Naturally, Liu Rushi still prefers to support the Crown Prince for the throne.
But if in the end the Crown Prince cannot ascend, at the very least... they must secure the alliance signed by the Second Prince!
Currently, the Dongyi Kingdom is being unruly, and by all rights, they should be attacked! They must be attacked!
However, the attack must wait until the matters with the gambling country are settled.
He has been entrusted with a significant responsibility by the Emperor, so he must do everything in his power to stabilize the Dongyi Kingdom without allowing any unexpected incidents.
Seeing Fan Yugan blinking and staring at him, Liu Rushi asked, "Since there’s no difficulty, why are you looking at like that?"
Fan Yugan chuckled and asked, "Sir, does this count as sacrificing myself for the country? Is it possible... to get so silver from Minister Liu?"
Lu Fenglang: "..."
Liu Rushi was taken aback, but seeing Fan Yugan’s mischievous expression, he too laughed and nodded, "Well, it truly is a hardship for you to sacrifice yourself for the country! Go to my attendant for the silver!"
"Sure thing!" Fan Yugan bowed to Liu Rushi, "I’ll change my clothes now and then take a stroll around the pleasure quarters of Dongyi Kingdom!"
"Rember to take the guard!" Liu Rushi felt a little uneasy.
"Rest assured, Sir, acting like a playboy is second nature to !" Fan Yugan said with a smile.
That night, Fan Yugan swaggered off with the guard to the most famous pleasure quarters of the Dongyi Kingdom, claiming that he was there to understand the local customs, spending lavishly and even competing for attention with the nobility of the Dongyi Kingdom, just as he had done back in Dadu City.
This ti Liu Rushi brought Lu Fenglang and Fan Yugan to the Dongyi Kingdom, and initially, the Dongyi Kingdom was unsure of who these three were.
However, since the Tianfeng Kingdom wanted to assist the Dongyi Kingdom in clarifying the identities of these three, after the morning court eting with the Zhou envoy today, the Dongyi Kingdom learned about the main identities and temperants of these three key mbers of the Zhou envoy delegation.
There’s no need to ntion Liu Rushi... a significant court minister from the Zhou Dynasty and a well-known personality.
Yet, when it cos to Lu Fenglang, their knowledge is scant, as Lu Fenglang was reared in seclusion, beyond the reach of the Tianfeng Kingdom’s influence to the Commandant Lu’s residence.
Fan Yugan was easy to investigate; previously known as a notorious playboy in Dadu City, after his father was imprisoned, he turned over a new leaf to study diligently for the civil exams. Now, in the Dongyi Kingdom... he once again frequents the pleasure quarters. It seems that a leopard cannot change its spots, and considering the distance from Zhou, he has reverted to old habits, yet others do not take it seriously.
For three consecutive days, Fan Yugan road the pleasure quarters, exploring the myriad places of entertainnt in the Dongyi Kingdom. For him, it was a thrill to discover new amusents, sotis visiting two or three establishnts in a single night, under the guise of eting beauties to learn the Dongyi language from them.
Encountering the playboys of the Dongyi Kingdom’s capital, Fan Yugan was generous with his spending, lavish in treating others, likely due to a shared fondness for extravagance, which quickly won him allies among the local playboys.
Of course, so playboys were ordered by their families to approach Fan Yugan, hoping to extract so information from him.
Fan Yugan portrayed the role of a naive playboy quite convincingly. When questioned, he would initially be tight-lipped, only divulging secrets after a few drinks, and then swore the others to secrecy, claiming he considered them brothers, advising them not to disclose anything to a third party!
Thus, through these friendly playboys, the Dongyi Kingdom gleaned a lot of information... primarily what Liu Rushi wanted to disseminate through Fan Yugan’s lips.
On the fourth day, after indulging in the pleasure quarters for three days, Fan Yugan encountered the Second Prince. Incidentally, he ended up openly competing with the Second Prince for a courtesan, and upon realizing the misstep, he apologized with a playful smile, claiming had he known it was the Second Prince, he wouldn’t have competed.
He used the excuse of soon returning to the Zhou, where restrictions would resu, thus he indulged himself a little asking the Second Prince’s tolerance.
The typically volatile Second Prince seed unperturbed by the drunken and swaying Fan Yugan, raising his sharp eyebrows but refraining from anger, and even had Fan Yugan brought over, graciously saying, "It’s only about listening to a courtesan play the zither! It’s all the sa whether one listens alone or two listen together. Since you’ve traveled far, shouldn’t we listen together if you’re interested?"
"Sure!" Without a care in the world, Fan Yugan was helped upstairs, and truly sat with the Second Prince listening to the courtesan, boldly critiquing her playing, and even attempting "General Bai’s Expedition Song" himself.
Though drunk, Fan Yugan’s hands moved with thunderous speed, producing a rolling and majestic sense of battle with the zither, capturing the Second Prince’s attention.
The Second Prince’s love for the zither was well rembered by Fan Yugan.
Though he appeared a frivolous spendthrift, Fan Yugan was still a son of nobility, proficient in the arts of the zither as expected.
However, Fan Yugan felt obliged to thank the Xiliang dancer Kang Na, for creating such a martial piece, strikingly distinct from the usual amorous tunes of the pleasure quarters.
The Second Prince, who cherished the zither, indeed looked at Fan Yugan anew, but just as he was about to comnd him, Fan Yugan swayed and fell unconsciously to the side, without resistance, slipping into sleep.
"Your Highness!" the Second Prince’s guard glanced at Fan Yugan, then turned to the Second Prince, "It seems he’s fallen asleep!"
With fingers tapping casually on the table, the Second Prince signaled his guard to check if Fan Yugan was truly drunk or rely feigning.
The guard lightly patted Fan Yugan’s face, "Sir Fan! Sir Fan?"
Fan Yugan waved his hand as if to brush the guard’s hand away, but ultimately failed and let his hand drop heavily, his breath reeking of strong alcohol as he muttered sothing incomprehensible.
With a nod to affirm, the guard inford the Second Prince.
The Second Prince’s gaze lingered on Fan Yugan’s face for a long mont, instructing, "Escort him back!"
"Yes!"
Soon, the dead drunk Fan Yugan was escorted back by the Second Prince’s guards.
Liu Rushi and Lu Fenglang, having heard the news, rushed over only to find the utterly inebriated Fan Yugan being placed onto the bed by the Second Prince’s guard.
"Minister Liu, I said before that Fan Yugan cannot be relied upon, that he shouldn’t have been brought to the Tianfeng Kingdom; he’s only going to cause trouble, and without the Emperor keeping him in check, nobody can manage him!" Lu Fenglang grumbled after stepping over the threshold, but noticing the Second Prince’s guard was still present, he fell silent, positioning himself behind Minister Liu without saying more.
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