All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

The Crown Prince tremblingly accepted the list, and Emperor Qing continued to berate him, "Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of War, Imperial Guards—the Crown Prince has quite a few people here!"

"No wonder the Crown Prince got the news so quickly; his influence is really far-reaching!"

Emperor Qing used this incident to purge a group of the Crown Prince's supporters and to warn the Crown Prince; this was his ultimate goal.

As for Fan Xian's reputation, since the Crown Prince dares to take the blame, let him clean up the mess.

"Your Highness, since you are the one who ruined Fan Xian's reputation, then you should take responsibility for helping him to restore it."

"I'm tired, you may leave!"

The next day.

In the afternoon, Jingni slipped into Li Chang'an's room.

"Your Highness, in Fan Xian's case, the other plaintiff committed suicide in prison last night, leaving no victim in this case."

"Mei Zhili's verdict is ridiculous. The two women were having a hysterical episode, and Fan Xian did not ruin their reputation in the street."

"The Kyoto Prefecture has taken care of the two women and given them a proper burial. Fan Xian has been released without charge."

"However, there was a great deal of discussion about this in the capital. The people said that officials were protecting each other and that the capital prefecture was shielding Fan Xian. Fan Xian's reputation was truly ruined."

Li Chang'an had anticipated this muddled outcome. "What other judgment could there be? Mei Zhili wouldn't dare to dig out the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess."

"As long as the culprit isn't uncovered, no matter how much we try to cover it up, Fan Xian's reputation will never be good. We might as well close the case quickly."

"Those in power know what's going on, but the common people don't. And the things they say are probably very unpleasant."

Jingni frowned and said, "The biggest news in the capital today is that Si Nanbo's illegitimate son forced women into group sex and even took lives..."

Li Chang'an couldn't help but grin, "This is really quite serious."

Jingni continued, "There were also people who fueled the flames. The initial rumor was that Fan Xian was seen hugging and kissing several scantily clad women in the street."

"This was already quite exaggerated. In the end, it became more and more fantastical as it was spread, until it turned into what I just described."

"Your Highness, Fan Xian is, after all, Miss Ruoruo's brother. Should we try to control the rumors?"

Li Chang'an said, "Try to control it and keep the rumors focused on Fan Xian alone. Don't involve the Fan family."

"News came from the palace today that the Crown Prince has taken the blame for the palace maid who killed the Imperial Guards by crashing into the carriage."

"Since this fool admitted it, it's tantamount to admitting that Fan Xian's reputation was deliberately ruined, so His Majesty did not cancel the marriage decree."

"If Fan Xian's reputation is ruined, the Prime Minister's Mansion will have an even worse impression of him, which will also delay His Majesty's formal decree to marry Wan'er and Fan Xian."

After finishing his business, Li Chang'an looked down and saw Jing Ni's long, slender legs.

Her long, fair legs, which make up more than half of Jingni's height, are wrapped in alluring fishnet stockings.

"Little salamander, didn't I tell you not to wear this?"

Jing Ni remained calm. "If I heard correctly, Your Highness said that I am not allowed to wear it outside. In front of Your Highness, it doesn't count as outside, does it?"

Li Chang'an chuckled to himself. Jing Ni was indeed much cuter and more interesting. "You're smart. You handled this matter well."

Jing Ni slowly approached and teased, "Does Your Highness wish to bestow a reward upon me?"

Li Chang'an reached out and pulled Jing Ni's slender waist, letting her sit on his lap.

"My reward is to silence you."

Jing Ni, a former assassin, felt a chill run down her spine, her mouth agape in surprise.

"Your Highness, I am loyal to you..."

After her cherry-like mouth was completely sealed and explored deeply, Jing Ni finally understood the meaning behind Li Chang'an's act of silencing her.

Fan Mansion.

After spending a night in the Kyoto Prefecture prison, Fan Xian finally entered the Fan family mansion and sat down at the dining table.

Fan Jian said to Liu Ruyu and their children, "Don't listen to the rumors outside."

Kyoto is a place rife with trouble; many things are not as simple as they seem on the surface.

Fortunately, the Prefect of Kyoto was not swayed by the surging public opinion and insisted on finding Xian'er innocent.

This will all pass eventually; you must trust your family.

At this moment, only Fan Ruoruo nodded readily, "The rumors are too absurd!"

It's nothing more than exploiting people's curiosity to tarnish Fan Xian's reputation.

Fan Xian was touched by Fan Ruoruo's words, but also felt a little disappointed.

What's touching is that Fan Ruoruo is smart enough not to be deceived by such absurd rumors.

Disappointingly, Fan Ruoruo used to call him "brother" when they were young, but they became quite distant as they grew up, and she stopped calling him "brother" altogether.

Fan Jian frowned, but since Fan Ruoruo had spoken up for Fan Xian, he couldn't criticize his daughter any further.

After all, the two didn't grow up together, and Fan Ruoruo didn't stay in Danzhou for long afterward, so they weren't close, which was understandable.

After the meal, Fan Jian met with Fan Xian alone.

"Xian'er, it's inevitable to suffer some setbacks. The Kyoto Prefecture is quite fair and hasn't left you with a criminal record."

"Your future prospects won't be greatly affected. As for your reputation, try to salvage it slowly."

Chapter 70: The Crown Prince helps Fan Xian restore his reputation, and Guo Baokun helps Fan Xian? (55)

Fan Mansion.

On his first day in Kyoto, Fan Xian's carriage was attacked.

He ended up spending a night in jail without even realizing it, and he had absolutely no good feelings towards Kyoto.

But then, Fan Jian analyzed the situation in the court for him, as well as the series of events surrounding marrying Lin Wan'er and taking over the control of the Imperial Treasury.

Fan Xian finally got a basic understanding of his situation; he realized he had jumped into such a huge trap.

"Father, now that you mention it, it's not hard to guess who's trying to ruin my reputation. It must be the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess's faction."

"Yesterday, the Crown Prince was in the main hall of the Kyoto Prefecture, eager to convict me."

"And the assassins from the Surveillance Bureau who tried to assassinate me in Danzhou—they might all have been orchestrated by the same group of people!"

Upon hearing Fan Xian's words, Fan Jian offered a sound suggestion.

"Try not to go out recently, to prevent anyone from causing you trouble again."

At the same time, it also calmed down the heated discussions a little.

Following Fan Jian's advice, Fan Xian has been staying at the Fan residence practicing martial arts lately.

The only person in the manor who paid him any attention was Fan Ruoruo. This girl was smart and had her own ideas, and Fan Xian liked to talk to her.

A few days later, Fan Jian brought a message from the palace, saying that His Majesty had ordered the Crown Prince to help Fan Xian restore his reputation.

The matter of the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess ruining Fan Xian's reputation was, of course, a top secret and could not be revealed to outsiders.

Emperor Qing gave Fan Jian the reason that the Crown Prince was trying to interfere with the trial in the capital, and that he was making arbitrary interference without knowing the facts.

Helping Fan Xian restore his reputation can be considered a punishment for the Crown Prince.

When Fan Xian learned of this, he was somewhat amused and exasperated. His suspect wanted to help him restore his reputation? Such an absurd thing could happen in the world.

Prince Yong's Mansion.

Xing Yusen rode swiftly into the city and brought back Barrett's three bullets.

On the way back to Kyoto, Li Chang'an had already sent Xing Yusen to Cangshan Villa.

Li Chang'an remembered that the three bullets from the Barrett sniper rifle were hidden in the wall of the warehouse at Cangshan Villa. Xing Yusen, a constable skilled in investigation, was the most suitable person to find them.

Xing Yusen excitedly pulled out three golden bullets. "My goodness! I have never seen such ingeniously designed and exquisitely crafted hidden weapons before!"

The sniper rifle in Fan Xian's possession needs to be repaired in one of the three workshops of the Imperial Treasury, and after the repair, he will still need these three bullets.

A sniper rifle without bullets is just scrap metal and poses no threat whatsoever.

"Old Xing, this is the most powerful hidden weapon in the world."

Just as the two finished speaking, someone outside announced that Eunuch Hou from the palace had come to deliver an imperial decree.

Eunuch Hou walked solemnly into the main hall of the Prince's mansion. "His Majesty's decree: Prince Yong, listen to the order! The others need not leave; listen together."

When Li Chang'an was enfeoffed as a prince, he had the privilege of being exempt from the need for formalities in front of the emperor. Now, when he receives the imperial decree, he only needs to bow.

Eunuch Hou cleared his throat and began to convey Emperor Qing's imperial edict.

"Li Chang'an, my own brother, are you at peace with yourself?"

After listening to a couple of sentences, Li Chang'an was both amused and exasperated; the sixth prince, Emperor Qing, was about to cause trouble again.

Eunuch Hou continued to relay the imperial edict: "The border standoff has lasted for half a year, and assassins are rampant in the capital."

"Half of the assassins captured by the Surveillance Bureau are masters from assassin organizations and sects in the martial arts world. Have you forgotten your duties?"

"You spend all day playing with your concubines in the palace, while the Shadow Guards are bored out of their minds. I am working tirelessly for the country every day. Are you at peace with yourself?"

"After all these years of traveling, has all you learned been fighting and killing? Did you leave any spies among those sects you subdued?"

"You're eighteen years old now, it's time to learn to share my burdens! You're just wasting your days, how can you face the late emperor, how can you face me?"