In the far-off Jiangnan region, far from the capital, spring had already enveloped the willows of West Lake. The spring colors were even more vibrant at the Peng Manor by the lake. A row of verdant trees behind the residence stretched their limbs with gusto, greedily absorbing the moistness in the air and the increasingly warm sunlight.

However, the owner of this manor was not particularly pleased, nor did he have the leisure to stretch. With a bitter face, he had read through all the court reports and gazettes recently sent from the capital, even the gossip newspaper published by the palace, but still couldn't relax.

Finally, he quietly exchanged information with Shi Chanli from the Baoyuelou (Embrace the Moon Pavilion) channels and confirmed the trajectory of events, just as the intelligence reports had indicated.

The Eldest Princess was confined in a separate residence in the West City, and His Highness the Crown Prince, carrying the sacred mandate, had traveled to the Kingdom of Nanzhao, thousands of miles away, to attend a ceremony.

These were, for the moment, the two most direct results of the incident, causing the young master of the manor to sigh and shake his head repeatedly.

Shi Chanli looked at him curiously and asked, "Sir, although I don't know why His Majesty was angered, isn't it a great thing that the Eldest Princess can no longer harm you in court or in Jiangnan after this event? Why are you still so gloomy?"

Fan Xian squinted at him, swallowed his words after a long while, and waved his hand listlessly, saying, "Let's talk about it later. You should hurry back to Suzhou and keep an eye on Baoyuelou."

Shi Chanli left, filled with confusion. Wang Qinian, who knew the inside story, slipped in. He stood quietly behind Fan Xian, watching the master scrutinize all the intelligence reports from the capital again, without uttering a word.

Because he knew why Fan Xian was troubled.

"I worked so hard to set up this situation, but this is the result." Fan Xian said with some helplessness, "The risk I took this time was great enough, but in the end… that woman still survived. Why is that?"

Wang Qinian glanced at him, thinking… the Eldest Princess is, after all, the master's mother-in-law. These words were somewhat cold-blooded.

The only one who could stand between the Eldest Princess and the Emperor, and suppress the bomb that Fan Xian had detonated with so much effort, was of course the old man who had long resided in the deep palace. However, Fan Xian still had many doubts and confusions about the process of this event.

"Womanly kindness."

He said with a frown.

This sentence was not only criticizing the Emperor for finally backing down, but also represented a certain aspect of his suspicion. Why didn't the Eldest Princess put up any decent resistance before being so easily dealt with by the Emperor? Even if he knew that the actions outside the palace were all arranged by Director Chen Pingping himself, based on his understanding of his mother-in-law… her quiet surrender was truly inconsistent with her reputation for madness.

"I told you, the Eldest Princess is fond of His Majesty." Fan Xian said with a pout, "I just didn't expect her to be so obsessed. Unless His Majesty truly takes action, before he has the intention to kill, she won't actively resist… What kind of world is this?"

The expression on Wang Qinian's face beside him was very strange, and he couldn't help but feel strange. As a subject of Qing Kingdom, no matter how arrogant or rebellious, no one dared to say such rebellious words in their own courtyard.

But Fan Xian said it, right in front of him, forcing him to hear it, and it was clear that this wasn't the first time he had discussed such topics.

Wang Qinian coughed awkwardly. He understood that his life and fortune were already tightly linked to Lord Fan, and Lord Fan didn't worry that he would betray him, which was why he spoke so freely in front of him.

Originally, the plan to expose the scandal of the royal family and force His Majesty to act was made by Fan Xian and Wang Qinian alone. This matter was of great importance, and the other members of the Qinian Group didn't receive a single hint. As for Yan Bingyun, he was completely kept in the dark.

Fortunately, Jiangnan was far from the capital, and the preliminary arrangements made by Fan Xian and Wang Qinian only erupted two months later. Even a god probably couldn't guess that this matter was related to them.

Unless Hong Zhu suddenly had the courage to commit suicide and kill his friends.

"There are several noteworthy points in the court report." Although he was doing something disloyal, Wang Qinian still couldn't get used to talking about disloyalty. He pointed to several places in the court report with some pain, forcefully changing the topic and reminding him, "The arson case at the Huichuntang (Return Spring Hall), the accident of a member of the imperial clan falling from a horse, the sudden death of a imperial physician… these three matters are suspicious."

"Oh?" Fan Xian looked back at him. The court report didn't connect these three matters, and the palace wouldn't allow anyone with ulterior motives to see the connection. The problem was that they were too clear about these three places, so of course they knew the root cause of these matters. "Don't you think the Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince killed to silence them?"

"Those are just drugs, and drugs are not considered evidence at all." Wang Qinian's forehead was deeply wrinkled. "The Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince are not fools. Why would they do these foolish things during the palace investigation?"

"This is also what I find strange. We kept these people alive to let His Majesty interrogate them." Fan Xian said thoughtfully, "But it's obvious His Majesty didn't interrogate them. How could he determine that matter?"

"Also." He pointed to the paper and said seriously, "The palace didn't find anything, and the Eldest Princess wouldn't admit her guilt... Who did these three cases?"

Fan Xian frowned. Now that he was reflecting on it after the fact, these three living people were indeed better off dead. His original idea had some problems in this regard… And now he was thinking about who helped make this situation a completely dead end, making it impossible for His Majesty to interrogate and forcing him to make the final decision based on his own suspicions?

When they were still in the capital, he and Wang Qinian had vaguely noticed that a force seemed to be doing something similar to what they were doing, but at the time, they were afraid of alarming the enemy and didn't dare to investigate in detail.

"It shouldn't be anyone else." Wang Qinian sighed.

Fan Xian also sighed and shook his head, saying, "Besides that one of ours, there's no one else."

…

…

"The Crown Prince has gone to Nanzhao…" The study didn't remain quiet for long. Fan Xian brought up the question that had been lingering in his mind, "Based on the timeline, he should have passed Yingzhou by now and be continuing south. Why do you think His Majesty made this arrangement? The ministers in the court must still be guessing and not understanding why the Eldest Princess's matter would involve the Crown Prince, but you and I certainly know that His Majesty would never tolerate a son who would disgrace the royal family inheriting the throne. Going to Nanzhao to attend the ceremony… Can Chengqian still return?"

Wang Qinian remained silent, not daring to answer this question.

Fan Xian looked at him with a smile and said, "You and I have done so many things that would involve nine generations of our families. What harm is there in discussing it?"

Wang Qinian smiled bitterly, knowing that the master was reminding him again, how utterly shameless, and shook his head, saying, "I don't think there will be any problems along the way. Even if His Majesty already has the intention to depose the heir, he wouldn't choose to bring it up at this time."

"That makes sense." Fan Xian tapped the table lightly. "Same as my thoughts. Our Emperor wants to be seen as wise and martial, and to have a good name in history. He's trying every possible way to suppress this matter and absolutely doesn't want to be criticized. This trip to Nanzhao for the Crown Prince serves two purposes. First, it's to get him out of the capital and slowly plan the depose. Second…"

He frowned, suddenly thinking of the poisonous mist in Nanzhao. Seven or eight years ago, when Yan Xiaoyi led his troops to invade the south, the soldiers' casualties were mainly due to this scourge.

"The miasma invades the body, and the Crown Prince gradually becomes weak…" Wang Qinian said this sentence and suddenly woke up, realizing that his courage to speak was indeed growing.

Fan Xian smiled bitterly and continued, "If that's what you and I are thinking, then His Majesty… is indeed powerful."

A complicated expression flashed in his eyes, but Wang Qinian didn't notice it.

"It's a pity, not a complete success." Fan Xian sighed, "Why didn't the Eldest Princess die?"

This was the second time today that he had openly regretted it. Wang Qinian felt a little strange. The Eldest Princess had already lost power. After all, the master was the other party's son-in-law, and neither from the perspective of human relations nor kinship should he say such things.

Wang Qinian didn't know that since entering the capital, Fan Xian had subconsciously been very wary of the Eldest Princess, because when dealing with other people, he could use schemes and power struggles, but when dealing with a noble figure who was rumored to be mad, Fan Xian found it difficult to guess what kind of crazy reaction the other party would make.

This uncertainty gave Fan Xian a headache.

Especially during this change in the Kyoto palace, Fan Xian still couldn't believe such an ending—the Eldest Princess was in a desperate situation, why didn't her forces launch a final counterattack? What about the military leaders? What was Yan Xiaoyi's attitude? If the events happened too quickly and the military didn't have time to react… what about Ye Liuyun?

Fan Xian knew better than anyone the esteemed position of Ye Liuyun in the Junshan Association. In Suzhou City, he had almost lost his soul after being frightened by that sword through the broken building. Even if the Junshan Association was a loose organization, the Eldest Princess would not be as vulnerable as she seemed now.

He and Wang Qinian had previously analyzed the Eldest Princess's crazy and distorted love for the Emperor, but that was just a statement Fan Xian used to convince himself. He didn't believe it.

However, some things in this world, perhaps precisely the things people don't believe, are the most real reasons.

Fan Xian sighed and lamented by the desk. After Wang Qinian left, he couldn't stop sighing. Wang Qinian closed the door and shook his head subconsciously, thinking that although the Eldest Princess didn't die, from now on, no one in the court would be Lord Fan's opponent. Such a result was already excellent, so why was Lord Fan sighing?

The reason was actually very simple—Fan Xian was not a loyal minister, let alone a pure minister. What he envisioned was watching the tigers and cranes fight in Jiangnan, each being injured.

He wanted the Eldest Princess to fall, but he wouldn't trust the Emperor either. What he lamented was that the Emperor's methods seemed to be faster and more powerful than he had imagined, and the Emperor's power hadn't suffered the slightest loss.

————————————————————

Fan Xian sat alone in the study, silently analyzing everything that had happened in the capital. He vaguely felt that the Eldest Princess might be stubbornly waiting for the Emperor's thunderous anger because of her crazy emotions, while the Emperor was clearly holding back. Was it affection? Fan Xian didn't believe it.

He opened the letters under the court report, read them a second time, thought for a moment, and began to write back. The letters came from his home in the capital, one from his father and one from Wan'er, mainly talking about Si Si and her child in her womb. Everything was safe and sound, and he didn't need to worry too much.

However, Wan'er's letter naturally mentioned the Eldest Princess's matter. Although she didn't say anything explicitly, she seemed to want Fan Xian to say some words in the palace.

Fan Xian sighed again in distress. He knew that his wife was a rare intelligent person, and of course she knew what kind of irreconcilable conflict was behind everything that was covered up, but she still wrote to him asking him to speak, which only proved that Wan'er still had a mother-daughter relationship with the Eldest Princess.

This was a very natural thing. The Emperor was cold-blooded, and Fan Xian was cold-blooded, but that didn't mean that everyone in the world, everyone in the royal family, was a cold-blooded animal.

Fan Xian wrote back earnestly. Of course, he had to express his shock and doubts to his father, and his reply to Wan'er focused on comfort, while also inquiring about that girl Si Si.

Then he began to write a memorial, a secret memorial to the Emperor. Although he didn't directly plead for the Eldest Princess in the memorial, he vaguely expressed the concern that a son should have. After finishing writing, he carefully checked it several times, confirming that this attitude would neither make the Emperor think he was hypocritical nor anger the Emperor, and then sealed it with sealing wax and had his subordinates send it out via first-class postal route.

After doing all this, Fan Xian finally felt a little relieved. Although he had been carefree in Jiangnan for several months, he had actually been keeping an eye on the capital, and the mental pressure had been enormous.

Although things didn't go as planned, they were basically progressing according to his ideas. He finally relaxed a little, opened the drawer of the secret room, and took out the craftsmanship process of the three major workshops of the Inner Treasury that Qiye and he had spent more than a year copying, and stared at it blankly.

Although this craftsmanship process was not the entirety of the Inner Treasury, Fan Xian knew that if this thing really circulated to Northern Qi, it would cause very terrifying consequences.

His eyes narrowed, and he thought that although he and Chen Pingping had subconsciously joined hands this time and played the Emperor once, they had ultimately only played with the details. As for the big picture, perhaps the Emperor was playing him.

"Wang Shisanlang has also been idle for a long time."

Fan Xian thought this, then got up, packed everything, and left the manor by West Lake.

…

…

(I have been reading the book reviews carefully, including the criticisms. As long as you all don't curse, that's great. However, I'm really exhausted recently, and I don't want to do the extra things for the time being, please understand.)