The old man placed the wooden spoon in his hand on the stone beside the vegetable patch, then slowly sat down, supporting his back, appearing somewhat labored.

It had just snowed, and the weather was cold. The vegetable garden was full of residual snow and muddy puddles. Where could there be leafy greens growing? Where was there a need for watering? Yet, tonight, he subconsciously picked up the wooden spoon again and watered the ground with clear water, as if trying to wash away something.

The old man was very old. After Xiao En and Zhuang Mohan died, he became the only person in the world today who had the good fortune to witness the founding ceremony of Qing Yu Nian. Fifty years had passed, and the deep wrinkles and increasingly prominent age spots on his face told the story of his own history and the history of this nation.

A veteran of three reigns? More than that. How many emperors had he served? The old man couldn't quite remember. However, when the late Emperor ascended the throne, he undoubtedly chose the right path, which is why he secured an irreplaceable position in the military for his family. And now, this current Emperor… was undoubtedly the one he admired the most among all the monarchs he had experienced over the years. Three northern expeditions, southern conquests, and western campaigns. Although he had been stationed in the capital with the authority of a senior military official, stabilizing the rear for His Majesty, the sons and nephews of his clan in the army had followed His Majesty. Some lay buried in foreign lands, while others returned home in glory.

Qing Yu Nian was forged with guns, swords, and crossbows, on horseback. The old man had spent his entire life dealing with these weapons. He didn't know how many people he had killed, how many tribes around Qing Yu Nian he had destroyed. He could remain unmoved even in the face of millions dying before him.

Such a history could not be cleansed with a few scoops of water.

Within this long history, countless famous generals, virtuous ministers, and enlightened monarchs had shone with their unique brilliance. However, the one who left the deepest impression on the old man was actually a very young and beautiful girl.

Whenever he thought of that girl, the old man's heart would tremble. No matter how outstanding a person was, they could only try to change the course of history. But that girl seemed to be preparing to overturn the very foundation of Qing Yu Nian from the start, and then to overturn the entire world.

The old man never knew if such an attempt had any chance of success. He only keenly sensed that if the situation at that time had been allowed to develop, the entire aristocratic class of Qing Yu Nian would have been swept away by an undercurrent. And it was well known that the aristocratic class of Qing Yu Nian provided the most powerful manpower support for the military of Qing Yu Nian.

He feared this turmoil, this upheaval that seemed to strengthen Qing Yu Nian but made it unlike Qing Yu Nian.

The old man was a soldier, a soldier loyal to Qing Yu Nian. For him, the continuation of Qing Yu Nian's existence was a supreme and noble mission. So he participated in a secret and kept that secret to this day.

That girl, or rather that enchantress, was dead.

Wasn't that good? At least Qing Yu Nian was still strong, and this Qing Yu Nian was still the Qing Yu Nian of the past, with no changes. Exchanging one person's death for the tranquility of the entire country, the old man had never regretted that decision.

……

……

The old man sat silently on the stone, looking at the sewage in the vegetable garden, not speaking for a long time. He had already heard about what happened in front of the Privy Council this afternoon... two hundred heads...

His Majesty had treated him well, making him the Right Grand Secretary of the Supreme Military Council for thirty years, a rare honor unheard of in history.

But this leading figure of the military still regarded himself as an ordinary member of the military, just like many years ago, and regarded those soldiers as his brothers. As he grew older, he regarded them as his descendants.

Though cold in appearance, his heart was kind, so the old man's prestige in the military was unmatched.

And those two hundred brave soldiers were the old man's most trusted private army, secretly training in the Xiaoshan mountains. Originally, they were intended for the future attack on Northern Qi, but now they had to be sent out ahead of schedule and used in a conspiracy to assassinate the Imperial Envoy.

The old man rarely concerned himself with politics in the court, but this time... he had to. Whether for the survival of his family or for what he believed to be the future of Qing Yu Nian, he had to kill that young man.

But… he actually failed to kill him!

The old man coughed, not knowing if it was the coldness of the stone beneath his buttocks seeping into his cotton coat, or the chill in his heart rising up.

Two hundred people, ah.

The old man's face grew more and more aged, with a hint of hidden sorrow. They were all his descendants, all should have been the bright future of Qing Yu Nian, but they died just like that, and they would not even find peace after death. Their names would never be remembered, but would be recorded in history for people to scold, becoming the first rebel army of Qing Yu Nian in decades.

The old man felt heartache and cold.

……

……

His Majesty was too unfeeling, too chilling, allowing that young man to remain in the capital and adding power to him day by day. Seeing that trend, there was no end in sight. Even if His Majesty was alive, the young man would be unable to move. But what about the future? After he and His Majesty were dead, wouldn't that young man settle old scores?

He had participated in the shocking case of murdering Ye Qingmei. Did he expect her son not to settle old scores?

Ever since that young man from Danzhou was summoned to the capital by His Majesty several years ago, the old man had felt a chill in his heart. Except for Chen Pingping and Fan Jian, no one had thought that the old man had long been aware of Fan Xian's true identity.

But the old man remained silent, even more silent than in previous years. So in the past few years, the Qin family had been strangely quiet in the court.

Because that young man was His Majesty's flesh and blood, the old man couldn't do anything in advance. He was just watching, watching how His Majesty would arrange for this young man.

At first, the old man was very relieved, because that young man seemed to be just a playboy, spending his days with Prince Jing's son in brothels, fighting for love, and punching in the dark, showing no special qualities.

Then, the old man was slightly worried, because that young man was going to marry the Morning Princess, was going to take over the Internal Treasury, and wrote three hundred poems in one night at the palace hall, shaking the world with his name. But he immediately felt relieved, because how could a mere Internal Treasury be in the eyes of a military leader? No matter how powerful wealth was, it could not defeat swords and guns. No matter how amazing poetry was, it could not withstand the sound of galloping hooves.

But gradually, the development of events made the old man, who had been watching coldly, vigilant. Because... of the Spring Examination incident. Only now did he realize that His Majesty had secretly given this young man the waist badge of a supervisor of the Overwatch Council.

As the most powerful figure in the military, the old man had cooperated with the Overwatch Council countless times over the years. Of course, he knew the terrifying strength of Chen Pingping and the Overwatch Council. So he felt a sense of unease, and so he chose to express his views for the first time – advising His Majesty to send Fan Xian on a mission to Northern Qi.

He knew that this mission was definitely not as easy as it seemed on the surface, because there was Xiao En and many difficulties. After giving his advice, the old man fell silent again. He secretly prayed that the young man would stay in Northern Qi forever and never return.

But the development of events once again disappointed him. Fan Xian returned to Qing Yu Nian safely and gained more power and fame.

……

……

The old man fell silent again. He quietly and steadily watched the young man, watching him fight with the Second Prince in the capital, watching the Imperial College, watching the Hanging Temple, watching the palace, and discovered that this young man was indeed as he had expected, ruthless, clever, unscrupulous, and vindictive.

Powerful.

The old man felt a sense of fear. Although Fan Xian at this time was still far from being able to frighten him, whenever he thought of the woman from that year, thought of Fan Xian being her son, and saw Fan Xian seemingly following the same path as that woman, gaining great power in a very short time, and being even more ruthless and vicious than that woman... he was somewhat afraid. Coupled with the fact that he didn't know what His Majesty was thinking, he began to try to find a gentle method in addition to silence.

He was gambling, gambling that Fan Xian would never know the relationship between the old Qin family and that year.

So the old man chose to retreat, not asking, not caring. Even after His Majesty was furious because of Fan Xian's affairs and had the censor of the Censorate flogged in court, the old man directly chose to plead illness and not attend court, nor did he go to the Privy Council to oversee affairs, but quietly stayed at home to retire.

His Majesty was supporting Fan Xian, so the old man had to retreat, retreat all the way to the end, to avoid the old events of that year being turned over.

The old man knew that His Majesty had this kind of ruthlessness.

This was not quarreling with His Majesty, but expressing his peacefulness to His Majesty. It was also a subconscious desire not to deal with Fan Xian in the court. On the other hand, the old man arranged for his son to befriend Fan Xian and invited Fan Xian to his residence for a chat, observing him closely for a long time.

……

……

If things had continued to develop like this, perhaps the old man could still regard Fan Xian as a respected junior, and the Qin family's door could forever be open to Fan Xian. But everyone knew that plans could never keep up with the rapid and bewildering changes.

The Ming family had the old man's shares. The Qin family was all in the military. It was much more inconvenient to get cash than those ministers in the court. So many years ago, when the Eldest Princess respectfully sent a 10% stake to the Qin residence, the old man nodded with reserve. He had always thought that the Eldest Princess was a rare intelligent person in the royal family.

Even if Fan Xian investigated Jiangnan, the Qin family was not afraid. It was just that they had a 10% stake in the wealthy merchants of Jiangnan. How could His Majesty punish the always loyal military high family for such a trivial matter?

However, the events on Donghai Island occurred.

Privately deploying troops and massacring an island, what a shocking event! As the Right Grand Secretary of the Supreme Military Council, the old man was of course one of the few people in the court who knew about this matter.

So the old man fell silent again, immersed in thought.

Chang Kun, the naval commander of Jiaozhou.

Just as Deng Ziyue of the Overwatch Council had reported to Fan Xian in Jiangnan, this first-rank commander had a good relationship with the Ye family, but he came from the Qin family!

The old man did not give Chang Kun any instructions. The Qin family did not intervene in Chang Kun's actions. It should have been the Eldest Princess's intention, after all, everyone had too many interests in Jiangnan.

But the old man was even clearer that His Majesty knew very well that Chang Kun was a member of his old Qin family!

Chang Kun was already dead, and the Jiaozhou navy had also been purged. Although the old man still had several generals staying in the Jiaozhou navy, and his nephew had gone to take over as commander, he became even more confused. What was His Majesty thinking? Why did he still let his family manage the Jiaozhou navy?

Fan Xian had investigated the Jiaozhou case.

……

……

But even so, it was not enough for the old man to make up his mind to launch a thunderous attack on Fan Xian. Because he knew that assassinating an imperial envoy, a de facto prince, would certainly lead to His Majesty to grant himself a cup of poisoned wine if it was revealed afterwards, and the family would definitely decline.

The last straw that broke the old man's heart's defense was a message from the Overwatch Council.

The Qing Yu Nian military and the Overwatch Council had cooperated for decades, and a part of each had long been infiltrated by the other. In particular, when the Overwatch Council recruited officials, the first choice was candidates from various places who had not passed the imperial examinations and retired generals from the military. Over the decades, he didn't know how many retired military officers had become powerful figures in the Overwatch Council.

As the number one figure in the military, the old man would not be foolish enough to give up these opportunities. He had long arranged for his people to enter the Overwatch Council.

The military naturally also had spies in the Overwatch Council. This was a matter that both sides knew well, but no one would expose, and His Majesty also tacitly allowed his two hands to monitor each other.

It was also the old man's most capable person in the Overwatch Council who sent a somewhat strange message to the Qin residence.

There was a force in the Overwatch Council that was above the Eight Bureaus and was secretly investigating certain events from twenty years ago. Although the events being investigated seemed to be unrelated, such as the changes in the Kyoto defense deployment, the logistics supply during the Western Expedition that year, and the palace's defense situation, even some trivial matters such as grain transfers were scattered and did not form a system at all.

But the old man, because of so many years of vigilance, smelled a dangerous scent. When he looked at that file, he couldn't help but frown. If someone carefully wove these trivial matters together, he was afraid that they would gradually point to the truth of the Taiping Courtyard massacre that year, that bloody truth. At that time, the Qin family, who was stationed in Kyoto and was responsible for stabilizing the rear for His Majesty, who was personally leading the expedition, would also have its disgraceful role in this matter exposed to the world!

That force was investigating very carefully, for fear of alarming someone, but it was investigating extremely cleverly. He was afraid that it would not be long before they would tear through those layers of disguise and touch the real history.

Who was investigating the events of that year?

What kind of people were the forces in the council that could surpass the Eight Bureaus?

The reports from the people in the council, coupled with the old man's judgment, all pointed that force to the Qinian Team personally led by Fan Xian.

The last straw fell.

The old man issued the order to kill Fan Xian.

He was confident that he could temporarily hide the truth of the assassination from the world and from His Majesty, but he simply didn't want to face Fan Xian, who would go crazy to avenge that woman once he knew the truth. So he chose the simplest, crudest, and most direct method... to kill.

Perhaps he had wrongly estimated Fan Xian's interest in revenge.

However, this mistake could no longer be changed.

……

……

Tonight, hearing the news of the failure, hearing the news of the tragic deaths of those two hundred soldiers, Qin, the military leader of Qing Yu Nian, and Right Grand Secretary of the Supreme Military Council, looked as if he had suddenly aged a dozen years. He rubbed his old tree-bark-like cheeks, but gradually calmed down.

Twenty years of hidden worries, and a trace of fear for that woman's wandering soul, made the Qin family's old man make the most direct decision under pressure.

However, after the matter failed, this old soldier, who had fought on the battlefield for half a century and stood proudly in the court without ever retreating, finally realized a problem.

The person who could mobilize so much power to find clues from twenty years ago and who was above the Overwatch Council was not just Fan Xian alone, but also that old black dog, Chen Pingping.

Letting Chang Kun massacre the island, seemingly for the sake of the Jiangnan affair, actually dragged his old Qin family into this mess after making eighteen turns. This was the crazy woman, Eldest Princess Li Yunrui's favorite method.

The Qin family's old man coughed twice sitting on the big stone, and finally figured out the cause and effect of this matter. This matter had nothing to do with Fan Xian, nothing to do with His Majesty, and nothing to do with the East Palace. It was just that two people, for different purposes, wanted to involve his old Qin family in this matter.

Chen Pingping, the director of the Overwatch Council, and Li Yunrui, the Eldest Princess.

The two people in Qing Yu Nian, or even the entire world, who were most skilled at weaving conspiracies, for different reasons, and for a common goal, skillfully wove it for the better part of a year, and finally achieved the effect they wanted.

Faced with the unintentional cooperation of these two people, what could a big shot like the Qin family's old man do?

……

……

"Father, the weather is cold, let's go back to the room."

Qin Heng, the second son of the Qin family and the current Kyoto garrison commander, came behind the old man, put a coat on the old man, and asked respectfully.

The old man of the Qin family turned around and looked at his son, and a burst of sadness suddenly welled up in his heart. He was already so old, but his son was only in his thirties. Once he died, could he still maintain the Qin family's dignity and status?

"If the eldest son had not died, that would be good."

The Qin family's old man thought sadly, thinking of the somewhat impulsive eldest son back then. If his temperament had not been so violent, he would not have been picked off by a school officer in the army during the chaos. If he was still alive... why would he have to work so hard?

……

……

(This chapter was tiring to write. Originally, I said that I had something to do today, but I also moved it to tomorrow. Tomorrow, the update should really be a little later, and I will write less. This chapter is considered to have made it clear, the details about the old man's attitude towards Fan Xian, and the relationship between the Jiaozhou Navy and the Qin family, have been mentioned in the previous article. If you are willing, you can also find them to play with, which can also be regarded as a fun, hehe. The chapter name "Who can compete" naturally refers to, if Sister Pingping and Sister Princess are of one mind, let's see who can compete in the world. I have always had this fantasy, but it is impossible in this book... Finally, I will ask for monthly tickets, because the previous monthly ticket request was very effective. I am very excited, so I am taking action and calling for everyone to hold the monthly tickets in their hands, extremely seriously calling.)