiu took action against the prince, it would only bring about a catastrophe.
Chen Yan's expression remained unchanged: "If Your Majesty thinks it's a hidden concern, then it is a hidden concern."
After a pause, he continued, "I can give you the identity you want, but there's one thing: if there's no equivalent reward in the future..."
Fang Shan interrupted him with a smile: "General, don't worry. Within three years, I guarantee that Yuexiu will truly submit to you."
After hearing his promise, Chen Yan felt uneasy. This uneasiness did not come from the worry that the other party exaggerated his medical skills too much and actually had no way to deal with the witch doctor, but from the identity he asked for.
Fang Shan seemed not to notice this hidden worry, or perhaps he saw it clearly but ignored it, and began to discuss what clothes he should wear to the flower viewing banquet.
Chen Yan's eyes twitched when he heard this, and he emphasized again and again: "You must not let His Majesty see your identity."
Fang Shan: "No one will notice."
Chen Yan thought about his women's clothing that day, which was indeed very clever.
The two didn't say anything more. Fang Shan only said that she would leave the palace to find him the day before the flower viewing banquet and enter the palace as Chen Yan's sister.
Chen Yan sneered, "You're not afraid of the Imperial Hospital becoming suspicious after disappearing for a few days?"
Fang Shan: "I'm always with the Crown Prince, or I'm out of the palace treating you. They would find it strange if I suddenly came back."
Chen Yan looked at him with a complicated expression: "So you had planned this all along."
Fang Shan said "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you" and turned to walk towards the East Palace.
The palace maids and eunuchs coming and going were no longer surprised to see Fang Shan. The windows in the palace were facing south. Fang Shan walked along and happened to see Wei Sushen standing by the window to get some fresh air.
Following his gaze, the birds singing in the tree stopped temporarily and flew away soon.
Fang Shan walked over and asked: "What's so good about sparrows?"
Wei Sushen: "A few days ago, a cicada often climbed on this tree."
Fang Shan raised an eyebrow: "Don't you think it's noisy?"
Wei Sushen: "It was very quiet and barely barked, so I thought it was strange."
Fang Shan concealed the strange look in his eyes and talked about Chen Yan.
Wei Sushen suddenly interrupted: "Do you have other intentions?"
Fang Shan expressed just the right amount of doubt.
Wei Sushen turned around and said to the table, "With Shanshan here, resolving the hidden disease will only take a day or two."
Fang Shan used the excuse he had prepared long ago: "I didn't mean to delay time intentionally. I just wanted to leave the palace more conveniently."
It was very convincing, so Wei Sushen believed it for the time being. After all, with Fang Shan's lively personality, it was unrealistic for him to stay in the palace for a long time.
The night before the flower viewing banquet, Fang Shan left the palace and came to Chen Yan's house. He did not leave empty-handed. He had a big bag stuffed with rouge and powder.
The scent of powder could be smelled from a distance. Chen Yan turned his head away in disgust, feeling that he had overlooked a crucial point.
"Red is bold, green is demure," Fang Shan said, comparing two skirts. "Which one do you think is better, General?"
At that moment, Chen Yan suddenly thought of something and asked in a deep voice, "Does the prince know that you are doing this?"
Fang Shan's fingers holding the clothes froze for a moment, then he smiled and said, "He doesn't need to know."
“…”
The author has something to say: Fang Shan: Give silently without asking for anything in return.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
