The night in Kyoto was always deep, especially in the cold winter. After nightfall, there were not many pedestrians on the streets and alleys; no, it should be said that there were no pedestrians at all.

No pedestrians, only night walkers.

No one knew how many night walkers took advantage of the night to appear and act in the streets, alleys, eaves, and doorways of Kyoto, using nooses, sharp blades, iron bars, chains on doors, and powders in their arms to ensnare someone's neck, sever someone's throat, tear someone's body, and blind someone's eyes.

Blood blurred everyone's eyes.

In the Purple Bamboo Garden, a black noose hung down from the gate. A person was struggling to death on the rope, their feet kicking helplessly in the cold wind.

The lantern was extremely dim, swaying slowly in the cold wind like the person's legs, casting shadows and gleams randomly on the ground. At the corner of the street, Deng Ziyue's pale face was sometimes bright and sometimes dark, looking like a devil in the night. He stared at the person, and only turned to leave after confirming their death.

In Guili Ward, inside a brothel, waves of passion surged. The muscular expert on the bed suddenly widened his eyes, bloodshot veins appearing on his white eyeballs. The prostitute on top of him watched indifferently, her legs spread wide, but tightly gripping his waist in a posture that was both lewd and deadly.

After an unknown amount of time, the prostitute's slender white hands slowly moved away from the man's ears, extracting two extremely thin iron skewers, their tips glowing with a faint blue light mixed with the dark color of blood.

At the Gao Shan Pagoda, a chaotic sound of pursuit and killing rang out. A person ran frantically and desperately, their face filled with panic, towards the foot of the pagoda. The clothes on their body had been cut into countless strips, dripping with blood.

A moment later, the pursuers blocked him at the foot of the pagoda. The black-clad man who had been chasing him spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and waved his hand. The black-clad men rushed forward, surrounding the person in the center. Although this person was highly skilled in martial arts and resisted desperately, they were still like a whale surrounded by sharks, gradually losing their strength.

In the darkness of the night, only the muffled sounds of metal piercing flesh could be heard, along with the howling of the cold wind. The black-clad men silently stabbed and struck until the person in the middle no longer reacted in any way, not even a trace of a nervous reaction, but lay prostrate on the ground like a piece of rotten meat.

……

……

Yan Bingyun burned the report in his hand on the candlelight, his hands not trembling at all, and his brow no longer furrowing. Since the matter had already happened, there could be no more doubts, just as after the crossbow was triggered, no one could make the bolt that could kill people disappear into thin air.

Six of the eight generals personally led by the Second Prince had all died in the assassination by the Supervisory Council, in different ways, in different locations, disappearing into the dark night of Kyoto.

From today onwards, the name "Eight Generals" would become an outdated term in history, perhaps not even worthy of leaving a mark.

Yan Bingyun looked down at the paper on the table and subconsciously pinched the bridge of his nose to clear his mind. According to the plan, the next step should be carried out immediately. As for the remaining five people to be killed, there were already specialized personnel responsible.

The plan was meticulously linked, and although it was a mad revenge by the Supervisory Council for the assassination in the valley, Yan Bingyun still had to find a way to control the situation to a certain extent. The Second Prince's Eight Generals were not officials, but simply private retainers of the Prince's mansion. For such people, as long as the Supervisory Council killed them cleanly, without leaving any handle, the court would have no way to deal with Fan Xian.

But those five people were different.

The officials to be arrested next were also different. Although those officials were just inconspicuous figures in the various departments, they were, after all, receiving salaries from the imperial court. Arresting so many people overnight would cause what kind of trouble?

Yan Bingyun sighed, and through the secret mechanism, notified the subordinates outside to come in and issued the second order. After issuing the order, he habitually went to the window to look out at a corner of the palace wall in the distance, thinking that what Director Chen Pingping had said was very correct: Fan Xian, beneath the gentle disguise, indeed harbored extremely crazy factors.

Now, just because a dozen confidants had died in the valley, Fan Xian was already deranged. If, as Director Chen Pingping had said, the director were to pass away one day... what kind of terrible person would Fan Xian become?

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In Baoyue Tower, Fan Xian's expression was very gentle, very calm, his eyebrows raised slightly, indescribably comfortable, as if he didn't know what was happening in the Kyoto night outside the tower.

He had finished telling the story of the assassination in the valley. The ministers at the table, whether they were lingering in fear or regretting it, all expressed their condolences to him. Then, he briefly talked about the affairs of Jiangnan, about the Ming family, and about the Internal Treasury. Then, he frowned and said, "Actually, there is one thing I have never understood. When I was working for the imperial court in Jiangnan, why did someone always like to mess things up in Kyoto?"

The people at the table were slightly stunned, wondering what he was talking about. During the year that Fan Xian was away in Jiangnan, it was absolutely impossible for no one to have put obstacles in his way in Kyoto. But to say that they put obstacles in his way... three hundred and sixty-five days, one every day, which one are you talking about? Was it investigating the Ministry of Revenue? Or sending books to the palace? Moreover, those obstacles had long been torn apart by those old fellows, and you were completely fine. What are you mourning here?

The Crown Prince couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Where did so many grievances come from? It is certain that there are people who don't get along with you, but you can't say who deliberately dragged you down."

Fan Xian also laughed, shook his head, and said, "It's just that I haven't returned to Kyoto for a year. I think perhaps many people in Kyoto have forgotten what kind of temperament I have."

The Second Prince was holding a wine glass and carefully savoring the wine. Hearing these words, he felt a chill rise in his heart. The Crown Prince's performance tonight was too strange, and Fan Xian's attitude was too arrogant, so arrogant that it was unreasonable and against the rules, and did him no good.

Could it be just because he was suffocating from the events in the valley?

The Second Prince's eyebrows furrowed nicely, thinking that the matter hadn't been found out yet, and what was the point of arguing with them here?

Just then, Baoyue Tower suddenly became lively. The sound of horses' hooves could be heard, and it seemed that many people were coming this way.

The Crown Prince, sitting in the chief seat, frowned and said unhappily, "Who dares to make noise here?"

Everyone at the table frowned and looked out the window.

It seemed that someone wanted to enter Baoyue Tower and had successfully passed the double defense lines of the Kyoto garrison and the Kyoto government yamen, but was stopped outside the tower by the people of Baoyue Tower.

Fan Xian looked at Sang Wen, and Sang Wen understood and lifted the velvet curtain, flashing past the screen. After a while, with a burst of rapid footsteps, Sang Wen led five people up the stairs.

These five people were all wearing official uniforms, presumably officials of the imperial court. However, today was not a place to discuss important matters of the court, but a place of pleasure. The people at the table recognized that someone was their confidant and couldn't help but be stunned, wondering what was going on. Why would they come to find themselves so openly? Could it be that something major had happened in Kyoto?

The five officials looked at each other, and all saw the unease, fear, and panic in the other's eyes. They no longer cared about anything else, first apologized to the dignitaries at the table, and then looked at Fan Xian fearfully, gave him a salute, and went to find the important figures they were looking for at the table without avoiding suspicion, and whispered in their ears.

Fan Xian smiled as he watched this scene, raised his glass and toasted Ren Shaoan, who was beside the Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince. The Eldest Prince's Imperial Army system was clearly confined to the palace area and reacted more slowly, while the Crown Prince... seemed to have guessed something, and today he had deliberately cut off his own intelligence network, just to get drunk at Baoyue Tower.

The Eldest Prince looked at the tense appearance around him, frowned and looked at Fan Xian, as if questioning him. Fan Xian shook his head, indicating that he did not know what had happened.

On the adjacent tables, the faces of those important figures who were listening to the reports from their subordinate officials gradually turned ugly, especially the Second Prince. That delicate face gradually turned pale, and a hint of blush quickly surged up, but after three breaths, it returned to normal.

Fan Xian glanced sideways at this scene, knowing that the other party already knew the news that the Eight Generals had all been killed, but he didn't expect the Second Prince to be able to regain his composure so quickly, and couldn't help but feel a slight admiration.

The Eldest Prince frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Everyone in the tower knew that something had happened, but not everyone knew exactly what had happened. The Second Prince lowered his head slightly, raised his glass and took a small sip, then raised his head and looked at Fan Xian, the smile in his eyes a little heavy, and asked word by word:

"Lord Fan must know very well."

The atmosphere in the room became cold. The few adults who had received news from Kyoto also stared at Fan Xian's face. They now knew that while they were feasting in Baoyue Tower, several homicides had suddenly occurred in Kyoto, and the Second Prince's most powerful Eight Generals had been completely assassinated!

These important figures had many eyes and ears in Kyoto, and the officials of the Privy Council, who were responsible for the city defense, were of course aware of how terrible such a thing was, especially to kill the Eight Generals so cleanly, the strength required was not something that ordinary people could possess.

Considering that Fan Xian was hosting a banquet for everyone in Baoyue Tower today, naturally everyone vaguely guessed that this matter was done by the Supervisory Council.

Everyone was waiting for Fan Xian's answer, and the atmosphere at the table was a bit fierce and silent.

Fan Xian asked gently, "What happened?"

The Second Prince smiled, the smile a little bitter, and his heart a little cold. His legs, which were curled up on the seat, were a little sore and numb. Looking at the young supervisor of the Supervisory Council opposite him, he seemed to see a smiling demon. He, as a prince... didn't know what kind of reaction he should make immediately.

So he raised his glass, drank to himself, drank it all in one gulp, and felt a slight stinging pain in his chest.

After a moment of silence, Qu Xiangdong, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, stared at Fan Xian's eyes and said in a cold voice, "Tonight, homicides have occurred one after another. Six generals in the Second Prince's palace have been killed at the same time. Does Lord Fan know about this?"

As soon as these words came out, the Eldest Prince, who didn't know what had happened, looked at Fan Xian in astonishment. Even the Crown Prince, who had been pretending to be confused in the arms of a beauty, exclaimed and suddenly sat up from the beauty's arms!

The Crown Prince stared blankly at Fan Xian's calm face, his heart extremely shocked. He knew that Fan Xian had no good intentions today, but he really didn't expect that Fan Xian's counterattack would be so simple, direct, rude, unreasonable, and without regard for the consequences.

Under everyone's gaze, Fan Xian... tilted his head, with a hint of doubt and a hint of disdain... and said softly, "Oh? Are they all dead?"

The Second Prince had just put down his wine glass, but hearing Fan Xian's question, the emotions in his chest surged. The complex emotions of anger, depression, a trace of incomprehension, and a trace of hatred finally couldn't be controlled. When he put down the glass, he did it a little harder, and with a "crack" the glass hit the table, knocking over the wine pot next to it.

From the expressions on the faces of the people at the table, he knew that the six generals were really all dead. Fan Xian's heart was as sweet as if a spring was flowing through it, and he didn't deliberately hide his expression. He smiled and said, "Why are you asking me about the Second Prince's generals? I've always heard that the Second Prince's generals are very arrogant in Kyoto. They must have offended someone they couldn't afford to offend."

This was the first time since the start of the banquet that he referred to himself as "this official." As for who in Kyoto the Eight Generals had offended, but couldn't afford to offend... obviously, that person's surname was Fan.

There was a silence at the table. The Second Prince stared blankly at Fan Xian's face, and suddenly laughed. He knew that whether or not the other party had done this, being able to clear all of his martial power in such a short time at a banquet showed that the strength of the Supervisory Council was not something that he, as a prince, could directly confront.

He raised his glass to toast Fan Xian, and said sincerely, "Supervisor, you have good methods... and good courage."

Fan Xian raised his glass to meet him, and comforted him, "Your Highness, please be consoled. Those who have died are gone, and those who are alive are coming. Metabolism is like this."

……

……

Looking at the two "princes" who looked quite similar to each other at the head of the table, Qu Xiangdong, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, couldn't help but feel an absurd emotion in his heart. From the current point of view, the Second Prince was naturally far from being Fan Xian's opponent, but in terms of status, Fan Xian was, after all, a subject. Where did he get such great audacity?

Qu Xiangdong suddenly felt that he was old and cowardly, but he still couldn't help but ask Fan Xian, "Lord Fan, you should know about the fact that the Supervisory Council mobilized in all directions tonight and arrested dozens of court officials, right?"

Fan Xian carefully put the wine glass back on the table with both hands, raised his head and said, "I am the supervisor of the Supervisory Council and the head of the First Bureau. By the grace of the Emperor, I am in charge of supervising the governance of Kyoto. Who would dare to arrest those corrupt officials without my approval?"

……

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(I wanted to continue to describe the killing of people in laughter and talk, using the contrast between inside and outside the building, with hymns ringing, snowflakes falling, and pigeons? But suddenly I didn't want to write it that way, because it was too slow, and this section would have to be 60,000 to 70,000 words, so I changed it... a bit helpless, but actually quite interested.)

(Another very important point: Don't think of this matter as too exciting just because the killing is exciting... in a hierarchical society, a society of slave owners and slaves, if it is to evolve into a war between slave owners, the blood right now doesn't seem to be enough to be dripping.)