Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Old fox, young fox. Old Wheelchair, new wheelchair.
Chen Garden had concubines, but they didn’t dare come near. Laughter gradually rose and then fell again.
With great tacit understanding, the young and old stopped their laughter at the same time and resumed the silence. Fan Xian nudged his wheelchair forward, placing his knee near the old man’s knee. This position appeared to be very intimate.
Chen Pingping pointed at him and then gently patted the handle of his own wheelchair, making a hollow echoing sound. He asked,
Have you gotten used to sitting in a wheelchair?
There’s nothing to get used to. I’m covered with injuries everywhere. I can hardly ride a horse over to see you,
Fan Xian said self-mockingly. After a pause he said,
Besides, it’s not my first time in a wheelchair. A year or so ago, I was stabbed by someone in the Hanging Temple. Afterward, was I not in a wheelchair for a month? The getting-used-to has already become natural.
Although his words were gentle, there was a sharpness within. Chen Pingping gentled coughed. He knew that the young man in front of him was telling him that he already understood some things.
The Hanging Temple was truly an impossible situation. However, Chen Pingping was a person who stood both inside and outside the situation. He had sent the Shadow to the Temple, however, the wound Fan Xian sustained was an accident, but it truly almost cost him his life.
As for the killing in the valley a few days ago, Fan Xian almost didn’t come back again.
The so-called getting-used-to becoming natural was clearly Fan Xian very forcefully telling Chen Pingping that he shouldn’t make a habit out of such things and to not always use his life as a joke, for it absolutely not to become a natural matter.
Chen Pingping slightly tilted his head as if he didn’t know how to explain. He furrowed his brows, raised his hand, and pointed at Fan Xian’s back.
Fan Xian shook his head.
I won’t die…however, you know why I am here today, so please let us be more direct.
You speak first, I’ll listen,
Chen Pingping said with a smile and smoothed the slight wrinkles on the lamb wool blanket on his knee. He made all the ripple-like wrinkles on the surface gradually disappear.
Looking at the old cripple’s slightly lowered head, his deep wrinkles, and slightly yellowing complexion, Fan Xian was silent for a while and then said,
I’ve been in a wheelchair twice. The first time was because of the assassination at the Hanging Temple, however, I obtained the Emperor’s absolute trust so there was some benefit and I can accept it. Why am I in a wheelchair this time? I very much like this feeling of everything being controlled by you. Furthermore, you know me well. I am terrified of death, so I want you to know, in the future, please do not try to do these things. I really will go crazy. I almost went crazy this time.
Fan Xian extended two fingers and stared into Chen Pingping’s eyes. Enunciating each word, he said,
It’s happened twice already. I hope there will not be a third time.
The cold winter air beneath the stone steps in Chen Garden was quiet for a long time.
The incident at the Hanging Temple was an accident, you know this,
Chen Pingping said faintly.
As for the killing this time in the valley, it really has nothing to do with me…I’m not an idiot. Only a plan that can be controlled is called a plan. At that time, in the valley, even the city-guarding crossbows had been moved out. You could have died at any moment. If you had truly died, even if this incident did bring benefits…you wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. That isn’t called a plan, that’s called being stupid.
Chen Pingping’s voice carried a glimmer of ridicule.
Do you think I am a stupid person?
Fan Xian gazed back into his eyes and said with the same ridiculing tone,
Of course, you aren’t stupid. I am just afraid that sometimes you are overly clever and have too much confidence in me.
Chen Pingping’s old and dry hands on the lamb wool blanket moved slightly. He immediately smiled slightly and said,
Isn’t it good that I have confidence in you? I must be one of the few people in the world who knows your capabilities the best. You’ve always been good at acting. You’ve only fought in front of others a number of times after entering the ninth-level. You’ve only fought once face to face with the Shadow. Everyone knows that you are an ace, but they don’t know just how good you are. They particularly don’t know the secrets you are hiding…however, I am not the same. I know everything.
You slipped up, right?
Fan Xian asked darkly.
Old man…that was an ambush! That was in a valley on the outskirts of Jingdou. The other party had over 200 crossbows! That is enough to go to Dongyi to kill Sigu Jian. Were you not afraid at all that I would die?
If Sigu Jian was so easy to kill, then matters would be much simpler,
Chen Pingping muttered.
I’ve already said, this incident has nothing to do with me.
Don’t you forget, I am also the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council,
Fan Xian said in great anger.
You’re not stupid, so then am I stupid? Do you think because I was lying in bed the past two days that I didn’t investigate the matters in my own department? If no one in the Council helped to hide the information, how could those city-guarding crossbows be overtly moved to the top of the little mountain in the outskirts of Jingdou? If there was no one in the Council cooperating with those bastards, could they have so easily attacked with such precision?
Chen Pingping coughed.
Perhaps it is the Jingdou garrison that’s had a problem.
Fan Xian stared at him and said,
Could the Jingdou garrison know about the information flow in the Overwatch Council? Even if the military could find out the exact time of my return to Jingdou, then what about the all clear the scouts reported back in the valley? The Black Knights had not left for long. Could the other party have precisely calculated for this?
Chen Pingping mockingly smiled.
Since the other party wants to kill you…naturally, they are well prepared. If they wanted to kill you without even knowing these details, that is a bit too muddled.
Fan Xian smiled coldly.
Act, keep on acting. Even if you hadn’t sent a two-faced crow to help with the ambush in the valley, throughout the process of the incident and even after the end, you can’t waylay the suspicion of being permissive…who are you? As the most powerful figure in the Qing court, could you not have caught any wind of such a big plan in Jingdou? Why didn’t you think of letting me know by sending me a letter or something? Is it to say…you also feel that every day in the Council, I am stealing power and being an eye-sore in your eye? So you decided to conveniently have me removed to stop feeling irritated…however, don’t you forget, you begged me to enter this Council. It has nothing to do with me.
Hearing these words, Chen Pingping finally couldn’t resist it anymore. He raised his head and rolled his eyes at him. He furrowed his brows and scolded,
Child, you clearly don’t think this way and know that I do not think this way, yet you are determined to speak like this. What are you trying to accomplish?
Nothing.
Fan Xian directly cut him off.
You tricked me twice and almost made me lose my life twice. You have to give me some justice.
I said, it has nothing to do with me,
Chen Pingping said sinisterly. Not bothering to acknowledge him, Chen Pingping pushed his wheelchair along the bottom of the stone steps, heading toward the garden on the left-hand side.
A dark fire was burning in Fan Xian’s heart. How could he let the old cripple just get away? He pushed hard on either side and caught up.
Knowing that the two most powerful people in the Overwatch Council would be carrying out a secretive conversation, Chen Garden had long been suitably prepared. The beauties who were not even afraid of cold that were usually chattering in the garden had been shut in their own rooms and not allowed to come out while all of the servants were hiding from the area. The old servant had only pushed Fan Xian to this area before silently leaving.
Thus, there was only Chen Pingping and Fan Xian, these two poor people sitting in their wheelchairs. Chen Pingping was in front and Fan Xian was behind. The old man was pushing his wheelchair quickly in front, and Fan Xian was furiously chasing from behind. In just a moment, they had made a large circle around the stone steps of the manor. Only, this scene looked very funny.
…
…
To speak honestly, Chen Pingping did not want to face Fan Xian, who was filled with dark anger, so he decided not to talk. Pushing his wheelchair in front, this major figure of Qing Kingdom, who had been sitting in a wheelchair all these years, was much more used to it than Fan Xian. Adding to that fact that Fan Xian had been heavily injured and not yet recovered, after one round around the manor, Fan Xian had long been left many wheelchairs behind.
Fortunately, Chen Pingping couldn’t play
evade the wheelchair
in his own home. He stopped beside a pond to the right of the manor. Panting heavily, Fan Xian rolled his wheelchair and caught up, stopping beside him. Turning his head back, he saw that the two of them had circled anti-clockwise around the manor and had almost returned to their starting point. It was rather pointless.
I am injured,
Fan Xian resentfully said.
Even if my questions are difficult to answer, there is no need to be like this.
They’re not difficult to answer,
Chen Pingping suddenly sighed and said.
Only, you want justice from me, and I truly don’t know how to give it to you.
Fan Xian lowered his head and looked at the ice shards in the pond and the black lotus branches that had frozen to death. He couldn’t help but furrow his brows. Blowing hot air into his hands, he rubbed them gently and listened to the elder beside him speak.
There is no need to investigate matters in the Council; here are no spies,
Chen Pingping slowly said.
I admit, I did know a little of the killing this time in the valley and there is indeed someone in the Council helping that side, otherwise, they wouldn’t have roughed you up so badly.
Since you won’t let me investigate, I guess that spy was a trick you purposely left open,
Fan Xian said heavily.
You know I was very wretched this time, so I don’t understand…I was rescuing the Emperor at the Hanging Temple. This time, the Emperor was not in my carriage. Why did I have to pay such a price.
Do you trust me?
Chen Pingping asked.
Fan Xian thought for a long time then slowly nodded his head.
Don’t ask me right now,
Chen Pingping faintly said.
You will understand later.
I don’t understand,
Fan Xian calmly said.
However, I don’t need to understand. I do need to know who attacked me and who that spy in the Council is.
Chen Pingping gazed quietly at him and said, a moment later,
You have no evidence at hand. You can’t defeat the other party.
But you have the evidence in your hand.
I also don’t have it,
Chen Pingping silently said.
Even if I did, I couldn’t hand it to the Emperor…first, I don’t want the Emperor to disband this department in his anger. Second, it is a bit early to hand in the evidence right now.
These words had too much hidden inside them, enough for Fan Xian to digest for a long time. However, Fan Xian did not pay attention to it. He directly asked about the heart of the matter.
I still want to know who wanted to kill me.
In Jingdou, other than the people you trust, everyone wants to kill you,
Chen Pingping calmly said.
As for who the main culprit was this time, I guess I cannot hide it from you. I only hope you will endure for a while and not ruin the big picture.
Fan Xian was silent.
It was the Qin family,
Chen Pingping faintly said.
However, even if you go hug the Emperor’s leg and cry, it will do nothing. You have no evidence. I will not drag out that pawn to be evidence for you. Even if the Emperor suspects the Qin family because of your incidence, for the sake of the military, he would not kill the old Qin Master to vent your anger based on a few things you said.
Fan Xian couldn’t help but shake his head.
Chen Pingping glanced at him with curiosity.
You’re not surprised at all.
Fan Xian carefully stretched, terrified he might pull on the injury on his back. He smiled slightly and said,
It’s still that line. I am also a clever man. Since this time it wasn’t you plotting meritorious service for me, then for sure it was to drag someone under. At this moment in the court, the only major power that had not been dragged under was the Qin family. This matter was not difficult to guess.
The Eldest Princess had easily deduced the Qin family’s involvement from a different direction. Although Fan Xian direction of approach was different from that of the Eldest Princess, the answers they arrived at were both simple and clear.
Chen Pingping nodded his head approvingly and said,
Now you understand that without evidence, the Emperor would not lightly act against this kind of leading military family. Otherwise, if the military is not stable, how can the court be at peace?
It’s very likely that even with evidence, the Emperor would not make a move if the timing wasn’t right,
Fan Xian mocked.
However, I don’t understand. Dragging the old Qin family down…I trust you will naturally let the Emperor know of this matter when the time comes…for the whole year last year, with you in Jingdou and myself in Jiangnan, we were both forcefully driving the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Eldest Princess to take desperate actions. Now, before they had done so, you’re giving the other party the Qin family, this pawn. You truly have so much confidence in the Emperor?
Chen Pingping smiled slightly and nodded.
I have always had a great deal of confidence in the Emperor, just like I have in you.
The moment the words left his mouth, the two people in the wheelchairs became silent, just like the many times they had talked before. Both of them were clever people, so there were many things they did not have to say clearly. Each other’s attitude was confirmed in those phrases and tones. Just like how Fan Xian guessed his past, just like how each time both sides carefully move closer—it was their true frame of mind becoming closer.
I am very curious, why are you not curious that I am pulling the Qin family under? Even if I have confidence in the Emperor…however, if there is one less person driven to desperate action, it will always be easier to deal with.
Chen Pingping smiled warmly and looked into Fan Xian’s eyes.
Fan Xian lowered his head slightly and said,
I suspect it’s not some major reason…you just want to use this opportunity to clean out all of my future enemies. The Qin family and I have always had a good relationship, and they haven’t participated in the fight for the dragon chair. Thinking about it, the Qin family is connected to the story from many years ago.
I indeed did not misjudge you,
Chen Pingping said approvingly.
To be able to deduce this much, it is enough.
Fan Xian was silent as a faint sorrow welled up in his heart. He had another deduction he had not spoken out loud. The old man in the wheelchair in front of him was very ill and did not have many years left. Of course, the old man knew this, so he must complete everything before his death. That was why he would arrange things like this.
Without just one thought, the impatience in Fan Xian’s heart faded a great deal, but he still couldn’t resist asking,
If…I had actually died in the valley, then what would you do?
How could you die?
Chen Pingping looked at him sternly.
You have to keep living on.
Fan Xian smiled. These words were very like what his father had said the other day.
He smilingly tilted his head and asked,
Why won’t I die? You don’t know what it was like in the valley…the Qin family’s disciples are all very powerful. If they don’t act, then it’s fine, but once they act, it’s like a lightning strike. No matter how good my luck is, it still might not be enough to ensure my survival in that killing.
Chen Pingping was silent for a moment and then said heavily in a sharp voice,
I know the risks of the Qin family’s arrangement, but it was indeed very dangerous this time. It was because there were three things I didn’t account for.
I had not thought that Lao Wu’s injuries would still not be recovered,
Chen Pingping said coldly.
That old muddle-head in the Qin family does not know that you have such a death god beside you. If Lao Wu was beside you, who in this world could harm you?
Fan Xian nodded. This was the first reason, but it was not enough to explain why Chen Pingping was so unconcerned about his safety.
The second thing I had not accounted for was,
with a glimmer of a strange smile, Chen Pingping looked at Fan Xian,
when truly faced with death, you could still resist not bringing out that chest.
Fan Xian forced a smile and said,
Although I don’t know what exactly the chest is you always keep in mind, I don’t have it, so where can I steal it from?
Although he was shocked, his expression and tone still did not give anything away.
…
…
The chest, that black, narrow, and long-shaped chest. Back then, it had come into Jingdou with a woman and a blind servant. In the history of Qing Kingdom, it had only been used once, and that one time transformed heaven and earth.
Other than the mother and son, Ye Qingmei and Fan Xian, and Wu Zhu, no one else had ever seen the true appearance of that chest and no one knew how to use it. However, those old men who knew of the truth of the deaths of the two Qing Kings knew why the chest was so scary. Since they didn’t know the specific situation, they developed a strange sense of mystery and fear toward that chest.
It exceeded the existence of this world and always made one’s imagination run wild and cause endless fear.
Even Chen Pingping and the Emperor were not exceptions. During Fan Xian’s childhood in Danzhou, Fei Jie had once asked Wu Zhu. When Fan Xian entered the capital, he had faced this question more than once.
Thus, Chen Pingping still did not understand. When the attack in the valley had already reached such a dangerous moment, why was Fan Xian…still unwilling to use the chest?
As for Fan Xian saying the chest was not with him, naturally, someone as shrewd as Chen Pingping would certainly not believe such nonsense.
