"Why?" Amidst the wind and snow, Fan Xian fell into deep thought. He hadn't needed any time to think, because he had known for many years that one day he would face this question. He had been preparing for years, evading it, but never truly escaping. This was a question he had pondered countless times, especially during those seven days and nights of agonizing thought.

"Why?" He slowly raised his head, squinting through the snow, and said softly to His Majesty the Emperor, "Today at the Imperial College, I spoke to those young people about benevolence and righteousness, about true justice."

Fan Xian sighed, a complex expression on his face, and said, "I used to think these were all hypocritical and false. But so many years have passed, and I have possessed everything a minister should and shouldn't have. Yet, only now do I realize that, apart from those so-called principles, nothing else in this world can make your life more real."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him calmly, his thin lips slightly parted, and his cold voice repeated what Fan Xian had said that morning at the Imperial College: "To be worthy of one's heart, throughout history, those with lofty ideals who seek to establish great justice in the world are not swayed by success, failure, profit, or loss..."

Fan Xian's speech that morning at the Imperial College had made Grand Scholar Hu clearly perceive the hidden killing intent and determination between the lines. Grand Scholar Hu, terrified, entered the palace and naturally recounted that scene at the Imperial College to His Majesty. The Emperor was even able to recite Fan Xian's words.

Fan Xian was also a little surprised, and smiled bitterly, saying, "I am not the kind of person who takes great justice as a principle in life, nor am I a morally supreme saint. Deep down, I am still just a person who is nothing more than someone who loves and respects himself."

"This is probably something hidden in my bones, something concealed and sealed by myself for more than twenty years." Fan Xian looked at the Emperor and said very seriously, "I want to live this life to the fullest, want to live freely, want to live without regrets, so I want to have peace of mind. But if things continue like this, those things buried in my bones will prevent me from ever having peace of mind."

"This world is filled with dazzling power and position that blinds and deafens people, but I still cannot pretend that I do not know, have not heard, those things that happened back then, the things that happened this autumn." A faint sadness appeared on Fan Xian's face as he slowly said, "Chen Pingping returned to the capital to ask Your Majesty a question, but I don't need to ask. I only know that these things are unfair, and this unfairness is inflicted on those who love me and those I love. If there is no me in this world, no me who bravely steps before Your Majesty today, where will those who have passed away find justice?"

"They should not be forgotten by this world, and the injustice they suffered must be redeemed in some way." Fan Xian looked at His Majesty the Emperor and said, "This is Your Majesty's responsibility, and it is also my duty."

The Emperor listened to Fan Xian's heartfelt words and remained silent for a long time before asking in a cold voice, "Why don't you ask me what happened back then? Why don't you ask me? Do I not have my own difficulties?"

"In the Jing Prince's Mansion, which was the Cheng Prince's Mansion back then, there are still many of my mother's private memorials and other writings to you." Fan Xian replied after a moment of silence, "I have read them all. I don't need to ask anything. I know why the things back then happened. As for whether her death was a good or bad thing for this continent and billions of people, I don't really care."

He smiled, a somewhat difficult smile, and said, "Your Majesty, this is not a debate about the world or about justice. This is not a public feud, this is just... a personal grievance."

"A personal grievance, you say." His Majesty the Emperor also laughed, his hands behind his back, standing alone in the wind and snow, an unspeakable loneliness about him. "She was your mother, am I not your father?"

Fan Xian's body stiffened slightly, and he did not continue on this topic, but instead said calmly, "Your Majesty has great ambitions in your heart, and you are walking the path you believe is correct. However, in my opinion, no matter how great, glorious, or correct the goal is, if it is achieved through despicable means, it is not worthy of respect."

His Majesty the Emperor's lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked at Fan Xian's fearless eyes and said, "Do you think that slaughtering everywhere in Kyoto today is a very glorious means?"

Fan Xian smiled and shook his head, replying, "My purpose is only to settle a decades-old case and tear down the biggest shadow over my life. Everything is only from my own perspective. As I said before, this is a personal grievance, and there is no great, glorious, or correct meaning in it. Since the means are so despicable, what does it matter?"

He paused, looking at His Majesty the Emperor with a complex gaze, somewhat emotional and sighing, "In these aspects, I am more like Your Majesty. For Your Majesty and me, what a luxurious adjective 'good person' is... But it is precisely because of this that I am not like her, still confused and inexplicable until death. At least before I die, I can still ask Your Majesty a question."

This sentence spoke of the fundamental difference between Ye Qingmei and Fan Xian. However, the impermanence and wonder of the world is that Fan Xian, after running around, enjoying life, and rising in status, slowly drifted towards Ye Qingmei's path. Because this pair of souls, who descended into the world one after another, separated by time but warming each other, are probably the only ones in this world who do not have a natural reverence for imperial power. From the innermost part, they both have the desire to stand upright before the dragon throne.

His Majesty the Emperor was calm, smiling, looking at Fan Xian with a strange emotion. He wondered if he felt that, after many years, he had seen that woman again.

Welcoming Fan Xian's seemingly calm, but actually every word was a heart-piercing sigh, His Majesty the Emperor did not get angry or gloomy, but calmly began to talk about other things: "During the Incident at the Taiping Courtyard back then, I did not expect you to survive."

Fan Xian nodded slightly. In the Taiping Courtyard massacre back then, Ye Qingmei had just given birth to him and was at her weakest, and he was just an infant. How could he have survived the mad pursuit of the Empress's clan and the cold surveillance of the Qin family's army? Since the Emperor had orchestrated this despicable and cold-blooded plan, he naturally indifferently ignored his life and death.

If it weren't for the old Fan family risking their lives, if it weren't for Uncle Wu Zhu returning quickly, if it weren't for Chen Pingping discovering that something was wrong and rushing back from the northern border in advance, where would the Qing Kingdom be today with his existence?

"However, you ultimately survived and were sent to Mama's place. In addition to being slightly surprised, I cannot deny that I was relieved, after all, you are my flesh and blood." The Emperor looked at Fan Xian and said calmly, "Now that I think about it, Pingping had already begun to suspect me at that time, otherwise he would not have agreed to Lao Wu's request to send you to Danzhou. He knew that in this world, I treated the Empress Dowager and Mama as my mothers, and could only watch this become a fait accompli."

"If things had continued like this, it would have been fine. At most, I would have been in Kyoto, and you would have been in Danzhou. During the New Year holidays, I would have remembered that there was an illegitimate son on the distant coast of Danzhou, and I would have given the Fan family some more rewards and sent them to your side." The Emperor's hair was covered with snowflakes, and for a moment it was impossible to distinguish whether it was snow or snow-like hair. He was gradually becoming old.

"However, Chen Pingping did not seem to think so. When you were four years old, he sent Fei Jie to your side, and secretly transferred a batch of spies from the Overwatch Council to Mama to use. He told me about this when he entered the palace. I originally thought he was a little redundant..."

The Emperor frowned, as if recalling the past few decades, and said, "However, when you were twelve years old, you were attacked by assassins."

The Emperor looked at Fan Xian and shook his head, saying, "You were in Danzhou those years, and you probably didn't know that the news from Danzhou was always sent to Chen Pingping's desk through the Overwatch Council. That old cripple showed more enthusiasm than he did in managing the council's affairs, and he would enter the palace from time to time to tell me your every move."

"You flirted with maids in Danzhou, you climbed on the roof and shouted in Danzhou, you started cooking for Mama yourself, the extremely dangerous overbearing true energy you were cultivating within your body..." A strange smile appeared on the Emperor's face, "I knew everything you did, even more clearly than my sons in Kyoto. So, although you were far away in Danzhou, it seemed that I had become accustomed to you being by my side."

"Then you came to Kyoto, came to my side, at the Qing Temple, in the teahouse outside the courtyard." The Emperor looked at Fan Xian, his smile gradually disappearing, "You entered the Overwatch Council, you went to the Hanging Temple, you accompanied me into the Little Building, I sent you to Jiangnan. I must admit, you are my son, and the one I love the most."

"Your mother once said a word, love is habit, I got used to your existence when you were still young." The Emperor suddenly looked up at the snowy sky, not knowing who he was looking at, and suddenly nodded, saying, "However, my favorite son is unwilling to be my son. Standing before me at this time, he wants to challenge my authority, to seek justice for what happened back then."

He lowered his head, looking at Fan Xian coldly, and said, "There is no victory or defeat between us father and son. Carefully calculating to this day, Chen Pingping has won after all."

Fan Xian understood these words, so he fell into silence.

…

…

"Since you are not a benevolent and righteous person who cares about the world, since you are only seeking to resolve personal grievances, not for public justice, then I do not understand your choice today." His Majesty the Emperor did not give Fan Xian more time to feel like he was more like a relative, and directly asked coldly.

Since it was only to avenge personal grudges, since it was only to seek a quick and fair resolution, why did Fan Xian previously regard the snowy land as the world, presenting the facts and reasoning with His Majesty the Emperor, throwing out so many chips, only to limit the battlefield to the Imperial City, limiting the enemy and ourselves to between father and son? Revenge has never been merciful. This Qing Kingdom, this world, could all be Fan Xian's weapons.

Fan Xian was silent for a moment, and then said, "I thought about it for seven days in the mansion." He smiled and continued, "The so-called closed-door contemplation is all lies. Being locked in a room for seven days and seven nights would drive people crazy. I also need to eat and get some fresh air."

His expression gradually softened and calmed down, and he said, "When Wan'er and the others were asleep late at night, I would sneak out of the room alone, wearing only a thin coat, like a wandering ghost, wandering around the mansion's garden. It had been snowing continuously in Kyoto those days, and it was terribly cold at night. The old women who watched the garden were hiding in the corner rooms drinking wine, and no one noticed me."

"I just wandered around and around." Fan Xian looked at His Majesty the Emperor, opening his eyes wide and saying very seriously, "I only then realized that the Fan Mansion's garden was so big. I had always been busy with government affairs and scheming, and I had almost forgotten what my own garden looked like. It was not until these seven days that I noticed this. The Fan Mansion's garden is even larger than the Hua Garden in Jiangnan."

"There are countless mansions on that street in the south of the city, occupying countless places." Fan Xian said seriously, "And those clothes, food, and daily necessities, things that seem ordinary to me, are actually extremely luxurious enjoyment for those ordinary people."

He pointed to the palace in the misty snow and said, "Of course, the biggest garden is still this Imperial Palace."

…

…

"Over the past few years, while living my own little life well, I have also helped the lives of those common people, whether it was through the Internal Treasury, the River Works Department, or the Hangzhou Association, and I have gained some reputation. I originally thought that I was helping them, but I suddenly realized that they were actually supporting us." Fan Xian said calmly, looking at His Majesty the Emperor, "In that case, why should I ask them for gratitude?"

"I am not a saint, I have all kinds of shortcomings, but in recent years, I have been relatively good at hypocritically concealing them. But if I ask myself, I still love Qing Kingdom after all."

"Even if this country is not good, under Your Majesty's rule, the people are living a relatively happy life. There is the Internal Treasury and the Overwatch Council. If I don't mess things up, at least these good days can continue for decades."

"I said earlier that I am not worthy of even gratitude, so why should I harm them just because of my own personal grudges? To create turmoil in this world, killing and arson everywhere, the world collapsing and falling apart, causing them to be miserable and unbearable, would that make me happy?"

"If I chose that path for revenge, not to mention what that old cripple in the sky would think, but I think my mother would definitely not be happy."

"Since it is to seek justice for them, how can I choose a path that they do not like?"

"I love Qing Kingdom, so I hope that this is just a war between Your Majesty and me, that this is just a matter between us, and that it is best not to drag too many people into it."

"Someone once said that people should live in the world according to the right path. What is the right path? It is doing the right thing... However, I have never understood. This is right, and that is right. How can I use my own right and wrong to judge Your Majesty's right and wrong, to judge the right and wrong of the world with my own right and wrong? What is the standard for judging right and wrong after all?"

"This can only be a subjective feeling after all."

"If the right path is to do the right thing, then what is right is the direction that makes you feel at ease. Today, I entered the palace to say these things and do these things to make myself feel at ease."

…

…

Fan Xian slowly said sentence by sentence, saying most of what he had thought about in these seven days. As for the remaining small half, it involved the contest between him and His Majesty, not only today, but also the possible contests in the future. Such mutual harm and probing of the mind is useless and only harmful.

"There are no true saints in this world." The Emperor lowered his eyes slightly, a few snowflakes hanging on his eyelashes, "Perhaps your mother counts as one, and what you said today is at least close to the true meaning of this. If your mother knew that you had grown into such a young man today, she would probably be very comforted."

Fan Xian quietly looked at the old Emperor's thin face, and suddenly, for some reason, a feeling of sympathy and sadness welled up from the depths of his heart, a feeling that even he himself was afraid of. This inappropriate emotion appearing at an inappropriate time made him feel terrified. Facing such an absolute figure like a snowy mountain, what was there to sympathize with?

Perhaps it was just sympathy for the fact that the Emperor still regarded Fan Xian as his most proud flesh and blood even today, and fundamentally did not know that Fan Xian's body contained a soul that had already been shaped. Perhaps Fan Xian was sympathizing with the fact that he had been deceiving the other party with his acting skills, and that even at the moment of life and death, Fan Xian would still be unable to reveal his true feelings.

Over the years, Fan Xian had played the role of a loyal minister and filial son, a lonely minister and rebellious son in front of the Emperor. Even today, when he slaughtered Kyoto and entered the palace to scold him, he was still playing the role of such a pure, upright, and solemn person, using words as a blade, using performance as a weapon, stabbing into the Emperor's heart step by step, sentence by sentence.

This was a battle of minds. Back then, when Fan Xian wanted to deal with the Northern Qi Saintess Haitang Duoduo, he began preparing in Kyoto, drifting in the North Sea, feigning drunkenness and actually getting drunk in a restaurant in Shangjing City, swaying together, and then the touch of tenderness in Jiangnan finally won this battle in a practical way.

His Majesty the Emperor was not Haitang, and Fan Xian had acted in front of him for even longer and with even more effort, but he did not know whether he could really touch the other party's heart, which was unmelted by the wind and snow. However, this play was destined to continue, even if Fan Xian died at the other party's hands, he would continue to act. Without doing so, he would not be able to pull this person down from the altar, from the dragon throne. Without doing so, he would not be able to protect those people that Fan Xian wanted to protect.

Break the jar, the barefoot are not afraid of those wearing shoes? Fan Xian was able to be shameless and thick-skinned to this extent, using killing against killing. However, how could Emperor Qing be such an easily defeated opponent? Fan Xian was cold-blooded enough, but the other party was even more cold-blooded. Therefore, today's killing and cold-blooded decisiveness that can be seen were actually all paving the way and prologue.

The real curtain was about to open at this moment.

The wind and snow no longer swirled in the air, but fell straight down, from small flower buds to pieces of goose feathers, with a heavy beauty, falling on the Emperor and Fan Xian.

From the Ministry of Affairs to the depths of the palace, after a long conversation, the completely different true energies in Fan Xian's two major and minor cycles had already been warmed and nourished, and his whole body had entered a state of joylessness and sadness. The true energy in his body was so abundant that it was waiting for which snowflake to touch that moment.

In the wind and snow, Emperor Qing stood with his hands behind his back, carrying a natural and supreme power. He squinted slightly, looking at Fan Xian with a hint of mocking smile.

The reality that Fan Xian was carrying had already been released by taking advantage of the momentum of the wind and snow, but as soon as it touched the area around His Majesty's body, it seemed to have hit an indestructible snowy mountain, and could no longer move forward.

The cultivation realm of a Grand Master was not something that ordinary people could reach. Emperor Qing just looked at Fan Xian coldly and indifferently, and his gaze suppressed Fan Xian in the snow.

The two men, ruler and subject, father and son, confronted each other for a long time, and the Emperor suddenly smiled sarcastically: "Even if it is to fulfill your peace of mind, it always takes time."

After saying this, the Emperor walked away with his hands behind his back, raising his legs casually and stepping out.

…

…

Walking out, in this wind and snow filled with two domineering and majestic true energies, His Majesty the Emperor left as he said, without caring at all, unrestrained and at will, as if the superposition of the momentum at this time, the wild dance of the wind and snow, could not trap his steps at all.

This step seemed simple, but in fact it was profound and not simple at all.

Countless crackling sounds rang out, clearly resounding in the sound of the wind and snow. Fan Xian's feet, standing on the snow, suddenly sank an inch for no reason!

With Fan Xian's feet as the center, countless fine cracks stretched out, like lightning, but did not fade for a long time, remaining on the snow, and like spider webs, not easily broken even in the wind and snow.

These fine cracks stretched extremely wide and far, clearly revealing the black soil below, looking like an unspeakable rune, with a magical beauty.

Fan Xian stood alone in the center of these cracks, silent for a long time, his face calm and indifferent. He used all his strength, but could not trap the other party for a single step. The other party took that step and left easily, as if he was no longer in this world.

He suddenly thought of what Uncle Wu Zhu said on the cliff in Danzhou, "Take off your clothes and go." The Emperor's step earlier had perfectly reached the perfect realm of this koan, not only abandoning this body, but also already walking out of this world.

However, Fan Xian did not have any despair or disappointment, because he already knew that he was facing the only remaining Grand Master on this continent today, a person who was already about to exceed the scope of the ordinary.

He pondered for a moment in the snow, and then raised his knee, stepping on the footprints left by His Majesty and walking towards the Little Building.

…

…

(It's really tiring to write, I have to accelerate myself to adjust...)