Every person, at certain moments, looks back on their life, tracing the past and anticipating the future – the so-called yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But generally, this activity occurs when people feel weary of life or after they've achieved a specific goal. The most common image is naturally an old man fishing by the Wei River, sighing at how life flows eastward like the water beneath his feet, never to return.

Fan Xian wasn't Ku He; he didn't enjoy fishing, and he was still young. However, his life had been repeated once more than anyone else in this world. By careful calculation, he should be a man in his thirties, nearing the age when one understands the mandate of heaven. Instead, he was forced to reside in a beautiful, fragrant skin – though "forced" might be a bit melodramatic, let's set that aside for now – but he, too, would engage in introspection.

Not by embracing a beautiful woman and lamenting not having striven for the noble cause of humanity, but by seeking clarity in the midst of chaos, attempting to rediscover his firm and definite goals, because he was now somewhat bewildered.

After his rebirth, he had always been a man with firm goals. On the cliff, based on "****," he made three great vows to Uncle Wu Zhu. To this day, the three great vows had basically been achieved, but few were as fond of beauty as Fan Xian, and the women by his side were always few in number.

The foundation of the three great vows was, of course, to survive. He had been working hard, being tough, and being cold-blooded to achieve this goal. Moreover, the hidden skill or bonus attribute of the three great vows was naturally the ideal of life he had spoken to Fan Shangshu – a powerful minister.

Now, in Qing, in the world, Fan Xian truly deserved the title of powerful minister. Wherever he went, everyone respected him, everyone feared him. However, having suddenly achieved this, the young man who was about to understand the mandate of heaven was, after all, bewildered. Was this truly the life he wanted?

He walked alone on the road from the Hua Garden to the Jiangnan Governor-General's residence (I seem to have written the wrong place name yesterday, sorry.), his head lowered, posing like a philosopher. Behind him followed several Tiger Guards, and on both sides of the street, many spies from the Supervisory Council were secretly protecting him.

"Little Lord Fan."

"Young Duke."

"Imperial Envoy."

"Chief Supervisor."

A series of addresses filled with enthusiasm, flattery, and a hint of fear rang out beside him. Fan Xian was startled, looked up in astonishment, and discovered that he had already entered the Jiangnan Governor-General's residence. The officials of Jiangnan province were lined up on both sides, looking at him with "affectionate" gazes, indescribably ardent and gentle. The entire official yamen seemed to have grown countless steeds that had eaten bad feed, with farting sounds like thunder, with his arrival.

Fan Xian subconsciously scratched his head, not caring that this action slightly detracted from his official dignity. He smiled self-deprecatingly, banishing all the metaphysical thoughts that had been swirling in his mind. Yes, life did need goals, but perhaps it was too early for him to question life. Newton only became a true religious fanatic when he was old, and Xiao Ai spent the second half of his life grinding his teeth over the grand unified theory. But those two giants were, after all, returning to simplicity after washing away the lead. What was he?

He was, after all, a common man, he had to admit. He still enjoyed the benefits brought by vanity, power, money, and fame.

Fan Xian greeted the officials amiably as he walked towards the study in the Governor-General's residence, thinking that he was different from Ye Qingmei and should not sprinkle the light of idealism on himself.

In this world, no, in all worlds, idealists were lonely, easily killed prematurely, and Fan Xian could not accept either of these.

He should just honestly be a powerful minister, he thought in his heart.

However, after he arrived at Xue Qing's study and talked with Xue Qing with his head lowered for a long time, he began to mock himself again. Could one become a powerful minister just because one wanted to? It depended on whether the emperor allowed it. An incompetent emperor might be hollowed out by a powerful minister, but how could someone like the Emperor give him such an opportunity? How could he still be so naive and lovable after living for more than thirty years?

He stretched lazily, squinting at Xue Qing, who was resting with his eyes closed in the grand master's chair. He cursed inwardly twice and said, "Checking accounts is something the Ministry of Revenue can do. The Imperial Treasury has always been managed by the Supervisory Council... Why has the Censorate suddenly gotten involved? All those censors were imprisoned a few months ago. Where does the Censorate get so many people to check accounts? Even if they have enough people, those guys who only know how to cram classical texts will probably faint when they see the numbers on the accounts. Lord Xue, you have to submit a memorial... Jiangnan is doing so well, why bring in more people? It doesn't taste right."

Xue Qing smiled and cursed inwardly twice, thinking that the Ministry of Revenue was opened by your father, the Supervisory Council was managed by you, and the Imperial Treasury was sitting under your ass. What was there to check? The capital had long had opinions on this matter. Now that the Department of State Affairs had come up with a new idea, wasn't it just afraid that you, kid, would steal everything from the Imperial Treasury and sell it off?

However, Fan Xian had cooperated extremely well with Xue Qing in Jiangnan for a year and a half. The two had a great understanding of each other. Xue Qing didn't know how much he had squeezed out of him. He couldn't say these words clearly, so after thinking for a while, he said, "It's not impossible for people to come and investigate, but you have grudges against the Censorate. If they come to investigate, who knows if they will take revenge for personal grievances."

These words could only ever be spoken privately by these high officials.

"Can't you stop them again? Are that old man Shu Wu and Grand Scholar Hu idle?" Since there were no outsiders in the study, Fan Xian said irritably, but he knew in his heart that the letter was nominally sent by the Department of State Affairs, but it was actually the Emperor's intention. It was not appropriate to let him control the Imperial Treasury and the Supervisory Council. He had mixed a handful of He Zongwei-brand sand into the Kyoto Supervisory Council, but Ping Ping had suppressed him so much that he didn't dare to breathe. This was to mix it into Jiangnan.

Fan Xian was wary of whether the Emperor did not believe his explanation about the Merchants Bank or whether he was wary of his relationship with the Northern Qi people. As for the smuggling matter, he didn't care much about it. The Princess had been gone for more than ten years, and he had only earned a year's worth of profits. He had given so much silver back to the national treasury. The Emperor would not be so stingy.

Seeing Fan Xian's unhappy expression, Xue Qing laughed twice and comforted him, "Isn't it just to show the people in the court? What are you worried about? Even if an imperial envoy leads the three divisions to investigate, with a flip of your hand, who can find anything? Don't forget, you are also an imperial envoy."

Xue Qing flipped his hand over and took the opportunity to hold the cup of tea on the table and took a sip.

Fan Xian stared at his stable hand, and a thought flashed through his mind. Xue Qing knew something about the smuggling, but he didn't know the inside story, so he seemed so calm. If he knew that he was secretly damaging the interests of Qing, this old boy would be so shocked that he would drop the cup of tea on the ground.

He was about to pour more oil and add more fuel, but he saw Xue Qing put down the teacup and put on an extremely serious expression.

Officialdom interactions, especially between local emperors like Xue Qing and princes like Fan Xian, basically put some important things into jokes to avoid making each other feel too alienated and tending to become cold. So, Fan Xian had never seen Xue Qing's serious expression like this, so he frowned.

After Xue Qing was silent for a long time, he slowly said, "You naturally know more about the affairs of Kyoto than I do, Little Lord Fan. I wonder what your opinion is?"

Opinion? What kind of opinion? I don't have any opinion on this kind of big thing. Fan Xian closed his mouth and didn't say a word. He just looked at Xue Qing's beard under his chin with a smile, as if he was extremely appreciative. Anyway, in this world, except for those few grandmasters and the Emperor, he was not afraid of anyone, so he naturally dared to put on this clay sculpture appearance.

Xue Qing coughed twice, looked at Fan Xian's appearance, knew that his words were too unprofessional, and that the other party was more rogue than himself. He smiled self-deprecatingly, and after thinking for a moment, he said directly, "To be clear, His Majesty... wants to abolish the heir apparent."

Fan Xian was stunned, as if he hadn't heard the words clearly. After a moment, he came back to his senses, stood up suddenly, stared at Xue Qing's eyes, and didn't speak for a long time.

He was indeed shocked in his heart. He was not shocked by the abolition of the heir apparent itself, nor was he shocked that Xue Qing was discussing it with him. Instead, he was shocked that since Xue Qing dared to say it in front of him, it was definitely not his guess, but that the Emperor in the palace had already revealed the news to his loyalists and started to spread the news everywhere through him at the same time.

Was the public opinion about to begin?

Xue Qing's fingers tapped lightly on the table as he smiled at him and said, "Why are you so surprised, Little Lord Fan? Isn't this something you expected?" He suddenly sighed, a trace of regret flashed between his brows, and he said slowly, "Actually, I'm not afraid to let you know, I have already submitted a memorial to persuade His Majesty to give up this idea, but it was ineffective."

"You want me to submit a memorial too?" Fan Xian looked at him.

Xue Qing said with a slight mockery, "Everyone knows what relationship you have with the Crown Prince. I wouldn't be so stupid."

After a moment of pause, he said softly, "His Majesty has made up his mind, and we ministers have to act according to the rules..." At this point, Xue Qing paused again, as if he was also very puzzled. It was clear that the Crown Prince had gradually grown up in the past two years and had a sincere demeanor. All aspects had improved a lot, but why did His Majesty suddenly want to abolish the heir apparent? However, he vaguely guessed that there must be a problem within the royal family. He would never declare his doubts in front of Fan Xian, the illegitimate child of the royal family.

After Fan Xian thought for a while, he asked, "How many people know about this?"

"In Jiangnan, definitely only you and I know." Xue Qing said, "But I believe that the seven regional governors have all received His Majesty's secret decree. It depends on when everyone submits their memorials."

Fan Xian sneered in his heart. The Emperor was really cruel, even cruel to the point of being confused. The Crown Prince had performed well in the past year. This time, his visit to Southern Qing not only did not go wrong, but also won praise from the court. It must be too difficult for the Emperor to find an excuse to abolish the heir apparent... He even used the tactic of the local authorities surrounding the central government.

However, although the seven regional governors were very powerful, they were, after all, ministers. Who would dare to take the lead in doing this? Even if it was ordered by His Majesty's secret decree, the seven governors were not fools. They probably wouldn't believe that they would have a good ending in the future if they participated in the battle for the throne.

Xue Qing seemed to see through his thoughts and said slowly, "This governor, I think, will be the first official to submit a memorial to advise His Majesty to abolish the heir apparent."

Fan Xian was stunned and stared quietly at Xue Qing's eyes. He knew that this person was a loyalist of the Emperor, but he didn't expect that he was so loyal.

"The reason?" He frowned and reminded him.

Xue Qing smiled slightly and looked at Fan Xian: "This is why I invited you here today... His Majesty's meaning is very clear. The Eighth Bureau should take action."

Fan Xian had already sat back in his chair at this time, tilted his head slightly, and was lost in thought. To abolish the heir apparent, the Supervisory Council's Eighth Bureau would naturally be the first to take action. After all, the Crown Prince had left a lot of not-so-good handles in the hands of the Inner Court and the Supervisory Council back then. Coupled with the battle over the natural right of inheritance of the eldest son in the Ming family's lawsuit in Jiangnan, no matter which aspect you look at this matter from - the Emperor wanted to abolish the Crown Prince, and he should be the vanguard.

His expression was very calm, and he couldn't see the excitement in his heart. After a long time, he said, "The local area is the local area, and Kyoto is Kyoto. If it's just these actions... the backlash from the court will be great. The grand scholars of the Department of State Affairs will not sit idly by and watch the Crown Prince be abolished without fault."

He was telling the truth. The civil officials were wholeheartedly for Qing, seeking stability. Of course, they would strongly oppose the Emperor's seemingly absurd move, and I'm afraid there would be countless beatings on the court again.

"Especially the Supervisory Council cannot come forward." Fan Xian said with his head lowered, "It's not convenient for me to come forward. The Supervisory Council is a special agent organization, and I have always been at odds with the Crown Prince. Some words from my mouth... will only backfire."

"What you said makes sense. I will report to His Majesty." Xue Qing thought for a while and said, "His Majesty asked me to inform you of something. In a few days, His Majesty will go to offer sacrifices to the heavens."

Fan Xian was surprised again today. He frowned for a long time before he slowly tasted the meaning. Although the way of ghosts and gods could not prevail in Qing, and it was not as deeply rooted in people's hearts as the Heavenly Dao of Northern Qi, they still admired the ethereal temple immensely. If the Emperor could really come up with some kind of revelation...

The propaganda offensive against the Crown Prince was in front, the seven regional governors submitting memorials were behind, and then some ministers were found to criticize the Crown Prince for being immoral and unable to inherit the country. Finally, the Emperor was in a dilemma and went to the Great Temple to offer sacrifices to the heavens, inheriting the destiny of heaven and abolishing the heir apparent.

Hmm, what an absurd drama, what a boring trick.

Fan Xian shook his head and asked, "When?"

"In a month."