Fan Xian remained silent for a long time, finally abandoning the idea of having Yan Bingyun arrange this matter. On one hand, he needed to ensure Hong Zhu's safety; on the other, he knew that beneath Little Yan's cold exterior lay unwavering loyalty to the Qing court. He absolutely couldn't take such a risk lightly.

He looked at Yan Bingyun's unhealthy complexion, frowned, and reached out to place his fingers on Yan Bingyun's wrist, pausing for a moment.

Yan Bingyun was slightly surprised inwardly, but his face remained an icy mask, showing no reaction.

"Your health is in such a poor state?" Fan Xian frowned and said, "I heard you haven't been back to your residence for days?"

Yan Bingyun casually tidied the documents on the desk, replying, "The Heavenly Prison holds over thirty Beijing officials. Every day, people come to the Dali Temple to complain of injustice. I'm also in a hurry to sort out all the matters, so being pressured from both sides, where would I find the time to leave this courtyard?"

Fan Xian noticed the immaculate state of the secret room, including the neatly categorized and arranged documents on the large wooden table. He couldn't help but smile and say, "This room is even tidier than when the Director was here. It seems you're quite suited to this line of work."

Yan Bingyun also felt somewhat fatigued. He used two fingers to vigorously knead the skin between his eyebrows, turning the fair skin red before he felt his spirit recover a little.

"Go back and rest," Fan Xian said, shaking his head as he watched this scene.

Yan Bingyun ignored him and took out another dossier to examine closely, his head slightly lowered as he softly said, "You're taking on the Second Prince, having dealt with so many people. Someone has to handle the aftermath. You and the Director both love to be lazy, but the Supervisory Council can't be supported by a bunch of lazy people."

Fan Xian detected a hint of complaint in his tone and chuckled.

Yan Bingyun seemed uncomfortable with Fan Xian watching him work. After a long while, he closed the file, looked up, and said, "Although you've uprooted the Second Prince's influence in the court, I want to remind you of something, my lord."

"What is it?"

"You've only cut away the branches around the Second Prince." Yan Bingyun calmly said, "The thickest tree beneath him, your axe hasn't been able to chop into it."

Fan Xian knew Yan Bingyun was talking about the Ye family, that family stationed far away in Dingzhou, raising horses, but only five days from Kyoto, and with a Grandmaster expert enshrined in their home. Since the Second Prince married Ye Ling'er, there was no doubt that the Second Prince's backing, besides the Princess, now included the Ye family, a towering tree.

The Kyoto night raid plan had only cleaned up the Second Prince's core officials and personal military forces, without causing any loss to the Ye family. As long as the Ye family remained firmly established in Dingzhou, the Second Prince hadn't suffered any real damage.

Fan Xian sighed, feeling somewhat helpless. He had originally hoped to use the three ballistae seized during the ambush in the valley to drag the Ye family into the mess, but no one had expected the Northern Qi Emperor's private letter, a greeting from tens of thousands of miles away, to force the Southern Qing court to halt the investigation, making it impossible for Fan Xian to frame the Ye family.

"Let's talk about the Ye family later."

Yan Bingyun glanced at him, frowning, and said, "The Second Prince's foundation is in the Ye family, but precisely because of this, his dependence on the Princess has decreased..."

This most trusted brain of Fan Xian's spoke with an unsaid intention, penetrating Fan Xian's heart. He was inexplicably shaken and, associating it with the top-secret news he had learned today, began to smell an unusual odor—whether the Princess had openly supported the Crown Prince or secretly supported the Second Prince, that crazy and formidable woman's means were naturally for those two nephews to ascend the throne one day, yet remain under her control.

Princess Li Yunrui was an extremely far-sighted and formidable figure. Her ambition was great. Now that the Second Prince had the Ye family as his backing, his dependence on her decreased, which naturally also meant that if the Second Prince ascended the throne in the future, it would be much more difficult for her to control him from behind the scenes.

Could it be...

At this thought, Fan Xian's heart stirred, and he then sneered, saying, "The Crown Prince... has no future. The Second, in the end, will still be struck down."

Yan Bingyun looked at him suspiciously. Although the Supervisory Council had never interfered in the princes' struggles, that implicit rule had gradually been broken since Fan Xian took over the Supervisory Council. But why was Fan Xian so certain that the Crown Prince, still favored by the Emperor and doted upon by the Empress Dowager, had no chance at all?

Fan Xian naturally wouldn't explain anything to him. He frowned and said, "Send word to Su Wenmao and Xia Xifei, have them both prepare... to close the net."

Yan Bingyun stared into Fan Xian's eyes and said, "The Jiangnan matter is completely under control, but to cut down with one stroke... there seems to be no certainty. After all, the capital is watching... unless the situation in the capital suddenly undergoes a major change."

Fan Xian smiled, knowing that his unintentional words had allowed the meticulous Little Yan to guess something. He explained in a soft voice, "It's just advance preparation. Even if the Kyoto situation doesn't change in a year, His Majesty can no longer tolerate the Ming family's affairs."

Yan Bingyun's suspicion lessened slightly when he heard it was His Majesty's intention. He asked, "To what extent should we close the net?"

Fan Xian was silent for a moment, slightly distracted. The complex arrangements and hidden dangers beneath the sunny skies of Jiangnan this past year, like scenes from a revolving lantern, flipped before his eyes: the heads of the Internal Treasury's Three Workshops, the corpses covering the hills and fields on the small island, Ming Qingda's fainting in the Internal Treasury, the lawsuits in Suzhou Prefecture, the unexpected suicide of Old Madam Ming, Ming Sixth Master's imprisonment and execution, Ming Seventh Master's sudden appearance...

The Ming family was now a grasshopper in his hands, but just to what extent he would go still required Fan Xian's approval.

"That wealthiest family in the world is no cleaner than the Imperial Palace." Fan Xian said to himself in his heart, then softly told Yan Bingyun, "Close it completely. You arrange for the Qian Zhuang's people to act. Also, some people in the Ming Garden can be killed."

Hearing the words "Qian Zhuang," Yan Bingyun knew that the large chess piece buried for a year was finally about to move. That Qian Zhuang, nominally from the Shen family and Dongyi City, had originally been arranged by Yan Bingyun. He naturally knew how to deal with the Ming family, but he had never been able to find out the true source of the money in that Qian Zhuang. Looking at Fan Xian now, he finally couldn't help but lower his voice and say, "I don't care where that money in Jiangnan came from, but I must remind you, my lord,千萬不要是……北齐的 (千万不要是……北齐的)…… don't let it be… Northern Qi's."

Hearing Yan Bingyun guess correctly with one word, Fan Xian would never admit it. He said self-deprecatingly, "Don't forget who my mother was. Besides the Internal Treasury, she would still leave me some pocket money to spend."

Yan Bingyun shook his head, believing Fan Xian's explanation. After all, everyone knew how wealthy the Ye family had been in the past.

...

...

Sitting in the carriage returning to his residence, Fan Xian felt a sense of loss in his chest. It wasn't because he had made a wasted trip to the Supervisory Council, but dared not let Yan Bingyun participate in the Imperial Palace matter. It was because he had finally confirmed that, for the young generation of Qing talents like Yan Bingyun, the interests of Qing and the Emperor, and the glory of unifying the world, were the truly supreme principles.

Yan Bingyun had always tried his best for Fan Xian because everything Fan Xian had done was in accordance with Qing's interests. But once Fan Xian really became that kind of role in the future, how would he view the Deputy Director with whom he had a deep friendship?

Fan Xian knew this was inevitable. After all, everyone lived in their own era. He had the experience of a previous life, so he could view the differences between the countries of this world more lightly, but he couldn't demand that of others.

That was an unreasonable and illogical request.

Yan Bingyun's role by Fan Xian's side had always been somewhat ambiguous. He wasn't a member of the Qi Nian team, but he was Fan Xian's confidant, participating in most of his actions, especially the planning in Jiangnan last year, which was basically done by him alone. Now that Fan Xian was soberly aware of this, he had made up his mind that the deepest core of his transactions with Northern Qi should not be touched by Little Yan for the time being.

However, there was an extremely important and urgent problem from this trip to the Supervisory Council that had not been resolved: how to connect with Hong Zhu? Fan Xian sat in the carriage, supporting his chin with his elbow, his brow furrowed in worry.

Unexpectedly, upon returning to the Fan residence, he heard an edict that was extremely unexpected. He immediately and keenly captured that tonight was the best opportunity to confirm this matter with Hong Zhu.

The edict didn't come from His Majesty the Emperor, but from the Empress Dowager, who had always been relatively silent. Qing governed the country with filial piety, and the Emperor was an example for all the people. Therefore, although the Empress Dowager was mostly silent, no one dared to underestimate the true influence of that old woman.

The Empress Dowager's edict had arrived the moment Fan Xian left the residence, specifically ordering Fan Xian to enter the palace. Unexpectedly, Fan Xian had secretly slipped out, and the eunuch delivering the edict had no choice but to wait.

...

...

Fan Xian slightly tilted his head, listening to Liu Shi's soft words in his ear, and glanced at the Yao eunuch, who was already anxiously waiting. He couldn't help but smile. Originally, with his abilities, if he wanted to sneak into the Imperial Palace, he would only have the confidence to hide it from Hong Old Eunuch's eyes and ears if Wu Zhu was by his side. But if he lived in the palace tonight... it would be much easier to meet with Hong Zhu.

Moreover, he was a man, so he definitely couldn't live in the inner palace. He could only find a room in the front part of the Imperial City, which would make things more convenient.

However, he still didn't understand why the Empress Dowager was in such a hurry to summon him into the palace.

...

...

When he and Wan'er retreated hand in hand from the Han Guang Palace, Fan Xian couldn't help but sigh in embarrassment. Only now did he understand that the old woman had summoned him into the palace to force him and Wan'er to visit his mother-in-law, the Princess, at the Guangxin Palace!

The Empress Dowager didn't want her descendants to be in chaos. Fan Xian had entered the palace several times since returning to Kyoto, always avoiding the Princess. This fact made the Empress Dowager somewhat unhappy. She decided to use the power in her hands to bridge the gap between the younger generation. Taking advantage of Wan'er being in the palace, she summoned Fan Xian into the palace.

It was late, and the Imperial Palace was somewhat dimly lit. Wan'er looked at Fan Xian's face with concern, pouting her lips and saying, "I don't want to go to the Guangxin Palace."

Fan Xian comforted her with a wry smile, "The Princess is your mother, after all. You have to meet her." He said these words, but his heart was gradually quickening.

Lin Wan'er looked at him seriously and said, "I know you don't want to see Mother either. Why don't we sneak out of the palace?"

Fan Xian couldn't help but laugh and say, "Careful the Empress Dowager kills the two of us, clueless little rascals."

Not far ahead, the gate of the Guangxin Palace was already open a crack, and several palace maids were waiting with their heads bowed, expecting the arrival of these two. To be precise, Fan Xian and Wan'er should be half the owners of the Guangxin Palace, but the strange world had already made their relationship with the palace somewhat cold and strange.

Fan Xian looked at the palace maids with a gentle smile. His eyesight was extremely sharp, and he could see at a glance that these palace maids were similar to when he first entered the Guangxin Palace, all possessing extremely strong cultivation.

Walking through the corner of the palace gate, a gust of breeze swept over them, and the wind was extremely cold. Fan Xian couldn't help but shudder, thinking of the woman in the palace.

...

...

"Yi Chen, come over and let me see you."

Princess Li Yunrui greeted them outside the palace, her tone trying to maintain its composure, but Fan Xian could still hear a very subtle difference. He looked up in surprise and saw the Princess staring blankly at his wife beside him.

Wan'er bit her thick lower lip, clutching her husband's hand tightly, refusing to let go.

Fan Xian gently patted the back of her hand, giving her enough encouragement.

Wan'er calmed herself, stepped forward, and gave a slight curtsy to the palace-attired beauty on the stone steps, softly saying, "Greetings, Mother."

Her voice was extremely low and soft, with an indescribable unnaturalness.

The Princess looked blankly at her own daughter. Her face, which had been slightly expectant, suddenly became calm. She said faintly, "Have you been well recently?"

Fan Xian frowned and coughed uncomfortably. He moved closer to Wan'er, smiling, and said, "Greetings, Mother-in-law."

The Princess looked at him, and a strange smile appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face. She said, "You still know to come see this Palace?"

For some reason, the relationship between the Princess and Wan'er seemed somewhat cold, but she spoke to Fan Xian very casually. Fortunately, Fan Xian's interruption eased the atmosphere above and below the stone steps. The Princess took Lin Wan'er's hand and stood side by side on the stone steps. She gave a few instructions to the palace maids in the courtyard and prepared to walk into the palace.

Fan Xian looked up at the two women on the stone steps and found it somewhat amusing that Wan'er and her mother really didn't look alike. He didn't know how the Princess maintained herself, but she was still so young. The two of them standing in a row didn't look like a mother and daughter, but more like two sister flowers.

However, although Wan'er was already a married woman, she still couldn't shake off a bit of her youthfulness, while the Princess had already bloomed, never fading, like a peony in full bloom... captivating.

Dinner had already been arranged in the Guangxin Palace. There were no outsiders, just the Princess and the young couple. After speaking for a while at the table, Wan'er finally relaxed a little. Coupled with the natural affection between mother and daughter, her gaze towards the Princess became gentle.

The Princess seemed very happy with this change in Wan'er, and the tone of her voice also began to show a real gentleness. She sighed when she didn't know what she was talking about, and said quietly, "In your eyes, I'm afraid I've been a very bad mother..."

Lin Wan'er's eyes turned red, and she was about to shed tears. She had grown up in the palace, eating from a hundred palaces. Although she was loved by the Old Empress Dowager, as a daughter, how could she not miss her mother? Now, hearing such gentle words by her mother's side, a hundred emotions mixed in her heart, and she didn't know what to say.

Fan Xian, sitting in the lower seat, saw the mother and daughter sitting side by side and smiled slightly. One of these mothers and daughters was the most beautiful woman in Qing, and the other was the most beautiful woman in his heart. How could it not be pleasing to the eye to look at them now? But he had to admit dejectedly that his wife really wasn't as beautiful as his mother-in-law.

Especially the Princess today, with her beautiful face, rosy lips, and bright eyes still the same, her hair like a black waterfall pulled up as before, but she revealed a few rare real emotions compared to the past, not as delicate as the legend, which made her unparalleled beauty even more vivid.

The voices of the two women at the table became lighter and lighter, and more and more at ease.

He wasn't surprised to see this scene, because he still had confidence in human nature. Even if the Princess was crazy, she was still a mother after all.

In Fan Xian's view, this irresponsible mother was no different from those brain-damaged junior high school girls who gave birth to babies in the bathroom in his previous life. After so many years, she should have some guilt and some realization.

The palace maid behind him filled his cup with wine. He drank it down in one gulp, a slight spicy pain in his throat. The taste of this Wuliangye was indeed incomparably mellow, but... why did it make people feel somewhat depressed and lost?

His gaze towards the Princess was no different, but the emotions in his heart began to churn. He was always thinking, why did such a beautiful woman embark on such a path in life?