I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 391 Movement
"Lord Fan has made such a big fuss. He is old, sick, and he is asking for resignation. Could it be that he has something to say to me?" After sitting down in the room, Liu Bian saw that Fan Ling still had a smile on his face, and he was immediately furious. It was a pity that he was still worried about Fan Ling's illness on the way.

"If you don't have a good reason, Lord Fan, don't blame me for punishing you for deceiving the emperor!"

"I am innocent!" After all these years of serving the emperor, Fan Ling certainly would not take Liu Bian's angry words seriously, but he also defended himself, "Although my hands and feet are still flexible, I have been feeling dizzy and cannot bear to look at documents recently. This is true."

Liu Bian sighed and said, "You pass the test with this excuse."

How could he not guess that the real reason why Fan Ling resigned due to illness was simply that he wanted to share the pressure with him.

Retiring due to illness was the best reason, and Liu Bian couldn't even try to persuade him to stay.

But neither of them mentioned the real reason at the moment, there was no need to.

"Actually, I know that I don't have a very good reputation among scholars, but one should always have some pursuits in life. I am lucky to have your Majesty's protection and to have served as a high official for five years. This is enough for my life!" At this time, Fan Ling was really expressing his true feelings.

After all, the emperor came to visit him on the same day he knew he was sick, so what else could he do!
Liu Bian praised him, "You are a man of action, why bother with those who only talk on paper?"

Fan Ling habitually echoed, "Your Majesty, that's a good idea!"

Afterwards, the two chatted for a while. Not long after, Fan Ling talked about his life after resigning from office, and sighed and said:

"However, I have another selfish motive... When I was the prefect of Jingzhao, I built the Fanhui Canal. Although it was for the benefit of the people, I also wanted to leave my name behind. That's why I specially asked Cai Bojie to write an inscription to eulogize it."

"It's just that Huangfu Yizhen has been busy in Sanfu in recent years, and this year there was a canal repaired due to heavy rain in Fufeng, so Fanhuiqu has been forgotten!"

"I am not bragging to Your Majesty. Although there is no need for many ditches in the north and south of the Yellow River, there is still much room for improvement in the Yangtze River, Huai River and the south of the Yangtze River. Xun Ci, Ming Gong and Huan Ya are more famous than me, but when it comes to water conservancy, they are far inferior to me!"

Liu Bian smiled knowingly when he heard that Fan Ling would rather mention Huan Dian, who had nothing to do with Jiangnan, than compare Liu Biao with him. In Fan Ling's mind, Liu Biao was just a junior, and when facing Xun Shuang and Huan Dian, he only admitted that he could not compare with them in terms of reputation.

What else can Liu Bian say? Just go along with him!
"You are right!"

"When you recover from your illness, would you like to go to Jiangnan to build water conservancy projects?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Ling smiled and said, "Your Majesty really knows me well!"

"Okay, then I'll wait for you to recover!"

However, the soonest we can do this is when the shock of the Jingzhao earthquake has passed.

After leaving Fanling Mansion, Liu Bian went straight back to the palace.

It would be best if this Jingzhao earthquake ended with the dismissal of Sikong Gong.

……

"Father, whether you beat me or scold me today, I have only one thing to say... Please stay away from the evil woman of the Lu family!"

Seeing this, Liu Yan was so angry that his lips trembled, and the finger he was pointing at his eldest son Liu Fan could not help but tremble!
"Rebellious son!" he cursed, "You came home this time, not to visit me, but to piss me off to death so that you can inherit my title immediately?"

"I dare not!" Liu Fan, who was originally kneeling on the ground, buried his head on the ground after hearing such heart-wrenching words, but his attitude did not waver at all.

Liu Yan's second son Liu Dan wanted to ease the atmosphere and advised Liu Yan, "Father, our family's title should have been inherited by my eldest brother. I'm sure that doesn't mean that..." "Shut up!" Liu Yan cursed and turned to question Liu Fan, "You have been an official for a long time. It's true that you are the most promising among you brothers, but no matter how promising you are, I am still your father!"

"Do you know when your father can't sleep at night?"

"Now that I finally have the support of Madam Lu, I can sleep peacefully every day. It's fine if you don't thank me, but you call her a witch without knowing the truth. Is this how you act as an official when you are away from home?"

Liu Fan was rebuked by Liu Yan, and he used filial piety to suppress his words, but he still insisted on his own opinion. He knelt on the ground and said in a low voice: "Father! That Lu family relied on the magic of ghosts and gods to play with people's hearts. Father was deceived by her, so she thought it was useful."

Liu Dan persuaded him: "Father is angry, brother, please stop talking!"

As soon as Liu Fan said this, before he could react, Liu Yan exploded first - "Humph, what is there for me to be angry about? I can't wait to be happy to have such a good son!"

Liu Zhang, the youngest son of Liu Yan, who had been trembling on the side, saw everything. Seeing that his second brother Liu Dan was about to say something, he hurriedly took two steps forward, grabbed Liu Dan's hand, and pulled him seven or eight steps away.

Facing Liu Dan's questioning gaze, Liu Zhang said boldly: "Second brother, you'd better not say anything, otherwise either my father will be mad or my eldest brother will be beaten..."

"Did I give the wrong advice?" Liu Dan asked dissatisfiedly.

Liu Zhang nodded quickly.

Liu Dan was speechless for a moment.

After Liu Dan was dragged away, Liu Fan still knelt on the ground and asked, "Do you remember what my father taught me before? It is a way to disaster for people like me to be involved in the so-called qi-reading art? How is Lu's ghost art different from qi-reading? I also asked about how my father met Lu. Is my father pretending not to see through such a clumsy plan?"

Liu Fan's words were sincere, but Liu Yan seemed to be blinded by lard and ignored them completely. He was even irritated by Liu Fan's words and said to himself: "Lu is different from others! Besides, she and I are both widowed, so what if we have a good chat?"

Liu Fan was so shocked when he heard this that he straightened up and looked at Liu Yan in shock.

Liu Yan knew he was wrong as soon as he said it. At his age, even though his first wife had passed away, it would be fine for him to take a concubine, but marrying another one would always make people laugh. Besides, Lu was by no means a good match for him.

After all, Lu was the mother of an official with a salary of 300 stones in the imperial court. How could she be a concubine?

But in this situation, it was impossible for him to admit that he had said something wrong.

Seeing Liu Fan looking at him, Liu Yan cursed: "If you don't like it, get out! I don't need your advice."

Liu Fan gritted his teeth, stood up, bowed deeply to Liu Yan, and actually left the house without looking back.

Looking at Liu Fan's back, Liu Yan moved his hands. Just as he raised his arm, he heard Liu Dan, who had returned without knowing when, say, "Father, my elder brother specially reserved this holiday to come back for the New Year. Now..."

"If he wants to leave, he can leave. You are not allowed to go look for him!" After saying that, Liu Yan turned away.

When he returned to the bedroom, he was angry and regretful. After thinking it over, he simply ordered someone to drive out of the house.

The coachman understood Liu Yan's intention very well, and quickly took Liu Yan to a private house outside the city. After knocking on the door, the maid recognized the person. Soon, the owner of the house came to greet her in person. When he saw her appearance, he realized that it was Lu.

(End of this chapter)