Chapter 33 : Alignment

The door of the house gently closed, and the man who had just entered the house lifted his bucket hat, revealing a bright and seductive face, his purple clothes enchanting and overwhelming. He handed the hat to the attendant behind him, glanced at the table full of exquisite dishes, and walked slowly to the window.

The one he chose was the private room on the first floor of the restaurant facing the street, and from the window he could just see the bustling street. In the evening, people rush to their homes, or drink and play in groups of three or five, vendors are busy selling the remaining goods, who will not notice the current Emperor's Grand Prince appeared in the marketplace in the small restaurant.

Lanxuan looked out of the window and returned to the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea, he did not rush to drink, but first took out a silver needle from his bosom and tested it, seeing no abnormalities, only then did he sip the tea unhurriedly.

"Good tea." He raised the pure white cup and smiled with satisfaction.

Fang Ping was a bit unhappy and placed his master's bucket hat on the chair next to him, listening carefully to the movements outside with his side ear, after waiting for half a day with no footsteps, he muttered, "Your Highness, you have just returned to the Imperial Capital you should go and rest first ah, how tiring it is to run down this trip. Moreover, where is the reason to make you wait?"

Lan Xuan put down his cup and smiled mysteriously, "Fang Ping, do you know who asked me out today?"

"I don't know, but no matter what, I can't be late and make His Majesty wait for him, right?"

Lanxuan looked at this somewhat hairy but no less loyal guard, once again got up and walked to the window, saying, "For this matter, even if I am made to wait for a day and a night, I am willing to do so."

Fang Ping muttered in surprise at who was so capable. Although his own king had always been modest and courteous, treating people in a friendly and approachable manner, he had yet to see anyone who could make the king come to the meeting without stopping.

Lan Xuan narrowed his eyes to carefully observe the people coming and going on the street, noticing a young man with clear eyebrows and scholarly attire walking through the crowd towards the diner, the corners of his lips rose and he turned back to the table.

"Here comes the man."

Fang Ping immediately jumped up and glared nervously at the door of the room.

Not long after, a sound of footsteps resounded outside, followed by a rhythmic knock on the door, and Lan Xuan signalled for Fang Ping to open the door.

Standing outside the room was none other than the scholar from the street just now, he had a refined and gentle appearance, and smiled faintly at Fang Ping who had a stunned look on his face.

"You, you ... who are you?" Fang Ping looked at him, always feeling somewhat familiar.

The scholar said, "It's not good to let me keep standing at the door for outsiders to see, oh, Servant Fang."

Obviously looks like a man, but open mouth is a woman's voice, Fang Ping froze for a moment suddenly suddenly realised - today's appointment with his own king, is Lord Wu Pan!

Fang Ping hurriedly made way for Pei Si Yan to come in, and then went out himself, closing the door of the room in the process. He knew that today's secret meeting between His Majesty and Lord Wuban must have something very confidential to discuss, and it was better for him to evade.

Lan Xuan carefully sized up Pei Si Yan for a while, his bright eyes curved and said, "The male dressed Lord Wufan is really graceful, making Lan someone feel inferior at once, he must be able to charm a lot of women, right?"

King Hui's jokes made Pei Si Yan blush a little, she smiled in embarrassment and busily apologised, "There are important matters to deal with on the Emperor's side, it's really rude to make your Highness King Hui wait for a long time."

"It's fine, I've only been here for a short while," Lan Xuan waved his hand, after the two sat down opposite each other at the table, he continued, "Just rushing back to the imperial capital, there's Lord Wuban's fine wine and food to entertain me, Lan is really blessed."

Pei Si Yan poured two cups of wine and said, "My humble servant will first toast His Majesty."

She was about to drink, Lan Xuan pressed her hand and said gently, "I heard that Lord Wuban has just recovered from a long illness, so this cup of wine is still drunk by someone from Lan on your behalf. And ... there are no outsiders here, there is no need to be so polite, Lord Wuban just call me by my name."

Pei Si Yan said, "How ... is this?"

"Eh," Lanxuan took the wine cup from Pei Si Yan's hand and drank it down in one gulp, saying meaningfully, "In the future, we are allies in life and death, so why do we need those etiquettes?"

Pei Si Yan gazed at His Highness King Hui, a crystalline light flowing in her eyes as she gently smiled.

"Actually, there is a question that has me slightly confused ... I want to know why you want the throne so badly?"

"Because after becoming the supreme emperor, I will have the opportunity to be able to clear my mother's name," Lan Xuan sighed bitterly, "I want to let all those who misunderstood my mother know that it was a conspiracy!"

Lanxuan paused, his gaze even more resolute, "So I absolutely cannot live and die to get the throne! And if my pampered and uneducated royal brothers were to ascend to the throne as emperor, I'm afraid that the Blue Country will perish, I want to be a prosperous and bright ruler, and make the Blue Country the most powerful country on the Spirit Abyss Continent."

Looking at this man with a big heart, Pei Si Yan was in an excited mood.

She really hadn't followed the wrong person!

"Is Miss Tantai satisfied with my answer?"

"Yes. Your Highness will definitely become a generation of holy lords embraced by all the people."

Lanxuan put down his wine glass and placed a clean teacup in front of Pei Siyan, "Miss Tantai, your body is important, it's better to drink tea instead."

"Many thanks for your concern," Pei Si Yan owed her body slightly, but picked up a large bowl by the table, "But today the wine is necessary to take a sip of ...," she picked up the wine jug and poured it all into the large bowl. Then she stood up and fished out a small delicate dagger from her sleeve, "Your Highness, it is the honour of three lifetimes for me to be acquainted with you. Your and my intentions are clear without words, let's take a blood oath today!"

Saying this, Pei Si Yan used the dagger to cut a slit in her finger without hesitation, letting beads of blood drip down into the wine.

She raised her head and looked across at Lan Xuan, handing the dagger over.

"Good!" Lanxuan laughed out loud and cut his finger.

The bright red blood beads of the two men slowly slid and floated in the wine, gradually dispersing and finally melting into one, constantly rotating and outlining strange patterns.

Pei Si Yan cupped the bowl with both hands, gazed earnestly at Lan Xuan, and swore a solemn oath to him: ''I, Tantai Yan, will serve His Highness the King of Hui in the future, and will support you as you ascend to the throne as the emperor! If I violate this oath, I, Tantai Yan, shall not die a good death, and I shall die without a burial place!"

As the words fell, Pei Si Yan drank a large mouthful of blood wine, the spicy liquor stimulated her intestines and stomach to churn, she covered her mouth to prevent herself from coughing, trying her hardest to maintain a titanic and calm appearance.

The smile on Lanxuan's face disappeared, replaced by a rare seriousness, he took the bowl and said word for word: "Lanxuan is willing to help Lord Wushan with all his might, to ensure that the Tantai family will be prosperous for generations, and that one person will be under the authority of ten thousand people! If you violate this oath, you will not be able to fulfil your wish for the rest of your life, and you will die without a whole body!"

Watching Lanxuan drink the rest of the blood wine, Pei Si Yan immediately felt that the taut string in her body could finally relax. From now on, it would no longer be her alone, there was still a strong force by her side that could secure the future of the Tantai family.

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, Lan Xuan noticed Pei Si Yan's still bleeding finger and drew out a handkerchief from his arms, walking over to her side and carefully cupping that hand.

"The cut is too deep." Lan Xuan said painfully, carefully wrapping Pei Si Yan's finger with the hanky.

I don't know if it's because of the alcohol or what, Pei Si Yan feels her cheeks rolling, she panics and covers her face with her other hand, skimming her head to keep Lan Xuan from seeing.

Waiting for Lanxuan to return to his seat, Pei Si Yan spoke in a low voice: ''I think the most urgent thing is to eradicate the biggest obstacle in the dynasty, the Feng Taishi. Only by doing so can the Emperor dispel the idea of making His Royal Highness the second prince as the Crown Prince, I don't know what Your Highness intends to do next?"

"As I said, you can call me by my name." Lanxuan laughed.

"Yes ..." Pei Si Yan always felt that shouting someone's name was a bit weird, her tongue didn't listen to the call for half a day, finally shouted out, "Lan ... Lanxuan. "

"Miss Tantai can have a good plan?"

Pei Siyan thought about it and asked, "This inspection of a local official, any gains?"

"Thanks to Miss Tantai's blessing, the harvest is not small, many local officials are bullied by some of the capital officials, and are resentful, and are more willing to co-operate with me, in addition to finding out that a total of eight local officials are corrupt and accepting bribes, and their crimes are punishable by death, and they will be escorted to the imperial capital tomorrow."

Pei Si Yan's eyes lit up and asked, "Where are those eight officials from?"

Lanxuan said, "All of them are from rich counties around the imperial capital."

Pei Si Yan revealed an excited look, "The minister of mandarins and I have a good friendship, I now have a plan to deal with the Feng Tai Shi."

Seeing Pei Si Yan smiling in a sneaky manner, Lan Xuan asked in confusion, "What good plan does Miss Tantai have?"

"Let them kill each other ..." Pei Si Yan smiled maliciously, "But this matter also depends on luck. Anyway, I'll take care of this matter, please don't worry."

Lanxuan smiled and nodded, lowering his head and toying with the small wine glass.

"Rushing back to the Imperial Capital, you're winded, dinner hasn't been used yet, right?" Pei Si Yan asked with concern, "Please have dinner soon."

"Good," Lan Xuan picked up his chopsticks and asked as he chucked in some vegetables, "What has Miss Tantai gained in these past few months?"

"Bought off most of the minor officials, all of which other powers couldn't see eye to eye with. However, what I think is that a small power is sometimes enough to shake the foundation, and from them, I can probe some unknown news, and through them, it is easier to reach out to the people.

"He who wins the hearts of the people will win the world."

The news that Wang Jianshan's close friends had quietly come to the imperial capital leading the troops was on the tip of Pei Si Yan's tongue before she finally swallowed it back into her stomach.

No matter what, there had to be some reservations between them to make it work.

Lanxuan applauded, "A good phrase, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world!"

"This inspection of the magistrates has also enlisted a lot of people's hearts for you, right?"

"Yes, thanks to Miss Tantai's help, I was able to take on this errand that seems thankless to others. Everywhere I go, the people all welcome me and praise me."

Pei Si Yan smiled down and raised her teacup, "This is what I should do. With tea instead of wine, I wish you an early ascension to the throne."

"On that day, I will definitely bring Miss Tantai to proudly look down on the world!