Midnight recommendation

  The lanterns shine brightly, and the study is as bright as day.

  Li Peinan sat on the main seat, wearing a dark green changshan with a piece of golden silk embroidery turned out at the cuff, and a single embroidered ink bamboo hanging down like water, without staining a single thread. The clothes he wore were even more luxurious, since he walked into the house and paid his respects to Li Peinan, the purple-red long gown reflected in the lamplight, stealing away all the colors in the room, and bringing out a circle of bright light on the powder wall.

  Li Peinan calmly accepted the courtesy of Fei Yu and replied: "Please sit down."

  Fei Yi walked to the left side of the main seat and sat down, not speaking for a long time. His posture was upright as usual. Li Peinan and Fei Yi had been separated for a long time, and in recent years, they had only met a few times, each busy with their own affairs, gradually diluting the already shallow friendship between them. Fei Yi had always respected Li Peinan since childhood, while Li Peinan had always been polite to Fei Yi.

  Fei Yi was silent, and Li Peinan didn't rush him. He sat patiently, sipping a few mouthfuls of clear tea. Lü Qun dismissed the maids and attendants, personally carrying in a tray with a teapot and placing it on the yellow pear wood table beside Fei Yi. He retreated to one side to pour tea for Fei Yi. He lifted the lid of the pale blue glazed teacup, turning it over and attaching it to the side of the cup, pouring in the tea soup, allowing the liquid to flow down along the rim of the cup. Then he used both hands to gently shake the teacup, ensuring the tea leaves were fully infused. At this time, the fragrance of the tea was strong and overflowing, and only then did he put down the teacup and lid, bowing his head and retreating behind the screen.

  Fei Yi, who was well-versed in the art of tea, watched Lei Qun serve tea with a skilled hand, and his expression involuntarily softened. "The young master has a good subordinate," he said. "He is thorough in all aspects of his work." Fei Yi had been addressing Li Peinan as "young master" since he was three years old, a term that was both polite and distant, and he had never changed it. This year, Li Peinan was twenty-four years old, and he listened to this form of address for the sixteenth year without batting an eyelid.

  Li Peinan glanced at Li Qun, who understood and hastily stood behind the screen, bowing his head to say: "Second Master is overpraising me, I am unworthy of such praise."

  Fei Yi lifted the tea lid and took a sip, not responding. The study fell silent again. Li Peinan knew that Fei Yi was someone who wouldn't come to the Three Treasures Hall for no reason, so he guessed that there must be something on his mind. He decided to be even more patient than Fei Yi, skipping the small talk altogether.

  Fei Yi arrived in Qingquan County by horse-drawn carriage yesterday at noon, and the communication soldier from the sentry post hurriedly delivered the message to the mansion. Li Peinan grasped Fei Yi's movements for the first time. He waited for a while, but since Fei Yi didn't come to pay his respects, he sent someone to invite him over. The attendant who was sent later reported that when Fei Yi passed through the market street, he stopped for a moment and intently watched Daozhang and his apprentice performing the "big god" ritual. That apprentice was Min An. Before this, Li Peinan had already observed Min An and Wu Ren's antics in the arena below from the main building's balcony railing. After Fei Yi arrived, they only exchanged two or three polite sentences, asking about Wang Ye's well-being, without mentioning his continuous wandering outside for two years. Li Peinan didn't have the heart to ask either; after drinking a cup of tea, he felt that the scene of brotherly affection had been sufficiently displayed, so he called E Lie to arrange Fei Yi's accommodations. Fei Yi also didn't express gratitude and turned around to head down first, moving into the rear residence of the mansion. A day and night passed, but the renowned Fei Yi didn't show his face once, refusing visits from various officials and gentry. However, after Min An blocked the carriage and cried out for injustice, he did appear, so Li Peinan guessed correctly that his purpose in coming was related to Min An.

  Fei Yi put down his teacup and said: "I won't make small talk in front of the young master, I've come again today to recommend someone to the young master."

  "How are you?"

  Fei Yi was not surprised at this response, he had long known that Li Peinan was a quick-witted person. "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "Two years ago, my mother passed away and I bid farewell to the king, deciding to go out for a trip to clear my mind. The king was probably afraid that I would return to Beili, so he temporarily assigned me a task, asking me to investigate the people's sentiments in various places and select talented individuals for the crown prince. In the past two years, I have almost traveled all over Chu State, and while touring mountains and rivers, I didn't forget the king's entrustment. Among the 217 people I've come into contact with, only Min An meets the king's requirements and can take on important responsibilities."

  He called his older half-brother, who was the same father but different mother, "Shi Zi", and called his own king to rebirth, "Wang Ye". It can be seen that his heart is cold. But he shouted for nineteen years, and no one could correct him.

  Li Peinan heard that it was the king's will and had to consider it carefully. "Min An?" He sat in the chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and said thoughtfully, "His temperament is not very stable, I don't trust him."

  "I recommend Min An for three reasons. Firstly, Min An is from the Min family of Minzhou, his father was sentenced to death by the previous emperor, and his grandfather died of depression due to this, so no one in his family has received any favor from the previous emperor, which means he won't join the old party's faction. Secondly, Min An is well-versed in law and familiar with the various corrupt practices within the government offices, making him a better candidate for the position than any of the old party officials, and can help cultivate a favorable influence for the prince. Thirdly, this is my personal request, if you agree to let Min An take charge of investigating the Wu Ren case, I can ensure that Wang Huai will not manipulate the outcome, which would allow Wu Ren to be exonerated. I need Wu Ren's guidance on medical knowledge to cure Xiaoxue's headache."

  Li Peinan knew that Wu Ren did not save officials and relatives, and also knew the importance of Qi Lianxue to Fei Yi. Except for Fei Yi's biological mother, Wang Fei, Qi Lianxue could be considered the most caring relative of Fei Yi. She had been troubled by headaches and fever for many years and had not found a solution. Now that Fei Yi proposed trying Wu Ren, the former imperial physician, it was also feasible. However, Li Peinan thought again about Min An's appearance when he blocked his carriage with a scattered hair, and his eyebrows furrowed again, saying coldly: "I don't need to review this case, I can also propose Wu Ren to treat Xiao Xue's illness."

  Fei Yi Hui Dao said, "Wu Ren's temperament is eccentric and he has a reputation for being willing to die rather than break the rules. How could he possibly submit to the young master's schemes? The only way to make things more stable is through Min An's intercession."

  Fei Yi said something more reasonable, and Li Peinan was not the kind of person who would bother to care about idle people. He picked up his tea and took a sip, saying nothing, but simply not refusing Fei Yi in front of him. Fei Yi understood his meaning, deliberated repeatedly, and finally spoke out.

  "Now the new emperor is young, and the government is in the hands of the king. The king has worked hard for three years and already has the intention to replace the new emperor. The king is constrained by the edict of the retired Taishang Emperor and does not dare to break his oath and ascend to the throne. However, he favors you, the crown prince, and wants to put you on the throne. The king has placed trusted officials in the Imperial Guard, changed the leadership structure, and done many things to pave the way for the future new emperor. He also asked me to select talented officials to assist the crown prince, which is an opportunity for the crown prince to cultivate his own loyal followers. In the future, these people will certainly be used by the crown prince, assist him in ascending to the throne and becoming emperor, and achieve great things. Naturally, this includes people like Xiao Zhixin of Changping Prefecture, Zuo Qingquan of Jingmen, and Min An of Minzhou."

  Fei Yi's words covered a part of the history of the Huachao royal family, and he and Li Peinan were both orthodox imperial heirs, which can be considered as a continuation of history.

  About fifty years ago, the retired emperor Ye Shen Yuan gave birth to two sons, named Ye Xing Qi and Ye Jing Zhuo. He found that his second son, Ye Jing Zhuo, had been ambitious since childhood and was difficult to tame, so he forced Ye Jing Zhuo to retreat to Yangzhou's Rain Flower Creek and passed the throne to his eldest son, Ye Xing Qi. After Ye Xing Qi ascended to the throne, he worked hard to govern, once rectifying the official scene and creating a clean government for a period of time. The Jinzhou governor, Min Chang, impeached officials for embezzling disaster relief funds, triggering a fierce debate between old and new officials, and Ye Xing Qi sentenced Min Chang and his family based on evidence presented by the Supreme Court. Later, the imperial court became even more chaotic. Ye Xing Qi was weak and ill, not close to the palace concubines, and did not have a son with Empress Qi Lian until he was over forty years old. Not long after that, he fell ill and died. Empress Qi Lian supported her young son's ascension to the throne and invited Ye Jing Zhuo, the King of Zhen Nan, to assist in governance. At this time, Ye Jing Zhuo had been living in seclusion for thirty years, first at Rain Flower Creek and later on an unnamed island.

  On the day Ye Jingzhuo came out of the mountain, he went to Donghai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, restoring his surname to its original ancestral form, and changing it to Li Jingzhuo. His change meant the gradual return of the Li family's imperial power. At the age of 23, Li Jingzhuo, who held a noble title but was equal in status to a commoner, fell deeply in love with a woman, married her despite her opposition, and had a son. Due to long-term suppression by his father and older brother, Li Jingzhuo placed high hopes on his young son, taking the name Li Peinan from the Peng Bird Cultivating Wind Chart of the Southern Huahua Scripture, and sent him to be raised in the seaside and desert areas, gradually tempering his strong and resilient nature. Just as Li Jingzhuo was secretly implementing his comeback plan, a series of disturbances broke out on the border between Hua Dynasty and its neighboring country Beili, causing tensions along the border to rise. At that time, Ye Xingqi, who was in power, took the initiative to ally with the Beili royal family through marriage, sending the most respected Princess of Beili to come and form an alliance. Ye Xingqi cited Li Peinan's mother's humble origins as a reason to bestow the princess, Xie Ruzhu, on Li Jingzhuo.

  Li Jingzhuo refused, claiming he already had a wife and was deeply in love with her, willing to spend the rest of his life with her. Ye Xingqi retreated to an unknown island overseas to ask for the Emperor's decree, soon receiving an urgent edict from the Emperor, putting pressure on Li Jingzhuo once again. Throughout his life, Li Jingzhuo feared only one person - his father, the Emperor. He reluctantly agreed to this marriage. On the day of the wedding, his first wife Xiao Bing led a group with imperial orders to another mansion, leaving the estate for the new bride. When Li Jingzhuo went searching for her on the second day, Xiao Bing was nowhere to be found, without leaving any words or messages behind. Li Jingzhuo vented his anger on his new wife Xie Ruzhu and never set foot in Xie Ruzhu's courtyard again.

  Xie Ruzhu, a princess of the imperial family, had never been treated this way before and often cried herself to sleep at night. However, she knew the mission she carried on her shoulders and couldn't return to her hometown on a whim. After two years of endurance, she finally fell ill from heartache. Her maid, who had followed her into marriage, invited Li Jingzhuo over and taught Xie Ruzhu to use gentle tactics to try and move Li Jingzhuo's heart. Li Jingzhuo saw Xie Ruzhu's weak body and felt a pang of sympathy, staying by her bedside for two days in a row. The maid, trying to bring her master and mistress together, came up with a desperate plan. Li Jingzhuo didn't notice anything amiss at first and drank the soup prepared by the maid, spending the night with Xie Ruzhu. When he sobered up, he killed the maid and once again abandoned Xie Ruzhu. Enraged, Xie Ruzhu moved out of their old home and settled in Changping Prefecture, Chu State, where she gave birth to a son ten months later and named him Xie Lin'er.

  Xie Ruzhu couldn't bear Li Jingzhuo's indifference, so she waited for the border relations to improve and took Fei Yi back to Beili Country, where they stayed for ten years. Li Jingzhuo never asked about Fei Yi or her affairs, nor did he write letters urging her return; instead, he focused on cultivating Li Peinan and searching for Xiao Bing's whereabouts at great expense. It wasn't until the emperor of Hua Dynasty passed away and the whole nation was in mourning that Xie Ruzhu returned to Changping Prefecture with Fei Yi, participating in the funeral rites as a member of the imperial family. With her return, Fei Yi also made his first appearance before the relatives of the Hua Dynasty, astonishing them: it turned out that the second young master, who had been heard of but not seen, was not inferior to the crown prince Li Peinan in terms of demeanor and bearing; in fact, he even surpassed him in terms of family background and experience.

  From then on, Fei Yi, who was no longer favored by Li Jingzhuo, would be treated with courtesy wherever he went, mainly because of his noble status. Fei Yi did not want to repeat his father's mistakes and treated his elder brother Li Peinan with great respect. Outsiders naturally added another layer of respect on top of their original respect for Li Peinan, being even more careful around him, allowing this only son to cover the sky with one hand.

  Fei Yi was unexpectedly able to get along with Li Peinan, which was beyond Xie Ruzhu's expectations. She instructed Fei Yi to take back half of the power from Li Peinan, but he refused. Xie Ruzhu couldn't help but feel disappointed and had also exhausted herself from traveling back and forth, unfortunately contracting a cold. Before her death, she summoned Li Jingzhuo and told him a secret: Xiao Bing had passed away, and his remains were buried in the backyard of their former residence in Changping Prefecture. She had only bought this mansion after learning of this news. She ridiculed Li Jingzhuo for wronging two women in his lifetime before passing away with resentment. Fei Yi later went out to clear his mind, while Li Peinan rushed back from Xizang upon hearing the news about her birth mother.

  It's been two years since they last saw each other, until yesterday when the two brothers met again.

  Thank you Aunt Rong and 987's landmine =3=

  It seems like no one is reading my new posts, I'll just keep updating diligently then, at least I won't regret it. Thank you to all the readers who have been supporting me along the way, you girls are too awesome O(∩_∩)O

  Note: The update on the 17th at 12 o'clock is included in Chapter 16

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