“Mr. Sun?” Tan Weiming asked, puzzled, after listening to the recording. “Who is this character?”

Nie Rui said respectfully, “At the moment, I haven’t been able to verify this matter clearly. I imagine he’s one of the people who has frequent contact with Her Highness, the Crown Princess. Her Highness rarely goes out, and other than attending a few gatherings, she usually receives guests in the Crown Prince’s residence. We have a list of all the guests she’s received, and we’re starting the process of investigating them.”

Also invited to this small meeting was the number two figure in the Intelligence Bureau, the former Chief of the Internal Affairs Guard, Cao Pojun. Cao Pojun said with considerable experience, “It’s not just the people she meets, but also their attendants. Who says the important figures have to be the ones on the surface? Blending in with the entourage is always a good trick. Although the amount of work to investigate will be several times greater, and there’s a risk of alarming the snake, it’s better than missing something important.”

Nie Rui nodded and said, “You’re right. I’ll give the orders right away.”

Tan Xiaopei looked at Tan Weiming questioningly. Tan Xiaopei could make the decision, and Nie Rui and Cao Pojun could offer various opinions, but it still depended on what His Highness, the Crown Prince, thought. Tan Xiaopei was also afraid that a poor decision might cast a shadow on their usually harmonious father-son relationship. After all, the fate of Crown Princess Wang Fangpin was about to be decided.

Tan Weiming’s expression had changed several times, from the moment he started listening to the recording to the ensuing discussion. His original, more moderate idea now seemed impossible. But he clearly didn’t want to deal with Wang Fangpin too harshly. Tan Weiming wasn’t just concerned about his reputation and the Dongping royal family’s tradition of harmony, nor was he thinking that Wang Fangpin’s failed plot would mean her child would forever lose the chance to inherit the throne. His heart was filled with more resentment and pity, and a little self-blame. If he hadn’t been so busy with political affairs, and had spent more time with the Crown Princess, perhaps this situation wouldn’t have happened. Or, at least, he could have had tighter control over his Crown Prince’s residence instead of handing it over entirely to Wang Fangpin, so there wouldn’t be a need to plant people to fix things now. Just the thought that Wang Fangpin harbored different thoughts, had hopes she shouldn't, and acted on them, Tan Weiming felt a firm reprimand would be enough. But now it was clear that other forces were involved, and even more infuriating was that Wang Fangpin chose to continue cooperating with them, knowing they were problematic. This far exceeded the bottom line Tan Weiming could tolerate.

Tan Weiming’s face was slightly pale, but he said very firmly, “The top priority now is to find out who this Mr. Sun is, and where he comes from. As for punishment… I think, severely punish the Wang family, hold all those involved accountable, and monitor them closely for years to come. The Wang family isn’t qualified to be considered in-laws of the imperial family yet, but this is a warning to others, and I hope that no one will ever have such thoughts in the future. As for Fangpin… after everything comes to light, I don’t think we need to make too big of a move publicly, but secretly, she’ll be treated as if she’s under house arrest. As for the child, we can’t let her raise it now. I’ll make up a reason in the next few days to take the child away. It’s really not good for her to be exposed to this atmosphere.”

Without the support of her family, Wang Fangpin would be alone. She wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble in the future, and she would have to keep her tail between her legs to ensure a safe and comfortable life for herself and her child. Although on the surface it seemed like there was no punishment, Tan Weiming’s move was clearly very experienced and strict. Tan Xiaopei smiled with satisfaction and suggested, “You can take the little one and send him to Ye Tao’s family to take care of. Everyone knows about the Ye Family Fort daycare, right? Ye Tao is trying to set one up in Danyang too. This is the perfect excuse. As for the others, you’re right, Weiming. Let’s find out who this Mr. Sun is first. We’ll find a way then. But how do we get this Mr. Sun out? If we really wait for the investigation results, who knows how long it’ll take?”

Nie Rui stroked his chin, thought for a while, and said, “As it stands now, it’s not difficult to control the Crown Princess’s arrangements, as long as we monitor her properly. But to lure out this Mr. Sun, we’ll have to use some tricks. Ideally, a situation should arise where the Crown Princess will definitely ask Mr. Sun to meet to answer her questions. In that case, I’m afraid we just need to strengthen surveillance for a short period to dig him out.”

“Oh?” Tan Xiaopei responded with interest, “We need to make some noise… I have a way.”

There was nothing more miserable than going against the master of a powerful country like Dongping. Based on the recording, there was already enough evidence to deal with Wang Fangpin. With Tan Xiaopei’s status and Tan Weiming’s approval, she could be dealt with arbitrarily, without any reason. But clearly, both Tan Xiaopei and Tan Weiming wanted to play a game of “procedural justice,” or rather, rehearse a scheme and counter-scheme.

At the court meeting the next day, Tan Xiaopei announced the promotion of Tan Weiran to骠骑将军 (*Piaoqi Jiangjun*, General of Agile Cavalry). This appointment violated the tacit agreement that the several countries of the Central Earth Continent had always maintained. All along, in addition to the positions necessary to run a country’s government, everyone had kept a tight rein on titles and honorifics. Generally, the titles and honorifics that were in the hands of a particular country at the time of the disintegration of the Central Earth Continent continued to be used and passed down by that country, without any transgression. And the title of *Piaoqi Jiangjun* had always been the exclusive preserve of Northern Liao. Tan Xiaopei’s conferral of the title of *Piaoqi Jiangjun* on Tan Weiran this time implied many other meanings and was very intriguing. But what was even more intriguing was that, with this conferral, at least on the surface, Tan Weiran’s status became very detached and higher than Tan Weiming’s. The sudden conferral this time predictably caused an uproar and controversy among the courtiers. Tan Xiaopei did not explain, Tan Weiran did not decline, and Tan Weiming had no complaints or grievances. After all, the conferral went through.

Two days later, another message came from the Internal Affairs Office: Tan Xiaopei ordered the appropriation of funds from the Internal Affairs Office to renovate the Crown Prince’s residence, calling it “Xingning Palace.” The design of the entire garden architecture would be undertaken by Ye Tao. Construction would begin a month later, at which time everyone in the Crown Prince’s residence would temporarily live in the now vacant Zhaohua Princess’s residence. This news surprised everyone. Was the order of promoting Tan Weiran to *Piaoqi Jiangjun* and renovating the Crown Prince’s residence reversed? It was the same move to show determination and confidence, but it made everyone dizzy and confused. Moreover, in terms of regulations, the cost of renovating the Crown Prince’s residence should have come from the Ministry of Revenue. This was clearly a national matter, and even if the Internal Affairs Office paid for it in the end, it should have been discussed in court and then the accounts should have been processed by the Ministry of Revenue to comply with the rules and make everyone believe it. But Tan Xiaopei did it in such a way that it seemed like she was determined to make this happen, and didn’t want any twists and turns, which made it seem like she was appeasing Tan Weiming. And letting the Crown Prince temporarily reside in his sister’s long-abandoned residence seemed very shabby… Anyway, everything about this matter seemed unnatural.

Soon after, Tan Weiran returned north to Yunzhou to take over the post-war resettlement work in the northern grasslands. However, Ye Tao did not return with him. Tan Xiaopei ordered Ye Tao, together with Tan Weixin and several other ministers, to participate in the study of military systems, laws, economics, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, personnel, education, and other aspects, to provide professional governance advice for the further development of Dongping. It was said to be a study, but the institution, called the "New Government Bureau," actually had about the same power as the National Development and Reform Commission in Ye Tao and Tan Weixin’s memory, or even more. At least, this New Government Bureau had enough funds to carry out various activities. The Ministry of Revenue and the Internal Affairs Office allocated enough funds to the New Government Bureau, and with this money, Tan Weixin officially established the first sovereign wealth fund in this space-time. Although there was no stock market or anything like that now, it would probably have to rely entirely on the sale of "venture capital" after the investment, which had a prohibitively long cycle, but it was still an attempt. Speaking of which, these were new positions for Ye Tao and Tan Weixin, and did not affect their responsibilities in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Northern Border Pacification Office, but there was no doubt that they would have to spend a considerable amount of time staying in Danyang. At this time, Tan Weiran’s earlier return north was given another meaning: Tan Weiran would have more time and opportunities to strengthen his position in the northern border.

In short, Tan Xiaopei was just doing what had been agreed upon, reversing the order in which things were done, but creating an atmosphere that was incomprehensible and inexplicable. Tan Weiming couldn’t help but frown more in front of others, then find a place to laugh out loud, Tan Weiran couldn’t help but hesitate about how to finish the terrifying amount of paperwork at the Northern Border Pacification Office while coordinating the headache-inducing situation on the northern grasslands. It was a bit too cruel for the old man to squeeze his son so hard, while Ye Tao and Tan Weixin easily and comfortably accepted their new jobs.

But Tan Xiaopei’s series of arrangements worked very well. In a few days, the news reached Northern Liao. Dongping actually appointed its own "General of Agile Cavalry." This self-righteous move of no longer taking Northern Liao seriously caused an uproar of rage among the leadership of Northern Liao, but even the Western Route Army insisted that now was not a good time to advance. Everyone was not ready. How could the Northern Liao court and the public not know that Dongping’s national strength was now strong, and it really didn’t take Northern Liao seriously? They could only shout casually. But Chunan had even more thoughts. Dongping’s series of moves was undoubtedly a declaration that they no longer took the enfeoffment of the Central Earth Tang Dynasty seriously.

In Danyang, it was okay for those courtiers who always had various opinions to quarrel endlessly, but there were still many people who felt that the Second Prince would have a chance to inherit the throne in the future, and began to change direction, revealing their true colors. And among those who had always been staunch supporters of the Crown Prince, there was a wave of worry. There was no doubt that the most worried was Wang Fangpin. After thinking about it, she summoned Qin Shu, an old family servant, and asked him to invite Mr. Sun to meet…