[Xianze] Danbo Bookstore Jiangnan Branch

Fan Xian's snack street guide plan got stuck at the first stop, Xiaolongbaozi.In the end, the four of them ate twelve drawers of small cages. When stacked together, it was like a pagoda of town monsters. The diners around were amazed and bowed down.

Li Chengze and Fan Sizhe were the main contributors to this spectacular scene. The two seemed to have reached a strange consensus on what to eat. They even collapsed in the gazebo outside the street drinking tea to digest their food after they were full, discussing how to list xiao long bao as indifferent. The food designated by the bookstore was ruthlessly rejected by Fan Xian.

"It's my fault, I shouldn't have named you Fan Yun."

Fan Yun was leaning in the gazebo without any image, sipping the local Longjing green tea with one hand, and patting his belly with the other. The former prince's royal etiquette had long been thrown into the West Lake behind him.He raised his eyebrows: "You finally know your mistake."

"It should be called Fan Hung."

Fan Sizhe was suddenly inspired by the friendship of comrades in Xiaolongbao, and began to protect Li Chengze's image: "Hey, brother, what's the matter with Brother Ze who loves to eat, you can see that people eat so much and still look good!" As he spoke, he began to shake his head: " There used to be a saying in the Beijing doggerel: the crown prince is upright like a piece of wood, the eldest is stationed in a distant place, the second child is fond of books and his body is like a swallow, and the third child..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered that the "third child" had become the Ninth Five-Year King, and the second child who had failed in the fight for the throne was still lying beside him.He immediately covered his mouth, feeling that he had said something wrong.

However, Li Chengze felt good and stretched lazily. Fan Xian's eyes were unconsciously attracted by his waist bound under the belt.Thinking of his appearance of strolling around with grapes on tiptoe on weekdays, it can indeed be said that he is as light as a swallow.

"Listen to these names, they are strange and familiar, like things in my previous life." Li Chengze murmured, putting his hands behind his head, listening to the even ripples of the lake behind him, "Before I was pushed up by that old fox, I always thought about Being able to be an idle prince, roaming around, tasting delicious food, collecting books... Thinking about it this way, it may be a wish in a previous life."

Fan Ruoruo was making tea at the side, and said softly: "But now you are relieved of your burden, except that you can't be a prince, other wishes can also come true."

Li Chengze closed his eyes and giggled, seemingly satisfied or self-deprecating, he read the content of "Xiao Fan Shixian Anthology" in a random manner: "Zhuang Shengxiao dreamed of butterflies, and Wangdi Chunxin entrusted cuckoos. What a wonderful day It's like a dream..."

It seems that when you open your eyes again, what you see will still be the roof of the imperial palace, the iron nets all over the sky, and the fantasy before dying.He was lucky these days as if he had stolen it, being pushed along the river, not knowing what was ahead.After all, what would happen if he took the poison and died, and what if he took the antidote and lived again?He was designed by Emperor Qing to be a resistance to the throne from birth. Now that he has no direction of the throne, where else can he go?

"Ah, it's so beautiful." Fan Ruoruo sighed suddenly.

As the sun approached dusk, the sky gradually darkened.Looking from the gazebo, they saw a fiery red sunset smeared in the sunset, a second sun was born on the lake, and it was scattered by the ripples in the oars of the black-covered boat.The sun sinks westward, buried between the nearby willows and the distant mountains.

Suddenly someone touched Li Chengze's shoulder lightly, and it turned out to be Fan Xian.He was still looking directly at the setting sun, two hot flames were reflected in his pupils, the originally handsome facial features softened under the red light, Li Chengze looked at it for a while, waiting for him to speak.

"Don't worry about it." Fan Xian said, guessing Li Chengze's thoughts in this situation.

Li Chengze asked back: "Aren't you bothered?"

Fan Xian glanced at him, taking it as his acquiescence.The two looked at each other and smiled, one holding their hands on their chests, the other behind their backs, looking side by side at the setting sun outside the pavilion, shoulders touching one place.Li Chengze hadn't cultivated his true qi, and he staggered half a step when he was bumped lightly by Fan Xian. He immediately slammed him back hard.Fan Xian hid, and a childish pushing and shoving battle started.

Fan Sizhe's eyelids twitched as he watched from the sidelines, and when he turned around, he saw Fan Ruoruo making a silent gesture to him, mouthing: break in.

The night was getting darker, and they were in good spirits. Fan Xian simply rented a lakeside cruise ship and asked the boatman to paddle slowly outside. The four of them sat inside and sipped the newly brewed rice wine, enjoying the night view of West Lake while eating peanuts.

Li Chengze was completely exhausted, reclining on the cushion beside him, digesting in a daze.The other three huddled at the table, Fan Sizhe drank three glasses of rice wine, and began to talk about the ups and downs of his business journey, and how he managed to turn danger into fortune.He spoke with his own tone, and Fan Xian always felt that he had known him before, and then he woke up suddenly one night, and suddenly realized: It really looks like the Deyun Club talking about cross talk.

Fan Ruoruo was a little uneasy.It turned out that Li Hongcheng had been away for a few days, and he sent a letter to Li Chengze as soon as he made an appointment to finish what Li Chengze asked him to do. Now counting the time, the letter should have arrived long ago.

"It's a little strange," Fan Xian said with a frown. "The conflict between the government and the opposition has long since disappeared from the previous princes. I have also made a deal with the new emperor, and I will not ask about Li Chengze's whereabouts. Logically speaking, there should be no obstacles for my brother-in-law this time." , not to mention risks.”

Fan Ruoruo replied: "I also believe so. But Hongcheng never breaks his promise to me, maybe there is something wrong with the carrier pigeon."

Fan Xian said: "There is no news after tonight, I will ask Wang Qinian to inquire immediately."

Only then did Fan Ruoruo calm down, and they chatted a few more gossips. Fan Sizhe blushed from drinking, and suddenly heard a melodious and clear singing from outside the boat.

Not far away, a delicately decorated cruise ship carrying brightly lit small buildings slowly drove towards them, and the singing and accompanying piano sound came from it.There was a boy playing lanterns standing by the side of the boat, and he greeted them in dialect: "Guests, listen to a little song before going back to sleep. The young lady is very good at water and can play the pipa." It turned out to be a singer cruise ship on the West Lake. , specifically to attract tourists to order songs and listen to music, and send them back to the shore when they have enjoyed themselves, which is also elegant.

Fan Sizhe was quite interested at first, but he stared at the faces of the other three people. He wanted to shrink back and continue drinking, but Fan Xian slapped four taels of silver on the table: "Go, be careful when you go home."

Fan Ruoruo said: "Brother, you gave too much, my aunt told me not to give him too much pocket money."

"Sister, come with me, don't you want to go and listen to the saying that Yue girls have a great singing voice?" Fan Sizhe invited.

Fan Ruoruo looked at Fan Xian again, Fan Xian nodded and said, "I'll have someone wait at the cruise ship dock and escort you back." He turned his head and asked Li Chengze, "Young Master Fan Kun, don't you want to listen?"

Li Chengze propped his head and closed his eyes to rest his mind, and said leisurely: "This kind of singing is best heard from a distance, but if you taste it carefully, it will lose its flavor." The implication is that he will not go.

The showgirl cruise ship next door stretched out a wide plank to pick them up on the boat, the Fan family siblings left the boat first, and now only Fan Xian and Li Chengze were left.The boatman rowed his oars regularly outside, the melodious voice of the singing girl gradually faded away, and the lake became calm again, and he swam forward unsteadily.

Fan Xian looked at the scenery outside the boat, while Li Chengze still tilted his head and closed his eyes as before. The two were speechless for a while, listening to the sound of running water outside the boat together.

At a certain point, Li Chengze suddenly looked at Fan Xian through the candlelight, with a bit of slyness in his eyes, he turned over and quickly sat opposite Fan Xian, and knocked on the table to get his attention.

"Well, remember what I said before?"

"Which one?"

"Don't talk about state affairs, let's talk about Fengyue."

"Which wind, which month?" Fan Xian plucked his ears.

Li Chengze shook his head, and said in a low voice: "Life is full of love and infatuation, and this hatred has nothing to do with the wind and the moon. The more carefully this poem is tasted, the more interesting it will be."

"Praise and praise." After all, it is the poem of Ouyang old man.

"Little Fan Shixian found countless treasures from the fairyland that night and tasted them with us mortals. I will never forget them for a long time."

Fan Xian had been detoured countless times by Li Chengze, so he said: "Now you and I have no confrontation, and you don't have to try left and right. I don't like to beat around the bush, so it's better to speak straight."

"Little Fan Shixian." Li Chengze made a gesture of beckoning. Fan Xian felt that he was playing tricks, but in the end he put his ear close to him, and only heard his warm breath blowing against his ear. He asked in a low voice:

"Your Dongying country, and the CEO you mentioned, what are you tired of... Your fairyland, does it really exist?"

Before the words were finished, the boat suddenly swayed violently to the right, the hull became unstable, and all objects on the boat also tilted to the right.Li Chengze propped half of his body on the table, and immediately turned upside down and was about to fall off the table. Before he could exclaim in surprise, a pair of big hands firmly supported his shoulders.

The candlestick shook violently, the wine glass on the table fell to the ground, and the light in the boat flickered.During the turbulence, Li Chengze only felt that the breath of another person was close at hand, his whole body exuded warm breath, and there was also a faint fragrance.The tilting of the boat just now did not make Li Chengze flustered, but at this moment he suddenly froze, not knowing how to breathe for a moment.

This seemed to be the first time he was so close to Fan Xian.

The candlestick returned to light, and the two hurriedly caught each other's sight.Fan Xian's eyes were full of surprise and inquiry, but more of them were surprises - this was beyond Li Chengze's expectations.

"Guest officer, the boat coming ahead is in a hurry, so we have to dodge in a hurry. Didn't we bump into it?" The boatman asked in surprise.

Inside the boat, the breaths of the two were intertwined, and Fan Xian's hand was still tightly gripping Li Chengze's shoulder, making him feel scorching hot even through the fabric.Fan Xian stared at him firmly, his expression was unclear, and his breathing was a little short.

Li Chengze didn't understand why Fan Xian's body was so warm, he didn't dare to open his mouth first, for fear that his beating heart would burst out of his throat.Fan Xian exuded a dazzling light like the sun, this light shone on him and burned him all the time.It turns out that moths rush to the flame not for death, but for light.

"Guest officer?" the boatman asked again, hearing that he was about to come over to check, Fan Xian quickly replied, "No serious problem."

Only then did he let go of Li Chengze, and the two returned to normal.He bent down to pick up the wine glass on the ground, wiped the side of the glass with his cuff, and asked calmly, "When did you first notice it?"

"At the banquet where you became famous overnight." Li Chengze said, "At that time, I just thought that at a young age, some of the poems you wrote were full of vigor and spirit, while some of you were concerned about the country and the people. It seemed that you had been weather-beaten. It was really incompatible."

He stared intently at Fan Xian, watching him wipe the glasses and refill the two wine glasses with rice wine. His hands trembled slightly, seeming nervous or excited, and it was difficult to tell the difference at the moment.

"Later, I often heard you say words and phrases of unknown origin, so I took the time to check the collection of slang in Dongyi and Northern Qi. There was no language similar to what you spoke."

"Until the afternoon, when you mentioned 'Japanese' and 'Dongying', your tone seemed to be common knowledge that everyone knew, and you were very annoyed when you couldn't explain it to us, as if..."

After a pause, Li Chengze raised his wine glass to touch Fan Xian, and then finished the drink first before expressing his conclusion.

"It's like a lone wolf howling, unable to find a companion."

Li Chengze's speech has always been sporadic, and these words seemed to have an echo, constantly echoing in Fan Xian's ears.He closed his eyes, raised his head and drank the rice wine in the cup, and then he didn't seem to feel satisfied, so he simply picked up the tea bowl beside him, poured a full cup and drank it up.With a last touch of the corner of his mouth, he let out a long sigh.

Li Chengze waited quietly, but he didn't want Fan Xian to open his eyes. Although his pupils kept trembling, what he said was another thing: "Do you know why my old lady gave birth to me?"

Li Chengze made a gesture of please.

"My mother said she was lonely."

"Her long-cherished wish and ideal, which stood on the stone tablet outside the procuratorate long ago, gradually accumulated dust, no one understood, and even became an enemy of the world. She needs a companion, someone who can understand her thoughts."

"Who knows, she died the day she gave birth to me, and now I'm the only one left...it's my turn to be lonely."

Fan Xian shifted his gaze from the teacup to Li Chengze, and said word by word: "What you said is true. I am a lone wolf with nowhere to go, howling around and leaving signals, hoping that someone can... find me .”

"You asked me why I saved you. Apart from the reason why I respect you and fear you, I do have selfishness: you and I are similar, and we act and think exactly the same. If I were you, I would not be willing to fight; if you were me, would I Do you understand my existence, the ideals of me and my mother?"

"Li Chengze..." At this point, Fan Xian actually choked up, and it was the first time that Li Chengze found his voice so bewildered.He vaguely felt that this was the closest he was to Fan Xian, and probably the closest Fan Xian was to anyone.

It turned out that Fan Xian was hesitant to take out the antidote, not only because it could cure Li Chengze, but also because it could cure Fan Xian.This was actually a mutual temptation, the only hope, his life and death, and Fan Xian's loneliness, were all desperately placed in the hand that Li Chengze reached out to at that time.

"Li Chengze, are you willing to listen?" Fan Xian said cautiously, "I, and the 'Wonderland' I came from."

Fan Xian and Li Chengze returned late, and it was already past bedtime, but there were quite a few people guarding the gate of the Fan Mansion. Seeing the two of them enter, they immediately shouted: "——Come here!"

Fan Xian felt something was wrong, so he saw Fan Sizhe rushing over and grabbing his hand, pulling him in and saying, "I just sent the housekeeper out to look for someone, so you guys came back in time."

The three of them rushed towards the back room immediately. Fan Sizhe was out of breath along the way, but he explained in an orderly manner: "Sister just received a letter from Feige from the capital, and then she frantically wanted to find you. I'm afraid brother-in-law's Things are not good."

When Fan Xian walked into the hall, he saw Fan Ruoruo pacing back and forth with a letter in his hand.She was a little frightened, but finally suppressed her emotions and handed the letter to Fan Xian with trembling fingers.

Sure enough, bad news.This letter was written on behalf of the housekeeper of Prince Jing's mansion, straight to the point: His Royal Highness has been missing since he went to the second Highness's mansion, suspected of being hijacked.The guards who went to the rescue were all beaten back.

Fan Ruoruo added: "The Second Highness has a special status now, and this matter cannot be disclosed to the public. The Second Highness's mansion has long been sealed and is empty, but the robbers inside are very skilled in martial arts and have no intention of harming money. It is really strange."

Fan Xian immediately ordered: "This matter must be done in a low-key manner. Let Wang Qinian inquire first. Ruoruo and Sizhe stay here to take care of the academy, just in case. Get ready, I will go to the capital immediately."

"I'm going too!" Someone behind him said—it was Li Chengze, "In the final analysis, this matter started because of me."

Fan Ruoruo shook his head and said, "My lord's heart, whether I or Hongcheng understands it. But now that your lord's status is inconvenient, it's better to avoid the capital."

Li Chengze stubbornly said: "Is there any reason why I can't enter my mansion? Hongcheng is my friend, I want to go."

Fan Xian didn't stop him either.The butler hurried over to report that two fast horses had been prepared. It turned out that Fan Xian had guessed that Li Chengze would force him to go with him.

There was no time to talk nonsense, and the two immediately packed their bags.Fan Xian suddenly frowned and thought of something, and asked Fan Ruoruo who was on the sidelines: "Did you mention what kind of weapons these robbers used, and what school?"

Fan Ruoruo hurriedly nodded and said, "Prince Jing's mansion sent a few masters of the seventh rank or above, and they came back soberly and said that this group of kidnappers use swords, which are extremely fast against the wind and tough against the wind, making it difficult for others to catch them. The weapon was broken by Kuaijian, and I didn't even see the kidnappers, so I could only retreat."

Fan Xian stopped what he was doing, and he turned his head to meet Li Chengze's eyes.

"Quick sword. Shunfeng." Fan Xian murmured.

"...Xie Bi'an?"

TBC