Hearing that the Crown Prince was coming to the villa that day, Fan Xian said nothing. He ordered w.a.n.g Qinian to get a team of his people ready to go back to the capital.

He was joking, surely - if the ill.u.s.trious heir-apparent wanted to spend the summer here, how could he dare struggle for control with him? What was more, the Fan family had been taken into the Second Prince's faction, and the Prime Minister had broken ties with the prince's palace. The Overwatch Council clung to the Emperor, and although Fan Xian had some power behind him, he was the biggest target of the Crown Prince's hatred. If the two sides were to meet face to face, even given that Fan Xian was with the "false princess" as well as the two young women of the Ye and Fan families, the Crown Prince would truly wish to humiliate him, and he would have no way to find someone to come up with judgments about things. 

The Emperor had said in the Green Bamboo Tearoom on Liujing River that Fan Xian should have been able to live comfortably in the capital. But the Crown Prince was not happy with Fan Xian living comfortably. If father and son had a difference of opinion, Fan Xian could not be held responsible, and believed that the Emperor would intervene on his son's behalf against the insignificant son of a minister. 
It was for that reason that he wanted to make a clean getaway and not give the Crown Prince an opportunity to meet and humiliate him. At the same time, he also wanted to avoid giving himself the opportunity to beat up the Crown Prince after being unable to bear being humiliated by him and committing a crime that went against the will of Heaven. 

He had come confident and at ease, but he was fleeing alarmed and anxious; Fan Xian felt rather upset. Lin Wan'er also frowned and felt uneasy; her brother Chengqian was no tiger; how could her future husband be so afraid? Ye Ling'er once more felt a measure of contempt for Fan Xian for being afraid of the powerful - what was so bad about the Crown Prince? When she was small, the Emperor had sent him to the Ye family to train in combat - and she'd gone through the same training. 

Fan Xian after all was only an eighth-level functionary, the insignificant illegitimate son of Count Sinan. How could he be as used to the sight of the most important person in the world with these two girls who had known him since their childhoods? And his thoughts were more mature than those of girls with him, so he knew that this matter was somewhat sensitive. 

Because he had gotten things arranged quickly, Fan Xian’s retinue was already on the road when the Crown Prince's retinue arrived at the summer estate, and the two sides just brushed past each other. 

At that moment, there was a sound of gongs and drums, like someone was about to start singing on a stage. The Crown Prince's retinue stopped, and the palace bodyguards also stopped Fan Xian. Fan Xian parted the curtain and looked out, his face expressionless. He saw the only heir to the throne upon the bright yellow carriage - soon to be the most powerful 18-year-old in all the land, and he dispiritedly said something to the carriages behind him. 

Crown Prince Li Chengqian had a face that looked eminently handsome, but there was something off about his complexion - it was somewhat pale, and the corners of his mouth were slightly darkened. When he came that day to spend summer at the summer estate, he had not imaged that he would suddenly meet his sister Wan'er and the young lady of the Ye family on the road. He had grown up with them both, so he stopped to exchange pleasantries. 

He knew that Wan'er had spent the previous night in the summer estate. Li Chengqian seemed pained as he spoke. "Do you not care for your health? The imperial physicians say you are too ill to endure the cold weather."

Ye Ling'er, by her side, laughed. "Miss Lin is not worried. We have an imperial physician with us." Lin Wan'er frowned at Ye Ling'er, though smiling as she explained, "It’s been summer for awhile now; where is the cold weather?"

But he did not change the subject. The Crown Prince was rather curious about what Ye Ling'er's was saying, and he asked careful questions, finally realizing that sitting inside the carriage was Wan'er's future husband. He was shocked. "Is that the Beast of Fan Manor? He has garnered quite a name for himself recently. Let me take a look at him."

"Let it pa.s.s. Your Majesty must not intimidate him," said Lin Wan'er, a little uneasily. 

The Crown Prince frowned. "The Emperor's family has some poor relatives. After you are married, he will be my brother-in-law. What’s the harm in me meeting him? Besides, the Emperor will summon him to the palace so he can pay his respects to the Empress and Empress Dowager." He paused. "And the royal court has a duty they wish to give him as soon as possible. Don't tell me he is hiding away from people?"

The words were very serious, and there was a silence across both retinues. 

"I pay my respects to Your Highness." A voice broke the silence. No one knew when Fan Xian had come up to the Crown Prince's carriage. He was beaming as he bowed.