Chapter 7: The lives of people in chaos

time flies.

For five days in a row, Fan Xian and Fan Sizhe went out early and came back late every day, enjoying themselves so much in Zuixianju that they seemed to have forgotten all the troubles in the world.

Li Chengyun even treated Zuixianju as his own home. He enjoyed Si Lili's careful care every day, with her around him, feeling very comfortable.

The developments in Zuixianju spread quickly throughout Kyoto through various informants like catkins blown by the wind.

In the East Palace.

The prince already knew all this.

From the moment Fan Xian and Fan Sizhe stepped into Zuixianju to the moment they reluctantly left, every little movement was recorded in detail in his intelligence.

The prince also knew everything that happened in Zuixianju.

However, what puzzled him was Fan Xian.

After all, it is not surprising that my sixth brother Li Chengyun and Fan Sizhe hang out in brothels all day long. It has always been like this.

Especially Fan Sizhe, who sticks to Li Chengyun like a dog-skin plaster all day long and never leaves his side!

But he knew very little about the mysterious Fan Xian, only some superficial information.

The emperor's intention in marrying Sister Wan'er to Fan Xian was obvious.

The intention was to let Fan Xian take over the management of the inner treasury from his aunt, the eldest princess.

This made the prince worried.

If Fan Xian stood against him and held the power of the inner treasury, then those secret accounts of the past would likely be revealed one by one!

He will then be in great trouble!
Fortunately, the transfer of the inner treasury will take some time, which buys the prince some buffer time.

However, Fan Xian's importance is self-evident, and the Fan family is also a force that cannot be ignored in Kyoto.

In the East Palace, the prince's staff had different attitudes towards Fan Xian and the Fan family.

Some people advocate suppressing the Fan family.

It is believed that the Fan family is on good terms with Prince Jing, and Prince Jing's son Li Hongcheng is also very close to the Second Prince. If this is not curbed, there may be trouble in the future.

Others believe that the Fan family is neutral and only loyal to His Majesty.

Moreover, Your Majesty has great trust in Si Nanbo, and the old grandmother of the Fan family is Your Majesty's wet nurse, and Fan Xian will take over the inner treasury.

Therefore, making friends with the Fan family is the best strategy.

Although the prince did not clearly express which side he supported, he already had his own plans in mind.

He was deeply uneasy about Fan Xian replacing his aunt the eldest princess, and was also wary of Prince Jing, who was on good terms with his second brother.

Therefore, he was more inclined to put pressure on Fan Xian, but was unwilling to easily touch the bottom line of Si Nanbo and the Fan family.

After all, Fan Xian was just Si Nanbo's illegitimate son, and perhaps he had not received enough attention in the family.

However, the prince was uneasy about Fan Xian's friendship with Li Chengyun.

Now Fan Xian is about to marry Lin Ruofu's daughter and take charge of the inner treasury.

Li Chengyun had a close friendship with Fan Sizhe and was going to marry Si Nanbo's daughter.

If these two marriages were completed, it would undoubtedly bring enormous pressure to the prince.

After thinking about it, he had made a decision.

Emperor Qing's dislike for Li Chengyun has been fully revealed, and this time he is using him as a pawn again.

Then the prince can also take this opportunity to severely suppress Li Chengyun and Fan Xian.

……

Li Chengze learned the news quickly. He chuckled and shook his head:

"Fan Xian, Sixth Brother, this is really interesting."

Li Chengze looked at the information about Fan Xian lingering in the brothel, but his heart was full of doubts.

According to what he learned from the informant, Fan Xian had never been to a brothel when he was in Danzhou, and there was no rumor that he was obsessed with women.

Now that he has arrived in Kyoto, he has been staying in Zuixianju all day. There must be something fishy going on! Li Chengze concluded that Fan Xian was acting!

Since Fan Xian is in disguise, then the other person - Li Chengyun, becomes particularly suspicious!
Li Chengyun only met Fan Xian once and then kept him in Zuixianju.

It is not difficult to imagine what happened during this period.

Li Chengze was shocked: "It seems that Sixth Brother is going to form an alliance with the Fan family!"

There was a hint of coldness in his eyes, but a sneer hung on the corner of his mouth:
"Li Chengyun, do you want to protect yourself, or do you want to go further?"

However, he did not take Li Chengyun seriously in his heart, thinking that his power was weak.

Even if the Fan family is included, they are still no match for him and the prince!
Li Chengze wanted to compete with the crown prince, so naturally he did not want to see the crown prince's third brother monopolize the power of the inner treasury.

Therefore, the delicate relationship between Fan Xian and Li Chengyun becomes crucial.

If Fan Xian could successfully take charge of the inner treasury, Li Chengyun would have a chance of survival and at least be able to create some trouble for the prince.

When Li Chengze thought of this, his eyes suddenly became stern, and he suddenly realized:

"I understand now. Father really wants to make my sixth brother a grindstone!"

He sorted out the whole thing carefully, and Emperor Qing's intentions were already clear.

This idea was just a guess before, but now Li Chengze is completely sure of it.

Emperor Qing also did not want to see the Crown Prince and the Princess join forces, and even more so did not want them to hold power over the inner treasury.

Therefore, he took advantage of Li Chengyun's previous mistake and granted the marriage contract.

Tie Li Chengyun tightly to the Fan family, especially Fan Xian, to create a confrontation between them and the prince!
Just like he and his cousin Li Hongcheng were tied together in the past, all for the purpose of training the prince.

"Haha! It doesn't hurt to have more whetstones. It can give my third brother, the prince, more time to sharpen his knife!" Li Chengze laughed happily.

He reviewed the information about Li Chengyun again, and curled his lips slightly:

"Sixth brother is indeed extremely smart. He has understood father's intentions."

"Alas! It's a pity that he underestimated the foresight of his father. No matter how much he compromises, his father will not let go of his value."

……

Deep inside the palace.

Emperor Qing flipped through Li Chengyun's recent intelligence with an expressionless face.

He placed the information on the table, his eyes already gloomy.

"This good-for-nothing! I have granted him marriage, but he still hangs out in brothels every day. What's even more abominable is that he even brings Fan Xian with him to indulge in women. He is simply a hopeless case!"

Emperor Qing slammed the table in anger, and the sound shook everyone in the hall. They held their breath and dared not make a sound.

After cursing for a few times, Emperor Qing seemed to have calmed down a little and ordered Eunuch Hou:

"Go and bring this rebellious son back to us. Don't let him ruin the royal family's reputation in the brothel again!"

"Also, tell him that he must attend the morning court tomorrow!"

Eunuch Hou took the order and left. When he walked out of the palace, he looked back with a complicated expression.

He no longer knew whether Emperor Qing was truly angry or just pretending to be angry.

"Forget it, forget it. Everything in this world is so confusing!"

He sighed lightly and led his men to Zuixianju.

……

After half a cup of tea.

Li Chengyun looked indifferent, like a free and easy cloud and wild crane, and walked slowly out of Zuixianju.

He already knew that Emperor Qing had sent Eunuch Hou to convey the order and summon him back to the palace.

Although this happened earlier than he expected, Li Chengyun was not too surprised. Coming home early or late made no difference to him.

Anyway, he already had a plan for what would happen next.

(End of this chapter)