In the quiet courtyard, a quiet man, and a quiet chest, held similar pain. Minister Fan looked at his son, who was head bowed and silent, with a touch of pity and a hint of encouragement. After a long silence, he asked softly, "Let's not talk about Chen Pingping. I just want to ask you, from the moment you decided to step into Shijia Village, you must have known about what happened many years ago. How are you going to handle that matter?"

Fan Xian didn't answer, but asked, "When did you figure it out?"

"Probably after the rebellion in Kyoto." Fan Jian said calmly and gently, "Even if I thought about it before, I wasn't willing to think in that direction. His Majesty is, after all, His Majesty, and I am his subject."

"I've been thinking in that direction for a long time." Fan Xian said bitterly, "Because I had already guessed my background at that time, but I didn't have any good feelings for His Majesty, so I could accept thinking in that direction emotionally. But..."

He took a breath, his voice slightly hoarse, and said, "But later, His Majesty treated me better and better, and I became more and more unwilling to think in that direction, even though I knew long ago that no one in this world except him could drive Ye Qingmei out of this world."

"But I don't want to explore in that direction." Fan Xian's brow was furrowed tightly, "Because I felt a little confused for the first time. I once told you that I don't allow anyone to control me, and my will is strong enough that I won't be disturbed by external things, but on this matter, I'm really starting to feel confused."

He looked up, looked at his father with some helplessness, and asked, "If you were in my position, what would you do?"

Regarding this question, Fan Xian had actually thought it through quite clearly by the Liujing River in Kyoto, near the great tomb. However, Fan Jian should have the power and qualification to speak on this matter, so Fan Xian came to Shijia Village, came to Qing's Fish Intestine, and listened quietly to his father's instruction.

After a long silence, Fan Jian looked at him and asked, "You need to ask your own heart how you really view His Majesty."

"That depends on how he views me." Fan Xian replied quickly, he must have asked himself countless times in countless nights.

"Then how does he view you?" Fan Jian smiled gently and said, "You don't need to care about my attitude. After all, I grew up with him since childhood. Although I am disappointed and resentful towards him, to be honest, I really can't muster too much hatred."

Fan Xian smiled helplessly, then fell into deep thought. He had thought about this matter many, many times. Before the rebellion in Kyoto, the Emperor probably had three parts guilt, three parts importance, and four parts utilization towards Fan Xian. After so many people died in the palace, His Majesty the Emperor's temperament clearly changed a lot.

Starting from the spring when he entered Kyoto in the fourth year of Qingli, Fan Xian had to admit that His Majesty the Emperor might be a mean and ungrateful person, but he was indeed an exception in the way he treated himself. Even the utilization back then was an acceptable kind of utilization – if the Emperor still had a bit of genuine affection for the people of this world, then that bit was placed on Fan Xian.

The Emperor treated Fan Xian better than the Crown Prince, better than the Second Prince, not to mention that poor woman who had dedicated her entire life, youth, and reputation to the Emperor.

After listening quietly to Fan Xian's words, Fan Jian gently stroked his beard and sighed, "It is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's nature. Even if His Majesty's temperament has become much gentler, he is still a monarch who puts the world first in his mind. But then again, how you treat His Majesty depends on how His Majesty treats you, but doesn't how His Majesty treats you depend on how you treat him?"

He looked at his young son and said with some worry, "His Majesty treats you differently because you have shown unwavering loyalty since you entered Kyoto. This is something I admire about you. You are so young, but you know how to hide everything you have guessed, all the resistance in your heart, and even deceive His Majesty's eyes... But if His Majesty has made up his mind that you are not a simple subject, once he really starts to doubt your loyalty, his attitude towards you will definitely undergo a fundamental change."

"Emperors are ruthless." Fan Jian reminded him, "Especially since the power you now hold is so great that it can even subtly threaten the stability of the Qing throne. If he discovers that you have different intentions in your heart, he will definitely mobilize the absolute power in his hands and suppress you."

Fan Xian was silent, knowing that his father was right. The biggest problem with his planning over the past few years was that he had never made up his mind. Whether it was to avenge Ye Qingmei or to erase what happened back then and honestly and timidly become a powerful minister beside the throne, he had to make a decision in advance. Being indecisive and wavering like this now was really too embarrassing.

"This is a problem that no one can solve." He said with a wry smile, thinking to himself that in his previous life, he could probably only find such dramatic conflicts and inner struggles in Shakespeare's plays. He never expected that the drama of father killing mother and son living in between would actually happen to him.

Fan Jian looked at him quietly with a very strange look. After a long while, he said, "Actually, after Chen Pingping confirmed that matter, and after I guessed that matter, Chen Pingping and I also considered your problem, but we really didn't think it was an unsolvable problem."

Fan Xian didn't quite understand what he meant.

Fan Jian looked at him, his eyes becoming more and more gentle, and sighed, "Anzhi, you are truly a different person. I thought that you had never seen your biological mother, and you grew up under His Majesty's care. His Majesty treats you extremely well... In theory, you shouldn't have too deep feelings for Little Ye, and under His Majesty's affection for you, even if you know about the tragedy back then, you would probably not be able to muster the idea of avenging your biological mother against His Majesty."

Fan Jian couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Sometimes I really can't understand you."

Yes, Fan Xian had never met Ye Qingmei in his life, and had not grown up healthily under her care. His Majesty the Emperor treated him well...

"The hatred of killing one's mother is irreconcilable?" Fan Xian said self-deprecatingly in a low voice, "Of course, you also know that I couldn't possibly make a decision for this reason."

It was because Ye Qingmei's aura in this world made Fan Xian feel so familiar, so close, so kind. Perhaps it had nothing to do with mother-son feelings, but rather two connected souls suddenly approached and came close to each other in this empty and bustling other world.

For Fan Xian, Ye Qingmei was a predecessor, someone who had come and then left... another version of himself.

"It's not fair."

Fan Xian looked at his father. For some reason, his heart ached, and he said softly in an indescribable tone, "If it's just left like this, it's too unfair to her."

Minister Fan was silent for a long time before saying, "It's indeed not fair."

...

...

Perhaps it was precisely because of these three words, "not fair," that the old cripple in the Overwatch Council had endured for twenty years, planned for twenty years, and followed the general trend of the world and the imperial court extremely carefully and wonderfully, spending countless efforts to drive all of His Majesty the Emperor's people one by one to the opposite side of His Majesty.

As the saying goes, the world has a dog, Pingping hunts it. The old cripple finally succeeded in the end. Everything that happened in the seventh year of Qingli was the point of eruption that he had been calculating and waiting for in his heart for a long time. Under the circumstances at that time, His Majesty the Qing Emperor was facing the greatest danger in his life, and the wind and clouds gathered on Mount Dadong.

However, the Emperor ultimately returned alive from Mount Dadong, and the fairness that Chen Pingping wanted to seek became a flower in the mirror and a reflection in the water. He could no longer find a second chance.

"I want to arrange Chen Pingping first." Fan Xian had already freed himself from his previous emotions and said softly to his father, "The old comrades of that year have either died, betrayed, or are still struggling. The Director is different from you. He has always been unwilling to accept it, so he has been stubbornly staying in Kyoto for the past two years."

"Now that you have taken over as the Director, it seems that His Majesty still wants to give us old guys a way out." Fan Jian smiled gently, "As long as nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty should let that old dog out of Kyoto. Don't worry."

A faint worry welled up in Fan Xian's heart, but he didn't know where this worry came from. He just felt that things shouldn't be so smooth. In his original plan, after Chen Pingping and his father were both far away from Kyoto, he would stay in Kyoto alone to deal with His Majesty the Emperor, using the affairs of Dongyi City to delay His Majesty's footsteps for two years, listening to his words and observing his actions, which would not be a bad idea.

Seeing the worry between Fan Xian's eyebrows, Minister Fan frowned and asked, "Is there any new movement in Kyoto?"

"It's still the same as in the past year, the Censorate checks and balances the Overwatch Council, and He Zongwei is now incredibly popular." Fan Xian shook his head and said, "Recently, nothing major has happened in Kyoto except for Sun Jingxiu's side."

Minister Fan's expression became slightly condensed, and he asked about the affairs of the Kyoto Prefecture some time ago. After pondering silently for a long time, he suddenly said, "There's something strange about this matter."

Fan Xian was slightly surprised and looked at his father, wondering what he meant by this. Compared with the major events that the father and son had discussed earlier, the infighting in the officialdom of Kyoto was obviously a completely different level of affair, but his father was so serious about it.

"From the Censorate to the Chancellery, and then to you taking over the Overwatch Council." Fan Jian said coldly, "This is the pattern that we had discussed before that His Majesty had arranged for the Qing after him, but now the negotiations in Dongyi City are still ongoing, and the preparations for the Northern Expedition have not even begun to be carried out. His Majesty's layout this time is obviously too hasty."

"He wants to support He Zongwei to come to power to check and balance you, and make these things..." Fan Jian shook his head and sighed, "Too hasty, too hasty."

Fan Xian understood his father's words and also fell into deep thought. It was indeed the case that His Majesty seemed to be too eager to make arrangements for the Qing Dynasty court in the future, and the speed was too rapid.

A gust of mountain wind blew in through the unclosed glass window, bringing a chill. The light in the study flickered on and off, making the faces of the father and son appear somewhat uncertain.

After a period of oppressive silence, Fan Xian lowered his voice and said, "Could it be that there is something wrong with His Majesty's health?"

After thinking for a long time, Fan Jian shook his head and said, "You have more people in the palace than I do, even more than Chen Pingping. If you haven't received any news, then it's not a confirmed matter."

"But if His Majesty really has a health problem, he will definitely hide it." Fan Xian said with a heavy expression.

"If he is sick, the Imperial Hospital will have to treat him." Fan Jian looked at him and said, "As long as there is a record in the Imperial Hospital, I believe you will have the ability to see it."

"No." Fan Xian shook his head. "I have been paying attention to this aspect for the past two years, but there is indeed no news in the palace."

"If His Majesty has a health problem, but he doesn't summon an imperial physician for diagnosis, then there is only one reason." Fan Jian sat up straight and said slowly, "His Majesty knows exactly what is wrong with his body, and it is simply impossible for an imperial physician to cure it."

Fan Xian's heart moved slightly, and he subconsciously said, "Could it be that there will still be problems if the tyrannical true energy is cultivated to the realm of the Kingly Way?"

Fan Jian smiled and shook his head and said, "According to the theory of the Grandmaster's realm, ordinary poisons cannot invade the heart, so what could be the problem? Forget it, it's just you and me, father and son, making baseless guesses. You can't take this matter seriously."

Fan Xian also laughed and said, "That's true, but I am very interested in how His Majesty crossed that threshold and cultivated the Kingly Way scroll, but it's a pity that His Majesty always says that I can't use that method, so there has been no clue."

"Where are you going next?" Fan Jian asked suddenly.

"To Dongyi City." Fan Xian was stunned, not knowing why his father would suddenly ask this question.

"Regarding the matter of the nameless skill manual, I can't give any advice. Since you are going to Dongyi City, there is always someone you can ask about whether His Majesty has cultivated to the point of having problems." Fan Jian looked at him calmly and said, "Si Gu Jian is about to die. Before he dies, if you can make some progress, it will be good for you to protect yourself in the future."

Fan Xian smiled wryly. How difficult it was to go even further from a hundred feet pole, although Si Gu Jian had imparted everything to him in Dongyi City, what could he do? However, he also knew that his father was right. Regarding the secret of the nameless skill manual, how His Majesty was able to break through the final restriction of the tyrannical scroll on the human body, Si Gu Jian was undoubtedly the last teacher.

"I hope Si Gu Jian can give me a better answer." Fan Xian said finally.