Zhou Cheng circled halfway around Fan Xian, clicking his tongue.
His behavior left Fan Xian rather bewildered. He looked down at himself, found nothing unusual, and could only spread his hands. "Your Highness, do you see something different about me?"
Zhou Cheng wore a suggestive expression, his words carrying a deeper meaning as he said:
"You may not know this, Young Master Fan, but your features bear some resemblance to both my eldest and second brothers. Anyone who didn't know better would probably take you for our brother. They might even mistake you for Father's illegitimate son!"
Fan Xian immediately coughed twice and waved his hands frantically. "Mind your words, Your Highness! Please!"
Fan Xian had always considered himself fairly thick-skinned, but the man before him was even more brazen. He really dared to say anything!
Zhou Cheng opened his folding fan and laughed, utterly unconcerned.
Beside them, Fan Sizhe curled his lip and discreetly rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath.
Fan Ruoruo gave a helpless, wry smile. The third prince really was just as the rumors described: he would crack any joke, regardless of the occasion.
Naturally, the Fan siblings all took Zhou Cheng's words as a joke.
Only Sang Wen abruptly lowered her head.
She remembered Zhou Cheng saying earlier that "Fan Xian is His Majesty's illegitimate son." Now he had said it again, disguised as a joke, right to the man's face...
Her prince really was wicked and mischievous!
Without revealing his identity, Zhou Cheng had little to discuss with Fan Xian at their first meeting.
After their brief exchange of pleasantries, Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo were still comfortable enough, but Fan Sizhe was already feeling thoroughly ill at ease.
Zhou Cheng nodded to them, and after Fan Xian and the others returned the courtesy, he headed back into the restaurant with Sang Wen. The three Fan siblings waited a few moments before following them inside.
"Ruoruo, tell me about this third prince!"
Once they returned to their private room, Fan Xian began asking Fan Ruoruo about Zhou Cheng.
Their meeting had left him deeply interested in Zhou Cheng.
Fan Jian had mentioned Zhou Cheng before, but had provided very little information.
With no outsiders present, Fan Sizhe immediately perked up again.
He volunteered in a lowered voice, "I know a few things! Since you stood up for me downstairs, I'll tell you. Our third prince is even less reliable than I am!
"My reputation outside isn't great because I've never had a chance to prove myself.
"But His Highness is an imperial prince! Ever since he was little, opportunities have been handed to him on a silver platter, and he still couldn't make anything of them!
"In recent years, he's become the most famous wealthy idler in the Capital.
"Of course, 'wealthy idler' is the polite version. There are nastier names, but no one dares say them in public."
Fan Xian glanced at Fan Ruoruo, silently asking for her opinion.
Fan Ruoruo frowned slightly and chose her words. "Sizhe is mostly right. That's generally what the rumors say, too. But some people say the third prince conceals his talents and virtues, keeping his true abilities hidden, and that His Majesty favors him most. After all, before His Majesty ascended the throne, he was Prince Cheng's heir."
Fan Xian listened closely as Fan Ruoruo recounted the rumors about Zhou Cheng.
Just then, a knock came at the door, and an attendant brought fresh tea.
After the attendant withdrew, Fan Xian sniffed the tea. Once he confirmed it was safe, he considerately poured a cup for Fan Ruoruo, then one for himself.
Fan Sizhe tapped his teacup against the table. Before Fan Xian could react, Fan Ruoruo shot him a murderous look.
Fan Sizhe fell silent at once and behaved himself again.
Fan Ruoruo continued her account.
As Fan Xian listened, he picked up his cup and gently blew on the tea.
Then Fan Ruoruo said, "The third prince's most famous exploit was the remark he made as a child at the state banquet celebrating his taking a teacher: 'Why not eat meat gruel?'"
Fan Xian had just braved the heat to take a small sip. Hearing that all-too-familiar line, he froze and spat out his tea.
Without stopping to wipe it away, he urgently asked, "Ruoruo, say that again! Are you sure it was 'Why not eat meat gruel?'"
Fan Ruoruo looked somewhat startled, unable to understand why he was so excited.
Fan Xian's mind reeled. The remark "Why not eat meat gruel?" had come from Sima Zhong, Emperor Hui of Jin during the Western Jin, and was recorded in the "Annals of Emperor Hui" in the Book of Jin.
As a humanities student in his previous life, Fan Xian knew it all too well.
The same saying appearing in two different worlds could be a coincidence, but the odds were far too slim!
He was already almost certain his mother, Ye Qingmei, had been a transmigrator. Now, because of this remark, the likelihood that Zhou Cheng was one too soared in his mind!
"Ruoruo, that sounds interesting. Tell me about it in detail." Fan Xian set down his cup with trembling fingers, struggling to suppress his excitement.
For sixteen years, no one had understood the loneliness he felt as a transmigrator, a stranger in a foreign world. The thought that Zhou Cheng might be from his own world set his heart surging!
Fan Sizhe stared at Fan Xian as though he were an idiot. He couldn't understand what was so exciting about hearing the third prince's embarrassing past!
He had always considered himself far cleverer than the third prince, Li Chengcheng.
At least when he was eight, he would never have said something as stupid as "Why not eat meat gruel?"
Fan Ruoruo gathered her thoughts and began explaining what she knew.
By the time Fan Xian finished listening, he had calmed down considerably.
He realized that this one detail really might be a coincidence, so he turned to asking about other matters.
Seeing his interest, Fan Ruoruo could only do her best to remember and patiently recount what she knew.
Slowly, Fan Xian's spirits sank.
There were plenty of stories about Zhou Cheng, but of the several Fan Ruoruo told him, only "Why not eat meat gruel?" fit.
He had had enough of his inner loneliness. He desperately wanted to discover someone else from his own world.
He wanted to find Zhou Cheng and sound him out immediately, but felt that acting so abruptly would be too rash.
Fan Xian paced around the room, torn between hope and fear.
Suddenly, he stopped, remembering Li Hongcheng's invitation.
The third prince will also be invited to tomorrow's poetry gathering. That would be a good opportunity.
Having settled on that, Fan Xian finally let out a long breath.
Zhou Cheng knew nothing of Fan Xian's turmoil. After finishing his meal, he left the restaurant with Sang Wen.
As the protagonist of Joy of Life, Fan Xian was important to him, but not indispensable. At most, he was a tool for generating emotions, with the added benefit of serving as insurance for completing system missions.
There was no time limit on his second system mission, so he was in no hurry.
Meanwhile, Fan Xian finished his lavish meal without enjoying it. As he left the restaurant, he couldn't resist asking downstairs, only to learn that Zhou Cheng had long since departed.
He could only suppress his feelings once more, then head to the Overwatch Council alone.
He had promised Teng Zijing that he would retrieve his file and help him find his family.
As it happened, he carried the commissioner's badge his teacher, Fei Jie, had given him, identifying him as a commissioner.
Although a commissioner held no actual authority within the Overwatch Council, the title was still a mark of status.
At the very least, freely entering the Overwatch Council and retrieving an internal file would be easy.
Events unfolded just as they had in the original story. Fan Xian strolled into the Overwatch Council, encountered Wang Qinian, and learned that he was a clerk there.
After a lengthy conversation, the two not only cleared up their misunderstanding but discovered that they shared similar interests, getting along quite well.
Fan Xian then asked Wang Qinian to retrieve Teng Zijing's file. Wang Qinian promised to deliver it to the Fan Residence the next day.
Fan Xian agreed without giving it much thought.
He also learned from Wang Qinian that the man who had issued false orders within the Overwatch Council, sending Teng Zijing to assassinate him, was named Xu Yunzhang.
But Xu Yunzhang had already been secretly silenced...
As Fan Xian walked out through the Overwatch Council's gates, he saw the stone tablet Ye Qingmei had left when she founded it.
The tablet recorded Ye Qingmei's beautiful vision, and Fan Xian stood before it for a long time.
Through its inscription, he learned that his mother, Ye Qingmei, had been an idealist, and began to dimly understand why she had died.
Afterward, Fan Xian returned to Count Sinan's Residence and told Teng Zijing that his file would arrive the next day.
With the lead on Xu Yunzhang, he began investigating the person behind the attempt on his life.
With Teng Zijing's help, Fan Xian changed into dark clothes and went to a clandestine shop in the Capital that specialized in selling information.
The shop's interior was disguised as a gambling house. When he entered, a crowd was shouting boisterously, filling the place with noise.
Fan Xian found the proprietor and was led into an empty private room, where he lowered his voice and said quietly:
"I want to investigate the personal connections of Xu Yunzhang from the Overwatch Council's Fourth Bureau."
The proprietor glanced at him and was about to turn away when Fan Xian reached out to stop him.
Fan Xian paused, looking slightly hesitant. "Well, um... I'd also like detailed information on the life of Qing's third prince, Li Chengcheng, also known as Prince Cheng."
The proprietor's expression changed sharply, and he immediately stepped back half a pace.
He studied Fan Xian's face intently for a few moments, but dared say no more. Leaving him with a curt "Wait here," he hurried away.
While Fan Xian was still regretting how bluntly he had phrased his request, a messenger pigeon soon flew straight from the gambling house's rear courtyard to the imperial palace.
The secret message tied to its leg reached the hands of Eunuch Hou, the plump-faced chief eunuch, who promptly delivered it to Emperor Qing.
In the imperial study, Emperor Qing placed the message on his desk and tapped the surface with his fingertips.
"This Fan Xian! Buying information on Xu Yunzhang is one thing, but why did he think to buy information on Chengcheng?"
Eunuch Hou quickly presented a scroll and bowed. "Your Majesty, this is today's surveillance report. Prince Cheng crossed paths with Fan Xian while dining at the One Stone Residence at midday. Perhaps that sparked his interest."
Emperor Qing frowned slightly and quickly read through the report.
When he finished, he slapped it down on the desk. "Li Chengcheng is becoming more outrageous by the day! Parading around with a brothel girl and making sure everyone knows about it. Utter nonsense!"
Eunuch Hou stood silently with his head lowered, not daring to respond.
Only after Emperor Qing's anger had eased a little did he say quietly, "His Highness Prince Cheng had a quarrel with a scholar surnamed He. Afterward, he ordered Prince Jing's heir to escort the man into the palace. Scholar He is now waiting his turn in the castration room. Your Majesty... how should he be dealt with?"
Emperor Qing snorted coldly. "Since he's entered the palace, handle him according to the usual procedure. Am I supposed to issue an edict sending him back?
"That third son of mine only ever takes things out. He never thinks to send anything good into the palace!"
Eunuch Hou hastily smiled and put in a few good words for Zhou Cheng.
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