Episode 5 recap: Fan Xian convinced the Grand Princess to help with the acting.
Fan Xian knew that Li Cheng Ze wouldn't give up easily and was worried that he would cause trouble at the Baoyue Tower again. He asked Fan Si Zhe to close down and suspend operations at the Baoyue Tower. Li Cheng Qian advised Fan Xian to return to the diplomatic mission as soon as possible and not to delay the mission's journey to the capital. Fan Xian asked Li Cheng Qian to send someone to protect Teng Zijing's wife and children, and he planned to settle accounts with Li Cheng Ze after returning to the capital officially. Li Cheng Qian promised to do his best to help him.
Before leaving, Fan Xian repeatedly instructed Fan Si Zhe to stay at home and not to go out. The Third Prince woke up in a daze and called Fan Si Zhe, who was dozing off at the table. He vaguely remembered someone knocking him out, but Fan Si Zhe desperately tried to cover it up and persuade the Third Prince to leave.
Fan Xian accompanied Wang Qi Nian home to find his wife and daughter, but they were protected by Chen Ping Ping. Chen Ping Ping asked Mrs. Wang to inform Fan Xian to send Teng Zijing's wife and children to Danzhou. Gao Da followed the diplomatic mission without stopping and the capital was getting closer, but Fan Xian still hadn't returned. Gao Da was extremely anxious and murmured to himself while holding a jar of Fan Xian's ashes. Xie Bi'an and his men closely followed the diplomatic mission. Once they confirmed Fan Xian's death, they immediately returned to the capital to report to Li Cheng Ze.
Following Fan Xian's orders, Fan Si Zhe stayed hidden at home, not stepping out of the house. Liu Ru Yu was curious about the situation and asked about it, but Fan Si Zhe dared not speak openly and could only make excuses to cover up. Wang Qi Nian and Fan Xian chased after the diplomatic mission in a horse carriage and unexpectedly encountered Xie Bi'an. Xie Bi'an didn't expect Fan Xian to be alive and immediately rushed forward to assassinate him. Fan Xian's old injuries resurfaced, and he didn't want to prolong the fight, so he used a cliff to temporarily evade Xie Bi'an's pursuit. He also asked Xie Bi'an to deliver a message to Li Cheng Ze, stating that they would settle their differences in the capital.
Wang Qi Nian and Fan Xian quickly caught up with the diplomatic mission, relieving Gao Da's worries. Suddenly, Fan Xian noticed that the Grand Princess of Northern Qi was following behind the group, and he learned that the young Emperor of Northern Qi, Zhan Dou Dou, had impulsively decided to arrange a marriage alliance between the Grand Princess and the Great Prince of Nanqing.
At the same time, the Great Prince and the newly appointed generals of the border troops completed a brief handover of duties and were ordered to return to the capital.
Fan Wu Jiu calculated the timeline and realized that the Great Prince and Fan Xian would enter the capital on the same day. He immediately reported this to Li Cheng Ze, who came up with a sinister plan to frame Fan Xian.
When Fan Xian returned to the diplomatic mission, his first priority was to see Yan Bing Yun. Yan Bing Yun warned Fan Xian not to rejoice too early. Wherever the diplomatic mission went, people eagerly bought Fan Xian's relics to mourn him. Fan Xian had to come up with a convincing reason to appease the people in order to survive legitimately. Otherwise, it would provoke public anger. Fan Xian suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation. The person spreading the news of his death had malicious intentions, but he was helpless.
Fan Xian had a brilliant idea. He wanted to use the Grand Princess of Northern Qi to make his faked death plausible. With little effort, Fan Xian obtained the true intentions of Zhan Dou Dou from the mouth of the Grand Princess of Northern Qi. Zhan Dou Dou wanted the Grand Princess of Northern Qi to be a liaison between her and Fan Xian for intelligence purposes. With his eloquence, Fan Xian successfully persuaded the Grand Princess of Northern Qi to help stage a play.
The Grand Princess of Northern Qi publicly announced a piece of news. She declared that Fan Xian had engaged in a life-and-death battle with a grandmaster who was chasing after the diplomatic mission in order to protect the relics and manuscripts left behind by the mission. In the end, Fan Xian faked his death and managed to survive by a stroke of luck. The Grand Princess firmly asserted that she had personally witnessed the events, and Gao Da supported her statement.
Fan Xian and Wang Qi Nian made themselves look disheveled and successfully deceived the officials and attendants of the diplomatic mission, who believed in Fan Xian without a doubt. Yan Bing Yun ordered the officials to send carrier pigeons back to the capital with the news of Fan Xian's resurrection, and then instructed the diplomatic mission to rest briefly before continuing their journey.
Fan Xian and his group hurriedly rode on horseback and quickly arrived in the capital. Xinqi, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, ran all the way to meet Fan Xian outside the north gate of the city. Fan Xian learned that Emperor Qing did not punish him and even sent people to welcome them. He breathed a sigh of relief. Xinqi revealed that the Great Prince would also be entering the capital today, leading a cavalry unit that would arrive shortly. He advised Fan Xian to give way to the Great Prince to avoid congestion at the city entrance. However, Fan Xian firmly refused and brought up the matter of the Grand Princess of Northern Qi.
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