King Xiang originally wanted Fang Zilan to stay in Pingshan City for a while and then make plans after the injury healed. Unexpectedly, Fang Zilan jumped up and said that she would escort him back to the capital within two days.
Of course Fang Zilan knew what King Xiang was planning. Now that the war was over, he was heading back to the capital for the throne. At this time, someone who didn't know his background was not suitable to be around. He could just find an excuse to push him out. .
Of course she couldn't go along with King Xiang's wishes. The road from Pingshan City to the capital was high and far away. If anything happened to King Xiang along the way, it would be difficult for her to deal with him. She was going back to Beijing after all, so she was on the way.
"The girl's injury is not healed yet, it's better not to force it." King Xiang looked at Fang Zilan standing or sitting down or looking sad, and couldn't help but smiled and shook his head, "When the girl recovers and comes to Beijing again, I won't default on her debt. of."
"I follow His Highness Prince Xiang voluntarily. I have never thought about getting any reward." Fang Zilan said, holding on to the corner of the table beside her. Although she felt no pain, she still had to pay attention to the fact that the wound was not healed. The word "restless" should not be too suitable for her now, right? The injury is like this, and the same is true for King Xiang, so it is better to open the skylight and speak frankly.
Thinking of this, Fang Zilan simply hesitated and said, "His Royal Highness King Xiang and I might as well talk it over directly. I hope His Highness will not blame you." "Young lady, it's okay to just say it." King Xiang couldn't help but look at her determined look. Secretly amused, what does this little girl want to do?
"His Highness repeatedly advised me that my injury was serious, but it was just an excuse to not want me to follow him to Beijing. After all, you can't feel at ease when you have people who don't know your roots. Besides, when Miss Yan'er went back a few days ago, His Highness sent I'm afraid it's not as simple as an escort, so they should check my details." Fang Zilan said confidently, but Prince Xiang felt his heart tighten. This little girl had guessed most of it, it was indeed not simple.
"Your Highness can't trust me. I know it in my heart. In this case, it doesn't matter if I tell Your Highness my identity." Fang Zilan suddenly paused and took a deep breath. "I am Fang Zilan, the independent killer Zixiu."
After saying this, Fang Zilan couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, secretly praising herself for being smart. Anyway, King Xiang would find out the clues sooner or later, so it was better for her to reveal the truth in advance, so that everyone behind her could be hidden, including the young master.
"Zixiu, Fang Zilan?" Sure enough, Prince Xiang frowned slightly when he heard this name. Fang Zilan naturally knew the reason. Princess Xiang, Fang Ziqin, was only one word different from her, so she sounded like a natural sister. "I have nothing to do with the Fang family that His Highness is thinking of." She thought for a moment and added, "The person in front of Your Highness now is just the killer Zixiu."
King Xiang smiled slightly, little girl, isn't there three hundred taels of silver in this place? She looked unhappy when talking about the Fang family that day, and now she is anxious to clear up the relationship. She is usually exquisite and clear, so why is she so stupid about her own affairs?
"I have heard of Zixiu's name, and I heard that he is a first-class killer." Prince Xiang said with a smile on his face, "You are just a first-class killer, how can you be my follower?"
"As I said, doesn't His Highness also know that he is entrusted by others? He was assassinated in the capital and patrolled in Qingzhou. There are always people who want to protect His Highness." Fang Zilan saw King Xiang's unfathomable smile, so she could only speculate on her own answer, " The northern border is dangerous and ordinary people cannot protect His Highness, so naturally they can only hire me, a top-notch killer. After all, if I am the second best, I am afraid that no one will be the first."
As soon as these words came out, Prince Xiang couldn't help but chuckle, "You are quite confident." Fang Zilan was also startled. How could she know that she was number one? But this deep belief seemed to be innate and deeply rooted in her bones. She vaguely remembered that the man said to her, "Lan'er, you want to be the sharpest sword in my hand, the first sword in the world that belongs to me."
There was a stinging pain in the middle of her eyebrows. Fang Zilan held her forehead with one hand and clenched the corner of the table with the other hand, as if she wanted to squeeze out a hole. Upon seeing this, King Xiang hurriedly stood up and walked to her side, "Miss Fang?"
"I'm fine." She forced herself to put down her hand and raised her eyes to look at the person in front of her. The concern on his face didn't seem to be fake, but she knew very well in her heart that the person in front of her was Prince Xiang. Based on this identity alone, she couldn't trust him at all.
"What else does Your Highness want to know?" Fang Zilan pretended to be relaxed and spoke again, but saw Prince Xiang shake his head. "Your Highness, don't you ask who I am employed by?" King Xiang did not answer.
For a long time, just when she thought that King Xiang would say nothing more and was about to leave, she heard King Xiang's voice, "If I pay you ten times as much as your original employer, will you be willing to work for me?"
"Your Highness didn't even ask how much my original employer paid?" Fang Zilan couldn't help but find it funny. When he was considering what kind of price to say, he heard Prince Xiang say: "I just ask you if you are willing." The power in his tone that could not be refused made him laugh. She couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and suddenly she understood that he was destined to win. How could the man who was about to become the master of the world care about how much money he had?
"Okay." Fang Zilan's lips curled up slightly, "But the deal between me and my original employer is completed only when His Highness is returned to Beijing safely. Your Highness might as well discuss it in detail with me then." There was a hint of businessman in her words. The penny and the baht must be compared, making King Xiang only feel familiar. As expected, she is from the Fang family. She was born as a merchant and has a business acumen. I am afraid she will never be able to get rid of it.
"Why is Your Highness looking at me like this?" Unable to see through Prince Xiang's expression, Fang Zilan could only ask him, but he just shook his head, "It's nothing. I hope Miss Fang will remember today's appointment when we arrive in Beijing."
"That's natural. As killers, we pay attention to every word of faith. Since I, Fang Zilan, agreed to you today as Zixiu, I will not regret it." Fang Zilan said firmly, but she never thought that those incidents would happen in the future. .
Later, when she thought about it carefully, maybe she shouldn't have told Prince Xiang her true identity from the beginning, but at that time, as long as she thought about covering up for the young master, she didn't care so much.
The journey was quite peaceful. There was no assassination or any news. However, the calmer it was, the more uneasy Fang Zilan felt. She had heard that Emperor Ningshun was critically ill when she came to the north. It was logical for Prince Xiang to return to the capital this time. He ascended the throne, but no news came from the capital. Either the people under King Xiang were unavailable, or someone deliberately blocked the news.
She thought about this and glanced at King Xiang next to her. She herself was leaning towards the latter. After getting along with him during this trip, she felt that King Xiang had both a strategic plan and a sincerity to win people's hearts. Such a person's subordinates Not too bad.
During this period, Fang Zilan also received a letter from Wu Qing, saying that Emperor Ningshun's time was running out and the Empress Dowager was taking control of the government. It seemed that she wanted to assist King Yucheng in inheriting the throne. However, the Zhuge family, who had always been regarded as the right-hand man by the late emperor, did not express his position and was in retreat. , I'm afraid that King Xiang's return to Beijing will not be so smooth.
The young master wanted her to stay with King Xiang until King Xiang came to the throne. But she still remembered the agreement she made that day to promise King Xiang to work for him. She had no two masters, so she could only watch as she walked.
"What are you thinking about?" Prince Xiang's voice reached Fang Zilan's ears, "The capital is ahead, why is this expression?" "It's nothing, I'm just afraid that nothing will happen on this journey, but there will be a scene when I enter the capital. A fierce battle is waiting for His Highness." She said and looked at Prince Xiang, only to see him smiling faintly, "Then there will also be Miss Laofang."
Prince Xiang was really rude, Fang Zilan smiled and shook his head, and entered the city with Prince Xiang into Prince Xiang's Mansion. As soon as she entered the house, she saw an acquaintance, and Fang Zilan was helpless. It wasn't that she didn't expect to see her sister Fang Ziqin, but she probably just didn't expect to be so embarrassed.
"I have met Princess Xiang." Fang Zilan was still dressed in men's clothing, but she was still recognized by Fang Ziqin. He stood there and stared at her blankly. It was a gaffe she had never seen before.
In Fang Zilan's impression, Fang Ziqin, as the prime minister's eldest daughter, always seems to be a well-behaved lady, and a good hand in running the house. She is well-known throughout the capital as a virtuous lady. This is the first time she has seen this look.
In the end, it was King Xiang who broke the embarrassing situation, "What's wrong, Princess? This is Miss Xiu, who saved my life in the north." "I'm fine, it's just Miss Xiu and one of my family members. The appearance of my sister is somewhat similar. I thought I saw my sister for a moment, so I lost my temper. I hope Your Highness is not surprised."
"It doesn't matter, the princess hasn't seen her family for a long time. It's human nature to miss her sisters. Come back to Fang's house to take a look when you have time." Prince Xiang said these words in a polite and distant manner, which sounded considerate, but Fang Zilan was not at all I didn't hear any concern. Is this the legendary respect for each other? She thought like this as she followed Prince Xiang to the door of the study.
"If there is nothing else, Your Highness Prince Xiang, I will leave." Seeing that Prince Xiang never mentioned what happened that day, Fang Zilan thought about finding a reason to leave first, but unexpectedly, Prince Xiang had no intention of letting her go. "Miss Xiu, did you think I was joking that day?"
"I don't dare to do this." Seeing Prince Xiang's eyes darken a little, Fang Zilan immediately changed her voice, "It's just that the journey was so dusty, and I really don't dare to stay in front of His Highness for a moment in this state. I just ask His Highness to let me Go freshen up and change clothes first."
"Haven't I seen you look worse than this?" There was a hint of teasing in Prince Xiang's expression, but she waved her hand indifferently, "That's different. It was on the battlefield before, and now it's in Xiang In the palace, your highness must not want your servants to be disgraced, right?"
"That's all, you go ahead." Prince Xiang smiled and shook his head, then told the guard Xia Houzhang on the other side, "Take her to the study to see me after she has been tidied up."
"Thank you, brother Xiahou." Fang Zilan clasped her fists, but Xiahou Zhang was not moved at all. She was used to it. Xiahou Zhang had such a temper along the way - taciturn, except for the words of King Xiang, others did not say anything. Accept.
I heard from King Xiang that during the Battle of Wind River Valley, Xia Houzhang went to Pingshan City to bring reinforcements and did not follow him. Who would have thought that so many things would happen later? He has always regretted that he did not do a good job, and Xia Houyan's death was not good for him. The blow was also huge.
Just as Fang Zilan was about to follow Xia Houzhang out, she heard a boy coming to report that it was the second son of the Zhuge family who had come to announce the edict for the Holy Emperor.
When King Xiang heard that it was the second son of the Zhuge family who came to convey the order, he stopped the two of them, "Don't rush to freshen up and change clothes. Come with me to see Zhuge Yu."
