The day after Fan Xian learned of his life, Emperor Qing suddenly issued an edict to let him enter the palace for dinner.
At first Fan Xian didn't want to go, but in the end it was Fan Jian who persuaded him and he reluctantly entered the palace.
After entering the palace, Fan Xian discovered that Emperor Qing not only wanted to have dinner with him, but also the prince, the second prince, and the third prince were all there. It was like a family banquet.
"My lord, Fan Xian, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince." Fan Xian cupped his fists and saluted without kneeling down.
Prince Li Chengqian said displeasedly: "Master Xiao Fan, you are so arrogant, how dare you not kneel down when you see me!"
Fan Xian hesitated when he heard the words. The second prince Li Chengze smiled and said: "Your Highness, Mr. Fan is a sweet-tempered person and doesn't stick to trivial matters. Why do you need to embarrass him!"
The prince said with a straight face: "I am the Crown Prince of the East Palace. If the ministers are still standing to pay their respects, how can the Crown Prince retain his face?"
Li Chengqian didn't want to see Fan Xian at all, so he would naturally not have a good look on him and would not let him go when he caught the opportunity to behave inappropriately.
The third prince hid aside, keeping his eyes on the dishes on the table, not wanting to get involved in the dispute.
Emperor Qing gave birth to five sons. The eldest prince was born from Ningcai. Because his mother was born in a humble way, Emperor Qing sent him to the army for training very early. He is still at the border today.
The second prince, Li Chengze, was the daughter of Concubine Shu. He was favored by Emperor Qing since childhood and was the first among the brothers to be crowned king.
Prince Li Chengqian is the third in age, but because he was established as crown prince, he does not participate in the ranking of princes.
The third prince, Li Chengping, was born to a concubine named Yigui. Because he was still young, he did not participate in government affairs.
This fifth prince is naturally Fan Xian, but he is the illegitimate son of Emperor Qing and Ye Qingmei. Now he is nominally the son of Fan Jian, and his identity is kept secret.
Now that Fan Xian knows his identity, he naturally doesn't want to kneel down and worship Prince Li Chengqian. After all, he has a modern mindset and is naturally averse to kneeling before him.
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I have injured my leg recently and cannot kneel down to worship." Fan Xian said to Li Chengqian calmly.
"Bold." Li Chengqian was immediately furious, feeling that Fan Xian looked down on him.
"What are you arguing about?" Emperor Qing came over at this time, heard the commotion and asked casually.
Li Chengqian had no choice but to let Fan Xian go first and bow to Emperor Qing.
"My son, please see your father." The prince, second prince and third prince said.
"I see your Majesty." Fan Xian still did not kneel down. He just clasped his fists and bent over, but lowered his head very low, not wanting Emperor Qing to see the clues.
"Get up! Today is a family banquet, there are not so many rules." Emperor Qing said with a smile.
When Fan Xian heard the word "family banquet", his pupils shrank slightly.
"Fan Xian, please sit next to me."
Emperor Qing took Fan Xian and sat directly on the main seat. He asked Fan Xian to sit on his left, the prince on his right, and the second and third princes took the first place.
When Li Chengqian saw this ranking, he became even more jealous of Fan Xian.
"It's rare that I have free time today, so I'll ask you brothers to come to the palace to have a meal together." Emperor Qing said with a smile: "Don't be restrained, just eat!"
When the second prince heard this, he picked up the chopsticks without any scruples and started eating and drinking. The appearance of eating was quite ugly.
The prince and the third prince were much more polite, especially Li Chengqian, whose every move was in line with royal etiquette.
Fan Xian didn't use his chopsticks much. Although the royal chef prepared delicious dishes, he couldn't eat a single bite.
Emperor Qing took a piece of fish for Fan Xian and said, "We are all a family here, so feel free to eat!"
Fan Xian trembled when he heard this and almost stopped.
Emperor Qing gave the second prince another piece of fish and said, "You kid, you have been bad at eating since you were a child. Be careful not to choke."
This was the first time that Fan Xian saw the gentle side of Emperor Qing. At this moment, he didn't look like a lofty king, but more like a father.
"Prince." Emperor Qing suddenly straightened his face and said to Li Chengqian: "I am going to entertain the Yuanmeng envoy tomorrow, go and do it!"
"Yes, Father." The prince put down his chopsticks and returned the greeting.
Emperor Qing glanced at Fan Xian again and said, "You can come to the banquet tomorrow too!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Fan Xian said calmly.
"Second child, third child, please get closer to Fan Xian when you have time. You are about the same age, so we should be able to chat."
The prince's hand trembled, feeling that there was something in Emperor Qing's words.
"Fan Xian, you will marry Prime Minister Lin's daughter in a while. If you need anything, just ask me." The second prince smiled.
The prince's face became even worse. He had always opposed Lin Waner's marriage to Fan Xian, and even suggested it to Emperor Qing, but Emperor Qing didn't listen.
Fan Xian was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly clasped his fists and said to Emperor Qing: "Your Majesty, I feel that I am not worthy of Your Highness the Princess. Please take back your Holy Order."
Emperor Qing paused with his chopsticks and said, "Fan Xian, what did you hear?"
Fan Xian lowered his head and said, "I was born in a humble background. Your Royal Highness, the Princess, has a golden branch and a noble bloodline. It is really unfair to marry a lowly minister."
Emperor Qing put down his chopsticks with a sullen face, and no one else dared to continue eating.
"Since I have granted you a marriage, don't worry. After entertaining the Yuanmeng envoy, you will marry Princess Chen immediately." Emperor Qing glanced at Li Chengqian coldly.
Li Chengqian became nervous.
Ever since rumors circulated in Kyoto that Fan Xian was Ye Qingmei's son, the eldest princess Li Yunrui was very opposed to Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er's marriage. She even went to the Queen Mother several times to cry and make trouble, and she also visited Emperor Qing and the Crown Prince.
However, Emperor Qing's attitude was very firm. Fan Xian must marry Lin Wan'er, and after the marriage, Li Yunrui must hand over the financial rights of the inner treasury.
The reason why Fan Xian doesn't want to marry Lin Wan'er is because he thinks they are too close by blood to be considered close relatives, and because he has never met Lin Wan'er until now, and his thoughts are all about Bai Yueguang's "chicken leg girl".
Because of Wang Gang, Fan Xian has been running to Wang's Cloth Shop since he entered the capital. In addition, there have been many things happening in Kyoto City recently, so he did not go to see Lin Waner in private. Naturally, he did not know that the "chicken leg girl" was Lin Waner.
?Fan Xian scorns blind marriage and dumb marriage, and yearns for free love.
"Your Majesty, the important matter of marriage is not something to be trifled with. I have never met Her Majesty the Princess, so it would be too hasty to get married rashly."
Emperor Qing threw away his chopsticks angrily and shouted: "Fan Xian, don't be ungrateful. Marriage has always been the order of parents and the advice of matchmakers.
You still want to meet the princess first, what, if the princess is ugly, don’t you want to marry her?"
"Your Majesty, calm down." Everyone knelt down, and Fan Xian knelt down reluctantly.
Emperor Qing stood up and said to Fan Xian: "You have nothing to say, since I have decreed a marriage, Fan Xian, you can be your groom with peace of mind. If I find out that you dare to treat the princess badly, be careful with your neck."
Head."
Fan Xian suddenly felt a chill on his neck and said tremblingly, "I don't dare."
Emperor Qing shook his sleeves and said, "I won't eat, I have no appetite."
After saying that, Emperor Qing strode away, leaving the family dinner unhappy.
After Emperor Qing left, the prince stood up first and said to Fan Xian: "Fan Xian, don't think that relying on His Majesty's favor, you can do whatever you want. Your Majesty has proposed marriage. When will it be your turn to regret it? You are really treating the majesty of the Tian family as a decoration."
?"
Fan Xian gritted his teeth and finally realized that his identity was always different from that of Li.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for the reminder."
Li Chengqian snorted coldly and walked away.
The second prince helped Fan Xian up and said with a smile: "Master Fan, my father still loves you! If you were an ordinary person, nine heads would not be enough to chop him off if he dared to refuse the royal marriage."
Fan Xian had a gloomy face, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Don't think too much and get ready to get married! Although my cousin Wan'er has a weak body, she is still a stunning beauty. You will not be wronged if you marry her!" the second prince said teasingly.
"Second brother, Fan Xian is marrying his cousin, not getting married." The third prince reminded him kindly.
"It's all the same, isn't it!" the second prince laughed.